The Science Fair Project

2 months of growing 6 pea plants in the kitchen window, (3 were left in the window day and night and 3 were put in the garage at night with a tone generator left on) to see what effect a tone being played for 8 hours had on plant growth. In case you are wondering, the plants with the tone generator did not grow as well or as fast. Conclusion: plants like peace and quiet at night just like humans! In the end a ribbon for participating was awarded and the project was a success.

Spring Piano Recital at Lairmont Manor

Once again Courtney did an amazing job of memorizing and performing a beautiful piece of music and once again, she received her repertoire award for memorizing and performing pieces of music from four different periods of music history. She earned herself a movie pass!

Courtney and her wonderful and patient piano teacher, Renee Crandall.

Grandpa time and sidewalk chalk...

You can have a lot of fun with a box of chalk!

Rylee drew a giant heart and put the names of all the people that she loves inside it!

It took a long time, it was hard, she asked how to spell all the names and wrote them herself.

And Nana did one for Grandpa, too! :)

The perfect day for a pony ride!

Yes, these two little ladies are just a few months apart in age...but the difference in their height is astonishing!

P.K. joined in the fun...

And Courtney is our trail guide.

Saddle Up Cowboys and Cowgirls!

This is how you carry a cat, Nana

And he puts up with it...

Nana's house and baking brownies

has turned into a tradition for Rylee and I. "Open wide!" says Grandpa as they lick the spatula clean.

The joy of grandparenting...

You get to go play with the kids at their house, with their toys, use the car with the DVD player and GPS so you can't get lost or bored, stay up late watching movies, drive from soccer to ballet, to cubs, and enjoy a glimpse of what life used to look like when your own little ones were young. (And you wonder how you survived!) Thanks for the fun time!

Courtney's fruit plate dinner creation...

The budding cook strikes again! This time she has prepared a pasta, alfredo sauce dish with steam broccoli and mushrooms and a fruit plate. She set the table and everything!

Fairy Hut

Sunday afternoon...what do you do? You make a Fairy Hut for your flower fairy out of twigs, leaves, pebbles, moss, and anything else you can find to emelish your fairy's little home. Just a cardboard base and a glue gun and you can build a fairy dream home!

Cooking lessons begin now!

She is in the kitchen! She has the meat thawed, she is making meatballs! And into the sauce they go! We sit down to eat...it smells and looks amazing! Then she says, "I don't really like spaghetti and meatballs, I just wanted to make them." The cook watches us eat.

The New Willow Tree doll Courtney chose for her Birthday...

This is one of the new models for this year...she is called 'Surrounded By Love'

Our little girl turns 13!

Don't you wish you had a bowling pin cut in half (with the wrong year written on it) for all your friends to sign as a memento of your bowling birthday party? Of course you do! And that is what Courtney is the proud owner of! She had a party during Spring Break at our local bowling alley and, as a party venue, it is pretty slick! All the pop they could drink, shoes, and two games of bowling - perfect! No mess, no fuss!

A quick trip to the cabin...

We headed over to one of our favorite quiet spots near Leavenworth. The infamous cabin on the creek near lake Wenatchee. We celebrated Courtney's 13th birthday there. A special cousin along made the trip extra fun! Courtney spent a good hour in one of the stores trying to decide which of the lovely Willow Tree figurines to buy!

Grandma Bunting and Nana in Chicago...

...playing tag-team babysitting. Good weather, great kids, late nights, early mornings, lot of giggles, hugs, and legos!

Afton Turns 7!

Lucky me...Courtney and I were able to head to Chicago in May to do some serious fun babysitting for Paul and Missy! And a bonus was that we were able to help celebrate Afton's birthday. Both of her Grandmas were there. Val and I overlapped for a day. What a great time we had!