The Lewis Corner: June 2009

End of an ERA...

Sixth Grade Graduation! This officially brings to a close my days as the parent of an elementary student! It has taken a while to get here...longer than most! Mr. Ballew was an amazing teacher. This was his first year teaching. (It is a shock when you realize that you have 5 children OLDER than your child's teacher!) He did a fabulous job with a difficult class. Courtney earned straight A's (she is her mother's daughter at least in academics, if little else!) She also completed her second year of band on the flute. She is ready and excited to be heading on to Mount Baker Middle School in the fall! Am I ready??

Night of Weddings...

The Young Women of our ward provided an activity for the girls and women...Night of Weddings. They gathered wedding dresses from sisters in the ward who let the girls model them and share the story behind the dress. It was a sweet night! Courtney had an up-do! She wore two gowns...one was Aunt Karen's and the other a sister in our ward. She had a little 'help' in the form of a pair of socks to 'enhance' her bustline to better fit the dresses. The girls had decorated the gym as if it were an actual wedding reception, and one of the leaders had made a wedding cake for the dessert. There was a red 'carpet' (red plastic) lined with christmas lights taped to the floor that the girls walked down, modeling their dress as a leader read about the couple behind the dress. The lights were dimmed and a spotlight followed the girls as they each modeled their gowns. This is the culminating event of a recent focus on Temple Marriage in our Young Women's Program. Thank you to great leaders!!

Camp Orkila, Orcas Island, Washington...

Our cabin was literally on the beach! Primitive as it was, you could not ask for a more beautiful setting. The door faced west...the sunset was stunning. The deer were plentiful, tame, and bravely wandered among the students, sniffing at backpacks for food. We had a cabin of 10 girls and 2 of us moms. Our first night there Courtney threw up at 11 pm. She and I ended up returning home the next evening, a day early, due to her stomach flu. Thankfully the pricipal had come over to spend the day at camp and was kind enough to take us home. The weather was perfect, the food marginal, the company great and the accomodations adequate. I still cannot get over that sunset!

Backyard Football Practice

Pat maintains he always hoped for a daughter so he would not have to be throwing a football around in his older years...well, he got one of his wishes at least!

Happy Mother's Day!

What a treat to have Ryan and Ruth Ann and their family here for Mother's Day this year! We celebrated with a nice dinner at the Knoblich's.

I save old bread for the grandkids to feed the ducks when they come. This is always a fun activity!

Jacob is amazing on the voilin!

Jacob and Ryan have been hard at work learning the violin together. Here is Jacob playing a piece of classical music, just one of many he has memorized!

To The Park!

Not the warmest or nicest of days, but the park is always a welcome diversion!

Yeah!! Jacob, Grace, and Jeffery arrive!!

Ryan, Ruth Ann and the family came to visit us for a few days. And what a treat that was!! We even got to have Jacob, Grace, and Jeffery here all to ourselves for 3 days! We had all kinds of fun. Don't you just love Grace's hair thanks to the static in the air!?? I can't believe I captured such a fun picture of her. And that smile on Jeffery's face, well, he just looks like that all the time. He is the happiest little guy ever! Jacob is getting grown up and independent. He put on the helmet and off he went around the neighborhood on the bike. They were just as good as could be and we hope they end up back hear us when Ryan has completed his schooling next June. By then there will be another little Walker baby to love!

Beehives Rock!

So, here is Courtney on her way to her first Mutual Activity with a plate of sugar cookies cut and decorated to look like car tires -some are white-walls and others say 'TOYO' on them. (it was shorter than B F Goodrich!) We made the frosting so black it turned everyone's teeth and tongue gray! The activity was car care...they learned how to change the oil, change a tire, and basic maintenance. You gotta go with the theme when you can!

I love this drawing...

Here is one of my all-time favorite drawings. It hangs on the wall of Paul's home office/guest room. He drew this in Kindergarten just as the school year was ending. The teacher asked them to draw a picture of what they were planning to do over the summer. On his picture she wrote for him "This summer I want to play golf." And the rest, as they say, is history. Every time I see this it brings back so many memories...he even colored his hair red!

Welcome Nora Heather!

I was excited and delighted to meet little Nora! There is something so amazingly magical and special about a newborn baby. I love the way they smell, the way they cuddle, their little cry, their sweet innocence and complete dependence. She's a beauty and a 'keeper'!

We LOVE the Children's Museum

Hoping to give Missy a break and a much-needed nap, the kids and I headed to the Children's Museum for the afternoon. We had such a great time! Wandering from one activity to the next, following Miss Halle around while she explored, keeping tabs on the older kids. A little face painting here, a little water play and 'shopping' the the 'grocery store' and tending the animals in the Vet Clinic kept everyone very busy for 3 hours!