Anna the Preschool Grad

We attended Anna's preschool graduation this evening.  When I told Phillip about the event, he smiled and started quoting The Incredibles ("It's not a graduation!  He is [just moving on to the next grade!] . . . They keep coming up with new ways to celebrate mediocrity!").  Considering that Phillip put in nearly a decade of work, got two articles published, and wrote a groundbreaking dissertation before he could graduate with his doctorate last year, I guess he can be forgiven for snickering at a graduation where the only requirement was consistent attendance.

But I digress . . .

The ceremony was pretty cute.  The kids recited nursery rhymes they had memorized, and played songs on hand bells . . . 

. . . then received their diplomas.

Thanks for a great year, Miss Alli and Miss Erika.  Anna learned a lot and had a great time.  Preschool was always the highlight of her week.

Train Rides to Daddy's School

Anna, Todd, and I went on a little adventure today.

We took a few trains downtown . . .

. . . to meet Daddy for lunch on campus.

After enjoying some pizza together we checked out the big fountain, with a statue of Traveler the stallion looking on.

The little kids had a great time on the trains, and we got back just in time to pick the big kids up from school.

Thanksgiving in May

In a few weeks our family will be moving away from the only home, city, climate, culture, and congregation our kids have ever known.  As we prepare for a new adventure on the other side of the country, I thought it would be nice to have a Thanksgiving feast in May to celebrate the things we've been grateful for here in South Pasadena, and our hopes for the coming year in Arkansas.

We've been grateful to live in a town with great schools and a nice sense of community.  We've been grateful to live near grandparents, aunts, and uncles, who we've been able to visit often.  We're grateful that we'll be moving to a bigger home with a yard, in an area with friendly people, and we hope we'll make good friends there.

Happy Sunday Again

Another pleasant Sunday at the Hendrickson Homestead.

Daniel played Minecraft solitaire this morning . . .

. . . and Joy decided to weave a tapestry.

After church Joy wanted to make a kite.  Her first two or three models didn't turn out so great. . .

. . . so she looked up instructions on the internet and her last model flew pretty well.  Now if only we lived in a windy area.

After dinner Daddy turned on some music and we had a little dance party.

May I have this dance?

I love our family.

Open House 2016

Our family strolled and scooted to Joy and Daniel's school this evening . . .

. . . for Open House.

It was fun to see the projects Daniel has worked on, including a fluffy pinecone owl, a clay frog, and a book about bears.

In Joy's classroom, she showed us the cardboard model she made of a local landmark, and the clay storyteller and goat she worked very hard on with her art teacher.

Joy was thrilled that her best friend Riley came to visit her classroom, too.  I'm so glad Joy found a friend this year who shares her flair for thinking up creative projects and experiments.

Happy Sunday!

The kids enjoyed a relaxing morning at home before church today.

They played games . . .

. . . and read books.

We love Elephant and Piggie books.  Apparently they even appeal to Creepers.

Hope your Sabbath was a restful and happy one, too!

All Rowdy on the Eastern Front

Joy invited some friends over . . .

. . . for a Nerf gun battle after school.

They were all shooting harmless foam darts, but it's still hard not to feel intimidated when a neighbor kid shows up with a "bullet-proof" vest and a Nerf machine gun while everyone else is toting six-shooters.

The girls declared the tree their safe spot, where they could reload in peace.

Partway through, everyone held a summit to discuss acceptable rules of combat.  The third graders wanted a lot of complex rules about teams and spawn points and cool-down periods.  The first graders got frustrated and asked if everyone could just have fun randomly shooting at anyone in sight.  The first graders won out.

Things I overheard on the battlefield:

"His code name is Stinger."

"My name is Destructinator!"

"Surrender or die!  Hey--no one's surrendering!"

Dessert Pizza

Inspired by a cookie pizza she recently read about . . .

. . . Joy decided to make a dessert pizza with Oreo "pepperoni" using an entire batch of our pillowy sugar cookie dough for the crust.

Phillip and Joy joked that the pizza was so cool that she should debut it on a red carpet with reporters snapping pictures like crazy.  We settled for a purple carpet and Paparazzi Daddy.

Dibs on a Golden Oreo slice!

Star Wars Day 2016

May the Fourth be with you!

That's right, folks, it's Star Wars Day, and I held a celebratory dinner featuring double-saber hot dogs,   sarlacc hummus with Ewok food (celery and cucumbers) to dip in it, and colorful carrot light sabers with foil handles . . .

. . . plus some non-geeky baby carrots for the youngling.

For dessert I made a sheet cake decorated with star sprinkles and the Millennium Falcon (it blew the kids' minds that I stuck a toy in the frosting).  Last but not least, I rented Star Wars 7 and let the two big kids stay up to watch the first hour of it (we'll watch the rest this weekend).  They're enjoying it so far, and Joy was almost as delighted as I was to see the "real" Millennium Falcon in the film.

Coincidentally, Anna recently came home from preschool with a jet-pack, which she thinks is pretty cool.  Huzzah for sci-fi and the joys of imagination!