Busy Day

Yesterday was one of the busier days we've had around here. I dropped the kids off at school at 8:10, stayed for a meeting with the principal at 8:30, and then ran (literally) from his office to the multi-purpose room for a second grade assembly:

She's the 6th from the right in the top row... It's a pretty bad picture because I was squatting on the floor with the two littles, trying my hardest to keep them from causing too much commotion. The presentation was really cute. First they recited a poem and then they sang "All You Need is Love." Second graders are just so cute and enthusiastic! I love it!

After the assembly we went home for a couple of hours. The kids sat around watching Curious George and Daniel Tiger while I showered and tidied and packed. Then we headed to Google for lunch with Joseph. He had won a contest a while ago, and this was part of the prize. It was in one of the regular cafeterias, but they had these tables reserved for us, the chefs came out to meet us and tell us what they had planned, and they plated and served all the food for us.

The salad was arugula, strawberries, almonds, avocado, red onion, and a really delicious vinaigrette. I can say with no exaggeration that it was one of the best, if not the best, salad I've ever had. I ate mine and most of Jake's (he refused to touch it after putting a big piece of onion in his mouth for his first bite. His loss is my gain though, right?).

Next they brought out the entrees - short ribs, Brussels sprouts, and cheese ravioli with a pesto sauce. All of it was amazing. 

Elinor ate a lot of the meat and ravioli.

Jake tolerated the ravioli, but only stuck it through for the soft serve we grabbed from the cafeteria afterward.

Elinor is an expert at pulling perfectly-timed crazy faces.

I really don't know how she times it so well. These two pictures were taken one right after the other. It's pretty entertaining though!

We had to slip away a little early to go pick up the big kids from school, since Friday is early release. As I was driving there a friend called and asked me to pick up her son since she was stuck somewhere else. She ended up meeting me at the school anyway, but since she was in the middle of something I ended up taking her son and younger daughter for a couple of hours.

This is what our family would look like with 6 kids. Except hopefully the ages would be more spread out and we might not end up with two super-blonde kids. I did feel like I was running a day care though, as we all trooped back to the car.

We love hanging out with these guys because the girl and Elinor play together SO well. Another cool thing is that the older boy is named Jacob and they have a baby our Jacob's age named Caleb. It gets very confusing at times, but it's kind of fun.

After the friends left I had about an hour and a half to frantically pack for a camp out with the young women, during which I would be responsible for devotional and breakfast. It ended up being pretty fun though, and the campsite was fantastic.

This is where I slept last night.

 And here are a few other pictures, for good measure.

Jake enjoying one of Caleb's T-ball games.

Jake sitting at the school, holding one of his favorite toys to date. This cone was a steering wheel, a gun, a sword, a hat... the possibilities were endless.

The kids' favorite trees to climb. This picture was taken moments before Jacob fell from his perch and landed solidly on the ground. He was shaken but not hurt. Nothing a bite of cookie and a drink couldn't fix. :)