Soren's Preschool Graduation

From Soren's preschool graduation on May 31st, 2012...

Bored.

Bored-er.

Bored-est.

Though Soren looks bored in these pictures, he did a fantastic job in the ceremony.  He was one of the loudest singers and said his memory verse with volume and confidence!  The kids even said the Lord's Prayer and he knows every word. I'm so proud of this little guy and there is no doubt he will excel in the years to come.  Ha ha...he gets annoyed and confused when Synnove doesn't do her math homework right because she insists she's got the right answer.  I'm sure you can imagine the look on Synnove's face when either Adam or I tell her that Soren is actually right!  What Soren "lacks" in sass, he makes up for in smarts :)

The Last Days of Preschool

Soren had a busy last month of preschool.  We started May with a field trip to the market to pick up supplies for the annual Spring Tea.  I forgot my camera for that trip...but have similar pics from last year.  Grandma Quashnick, Grandma Patty, and Grandma Suzi were able to make it to this year's Spring Tea.  Again, no pictures.  Soren made me a giant heart cookie and a card with a magnet with a cute picture of him on it.  The kids sang songs for us (Soren was the LOUDEST singer) and did a great job being adorable.

Synnove's Daisy Troop donated some of their cookie money to the preschool to help them build a new sink in the classroom.  Part of the construction of the sink is going to be tiles with the kids' hand prints on them.  So, we took a last minute field trip to the high school to make the tiles.  The kids also made their own pinch pots as well.  They still haven't been fired or glazed, so hopefully I'll get to see his creations soon. 

The kids celebrated Hawaii Day for their last day of preschool.  Soren had the perfect outfit with his special pirate boat sweater and the shell necklace Miss Kara brought back for the kids from her Hawaii trip in January.

As a fun experiment, the kids helped Miss Kara crack open a coconut and drink the stuff inside.  Out of Soren's group, he was the only one game to try it.  From the look on his face, it didn't taste too great.

Coconut bowling.

Miss Alyson and Mr. Jim made yummy smoothies and Papa Murphy's pizza for snack.  The kids also celebrated all the summer birthdays.

Catching Up: April

Well, I've finally downloaded pictures on my computer from the last two months.  It's funny, on a few occasions, I've actually found myself at my computer ready to write a quick blog...until I realize my camera is upstairs...full of the photos I'd want to include. And, instead of going to get the camera, I move on to doing something else.  Even as I type, I'm running out of time...we just got home from softball practice and the kids are outside enjoying a rain-free evening.  However, bedtime is less than an hour away, the kids still need a bath, and Synnove still has homework. Adam is out again for work, so it's just me.

Here's a few pictures from April...

To be honest, I'm not sure why the kids an I were at the Weaver's house.  The kids had their boots on, so we must have made a quick run somewhere...umm...yes, that was a crazy day involving kids over at my house, locked keys in a car, a garage sale, and helping a friend set up for a jewelry open house.  This picture was taken when I had to drive Andrea to her house after picking up her spare key from a friend.  Her oldest (not pictured) got pigs for her first year of fair and the kids were in the pig pen...

 The preschool went on a special field trip to visit the Astoria Trolley.  We got our own private tour, and each kid got to ring the bell.  I'm pretty sure that was Soren's favorite part.

We had some very nice weather in April...a mini-heat wave!  So, we took the opportunity to have the Bigelow's and the Wilson's over for a BBQ.  While the husbands and the kids played on the 4-wheelers, I stayed in with the mommies and the babies.  We laid Avyrie and Evelyn on my bed for a bit and watched them play...Avyrie loves to give "loves."

Some December Photos

Patty and Steve's Christmas Party, December 10th:

Santa and Mrs. Claus gave out small gifts to each kid and asked each of them to make sure to make their Christmas lists. Both of my kids were very excited to see Santa this year!

Soren's Preschool Christmas Program, December 15th:

Soren and Kendall were Mary and Joseph, and JR was the innkeeper. Kendall was nervous and sort of forgot what to do after walking down the aisle and seeing all the people...but that's OK. It was very cute and Soren sang all the songs and did all the hand motions (a huge improvement from last year!)

Kendall refused to hold the "baby Jesus" in rehearsal because it wasn't HER baby. Her mom had to bring one from home...ha ha!

Trip to "You Paint It!" in Seaside, December 16th:

I rarely get to spend time with my good friend Tonya and her darling daughters. Faith (her stepdaughter) was only going to be in town for the month of December, so we made sure to set a date. It was Tonya's idea to go to "You Paint It!" I had been wanting to take the kids, so it was the perfect outing.

Synnove picked a peace sign mug (she's really into peace signs lately) and Soren picked a "transformer" (robot). He wanted to make it look like "Optimus Prime...like the one Uncle Chris has," and he gave it to Chris for his birthday (Dec. 26th). I think he really loved it :)

Soren was very concentrated in his efforts...and did his very best. Synnove's ended up taking quite a long time because of all the colors and things she wanted to do. I helped her quite a bit to get her moving.

Tonya helped Faith make a coffee thermos for daddy for Christmas.

And Miss Avyrie was a perfect peach the entire time! Ooo...I just LOVE this face!

Halloween Part 1

The kids had the opportunity to carve pumpkins twice this year. Grandma and Grandpa just couldn't resist buying a few pumpkins. They really got into it and enjoyed being able to use the carving knives by themselves.

Synnove's pumpkin patch pumpkin from school

I helped Soren carve two of his 3 or 4 pumpkins. He liked making crooked mouths on purpose :)

Halloween just wouldn't be complete without a preschool field trip! The kids got to go to the Jasper's farm this year. They fed the cows, chickens, and goats before heading to the patch to pick out their pumpkins. After snack we headed back to the school to do the annual pumpkin bowling and "bobbing" for doughnuts.

Soren and Kaden were both astronauts, although I couldn't get Soren to wear his hat. I think it's funny that they are both wearing crocs too :)

Many of the kids waited to put on their costumes until after the pumpkin patch. Of course, they all looked so cute!
Top: Kaden (land astronaut), Noah (a samurai of sorts?), Soren (space astronaut), Alondra (ladybug), (crouched is Annalise...Alondra's sister), Kendall (supergirl), JR (Bumblebee from Transformers),
Bottom: Rowan (dressed in orange and black), Jake (Woody), Hannah (Sleeping Beauty), Lily (Butterfly), Taylor (Rapunzel)

"B"irthday During "B" Week...again

Last Wednesday, October 5th, was Soren's actual 5th birthday...his golden birthday! Adam and I had decided to get him a new bike since he had outgrown his old one, so we picked one up on the long drive home from Whistler, B.C. (we were at a wedding there in late September). We didn't give it to him at his party because we wanted him to thoroughly enjoy the gifts everyone had given him. Plus, we thought it would be fun to surprise him on his actual birthday. So, that morning, he woke to find it waiting for him upstairs. He promptly put on his new helmet (gift from my mom) and went outside to try it out in his jammies before school.

He wasn't outside for long because we needed to head out the door. Miss Kara had asked the kids to wear "B"lack for "B" week...so he dressed accordingly. I was snack helper that morning and Kara had planned to "B"ake "B"iscuits, but I was planning to do "B"rownies and "B"lueberries for snack, so the kids helped me "B"ake those instead of the "B"iscuits. We got to work right away so that the "B"rownies would "B"ake and have enough time to cool before making them into "B"at "B"rownies with a cookie cutter.

While waiting for the "B"rownies to be ready to eat the kids learned about "B"ats and made "B"at cut-outs with wings made out of their "B"lack hand prints. They turned out pretty cute :)

Of course, last year, Soren's birthday was during "B" week as well...only they made "B"rown "B"ears :)

"B"aker "B"irthday "B"oy "B"aking "B"at "B"rownies

"B"lowing out his candle

The "B"rownies were almost a disaster. Cutting them out with a cookie cutter was difficult, but the kids didn't seem to mind that a couple of the "B"ats were "B"roken. I had also ordered more than enough Candyland stickers for all his preschool friends to have one so Soren passed those out as well.

After school, I thought it would be fun to take him out to lunch at the Logger. It surprised me when he said he just wanted to go home. Duh...he wanted to ride his new "B"ike!

Preschool Olympics

Every year Miss Kara does a special party/event for the last day of preschool. This year it was "Preschool Olympics." Soren hasn't shown too much excitement when it comes to preschool fun. He's always very subdued at school. In fact, throughout the year several different parent helpers would come up to me and say "Soren actually talked to me today!" followed by something like..."and he talked my ear off!" If Soren decides that you're OK to talk to, he'll talk...and talk! He's such a serious little boy and his talking is usually of a serious nature. And lately, I've noticed, he's got a lot to say. Anyway, like I was saying before, he doesn't usually get too excited about preschool. There's no doubt that he enjoys it though! When the last week of school came around, he couldn't stop talking about the upcoming Preschool Olympics. He was actually very excited to participate, and I made sure he was outfitted for the occasion. Unfortunately, his shoes were a bit too small, but with summer just around the corner, I wasn't about to run out and buy him a brand new pair of tennie's.

He was shy when we arrived at school that day, as many of the kids forgot to dress for the special event. He was one of only 3 or 4 that were in appropriate attire. The first thing they did was create their number tags. Soren picked the number 100. After that, the kids practiced for their end of the year program, ate snack, then headed outside to complete 6 different events. We all split ourselves into pairs and rotated around the yard.

Soren was VERY serious about doing his very best. He was definitely faster and more agile than many of his classmates. He's also one of the tallest and oldest. He completed each even with vigor, and hardly cracked a smile the entire time. But, I knew he was having fun.

One of the events was an obstacle course that was timed on a stopwatch. It started with climbing the wall on the playstructure (below). He finished in 20 seconds! Miss Kara said that was the fastest of all 3 classes! Many of the kids took over a minute to complete it.

Once all the kids were done Miss Kara orchestrated a little medal ceremony. As the National Anthem played in the background, Miss Kara put a medal on each child and we all clapped. Everyone was all smiles...mostly the parents.

The next evening was the end-of-the-year program and graduation. Soren doesn't graduate until next year, but he was able to participate in all of the songs. He sang every word and did every hand motion. I was so proud of him.

May 5Th: Spring Tea

A few weeks ago, Soren's preschool went on their annual field trip to Hunt's Market to shop for soup ingredients for the Spring Tea. Each of the kids got a short list of items to purchase after getting the full tour of the store. Potatoes were one of the items on Soren's list...

After getting back to the school, all the parents stayed to help their kids prep for the soups. The kids scrubbed potatoes, cut up break for croutons, and helped Miss Kara mix ingredients. The kids made potato soup and taco soup.

A couple of days later was the actual event. The kids set the tables for their visiting family members and then gave a short musical performance. I'm pretty sure they were reciting a poem they learned below. Soren did a fantastic job! I wasn't expecting him to even sing, but he did all the motions and sang wonderfully!

Once the performance was over, the kids and families were led to the foyer to dish up their soup and view special Mother's Day hearts with the kids' answers to the question "what is your favorite thing to do with your mom?" on them. Soren's is the purple one in the middle...he's obsessed with collecting Candyland games of all vintages.

Three of Soren's grandmas showed up (two had to cancel last minute). Soren gave me a fancy glass jar with flowers in it covered in crepe paper shapes as a Mother's Day surprise :)

Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery Field Trip

Last week Soren's preschool class went on a stellar field trip to the Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery. I love how interested those little 3 and 4-year-old's were in the life-cycle of the fish. And even though a lot of the words and concepts were over their heads, they were completely fascinated! Soren soaked in every word. Every time "Mr. Steve" spoke, he would inch his way to the front and listen intently. He had learned a bit already from his Uncle Henry and my Dad from his many visits to the Warrenton High School Hatchery, but this place was set up a bit differently. Soren even got to touch the tongue of a grown rainbow trout! In fact, I think he might have been the only kid brave enough to do it. Unfortunately, I wasn't in a good spot to catch a picture of it...but Miss Kara caught one!

From egg to fish...

There were no fish in these tanks, as they were already grown passed this stage...but the kids wanted to stick their hands in the cold water. Soren watching Steve feed the baby fish. There were so many, that it looked like rain on the water when they came up for food.

There are lots of scenic trails at the hatchery...and it's only 2 miles down the road from the preschool.

All the kids made it to this trip!

Parent photo-op time!

Pre-Christmas December

My sister had been planning a surprise 30th birthday party for her husband, Chris, for quite some time. His birthday is the day after Christmas, so birthdays for him have been (I'm sure) less than exciting. Elise thought it was PERFECT to surprise him by throwing him a party on her birthday (the 10th). We were supposed to meet her and Chris for "dinner at the Shilo for Elise's birthday." Somehow we lured him downstairs to the banquet rooms for the big reveal. He was surprised...and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed himself :)

Auntie Piggy gives a shocked Chris a hug...

Soren's Christmas program was the next week. He was a Christmas Star along with all the other 3-4 year olds. He did everything he was supposed to do...except he didn't smile or sing. Maybe next year?

A rare photo of myself...and my little bruiser. He had a goose-egg on his head (ran into the corner of a wall), a swollen and bruised jaw (tripped and hit a barstool). A few days later, he fell and split his chin open!

He was the HIGHest star!

A couple of days later we had a big storm. Really...the wind was blowing hard, but not harder than a typical coastal storm. But, because the wind was blowing in an easterly direction, branches were falling like raindrops! I didn't sleep well that night because there were constant thuds on the roof...I was afraid one of our skylights was gonna shatter! The next morning, we woke up to this....

Frankly, this picture doesn't fully illustrate the magnitude of the mess. Adam was busy fixing his Mitsubishi (AS USUAL!) and I worked non-stop for 5 hours cleaning up the property. I could have done more, but I was soaked to the bone and a bit chilly. Except for our "hurricane" 3 years ago, I've never seen a storm create such a mess! Fortunately, the larger branches managed to land in perfect places!

Happy Belated Halloween!

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away...and here I am, finally posting about our Halloween.

This year, Halloween threatened to be wet. It seemed to pour the entire week prior, but we had a nice break to go to the pumpkin patch with the preschool. Miss Kara told the kids to bring their costumes instead of wear them since she thought it would be mucky, but it didn't rain and the muck wasn't too bad. Like last year, we went to the Weaver Dairy.

Once back at school, all the kids dressed up in their costumes for a party. Soren was Spiderman this year, but he wouldn't wear his mask in public...unfortunate, because it really completes the costume. Oh well. I caught a shot of the kids praying before their snack. Like a good boy, Soren was one of the only ones (if not THE only one) closing his eyes...

Synnove also went to the pumpkin patch. I couldn't chaperone because I had Soren, so Synnove came home from school one day with tears in her eyes. She thought that because I couldn't go, she couldn't go. She didn't understand that field trips at school were different than field trips at preschool. Once she understood, she piped up a couple of days later and said, "Mom, I'm gonna have to give you a hug before I leave to go to school on Friday." I said, "how come??" She said, "Because I'm gonna go on the bus to go to the pumpkin patch!" How sweet that she thought that because she was leaving during school that she was going to need to give me a little extra love.

The kids stayed the night at my parent's house on Friday night so that Adam and I could leave very early in the morning to go look at a car to buy in Salem. That night the kids carved their pumpkins with Auntie Weesie. This year was actually the first year that they ever carved pumpkins. They've always painted them instead.

• On Saturday, we brought home our "new" car...an '04 Honda Pilot. LOVE it!!

The next day was Halloween. That night, we took the kids to my parent's house to get ready for trick-or-treating. We then went to all the grandma's and friend's houses and finished off in the old neighborhood. We did that last year...it's a good route for us :) Along the way, we ran into Tay, Brielle, and Faith...here's a picture of them all (including Auntie)...