A Few April Favorites

Baseball

Harris decided he wanted to play baseball instead of soccer this spring. Once we signed up, bought his mitt, and were headed to our first practice, he told me it was because he wanted a different trophy this time. Nice. I think, though, that he has gotten past that some and really started to enjoy baseball.
Everyone he meets on the field is a friend, though, and he chats up anyone that might come to his base.
Harris has tackled this new activity with incredible enthusiasm and effort, and I am loving watching him learn.

A Bit of Jackson News

The assistant teacher in Jackson's class called and invited us to the Head's Assembly for this quarter... that is always good news. He was super-surprised to see me there, and we were both surprised when he won the "Nice Knight" award, which is given to students who are caught being extra kind to fellow students. It was an awesome award, and I was incredibly proud of my "Nice Knight"!
Field Day was the next day and was the perfect way to start Spring Break. The first through third grades were divided into three teams, which competed against each other in several different events. I loved the excitement and team pride the kids had... the cheers and laughs were too much. Jackson's team came in second place.

Peter Rabbit

Every year at Little School, the Fours and Fives classes do a production of Peter Rabbit. This is a very long-standing tradition.

The Fives class get to be the rabbits (there are "good rabbits" and "bad rabbits"), and the Fours get to be farmers. There is singing, dancing, and lots of giggles... it is honestly one of the cutest things I have ever seen!

All of the decorations for the production are made by the whole school, each class contributing something different and special to the day.
This year the Kindergarteners were given speaking parts to add to the drama.

My sweet god-daughter, Annie-Boo, as a farmer.

Look at that good rabbit hop!

This is my fourth and last Peter Rabbit performance, as this is our last (of 7!) springs here. It was definitely a bittersweet day. Such a sweet show... such a sweet class!

Birthday Boy

Harris celebrated his sixth (gasp... sixth!!??) birthday in March. He desperately wanted a "science birthday party", which really didn't make it easy... until I found a series of preschool field trips at the Charleston County Parks. I was able to talk them into making one of the field trips into a birthday party, and Harris' wish came true!

We chose a field trip about ponds, and the kids loved it. It involved a story about what was in the pond, exploring what was in the pond with nets, and a craft.

They all loved using their nets to try to find living things in the pond, and many of them found exciting creatures. Believe it or not, we only had one actually go into the pond himself!

The biologists in charge were very-well prepared and showed the children many of the "bugs" they found in the water and explained something special about each one.

The field trip part ended with making a dragonfly mask. They all worked very hard on their creations and each came away with a super-cute mask.

I have said this many times before, but I'm not sure there is anyone who loves a birthday more that Harris. He was definitely in his element there and loved being surrounded by all of his bestest friends, learning about his favorite subject... science.

Apology

Dear Mrs. H,

I'm sorry that we misbehaved in science.

We promise we'll never do it again.
I bet you have a headache.
I know what we'll do.
We should apologize by doing better in our next class.
Will you forgive us?
We should also keep our hands to ourselves.
We should also ZIP our lips.

Sincerely,
Jackson

Cabin Progress

Last Saturday, we all went out to Honey Hill for the day. We conned Nana into coming with the promise of an old home site with some mysterious bulbs about to bloom to explore and excavate. Her love of all things plants got her to come out to investigate (and entertain the boys), while Jason and I put the floor on the front porch.Just in case you haven't heard, he is building a cabin in the woods. He is doing it without a paid contractor -- only Papa T and whatever friends he can find on any specific day. Last weekend, it was me. As you look at the pictures, you might wonder where the windows are... they just haven't been cut yet. They have built it out of SIPS panels, which make the cabin more energy-efficient, and in some ways, a little bit easier to build.
It will be one bedroom, a huge loft full of beds (above), and two full bathrooms.
Our goal for the day was to knock out the front porch floor so that they could build the front porch roof next. After a little bit of frustration at the beginning (stemming mostly from my inexperience with the nail gun!), we got into a groove and got it almost finished. I must say, after getting over the initial issues, I rocked the nail gun.

Before.

After.

What made the day even better was that when we were finished, Nana and I headed home, leaving Jason and the boys out there to play. I had some much-needed Mama time. (I know that it was just a glimpse of the future, too, when they spend many Boys Weekends out there!)

I love this sequence of pictures... both the boys and Lucy crack me up. Jackson just kind of mauled/squeezed us, and Lucy joined the group and posed perfectly... without any prompting!

I have to say, all of this cabin stuff has had me a bit stressed. I have spent several cold, rainy weekends/weeks on my own with the boys, which in itself is not terrible... it was just that we were stuck inside because of the weather, making us all cranky and irritable. However, being out there and seeing everything, I know it is all worth it. It is a beautiful site, overlooking an incredible forest, far from the stresses at home. I am so proud of what Jason has done out there, and I know that he and the boys, and we as a family, are going to have many, many incredible adventures there. Jason totally lights up out there... he is truly in his element, and I know he will find great joy there for a long time to come.