In Memoriam

This was the first year in a while that we've been able to visit the cemeteries where my grandparents and Aunt Sharon are buried. Great Grandma Luebcke always got such a kick out of Dayna - we let the girls blow some bubbles for her.

Holiday Weekend

We took off for the long weekend to Dan's folks' house. They were gracious enough to let us crash in their absence, and we had a wonderful getaway.

Note the marshmallow in her hair

Dayna has fallen in love with bird watching. We loved watching these little ones.

Last Day of School

Annie's last daycare (for the year) with the fabulous Kelly!

With Mrs. Bray, Dayna's principal

Dayna won awards for finishing the Symphony Math program and meeting her reading goal all year.

There aren't enough words to express how much we love Mrs. Hall. She has been an amazing teacher.

A good year deserves a sister slumber party! Of course, it started in the living room, but somehow ended up in our bed!

Piano Recital

This has been a really fun year for me teaching piano lessons. I have six of the sweetest, funniest, hard-working students. They couldn't be more different from each other, but they bring so much to the piano, and to my home every week. This is the first time I've had enough students to pull off a recital, and was thrilled when a local church let us use their facilities for free. What a fun night!

Each child received a framed black and white picture of their hands playing the piano. I really do love these kids!

World's Best Sister

Love these shirts a friend got the girls. They finally both fit!

And for the record, it was Dayna's idea to dress them alike.

Track and Field Day

It seems May is a big month for Dayna - a lot of big events happening at school. Track and Field Day is one of those fun events...although this year it was a wee bit too chilly for our comfort! It's a lot of fun seeing her with her friends.

With her good buddy, Shawn

Handing off the baton

Dayna's REACH Play

Dayna has been participating all year in the REACH program - a weekly pull-out time for high ability learners. Her group has worked hard all semester to prepare a play: "Queen Sheena, All Bow." She was Aneehs (Sheena's monster alter-ego.)

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the play, but Dan got some great shots of her homemade "clashy" costume.

First Annual Pioneer Festival

After years of doing a day-long Pioneer School, our local school district allowed a friend and I to explore something new. The fourth grade class participated in a day-long Pioneer Festival, where they were able to attend 6 different sessions (leatherwork, needlework, cooking, one-room schoolhouse, pioneer games, and folk dancing.) In between sessions, they were able to ride a miniature steam train, hayracks, watch yarn spinning, tour an old post office and train depot, shuck some corn...the activities seemed endless.

The kids had a blast! I was able to lead the folk dancing session, and our photographer got some incredible pictures. I'd love to share them here, but for the privacy of the students, I'll have to just enjoy those pictures on my own :)

Can't wait until we do this next year with Dayna!

With Gina - the most amazing co-chair for a project like this (and really the brains behind the whole thing!)

Back to the Future

It's been a long time since Dayna had a birthday party, and she really wanted to invite several of her friends to help her celebrate this year. So we cut a little Footloose and went back in time with a 1980s roller skating party. Dayna's friend list included boys and girls this year, and we had a blast!