Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat

The boys participated in an after-school production of Alice In Wonderland last week.  A wacky time was had by all!

Cheshire Cat is ready to go!

And tells Alice like it is...

...a few times!

Mad Hatter hits the tea party

Jack introducing himself

Harry introducing himself

Harry showing off his art work....a fountain his friend Sara helped him make.

Harry digs into the after party treats

Jack showing off his favorite part of his costume...the tail!

Play is done!

Alice In Wonderland

With eyes that watch the world

During our January trip to NYC, we each picked a special thing to do - Harry's dream was to see Van Gogh's Starry Night, which he had been studying in his art class. We tried the MoMA Family Programs which focus on certain aspects of their collections (and it is FREE!) - we lucked into a lesson on "lines" and joined a nice group of 4 other families to take in some classics.

The boys couldn't resist the chance to be silly while waiting our turn
First up was Harry's favorite - what a wonderful opportunity for him to see the real deal that he had been learning about in school. Each person was encouraged to recreate the lines that resonated with them

Harry titled his drawing "Strait Liner by Harry" (and really did enjoy it, despite this expression)

He thoroughly enjoyed the lively discussion and introducing Dean to his favorite painting (so far)

Pablo Picasso's Girl before a Mirror was the second stop on our tour and had Jack making observations and asking questions

We saw so many different artists and started a few interesting discussions

This was the best 'find' of the trip - and it all started with Harry's experiences in art back in our little hometown!

Don McLean's Vincent

Signs, signs, everywhere signs

I took a nap the other day, and the boys found a set of paper stick-ups...still getting the sticky off, but not as much damage as it was fun for them and sweet for us ;-) Harry's were mostly pix, but Jack was all about helpful signs
Jack's Ode To Bullet

And his hawking of our fridge fare

and bedroom boasts

and cooking songs (can't remember if he drew this before or after I cut my hair) He even sang it for me ;-)

And the sweetest of all - he said he wanted this to be the last thing Dean and I saw before we left the house so we'd leave full of love :wub:

Tesla (originally 5 Man Electrical Band)

There’s class and order and family

Busy days at school and lots of projects at home. Missing Daddy, nearly losing teeth, skinned knees, eagerly anticipating playdates....sweet boys!

Jack's short story, incorporating American symbols, rhyme animals, silliness and a great friend.
Harry's arty animal classification...I don't remember working on classification until middle school! It's turning into quite the education for me!

Robin Walling's Classify It!

Ain't no doubt about it, we were doubly blessed

Harry modeled the latest in prep fashions yesterday at their Mother's Day celebration. Too sweet, being serenaded by 50ish 5-6 year olds. The videos are too long and I don't have permission from the other moms, but trust me, it was su-weeeet!
Jack has been in a flower-giving mode, and I wasn't able to find any pix from yesterday's Mother's Day celebration at school that didn't include his other favorite girls, so I'm recycling this one from April....

Their classes made all sorts of sweet gifts for moms and had a morning filled with delicious treats and thoughtful kids....the only time it's ever sad is when I can't clone myself and share every moment with each of them. Luckily, they are really good at sharing.

Here are Harry's treasures - can you believe how big their handprints are now? I remember having to do a bunch of them to fill space for Dean's first Father's Day gift :sniff:...and if this portrait doesn't keep me at the gym, IDK what will - he's going from stick figures to more detailed drawings, but still...nothing like a rectangle body to make you question having seconds! His teacher appologized for encouraging him to add the hair, but I guess it will make a cute memory - My Mom, The Bearded Rectangle Lady ;-)

If you click on the picture, it's more legible, but basically he said it makes me smile when he takes a picture and says cheese. I had to laugh about the spaghetti and sandwiches - not, but the butterfly in a jar gift idea made my heart squeeze because he knows how much I love butterflies and really thought about what would make me smile. Love him!

Here are Jack's gifts - they are definitely going to have to use shorter poems or longer paper next time ;-) Jack said he makes me smile when he gives me hugs and kisses, he loves, me I am the best, and he likes to play with me :wub: He got the pizza right, took a more literal approach to the picture than Harry's descriptors, and thought I'd just LOVE a big Lego police set (interestingly, exactly what he would love!)

And if all the sweet words and pix weren't enough, they made these flower pots and grew these lovely plants.

All in all, it was a great day - big thanx to their teachers for giving us moms such sweet memories! I can't think of anyone else I'd rather share my kiddies with - you ladies truly ROCK!

Happy Mother's Day Weekend to everyone - hope your times are filled with sweet memories of you own moms and new adventures!

Meatloaf's Paradise By The Dashboard Light

There's no place like home and none more pleasin'

Apparently winter didn't kill everything at the old house...including our continued hope that someone will eventually want to live there and buy it!

I love these tulips and hope to replant them at our new home....maybe some of the non-blooming ones will come back....does anyone know if that can happen?

It had rained the nite before and the sun was shining so beautifully

This is our survivor dogwood - at least 3 trees have fallen on it and taken various parts, but it continues to bloom and hopefully will recover on the other side

My friend Patti is an artist and asked to boys to pose for a painting idea she has - her poor puppy may never be the same since Jack was wild but I think she's really good, so maybe she can salvage something from the attempts ;-)

The redbud is starting to bloom, and providing good eats for the flying ones

Posing is hard work, so we met some friends for lunch and ice cream - the boys chose cotton candy BLUE - can you tell?

They had a blast using the sweet art set to decorate the birdhouses Ms. Patti gave them - did I say they LOVE this set of cool artist tools?!

The boys played in the culvert, rode bikes and scooters, and Jack even brought me sweet purple flowers and a smile this afternoon. Then we went to the library, and lost Harry amidst the animals. It was a beautiful day!

Indigo Girls' Southland In The Springtime

child of nature, friend of man

Our local parks and rec had an evening nature hike that included a story, a collage and smores - it was a lot of fun to see old friends and explore.

Jack and Joey reading while Harry draws
The boys reading with the sweet guide

Harry and Dean working on the collage

Jack admiring his finished collage

Smores with one of their favorite P&R friends

Neither of them really likes marshmallows but it was fun to roast them It was a long day, but we tried to rally for a picture

Harry checking out the basketball court

Jack surveying the empty court

Sugarloaf's Green-Eyed Lady