A Girly Picnic

There are so many little girls in the neighborhood. Today, the girls and friends decided to have a picnic in the D. They are so cute!

Board Games

Sunday nights have become game nights. Tonight the two oldest decided to have a Guess Who battle. They are both VERY good at it (they routinely beat Jason and I). After a hard fought battle, Eva won 3 to 2.

The littles played Candyland and their own version of Go Fish. It was really fun to watch them all playing so nicely.

Dinner at the O Club

To celebrate the last day of school and Jason's promotion, we decided to eat dinner at the Officer's Club. We ate out on the veranda. Food was good, company was good and the view was gorgeous! Life is good today!

Last Day Of School (kid version)

This is Brendan. Well, yesterday was the last day of school. You might think I was partying and dancing, but in fact I was quite sad. "Why?" you may ask. Answer: I was thinking about how well the school year has gone, and how I am going to miss almost everyone in my classroom. Considering that I am quite a pessimist, you would be surprised that I would think that way. I took pictures with all of my favorite teachers, and said good-bye to almost everyone. The teacher pictures were sent to Mom. Oh, and I got a card from Mrs. Hopkins.

Update

This is Brendan. So today we found out that the chick was- hold your breath- accepted! Either that, or birds have horrible short-term memory. It was exactly this morning. I ate my breakfast, (well, more of EATING it), went outside, fed the ants my cold pizza crust, then looked in the nest. (It took longer than it sounds.)

Last Day Of School

 Today was the last day of school for the oldest three kiddos. Here they are before the bus left on the final morning.

It was a mix of emotions. The girls were excited for summer, though they were missing their teachers, but Brendan seemed very somber as he got off the bus. He was reflective and a little sad. He told me, "Now I realize all the good things about this year. I've been focusing on the bad things." Well it's about time!

 

As I cleaned out their backpacks one last time I found a thank you note from both Ms. Neitert and Mrs. Hopkins. They expressed their love for Brendan, appreciation for our teamwork and gratitude for the year. Ms. Nietert the write that Brendan's note on her teacher gift meant a lot to her. He had written, "I probably couldn't have made it through the year without you." We truly had some special teachers in his life this year. 

The kids came home with report cards and test scores. Brendan was assigned to be in advanced math for next year and will be doing sixth grade math in fifth grade. His SOL (end of year tests) scores were near perfect. He hadn't missed a thing in reading or Social Studies. He missed a math problem or two. Eva ended second grade with an almost fourth grade reading level. We are so glad that she loves to read. Darby is reading on grade level with perfect grades in art and music (nobody is surprised there).  She also came home with five birthday party invitations and friend phone numbers. 

It was a roller coaster of a year but overall a pretty good one. Can't wait to see how next year at FBES pans out with the new school being built (an upper and lower elementary). 

Summer days ahead !!

The Last Post Is Obsolete

This is Brendan. So today we found out today that the eggs have hatched! We found out after Henrik found a chick on the sidewalk. The Thompsons tried to help the baby bird by finding its nest. They found one nest but that nest had eggs. So Erica decided to look in our house, due to the fact that we had a nest. So, I looked at the nest and saw a mother bird. Then, I told Mom that the nest is not abandoned.  The mother bird flew away when we all came outside. I looked in the nest, and, sure as day, there were chicks. (So we put the chick Henrik found in there and we are currently hoping that the mother bird accepts the chick.) (:

Promotion

A little while ago, Jason was officially promoted to Major. He had his promotion ceremony during lunch hour at work. As part of the ceremony, a higher ranking officer must pin your new rank on. Jason asked Nick Thompson to do the honors so Erica and the two littlest came too (the older kids were in school). 

Paige and Sohvi were a little squirrelly during the ceremony. I found out later that Jason's face in this picture was due to the fact that he was trying to give Paige the death stare since she had her hands on Sohvi's throat. I was watching the ceremony and missed that. 

Nick pinned Jason and his boss, Col Sweic, said a few words and gave him a certificate. 

Then Jason got to speak for a bit. 

Then there were pictures and finally, the food. Jason had been raving about the cake he ordered all day. And it was AMAZING!! A fondant tooth with endo files sticking out, wearing a rucksack with jump wings seated on a tree stump with the oak leaf Major insignia (Jason's jab at the promotion of dental officers being like tree rings - "It just indicates how long you've been there, rather than if you've done something awesome") all laying on a bed of money (promotion = pay raise). 

He also asked one of the clinic ladies to cater the luncheon since she's an amazing Southern cook. We had collard greens, BBQ, cornbread and the like. It was very tasty. Here's the cook.

When it came time to cut the cake it was almost a shame to ruin it. But man, was it delicious! We took the tooth topper home with us as a memento. 

I know he's not one who likes to be fussed over but I'm pretty proud of Jason. He works hard, tries to improve every situation he's put in and has integrity in his treatment of others. Good work Major McDaniel!!

Last Days with Paige Alone

As school comes to a close so too do the days of just having one child home. These last few weeks have been rainy on and off so there is a lot of time spent indoors. Paigey and I play board games (Hi Ho Cherry-o is a favorite),

we do puzzles

play dress up

and entertain Buddy the dog. He uses Paige for her ability to easily extract treats from his toys, furthering his laziness. 

All four kids home during summer requires me to be a lot more "on my game". But its usually pretty fun.

KinderTunes

In the last week of school all kindergarten classes got to have a final singing performance. Darby has been looking forward to this for over a month. She sings the songs all over the house. I do believe she is musically inclined. Anyway, today was the KinderTunes performance. I arrived early but the place was still packed. I had to sit towards the back but I made sure she saw that I was there. The concert was adorable and the kindergarteners did very well.

After the concert, parents were asked to come to the classrooms for a party. In Darby's class the parents sat down and then the students came in when their name was announced. They then received their "diploma".

 Here is our rising first grader!!

We got pictures with Valerie, her classroom BFF and with Mrs. Gross, her teacher.

Its hard to believe that in a few days she will no longer be a kindergartener. This year went by fast!

Puppy

Ever since we had watched the neighbor's dog this winter, I had noticed a special bond between Brendan and dogs. They calm him and he shows such confidence with them. We got Buddy in hopes that he could be that kind of pet for Brendan. Buddy, while a great dog in many respects, is too old and arthritic to teach tricks to, run with and generally be playful. He has trouble with stairs so he won't sleep in Brendan's room. After much discussion, Jason and I decided that we would look around for a puppy that Brendan could raise. It would be good for him in so many ways. I had been online looking at shelters, humane societies and on craigslist for a just-the-right dog.

I came across a shelter called Homeward Trails that had a little of puppies in foster care. They were not available yet but would be in July, which was perfect for us because we wanted Brendan to be out of school when he got a puppy to really focus on her. Mama Dog was a Golden Retriever/Lab mix and the puppies looked like Daddy was a German Shepherd. They were adorable and those breeds are along the lines of the traits we want in a family dog. The cherry on top was that this foster family kept a blog so we were able to read all about Mama Dog and the early days of the puppies. There wouldn't be surprises like with Buddy (whose ad said he was five years old but there is NO WAY he's five, and knowing that he had dental surgery and recently been neutered would've been helpful). I filled out the application and we were approved. Now we just needed to meet the litter and pick out which pup would be Brendan's. That happened yesterday.

The foster family lives in Maryland, about an hour away. Traffic wasn't good but we made it. The kind lady lead us into her backyard and asked us to sit. She gave an explanation to the kids that they were not to approach the puppies and that they needed to let the puppies come to them. We had also prepped the kids about proper behavior around puppies ("Be gentle, they are babies", "Don't yell or chase them, that scares them", etc). She brought out two of the remaining three puppies that she thought would be okay in a house full of children.

I was very pleased that our kids were SO good. They did what was asked and soon the puppies came to investigate them. Both puppies were adorable and playful but one was a little more reserved. She seemed to like Brendan but was fearful of Paige (I don't blame her). The lighter colored puppy loved the attention and seemed good with all the kids. Towards the end of the visit, Brendan got to hold the one he thought he wanted. That sealed the deal. She laid down on his lap.

He picked her, we paid the deposit and left. She comes home with us in about two more weeks. He wants to name her Stella. Isn't she cute?!

Father's Day

Its Father's Day. We would like to make a fuss over Jason but he doesn't like that kind of thing. The girls made drawings and cards for him. They gave them to him when he woke up.

 

 I gave him my gift, which I think he liked. :)

 At church, the Primary children sang songs for the daddies. Darby sang loudly and knew all the words, Eva stood straight and tall and sang, Paige didn't know the words but waved at Jason from the front row and, unfortunately, Brendan put bunny ears over another kid and later got in trouble for that. The Young Women gave out bottles of Dad's Cream Soda as gifts for the men in the ward.

I made Reuben sandwiches for dinner, a favorite of Jason's. And then, being the wonderful dad he is, he drove us all the way to Maryland to pick out a puppy. What a great Dad!!!

Backyard Tree

We have one little tree in our backyard. It's a tiny backyard and a small tree. However, this tree has this in it. Awesome!

Boards

During residency Jason got all his ducks in a row to take endo boards. Only 20% of endodontists pass boards so it is a big deal. And many do not do it right after residency, since you have to not only go before an oral board (which he did in October) but perform, write up and track over a year several difficult cases. Then the cases are submitted to the board. He has been waiting for word of whether he passed for weeks now. He sends me texts asking if I got the mail yet every day. One day, he stopped at the mailbox on his way home for lunch and brought a big envelope into the house. He opened it in front of me and then did the victory dance. He passed! Jason is now a board certified endodontist. Way to go Babe!

Saying Goodbye

This is Eva. The girl with red hair in the photo is my friend, Sofia Allen. She moved to Kansas a few weeks ago. When we had our last playdate, we had a blast! We made a pirate ship out of a ice pop box. But when we had to say goodbye, I was sad. I still have the pirate ship. I will never forget her.

Flynn Wedding

My younger sister, Amanda, was getting married this past weekend on June 11. Because the kids were still in school and Jason couldn't get the time off as he was the DoD for the week, I went by myself. Her wedding was by Bear Lake in Utah. I flew into Salt Lake City the night before. On the flight there I sat by the largest Marine I have ever seen and was consequently squished up against the window the entire way. He apologized but I realize he didn't have much control over the face that he was well over 6 feet and built like a tank. At least he was nice. It was a late flight so after I landed I got my rental car and drove to the hotel (near the SLC airport) to crash. To my body used to eastern time it was well past midnight.

I woke up early the next morning (also due to my body being in Virginia time) and drove to Mom's house. I was to meet her there and have Camden, Sarah and Elijah (my oldest sister's eldest kiddos) ride with me up to the lake as they had spent the week with their Winn grandparents and were dropped off there. I was fun to see my mom's new apartment and to spend some time with my niece and nephews before the wedding.

The drive up to the lake was beautiful but rainy. I parked outside her friend's cabin by the lake and went inside to see how I could help set up. We set up chairs, set out food, decorated and had pictures taken.

I spent a good deal of time playing with all my nieces and nephews since I was childless and then their parents could work unencumbered. Plus, living so far away as we do, I never get to see them. It was so much fun! They've all grown so much. A few are so young I hadn't met them yet. Here are Chris, Evelyn and Hailey.

Another picture of some of my nieces and nephews with Maddie closest to the camera.

And here's Izzy. I have heard so much about her sassy personality and it was fun to meet her in person for the first time.

Seeing my siblings was such a blessing too, not to mention the time I got to spend with my mom. She was busy in the kitchen most of the time as she was in charge of the cake. I didnt get many pictures of her.

Here is Amber and her only boy, Chris (we are Chris's together, he and I. ;)

My brother arrived the latest of the siblings because he was flying solo. His wife, Elen, just had a baby a few week before and wasn't ready to travel yet. I was able to help him out with his kids.

Here is Aunt Amber with Jo, his oldest girl.

 This is my oldest sister, Shiloh, who was in charge of most of the decorating.

I love family gatherings. Some of my Telford cousins arrived too and it was fun to visit with them as well. My father's new wife, Mariann, was there and I finally got to meet her.


The pictures were fun. Amanda and Ryan had a fun Viking theme to the wedding. Her boys must have LOVED the swords. :)

It started to rain and we were all hoping it would end by the time the ceremony started. Thankfully,  it did but we had to dry off the chairs.

It was a lovely ceremony. I adored seeing Amanda's boys give her away. Her dress was pretty and so fun as there were lights in the skirt portion. She had pretty jewelry woven through her hair and a Renaissance looking circlet on her forehead. Ryan wore a kilt as did the men in the wedding party.

After the ceremony the party began! Shiloh was also in charge of the music and we all had fun dancing.

Here is my brother, Thomas, dancing with his son, Ethan.

The cake cutting was a highlight. Amanda was a little faster smashing the cake in Ryan's face. He may have even gotten some up his nose. I don't think he got much on her face in reciprocation.

It got very cool on the lakeshore so I spent some of the time wrapped in a blanket chatting with family. As things wound down, I went inside to help clean up. I got selfies with most of my beautiful sisters and my mom.

The Waltons (my sister Amber and her hubby and kids) invited me to stay with them in their nearby condo for the night as I had to leave early the next morning to make a flight home before Jason left for work on Monday morning. Amber and I stayed up even later talking. It was nice. I think I fell asleep as soon as my eyes closed though.

I left the next morning as everyone in the condo was waking up. After hugs and kisses goodbye, I drove down the canyon to the airport. It was beautiful scenery between the rain with the dark clouds and some sun peeking out. You can see a temple in the distance. I remember feeling very blessed to have spent my weekend how I had.

I arrived to the airport safely and early but still got the very last carry-on spot on the plane without having to check my luggage. Yes!! Traveling light pays off. I flew most of the day with a layover in Chicago. I had a Jamba Juice there because I miss them.

Jason picked me up from Reagan airport (Erica watched the kids so he could come get me at night). When I got home the kids had made me a welcome home surprise. They picked me flowers, made me artwork and set me up some "dessert" (a chocolate bar with yogurt on top) with a note insisting it was good. What cuties!

I did miss them but it was really nice to be able to visit without watching over anyone. All in all, it was a great weekend that I enjoyed very much.