As way of introduction, this adorable little fellow on Peter's lap is Ethan Russell Chryst. He is in the process of officially becoming part of the Chryst family by way of adoption but he has already made into our hearts and into the home of Peter and Nantasha! 
It was great to have additional hands and arms as Nathan spent most of his time out of the stroller!
Although the temperature couldn't have been any cooler, it's hard to resist the mist fountain.
or this face?
We met some friends at the strawberry patch on Mother's Day to pick some yummy strawberries.
As if Nathan's face wasn't a confession enough, Philip did confess that we ate a "few" strawberries when we paid. They assured us that it's included in the price!
We wrote about the things we saw, heard and smelled. We drew pictures of the things around us.
Other days, like today, we just played. There's definitely more on my school agenda to complete before we call it a year.
I just know these refreshingly cool and bug free days won't last much longer and I hate to spend them indoors. Besides, there is so much to learn from playing.
I knew it was time.
He does look "all grown up" but he's still as cute as can be.
At least that's what I think.
Luckily for me, Emma chose a fairly easy project for her turn. We patiently waited for Nathan to take his nap and Peter to go for his Cub Scout trip. She chose to make potato stamps. Although we worked diligently, we still weren't finished when Nathan awoke. Since I was in the 'yes' mood, I thought, "he'll enjoy painting; it can't be that bad".
Emma had a lot fun teaching Nathan how to use the stamps. It didn't take him long to catch on to the process.
He looks like a little professional doesn't he? Oh and yes he is wearing his pjs and yes it is around 2 in the afternoon. He did have on clothes but after discovering his fishy pjs in the pile of clean clothes he really wanted them on. After listening to him cry, say change- fishy, and follow me around for a good 15 minutes, I gave in to his desire! 
I awoke Saturday morning with a clearly overcast and obviously rainy day ahead of us. Soccer practice was canceled; baseball practice was canceled and even I wasn't going to send the kids outside. Something within in me was prompting me that I needed to say, "yes" today. I must admit that I am not great at saying "yes" to things that will probably make a mess, cause a disruption, require me to help or well you get the picture.
Not long after he had quickly mastered the knife, I realized that Elmer's school glue just wasn't going to cut it. If this project was going to be successful, I would have to supply the hot glue. I was busy enough keeping my other 3 kids at bay from this very interesting and large kitchen table project that I didn't want to be the one hot gluing all afternoon. So before I thought too much about it, I taught Peter how to use the hot glue and then thought, again, do other 3rd graders use hot glue guns.
I'm really glad I said, "yes" this morning because I was truly amazed by what he created.
He has grand plans of painting the castle. Well he may let his sister do that for him! As the teacher in me, I was thrilled to see the attention to detail he paid. I loved that he had out Ms. Frizzle's Medieval Castle book out the entire time. I was pleased to hear the vocabulary words stumble out of his mouth like portcullis.
Stayed tuned.....I said yes to other children in the house too. I even gave Emma our Great Big book of Art book to browse through for ideas. I did declare that it was a one project per person at a time and that did make it much more manageable!
This would be the beginning "STOP" position!
This would be when you jump to avoid a kick while yelling STOP at the same time. Needless to say this group of all boys but Emma were really good at yelling stop.
Although Mr. Fuller, clearly explained that the moves he taught should only be used in his classroom or if you are in danger, they have been reenacted in my living room. It was decided that the moves could be practiced outside as long as they didn't come crying to me if they got hurt!!!
I just wanted to give a little shout out to the best wife ever. She is my best friend, and I thought this picture really portrayed her well. She is fun and energetic. She does such an awesome job keeping up with the blog. I could not make it with out her. We make a good team!
The house is relatively quiet and I'm resisting the urge to take a nap. I have been thinking for some time that I haven't actually recorded any of my thoughts about the kids or life lately. My time and mind has been on other things. Peter has been growing and maturing this winter like no other. Practically speaking he weighed in at his allergy check up at 4'5 and 70.2lbs. It's no wonder that I can hardly keep this boy full! His hopes and dreams right now are to play basketball for Duke and become an archeologist. I don't mind so much that he dreams of going to Duke because he knows full well that he has to make some amazing grades to get there! When he's not talking about basketball, his conversations usually fall to some other sport or perhaps a book he's read recently. I am thrilled that he has learned to wash dishes. His love for his baby brother has yet to wane. I love to see the care and interest he show Nathan. Admittingly, there are times when I have to declare Nathan "off limits" in order to keep him focused or to just give Nathan some space! He is bright, loving and respectful and I'm thankful that he's ours.
