The Past Month (or so) in Pictures

In no particular order...

The boys were in their biannual play- this one was called "The Slingshot Heard 'Round the World" based on the story of David and Goliath and was Sully's last official play for Kids Klub. He'll go back next year as a helper and may get a role here or there if they have a role for someone older. He played one of Goliath's brothers... Go-Rilla... and yes, that's him in the full beard. The first photo includes one of his favorite friends also playing one of Goliath's brothers who's character's name was Go-Fish. The photos following include his "big number"... a swing dance with a girl!!!










Here he is singing at Relay for Life. His chorus teacher is a cancer survivor and the kids were there to take the survivor lap with her.




We've had quite a few interesting backyard happenings-
A cardinal keeps visiting our porch- I think he finds it a good place for a meal... I just hope Duke doesn't get wind of it or the cardinal may BE a meal!



This season wasn't quite as good for tomatoes as last but we did get a few. I should have tried this one on e-bay... too bad it's so far after Valentine's Day.




Another visitor was this tiny frog. Nathan was very adamant that I put these photos on the blog, especially since we'd posted the photos of the toad last year.






And the last visitor photo, this one came to our garden... a black racer heading out- he was fast and the dog was barking ferociously and I almost didn't get his picture at all.




During my mom's visit, we discovered that Sully is taller than Grandma ... well, we already knew he's be taller since he's taller than I am and she's about my height but this was the first time she'd had to look up to him.



Nathan was also in the play but was one of the Israelites... he was a good guy. On opening night the lights failed, the mikes failed and several other problems presented themselves but the kids, in true professional form, did an outstanding job overcoming the obstacles. Nathan was down on one side of the stage in the shadows when it came time for him to say his line. Without microphone OR spotlight, he belted it out clearly for everyone to hear. I also got some good shots of him singing and dancing when he WAS in the light.







This is what happens when you stay up all night with your friends and can't stay awake... Your mother will take a picture of you crashed out on the floor and post it on her blog. (A leftover from the day after the birthday party)



Nathan received his tiger badge and was very proud.






The first photo in this group almost deserves its own post titles "Don't they know that the terrible face pics make the best blog posts?" These are the pictures he looks back on and regrets... maybe by the time he's 30 he will learn NOT to make faces at the camera.
The boys are receiving a certificate for finishing the semester of co-op classes.



One of Sully's classes was a cooking class and here he is presenting the cookies that they'd made for the end of semester picnic. YUM!!



Nathan's Karate class did some demonstrations- this is called "scratching tiger"... okay maybe it's not called that but he's asleep right now and I can't ask him what it's really called.



And here he is in cupstacking fury... that was a fun class!




Since I've been neglecting even getting these into the computer... much less posting on the blog... I decided to go ahead and bombard a single post with WAY too many photos- thanks for plodding through them all. I aim to be better over the summer... Unless of course, I'm not.

Here Comes the Rain

We are very close to the parts of FL that have been on fire and while we were in no direct danger from the fires, we could smell the heavy smoke daily and have friends who were affected. So, with the long awaited rain hitting my roof this afternoon and the news that the fires are 70% contained, I'm praying that the worst is over. We are also praying for the people who's homes were destroyed or damaged.

Evaluated

We've completed our end of year evaluation and have procured the letter we need to remain in the good graces of the school board. This is the first year we've participated in an "evaluation party". We got together with several friends, brought food and invited the evaluator over to evaluate and eat... does that count as bribery? Only kidding! She was very easy going and the boys were not at all intimidated- for some reason I thought they might be a little nervous... that of course was me. Our group of "evaluatees" consisted of 3 boys and 3 girls- the differences were amusing to watch. The girls, each in turn, had LOADS of things they wanted to show and talk about and the boys did their obligatory "hellos", answered the necessary questions and hurried back out to play. I don't suppose that will change too much in the future. It's good to have that over with for another year.

I should be wickedly ashamed

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I intended to write a "tribute to my mom post". I actually planned one in my mind well before the first of the year. I thought it would make a better surprise- not so cliche- to post such a thing NOT on Mother's Day but the day crept closer and passed without such a post from me.
I have so much to say about my mother, and the night is getting late but here are a few short words... I wanted to scan one of my favorite pictures of how I remember my mom, how she looked when I was small- Her long hair and bright eyes. But how do you capture in a photo things like the feel of her hand when she held mine, the smell of her soap and the security of knowing she'd come down the hall if I yelled "MOM" from my dark room, just to pat me on the back? How could a picture show the hard work she endured for me?
I have a skewed view of childhood and it's my mom's fault. I remember getting up on New Year's Eve to make noise on the porch and holler "happy new year" into the night. I remember Easters with white gloves, Dogwood clippings, baskets and church. I remember perfect birthday parties, where girls wore dresses and the cakes and games were homemade. I remember summers at the pool, swimming lessons and suntan oil (no sunscreen for these 70's children). I remember raking leaves and jumping. I remember baking cookies every Christmas, without fail, and dressing in red velvet. I remember a charmed life, Norman Rockwell had nothing on us and my clumsy words don't do justice. But in all these things, I remember my mom, always there, loving, supporting, creating memories for me to treasure. Mom, I treasure you- not only on Mother's Day but on every day of the year.

Days Like This

... if I could only clone them!

I'm not sure what happened, how things fell so in to place, why the boys were so diligent or why the day seemed to go so smoothly, but I am grateful and content. Schoolwork was finished before lunch. Chores were done. Phone calls made. Life just seemed to flow.
I even made a cute tiger cake for Nathan's cub scout meeting... and this time no one "snuck" a bite.

Tonight, I'm preparing for the boys' annual evaluation- this year we're combining it with swimming and lunch. I've gathered their portfolios, the potatoes are marinating and my house smells like orange buttery goodness. Maybe someone prayed extra hard for me today- it worked. And thank you!

Winding Down

Even though we plan to school through the summer, this time of year is still a winding down time at our house. During a typical year, I usually make it through burnout (sometime in February or March) and then I'm looking forward to the change of pace summer brings. This year burnout hit in the fall... not the best time, being that it's the beginning of our official school year. BUT since I got that mess over with early on in our school year, planning mode was in full force for me this spring. I've broken down our year in to trimesters and feel like, for the first time, I have a grasp on the overall, annual plan. Previously, I've just kind of floated and gone loosely by the public school schedules and felt bad when we missed days due to the typical homeschool distractions- field trips, illness, and even hurricane evacuations. This year I've decided that I don't need to do that. We are able to abide by our own schedule and enjoy the rhythm of the year in a unique way. We're winding down, planning a trip north soon and looking forward to some summer fun. Whose to say ocean study between wipe-outs isn't school? We'll continue with some formal lessons too, but in a much more relaxed way. So, while it won't be the "daily visit to the pool" kind of summer that I remember (did we really do that Mom?) it will be summer in the "lazy days" kind of way... even if we lift our faces from cool glasses of lemonade to hit the books a bit.

Coming out of the fog

Boy, was that a nasty cold! First, the boys... then me. Fortunately, Kevin dodged that bullet.

There were several days last week that were down days for everyone, with one or more of us nursing headaches, body aches, stuffed heads and fever. Looking back, I think we've actually been host to this cold for a couple of weeks! This cold was like fish and company... I wish it had gone after three days... it stunk!

Despite the down days, there were days we just plugged along, germs and all.
We attended the kick-off for our homeschool co-op and signed up again for next year- the last day of "classes" was yesterday and even though we've all really enjoyed it, I, for one, am glad for a break. We also finished up this season of Kids Klub with two shows, a visit to the nursing home and a cast party. The best part of the weekend of performances was that my mom came down to visit. There's nothing like a visit from Grandma to make for a good weekend! She was able to see the boys in their play, go to the beach, attend the last day of co-op where the kids demonstrated what they've learned, and even attended Nathan's cub scout meeting. What astounded her the most, however, was having to look up at Sully!
And I do have pictures to post but true to character (lately) they are still in the camera. I'm afraid to set the goal this week of posting them because last time I did that, I failed to meet that goal... which only added guilt to my poor sick bones. Ok, I wasn't really that guilty but the perfectionist in me cringes at not meeting goals... I'm working on that. So, even though it is NOT a goal to get the pictures posted this week, I'll be working on that too.