DEVY DOODLE BUBBLES

It's that time of year again...the dreaded 2nd grade box-a-saurus project. Devyn chose to replicate a hadrosaur. We found this dinosaur on the internet because there was just one recently discovered and there was a lot of interesting information. She had a choice to write a factual report or make one up. My daughter, the author, made her own. The dino's name is Dakota, like the real one. If you'd like to read a little more on this--just type hadrosaur and search.

Our duck-billed dino had scales made of cupcake liners (1400 of them) and took 4 hours to glue and 1 hour to paint. It's cute and we were quite proud of our efforts.

Introducing...Dakota!

Devyn (the proud creator) & Dakota the hadrosaur.

Next on Devyn's social calendar was her 1st Communion in April. She is not a big fan of having her picture taken, so we have just a couple. We were honored that she chose to take a minute for us (not the best of any of us, but it will have to do.) She was so ready to get the day over with that she walked to the back of the church when the service was over, and pulled her pantyhose off as she was walking. If you know Devyn, you wouldn't be surprised.

The much anticipated jewelry box that each of the girls received from their aunt, uncle, & cousins for 1st Communion.

We have also been informed that Devyn will be a for sure candidate for braces in the future. Her jaw is too small for all of her teeth, therefore, she had to have two of her bottom baby teeth pulled. This was necessary so that the 2 permanent teeth already in would have room to move into position. I will spare you the pictures. She did great and REALLY liked the nitrous. She was a little numb & giddy.

Since she is a little of a clutz, we hope Devyn will stick to walking and not riding her bike over the summer. :) Here's hoping that she will find something that interests her this summer. That's all for now.

MONKEY IN THE MIDDLE

That's exactly what we call Molly. Speaking of monkeys, I had the pleasure of chaperoning yet another field trip this year. We took a coach bus into Madison Zoo in April. Below you will see a photo that Molly was proud of because she took it herself.

A sample of Molly's photography skills.

Molly--the model. I have this same exact picture on the bench when we came here for kindergarten. Brings back memories, my how they grow up.

Molly & I after the trip. We were exhausted from walking all day. Whew!

Our next adventure was the Brownie camping trip in May. They were 2 troops and lots of girls. We did the usual stuff like hiking, swimming, used the outdoor latrines (not Molly's favorite part), cooked over the campfire, and ate smores, of course. Our trips to the zoo and camping were 2 weeks in a row. Molly & I were able to spend a lot of quality time and enjoyed every moment of it like we always do. It's still cool to her to spend time with her mom.

Molly was startled when she knew I caught her sneaking the marshmallows. :)

Molly & one of her best buds, Jessica.

That's about it for Molly. She's still easygoing and doesn't require much attention. She is also looking forward to the summer. She plans to take some swimming lessons & hang out with her friends.

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST!

This will be my first post, but last to read. I guess for Alayna's sake, we'll just say that we saved the best for last. Since it so hard to recap the last 4 to 5 months that have swiftly passed by, we will just give you the highlights.

In May, Alayna took her last field trip of the year. We went to Galena (for those of you who don't know about it, it's a historical city) and did quite a bit of sightseeing. We saw Ulysses S. Grant's home and took a tour of that as well as various other places. I have included some photos for you to see.

Alayna's partners in crime (Elizabeth & Mackenzie)

Partial view of Galena's neighborhood from Grant Park

Downtown Galena

Next on to more big adventures of her exciting (almost) 11 year old life:

She had the fortunate opportunity to have a scuba diving lesson (in town) for a field trip for Girl Scouts. They used the snorkels, masks, flippers & air tanks. All of the girls had a great time. I was the resident photographer for the group, so it was fun watching everyone.

Alayna all decked out in scuba gear.

Alayna was able to bring her friend Mackenzie, as a guest. They are quite inseparable.

School is almost out and Alayna has big plans to hang out with her friends over the summer. Her bike is all ready to go and hopefully she will have a lot of fun. We have decided that she is old enough to ride her bike around the neighborhood as she pleases. She is smart & very cautious. With the price of gas these days, this might be the only way she can go see her friends. She is probably the most excited out of all of the kids to be out of school. Her birthday is next month and we still haven't decided what big plans we have for her. I guess we'll just wait to see. We always tell her that the fireworks are for her. Isn't that nice of us?

Jake & Alayna are headed off to Girls Scout camp tomorrow. He is spending some "quality" time with his little girl. He will have the pleasure to help chaperone 2 troops (with 3 moms & 2 other dads.) Hopefully, someone might be kind enough to take some pictures for me and I will post them soon. I can't wait to hear how it went.