Friday at OSV!

Another day at Old Sturbridge Village! ... M pumping water from the well.

Jonah "milking" the cow. (no, it's not real)

Walking toward the Town Common - a rare moment of adorableness with these 2 brothers holding hands. Going to watch the stagecoach. Ahhh, moments like these!! (*makes Mom smile!*)

Merrik, "MY favorite gun is the biiiiiigg tall one!"

Jonah, "MY favorite gun is the big FAT gun! See?!" (on the bottom)

Flowers are Bloomin'!

... some flowers from around our yard ...

sparkling with the morning dew.

And DAISIES too - my favorite!!

Father's Day Fun

Three generations of CrAzY!

Jonah in Grandpa's glasses!!

Grandma Dolores helping Jonah decorate the Father's Day celebratory cake!

AND it's Grill time! Unfortunately it was also Pouring Rain time!! But of course, as soon as the food was cooked ... the sun came out ...

Bring on SuMmEr TiMe!!!

We love hop scotch!

...crawling thru the water tunnel!

...back up the hill for another slide!

"Yaahoooooo!!!"

Last day of Kindergarten!

"Here comes the bus!!" (Jonah took this pic.)

Heading down to the bus stop (AKA the end of our driveway) for the last day of school! Where did this year go???

Puff the Magic Dragon! and other Kindergarten party pix!

Jonah's kindergarten class put on the play "Puff the Magic Dragon" for the end of the year bash. Jonah was part of the royalty (here, second from the right) They were SO cute to watch, singing their little hearts out!
The rest of the stage. Puff & the pirate boat. What a cute production!

After the play, we went to the classroom for refreshments. Here's Jonah with Mrs. Waddick & Mrs. Campiglio - his wonderful teachers!!

Jonah loved kindergarten! He learned SO much & found so many new friends. I cannot believe the year went by SO fast!

And Great Grammy & Great Grandpa Pooh came to see the play. YAY!! :)

Friends!! Notice - of course - that Jonah is surrounded by girls!

Preschool Graduation Celebration!

Lil' Merrik - what a CUTIE!!! (the little girl on his left was in Jonah's preschool class last year. She & Jonah spent most of the "free" time - after the program - holding hands & chasing each other around - SO cute. Good to see they remember each other! And of course, by then my camera battery had run out.)

Lining up The "Graduates"! (even though some, like Merrik, are returning to PreK next yr) And yes, M even let me do his hair so it's not hanging in his eyes! :)

M - shakin' his booty to the "Energy" song!

... "This is me, this is me, this is me & my energy!" ...

They sang 3 songs which had small choreographed movements to them. Then they were each given a certificate (if they're returning, like M) or a "diploma". At the end, they showed a movie with different video & still photos from the class activities through out the year. We were able to buy a copy as part of a fundraiser.

And because Jonah has morning kindergarten, he was able to come because M has afternoon preschool.

I Spy...!

LOOK how CUTE this kid is!!!!!

Still saluting after seeing "Soldier Uncle Tim" weeks ago!

The first of many dress up days.

Jonah said to me, "Mom, I have to tell you something. I'm sorry I've been keeping this secret from you. ... I'm a Spy." And he has declared these to be his "spy clothes". (apparently there is a show on TV where a kid is a spy & at some point, the boy is dressed up)

...leaving the house for a spy mission. (thankfully he only walked the driveway & came back!)

Kindergarten takes over OSV!

Jonah's class field trip. Yes, Jonah is the tall kid in back, left side. :)
Mixing clay.

Camouflaged in the grass!

Helping the farmers cut/stack the piles.

And pumping the water. Ahhh, nice cold water! These two boys are family friends - same ages as Jonah & M. We love them!

A' Fishing We Will Go...

At Buffumville Lake - Family fishing day.

"Auntie Michelle" with Merrik! This was M's favorite part of the activity... snacks!

"Look - a teeny fish!" LOL. We caught many of these that day. And I'm sure they were SO excited to be put back in the water!

Jonah - a little less than thrilled to be anywhere near his catch!

After taking if off the line, "Uncle Paul" tried to just hold it at an acceptably safe distance. Jonah still wasn't happy... needed comfort from Auntie Mich.

Uncle Paul (Jared's bro) handing Merrik his catch - and M's having nothing to do with holding it!

The boys absolutely LOVED fishing. But we quickly learned they were more excited with the idea of fishing, and not the actual fish. They love the outdoors, love to hold the pole, love to reel it in ... but do NOT love to be near the fish!

I Love to See the Temple

Jared & Alli - a rare quiet moment at the Boston Temple.

(Ain't he cute?!) :)

...AND then, of course, seeing this picture made me think of that most wonderful of days 10 & 1/2 years ago (WOW!) when we were outside of another temple...

Our Wedding Day, November 1999.

We have only 1 picture of us outside the Oakland Temple on that day because it was during a torrential downpour!! Literally. (which is of course good luck) So here's a snapshot of us back at the Willits reception. (we did take photos in the Temple Visitors Center immediately following the ceremony and, although it was the middle of the afternoon, it looks like it's nighttime outside due to the heavy rains/storm. crazy!)

It's a ZOO out there!

OK, I'm a sucker for a field trip! So off we go with Merrik's preschool class to Southwick Zoo in Mendon, MA. (Yes, you'd think it would be in Southwick, MA which IS a town next to our old house in Agawam. But that's just another New England misnomer!) We FINALLY found the rhino! And... only had to wait 2 minutes for him to come outside of his "house"! Cool. This guys is HUGE. He's standing about 15 or 20 feet from the wall below M.

And each year, the class makes these wicked cute zoo shirts and the kids get to choose what aminals they want on the front. The back says "Burgess 2010". (the name of the school). SO cute. Jonah still has his zoo shirt from last year.

Caught the end of a super cute elephant show. He did a great job, but I couldn't help thinking, "Poor elephant." At least here at the zoo he's well taken care of. I'm certain he wasn't trained here. Just performing "old tricks". :) M loved it.

M climbing the wooden camel statue. "Mommy, do you see me?! Take a picture!"

And here are Mrs. Campbell's afternoon classes. M is sitting/squatting 3rd from right on bottom. (and in sore need of a haircut) :) Merrik LoVeD the zoo but it was a lot of walking. We had a picture sheet with animals that we had to find at the zoo. By the time we got to last 1 or 2, I was of course carrying M around the zoo. But the weather was beautiful & it was a great time!

(http://www.southwickszoo.com/)