Kindergarten Field Trip to Tule Springs

Also last month I got to accompany Riley's class on a walking field trip to Tule Springs. We all got together after lunch and Mrs. Viana led the way for the class to walk to the park...

The class did a great job crossing the big road and down into the park. The walk was pretty long for a group of kindergarteners, but they were troopers!

And once they got into the park, they were greeted by some feathery friends who showed off their pretty plumes.

And the kids got to get pretty close to them, too!

Hello there, Mr. Peacock!

The kids spent the day running through the park looking for leaves to add to their classroom leaf collection
And I even got the group to pose for a class picture before heading back. Woohoo! :)
I love how adorable kindergarteners are!

Robin Hood, and The Natural Comedian

So the Missoula Children's Theater came through our school a few weeks ago... Violet audutioned and got a great part - the Comedian in the Merry Band! After a week of intenstive rehearsals (3pm-8pm Monday through Friday), the kids were ready to perform. And they really did a wonderful job!! 

Here's the band saying, "What are we? Chopped LIVER??"

And Violet being the cutest ever...
Showing off their entertaining prowess for the others... (you can see that Robin Hood is not convinced)
There was singing and dancing...
And all over merriment...
My girl was right at home on stage... you should have seen her shine :)
The final singing number was great (can you spot Violet?)
And of course, the curtain call was all sorts of ridiculous :)
Way to go, Violet, on a great show! I am so very proud of you. :)
Violet was also in another play at the school... a spring play with the 3rd grade music classes, which I will share in an upcoming post. And she's still taking part in Drama Class after school and that play is coming up at the end of May! I think she has found her passion!!

The Great Blog Update #2 - Friends

Violet has been friends with a super sweet girl, Crystal, all school year. They love to play and laugh and boss each other around and generally have a good time. 

Last month, Crystal moved to another school and they no longer see each other every day. So before she left, we all headed out to the park near our house for some bike riding and good times. 
I just love their smiles!

Hopefully they will keep in touch, but I am not sure... her phone service has always been pretty spotty and Violet has left some messages, but we haven't been able to get the girls reconnected since the move. I am glad that no matter what, we have these photos to remember what a sweet friend she has been to us. :)

Earth Day, Cirque Running, and the beginning of my return to blogging. lol

First of all, I have decided to add a badge here from Facebook, since that is where I am usually hanging out... so feel free to click on it over there -------------------------> and say hi to me over there. NOW. back to blogging. 

There has been SO MUCH going on. I realize I am about a month behind, so for the next couple weeks I will be posting some catch-up posts and things like that. :)

Before I start to catch you up, I wanted to wish everyone a happy Earth Day! We are celebrating by riding bikes today (I rode with the kids to and from school). Violet went around the house and made sure all non-essential things and lights are turned off and/or unplugged, and rather than running the a/c, I have opened the windows in the house and hoping for a nice breeze. It's supposed to be 95 degrees today. We'll see how that goes. lol

SO. First on my agenda with the Great Blog Return of 2009 is telling you about Violet and her run with Cirque du Soleil at the Springs Preserve! Mama Lali called last month and invited Violet to join her for this fun run, and of course Violet thought it would be fantastic! Violet spent that night at Mama Lali and Papa's house, and the two of them got up reeeeeeeally early to get to the race in time for warmups, which were led by the Cirque du Soleil acrobats! AWESOME!!

And what's a little fun run without a face painting done by an actual Cirque Makeup Artist??

After the race, Violet and Mama Lali visited Abu. She loved seeing Violet's face and hearing all about the race. 

And finally, the two racers themselves, after a wonderful day!! :)

Alright! One post down in the Great Blog Update of 2009! Thanks for sticking with me, and be sure to check me out on Facebook if you haven't already! More soon!!

Bring Dorothy Home Quick! This is the LAST WEEK!

One of my plans this year is to join my friends in India as they adopt their daughter Dorothy and to photograph the adoption for them. You can see (and click on) a link to their site on the right sidebar of my blog over there ----------------------->

They are in the FINAL WEEK of their fundraising with a long way yet to go to reach their goal. There are a whole lot of amazing prizes to be won for those who donate, too! Please check out their blog and consider making a donation to this very worthy cause! Even the smallest donations help! http://lifetrain.blogspot.com/2009/04/drawing-1-tonight.html

(I am paying for my own trip to India to photograph the adoption. All donated money goes directly toward the adoption process and not to me at all)