Bear Family and a Wildfire

These are not my best bear pictures as I was behind the window and it was nearing 11pm ... AK time of course.

But they are my only photos of a bear family :)  

We woke as we smelled smoke.  Rob noticed the family.  I debated waking Amelia, but didn't...mainly because they could be gone in a second and then she'd be wide awake with no bear sighting.  Amelia saw pics the next morning and named them...Mom: Daphne Kids: Lila and Roy.  Ok, I helped with the names.

Mom ate some dandelions (thanks Daphne).

Kids climbed a pine tree...all the way to the top. They are the 2 darker blobs in the pic.   Thus, never climb a tree to get away from a bear.

Not sure what that night's smoke smell was, but a day later I was making dinner, looked out the window and saw a landscape of dark smoke on the other side of the mountain (Eagle River valley).  I yelled for Rob and we went into evacuation mode.  Only takes a bit for that fire to come up a mountain.  

It turned out that it was actually on the other side of the river, close to homes but did not take any.  In an hour was quickly reduced to this.  I didn't even think to take a pic when the sky was black smoke....see what panic mode does to you.

Amelia got nervous too and packed her bag with a lego clock, books, a jewelry box and a few stuffed animals.  We are now getting a list of things to grab and throw into the truck, as we realized when you are in panic mode, the best choices are not  made. 

 After a deep thought, besides us 3, very little cannot be replaced.

End of Year Gifts

Amelia and I made lots of thank you gifts.  First to the teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week.

When I closed my studio many years ago, one of my students gave me a set of thumbtacks made with buttons from her grandmother's button box.  I remarked then that "I had my grandmother's buttons too!"  

 I still have the thumbtacks from back then and thought it would be great to hand her teacher and her assistant a little handmade gift each day.  Since we had tons of buttons in our craft stash, Amelia chose a few cuter ones than from my grandmothers.  I just hot glued them onto a flat thumbtack that I found at Walmart.

Teachers received one of these too during appreciation week:

These bracelets started a craze with Amelia.  Her friend at school gave her one and then a few more.  Of course,  Amelia wanted to make them.  I already had a gift for her that I was saving that had these and the braided kind to make.  She made a few of the rubber band kind, but then was hooked on the knotted ones.  Decided that would be the End of Year Gifts to her classmates. 

I swear every kid was wearing a bracelet of some sorts by the end of the year :)  FYI..the watch is not a watch, but a Sqord to track fitness that she received at school.

Onto Dance:

These were much less time consuming than the bracelets...partly because there are only 6 in her dance class.   Her teacher received one and a gift certificate to a local dance supply store and her classmates received one and a bag with colors and a note book (including a friendship bracelet) to be opened backstage the night of the show.  

On to the teacher gifts for the end of the year.  

I called my niece who is also a Kindergarten teacher and asked what her favorite gifts to receive at the end of the year.  She replied "Gift Cards..hands down."  I thought, how boring.  However, Amelia did learn to read in Kindergarten....Barnes and Noble would be perfect!  Still kinda boring.  I thought hard.  How about a few SIGNED copies of Amelia's favorite books???!  YES.  Luckily, I had time to contact each of the authors.  All sent books ... signed....Anna's came from Australia.

How cool is that?!  We also made a little framed "to teach is to touch a life forever" print and a color journal with colored pencils (Amelia's new craze).

We are now officially on Summer Vacation.  Not doing much these next couple weeks, but will be swimming, dancing and tumbling shortly.  Stay tuned.

Graduation Day

Her school didn't have an official kindergarten graduation, so I made a cap and diploma for pictures at home...complete with my high school tassel :)

Here is the photo of the first day of kindergarten ... 
way back when.  Wore the same outfit on the first and last day, same with Pre-School.  Except...the black shoes didn't fit :(  

Next ... thank you gifts.

The Dance

Ad that I placed in the program this year ... always with a previous year's picture.

Rehearsal:

Wish I had been one step back to get those fingers of the left hand :(

Photo Shoot Rehearsal Day:

Next day... Showtime!

I get there early and snap a few photos backstage.

Class chaperones have the advantage of getting backstage shots.

I made goody bags for all the girls in her class ... and they sat and colored the whole time.  Best group yet!   Miss Amy reminded them 5 minutes til show time.

Line up time...

Lights ... camera...action :)

  

Finale and Bow:

The Paparrazi:

"Look here....no there!...over here!" :)

Until next year...