6 Weeks of Family News - part 2

So,  last time we ended with photos of when Jeremy was home (by the way he was home for just 8 days, and left for California on March 7, and left for Iraq the week of March 20.  It took him several days to arrive there and we've gotten to talk with him on the phone 3 times now).

Here are some random photos of events during March:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Dayton Up Close and Personal"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Fun with the Riding Mower - no lawn to mow, but that doesn"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Esther"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Multiplication Tables - back to basics around here this spring to prep for annual testing!"][/caption]

Next the kids went to the Youth Fair - sponsored by 4H and happens every year at the North West Washington Fair Grounds. The cost is minimal and the fun is maximum! Your child selects a class to take, and spends all day Friday/Saturday learning - everything from cows (Jessica did beef cows this year), to gardening, to clowning, to chess and more! This year Reuben did chess, Rachel did knitting, and Rebekah did gardening/country crafts. Here's some photos that were the outcome of this:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Rebekah's birdhouse!"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Chess Game - guess who's playing against Reuben?"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="It's Dayton - he learned all the moves (but the strategy is a little beyond him at just 5 years old)"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Girls Can play Chess - I even played a few games and won!"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="A Perspective on Chess"][/caption]

By the way - I didn't take any of the last 6 photos - it's the old "leave the camera out and you get lots of bonus photos" - I am so thankful for digital photography as it free the kids up to be creative with the camera and all I have to do is delete the bad ones and benefit from all the photos I didn't take the time to take!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Elizabeth - when she sleeps, she really is laid back!"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Hmmm...I wonder where I saw this before!"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Esther with Andrea, her physical therapist. Andrea got a new job working with inpatient at St Joes, so this was her last time with Andrea - we will miss her and she was so sweet with Esther and Esther just loved her and so did I! Thanks Andrea!!"][/caption]

When Esther first came to Andrea at the end of January, she couldn't even hold up her own head, and now Esther can roll from front to back, back to front, holds her head up while on her tummy, holds herself errect when you hold her and is almost sitting up by herself now! All that in just over 3 months - amazing for a cardiac baby, let alone for one with Downs!

That bring you up to the Middle of March - now I've got two events that need their own posts!