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Morton Arboretum (Part III)

Morton Arboretum (Part II)

In the pictures are David Rogers' Big Bugs carved of wood. Elise is not fond of real bugs, but she liked these.

Morton Arboretum (Part I)

Two mountain goats climbing the rock wall and web at the Morton Arboretum.

New Teeth

Paul was taking pictures of the girls today. We suspected that Julia may have some new teeth, but she wouldn't let us take a peak. Needless-to-say, Paul captured a shot of her upper gums with 4 toofers showing! She still only has two teeth on the bottom. Oh, and please disregard the boogies in the nose...

Funny Girl

Elise: "Mom, I'm gonna go watch the world go by." (while playing outside)
Me: "Okay."

Our New House!

Hey, it's official. We're under contract to buy a house! It's a 1970's beauty with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a great back yard. We'll be 2 blocks from a playground and bike path, near Paul's office and our church and within a 5-10 minute drive to almost any store you can think of (including my favorite grocery store, Meijer). We had the inspection this weekend and everything looks good. We're set to close at the end of July and are looking forward to having you all over!

Elise's Year End Preschool Program

Today was Elise's Year End Preschool Program. Cameras were out full force (I myself wielded 3-Camcorder, little camera for digital videos and big camera with mega zoom for close-ups). The kids did a great job. They recited the Pledge of Allegiance (to the American Flag, Christian Flag and Bible), did their ABCs with their sounds, and sang several songs including "The Animals in the Jungle say Thank You Lord" and "Skidder Marinky Dinky Dink....God loves You!" Elise really got into the monkey sounds and all the hand motions, as did her good friend Ashley (in the front with the blue sleeveless shirt and white long sleeve). It was a lot of fun to watch! Oh, and I mustn't forget that when Elise was introduced by her teacher, she said that when she grows up, Elise wants to be a mommy just like her mom and have lots of girls (with our track record, I don't think that will be a problem).

Here is a short video clip for your viewing enjoyment :>)



Here are the words to the song she's singing (no guarantees on spelling):
Skidder Marinky Dinky Dink, skidder marinky do, God loves you!
Skidder Marinky Dinky Dink, skidder marinky do, God loves you.
He loves you in the morning and in the afternoon.
He loves you in the evening and underneath the moon, oh!
Skidder Marinky Dinky Dink, skidder marinky do, God loves you!

More Birthday Pictures

The birthday cupcakes were far from popular for Julia, who as you can see from the upper right picture, hated them. She got more on her fingers and in her hair than in her mouth. Guess there's always next year!

The Girl does not Sleep!

Elise is consistently up between 6 and 7a every morning (this morning it was 5:45!). She refuses to take naps and will mess around in her room for 2 hours if I require her to rest. And yet she still goes to bed at 8p. I am exhausted and would love to get some extra sleep. What is a mom to do?!