The Dog Ate My Homework

Or Nathan's history text to be exact. I KNEW he was being too quiet!!! The boys had been shipped off to Kids Klub, Kevin had yet to come home from work and I was enjoying a rare moment of solitude. Completely engaged in a printing project, I'd kind of assumed the dog was outside... first mistake. I didn't go and check immediately when I became suspicious of his whereabouts... second mistake. I thought that the paper stuck to his mouth was something he'd foraged from the trash can... final mistake. When I finally (three seconds after seeing the tell tale paper on his face) decided to go check out what he was doing, the deed was done and he was innocently sauntering around the living room, his terrible action already forgotten.

I'm Crying

Because I laughed so hard at this auction on e-bay. I found the link on another blog but had to share. I'm tempted to print it and place it where I can readily see it on days I think I'm overwhelmed. Be sure to read the whole thing... and the winning bid was, in my opinion, well deserved.

Weekend at Mayport, Weekend at Home

Kevin and Sully had an adventurous, if wet, time this past weekend while camping near the Mayport Naval Base with scouts. They left Friday evening after all the dads were home from work and packed for camping but didn't reach the campground until WAY after bedtime. They had arranged to eat breakfast on base the following morning and then tour a frigate, eat on base again, go bowling and finish up with dinner... on base. Plans went accordingly and they even had time to do some community service for the campground, which allowed them to camp for free. The rain, however, started sometime in the middle of their first night there and became an unwelcome camp guest for the duration of the trip. In spite of the wet weather, even Kevin seemed to have enjoyed the trip. He's a great guy- I'm not sure I'd have stayed through the rain. The kids, of course, didn't seem to mind it.

The Mayport trip left Nathan and I at home unaccompanied. We entertained ourselves with board games, a video or two, lunch out at Chic-fil-a, and ice cream. It was quiet, in a nice way, but we were glad when the wayfarers arrived home Sunday afternoon.

School Days, School Days...

Freshly sharpened pencils, the smell of new crayons, the crack of that new text book and crisp fall weather on the horizon. Well, three out of four's not bad. It's back to school time at our house!

As of this week, our school year has started in earnest. The public school students went back on Monday so I suppose it's time. In reality we only took a few weeks off here and there this summer. I've had it in my mind that we were a little behind due to the many moves of last year. Looking back though, I don't think we were any more behind than the year we evacuated for 3 hurricanes in a row. Now that was an interesting year! I think we were still finishing that year's math well into October of the following year.

Sully is sailing through the first chapters of his 6th grade math book and Nathan is already well into the second unit of his first grade reading program. So, I'd say we're off to a beautiful start. Our mornings are very full and both boys are, for the most part, cooperating quite nicely with the more rigorous work load. There are some parts of school they love and can't wait to do- the read alouds, science projects, history lessons and field trips and then there are some that leave them wishing it was summer break all the time. Don't we all!

I've been having a good time lately watching the boys and realizing that Nathan is older now than Sully was when he came along. When I think about Sully back then, he seems to have been so little while Nathan sometimes seems to be so big. I have to take a step back to see him as the little guy he is. I find myself battling with Nathan over some of the same things Sully used try but has thankfully grown out of. I remember being so frustrated and thinking that we'd never get through. Funny though, with the second child, I know it's only a season and will eventually come to an end.

The boys are participating in a play about Esther this semester with Kids Klub and I've signed up to organize the weekly games. My little thespians are looking forward to the show. We're taking a half day tomorrow (What ALREADY?) to swim with friends and will set up a time for an honor class we're planning to do on a monthly basis with these very friends.

The only thing I miss during this time of year is the pending autumn weather. We don't really get that down here. Back-to-school to me always meant buying some new fall and winter outfits that were too hot to wear during the first weeks of school but the reprieve of cool weather was at least in sight. Sweater weather is my favorite. To combat my longing for fall we'll be making a trip up to visit family in a couple of months when the weather and leaves have turned. For now, well turn our attentions to the school year and perhaps read some "fallish" books.

Visiting Granny

The boys (all 3 of them) and I just returned from visiting Granny's condo down south... south Florida that is. Granny is Kevin's grandmom who loves to treat the boys and is a lot of fun to hang out with. Sully and Nathan enjoy yummy things like doughnuts at breakfast and jello for dessert after lunch. One of their favorites from Granny is berries with whipped cream. During a previous visit, Nathan wanted to make sure I went home with that recipe. The kids and I were fortunate to spend several weekends down in Boca last year before moving to Virginia but haven't had as much opportunity to go since we've been back in Florida.

Granny always takes the boys to the pool and sometimes even the beach. We were able to do both this time. The beaches in Boca are really nice, the water is clear and there are usually interesting shells to collect. The weather was lovely while we were there. One small storm cleared quickly so we were able to go to the pool in the morning and the beach in the afternoon.
I didn't take any pictures of this trip but I'm including one of my favorite pictures from a visit last year.

What's YOUR Season?

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Music Makers

Today was the first day of band for Sully and recorder for Nathan (and me). For Sully, this is old hat and he predictably did a good job. He's taking beginning band to brush up on theory but is also playing sheet music with the concert band. It seems to be a good combination for him. Nathan was very excited about class and did very well. His class is a very gentle introduction to recorder and music theory. I really like the instructor. Nathan can now tell you what a staff, quarter note and quarter rest are and he can play a B and C. We practiced this evening and he didn't want to stop. There are 5 lines of music on his practice page and after playing line 2 he emitted a belly laugh and said, "That was SO fun!"

Birthday Party, Scouts and Indian Food

This was a full but fun Saturday. It started with an early scout meeting for Sully- the troop's yearly planning meeting, scheduled from 8 to 4. Wow! That must have been some meeting!! Boy Scouts is quite a different organization in comparison to Cubs- the boys are in charge so some things are... slightly less efficient- but a great learning opportunity!
Sully attended for only a few hours in the morning because a friend of both boys had a birthday party this afternoon. What a great party it was too! They rented a giant blow up water slide and between burgers, cake, presents and such the kids entertained themselves with sliding, squirt guns and water balloons. Both boys have come home tired. But the coolest thing about the party was that we were able to drop them off and enjoy a few hours of adult time. We were really spoiled last year in VA where both grandmas were so close. This was our first outing sans kids since we've been back in FL... we really need to find a good babysitter!
Other than just enjoying an uninterrupted conversation, Kevin and I had a good time rummaging at a church rummage sale, eating Indian food and perusing the health food store- okay, I loved all three and Kevin was happy with the Indian food. We also took a drive down by the beach where we found an open house. Real estate is still in a slump around here so there are lots of open house and reduced price signs out.
I'm typing today on our new-to-us toy. Kevin found a great deal on a laptop so we've upgraded. It amazes me that this tiny machine has so much more space and is so much faster than our big computer, which in it's defence is several years older than Nathan. I really like it!

Catching Up

What have we been doing lately? Not blogging much, that's for sure! Last month seemed to fly by without too much to say. We ended up taking a three week vacation from school during which we spent time hanging out with friends (the boys mostly) and cleaning house (me mostly). I am now having a hard time getting back into a routine. We've started back with lessons and have maintained- almost daily. I'm hoping by month's end we'll be up and running more smoothly.

Sully starts band next week where he'll be playing with the beginning band as well as some sheet music with the concert band. We found a great opportunity for both boys in this particular homeschool band. It's much closer than the first band Sully was in and it's one day a week instead of three. Then, as if it wasn't appealing enough already, there is a recorder class for Nathan. He's so excited to learn to play the recorder and already has designs to move on to clarinet when he's old enough to be in the band. The band director opens up band and recorder class to moms (or dads) for free and because Nathan is only 6 and will need some extra help... guess who else is taking the recorder class! We are all looking forward to it.

I do have some pictures that I'll be posting shortly. Some are of the boys playing and some are of our trip "up rivah"- those I'm working on getting into the computer as we used a disposable camera to avoid giving our good camera a bath. It was a wise choice!