Strawberry Pickin

Yesterday afternoon we headed out to pick strawberries with all the girls and my mom. Brooke woke up with a fever and was not feeling well at all. I needed to get the strawberries this week because the rest of the month is shot with vacations. I was the mean mom and took Brooke with us even though she didn't want to go (I don't blame her). While we picked she sat under a tree in the shade and maybe picked five strawberries. I picked about 8 pints for our family. Kenzie amazed me, I thought she would pick for about five minutes and start complaining at she wanted to go. She picked a whole big bucket herself and didn't want to go. Ashley had fun taking my berries out and throwing them out. Thanks to my mom for helping me get my jam all done that afternoon yet. Our freezer is full of 20 jars of jam!!!

T-Ball

Brooke is playing T-ball again this year. She never wants to play, but when she starts for the year she loves it. She is playing a lot of girls from church. I forgot how long t-ball games go :( I could have signed her up for couch pitch this year or t-ball. I thought we would do one more year of t-ball, but I think I should have done couch pitch. Oh well she's having fun, but I think she gets a little bored with it sometimes. Only 2 more games to go so the season is almost done.

Good Bye First Grade

Brooke said good bye to 1st grade on Friday. I can't believe that we have a 2nd grader already! She had a great year and made some great new friends. We can't believe everything she has learned this year, she has come such a long ways from the beginning of school. She learned how to read really well thanks to some extra help. She started reading at a level 4 and is now reading at level 18! She also learned how to write, addition, subtraction, factions, Bible memory work, field trips and so much more. Her teacher was great this year she did a great job with the kids this year. Above is what she wrote the first day of school and the bottom one is what she wrote at the end of the school year. It's fun to see how far her writting has come.
They had a field trip on Thursday to the Children's Museum and the Zoo. I went along with the class for the day. We headed to the museum in the morning and then headed to the zoo for a picnic lunch and spent the afternoon at the zoo. The girls loved seeing all the animals and petting the sting rays. It was a joy to see Brooke enjoying herself with her friends.

Gardening 101

We decided to do a garden this year with the whole De Vries family by Corey's parents house. We spent the other night planting all the fruits and vegetables. Our girls were so excited to help plant and I'm sure they will do their part in eating from it also. We had a great night with the family doing this and the kids were full of dirt from head to toe. Now we'll just have to wait and see what comes up.

Meet Whiskers

Since we moved here Corey always wanted to get a pet. Last summer we had this nice cat that would come by every now and then and was very good with the girls. We have not seen him since the fall so we figured something happened to him. Corey wanted to get a pig yes a pig I said there is no way we are getting a pig. He promised the girls a kitty this summer. I'm not to fond of cat's so if we got one I told Corey I'm not going to take care if it, plus I'm allergic to them. Lastnight we were by the in-laws working on the garden and Corey came later with a seven week old kitty. He seen a sign on 96th Street that they had free kitten's, so he stopped by and picked up one. The girls faces were priceless when they seen it. I have to admit it's so cute. Kenzie was in heaven with this kitty, she kept her eyes and hands on her the whole time. We got home and put it in a little box for the night and Kenzie had a make sure she said her bedtime prayers to the kitty - so sweet. They woke up this morning and opened the box and Whiskers jumped out. I had two girls in my room screaming that the kitty got out and didn't want to get out until I put it back in the box. I spent most of the day watching the kitty. She kept jumping out the box so I put her in a big rubbermaid and by the end of the day she found her way out. She liked hiding under the chair and Kenzie cried every time she was under there thinking she would not be able to get out. At the end of the night she was playing around with a string and jumping around. We put her in the garage for the night and will probably stay there until she gets a little bigger to be outside.

Snakes, Frogs, Fish, Owl, Turtles, and Bunny

What do all these have in common? A field trip Outdoor Discovery Center. I drove for Brooke's field trip last week. She's been wanting me to drive for a while now so I thought this might be a good one. We took our lunches to Huizenga Park to eat and then they got to play a while until we were ready to leave. It was so fun to watch Brooke interact with her classmates and raising her hand to answer questions. She talked and laughed in the car all the way there and back. We walked on the trails for an hour to see all the different habits that animals and plants have. After our walk to went inside to see all the different animal classifications. The kids got to pet each animal classification. Brooke took right after her mother no petting the snake.

Mother's Day

I didn't have the best Mother's Day this year. I came down with the flu on Saturday and I was out for the count that day. I spent most of the day in bed or in the bathroom. We were suppose to go to my brother and sister-in-laws that night for Mother's Day. I didn't end up going, but Corey and the girls went. Sunday morning I felt a little better, but I stayed home from church with Brooke and Ashley. We had to go for lunch at Mom and Dad De Vries' I felt good enough to go so we all went. We were there probably a half hour and Brooke thou up all over so we cleaned her up and I took her home. We spent the rest of the day in bed. The girls were so excited to give me their gifts. Brooke wrote a poem and two other books which were sweet. I gave Corey a list of things that I would like for my Birthday/Mother's Day. I wrote down mini van and a camera. I opened the gifts and I got a hot wheel mini van, disposable camera, and a new chip for my camera. To tell the truth I was a little up set that Corey got me "cheap" gifts. Next year I think I need to be more specific . After stirring for a while Corey brought in another gift. He bought me a new camera I was sooo happy!!! Finally a nice camera to take pictures with, now I just need to learn how to use it. I'm so thankful for my 3 wonderful daughters and a great husband.