Easy Cheese and Crackers

This has been the after dinner scene the last two evenings.  After eating supper AND treats the girls say they're still hungry, and they go for the Easy Cheese and crackers.

This frequently involves very elaborate creations and quite a lot of crumbs left in the aftermath.

Mmmm, cheesy!

The Sweet Dreams Fairy

It all started last Monday, when Sophie lost a tooth at dinner time.

When preparing to leave her tooth for the tooth fairy, she remembered a friend at school talking about a special spray a fairy brought her to help her sleep.  So, Sophie wrote a note to go next to her tooth fairy offerings.  It reads like this:

In the morning, she awoke to find a Sacajawea dollar from the tooth fairy and a note from the Sweet Dreams Fairy telling her that she was a great sleeper who didn't need any special sleeping sprays.

Since the fairy thought Sophie didn't need a magic spray, she brought her a Hershey's chocolate bar instead, which Sophie wanted to eat for breakfast but had to wait until after dinner to enjoy.  In gratitude, Sophie left the Sweet Dreams Fairy these notes in response:

So that day, both girls decided to write to the Sweet Dreams Fairy: Sophie to thank her for the chocolate (above), and Hannah to ask for some magic sleeping spray.  Here they are writing away before school:

Hannah left this note for the fairy that night, along with two pages of facts and information about herself:

The next morning she found the following response, along with a tiny (fairy-sized) purple spray bottle of sweet-smelling magic sleep spray.

That night she and Sophie both received one squirt of it in the face, since that is how Sophie's friend from school said her spray works.  Hannah wasn't so sure about that, so she wrote back to the Sweet Dreams Fairy to get the real 411.

Still not content (or perhaps just enjoying her correspondence with the fairy), Hannah wrote back again that night to inquire more specifically whether the spray was go go over her quilt or over her pillow.  Sadly, she did not receive a response to this inquiry.  Perhaps the Sweet Dreams Fairy had to attend to other boys and girls who are having trouble sleeping.

Also sadly, the magic sleep spray has not helped too much in helping Hannah sleep or keeping her in bed after bedtime.  Perhaps if she gets to be a good sleeper like her sister the fairy will bring her a chocolate bar too!

Carter Walking!

In my email box today I received this video from my sister:

Carter is almost 15 months old, and he finally started walking last night and again today.  With the wonders of technology, we get to experience it almost as if we were there... so exciting!

The girls were so excited that Sophie decided she would write her homework sentences about it, even going so far as to call Kelly to get more details.  Hannah created this drawing to announce the event:

Way to go, Carter!  We are so proud of you!

Bookmaking Mini E-Term, Hannah's Book

And here is Hannah's book, which is where I learned what her best day ever was.

Bookmaking Mini E-Term, Sophie's Book

Each April, our school sets aside a week for experiential learning.  Typically this has been for middle and high schoolers (though the elementary school engages in experiential learning quite often through their regular curriculum).  For the last few years I have accompanied the 8th grade class on a trip to Philadelphia to learn about urban and rural water issues as well as the history of the city.

This year, the elementary school had morning sessions during this week that they called "mini e-term."  Students could select from several options such as mini-society, gardening, needlework, and bookmaking.  Hannah and Sophie both participated in the bookmaking option (though Sophie missed Tuesday due to her dentist appointment to have cavities filled, which was a semi-traumatic experience for which she received nitrous oxide, but that's another story).

Here is the book that Sophie created during that week.  I will put Hannah's on the blog tomorrow.

Hannah's Poem Book

Created in the spring of her 3rd grade year:

Broadway Firsts + Odds and Ends

Today was a good day.  The Saturday chores didn't feel overwhelming, we (mostly Charles) got some work done in the garden, and we enjoyed a lunch out at the community park where there was a festival with bouncy houses, food, and games to raise money for the local little league teams.  I also had time for a run this afternoon in the beautiful sunshine and upper 60s weather.

I ran past the Heritage Park, where Broadway was having its first ever wine and beer festival.  For $15 you could get in for an afternoon of enjoying various wines and brews, plus live music to entertain you.  I ran by mid-afternoon, and it looked like folks where having a grand time.

I also ran over the newly completed pedestrian bridge.  For the last year or so, they've been building the new bridge for vehicles (on the right in the photo) and converting the old one-lane bridge to a pedestrian bridge.  This is the view approaching the bridge from Main Street.

To top off the day, Charles built a fire and the three of them ate s'mores.  I've been trying to get back on track with healthy eating and consistent exercise, so I sat and enjoyed the fire.  I've noticed that sugar incites wicked cravings, so I'm trying to stay way from refined sugar as much as possible.

On Monday of this week the girls and I had the day off from school.  They spent the weekend straightening up around the house, since there seemed to be a lot of their clutter lying around.  Monday they finished the job by straightening up the playroom.  Their reward was to open a package from Granny that had arrived a few days prior.

Hannah got a doll (the princess from Brave) and Sophie got two Lalaloopsy dolls.

That afternoon we went to Hannah's gymnastics class, which she's been enjoying tremendously.  We didn't realize that it was her last of the season.  Here she is posing with her certificate of completion of the beginner level:

She did the beginner class twice, once in the fall and then again this spring.  So she was very excited to turn her certificate over and see that her teachers recommended that she move up to the intermediate level in the fall!

On Tuesday the girls went for a photo shoot at a local photographer's house.  This lady grew up in our house and still lives near Broadway.  She put out a request a few weeks ago for girls in the Broadway area to photograph.  Since the girls served as models for her, she gave us a free 11x14 print and 30% off any other prints or digital images we wanted.  Here is Sophie keeping warm between photographs with a jacket zipped around her legs:

One of the photographs from the shoot (the rest can be found here):