CONNOR CONNECTION

We enjoyed a mini-family reunion this afternoon at Aunt Sheila's house. We gathered together to visit with Don & Marguerite, who were in town for a few days. Emmet, Sheila, and 3 of the 4 Connor brothers (and families) enjoyed a fun afternoon together. As you will see from the photo album , the cousins love spending time together :) Thank you, Sheila, for hosting us! We love you all!

LAURA & MARY NIGHT

"Mom, can we pleeeeeease have a Laura & Mary night?" This is the request heard occasionally around our house. A "Laura & Mary night" refers to Laura & Mary Ingalls, from Little House on the Prairie - sisters who got to sleep in the same bed every night. As with every other L&M night that we've attempted in the past, neither Avery nor Ella could fall asleep and they both ended up in their own rooms (still in sleeping bags). Too much fun, I guess! I don't think the real Laura and Mary had sleeping bags . . . hmmmm

THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS

This was the title of Avery & Ella's Drama Kids performance, acted out this past Saturday afternoon at a local college auditorium. Avery had the "lead" role of a grasshopper and Ella was an ant. This is a "before" picture without Avery's grasshopper gear :) The story gave a good lesson about working hard and knowing the right time for play. This year the girls have learned a lot about staging, projecting your voice, and acting. They loved spending Friday afternoons with their teacher, Miss Danielle, and their fellow actresses. Drama Kids is an international organization.

A VISIT WITH GRANDPA & GRANDMA

Mom & Dad T. visited with us last week. We had a great time doing many activities around town. One of our favorites was a walk in Highland Park. The girls found a great new place to go on a hot day -- named by them as "Triple Tree". As you can see from the pictures, the tree's name is based on it's three trunks. It is a shady, fun spot and we can't wait to go back for a picnic with Eric!

I took this picture at the Public Market. A nice vendor gave Avery and Ella a gerber daisy and I bought them each a lollypop -- we wish Grandpa & Grandma could go with us every week!

Follow this link to see more pictures of our day with Grandpa & Grandma

EARLY SUMMER FUN

Okay, it's not officially summer, but school is out! On Thursday, Ella enjoyed a swim party at her good friend Faithann's house.

Above are Ella and her friends: Anna, Melanie & Faithann.

The next day Avery & Ella had a great time with Maria and Tori doing water play in the backyard. When it's 90 degrees we call it summer!

KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION

Our baby (aka Ella) graduated from Kindergarten yesterday. As usual, NBCS put on a special and wonderful program. Mrs. Rene recognized each child by using a word or phrase that she thought best suited them. She said that Ella is a "natural born leader". Mr. Stuart went on to quip that often the teachers would take the morning off and leave Ella in charge of the class :)

Ella did the introduction to one of their songs, "I Wanna Do What's Right". She read a little paragraph about choosing to do the right thing. Our favorite phrase was a very expressive "there are a million ways we can please Jesus . . ."

They closed the program by singing "First Grade, First Grade" to the tune of "New York, New York" -- so cute!

As Avery put it, "Yesterday you had a Kindergartner and 2nd grader. Today you have a 1st grader and 2nd grader. Tomorrow you will have a 1st grader and 3rd grader!" Last day of school today for Avery too -- Hello Summer! More on that in a later blog . . .

NEW YORK TO JORDAN

We had a blast early this week visiting our good friends, Josh & Nannette, home on a visit from Jordan. Kim, Gary, Eric and I drove from NY to Findlay, OH to spend a few days laughing, talking and encouraging each other. We stayed at a great bed & breakfast/horse farm. The entire guest house was ours! Memorable moments included competitive games of Catch Phrase (girls won the championship round!), late nights (for the New Yorkers) and time around the campfire. We love you, Josh & Nannette!