Jungle Gardens

On March 23, 2010 Megan went on a field trip to Jungle Gardens with her first grade class. With Mark as a chaperone and his camera in hand they had a blast! This was the very beginning of the morning as they were getting started, Meg has the map in hand and as a group they get ready to head off for some fun...

Of course no field trip to Jungle gardens would be complete without a group shot on the wooden train...

Megan LOVED feeding the flamingos!

I guess Mark did too :)

Field Trip Friends...

This was Mark's group while on the field trip...so he snapped this super cute picture of the five of them on the alligator (which you can barley see).

Megan and her friend Parker getting a glimpse of what they'd look like as "animal rescuers"...sorry Diego is on in the background and that is the only title I can think of.

Megan and good buddy Jackson during lunch sitting at the edge of the Koi pond. I have no idea what they were watching happen but what ever it was it was awesome to watch their faces watching it...

Good friends...

End Of The Field Trip.

These photos were taken at the end of the day when all the kids were allowed to play on the playground before heading back to school. Megan flashing dad a quick smile while spending time with her friends in the wooden train. What a cutie!

Curly slides are sooooo F-U-N!!!

Peeking through an opening with a toothless smile :)

Mark and Megan after a fun field trip filled with alligator shows, monkeys climbing trees, flamingos strolling through the grounds, first grade friends and Daddy & daughter making a wonderful memory together!

Big Girls Don't Need Bumbo's...

Okay so "they" say the more children you have the sooner they learn anything and everything...I completely agree with this statement. Whether it's because they're watching their older siblings or out of necessity for the parents (because we take the "training wheels" off earlier, because there's no time to slow down so little ones have to keep up with the pace) either way baby #5 Mckinley at 5 months is sitting all on her own.

Look at me!

I can even reach for that toy that's just a bit of a stretch...

No more Bumbo for Mckinley!

Morgan & Third Grade ROCKS!!!

End of March 2010 the entire third grade class puts on a production of School House Rock. It is sooo wonderful to watch my children perform the songs I loved so much as a child myself...come on...who doesn't love Conjunction Junction! Following in tradition (Marin did it first when she was 3rd grade) Morgan did AWESOME!!! Since we weren't allowed to take pictures during the show these are the after production photos. Amidst the chaos of every 3rd grade parent trying to take pictures of their kiddos we were able to snap a few of Morgan, who as you can see was pretty much poised & camera ready :)

Smile for your close Ms. Parisi...

Of course we have to have the "peace" photo with our good friend.

The BEST third grade teacher ever...Mrs. Drown with our superstar!

Dress-up :)

One of Macy's favorite activities is playing dress-up. Every day she asks to put on a "princess dress" which is any dress she deems as pretty. On this day (March 22, 2010) she decided that since Morgan was trying on her costume for a school production she should dress-up too. So the pink dress which is actually Mckinley's (hence the reason it's sooo short) the blue fairy wings (which are a must have for any dress-up occasion) and my high heels. The perfect ensemble.

Man oh man...she is one CUTE kid!!! Love those baby blues!

The two princesses at the end of their dress-up session. :)

Megan's Leperchan Trap

In mid-March Megan's 1st grade class had an assignment to make a leprechaun trap. They were hoping to catch one of those feisty little green guys to find out the secrets of rainbows and four leaf clovers and of course where his pot of gold was...

This shows the end of the rainbow and where Megan was trying to trick the leprechaun into thinking he left his hat behind and the path of clovers down to where the goodies are...

This is inside the trap door where Megan placed a fake pot of gold (with gold coins on the ground leading up to the pot and a bottle of "Irish Cheer" to entice our lil' leprechaun...

Megan with her Leprechaun trap (if you look inside the trap door you can see where she & Mark rigged a small tupperware upside down so when the leprechaun walks inside the box to get the drink & gold he trips a wire that's set across the door and drops the trap) the green paper is her report on how her trap works, which she received an A+ on, and of course sister Macy gets in a smile and a 'good job" cuddle!

Marin Turns 11 & Uncle Daryl Turns ???

Marin & Uncle Daryl are "birthday buddies". Uncle Daryl's birthday is Feb. 24th & Marin's birthday is the 25th so this year we all celebrated together! It was such a wonderful "low key" evening. We had Marin's favorite dinner (which is a Parisi birthday tradition) then onto cards, presents and best of all...CAKE!!!

Morgan and Megan were big helpers in blowing out the candles with Marin & Uncle D. Macy on the other hand is just happy to be "in the mix"...

Uncle Daryl and his girls!

Perfect way to end a birthday evening...with a little ice cream and a BIG smile! Happy Birthday Marin! Happy Birthday Uncle Daryl!

Morgan & Daddy's Radish Project

In mid February began Morgan's radish project for her 3rd grade class so with Daddy's help they put together the bin with a watering tube and got to planting. Within a short time they had these small sprouts...

For a bit Morgan seemed to get somewhat discouraged with what seemed like "slow progress"...

But after a few more weeks and some much needed encouragement from Dad, Morgan started to get excited that their work watering & caring for the radishes was going to "pay off".

The end result...a big bin full of radishes! Morgan & Mark had a wonderful time working together on this project. It has actually spurred on "new" projects...a lemon tree, avocados and the list continues to grow. :)

Okay Okay So I Lied...

I didn't mean to but I did. I lied. I promised I would catch-up as soon as school got out & then I got caught up in being out of school and all the summer fun that came along with being out of school. So I completely apologize! I firmly state that this will not be the "theme" for the rest of this year. On to getting caught up to date...