Four!

Jonathan got his first set of junior golf clubs today. He was so excited! He walked around the yard like a little man! He enjoyed getting to set his clubs and bag next to his Daddy's set and practice his swing!

Riding Bikes and Eating Steaks

Today Jonathan learned to ride his bike, "Painkiller", without the training wheels. It took a while, and he was at first upset and wanted to give up. He even had his moments of just walking away from it, but we made him continue. And, by the end.......he was riding it himself and having a good time. Alyssa was a great cheerleader, and she kept yelling good things at her brother. She also rode her bike up and down the sidewalk........soon we'll get ride of her training wheels, too! To celebrate, we made miniature rootbeer floats and watched the video of him learning to ride. It was a great evening. My mom also came today for lunch, and she brought steaks that we grilled. It was a great visit and a great lunch.

Busy, but Great, Day!

Well, today was a busy day. I worked a while on updating my resume and reformatting it. I also typed a cover letter that I will deliver tomorrow. I hope the committee likes it and me enough to hire me. I'm excited about the possibilities, but nervous about the whole process, and anxious about waiting. But someone special told me that God was trying to teach me something through all this. And, this morning I was reading my Bible and God brought me to a verse that basically was a good reminder that we need to trust Him not only in the bad times, but also in the best of times. It was a good scripture, and reminded me that I have to trust Him with the situation......no matter what.

I also worked on what we will do for staff development the first week back, and I tried to call about our reservations.....which will have to be changed b/c of scheduling that week. No luck. I'll try again tomorrow.

Today also brought around some firsts. Jonathan and Alyssa had their first piano lessons with me! Alyssa sat still, listened, but is still a little young. She's eager, though, so we'll keep going as long as she wants to. Jonathan, however, about killed me. He could not sit still, and had trouble with it because he wasn't listening. Finally, I got onto him, and he listened better. Then, amazingly, he got it quickly! What a concept! Listening helps learning! LOL ;-) It's definitely harder to teach your own child. Thank goodness he has had music in school........he has learned a lot of good theory already, so it helped.

After we got done with piano lessons, I played for a bit. It was nice to just play.....haven't done that in a while. Alyssa came along soon, though, and wanted to bake with her little cooking set Mimi got her. So, we donned our aprons, got domestic, and made Nana's pie crust--just 1/2 a recipe. We put it in the tiny tart pans and saved the extra for cinnamon pie crackers. We took wild blueberries (they are really tiny) and some blackberries, coated them in flour, sugar, and cinnamon, and poured them in the shells. Then, we baked them and waited not so patiently for them to be done. I think we checked the oven 6 or 7 times. While waiting, we played Wii bowling and golf, and I lost at golf to my 7 year old.........it's just SAD! (He LOVED it by the way)

Anyway, once the tiny tarts were done, we enjoyed them as a family......and they were PERFECT! Alyssa did such a good job, and she smiled her blueberry covered smile of contentment when we told her! It was a good day!

First Grade Awards!!!

Jonathan had his First Grade Awards Ceremony this morning. He received all A's this year, so he got a certificate and a medal for the A Honor Roll all year, and he also got a special class award............Most Curious! His teacher really knows him well!!! :-) Nana came to see Jonathan get his awards, and so did Richard...........both made Jonathan really happy.

He had a great year, and I am so thankful that he had such a wonderful teacher. He went from reading a DRA level 14 at the beginning of the year to reading a DRA level 40 at the end. The library program that gives us reading levels so students can choose books on their independent level recorded him at a beginning fourth grade reading level. That's a HUGE improvement in one year, and I truly believe that his teacher did a great job pushing him this year. His math is getting better, too, but he still has to work on focusing and completing his work instead of drawing or talking.............I'm not sure WHERE he gets that from!?!?!!?

Field Day 2009

Field Day this year was a TON of FUN! We started off with a parade of classes around the stadium, and then we had a flag ceremony led by our scouts - Jonathan was so excited! Then the big kids ran races and did obstacle courses, and our first graders played various relay games, had potato sack races, played with a huge parachute, and had a great time! Richard and another dad cooked hot dogs for the kids and fajitas for the parents/teachers. They were really yummy! The fire department even came out later and turned on their big hose so the kids could play in the water. I think it was good for both the fire fighters (who had just come from a fatal wreck) and the kids. I know it was good for the teachers, because it gave us an hour of cooled down fun with the kiddos. And, yes, everyone was a MESS when the day was over. At least Jonathan had a change of clothes for the ride home!

A Zoo-lightful Day!

Today I went with the entire first grade to the local zoo. We had a great time, saw some wonderful animals, and the weather was gorgeous!! Jonathan asked his dad if he could wear his red cowboy hat. Richard said yes! I must admit that I was a bit upset about the hat because it looks so funny, but it ended up being a good mistake.........not only did it completely cover his whole head and neck from the sun, but it also was VERY easy to spot in the sea of lime green shirts! And while we're on the shirts...........what's up with lime green! We thought for sure that lime green would be a great color and that students would be easy to spot............and they were........except when we ran into two other field trips with the SAME COLOR SHIRTS! It must have been lime green day at the zoo. On the way home, the emergency alarm went off on the bus, and after I checked each emergency exit 3 times, it was still going off. We finally pulled over, and a driver from another bus told us that a bolt was loose on the alarm located on the back door - no one was in danger, but that darn thing kept going off! It only took five minutes to figure it out and fix it, but it was a bit frustrating. At any rate, we had a good time, we didn't lose anybody, ONLY one kid puked on the bus, and so far no parent complaints. Now that's a good day!!! :-)

Just Horsin' Around!

As part of the Black Stallion Literacy Project, our First Grade classes received a visit from the horses (characters) in two books, read both books about Little Black, and then visited a horse farm. They learned about the horses (care, feeding, tack, etc.), read books to them, and had lunch. The project covers all the reading skills kids need - comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, etc. It's a great program. We stopped at a park on the way there to let the kids play and enjoy the beautiful cool morning (and to get some of their wiggles out!). All in all, we had a great day.

Birthday and Baptism Celebration Weekend!

This weekend has been great, but really busy. Jonathan's 7th Birthday Party and Baptism Celebration were this weekend. We started Saturday with his birthday party, and we had pizza, Star Wars ship cake (or at least my version of it), Yoda Soda (green sherbet punch), and ice cream. Jonathan got lots of wonderful gifts from the family, and everyone had time to visit.

On Sunday, Jonathan got baptized at church. It was a really nice service, and lots of family, friends, neighbors, and even his former Kindergarten teacher, Mr. Ron, came. The Children's Minister baptized him, and it was a very special time for us. We really appreciate all of the effort, time, and money it took for folks to attend. It meant a lot to us and to Jonathan that everyone came. After the baptism we all came back to the house for a very quick taco soup and cake/ice cream. And, Jonathan got a few more birthday presents today as well.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. But now we're all settling in for a long Sunday afternoon nap.