CJ's Dream Car

CJ had a short day at school today so we had a few minutes before gymnastics, but not really enough time to go home and still make it on time. So we ended up walking a few doors down to Voodoo Donuts, where CJ found this awesome pink car. You think Daddy would be up for painting his like this?

Rainy Day Hike

We headed back to Lacamas for a hike today. On the way over in the car it really started to rain, even blocking our vision a few times. But the hike ended up to be mostly dry and we got to see some bigger waterfalls and find some treasures and we ended the day with some swinging at the park so CJ was happy.

The Fairy House

Way back when CJ made a fairy house. It was outside at our house and moved to the porch when the weather got wet. CJ and Daddy had talked about making a spot for it in the yard and today they did just such. First CJ drew up her plans on paper and then they set to work making a frame and giving it roofing and using an old window on the side to keep it dry. Here's the finished product.

T-Ball Practice

We lucked out and had dry weather and thus t-ball practice. Everyone else decided to wear their new uniforms, but CJ stayed dressed in her full pink outfit, complete with winter jacket. Her favorite parts of practice? Running the bases (chasing their "fun" coach) and making holes in the dirt with her cleats when she is out in the field.

The Bird Landing Shoe

Here's CJ putting the final touches on "The Bird Landing" shoe she created this week at Spring Break Camp at school. They picked out shoes at the thrift store and worked on changing them into something else. Of course they made drawings and plans and documented their work.

Home Art

Here is today's art from CJ. It's a picture of our house, Mama is walking a brown dog and CJ is out back, playing in the green grass. You can see Daddy's beautiful deck out back as well as the arch above our front door (below the brown roof in the picture). Her door is running out of room for posting new art.

A New Route

We took the girls for a hike to the stone house today. Even though we got a few minutes of hail, CJ found a spot to bask in the sun.

Daddy had us head back out via a new trail and it was muddy! You can't really tell from the picture, but at this spot the water seemed to be flowing out of nowhere.

Spring Celebration of Learning

CJ and her school invited us to visit to celebrate what they have been learning. CJ was dressed up for her part as a jury member in a readers' theatre about Robin Hood.

She even donned a mask for her part.

She showed off the golden eagle she made as her "Familiar".

And she shared with the whole group how she made and named Twinkle.

(see her reading skills in action - not bad!)

Mama's Lucky Day

After dropping CJ off at school, one of the other moms invited Mama to grab a cup of coffee. She said she and another mom were just going to grab a cup and get on their way. So Mama followed them to the coffee shop. When we got there, the bike patrol was riding up the block, scanning the cars for parking tickets. Mama went ahead and purchased a sticker with 30 minutes on it, thinking that would be way too much time. But once we got inside and got our coffee, the other mothers decided to sit down and chat and before we knew it, the bike patrol was riding past the window again. Mama ran out to her car and got there just as the bike was stopping to issue her a ticket. The patrol person made a comment and shook his head, then was on his way. Wow. Mama made it there just in the nick of time.

And the latte was barely lukewarm so definitely not worth the price of a parking ticket.

The New Reader

With CJ's school focused so much on the arts and projects, sometimes it is hard to tell exactly how much her basic skills are improving. But tonight she wanted to read some books with Mama after school. When we got done walking the puppies, we sat down with "The Birthday Coundown", "The Foot Book", and "Are You My Mother?".

CJ read them all to Mama! And she did great, needing only a little help and that was for bigger words like decorate and surprises. It was pretty amazing. She didn't use her finger to mark her location on the page, just read like an old pro, not getting frustrated at all.

Parade Time

Daddy and CJ got their bikes out today for a wet ride down to the St. Paddy's day parade. Like last year, CJ came home with a loot pile full of candy. She didn't even mind getting wet to get it.

Hood River

When Mama came across an article that mentioned Double Mountain was having a birthday party in Hood River, it didn't take too much to convince the family that we should drive out there for the day.

As usual, the first stop was the beach to burn off some energy. It was bit colder than this summer so CJ wore mittens, but that didn't stop her from digging around in the water and throwing the stick for Little B.

Then we headed in to Double Mountain for some grub and music. CJ had a great time listening to the band. We waited for a long time for the next band to set-up and in the meantime, CJ made some dancing friends. They had a great time dancing in front of the stage for everyone to see.

We thought we'd end the night with a treat. CJ selected the outdoor ice cream shop, but they don't open for the season until April 1st. So we headed to the coffee shop for some of their yummy gelato. Unfortunately they informed us that they aren't selling gelato any longer as it wasn't profitable for them. Luckily they were able to dig up some vanilla ice cream and they even topped it off with chocolate sauce. Yum.

Sewing with Grandma

Before we headed home, CJ and Grandma got in a little time on CJ's sewing project.

A New Park

With a sunny day, we decided to tag along when the newest canine cousin, Little D, took a trip to the dog park. What a cutie. Our dogs stayed home to sleep. They are a bit old for that kind of excitement.

Luckily the dog park is located near a kids play area so CJ and her cousins headed over there for some fun before we headed home. She loves getting together with them.

More Cousins

CJ can't get enough of her cousins. Today we headed North to Grandma W's to celebrate O's birthday with his family. CJ had fun playing tag, sneeking a few minutes in on their piano and she really enjoyed trying out his new Wii.