Jaci Dawn

I was sorting through all my old sketches when I uncovered a hidden trove of my children’s artwork from elementary school days. Why I had it mixed in with my stuff is beyond me (except that a lot of mine dates back to school days so maybe I just combined it all one day when we were boxing and moving?).

Blast from the past. Now I love my kids equally (despite what the girls think: they think I favor Levi), but this is going to be mostly about… Levi. It isn’t that I favor him over the girls, but that his drawings are just so darn funny!

This one doesn’t really fit under “my kid’s art’ but it was mixed in the box with everything else. A girl named Debbie drew this portrait of my sister in 1973 or 1974. It’s too large to scan & the camera does it no justice. I should have given it to my sister ages ago but *I* kept it selfishly. I am glad I did because I no longer have my sister to give it to me and I think Chrystal should inherit this.

I do not have any art work of Chrystal’s to post because she wasn’t around when the older kids were in elementary school and her memorabilia got packed into a box appropriately labeled “Chrystal’s Stuff” as opposed to a box of my sketches and junk.

(How’s that for a run-on sentence?)

This isn’t artwork by one of my children, either. The little neighbor girl, KayLynn, drew it. She loved my little Appaloosa mare, Whisper. When KayLynn moved away, she gave me this drawing and a ceramic horse she loved as a token of her appreciation for allowing her to pet Whisper once in awhile. I think we maybe even let her ride bareback a little.

A little sentimental value.

Levi, 2nd Grade. Part of the PTA series “Dare to Discover”, this is titled “Dare to Discover the Yukon”. He drew his inspiration from my long-running correspondence with a pen-pal who has lived in the Yukon for a number of decades.

Arwen’s entry was “Dare to Discover Kiger Gorge” no doubt inspired by our many, many camping trips into the Steens Mountain Country. She always was a meticulous artist.

Another serious piece from Arwen: “Dogwoods at Sunset”. I’m guessing 6th grade?

Levi, 2nd Grade: “My grandpa is special because he takes me squirrel shooting.”

Oy vey. Not even politically correct! That’s a rifle in the foreground and a couple hapless squirrels out in the sagebrush. At least he spared us the blood and death.

I attribute this to Levi but it could have been an Arwen doodle on the computer. But I think it was a Levi work of art:

‘Starter Castle for ambitious princely couple. 10′ deep moat surrounding 6’ thick fortress. Small house w/garden and stable w/three stalls. Private garden with rare rose bushes from England. Small tower on each corner. two large towers in center of the grounds. Working drawbridge-type door. bridge over moat. Asking price $2,500,000. Located between large public forest and lake in northern Germany. Beautiful view. Contact King Ferdinando Chavez of Armorica at (11)034-784×7849

Castles of the World Realty

87207 S Houcester Ln

Leicester, Leicestershire County

England, United Kingdom UK-16402″

(I’m glad there’s a bridge over the moat, I was worried about that detail)

Last, there was this:

Levi, First Grade: an innocent- looking coloring book page with a story. I’m sure the assignment was *not* what Levi wrote about.

“The Penguins worst day ever.

On day three penguins were out sleding when an anvil fell right on top of them (next page) then another penguin came sleding and he fell in the hole and when he gout out. He pulled the anvil out of the hole and pulled out three flat penguins then slowley they became there  normal size again. Later on when they were sleding down the mountain they ran into a stump and flew one mile away. Then when they were sleding in town they ran into on hundred houses in a row. Later on they ran into a bank then the bank thought they were steling so they whent to jail. Later on they let them out and they sleded into a sewer hole. then on chrismas they got one billion presents that pushed them out of the house. The end.”

Those poor penguins!

I miss my kids. 🙂