Karen Russell and Ali Edwards.

Lately I have been following/catching up with Karen Russell's blog. I just love everything about her work, photographs, scrapbook layouts, family...well, you get the idea. Everything. I'm so mad that I'm late to the game. A few years ago she was selling kits of her products and now it seems that she just wants to focus on photography.  That'll learn me. I found out about her site by way of another artist who's work I love, Ali Edwards. Do all awesome people live in Oregon? I have been busy with Ali's Week in the Life project as well as trying to keep up with Project Life...and a house...and four kids...and a husband and...

some good news.

Tuesday Alex brought home his scores from a STAR Reading test. He's waaaaaay above average...which we already knew. His grade level equivalent is 8.5 which means he's reading at a level equal to that of a typical eighth grader after the fifth month of the school year. (Alex is only in the fourth grade...and he doesn't read at all for pleasure.) He scored in the 94th percentile nationally compared to other fourth graders.

Alex also received a couple of awards...he got another AR star for completing his reading goals and an award for perfect attendance. (If nothing else, I make sure these kids go to school every day.)

Yesterday we had a conference with Helen's teacher. She's been very slow to progress this year. First grade is always a tough transition. There's so much more work compared to kindergarten. She's not quite at grade level, but she's been steadily improving. Which is great. Her reading level has doubled and she got a 95 on her last math test!

On a completely seperate note I just wanted to share a cute story. This morning Will and I were in my bed when I called him a little guy.
                                                 Will:    I'm not a little guy.
                                                  Me:   Are you a big guy?
                                                 Will:   No.
                                                 Me:   Are you a girl?
                                                Will:   No, you are.
                                                 Me:   That's right. I'm a girl. And Daddy is a boy, Jimmy is a  boy, Alex is a                                                           boy and you're a boy. Is Helen a boy?
                                                Will:   No, La-la is a princess.  

   

sweet little bunny.

Who's the cutest little bunny?

Why it's Helen, of course. I don't have any Easter photos to post yet. (Not sure if I even got any good shots.) So I thought I would share this. She had an Easter party at school before spring break. They had a math egg hunt and received goodie bags full of treats.

Our own Easter celebration was pretty low key. Mike and I filled plastic eggs with candy and set them out in the yard. After a few seconds the kids had found them all. (Four kids, 36 brightly colored eggs, small backyard. Not gonna take a long time.) After they came in we presented them with their baskets. Toys, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, more candy. Needless to say they were thrilled. The rest of the day we just hung around together. Mike made a big ham for dinner along with potatoes and what he now calls his "famous green beans." Canned green beans with diced tomatoes. He adds some other things, I'm not sure what...but they are delicious. But famous?

camping.

For part of Spring Break we went camping at Moss Park. We wanted to try out our new pop-up camper. I'm not sure who was more excited, Mike or the kids. It was actually pretty roomy inside. There are two full beds on either side, there's a sofa that doubles as a bed and the dinette folds down to create another bed. Plus, it has an air conditioner! (My favorite.)

One of the things we have never done in all the times we've gone to Moss Park was hike on one of the trails. We decided this trip we would go on a hike. Unfortunately we had lots of rain and many areas of the park were still flooded. Of course one area was the hiking trails. I did get a nice photo of the four kids at the entrance to the trail.

Helen was also kind enough to pose by herself. She loves the camera and the camera loves her.

Even though it wasn't really cold out (we had highs 0f 78-80) we still had to have a campfire. One, because Jimmy is a Boy Scout he likes to practice building and lighting campfires. And two, because what camping trip would be complete without making s'mores. Will didn't bother cooking his marshmallows in the fire...he ate them as soon as we put them on his fork.

We had a great time together...and we look forward to our next adventure.