I am doing Joyschool with Kathryn this year.  She won’t start kindergarten for two more years, and we just didn’t want to pay for preschool for her for two years.  Darryl frequently reminds me that the cost of most preschools (at least the ones I could find here) was the same cost as tuition to BYUI.

So I wanted to get some kind of co-op preschool going, but since we just moved here in June and I didn’t get around to trying to organize anything until almost August, there wasn’t much interest.  But then I found someone who does Joyschool and needed more people for a group.  So Kathryn is in Joyschool with two boys.  When we have it at our house, Amelia joins in as well.

I was all excited to take a picture of the first day of Joyschool, only to find out Darryl had taken the camera to work with him!  One of the blessings of having a photographer husband.  So now I will be saving my money for my own camera. 

I decided to take some pictures of the first day of Joyschool at our house instead, which was today.

Here is Kathryn getting the calendar, weather, and Joyschool House ready.

Amelia is helping put up the Joyschool rules.  I also like Daniel’s cute smile in this picture.

And here they are doing an art activity.  Kathryn takes art very seriously.

Amanda, Kathryn | No Comments »

For Kathryn’s birthday we got her a ballet outfit and ballet lessons at the community center here. The first lesson was last Wednesday. Here are some pictures before we went to the class.

Here she is hugging herself. She does this every night after she hugs each member of the family. I think we all need to give ourselves a hug sometimes!

This is when I had to tell her that it still wasn’t time to leave yet.

It was the cutest thing seeing all these 3-5 year old girls arrive to ballet class, dressed like little ballerinas. I’m pretty sure Kathryn loved it: Each day she has told me how many days are left until Wednesday again, which is BALLET DAY!

Family | 2 Comments »

Another Ukraine thing that I want to remember (actually that I can’t forget right now):  Sheets.

When we got to Ukraine I was disturbed that the bedding included only a flat sheet, no fitted sheet.  So you lay the flat sheet on the mattress and lay on that, then your blankets or comforter or whatever over that.  It drove me crazy!  For two reasons.  First of all, the flat sheet is not big enough to be tucked into the mattress, so it never stays in place.  So annoying.  Second, it just made me cringe to have my covers right on my body.  I need a sheet in between! 

21 months of suffering, dreaming of American bedding.  And guess what?  The fitted sheet is great, but the flat sheet is just getting in my way now.  I don’t need it!  I don’t even want it!  We actually left it off our bed for several weeks.  Now we’re trying to get used to it again, but it is just getting in the way.  Oh, well.

Kyiv Adventures | 1 Comment »

Several weeks ago I was at the park with the kids and observed the difference between moms in the US and moms in Ukraine.

Moms at the park in the US:  half were wearing work-out clothes, hair pulled back, and looked like they worked out a lot (not just slender, but strong).  The other half were wearing regular clothes (casual).  We (the moms) sat on the side of the sandbox and our kids sat in the sand.

Moms at the park in Ukraine:  99% wearing 3 inch heels, very nice clothing, makeup on, hair done.  Women in Ukraine would not leave the house without looking their very best (in many ways I admire that), and that definitely includes not wearing work out clothes.  At one time I thought they just always wore really nice clothes.  What about taking care of their kids at home?  What about spit up and stuff?  Then I realized that inside the home they wear veyr casual, comfortable clothes.  They are very skinny but I don’t think very many work out.  And they would never sit down on any kind of pavement, or sand.  Or anything but a bench.  It makes you sterile, they believe.  I’m living proof that is a myth.

Kyiv Adventures | 3 Comments »

Grandma and Grandpa Harrison visited for Labor Day weekend.  We continued to celebrate Kathryn’s birthday on Saturday.  Grandma and Grandpa took her to Toys R Us to pick out a bike.  (I was unable to get the bike pictures off the camera.)  Then we went to Red Robin for dinner.  Here is a picture of Kathryn with her grandparents.  She was really so excited and happy!

Also Amelia at dinner.  Such a cute girl.  And Daniel tried to eat the table.

There was lots of story-reading.

On Sunday evening after dinner we drove to Snoqualmie Falls, about 45 minutes away. 

All the kids loved spending time with their grandparents.   And so did I!  Thanks for doing the dishes, mom!

Family | 5 Comments »

Kathryn decided she wanted a rainbow theme for her birthday.  I put up some decorations the night before so when the girls woke up they were excited to see them.  Kathryn was disappointed that she hadn’t grown bigger now that she is four.  But then she said,  “I sound different!  Aaahhh.  My voice is different!  I’m four!” 

 We had a little party Friday morning, the actual day of the birthday.  She invited 5 girls, and 3 came.  So it was really not too stressful.  Two of the girls that came are our neighbors and are veryquiet (one of them only speaks Spanish, so that’s why she is quiet!).

They colored pictures of rainbows, Kathryn was a litte frustrated that not all the girls colored their rainbows in the right order.

Looked for rainbows in “winter sand” (mixture of lentils and beans, thank you Debbie for the idea),

Decorated rainbow cookies,

and had a cookie walk.  Amelia was pretty funny.  She always ran to the blue square when the music stopped.

Later in the day Kathryn opened her family presents.  We got her 6 weeks of ballet lessons with a leotard, skirt, tights, and ballet slippers.  She was pretty excited!  She said she wanted to wear the outfit to bed and everyday.  She tried out some of her dancing moves.  Kathryn just loves to dance and moves to music quite well.  She made up a little routine to the goodbye song from “The Sound of Music”.  Once Darryl shows me how to put videos on this thing you can see it.  Really adorable.       

I made a rainbow cake for Kathryn.  The inside was even rainbow colors.  That’s my favorite part.  I love trying to make cakes.  And we had rainbow sherbet for ice cream.

Kathryn was just so excited the whole day, and the whole weekend.  She told everyone she was four – Grandma and cousin Hannah on the phone, the checker at the grocery store, the primary president, etc.  I loved to see her so happy and excited.  The next day Grandma and Grandpa Harrison came, so we’ll have a separate post about the continuing celebrations.

Kathryn | 3 Comments »