Busy Times!

I know, not really a good excuse...but that's all I've got!  We really have had a lot going on in the last few weeks though!  Let's see.....the kids went to a birthday party, we've had lots of school stuff going on, Emily has had a dance performance, the kids and I made a trip south to see Mom and Dad and Brandie got engaged!!! (OK, well maybe I shouldn't claim that last thing as an excuse for not blogging, but in my defense we have been dress hunting.)  That's just a bit of what we've been up too.  We have that much and more coming up in the next few weeks!
So the birthday party the kids went to was at Build A Bear.  They had such a great time!  Emily picked a kitty to stuff and then dressed her in a ballerina outfit....very appropriate!  Wyatt stuffed a dog and found a NASCAR outfit....he was thrilled!   

School has been good for both kids so far.  We haven't had any absences yet (knock on wood!).  Wyatt is signed up to do safety patrol.  They do six week rotations and he can't wait till his turn comes around.  Emily is on the student council this year.  They had their planning meeting last week to discuss the projects they will be working on this year.  Between that and dance, she is going to be one busy little girl this year!  Along with her tap and ballet, she added a jazz class to her schedule.  She is also in a performance class on Wednesday afternoons.  In that class they are learning short routines that can be performed on fairly short notice.  She had one such performance a couple of weeks ago and has another next week.  They will then spend November learning a new set of dances to do for Christmas performances in and around the community.  She is really enjoying her dance!  As if she doesn't keep us busy enough, Wyatt will start basketball in about a month.
We've had lots and lots of rain to deal with in the last few weeks!  The temps have cooled off nicely too, but with all the rain, the kids have been stuck inside more than they like to be.  

In the next few weeks we have the fall carnival at school, the kick off for the canned food drive for student council, 2 planned camping trips, Jeff's birthday and Wyatt is going to the NASCAR race with Sissy (shhhh, he doesn't know about this!!)

A future Leader?

We had a family night at school this week.  Actually, we've had them the last two weeks....each grade level is having them on different nights.  It's nice, they are taking an opportunity to give parents information about report cards, testing, curriculum....and basically what the students will be working on this year to be promoted to the next grade level. Anyway, this week was for the 1st grade parents.  So Emily's teacher catches up to me and says she has the cutest story about Emily she has to share with me.

To start the story off, you should know that the kids school has a student council.  I believe in kindergarten each teacher selects a student from their class to participate (at least that's how it was when Wyatt was in kinder...as he was a member), but I was under the assumption that in the other grade levels the selection is a bit different.  At any rate, Emily and I have had discussions about the student council and she decided she would like to be a member too.  I told her she would need to ask her teacher about it. Apparently she has done just that!  It's my guess that maybe she is driving her teacher a little nuts about it.  Okay, knowing that, here is how the conversation with her teacher started......"So Emily has been asking me about being on student council and I think she would be perfect, I'm going to put her name in"!  Then she goes on to tell me about their discussion in class....they are learning about their leaders.  In this discussion, she ask the kids if they could tell her who one of their leaders are.  She was calling on students who had their hands raised to answer.  She said she got to Emily, who was being very patient, and Emily's response was...."I know TWO leaders, YOU and ME"!!  She laughed and said that was a story she went home and told her husband about!  Something tells me that Em will make a pretty good little leader with that kind of confidence!!  Should we be thinking future Congresswoman, Senator or even President??? :)

Miss Independent

Yep, that's my girl!  She doesn't want my help with much anymore....especially doing her hair!  "I can do it myself" is what I hear when I try to help.  This is one of those things where I've decided to "pick my battles", so to speak.....on the weekend, when we are just hanging out at home, I let her do her own thing.  On school days, as long as it doesn't look too bad, I let her do her own thing then too.  On days when she decides that more is better....as in pony tails AND clips AND head bands AND anything else she can get in her hair....yeah, Momma takes over on those kind of days.  For the most part, she does pretty good though.  Here are a couple of pictures I took last week while she was pulling it back into a pony tail. 


 

How would you make Freckle Juice?

Last week the third graders were reading "Freckle Juice" by Judy Blume.  Wyatt came home with a note from the teachers inviting the students to make their own freckle juice and bring it to school to share.  He was determined that whatever he made, it had to have grape juice in it!  So I pulled out a cookbook and we found a punch recipe that sounded yummy.  It didn't need many ingredients, but grape juice was included.  He measured and poured and we mixed and sampled.  He was satisfied with the results so he eagerly took it to share!  He was so excited when I picked him up the next day.  He had sampled several other concoctions and his had been sampled by others....he was a happy camper!

So again, how would YOU make freckle juice?  This
is what Wyatt used....

Do you have/use Tupperware?

Or maybe you need some new stuff?  If you have not seen a catalog lately, you should find one!  They have some really nice stuff in fun new colors.  I know exactly where you can get your hands on one....and where to place an order too!!  Brandie has recently become a consultant.  So, if you would like to see a catalog and/or place an order, just let me know and I'll get you in touch with her!

I have beautiful kids!!

I love this picture....I don't get many of these! I took this at Sea World last month, but didn't post it with the others.

You might be wondering who the extra one is. That's Davy, let's just say he is with Brandie....

Summer 2009...some pictures not included in another post

Playing catch

Ummm, yeah....momma nixed this particular hair day!! The boys finished their buzz cut and Emily settled for ONE of her accessories.

I do occasionally allow a picture of myself...

Some pool pictures. Daytime and night swims...the kids really like the night swims because we put all the lights in with us! They have both been like little fish this summer!

This is our neighbor....his name is Smores.

The kids learned to play solitaire this summer.

School has started!

Wyatt is in 3rd grade this year and Emily in 1st. They were both so excited about getting this year underway. Of course, as I am typing this, Emily is laying on the couch....the nurse called to say she was sick! On a more positive note....Wyatt brought a note home yesterday to sign up for the safety patrol squad. 3rd graders are the oldest kids on campus this year so they get the honor of looking out for the younger kids. He was so excited! Of course this means getting up and leaving 30 minutes earlier than usual! It's only for 6 weeks though so I guess we can manage that.

Here are a couple of pictures from Monday...the first day.

We got another camping trip in before school started!

And again, we had a great time. No fishing this time, but the kids did get to play in the lake. That they had to do with daddy....cause if momma can't see her feet, she doesn't swim in it!! :) Jeff's best friend, Jeff (we call him Bodine and the kids call him Uncle Bodine), brought his daughter out and spent Saturday afternoon with us. The kids got him in a round of Limbo! Daddy brought his air soft pistol and (under his supervision) the kids took turns shooting at a target they hung on a tree. We also roasted marshmellows and made smores...yum!! If not for being invaded by ants, we may have decided to stay!!

Lesson learned?

I think probably NOT!!

My little bug catcher just came in from outside....screaming like a maniac!! "It bit me, it stung me"!! I ask if she might be referring to the bug she had captured.....yep. OK, this is the reason we tell you not to mess with bugs...and snakes...and anything else that you feel the need to capture and force to become your friend!! If you leave them alone, the chances are better they will leave YOU alone! I fear this is not the last time we will go through this....I just hope the bites and stings do not become more severe!

Some sites from our visit to Sea World....

The kids had fun playing in the water.

I don't get to see this very often....all 4 kids together!!

We all enjoyed the dolphin and beluga whale show.