More of Ava's Handiwork

Ever the crafter / artist, Ava is always at her desk drawing or coloring, it seems. 

Here are a few samples of her recent artwork.

Peace, love and all-things-crafty,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

All-Girl Rock Band

I've learned that Ava is a member of a very exclusive all-girl rock band, which consists of only kindergarten girls. 

Here is a drawing of those in her rock band:  Milena, Dayla, Ava, Ansley, Issy and Ella:

Peace, love and rockin' out (girls only),

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Thanksgiving Festivities at Murdock Elementary

Ava's class had a concert, along with two of the other kindergarten classes.  It was scheduled around noon.  Doug and I both headed to Ava's school, where parents and kids were seated in the music room.  One of the other kindergarten teachers directed the classes in their music.  Kids were dressed as either a pilgrim or an indian.  Ava was dressed as an indian, complete with an outfit she decorated.  :) 

Their songs were absolutely hilarious.  One of my favorites was:

"Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey on Thanksgiving Day!

They'll stuff you and beat you...

and then they will eat you...

Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey on Thanksgiving Day!"

Once the concert concluded, we went back to Ava's classroom, where they had desserts.  We brought some Rolos treats (A Rolos candy on top of a pretzel, then topped with a pecan half).  Ava showed us her placemat, which was QUITE colorful!  I took a look at the other placemats of her fellow classmates.  Let's just say Ava is VERY creative... Most kids drew simple eyes, a nose and mouth.  Ava drew eyelashes, red cheeks, etc.  ;-)

We just sat down to start eating some yummy treats when Mrs. Mckenzie mentioned that all "McIntoshes" (they call the kindergarteners Mckenzie McIntoshes) should show their parents how well they can act during a tornado drill.  Here I am thinking it was a dog and pony show, when in actuality there was a real threat of a tornado.  The teachers and students were ushered into the hallway, where the kids had to kneel on the floor, putting their head down, as well, with their hands clasped over their necks.  They had to stay in this position until the threat of a tornado passed.  We were there, hunkered down in the hallway, for an hour and a half!  With kids who had just been sugared up and weren't supposed to make noise.  They actually did really well...I couldn't believe it! 

It was an odd ending to our celebration!  We were finally told we could leave, at which point we just took Ava home (since it was the end of the school day anyway). 

The Thanksgiving program

Ava's seriously colorful placemat.

Check out Ava's colorful placemat and her deskmates' placemats. 

Taking a break from our hurricane positions...

Ava's recap of a book about a turkey who disguised himself as a pig,

to avoid the Thanksgiving table.  ;-)

("Turkey was terrifying (terrified). 

He wants to get a costume because he didn't want to get eaten. 

He got on a pig costume. 

It did work. 

Turkey dressed up as a pizza man and he delivered pizza. 

They ate pizza.") 

Peace, love, pilgrims and indians,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

School Pictures 2011

Ava's first official school picture:  Kindergarten, Fall 2011

Liam's school picture from the Three Year-Old Class at Lighthouse Academy: 

Fall 2011

Liam Lately

I took a few of these pictures with my phone one day, on the way to day care.  Liam's teacher needed a close-up shot of his face for a craft they were doing, thus the multiple pictures.  He is 100% sweetness.  I love him so.  :)

Peace, love and my Yumski,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Retaining Wall Progress

The wall project has been in full swing since the beginning of July, so we've officially been working on the wall for four months.  Considering the monstrous stumps in the way, I think we're making great progress!  I say "we", but honestly, when it comes to knocking the stumps out of the way, that's been all Doug.  With an ax.  Paul Bunyan-style.  I can say that I thoroughly enjoy working hard outdoors.  It makes me feel better to try to help Doug, too! 

I try to help where I can, so last week I dug out a "dead man trench."  It was six feet deep, eight feet long and three feet wide.  It felt good to see that hole, after it was done!  It's pretty sad to see a hole like that quickly filled back up with dirt in 30 minutes, knowing how long it took to actually dig the same hole.  But it's all progress!  :) 

I walked out with Ava last Sunday afternoon, since Doug was laying down with Liam taking a nap.  We had started out drawing the retaining wall on paper, when she asked about it.  I told her I could show her how the drawing would look, once the wall was built.  We brought our clipboard outside, to the wall.  I showed her where the steps would be built.  I think she really likes the visual aspect of drawing things like a retaining wall, and then knowing spatially where things drawn on paper will exist in real life.  I think she thinks it's pretty cool.  :)  We pulled a string and determined how many additional rows of timbers we will need, before the wall is finished.  We determined we are six rows away from the top, measuring from the top of the lowest step next to the creek.  So, in all, the wall will most likely be 12 rows high!  Monstrous!  But it is nice to have a number and know we can measure ourselves against that number, to know how many rows we have left. 

Our neighbor (Matthew Celender) has really been helping frequently on weekends.  We're so thankful for his help!  Doug is thankful for another set of hands, as well.  I think Matthew enjoys learning from Doug and watching how things get done the right way.  Looking at it, there's no doubt this thing is built to last!  Everyone seems so interested in this wall and how it's constructed.  Everyone has an idea of how to attack it, too.  We're trying to keep it as cheap as possible, so that means less equipment.  Equipment would make the job easier, but not on the bank account...

I can't wait to see how much yard we gain as a by-product of constructing this wall.  It should look so much nicer than our current yard does.  I know we won't put the landscape / fieldstones on the top path area until next spring, so it will be nice to give the dirt in this wall a winter to settle.

Now that we have the "lonely pine" and the "burly maple" out of the way, our progress should be fast and furious now. 

Peace, love and some serious dirt,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Starting to take shape...

Our front yard has looked better...

Six rows high and counting.

What remains of the lonely pine's roots.

My dead man trench before we installed the "dead man" timber.  8 feet x 3 feet x 6 feet.  It doesn't look like much from this view, but it was seriously hard work.  We have a rock layer and LOTS of clay in our yard. 

Liam's Gymnastics Class

We recently enrolled Liam in gymnastics.  His class meets at the same time as Ava's class.  With Doug working on the retaining wall lately, he can use all the kid-free weekend time he can get, to make optimal progress.  I always take Liam with me to Ava's gymnastics class, where I've tried to keep him occupied for an hour.  No small feat.  I've had a few spilled cups of coffee (due to him tap-dancing around my chair for sixty minutes).  Inevitably he always got bored by the end of the hour, too.  When I saw a set of three year-old triplets enrolled in a class this past summer, my original thought was "why would you enroll a three year-old in gymnastics?  Isn't it a bit early?" 

Enrolling him in gymnastics is better than having him sit around for an hour, twiddling his thumbs... I was curious to see if he would have more fun participating.

During the beginning of the first class, he initially clung to my leg, but slowly eased up and eventually participated in class.  He seemed to have so much fun!  He did really well on the balance beam.  He wobbled across the entire length of the beam, but he didn't fall off!  It's entertaining for me to watch him in class.  :)  The second week was not a success.  At. All.  He didn't want to participate.  (I asked Ava if she would hang back with Liam before class and walk him out onto the gym floor.  She was so excited, she ran out to the floor without him.  That probably didn't help.  After a few attempts getting him to participate, I gave up.  It was seriously frustrating!  When I got home with Liam, he was "Your son" to Doug.  As in, "Your son didn't participate today.  It was seriously frustrating."  ;-) 

After some serious pep talks during the week that followed, he decided he was going to participate during the next (third) class.  He did amazingly well!  He was listening more to his teacher, waiting for his turn.  He even did a "tabletop" when Coach Alec has all of the kids (including Ava's class) stretching.  He seems to especially like the bar, from which he hangs like a little monkey.  I'm so glad he decided to participate! 

I am hoping that, through participating in this class he will:

1. Learn how to listen to his teachers even more.
2. Follow directions well.
3. Become more coordinated, to minimize future accidents!
4. Builds self confidence.

Hey, if this helps us minimize stitches, I'm all for it!  I've already seen a difference in his demeanor during the class.  He seems to be more receptive to the teacher's guidance now.  And he knows the teacher will show him how to "learn new tricks."  He's always game for that.  :)

Peace, love and more tumbling / less tumbles,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Liam: He's All Boy

Liam is Mr. Lego Man these days.  He loves building things!  He could stay busy for hours with some Legos.  As you can see in the pictures below, he is quite proud of his creations.  I can never take a picture of Liam with his eyes open, thus the multiple attempts.

Oooh!  Well, eyes open, almost!

Ever the boy, he kept himself entertained with landscape blocks while Doug was busy working on our retaining wall.  If you look closely, you'll see that it has a roof and is just wide enough for his Thomas the Train engine.  It even has a door. ;-)

Show me how it works, Liam?

Peace, love and real building blocks,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam