Mae's Pre-K Graduation

Mae graduated today. She was very shy and obviously uncomfortable on the stage, but she stuck it out, sang the songs and even smiled a few times. We are so proud of you, Mae-Mae, and can't wait to see you blossom in Kindergarten!

BIG day tomorrow

Ted and Sam had their last day of school today. Ted is off to Moab for 4 nights with his friend Ben. Tomorrow is Mae's Pre-K graduation. We also close on both houses tomorow afternoon. Saturday we pack up the house and move on Sunday. Amazing. We are alternatively excited and terrified. I will try and get a quick video up of Mae's graduation, but there will be some silence online as we settle in to our new digs. Thanks to everyone for all their support and encouragement!

T minus 7 Days

A week from tonight, the kids will be snoozing away in their new bedroom and Paul and I will be chillaxin' in our new home. I cannot even begin to wrap my head around it. We've been hoping and planning for so long that it's surreal for it to actually HAPPEN. We've been chipping away at the packing and we're almost there. Luckily, we don't have that much stuff (though we do have a ridiculous amount of PAINT for some reason) so it's not that hard of a job. There are 4 days left of school for the boys, then Friday is Mae's graduation (*sniff!*) followed by closings on both houses. Saturday is the final pack-it-up day and we get the truck on Sunday. Bring it on. We are ready. Boulder, here we come! Finally!

Kindness

Kindness is a trait I seldom see in Ted - not that he's a mean person, but he seldom goes out of his way to help his siblings. One Friday afternoon the kids were exploring a rocky, muddy area near Paul's office with a storm drain that went under the street. Ted wanted someone to come with him into the drain and Mae agreed. It was a tricky climb to get to the drain and the care and gentleness he showed her warmed my heart. He guided her step by step and at the end, when there was a "hop down" required, he put his arms out and said, "I'll catch you," and she jumped. And he caught her. Moments like these are so precious. They do love each other. They do know how to be kind to each other. I am verklempt!

R.I.P. Orestes

Our sweet Orestes died late last night. It was sudden, perhaps a heart attack or massive stroke.

Orestes was the second kitten born to Electra and the one baby that needed assistance with his entrance into the world. We had planned to give all the kittens away to friends, but we couldn't part with him, so we kept "Tabby" and found homes for his brother and sisters (Pirate, Blackie, Bippie, and Stripe). He was such a funny kitten - quirky and crazy. I'll never forget when he ran full-tilt onto the windowsill in our Briar apartment. The screen fell out (still attached at the bottoms) and he hung on for dear life. Though I wasn't fully dressed (*ahem*) I threw my upper body out the window to grab him (we were on the 7th floor). Unlike his mother, Orestes hated grass and crept carefully around the yard, trying hard to avoid it. He was such a sweet lap kitten in his youth. He loved to snuggle with his mom, and after she died 2 years ago, slept with us every night. Towards the end of his life, he seemed to develop anxiety, so we moved him into our bedroom to live out his life in a smaller area. He loved it! He had his comfy chair with a heating pad, a sunny window with a cat bed, a large closet with his litter box and food, and the cool bathroom for his required fresh sipping water and snuggles. He was the guardian of the bathroom. He also loved baths and always joined us when he heard the water running in the tub. When his fur got matted, Paul started brushing him again and he tolerated that so well, finally returning to his previously shiny, silky-furred self. Though the kids called him "the mean kitty" and Ole slunk away from him, avoiding conflict, they will miss him. A house without a cat doesn't feel as warm, as homey, or as cozy, to me. Sam is allergic to cats, so we will be cat-free for a while now.

We will miss you, sweet Orestes, a.k.a. Resty-Roo. Rest in peace. We hope you have a large supply of catnip in kitty heaven! Kiss Electra for us.

Wow- those 2 weeks zipped right on by!

Between training and the house drama, it's been a busy few weeks! Here's the big news: we are under contract! Hooray! We have our inspection Wednesday and the buyers have til Friday to pull out without losing their earnest money. They seem pretty level-headed so we think they will stick with it. We put an offer in (squeaked in by April 30 so we'll get a $6500 tax deduction next year!) on a house we like. It's in another subdivision, which has its pluses and minuses. Major pluses include the pool, park, Bobolink trail, bike path, and virtually no yard to keep it. It backs to a cul-de-sac and has one in front as well. I wish it had a larger yard, more privacy and closer to Baseline, but we are happy with this one. Now, if things would just work out this time, we'll be thrilled! The pic is of Paul's "house beard." You can see just how badly I want this to work!!!! If all goes well, we'll close on both houses on May 28 and have the weekend to move.


The boys were off last week for Spring Conferences. Both had great work to present; Sam was so excited for his conference. He just loves school so much. I hope he'll continue, which he certainly will if he gets Elizabeth for 1st grade; that teacher just glows with her love of learning and teaching. Ted's was very impressive too, just in the sheer growth he's shown this year. His reading went from pre-primer (which is middle of K) to end of 2nd (i.e., grade level) on the DRA test. This test is a tougher test than the usual one they use - on that one (that his tutor used) he was rated at a 5th grade reading level. Clearly, the DRA is a better judge of true ability, but it's still so clear that he can pretty much ready anything now, and comprehend it too. He is one of two 2nd graders who are on Multiplication in Fast Facts (They do 100 problems in 10 minutes and can only get one wrong to pass. There are 3 levels for each one - i.e. 3 different tests for adding 8 + anything, etc.) He is very proud of that. Over break the kids have C.O.W. to work on (stands for Challenge Of the Week). The C.O.W. is "an extended math problem that requires problem-solving strategies, writing about the process, thinking and solution, and showing work. It is expected to take longer than normal homework, and it should be returned as a high quality published piece." His Fall C.O.W. wasn't a high quality published piece at all; he solved the problem easily but didn't do a good job of putting it all together. He had only been in 2nd grade for a month and truly didn't know how to explain his thinking. This year's was awesome. He solved it easily but was able to explain how he came to his answer and designed an hysterical cover (keep in mind that the Horizons' school mascot is a cow). I am so proud of all he has done this year. And we are so excited for Mae to join the big boys next year at Horizons!!!

Heather, our beloved babysitter and friend, moved in with us today. Mae graciously gave up her room and all three are in the boys' room for now. It took them an extra hour to settle down tonight so I hope the novelty wears off soon. I'm glad we are under contract - it looks a little crazy in the bedrooms right now! Heather graduates on Thursday with her Psych degree and has two months off before starting her new job in Chicago. We will miss her!!! Luckily she is planning to return to Colorado in two years to get another Psych degree - hooray!

I've been sick (*sigh*) and after two wonderfully intense weeks of training, took all of last week off. I felt much better today and did an epic bike ride with Sylvie. We rode to Golden in the crazy wind and it even snowed on us! That was fun. I think I'm on the mend now though and will attempt to get back into the swing this week. Sam and Mae test on Friday night in TKD; Sam will move to Yellow Belt and Mae to Orange. Ted doesn't need to test although he does know half of his form (88 moves - he knows 48, so he's good to go) so he could mid-term, but I don't think he's planning on it. Then it's Mother's Day weekend already! We will know a lot more next week, but if all goes well and we do need to be out by June 1, we will be doing some packing!

I think that's the big news on our end. Never a dull moment!