First Grade...Here They Come!

The last day of school was hectic to say the least...Graduation Practice, a Field Trip to Jump N Jungle, swimming, out to eat, and then the big celebration at school...

This girl would live at Jump N Jungle if she could!

A pizza lunch with cake sealed the deal for the field trip portion of the day...

Go Kindergarten Class of 2010!

Gracie and I went early to help set-up the refreshments for after the program - then it was cap and gown time...

Last time to play teacher in this room...

me and my girl...

Mrs. Pino - I don't think Gracie would have chosen anyone else to be her teacher if she could have...

Marmie and Gracie...

Gracie and Daddy...

Gracie and one of her "bestest" friends, Skylar...

All the girls...Mackenzie, Gracie, Skylar, Rachel, Aliah, and Claire

Funny faces...

...with the leading lady...

All four Kinder classes

Gracie's class...

Gracie's individual part..."God will guide me and lead me in the way I should go."

Time to go get our diplomas...

SCORE!

Everyone else's child is showing off their diploma...Gracie looks like she's inspecting it for correctness! That's my girl!

Still not convinced...

The flowers proved it though...let me introduce our new first grader!

Posing (with mouth full of cupcake) beneath her picture...could we not have moved the stray booster seat before we took it? We were a wee bit excited, I guess!

Congrats to the BACS Kinder Class of 2010!

Entertainer to the Princess - Day 1

I awake to "What? Daddy isn't on vacation, too?"

3 cursive writing practice worksheets - yes, they start this in 1st grade at her school

1 addition worksheet

1 subtraction worksheet

4 books - Gracie read to me

She decides she wants her "Paint The Horses" Kit - unbeknownst to me, the paint included doesn't wash out of fabric. Even though I spread paper out on her floor, she decided to paint in her bed while I was doing laundry and mopping the floor. Now, we have a quilt and sheets that will always remind us of our first day of summer.

1 meal, 2 snacks for G, lots of caffeine for Mommy

Dog throw-up... need I say more?

1 life-saving (hers) on-demand movie "Barbie Fairietopia"

This is going to be a long summer...

Tomorrow - she goes to work with me...I'm sure I'll have lots to share about that, too :)

Kinder Graduation pics to come soon...

Ahoy!

Gracie and her class are studying sea life this week, so last night she and I made sugar cookies, frosted them in blue for the water, crushed graham crackers for the sand and decorated them with "Finding Nemo" fruit gummies...they'll have them for snack today.

We thought they turned out cute, so thought we would share!

Have a good day...

No more...

...waiting! May 1 Gracie was in the pool! Popi gave her that little blowfish for her birthday and that was plenty enough of an excuse to jump in -
It was still pretty chilly...step by step...

...and then all wet!

...until of course she thinks she spotted a snake! She didn't -

She even managed to cajole Daddy in while Mom and Marmie worked on repotting plants...

She can't wait until summer...not far...her last day is the 21st!

Two in Two

The hits just keep coming...we brought Sterling home on Mother's Day after she wouldn't come up to the feed trough with Stormy (even though Stormy was begging her with her moos and her grunts and her all-out-cow-mama-throw-a-fit hoo-raa). We went and bought milk replacer and began feeding her on the recommended schedule. Monday, Jack and Grace even went to Tractor Suppy in Alvin and bought vitamin supplements and a tube feeder to get her up and going a little faster...we made our most valiant effort to save her, but yesterday when I woke up and began feeding all of our menagerie, she was gone. Two animals in two days is a bit much for this ol' girl to handle.

Sterling at 1 week (4/27/2010)

Gracie playing vet the evening we brought her home

My poor girl...she just couldn't pull through.

We lost a calf this way four years ago, too....at just a few weeks of age, suddenly. Same thing. She stopped eating and just gave up. Jack has told me so many times over the years that this is nature's way of saying that there is something wrong...to not prolong the pain or suffering. Doesn't make it any easier though. Still hurts.

Jack digging hole #2, day #2

The two little mounds of dirt just didn't seem right...I fashioned flat gravesite markers out of old bricks and made straw crosses for Sterling and Luca.

My girl getting solace from her Daddy. She asked me yesterday if I had had a doctor's appt. lately. When I told her "December - around Christmas", she said, "Good, Mama, I don't want you to die, too." That girl - she can break my heart with just a look, but this? awww man...

My Easter lilies started blooming Sunday for Mother's Day and one bloom has opened each day since...maybe this means my babies have risen into Heaven...I sure hope they are at peace now.

I recorded this on the 5th, but it sure seemed appropriate to include here...my girl reciting Psalm 23.

Peace to us and peace to all of you.

RIP Luca

Luca, my Sheltie, passed away today. Just last night, he was sharing my hamburger and fries and I came home from the grocery store this morning after dropping Gracie at school and found him lying in front of my bedroom door, as he always did, waiting for me to return, and he was gone. Just gone. So shocking. My Luca. He had just turned 10, or 70 in doggie years, in March.

Luca was truly the best dog I've ever had. He poddy-trained himself when he was 11 weeks old. When he was little, you could say, "I love you!" and he would bark three times back. He was kind and gentle. I will miss him so much.

This is Luca at about 4 months. He was tiny. I never would have thought he would grow into the giant that he became - more like a Collie than a Sheltie.

This is at PaPa's...I don't know if this is Dodie, Mom's first Yorkie, or Kodie, the Yorkie she has now, but they look like they're having a good time entertaining Pat!

Luca was first a brother to my cocker spaniel, Beau, but Beau was run over by a car about 6 months after I got Luca.

It didn't take him long to grow. My vet at the time had Luca's sister, so she spoiled him a lot., too. Everybody loved Lukie!

It was in this apartment, the apartment I lived in when I met Jack, that he and Bailey, Lukie's new brother, were chasing each other around and Luca banged his hip into the bathroom door. He was never quite the same after that and as he got older, he really had a difficult time walking.

But, he still went wherever I did - this is at the lake with PaPa and Mom. Ewwww, they were dirty!

This was just taken in February. My sweet, sweet Lukie. We will miss you. You will always be in our hearts...we love you!

Lukie is buried beneath a huge pine tree in our back pasture...rest in peace, my dear boy.