Lemonade Stand

Apparently Laurel has a good head for business. After garage sale'ing it for a couple of hours, Laurel asked if she could have a lemonade stand at the golf cart path. It was a beautiful day and I figured she could make a few bucks.

What I didn't realize was that she is a good sales gal, set up in a prime location (golf cart path off the 18th hole), and that golfers have very deep pockets.

this customer paid her $2 for 2 glasses of lemonade and left a $1 tip for her great service!

Before day's end she'd made $36. She paid me for the supplies I went and bought (lemonade and cups). She paid her helpers (who were often less than helpful). And she plans to sell again this summer.

that purple pad of paper tracks all the cups & lemonade used

cleaning up at the end of the day is harder than it looks!

What a fun summer!

Last Day of School

Have you guessed yet that today was the last day of school? Lots of mixed emotions in our house this morning. Anxious to get to school; not excited to be there. Happy to see friends; sad knowing that some of them won't be at the same school next year. Excited for the summer; bummed that it was RAINING. And lots of "I'm going to miss my teacher" comments, too.

Becca and I decided we'd continue the tradition we apparently started on the first day of school: pizza and goodies on the sidewalk. Except it was RAINING so we had it in the garage. Hannah and Sam brought cupcakes, too. The kids were pretty excited.

Orange Julius introduced a new Fruit Smoothie today and if you printed a coupon, you got one for FREE. So I loaded the girls up (Malcolm & Ethan said, "Nooooooohhh -- NOT the Mall!") and went to the SuperMall. We were excited when we saw that the candy store had a cotton candy sale (5o cents!) so I obliged. That's a good dinner, right? Fruit Smoothie & Cotton Candy...it hits at least one of the food groups...

Well, summer, don't be gone long. The rain is nice for the lawn and tomatoes and flowers, but it's no good for good, ol' fashioned summer-time-fun in the neighborhood! Which is exactly what we've all been waiting for!

one last picture of sweet Laurel in her post-elementary school glory

Last day of 5th Grade

It's over. Elementary school is a thing of the past for Laurel. Come fall she'll be in Middle School. I'm not even sure how that is possible. I remember being that age ~ and it just wasn't that long ago! She said it was very teary in her classroom today. Our district has 2 middle schools, and our elementary is the only one that sends kids to both. Just one of Laurel's "close" friends will be at school with her next year. Right now it's hard for them to grasp making new friends, but I know they'll all do great!

Last year her teacher really pushed her to excel and this year it really showed. On Laurel's report card Mrs. Hagen wrote, "She is attentive, polite, and always willing to help out. Laurel shines in math." and, "It has been a pleasure to have Laurel in class." Her math core tests stayed strong, but we'll need to concentrate on reading this summer.

Last day of 3rd Grade

Malcolm will be a 4th grader in the fall. Malcolm loved having Mrs. Garmey as a teacher, and for the most part really tried to show that through his actions. But this year was a tough one for Malcolm. He has such a hard time concentrating and staying on task, that his test scores don't reflect the smarts he has in his head. Mrs. Garmey often sat with him and read the test questions and then recorded his answers for him ~ this helped him complete tests. He worked with a special math group, both before school once a week and during school; it helped him gain some confidence in his math fact fluency, including division.

Mrs. Garmey wrote on his report card, "Malcolm is a dear boy. He makes good reading choices and is able to determine unknown vocabulary easily...Malcolm is well liked by his peers. However, students are reporting more that they are bothered by his behaviors, such as making noises and shouting out...Malcolm has a lot to offer our class and those in the future. He will be more successful when he is better able to control his impulses."

This summer we will be spending time reading and working on math facts. We will also be visiting with the doctor to see what we can do to help Malcolm focus in the classroom.

Last day of 1st grade

This was Aubrey's last day as a first grader ~ when she goes back to school in the fall, she'll be a second grader. And that has caused some very mixed emotions. Aubrey felt very close to her teacher (Mrs. Chapman) and her Resource Room teachers (Mrs. Nolan and Mrs. Hollingsworth), and knowing she won't see them all summer made her a bit sad. Hopefully by the time August rolls around she'll be happy and excited to find out who her new teacher will be in 2nd grade.

Aubrey worked really hard this year. She made some really good progress in her reading ~ especially at the tale-end of the school year. I've noticed that she really wants to write things, too. The challenge this summer is to keep her going. Math has been harder for her to grasp, so we'll just keep working!

Mrs. Chapman wrote, "Aubrey continues to seem happy at school and continues to gain confidence seeking out friends for lunch and recess...Aubrey is really beginning to sound out words in both reading and writing...she has a sight vocabulary of forty-four words...She has worked hard and put forth great effort to learn. Keep up the good work Aubrey!"

We agree, Bauber ~ keep up the good work!

Laurel is growing up...

...and I'm not ready for it.


Today is her last day in Elementary School. Next year she'll be in Middle School (6th & 7th graders). And then Jr. High. And then High School.


Becca told me recently, "She'll turn 12 in less than a year ~ and then she'll graduate and go to college." I have no doubt it will feel that fast.

In honor of Laurel, here are photos of her through her already illustrious school-career...

2002 ~ Pre-K at PEARLS Hawthorne School in Yonkers, NY

2003 ~ Kindergarten

2004 ~ 1st Grade at Glacier Park Elementary in Maple Valley, WA

2005 ~ 2nd Grade

2006 ~ 3rd Grade

2007 ~ 4th Grade

2008 ~ 5th Grade

And now I'm tripping down memory lane...enjoying all the fun things Laurel has done at school...her accomplishments...a few tears...and lots of amazing teachers who have encouraged her and inspired her.

Maple Valley Days, part 2

After our Zoopa extravaganza was over, we let Aubrey change her clothes, and then I went back for evening 2 at Maple Valley days with Aubrey, Laurel and Malcolm. We didn't ride any rides ~ just visited the Kidland booths. We took a train ride around the park, giggled on the ginormous inflatable slide, and had fun. After the train ride Aubrey asked to go to the dock, so we did. I snapped some photos, talked to the kids, fiddled with Malcolm's camera and then we left (so we could pick up Dana from Aunt Sheila's).

We found out on Sunday afternoon that right about the time that we left the park, an 18 year old boy drowned in the lake. I am certain that he and his friends were on the dock at the same time we were. They seemed like a nice group of kids, and I can't help but feel sad for his family and his friends, and the loss and heartache they are undoubtedly feeling right now. It was a sad ending to an otherwise great day.

Aubrey's Dance Recital

Aubrey had her first dance recital today. She's been so excited about it! I, on the other hand, have been worried because she needed to have double-french braids in her hair, and I don't know how to french braid! Luckily, after saying goodbye to the Peterson cousins, we found Janet at home, and she was nice enough to do Aubrey's braids while she had a garage sale! Thank you, Janet!!

We drove home and picked up Audrey-lou and Becca did an impromptu photo-shoot. Didn't she look so cute??

The recital was held at the IKEA Performing Arts Center at Renton High School. It is a beautiful facility. I wish we had something like that in Maple Valley! Her class performed "She'll be coming around the mountain." They looked so cute in their costumes, and you could tell that they had worked hard to learn their routine. She was in a ballet/tap combo class, but her teacher chose to do more of a tap routine. We're proud of Aubrey and her hard work at dance!

After posing for some more pictures outside, we met up with Preston, Krillin, Kenshin, Miaka, Aunt Sheila and Aunt Julie (who brought Dana, too) and had an early dinner/ice-cream feast at Zoopas. The kids thought the never-ending supply of ice cream and brownies was quite fascinating, and I'm pretty sure they didn't actually eat dinner.

Great job, Baubadoo! We sure are proud of you!!

farewell cousins!

Julie, Krillin, Kenshin & Miaka left for Kentucky this morning. We stopped by the Campbells to say farewell and to take pictures (we've been having so much fun with them that we've forgotten to take pictures!).

Imagine how surprised we were when we got a phone call saying they'd missed their flight! Poor Aunt Julie thought the flight was at 12:20pm, when in fact it was at 10:20am.

So we lucked out and we'll get the chance to say goodbye again!

Maple Valley Days

One of the best things about living in a small community are the community celebrations. Maple Valley Days is one of our favorites. We usually just walk through the booths, smell the yummy food, and let the kids run PlayLand (the free activity booths sponsored by local churches and businesses). But this year (and maybe in past years, but we just missed it), they ran a special...bring in 4 items for the Food Bank and get an unlimited ride bracelet for just $10 (a $25 value). I'm pretty sure the kids thought they'd died and gone to heaven ~ who doesn't love UNLIMITED RIDES?!

I was really surprised at how daring and adventerous our kids really are!

Laurel and her friend Katie took off for some fun.

Aubrey and Malcolm teamed up and stuck together.

and Dana and Doug and I would cross paths with them from time to time while we had some fun of our own.

We met up with Aunt Sheila and Preston (who were with their friends, the Bakers). Aubrey did a couple of rides with them, while Malcolm haunted the bumper cars.

When the bicycle police came around saying the park was closed for the night, we were all a little sad (and dizzy and tired). So we decided to return tomorrow night after Aubrey's dance recital!