What Happens in the Brady House.....

...is usually a little crazy.  I know all houses with any aged kid is crazy.  But, I am too tired to care about them.  I am having trouble keeping up with this crew.

Your kids make dresses out of paper towels and tape, then put on a show in the hall, right?  (There is video, but there was a couple of wardrobe mishaps.)

One of first days at the pool.

Love a Tapefetti fashion show (Charley made this one, she loves to do a photo shoot).

OK, this next thing was FUN!  You need some sun, objects and some fancy paper.  

 

 Place paper with objects in the sun for a couple of minutes, rinse and voila!  Overhead sun would have been better. 

 

This is the paper we used.  I bought it from Discount School Supply.

 

Mike spent some time one Sunday cleaning the courtyard.  The kids made this mess after that in minutes. 

 

Your kids harass the pets too right?  OK, this was actually funny.   That was my fiber fill they pilfered from my art room.

Got to love when they wake up in the same pjs.

 

Yeah, your kids get swollen eyes too right?  Doctor never figured out why it happened.  It took almost three days to go down.

 

Making letters with your body?  This is a K.

 

Charley in her cowgirl outfit.  She had a field trip that day to a horse farm.

She loved it.  Like I need her riding. 

This was Sunday.  It was Giraffey's birthday .  We had a candle in Giraffey's pancakes, (forgot to take a picture of that) but we got the pictures of Giraffey's birthday ice cream after lunch and....

...her birthday cupcake after dinner (lovely GF cupcakes - they were not horrible.....).

That takes care of some of the cuter photos of the girls.  I have some other stuff to post, like the baby birds living in our gutter holder or Mike said eaves - right outside the kitchen window in our courtyard.  Oh wait, here are the pictures. Click on them to see the finches.  They were hungry little buggers.  And then one day, they were flying away.  Made me a little sad.

I was hoping a pair of cardinals built a nest in a courtyard bush.  I saw them going into the bush with stuff in their beaks, but I looked and didn't seen a nest.  All around the house are nests.  Robins, squirrels, spiders.  There is a positive side to not using a lot of chemicals and pesticides.  You know, besides the copious amount of maple trees/weeds growing.

Butterfly Release Party 2013

I have mentioned what a great park district we have.  They have all sorts of fun things for kids.  One that we haven't missed in six years (OK, one year we didn't release butterflies because they were late coming from the airport.  The president was in town and had the highway shut down. We were there though.  Probably did a butterfly craft and had cookies and a juice pouch.).  The butterfly house release party.  Everyone who registers gets to release two butterflies(or four- we have been lucky in recent years and got extra).  My kids as well as their friends love it.  And it is even better when a butterfly lands on you.

Let's start with what Chatch is wearing.  This is a Figgy's Scirocco dress I made.  The skirt is different because I serged into the original flouncy skirt.  This is what happens when you are in a hurry.  I was lucky to have enough fabric left to do a circle skirt.  Both girls have a Scirocco dress (B has two I think) and they love the back.

 

Charley and I picked B up from school and headed out to the farm.  This is the first year Mike hasn't come with us.  Maybe he had a meeting?

B opened the package, which is amazing.  Not that she opened it, but that the butterflies are in little wax envelopes.  I asked how they got into the envelope, but no one knew.  That is how they come from the butterfly factory in Florida.

B got a big surprise when the first one landed on her (too big) tee. 

She was even more excited when the other joined the first.

  Here is Charley releasing hers with the help of the volunteer.

Let's talk about who has a hissy when the butterflies didn't land on her.

Sissy came through and got Charley a butterfly that perched oh her finger.

Our friend Robin took this one. 

Next time I need a picture of my girls together.  Or some with their friends.  I guess I should have brought my actual camera instead of relying on the ole' iPhone.
 

How Is it Possible? B's Kindergarten Graduation

This was in late August, 2012.




This was 31 May 2013. Kindergarten Graduation Day.




Now, I know some people think Kindergarten graduation is crazy. But, personally, I love it. I remember going to my nephew and nieces' graduations, and they sang songs and were so cute. Now it was B's time to be cute, and I loved every minute. Except the minutes I was a little teary.

B was so excited when she woke up.





She had a half day of school, then just the kindergarteners ate lunch at school. Kind of a last lunch.






LIttle sister didn't (and still doesn't) understand that the fuss was not about her.




Arriving at school.





Last morning at her cubby.




Here is the peanut gallery. My sister came too, but you know, she is like me and doesn't like to be immortalized on the internet.




I made B's dress, and there may or may not have been a strap malfunction right before the "ceremony" started. Mike, B's valet, made a last minute save with a stapler. There she is coming out of the door.






They kids not only received a diploma, but an autograph book with photos of their school mates along with little notes from them. The directress put together a great collage frame of pictures of the kids, and their teachers. There was also an all about me book with self portraits, drawings, questionnaires.






The kids recited a poem and sang a song.





Afterwards we at cake (well, I didn't, wah wah wah) and had an ice cream sundae bar. How awesome is this cake?







My girls loved the ice cream and time with their cousins.





Not a drop on the dress. 'Cause I am not sure it would make it through the wash.




B changed back into her play clothes and ran around with her friends. Some she will see again, so she won't. Her one friend moved away the same day. She will miss him, I know she gave him a giant squeeze! I can't believe she is going to first grade in another school. She was at Montessori for five years. I know she will miss her teachers. Will they miss her? Probably. B is a unique kid. She is very forth coming and will ask a lot of questions and say funny things (sometimes unknowingly). B is also a challenge. She isn't the best listener - and when I say this, I mean she hears you, you will just get a debate if she doesn't agree with you. Which, may be a good quality when she is older, but kind of sucks now. Strong willed to the end, that kid is. Anyway. Here are some not so lovely family portraits. Lucky Mike, he always looks good.











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