David & Randy
One of the fun activities at Karshner school is the early-June Donuts with Dad gathering. The PTA provides donuts and invites all the kids’ dads into the gym to spend a few minutes with the kids before school starts. This year, Daniel was at the Junior High School for his final band class (i.e., party) so Randy joined David for donuts.
Mrs. Deleon’s class did a research project on members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. And, as in previous years, Randy’s dad came to the class to discuss the project and the players involved. The kids always enjoy meeting a former Big Leaguer and son of a Hall of Famer. And Dad thoroughly enjoys spending time with the kids.
Since Daniel is in 5th grade this year, he got to research his great-grandfather. It was great to see him put in the work and learn more about his family heritage. It was a great opportunity to tell family stories, show photos, and connect it all to baseball.
The fifth-grade band concert was a huge success! Daniel learned so much as he worked hard on his drumming. He had private lessons and practiced diligently. His band directors had such great things to say about him – they really praised his combination of natural talent and hard work. There were times during the concert that Sary-Jo flashed back to Janel when she watched Daniel play. His mannerisms were similar and she is such a good drummer. It was a real treat to watch Daniel (and now you can watch too).
Daniel exceeded his goal in Accelerated Reader (AR), and was recognized at the school’s Awards Assembly. Daniel, we are so proud that you take your school work seriously and work hard at it! Your success is due to that hard work.
Lauren is graduating from Puyallup High School! Joany threw a graduation party, which was a huge success. The weather was great and there was a terrific turnout for the party. The boys liked it because they had plenty of lawn for kicking a soccer ball. Click the picture to see more.
David received a medal for his reading accomplishment this year. He exceeded his goal of 30 points in Accelerated Reader (AR) by earning about 75 points. AR tests the kids’ comprehension of what they read, and David loves to get the positive feedback by succeeding on the computerized tests. The school held an assembly to honor the primary kids who met their goal and our camera was there. We are so proud of you, David!
Daniel’s class is connecting several subjects to baseball right now. He did his research on a Hall of Fame player (guess which one Daniel got), and completed other baseball-related work. An art project included a mosaic of Jackie Robinson. Daniel is extremely meticulous, so he was not going to settle for a run of the mill mosaic. He took many extra hours to get it just right and the result is incredible! Here he is with the finished result. Click the picture to see him attaching the final piece. And as he was approaching completion, David took a little video of the artist in his studio.
It had been a while since we had been out for Ethiopian food, and it had been a while since we spent time with Randy’s parents. So, along with one of Daniel’s teachers and her husband (who wanted to experience Ethiopian food), we went to Lalibela for lunch. It is our favorite of the Ethiopian restaurants in Seattle and we enjoyed good food and good company. As usual, we ate too much and brought home left-overs (which the boys will devour in short order tomorrow). We took a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.
Our house on Memorial Day
One of the things we enjoy in Spring is fixing up the house and yard. Last year, we never really got it the way we wanted, which meant that this year’s effort would be that much larger. We moved plants, added plants, pulled weeds (and more weeds, and more weeds), fertilized, and spread 5 yards of mulch. Considering our lot is not very large, we spent a lot of time in it. So, we thought we’d share some pictures of the results.
Mothers Day was rather quiet this year. After church, we went to Van Lierops to see the flowers, but they were mostly gone. It was still a beautiful day so we bought a few cut flowers. We also went to brunch, eating outside to enjoy the sunshine.
