4.28.2013

weekend fun for me: cleaning out all the boys closets and drawers

and donating 2 bags of clothes to goodwill!

weekend fun for the boys: sonic ice cream, dinner at texas roadhouse, smores on the

back patio, double feature saturday movie night and sudoku races!

easy to please but not easy to beat justin at sudoku!

4.27.2013

a small sippel story happened on the sidelines today.

a 15 year old sippel boy volunteered for chains after

setting up all the tents and assisting coach with all the equipment.

as the sun beat down on us,

my attention was directed off the field to a situation

taking place on the sideline.

lets just say that justin showed amazing restraint.

lets just say it took all my strength to remain seated.

lets just say that opposing team parents sought me out

to apologize for this dads behavior.

lets just say justin acted like the adult in this situation.

lets just say my blood pressure was thru the roof.

lets just say this was a life lesson and justin

passed with flying colors.

you did us proud justin.

i don't think i could of handled it as well as you did!

4.25.2013

not sure why i even finished this book.

sorry author jonathan dee - 

this was not for me at all.

i couldn't return this one quick enough 

to the library.

4.24.2013

the tradition lives on.

today was the day that the annual questionnaire 

was printed out for all to complete.

its the same questions the boys have been filling out for 7 years.

its the same simple microsoft document i created 

all those years ago.

its great to watch how each boy interprets the questions.

its fun to have a little piece of their handwriting

tucked into the scrapbook binders.

its hysterical to look back on prior years to see

how much the answers have changed (or not!!)

heres to traditions!

4.22.2013

weekend in review.

work. slept. work.

papa murphy pizza & celebrity apprentice.

dyson death today.

finished this book.

loved it.

i am a lisa genova fan & have read

all her books.

5 out of 5 stars for me.

4.19.2013

just finished this book.

another young adult selection :)

just wanna read whats young and cool and hip

so i can keep up with all my book reading nieces

at the beach this summer.

4 out of 5 stars.

4.18.2013

junior historians everywhere tonight.

some from stony point.

some from hopewell middle.

a couple from fairway path.

we had lots of laughs just trying to find where we 

were supposed to be.

(totally different building this year)

we had a nice walking tour & a freddys milkshake 

to celebrate.

nice job guys!

so proud of all the extra time, extra work &

dedication you both show.

keep it up!

4.17.2013

a day in review:

happy twenty years.

 sparkle.

what time is it?

slaughter house five at b&n.

o.p.i. red lights ahead on my toes.

lego creations finished.

jack allens for a cocktail.

new crockpot recipe that everyone ate -

might actually make this one again.

(i used boneless pork chops instead of chicken)

heres to the next twenty....

4.16.2013

i am a fan.

love my new project life scrapbooking binder.

i've organized the photos for 2013.

i've pulled out the calendar.

i'm on the road to catching up.

keep ya posted.

this is everyday memories at its best!

4.15.2013

“What right did she have to take photographs of strangers? But she knew these faces....These people had been made to feel inadequate, abnormal. Their lives were disfigured by circumstance.” 
― Marisa Silver, Mary Coin

-

i just finished reading this book and loved it.

it was beautifully written.

it was thought provoking.

it was a winner.

5 out of 5 on goodreads for me.

-
our world will never be the same again.
just when we started to relax & breathe a bit easier,
along comes the boston marathon tragedy today.
we are no longer safe at the movies, at school or
running the race.
our prayers go out to all at this time.

4.13.2013

saturday in photos.

morning band tryouts for colin -

looks like we have another baritone player this fall!

off to football and tailgate party after -

nothing like a bunch of hungry 11 year olds!

afternoon masters on tv followed by

evening chats around the fire table.

finished the day with the movie sandlot

for all.

busy beautiful day!

4.12.2013

nothing better than a surprise delivery 

from the ups man yesterday!

i think i know what colin will be doing when he gets 

home from school today!

4.11.2013

aurora borealis smiles tonight

at the round rock isp presentation.

nice job dude!
it was such a fun evening walking around and visiting each students research.
justin, nathan and i loved asking questions of the 4th and 5th graders.
we learned a lot about greek mythology, apple, roman coliseums and herbs.
we debated long after we had left why so many students had
selected greek gods for their topic.
we concluded that the rick riordan book series is so popular with this
age group, that many wanted to learn more.
i don't every remember learning this stuff in school.
the boys tested my knowledge & laughed when all i could come up with was some
dude named zeus.
nathan went into a long discussion about all the greek gods and
encouraged justin and i to read 'the lightning thief' to further our
knowledge.
(gotta love nate, always thinking!)
we all agreed that there is just so much to learn out there
and just not enough time to learn it all.
we loved colins reason for selecting the aurora borealis -
i had never even heard of it before this project -
"because i have been to niagara falls and i wanted to
find out about another one of the seven wonders of nature."
guess all those annual trips to niagara falls with his cousins
left a memorable imprint on his brain.
as we sat around our sonic dinner tonight,
we picked our favorite presentations in several different categories.
best visual. best public speaker. best effort. most creative.
best new information we didn't already know.
its so fun just to open their brains and take a peek inside.
i love to listen to their reasons and rationales.
i love to view life from their prospective.
i love to encourage them to explore life.
i love to watch them think out loud.
life. now. today.

4.10.2013

nothing better than finishing one book 

and picking up a new pile today.

classic emily giffin.

easy breezy read.

sometimes thats just what i want.

off to tackle that pile of  '14 day loan' books.

so many books,

so little time.

4.9.2013

questions i have been asked in the last week:

"what percentage of a sonic fresh fry is actually potato?"

"how do you change the battery in a mazda fob?"

"what is the difference between copywrite and trademark?"

"how do communism and dictatorship differ?"

"do you know where my cell phone is?'

"have you seen my itouch"

"what time is dinner?"

"whats for dinner?"

"what year did we go the the hall of fame?"

"can you pick me up after school?"

"is modern family new this week?"

-

google is a moms best friend!

how did moms survive without it?

4.8.2013

who knew riding a camel was on their bucket list......

4.5.2013

a small sippel story.

on march 15th, colin placed a lego order online.

on march 20th, it shipped.

we patiently tracked it day after day.

our small package traveled from poland to the usa.

from state to state, we watched it get closer to us.

on april 1st, it was noted as 'delivered'.

we checked the mail box.

we checked the doors.

no lego package.

we waited another day.

still no lego package.

we waited another day.

still no lego package.

we called lego.

small tears appeared as i spoke with the customer service rep.

lego said they were sorry.

lego placed another order for us.

lego mailed colin a gift card to make his tears go away.

lego even volunteered to talk with colin.

we wiped our tears away and talked about 

all the life lessons we are learning today.

-

tonite the doorbell rang at 8pm.

our neighbor delivered a package that was in their mailbox.

the smile is still on his face.

end of our small sippel story!

4.4.2013

just finished this book.

i loved the writing - each sentence was a story.

i loved the story - deep, intense characters.

i loved the story - all the pieces are important.

4 out of 5 stars.

4.2.2013

so this is how we prepare for a storm in texas.

no shovels or backup generators.

no extra bread or milk.

no flashlights or candles.

no firewood or matches.

we just pull the car in the garage.

we just cover the car hoods with blankets.

we just wait for the hail to hit.

we just watch it blow in and out in 5 minutes.

-

we are all set.

-

the clouds rolled in.

the sky was as dark as night.

the winds whipped against the house.

the big raindrops fell for a couple minutes.

no hail despite all our preparations.

-

the clouds rolled out.

the sky turned blue and light.

the winds ceased.

the rain stopped.

the excitement for the afternoon is over.

4.1.2013

happy birthday mom!

may you have sunny rays to warm you

and dolphins to swim around you on your special day.

happy 29th!