Emmy's Class

Today I went in to Emmy's PreK class to help out. It's so nice to be back in a classroom that welcomes parents! Aidan was at a fantastic coop preschool in Virginia and I was really involved in his schooling. It's been a while since then and I am really excited about being able to help out in their classes since I have a few hours a week where everyone is in school!
Here's Emmy making a tree with pieces of green and brown paper:Emmy playing with her friends. Do you see that smile? She's so happy here!!They practiced counting to 30 and sorting with gummy bears, marshmallows and mini cookies!

RAIN!!!!

The rain from the latest tropical storm is stalled out over us right now. We haven't had rain in such a long time that it is very welcome - too late to save the crops this year but welcome none the less. The kids and I went out to buy raincoats for them this morning. Aidan's coat from last year is too small - even last year it was a little small but I was determined to get one more year out of it. Emmy's rain jacket was getting too small and was a good size for Aoife so Emmy got a new one and they all got fleeces since they were on sale. We didn't find a rain coat for Aidan so we had to order one when we got home but that doesn't help so much with the rain for the next few days.
It was pouring about an hour after we got home and Emmy wanted to go out in her new jacket and use her umbrella. It was raining so hard that you can't even see the trees above the fence!

Playing after dinner

It's been so hot here for the past few weeks - OK months! - that the only time we really get to go outside and play is after supper. Last night we brought the chalk out and drew on the driveway until we got too sweaty and had to go inside since it was still 96F. All Aoife wanted us to do was trace her body over and over and over again on the pavement. It looked like a crime scene from munchkinland!
Here is Aoife begging me to trace her again - I'd already done it twice.Aidan being such a good big brother and giving in:

Emmy reading to Aoife

Here is a video I took the other evening of Emmy reading a Spot book to Aoife. I think her "reading" is a combination of word recognition and memorization but it is super cute!!!

Anniversary Gifts

Brendan continued the tradition of getting me an anniversary present even after I asked him not to. I really am a lucky girl! These beautiful flowers showed up and them later on this bracelet from LovelinksAmerica. They are made by veterans and are a fundraiser for wounded soldiers and their families. The bracelet is made of knotted parachute cord and each knot represents a fallen hero. They are an adaptation of survival bracelets made and exchanged by soldiers in theater as they can be unraveled and the cord and be used for many purposes in an emergency - this may come in handy if I ever have to lasso my children.

4 Day Weekend

Today was the first day of the LONG 4 day weekend. Aoife actually did have school this morning but both Aidan and Emmy didn't. It was HOT too - actually got to 100F here so going outside was really out of the question until about 6:30 pm. Check out the mess behind Aoife in this picture - we've got everything on the floor from socks to cups, books and toys. There are even my oven mitts on the couch - I was wondering where those had gotten off to!
Aoife loves these shoes that Emmy was so nice to pass along to her. Aoife can even run and ride her scooter in these heels!

Happy Anniversary!!

Today is our 11th anniversary! Again, we are spending it apart. I can't remember how many we've been together for but this is at least the 7th if not more that we've been geographically separated. *sigh* I miss my fantastic, loving, thoughtful, caring husband. xoxo