National Anthem

Abby sang the Star Spangled Banner on June19th at the Newbridge vs. Glade swim meet. Check it out on YouTube -->> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ6csnVUgHE

(oops -- it is sideways, but try tipping your computer screen to the right :) !!)

Swim meet -- June 19th

The theme for this week's swim meet was Alice in Wonderland. Our friends gave us the poster board and idea -- the girls did a great job making their costumes!

Seamstress Taylor

Taylor made gloves to match her poncho (too bad that it is summer)!

Catch-up -- June - piano recitals

The girls had their piano recital on June 10th. They did a great job:)

Catch-up -- June - Irish dance at the Festival

The girls won a prize at the Herndon Festival for performing a bit of Irish dancing.

Catch-up -- June - Herndon Festival

We had a super time at the Herndon Festival this year!!

Catch-up -- May - toads

I guess that our yard is toad-friendly! We have been finding a lot of toads in our yard lately. Very exciting for the kids!!

Catch-up -- May - Mexico

We made pinatas at our last country study. Today we painted them -- aren't they great??

Catch-up -- May - art

Abby, Taylor and Ben's art.

Catch-up -- May - guys

I love these guys :)

Catch-up -- May - trip to the zoo

On May 4th we went to the zoo -- a lot of fun!!

Catch-up -- May - Cinco de Mayo

On May 3rd we celebrated Cinco de Mayo (I know -- 2 days early). We wrapped up our study of Mexico by making maracas and having a Mexican feast. A wonderful time had by all :)

Catch-up -- May - AWANA

May 2nd was the AWANA Awards ceremony. The kids worked hard this year and they all did a great job!

Catch-up -- April - dance

Catch-up -- April - table

Hmmm.... I guess a "Taylor table" can hold Ben and a "Ben table" can hold Taylor. Very interesting!!

Catch-up -- April - compromise

This is what happened one school morning when both Abby and Ben wanted the big chair to finish up school -- compromise (don't ya love it!!).

Catch-up -- April - country study

We have continued our study of countries with our friends. We made a "stop" in Spain and learned a lot about matadors and bullfighting. The bullfighting inspired our craft. Ben is the brown and black bull, Abby's is in the middle and Taylor has a ring in her bull's nose!!

Catch-up -- April - Billy Goat Trail

On April 15th, after making a trip to the post office to drop off our taxes, we went for a hike on the Billy Goat Trail (the Maryland side of Great Falls). This is a tough, rocky trail -- but the kids did great. There were a few understandable complaints (we clearly did not bring along enough water), but all in all a super time. We saw lots of wildlife (turtles, snakes, heron, and a lizard). Last time we did this hike Ben fell and scraped up his chin and nose. Unfortunately he didn't escape injuries this time -- he ran smack dab into a tree limb and scraped under his left eye (ouch -- thankfully it did not hit the eyeball). Check out the last photo for a more detailed look at the injury:)

Catch-up -- April - playtime at the park with friends

On a beautiful spring day (April 12th) we met up with some friends at the park (Haley Smith Park) for a grand time enjoying the awesome weather. The kids climbed, jumped and generally ran around and had a great time!!