Eliza was looking at a LEGO catalog with Peter, surveying a castle, knights, and princesses. She spied one princess in the castle, "a dismal in distress!"

Making s'mores, Anna said, "Just so you know, I don't like graham crackers." After a bite, Sarah said, "Pretty heavy duty, Mom." Peter's assessment: "I could eat two billion!"

"I got a 2-headed one!" Anna, commenting on eating her puffed cereal.

"That's what you need to send me on my mission, Mom: Gatorade powder packets." Nate's random comment while eating breakfast this morning.

"Guess what?" Anna asked this morning. "Grandma has CDs that are this big [her hands stretched apart 8 inches]." She's talking about the records that are Disney stories that Anna plays on my sister Becca's old Fisher-Price record player.

I bought some live ladybugs today that Anna and Peter were arguing over as to who would get to let them out. Lane asked if we had to let them out tonight as it was so late. "They have to be let out at dark," I instructed. "Do they come back to the container in the morning?" Lane quipped. "Yes," I teased, "they're specially trained lady bugs with tracking devices on them, and you can track them on an iPad." Peter heard all of this in wonder and awe, and ran to report to his brother: "Nate! You can contact those ladybugs on Mom's iPad! And they come back in the morning to the container!" Poor Peter, when I told him I was just joking, he was so disappointed!

"What do you want for your birthday breakfast?" I asked Lane. Mockingly, he answered, "Really chunky oatmeal, 42- grain bread, hand-churned butter." Sounded perfect to me!

Peter: "1 1/2 years until Nathan will be able to drive."

Lane: "Frightening, huh?"

Peter: "And then he's going to take me to In-n-Out Burger!"

I got into the car after I had finished swimming laps during the girls' swim team practice. I commented on how I wanted to go home so I could blow dry my hair. The girls protested. Julia cheerily said, "Your hair looks beautiful. It looks like you blow dried it, and then someone dumped a bucket of water on it."

I had 22 messages on my myjobchart.com message board. About 17 of them were from Eliza. "Check your email. Nooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww," she said.

"I wish school weren't over today," Rebecca lamented, after having a year with such a wonderful teacher.

"Is Aunt Becca coming this summer?" Julia asked. "Mm hmm," I confirmed. "That's good," she continued. "Then we won't be totally bored."

I woke up the children this morning (May 24) with a "Good morning! It's snowing outside!" Their responses: Eliza--"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Nate, earnestly--"That is SO cool!" Peter, gazing out the window unbelievingly, "It's not a-posed to snow...."