Baby Silas

We got to meet baby Silas today.  He's Marty's first grandchild, and as Marty would say, "he's a dandy!"

Proud Mom!

Lots of family resemblance!

He's four months old, and a happy little guy.  He's easy-going and smiley and very sweet natured.

We'll see him again this summer and I'm sure we'll be amazed at how fast he's grown. 

He's a cutie pie!

Ice Cream and Reading

How are ice cream and reading connected?  When you're in fourth grade, they are connected by one word:  PARTY.

When you meet 100% of your Accelerated Reader goal for the year, you are rewarded with an ice cream party in the library! And this year, despite numerous snow days once again, and having to tackle some very large, heavy books in the homestretch, Benny met his A.R. goal.

So I headed down to his school to help out.  Spring is here---look at the lovely trees in bloom!

Benny's school.

The library!  Lots to read!

Here come the kids!

They were happy and ready to have a good time.  These kids put some serious time into reading this year and they deserved every last treat they got.   The party started off with bringing their lunch to the library--what a treat!  The librarian (and she is fantastic) played lots of finger-snapping, chair-bopping, kid-friendly music to set the mood.  Everyone danced and joked and ate and laughed.  These kids can make even small things fun.

Then it was on to the ice cream buffet.  Toppings:  Chocolate chips, oreos, sprinkles, chocolate sauce and caramel sauce.  And yes, that long haired boy in the middle is Benny!

After a serious chow-down, the kids had to hurry back to class.  This is two years in a row I got to see Benny have his ice-cream party.  And he just yesterday told me that his new goal is to read one million words!!  And yes--they have ways to figure that out at the library, and they have special markers on the wall for all the hundred-thousand words mile points.  Wow!  Looks like we'll be doing a lot of reading over the summer!

Guide To The Solar Systems

Today Sam brought home a project he completed at school. It is an extensive Guide To The Solar System.  It's wonderful!!  No wonder he got an "A" on it.

First off, don't you love the illustrations?  I think they're great.  I personally could not draw a cross-section of the sun, or accurately depict all the planets.  So--I am impressed.

Some information I learned from reading Sam's book:  "The Sun is an enormous ball of gas that produces energy by fusing hydrogen into helium in the core.  This energy travels outward through the radiation zone and the convection zone."

Did you know the sun has a photosphere?  Or a Corona?  I guess I did know these things at one time, but I'd forgotten.

Love the drawing of Earth, so friendly and healthy looking.  Did you know:  "The Earth is 150 Kilometers from the sun; one astronomial unit."

Astronomial unit?

As for Venus:  "Thick atmosphere made mostly of carbon dioxide."  And:  "Droplets of sulfuric acid in atmosphere makes it look yellowish-greenish."  "No moons," and "Surface has craters, cracks, and volcanoes."

I have to say, I picture putting my sleepy boys on the school bus at 6:30 a.m., and sending them off for a long day of school---and they pay attention and learn these things?  I think it's amazing. I can't imagine staying awake all day long, let alone absorbing this information and putting the time, energy, and focus into creating a project like this. 

He sketched and talked about all the planets, then came a sheet about probes, asteroids, comets, meteroids, meteorites, and meteors.  Whew.  Then he made a timeline of important dates in space research.  Example:  "December 24, 1968:  Apollo 8, along with its crew, becomes the first mission to orbit the Moon." 

All in all, he did a great job.  And yes, this one is going in the scrapbook so we can keep it forever!

Spring Soccer

It's here at long last!  Soccer time again.  The boys have been looking forward to it a bunch.  And with the snowy, wet winter we had, everyone is looking forward to exercising off some of those winter blahs.

Benny has moved up to the "12 and under" category.  The kids on his team are all ten and eleven years old.  Oddly enough, there are no twelve year olds.

Instead, the twelve and thirteen year olds (including Sam,) have been put in the "fourteen and under" division.  And...there is no coach for that division.  Volunteers are desperately being sought.  If no one steps up, Sam won't get to play!

For one crazy moment, I considered volunteering, just so those kids get to play this year. But I don't see how I could be available for every single one of Sam's games, given that Benny is on another team in another division. How could I see any of his games?  Or drive him where he needs to be?  I couldn't. 

So...we wait and see what happens with Sam's team.  In the meanwhile, Benny had his first practice this week.

 His coach is a fellow mom who thought exactly what I thought:  "I guess I'll step up and coach, otherwise, my kids don't get to play!"  She has two kids on the team.  The team is especially big this year, which makes it nice---if somebody misses a game, it will not create an emergency.

Practice went well in the snow-damaged, unmarked and half-forgotten soccer field we are granted by the recpark for our use.  We were missing several goals, the ground was in terrible shape, etc, but those kids were thrilled to be there.

Doing the "bear crawl" to warm up those muscles.

And--there were tryouts for goalies!  Benny did a fantastic job. 

Last year, if Benny had to miss a game, it was a huge problem for them, as no one else could do his goalie-job.  This year, they had three kids who all want to be goalie.  Maybe they'll rotate...that would be great.

In any case, we are back to living at the soccer field, washing uniforms, grabbing fast food at 8pm for dinner, and generally squeezing in homework when we can.

And I still haven't found soccer cleats in Benny's size...the stores around here are sold out.  Busy times, but it's worth it!

Have a great season, Benny!

Myrtle Beach 2011

February means it's time for our annual Scrapbooking Weekend!  And just like last year, we gathered in Myrtle Beach for some fun, sun, and projects.

And pictures!

We had a beautiful room right on the beach.

The Chambers sisters are always fun to be with.

That's our building in the middle.  And we were on the first floor, on the very left.

The weather was cool but not cold, and the beach was nearly empty.

The place had a lovely Lazy River, which would be nice in warm weather. 

It was just a few steps down to the sand....

Lots of blue sky!

This pool would be nice in warm weather, too.  You could swim while looking at the ocean!

 I was lucky enough to get up just in time for some sunrise pictures our first morning there.

And we got there in time for sunset photos our first night.

During the day were were busy on various projects.

Louise and Karen put in a LOT of time on their books.

But we certainly found time to go out to eat!

And to do a little shopping at the scrapbook store.  It was a fun weekend and I'm already looking forward to next year!

Kittie Update

It's been about a month now, and the new kitties are settling into the family just fine.  Lucy, who spent the first full day here hiding in a drawer, has come out of her shell.  Though she is a bit more reclusive than Poe, she is a sweet girl with a very loud purr that she loves to share.   She is also very fond of "the big bed," and if we leave our door open, she sleeps on it for hours at a time.  She still gets under the bed at times, and naps there, but she'll come out if you ask her.

And someone has to hold down the mattress, after all.  Might as well be her job, right?

She loves to snuggle if I lay down for a morning nap.  She is such a soft little thing!

Ms. Poe is the more outgoing, responsible cat--responsible in that she seems to see it as her job to keep tabs on the family and take care of us.   When any of us come home, she comes to the door to greet us and make sure we are still in one piece.  When someone has something to eat, it's her job to sit on their lap and be available for petting.  And you know---if you want to drop a crumb or two, she'll take care of that as well--it's all part of the job.

Poe has also taken it upon herself to help with the boys.  When it's bedtime, she comes upstairs with me and sprawls on the floor while they get ready for bed.  She provides last minute entertainment by playing with a lego or a straw or a scrap of paper.  The boys love it.

She often visits them during the night for some snuggling and sleeping.  She's even learned to climb the ladder and join Benny in his top bunk.

In the morning she greets me and then comes upstairs with me to wake the boys.  Once again she sprawls on the floor, and waits for them to get up and rub her tummy.  After they are done in the restroom, she goes in for her turn at the litterbox.

When I take the boys to the bus, I can count on returning home to the sight of Poe in the front window, waiting for me to come back.

Of course, when I get in the house, I get ignored a bit.  But still.  She waits for me.  I guess she likes knowing where we all are.

If the boys spend a lot of time in their rooms, she'll go sit in their laps or hang out where they are for a while. And during the day while I am on the computer, Poe is lying nearby, either in Marty's chair, or on the floor by my feet.

Both cats are very playful and their peak play times are about 1:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.  In the middle of the night I sometimes here them galloping around the house, chasing each other, crashing into things, and leaping from the furniture to land with a loud thump on the ground.  You should here them gallumphing up and down the stairs, too.  I had this idea cats would be silent, graceful creatures.  But that's not always the case!

The cats love plastic straws, plastic bags, crumpled paper, and their catnip mouse.

They also like to hang out on my desk if that's where I am.

Of if that's where Marty is.

And of course, they look out the window at the roaming deer, the birds, and squirrels.

I'm so glad we got them, and I'd say the rest of the family feels the same.  They are a couple of cuties!