Madalyn's first question for today: "How do you say ribbit in Chinese?"

It is so funny to me how kids perceive things. As adults we do our best to explain things to them but things sometimes just get lost in translation. For instance, Maile's pre-school class talked about Martin Luther King and civil rights. Maile came home and was telling me all about King Obama (I about flipped--if you know my stand on politics you know why) and how he couldn't drink his coffee in the coffee shop and that he has to sit in the back of the bus. Once she got to the bus part I knew it wasn't King Obama she was talking about but Mr. King she was talking about. I later talked to her teacher and asked her about Civil Rights Day at pre-school and informed me that she had tried to help the kids understand that if the civil rights movement hadn't happened we wouldn't have a black president. The activity for the day was to paste colored hands with ways to be "civil" on them. Darin and I loved the one about the babysitter. Overall I think she got the point. :)

One Sunday morning we woke up and found the girls sitting on the back porch enjoying breakfast....aren't they cute?

Maile is always wanting to exercise with me. A few times when I have come home from running she will be waiting for me in her "running shoes" for just one more trip around the block. The funny thing is that she giggles the whole way. She thinks it is so fun. What makes it even more fun is if we match and have snacks or energy as she calls them between every rep. The night we took this picture she brought a bowl of chocolate chips and raisins and an apple downstairs just in case we go hungry. Funny thing is she ate all of the chocolate chips and left the rest. Yesterday, I got all ready for a walk and she insisted on riding her 2-wheeler (since she no longer has training wheels) with me. It was great until we had to come back up the hill---which in Herriman there is no avoiding the hill--then I carried her bike for her. :) She's a great little work-out buddy! :)

btw--not the best pic. especially the red eyes.

And so another year goes by.....Maile graduated from pre-school a few weeks ago and I have to say I didn't think she was going to emotional one bit about it but I was wrong! The graduation was so cute. All the kids sang songs and performed some of their own dance moves along with the lyrics, they told us what they wanted to be when they grow up. Of course, Maile wants to be a chef. She does whip up a mean fruit salad! :) Then there was the slide show (the emotional part) and the presentation of the graduates. They were all so cute!

On the drive home Maile tells me that the slide show made her "mostly happy but a little sad." I didn't pay much attention to her comment but let her know that I knew what she meant....cause it made me kinda sad. When we got home she went straight downstairs and popped her copy of the slide show in the DVD player. She came back up with wet cheeks and red eyes. I asked her if she was OK and she blew me off like she didn't want to talk about it. Then I found her in her room just sobbing! Literally sobbing! She told me she was sad pre-school was over and that she already missed her friends, especially her friend that moved to Arizona half way through the year. Poor little Maile has a tender heart.

Maile loved pre-school this year. She had a hard time in the middle of the year and I seriously thought about pulling her out. I am so glad I didn't. Pre-school is one of those things I didn't ever think I would put my kids in but I think the fit between Maile and Mrs. Brooksby was perfect and just what Maile needed.

Maile's BFF, Emma.

We couldn't leave out her first crush, Kolby. She was too shy to pose with him so I had to get him solo. He's cute, isn't he?

Maile and her teacher, Mrs. Brooksby.

A few months ago Maile had one of her first slumber parties. She is always begging to have someone stay or to stay at someone's house so when Lauren came to town from Washington we had to make a plan. I am not sure they did anything except giggle----and I mean giggle! They laughed in the car, when they played, while they ate and of course when they couldn't sleep it was certainly because they were giggling! Now everytime Maile comes across the pictures from the gigglefest all she can do is giggle and say how much she likes Lauren.