Monday, May 15: Kennywood Picnic for Connellsville School District...and of course it rained! The kids really wanted to go so we grabbed the rain coats and umbrellas and hit the park. Once we arrived and had our lunch, the rain stopped for the whole day although it was pretty chilly and the park closed at 7:30...pretty early. However, there were not a lot of people there, so the lines were short and the kids got to ride everything they wanted to...several times! Elliot rode the Jack Rabbit and the Racer rollercoasters for the first time and loved them. He was a bit put out when his coaster train didn't win on the Racer, but he still liked it a lot. Claire rode the Thunderbolt for the first time, too. Check out the cool face painting that Claire and Elliot had done...
Claire is a butterfly and Elliot has a shark on his face that really bites! Cool. Here's a picture of me and Christian. He really is taller than me, isn't he? Also cool.
(The Kennywood pictures were taken with an old camera and the quality isn't too great, but I still thought they were good)
The day after the Kennywood picnic, I loaded the kids into the van (no school, since it was election day) and we went to neighboring Greensburg to shop for the dances that Christian and Kate had that weekend. Just outside our first destination we were rear-ended by another driver. Everyone is OK, but we were very shaken (and stirred) and the van had some damage to it. The other driver was OK, too, but her car was really a mess. We were all checked out at the E.R. and there was no spinal or serious neck injury to anyone. I had a neck strain, but nothing too serious. It really makes you stop and think though after you've been in an accident. How cautious and focused are you when you drive?? I'm a lot more careful now. Especially in the rental van!
Wednesday I chaperoned Claire's field trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo. I love the zoo. It's really cool. We go at least once a year and usually more often than that. I know there is some opposition to having animals in any kind of captivity and I can see that point. But I believe that the Pittsburgh Zoo has done all it can to make these fantastic animals available to the public while trying to preserve their dignity and well-being. Did I mention it rained that day, too?
Thursday I had to take Kate and Christian shopping to get the things we were unable to get on Tuesday. I decided to just take Christian's friend Jessica (his date for the Freshman Farewell Dance) since he had no clue what he should wear. We had a fun time. Kate liked having Jessica there to help her try on outfits (her Spring Fling Dance was Friday night) and to play big sister for a while. The kids clean up pretty well, don't you think?
Friday night was the Freshman Farewell at the Junior High and the Spring Fling for the elementary school. I managed to get everyone where they needed to be (on time!) with my sanity in tact. Keith had a wedding rehearsal and some important visitation calls to make, but we managed. Claire and Elliot rented "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (not as good as the musical Kate and I saw in NYC) and had a cozy night at home. Elliot had quite a cough and I don't think anyone slept real well that night.
Saturday the girls had their last soccer games of the season. Both teams won and the girls really had a good time. There is a tournament next weekend, but we have the Tri-Town Homecoming (street fair) here in Dawson which none of us want to miss. Keith and I carved out some time to attend the wedding reception for the couple he married Saturday afternoon. What a lovely wedding...very tasteful and elegant. The bride was just beautiful and the groom was very relieved that the ceremony was over. There was a lot of kissing! It was nice to see such a sweet couple have a beautiful day, especially after a week of rain. The sun even came out Saturday evening.
Sunday we had church and a pot luck dinner at one of the churches in the evening.
Monday I took Claire and Elliot to the new school in Jefferson Hills. Elliot had his Kindergarten screening and Claire went for a tour. Can someone tell me what difference it makes if Elliot can walk backward, toe to heel? How often are you asked to do that? I just thought it was kind of silly, but I'm sure it indicates something developmentally. Everything else was fine. There were some things that he missed on their little quiz, but I'm not concerned. Who cares if you draw ears and a neck on your stick figure when you're clearly a genius anyhow? The teacher didn't even notice that he was left-handed. Wonder how she did on her Kindergarten screening? Hmmm...
We have Vacation Bible School this week next door and Kate's last All Star Band concert was last night. Elliot is taking his birthday treats to school today since his birthday is in June and Friday is his Preschool graduation. I love his preschool and think his teachers are just out of this world. We were blessed to have him attend the same preschool that Claire attended in 2002...we don't often get to repeat things like that since we move so much, but it all worked out this time and we got Elliot into the same preschool. What a great experience for both kids.
So, now I suppose I should freshen up and get ready to take the kids to the bus stop and school. Today's a bit of a breather and it picks up again tomorrow. To illustrate the amount of running around I've done lately, I put 350 miles on the rental since Thursday! Keep in mind I am a "stay-at-home" mom. Isn't that ironic?
1 comment:
Phew! Talk about busy bees ;0)
I love how you write about your kids so much. They are lucky to have a mom like you. You are so in tune to each of them and it's nice that with 4 kids you manage to have something really special with each one of them.
I think that is so cool. Stephen and I also want a large family (by today's standards anyway...my grandmother had 24!) and I like to see that it is feasible and it can be all loving.
Glad your back...I was starting to think you gave up on blogging! Really glad you are all okay after that car accident.
Cheers!
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