peonies.

Very few smiles from my sweet baby this night. Gretchen was asleep when I got home from a meeting. I woke her up, put her in a dress and stuck her in a bucket. I think she was a little confused about what was happening. (And unsure about why Miss Amy was jumping around behind me.)  Thanks for your help, Amy D!  :) 

But even without smiles... I think I got some pretty cute pictures... 

These are big smiles... but she's up in the air... not in front of the flowers. 

Smiles or not... I adore this little miss.

teacher gifts.

And for the teacher who doesn't like chocolate... (crazy, I know)...

miguel.

Seriously love this kid. 

He cracks me up all the time. 

We had been working on stories during our writing time for the past couple months. 

This was his final copy (but he had several other versions/sequels). 

"The Monkey and the Crocodile." 

Once upon a time there was a monkey and a crocodile. The monkey and the crocodile were enemies because crocodiles eat monkeys.

One Tuesday morning at twelve o'clock the monkey had a plan. First he was fishing at twelve thirty. The kind of fish he got was the most brightest fish of the world because it shines like the sun. Then he tied a string to the fish's belly button. When the crocodile woke up he saw a fish. The fish went here and there. The crocodile chased the fish. The crocodile bumped his head on a tree.

On the next Tuesday the monkey had another trick in mind. The very first thing the monkey did was go to the store. The monkey bought a monkey cardboard and a crocodile cardboard because the plan included cardboard. Second he stuck the cardboard together. Then the crocodile got out of the water and he didn't see the cardboard. He tripped on a rock and fell on the cardboard. The crocodile went back to the water and said, "I wish I could crush and smash that monkey!"

Then it was midnight and the crocodile dreamed he was smashing and crushing the monkey. Suddenly the crocodile woke up and was sleepwalking out of the water into the tree of the monkey... And guess what the crocodile did? He crushed and smashed the monkey.

The next morning when the monkey was shaving the monkey looked at the mirror and yelled "Help! Help!" because he saw that his body was all smashed and crushed up. The monkey went to the hospital. First the monkey goes to the room and said, "I don't know what happened." The doctor said, "I don't know what happened either for the very first time" and the doctor screamed and ran away from the hospital. The monkey said, "This is a mystery." The monkey went to the crocodile and talked about the mystery. The crocodile said, "I was the one who crushed and smashed you." And the monkey called the police and the crocodile got arrested.

The end.

school.

Last day of school is tomorrow. 

I'm so ready. 

I have had an amazing class this year. 

Delightful kids. Every single one of them. 

I have fun with them. I'm so proud of how far they've come academically. I enjoying being with them. (most days) 

Seriously love these kids. 

But I'm ready for summer.  :) 

They're making me move classrooms for next year. 

I'm pretty bummed about that. 

The room I'm moving to is quite a bit smaller and I wouldn't be surprised if our class size goes up. Not a great combination. 

I've been at this school for 11 years and I've spent 10 of them in this room. 

I really like this room. This room has a lot of stuff in it. 

Stuff that now needs to be moved across the building. 

So I took advantage of my happy little helpers today (and indoor recess) and started getting ready. 

Lots of stuff down off the walls... shelves cleared off... cabinets emptied. 

I even grabbed some 3rd grade boys (our book buddies) from the classroom I'm moving in to and had them start carrying armfuls of stuff. Cheap labor. (but they were so excited to be helping!) 

Planning to move lots more tomorrow.
We have Field Day in the morning... book buddies... pizza party... assembly.
Hoping I can get lots of stuff moved before 3:00.
Gotta take advantage of the cheap help while I can!

7 months.

the many faces of gretchen.

Do you see those two little teeth?

So many faces.
I love every. single. one.

song.

So last year, he taught our 4 year old the words to "Folsom Prison".
Lovely.

Now he has our 5 year old and 7 year old singing:

Rain makes corn... 
corn makes whiskey.
Whiskey makes my baby... 
feel a little frisky. 


Fabulous.
Thanks again, honey, for sharing your musical tastes with our children.