The Dawson Diaries

Cheesie's fieldtrip

2011-11-19T14:44:00.001-08:00

On Thursday Cheesie and I went on a fieldtrip with her class. She was very excited because it was the first time I was able to go with her. After a couple hours on a bus (with a camera to entertain ourselves, as well as our knitting), Cheesie was ready for fun.

We boarded a boat with a touch tank, and LOTS of seats for all of the children, and took the 30 minute ride over to Capers Island, a barrier island off of SC. After the boat landed Cheesie learned about barrier islands, and some of the wildlife, and was able to search for shells. Children were taught about how important the shells were to the beach, and limited their search to their 3 favorite.

We hiked up the beach to the boneyard area (I REALLY love these places). Just like Hunting Island, and Bulls Island, the top of this island is being eroded by the long shore current and what used to be a maritime forest is now an interesting display of trees turning gray.

Here is Cheesie with the big whelk that she found. She kept this one and brought it home. She also found two scallop type shells that a boring sponge got to and left a hole in the top for a necklace.

A beautiful little marsh on the island.... we watched the fiddler crabs, and saw an egret.

On the way back we stopped and picked up a crab trap that had male and female blue crabs, as well as a whelk with it's animal still inside.

Above is the female blue crab. The bottom looks like the dome on the capitol building, a male would have a "washington monument" on the bottom. Below, we are looking at the whelk with the animal in it and learning how it uses its shell to eat clams and filter saltwater.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable trip (even with the VERY strong winds) and I highly recommend it. Cheesie and her classmates learned a lot and will always remember this one.

Brattonsville

2011-11-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Brian and my mom took T-Rex and Blondie to a Civil War reenactment at Historic Brattonsville. Generally students from around the state head there for fieldtrips, but we thought it would be a great way for Blondie to "see" history and help her later this year, and it qualified as a cultural event for T-Rex. AND.... let's be real, it gave mom and Brian an excuse to take a whole lot of pictures.

T-Rex thought this guy was a hoot. He let her dress up as one of the soldiers, and handed her his gun. Then he figured she needed a cigar to complete the picture.

While Blondie thought the guns and cannons were pretty cool. She even decided to buy a rebel hat (I'll have to reflect on that one).

Blondie did find it rather hysterical that when the men were "shot" on the battlefield, many of them continued to drink their water and smoke their cigars. She told me that she figured they could act better than the pic below demonstrates and lie still. I had to remind her how hot it probably was for them out in that field with all those wool coats on.

By the end of the day Blondie was pooped, but came home quite happy, and ready to tell me all about it.

Camping at Hunting Island

2011-11-05T19:21:00.001-07:00

I took the older girls and friends camping to Hunting Island (well, we camped nearby). We left Saturday (Oct. 15th) and returned the next day. The girls should have planned it more, but because we were having difficulties all being in the same place on the same day, it mostly fell to me and my friend Angela. We decided to go check out Hunting Island State Park, and spent most of the day there. We went down to the boneyard area (because HONTESTLY, it is the most beautiful place in the world) and the girls had a ball climbing around the "fallen warrior" trees.

Here, they all crossed a fallen tree to climb up and see the ocean.

Group picture

Then we headed over to the main beach. I talked to them about the erosion and efforts to slow it on this barrier island, caught a ghost crab, moved upwind from a dead horseshoe crab, and looked for shells and shark teeth.

After the beach we crossed the street (and drove about a mile) to the marsh access. We ate a quick, tailgating lunch, and walked the boardwalk out to the hammock. As always, the fiddler crabs were delightful (although not as many were out due to the tide).If you're able to watch the video, you can hear the sound they make scurrying along.

video to come

As always, the best way to view fiddler crabs is on your stomach.

We raced back to the campgound, paid, and then immediately left to meet up with Angela's sister Kristen. She and her husband offered to take the girls crabbing and shrimping. We drove out to a tidal creek in their neighborhood, and were soon catching crabs. It was essentially a giant safety pin on a string, with a chunk of chicken on the end. When you felt the crabs tugging you carefully pulled them up and scooped them up in the net.

I think everyone ended up catching at least one, because as a group, we caught around 21.

After crab fishing for a bit, the girls learned to throw a shrimp net. We would only catch one or two at a time because we weren't really in the right place, but the girls had a great time trying. I think they had the best time daring each other to pop off the heads and tails...... then wipe their hands on each other.

After catching crabs, you have to cook them (they were champs at dropping the blue crab into boiling water), and peel them. We were very thankful to have Tab show them which parts to eat and which to toss. They all jumped in, and quickly realized how much work it is for just a little bit of crabmeat.

Then back to the campground, set up your own tents, make fettucini to go with the crab and shrimp, and then jump into tents to chat for a bit (after smores and banana boats of course)

BUT beware the dreaded green caterpillar that stings two folks for sitting on them (note to self.... those anti-sting wipes made a world of difference between the welts of the two victims - one who used the wipe, and one who waited). Someday the caterpillar will be a beautiful IO moth, but on that night it was NOT well received.

Oct. 16- State Fair

2011-11-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

While I was in Hunting Island with the big girls, Brian took the younger girls to the State Fair.

Just by looking at the photos.....

Flying
Swinging

Bumping

Pig Racing

I think I missed a really great day, but I'm thrilled he got to spend it with them.

Interjection!

2011-10-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

Each grade level at Cheesie's school does a performance. This year Cheesie's 3rd grade performed songs from School House Rock. She played a cheerleader in the Interjection song (one of my favorites from my childhood.

We got there a little late, so we were pretty far back, but Brian was able to get a little video of her part:

(I'm sure its just me, but the very last second of the video cracks me up - like she's bummed it is over)
She was VERY excited to have a speaking part.

Rick Riordan Book signing

2011-10-04T17:48:00.001-07:00

T-Rex is a huge fan of the Rick Riordan Percy Jackson books, as well as the other two new series. Tonight his new book in the series was released, and he rode up to Books A Million near our house for a book signing.

Video will go here once youtube starts to cooperate.

Sunday we stood in line for an hour and a half to get our line numbers (we were 366 and 367, but apparently they went up to 1100). Each person could bring 2 books to be signed. Tonight he rode up in his black carriage pulled by black horses, and the kids were sooooooo excited. A TON of boys showed up (I love books that boys love to read). They started lining folks up, and we were finished fairly quickly (MUCH faster than waiting in line on Sunday). I don't know how he signs over 2000 books at a time, but I suppose if it were me I would be thinking, "Ka-ching, Ka-ching." He really took time to speak to the kids, and comment on the many costumes that were worn by the excited tweens and teens.

Almost there, just a couple more people.

ACK! She blinked.

She was very excited about tonight, and thrilled to see so many friends (and teachers) in line too.

Big Al's new activity

2011-10-02T17:51:00.001-07:00

Balancing cheering and honors classes has been a full time job for Big Al lately. Practices have her coming home around dinner, and then finishing up a bunch of homework, and game nights have me driving to pick her up so she doesn't get home too late. Overall she is doing very well in her classes, and has really taken the weighting and ranking of high school pretty seriously. We're proud of everything she is doing, and pray ALL THE TIME for her bases to never let go!

Turning 8

2011-10-02T17:48:00.001-07:00

Hello again.

2011-08-17T17:05:00.002-07:00

Yes. I went most of my summer vacation without posting. I didn't mean to do that, and I hope I'm back on track. It was a great summer, full of family, a lake trip, trip to DC, and bored kids. This past Monday though marked the end of all that.

This past Monday was......................

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

So here are the pics.

Big Al is 14.75 and headed off for her freshman year in high school. She is participating in cheerleading at her school, as well as tumbling - almost has her back handspring. She is looking forward to a year of football games, friends, and Honors classes. I am looking forward to holding grades over her driving permit.

T-Rex is looking forward to starting 7th grade and is 12.5 years old. She took a cake decorating course this summer and spent a lot of time with her friend S destroying my kitchen on a daily basis. She will still compete in fencing this year.... we think.

Blondie is 9.5 years old and headed for fourth grade. She continues to amaze us at with all of the things she can do. She is working on reading and loves learning about science and cooking.

Cheesie turns 8 tomorrow, and is starting 3rd grade. She LOVES math and science and building things. She is still very sassy, and loves to think she's in charge.

School means hectic schedules, and lots of driving. For some reason though, I find that much more conducive to blogging. So we'll give it a go again.

One reason my house isn't amazingly clean

2011-06-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

I love both of our dogs dearly, BUT.... Maggie has a very annoying habit. Every time she wants to be fed she'll stand in her dish until I or one of the kids dumps in the food - that isn't the bothersome part. She isn't content to just eat the food from the dish. She has to slide it around the floor until it tips over. She halfway learned this when my mom's boxer stayed with us and he drags his bowl around until you fill it. Maggie just took the practice a bit further.

Then she'll lie on the floor to eat. I gave up keeping her bowl by Tate's bowl, because Maggie ALWAYS drags it over to the edge of the kitchen. Her ultimate goal is to flip the bowl over onto the living room carpet. Once on the carpet she'll eat more, but I'm always finding the leftovers after she has enough.

I love this dog (she's a boxer/Am. bulldog mix and both have BIG personalities), she is absolutely wonderful, but I really wish she would finish cleaning up after herself.

Yellow bellied slider

2011-06-08T11:34:00.001-07:00

Maggie, the wonder dog, was barking like crazy out the front window. She generally spends time guarding from the stairs, and today she went nuts. Big Al looked out the window and saw a BIG turtle in the front yard. When we all went out to take a look it was hiding under the car. He hid out there for a bit, and then took off for the pond in the backyard.

Big Al tried to gather the courage to pick it up, but promptly dropped him and danced around like a girl who touched something ookey. Puh-lease...... She did get the idea that he was pretty heavy.

T-Rex then stepped up to grab him, and then took him to the pond. This is generally her "job" during heavy rains because a lot of turtles tend to come up then and end up in the road. This one was by far the biggest we've seen so far in the pond.

The closer she got to the pond the more he started waving his feet around trying to get in as fast as he could. When she let him go he charged straight in, although we could watch the water lillies move as he swam farther out. He was taking no chances on hanging around with us.

June's paddle - ACE Basin Wildlife Refuge

2011-06-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

On Sunday my buddy Karen and I went down to the Edisto River and met up with the paddle group. It was a one way paddle, so we left our car one place and rode with new friends Chris and Casey (mother and daughter).

Karen has this "thing" about alligators. I've paddled with them enough to know that they leave us alone, but she would rather not think about them in the water.... BOTH of us are just super careful. I've heard about scary encounters where an alligator felt threatened and reacted, so I'm always on the lookout. Thankfully we didn't see any on this paddle.

Above is the land belonging to the gorgeous house right by the boat landing. We were paddling around the water waiting for everyone to get in and trying not to block other boaters. Below is the Edisto River that we started on, which is very wide and NOT shaded at all. It was an easy paddle as we went with the current. I started off at the front paddling with a couple ladies I met who are also involved with scouts, and Karen was WAAAAYYY back there with Chris and Casey somewhere- oops, guess I wasn't a very good buddy. ;-)

My favorite thing about the paddles, besides the new friends, is all of the wildlife you get to experience. Above are spider lillies which are becoming endangered in a few places in our state. Here in the midlands they are starting to map where they are so folks can watch what they are doing around them. Below is pickeral weed which has a lovely purple spire and grows ALL OVER the lowcountry banks.

About 4 miles in we turned on to Penny Creek and the water became narrower and a little more shaded- I actually prefer these types of side places because there is so much more to see.... if you look. One thing I'm beginning to notice is how people really don't see what is around them, so I'm constantly on the lookout. In this oak (above) for instance, the first thing you notice is more spanish moss, but if you look closer you can see a couple nests. These nests (below) held a momma night heron and her babies. You could hear her chirping at them to be quiet. There were several nests in the same tree. Sadly, these pics look a lot clearer on facebook instead of blogger.

Dragonflies and grasshoppers of various colors were everywhere. This one kept landing on my pfd once I was out of my kayak so I managed a pretty good shot.

I LOVE all of the colors of the kayaks -next time I'll make sure the paddles and bags are out of the way.

About 10 minutes behind me was Karen. After loading all of the kayaks we drove back to the first landing for our car and then stopped by this plantation (Prospect Hill) to take pictures of the gorgeous Oak Allee. These old places are such a staple of the old south, and an absolute reminder of that time period. They are in secluded places and generally WAY off the beaten path. I don't know anything about this house except that it was built in 1848.

A lovely little paddle, fairly easy, and not too hot. 6 miles or so total from the Edisto (Willtown landing) to Penny Creek landing.

Bridging

2011-06-06T17:18:00.001-07:00

When a girl scout moves from one level to another we have a bridging ceremony. Three of my Brownies, Blondie included, were moving up to Juniors. Two of them made it to the ceremony this past Saturday. There were girls all the way up through bridging to adult (Big Al is bridging too, but her group wants to have a dinner instead of participate in the ceremony).

We started with music and a poem and then had the Brownies cross over.

After we went through all of the girls we had a big friendship circle and then cake and lemonade.

Blondie and "A" are the two I've had since first grade and I'll continue on up with them as long as they want to participate. Super good kids, and next year they'll be doing the bigger projects. I'm very proud of both of them.

8th Grade Graduation

2011-05-31T18:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight Big Al had her graduation ceremony for her magnet program. A magnet is a "school within a school" for a specific purpose. Our district has many programs for the arts, science based, health, etc. Big Al and T-Rex go to the one for high achieving students. Only 80 kids are in her 4 classes and they have been together for 3 years. For the most part we have been exceptionally pleased with everything, and it has definitely been a positive experience.

In this ceremony the students performed individually and in pairs for about ten total pieces. Then the faculty from 6th - 8th all did their presentation. The 6th grade science teacher did a wonderful poem full of references to their activities and jokes about what the teachers "really" are. 7th grade did Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" with all of the kids names listed throughout the song. Part way through the other teachers brought out their lighters. It concluded with the 8th grade history teacher giving a speech about perseverance and profiling Howard Carter's persistance through his life.

After the certificates were handed out the families gathered downstairs to have some food and watch the slideshow of their three years together. It was fun to see everyone, and reminisce about all of the things the kids have accomplished. Afterwards there was a lot of picture taking...

Big Al will cheer with the two on the right next year.

"B" has been one of Big Al's best friends from the beginning. She is a lot of fun and a bundle of energy. We love her dearly and hope they keep in touch as they go to different high schools next year.

"J" has been a soccer buddy for quite a few years.
"A" was also one of Big Al's favorite people.... just like a brother.

These are all super kids who are going in many different directions, but I know these kids will definitely achieve their goals.

Virtuosos

2011-05-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to have a lazy day, although I did get the little girls' winter clothes put away. As I'm sitting in the chair watching tv and reading a book I hear Blondie endlessly playing Mary Had a Little Lamb on the keyboard in our library. Her music teacher at school taught the kids to play it and I hear it often, in different tones, and rhythms, so I sent Big Al in there to teach her another song. Big Al picked Jingle Bells. As I listen to her hit wrong notes, T-Rex runs upstairs and gets her violin. Suddenly just a big bunch of NOISE is coming into my lazy day space. I grabbed the camera to share with all of you who wish you were in my library, but are kept apart by distance.

I KNOW you're wishing you were HERE right now..... right?

T-Rex on a field study

2011-05-29T07:13:00.000-07:00

Guest blogger: T-Rex

On Thursday, my school took a trip to Savannah. We visited a marine science lab by an estuary. One of the activities was a touch tank where we could hold crabs, horseshoe crabs, starfish, hermit crabs, and snails.

One of the first things I held were the starfish. I figured out that if you keep them flat on your hand they would start to crawl off. One of my classmates thought it would be a nice idea to hold one too, but another friend came behind him and accidently bumped into him. Unfortunately the boy was holding the starfish by the leg and it popped off. Above, is me holding the arm (still moving) with the starfish in the background. Here I am holding a crab.

One of the tanks held seahorses which my friends loved.

Our last activity was a trawler. It was a boat whereyou throw nets into the water and you pull them up and then study the animals. We caught two stingrays, a dozen squid, a jellyfish, a ton of fish, a few crabs, a couple shrimp, and a hermit crab.

This is one of the few shrimp that were caught being held by our guide.

This was one of the bigger squid that was caught.

It was a fun field study, and I had a great time.

U.S. National Whitewater Center

2011-05-22T03:42:00.001-07:00

My favorite teens (all but 3 of my cadette and senior girl scouts) took a quick trip up the road to the U.S. National Whitewater center on Saturday. It is a really big park with slightly extreme sports, as well as a training ground for Olympic whitewater kayak folks.

We started with the adventure course and canyon crossing. Both are essentially rope courses which the girls had experience with, but are always fun. We waited in line to get harnessed and helmeted up, and then took off to the adventure course.

I kept getting asked to put my camera away, so I only took pics when I reached a platform. No more than 2 on a line, and 3 on a platform at a time. In the above pic, T-Rex is waiting on MC to finish her crossing, while (below) Big Al waits on her platform for the next section.

Here, T-Rex and SLB are waiting to cross a rope holding on to a cargo net - and YES, I did all of these too. After we finished we skipped the small zipline (it was only 100 feet), and got in line for the canyon crossing.

Big Al was needing lunch at that point (it was almost 2) so she waited for the others to finish, but T-Rex was ready. Canyon Crossing was slightly different in that it moved between the trees and was a little higher and wasn't a solid structure like the Adventure Crossing.

T-Rex starting out on the first element. I couldn't take pics after that because she was too hard to find in the trees, but at the end she ziplined back to the starting point.

After the zip, we all ran to the car to gulp down food, and then headed back in for some water activities.

First we all kayaked. It was nice (although would have been better with seatbacks). The guys at the dock told us about a cut through creek that would be a little more interesting to the girls so we took it. We found kayak gates that we paddled through...

and shaded tree areas with plenty of obstacles to paddle around. Even though we were out for only about an hour, I'm counting this as my "May paddle" since I couldn't go to Sparkleberry swamp. Sadly, I still can't talk Big Al and T-Rex into going with me on my next one.

5 of the girls tried paddle boarding (T-Rex in the middle) with two of the girls (CC and SS) "falling" in. I wanted to do this too, but didn't want to make them wait so when they were finished we moved on to the mega jump.

On our way back up to turn in our paddles, the girls came across this sign and thought it was funny.

For the Mega Jump the girls were again put into a harness and attached to a cable. They then stepped off a 45 foot platform and floated to the ground (same apparatus used by stuntment). MUCH better for parents to watch than a bungee jump because it isn't head first, and there aren't any big jerks on the body. I watched safely from the ground, but have to find a way to turn my videos so you aren't watching them sideways.

After the Mega Jump all of the girls went rock wall climbing. They didn't think it was quite as tall as the one at Stronghold Athletic, but I think it was fairly close. I think it didn't look as tall because it was outside. Again, they put on the harnesses and spent 30 minutes climbing. I think all of the reached the top. (T-Rex on the left)

Here is Big Al on the rock wall. We all wished we had gone whitewater rafting, but we're thinking it might be a good way to bring the group together in the fall to bond for the new year. It amazes me that a majority of my girls will be returning despite going to high school next year, but they are determined to get their Gold Award and search out scholarships. They still enjoy hanging out together, and really missed the girls that weren't there today.

May 14, 2011 - Dream on Wings meetup

2011-05-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

Every year on this weekend, for the last couple years, the hemispherectomy foundation has their walk to raise money. As a veteran "hemi mom" I thought that I would invite some folks from around the state to my house. It really looked like the weather wouldn't cooperate, so we all signed up as virtual runners but met at my house and ate instead.

AND BOY WAS THERE FOOD!

There were the six of us, my mom, and sister. (The above is the whole crew shot)

Then there were the Brights. They live in the upstate of SC and hadn't met another hemi family before. Their girls were absolutely charming, and while they listened to all of us, my family actually watched their daughter "M". My mom thought that she was so similar to Blondie that it was like seeing what Blondie may be as a teen. All of their daughters were perfectly behaved and absolutely delightful.

The Hardy's came, Melissa, her daughters "A" and "H" and her infant son, as well as her mom, and sister. Those little girls were the CUTEST THINGS EVER. "A" never stopped talking, and was constantly asking very intelligent questions.

Robert and his mom Janet showed up (I'll use Robert's real name because he is an adult). This was the first hemi family I ever met, and it was so good to meet up with an adult who was successful. Robert just finished his Master's degree in Social Work and is job hunting. He lives on his own, and is doing everything I hope our daughter is able to do. He has a fantastic sense of humor, and an obviously close family.

All of the younger kids played and wandered in and out as the older folks chatted and got to know each other. It was nice to have such a range of ages: Rober (25), "M" (14), Blondie (9) and "A" (almost 5) to share our experiences, show off new braces, and just get to support each other. When your child has a rare disease then distance from others in a similar situation is a big hurdle. It isn't like have cancer and speaking in a support group. That is why the hemi foundation (http://www.hemifoundation.org/) is so important to families like ours. It brings us all together from around the world to support each other.

Through the foundation, that very same day, we learned of an older boy who was having a "redo." After the surgery, Eric Suzuki, had a massive seizure which severely damaged his brain. As we were celebrating other families, we were also VERY aware that one of our own families was saying goodbye to their wonderful son. Kelli, and Mike, are both very involved with the group and offered advice and support to others. This past Wednesday he was laid to rest. On his carepage, his father wrote: " Probably the most important reason that Eric was able to achieve all that he did, was because of all the love and care that Kelli, his mother, my wife, provided him. Because Eric was able to do so many things most people do not realize Kelli spent hours each day attending to his medical needs, getting him therapy, researching for better ways to care for him. & advocating for him to get the services he needed. She did this day after day, month after month, year after year, while at the same time being a great mother to Kaitlin and Emily. I know that Eric could not have had a better mother than Kelli, and she has my love and admiration for everything she did to make Eric the wonderful young man that we all new.

But more than just being thankful for the time we spent with Eric, we can all be inspired by how he lived his life. Even with his challenges, Eric did not sit around feeling sorry for himself. He just went out and to the best of his ability, did the things that came easily for most other kids. He didn't want people pitying him & had no time for people that wallowed in their own sorrow.

He just wanted people to treat him like any other kid, and be included in all of life's activities."

This totally and completely encapsulates what the hemi foundation means to me. As parents we can gather to find the best options for our children, supporting each other in new research efforts, and help others know how we included our own children in life's activities. The Suzuki family is in my thoughts and prayers daily.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

I'm a day late for Mother's Day, but I was busy celebrating it in a hammock. Initially the plan was to go hiking somewhere I hadn't been before, but I woke up to serious allergies, so I

switched gears to something very mellow.

I woke up to breakfast in bed, and the traditional natural presents. Instead of fruit trees this year I received some Gardenia bushes, tall boxwoods (who could resist after visiting Pearl Fryar) and the Calla Lillies below.

The weather was perfect - warm, but a serious breeze going, so I spent a long part of the day lying in the hammock reading a book, drinking a beverage.

T-Rex made me delicious chocolate covered strawberries. We later found similar ones in the store for $25.00 a dozen. T-Rex was shocked!

Hoping everyone else had a wonderful day. I know mine was just right for me.

A man named Pearl

2011-05-07T18:01:00.001-07:00

If you go on Netflix you can watch an instant movie called, "A man named Pearl." He's from Bishopville, SC and a self-taught topiary artist. Big Al, T-Rex and I watched the documentary last weekend, and Brian surprised me today by saying, "let's go!" So we loaded up the three kids at home (Big Al was at a band concert at Carowinds) and drove up the road.

We arrived to find a typical ranch house on a little side street of 6 or 8 houses, parked, and started wandering around this man's yard. He has about 3 acres, and its constantly changing. I have this "thing" about geometric shapes in art, quilts, and gardens, and apparently boxwoods. My favorite set was by his driveway (right side of the house). There were boxwoods cut into saucers and balls that were absolutely wonderful. It was so very "Seuss-ish" to stand there and look at these bushes and trees.

He started by collecting the "throw away" plants of a local nursery and then training them into the shapes he saw for them. His yard is absolutely amazing. Thankfully, since the video came out he doesn't climb a gigantic ladder with a chainsaw anymore, he has a cherry picker type vehicle that keeps him safer. The tree below is the famous "fishbone" tree he planted after Hurricane Hugo.

Cheesie loved the umbrella/tent trees because there was a spot underneath them a lot like a fort (she thought they should go all the way to the ground), and Blondie liked his "found art" sculptures around the yard.

He doesn't use any fertilizers or pesticides in his yard (woohoo) so the little girls quickly started counting the ladybugs they found.

We didn't want to bother him, but Mr. Pearl eventually came over and chatted with us about his work, and how little education he had, but how he supports scholarships for at-risk kids. He also works with USC with speaking engagements and internships.

We didn't want to keep him from his work, but as we gathered up the kids he cleared off the seat next to him and said, "Now come sit here by me. You're going to make me famous." So they giggled and took their picture with him. Pearl Fryar is a SC treasure. To find out more about him you can visit http://www.pearlfryar.com/

Easter

2011-04-24T15:41:00.001-07:00

Easter was pretty easy going today. It started with the little girls going to their baskets (candy, a movie, and a craft), we don't do huge Easter baskets, and then off to church.

Today, our lovely little church held an Easter Egg hunt before our service. The older teens had hidden a bunch of eggs all throughout the azalea bushes, so the kids had to really work!

Blondie and Cheesie were excited they got to take their baskets with candy into church (no eating the chocolate until later though). The service was wonderful, with a sweet little girl being baptized, and many who don't normally join us, packing the pews. I love how Father Bob invites the kids to the front to decorate a cross with flowers, and also gave them front row seats to the baptism (they stood in the aisle as the baby and her family were up front). He works very hard to involve all of the young people .

After church, back home to a family dinner with all of us, Mom, Natalie, Christy and my neice Cate. After dinner the girls got out the Wii to show Cate the Just Dance II game, and of course we all got involved. SOMEONE (I'm married to) decided to take video of Christy, Natalie and I dancing, but I won't distract you with that visual here.... needless to say, the sister who bellydances beat the rest of us rather easily.

We're ending the night watching a movie before bed, and of course school tomorrow. I love days spent with family!

The things I didn't blog about ...

2011-04-24T01:47:00.000-07:00

I finally realized why it seems to be harder for me to blog lately..... BRIAN! Brian is really getting into the professional aspects of his camera, while I still grab it on my way out the door (even though it is VERY heavy) to capture whatever the kids are up to. In downloading those pics, Brian has changed everything up so he can edit (which I obviously don't do to any of these pictures) so now I have to wait for him to reformat everything. Now that I know who to bug, I'll try to get him to do it a little more regularly. When in doubt.... blame the spouse. :-)

Saturday, April 16

Big Al has temporarily (although she hopes permanently) switched over to tumbling so she can beef things up for high school cheerleading tryouts this week. We found a private tumbling coach, who met up with us at the USC field house, to work on back handsprings, etc. with her.

Throughout the week Big Al went to practice. Having never done anything resembling this before (softball, and soccer mostly) this was totally new territory for her and she was quite intimidated the first day. By the second day she had settled into the swing of things, and finally tried out on Thursday of this week.

Sunday, April 17

We have a wonderful neighborhood association, and they hosted an Easter egg hunt for all of the kids. The ladies who organized it went above and beyond this year with a lot of prizes donated from community businesses. Blondie and Cheesie were so excited to do this, and found a LOT of eggs.

Friday, April 22

No school, so the girls were in and out of the house. The geese on the pond have babies now, and the girls spent a lot of time watching them, and feeding them a ton of bread. (Do you see the difference between Brian's pics and mine?)

At noon, Big Al went online to find out that she had made the 9th grade cheerleading squad for her high school next year. She was SOOOOOOO EXCITED. I am simply hoping she doesn't break a collar bone.

Saturday, April 23

Brian took Cheesie out to the Riverfront park and took a bunch of pictures to play around with and post to his various blogs. He is definitely getting better at his wildlife photos. I LOVE the heron below.

That night the girls were helping by making desert for Easter dinner (red velvet cake with a special homemade cream cheese frosting to DIE for).

They finished the evening by dying the eggs, and getting the baskets ready for the Easter bunny.

I'll try to keep the blog posts coming, I know you're looking for them - especially if you live in Texas.

Pompion Chapel

2011-04-10T03:58:00.000-07:00

This is the group of ladies I met from a meetup group (check out meetup.com for groups near you). The company I took the girl scouts kayaking with, started this group and last month was the first meetup. I couldn't make it, but hope to make a bunch of them. The goal is to paddle different rivers and waterways in SC. It's always a bit strange to walk up to a group of people you don't know, but once we were on the river we all started chatting. My kayaking buddy Karen. We met last summer in the Master Naturalist class. I'm so thankful that I know someone who can pick up and go when we find a good event. A lot of people will say they are interested in going, but Karen is generally READY to go. View along the river. At some point Quenby Creek meets up with Huger (pronounced you-gee) Creek and create the Cooper River. Then the Cooper meets the Ashley River and goes on to create the Atlantic Ocean (at least according to us here in SC). This is a rice field trunk that was used to let water from the river into the field to flood it. Rice is a balancing act of flooding and drying out. Today it is used for game management. Birds and other animals love the ecosystem back there, I'm sure hunters do too.

Just as I was starting to think I needed a break, we rounded the bend in the river and saw Pompian. This church was built in 1763.

The view of Pompian from the river.

The live oaks and the cemetary. Some of the graves were so old they were crumbling. Others had dates from the 1800's on it. Some were crypts and difficult to read.

We had just arrived at Pompion, and took time to tie our boats up to some trees. The company who sponsors the meetup has permission to stop there and eat on the grounds, but otherwise this chapel is closed to the public except for two services a year. One woman asked how to get information about the services and the warden looked at her and said, "Just add it to your calendar - It's May 15th at noon." We sat down to eat and spend some time looking around when the groundskeepers started burning the brush from the hillside. Smoke was everywhere. Thankfully it didn't last long, and then they allowed us inside the chapel. Oh my goodness, what a treat.

As we sat on the grounds of the chapel the sunlight coming through the trees was tremendous.

The pulpit was built/carved by William Axson. He was one of the masons that worked on the building. Below is his name carved in the bricks outside one of the doors. The other two men credited with helping build the chapel also have their names in bricks, The view from one window. I LOVED this floor. The darker red were bricks??? slowly turning into dust. Absolutely gorgeous with the stone. Amazing symmetry in this building with both sides of pews facing each other. The old cemetary out back and the river down below.

This is the road to Pompion Chapel. With only two services a year it doesn't get a lot of traffic.

I love straight lined architecture - must be a math teacher thing. Lillies found growing on the grounds.

This is a very odd picture, I know, but the glass in the panes have to be original (or at least incredibly old). There are a lot of bubbles and waves in it, and I thought the reflection was pretty cool. A view of the Cooper River from the church grounds. Very symmetrical, each side had the same door, and windows. I'm a sucker for live oaks and spanish moss. This was on the way down a side canal that we decided to explore. At the end of the canal we found this old railway trestle - for a super small train, or handcar maybe, that brought the rice from the plantations around and loaded on to barges. The barges then easily went down the river to Charleston to sell or load on to boats for export. The boathouse decaying in the water. This was a great place for birds. We saw osprey and woodstorks in this area. The railway tracks into the canal. I wonder what they used to actually look like? A house on the Cooper River. Here in SC that is pronounced like the oo in book, not ew.

As we were leaving the canal, Karen took my picture. This was a good one, compared with the one she took as she was spearing me with her paddle. When we got to the end of the canal and started to paddle back, the wind shifted and turned against us. So it was a long hard paddle back to the boat landing. I LOVE the view from a kayak.

After paddling from 9:45ish until about 2:15 we were quite spent....but helped put the 15 or so kayaks back up on the rack. My friend Karen was up in the rigging helping to secure everything. This was such a great way to get out and go somewhere I hadn't known about, and I highly recommend it. Now I just need to get a kayak (and eventually one for everyone else in my family).

T-Rex at Tartan Day

2011-04-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

T-Rex and Brian went to Tartan Day which is a Celtic Heritage Festival that was held here in Columbia for the first time. They had the typical Highland Games activities such as the Caber Toss and Hammer Throw. There were plenty of Kilts and Bagpipes to be seen.

Brian's favorite were the sheepherding and the duck herding. He had never seen the ducks being herded over bridges and through tubes, and was very impressed with the dogs.

The Hammer Throw, this guy was a little off target and amost Brained one of the contestants competing next to him.

T-Rex's fencing coach (on the right) attends a lot of these things and gives demonstrations as to how the swords (etc) were used in that time period. T-Rex enjoyed watching him perform.

But the highlight for T-Rex had to be the owls. It was too windy to fly them, and the falcons, for their demonstrations, but she got to hold the owl.

Don't you just love the look on her face? I was teasing her and asking if she was going to take falconry lessons next. She replied, "I don't know." gulp. I wouldn't put it past her.

Violin competition

2011-03-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

T-Rex participated in a competition with her orchestra class. The students played two pieces and were judged.

When we arrived at the high school hosting the competition we could hear her class warming up. What thrilled me was that the teacher wasn't leading them, the kids were doing it themselves. I love when students are independently motivated.

Kids were standing all around the art room in small groups playing together, with some reminding all of them to slow down, and watch the tempo. Every now and then the teacher would interject something, but I was very pleased that the students were motivated to do it themselves.

We don't know the final results yet, but in listening to a few other schools they sounded very good for first year orchestra students.

Peachtree Rock Heritage Preserve

2011-03-20T16:15:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a lovely day in the low 80's, so we packed up our kids, added a friend, printed off some letterboxing clues, and went hiking.

Ready to go!

Sometimes even the drive to someplace fun is tiring by itself.

This is peachtree rock. It has been standing since this part of the state was actually the beach. There is a LOT of sand in this area, and a lot of pinetree forests (like this one). Unfortunately people are dumb and have carved up this rock with their initials so there is a big rope around it urging people to stay back. The interesting thing was all of the worm holes found in the rock. Just below the rock was a wall of rocks and boulders that had a small waterfall and stream coming from it. The girls were looking for the first of two letterboxes in this area, but it appears to have been taken. There was a lot to climb on, and explore, and even Blondie was up for climbing the boulders. They went up to the top of the ledge and played at the top of the waterfall, and got as far under the rock wall as they could as well. The picture below shows some of the natural holes found in the rocks. We didn't find any fossils, but I don't think the girls were looking too hard. They were busy running around and climbing.

Big Al found this tree to climb.

Above are Big Al and Cheesie under the waterfall. Cheesie was doing a lot of posing for her dad, and was game for anything. Big Al was a little more cautious about possibly slipping on the rocks. T-Rex and "S" found a big bullfrog under the ledge of this wall that they were trying to figure out how to catch. Sadly, there was a lot of trash under there too - I really wish people took care of our parks. Below is T-Rex at the top of the waterfall.

We eventually found the rock and tree mentioned in the letterbox clue, but the box was gone. The girls didn't mind though because the rocks, waterfall and stream were a lot of fun to explore. Since there was still a second letterbox to find we set off to find little peachtree rock. Unfortunately the trails are a little confusing so we didn't find it.... instead...

we ended up on a ridge of very white sand. In case you didn't realize it, very white sand reflects very warm sun quite well, and the girls found the tiniest sliver of shade.

After the very white, HOT sand the girls were pooped. Even though we didn't find the second letter box they were ready to go, and it was still a ways to hike back. I think all snacks and most water was consumed by the time we got home.

Opening Night

2011-03-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

Brian and my Mom submitted about 13 photographs each for the Photofabulous show in another town. Brian, Mom and the 3 youngest went ahead of me to spend a couple hours. I picked up Big Al from the regional science fair and made it for the last 40 minutes or so.

Brian received two third place ribbons from the judges. One pick was the portrait of Cheesie blowing bubbles (on his left) and the other was the flamingo picture in the upper left corner.

Mom won the most ribbons of anyone in the show - She received 3 first place ribbons (fashion, aquatic and still life), a third place (fashion) and an honorable mention for abstract. We are all thrilled for her.

Cheesie thought everyone should take a picture of her standing next to her "winning" photograph. She looked around and saw that there was a youth division, and was mad that she didn't know so she could enter. She's pretty sure she will rock it next time (very high self-esteem with this one).

Blondie got tired of grazing the food table and found that there was a lot of standing around mingling so she sat on the stairs for a bit. All of the girls found one photographer that they loved - he used women dressed as modern versions of fairy tales and put them in the setting of those fairy tales. Cheesie wanted to buy one, but sadly they weren't for sale.

Overall a nice evening and very proud of Brian and my Mom.

Fencing Tournament

2011-03-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

Today was T-Rex's first fencing tournament. It was divided into age groups, but kids of all skill groups fenced against each other. She is still a very beginner, but ended up with 7th place and a medal.

So here is what we learned:

First you have to put on your oompa loompa overalls (knickers)...... which you pair up with tall socks (a lot of the girls went for the flashy colors) and of course, the converse you don't leave the house without wearing.

You are placed into two pools of contestants and fence against everyone in your pool for round 1....OH, and girls and boys compete against each other equally (which I happen to like). T-Rex won the above bout, and lost the bottom bout. The boy below won 3rd place and definitely had more experience. Then you wait while they shuffle the two pools, and you chat with your friend and neighbor, "S."

Then you fence in bout number two, and wait around for scores. When scores are posted the finalists fence it out for 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Then its time for awards. The girl in pink socks won the tournament from Augusta, and the ninth place finisher left before awards.

Blondie could have participated in the afternoon group, but we chose not to let her fence because she had cried a couple days before when T-Rex beat her in class. So until we can display proper sportsmanship we'll watch from the stands. T-Rex learned a lot from the competitors with more experience and we'll see how that helps her in practice.

MIA

2011-03-12T05:31:00.000-08:00

Looking at the date I am shocked that I haven't posted in a month. We've celebrated T-Rex's birthday, watched Blondie meet some challenges, and so many more things. I started this to document our activities for family, but just haven't been feeling the desire to sit down and write at night after our daily grind. I think I'm back on track now, and should be up to my random reportings later today.

So for the last month we:

... went ice skating with the cadette girl scouts. Big Al and the others had a great time. T-Rex tried to overcome her fear of skating, and skated about a fourth of the way around the rink, but then bowed out and could do no more. We were very proud of her for trying anyway.

...took the Brownies to the Children's Theater play of Alice in Wonderland (which turned out to actually be a version of Through the Looking Glass). They all had a great time and loved the cast.

...sold a ton of girl scout cookies with both troops. This was Blondie and Cheesie's first experience doing a booth (didn't really want to do it with Brownies before, but I have a super group of kids and parents who were up for the challenge). Blondie was a CHAMP at dancing in the costume we borrowed for the weekend ..... Cheesie didn't want folks looking at her.

.... celebrated T-Rex's 12th birthday with friends and a sleepover.

Missed? Big Al's trip to Williamsburg - took a camera, but forgot the memory card.

Coming up? T-Rex has a fencing tournament today, and Brian and my Mom are getting ready for a photography show next week and we are looking forward to the opening night party.

Moonshine Mountain

2011-02-13T04:19:00.000-08:00

I heard about Moonshine Mountain from a colleague of mine, and decided to take a trip up there with the cadet girl scouts to try it out. Big Al, T-Rex and the rest of them loaded into two cars and we drove 2.5 hours up to snow tube.

As we got closer, and could see the mountains in the distance, we (I mean Big Al) noticed there was no snow. Nothing, but brown grass and sunshine. I called ahead to make sure we had something to do and they assured me they had plenty of snow.

We drive up to this.....um.....rustic, quaint little place with dinosaurs eating other dinosaurs and a plane crashed on top of shipping containers and knew we had arrived. They were the ONLY place around with snow - because they make a lot of it.

They had 3 dedicated runs and a tow rope if you didn't mind waiting. Our girls realized after one tow rope ride that it was much quicker to hike the icy stairs up the hill because MANY more runs could be made before your two hour time limit ran out. This is all of my girl scouts on the tow rope. The steps line is on the right.

The craziest thing happened on our first run. None of us had done this before, but we were going to do a "train." The first person holds on to the ankles of the second, and the 2nd holds on to the ankles of the third, etc. One of the safety guys at the top asked if he could catch a ride down with us..... um.....sure, but you don't have a tube. He told us no problem, and put one foot on my tube, and another on T-Rex's and then bent over and held on to one of the handles on my tube, then he "surfed" us down the hill. I kept waiting for him to fall - on me, on T-Rex, on his butt on the icy run, but he was amazing enough to do it. At one point the girls took a break (we had layered too much and were burning up), and sang karaoke - because every good tubing place needs entertainment.... right?

But most of the afternoon looked like this (they are at the top of the middle run):

The above picture is the straw area/hill that slows you down. In the last run the girls went WAY up the hill and then collided into another group coming down.

A super fun day with the older girls. Can't wait to take them all next year.

Nine

2011-02-01T14:47:00.001-08:00

Saturday, Blondie turned nine. It was a tremendously busy day though, starting with cousin CJ's birthday party at the Marionette Theater. Lots of Aunts and Uncles were on hand to celebrate as well as CJ's friends. I love spending time with my extended family, they make everything special (they drove 2 hours to help their 3 year old niece celebrate, I find that wonderful!).

After Blondie and Cheesie watched the show, we raced back home to meet the friends coming to our house to celebrate with Blondie. She simply wanted cake, snacks, and time to play with friends, and maybe have a dance party like the older girls have done - and that is exactly what they did.

Later that evening my sister, niece and mom came over to eat dinner, and have our family celebration. More presents, more silliness (make me laugh with cousin Cate) and playing puppets.

Puppets from the Marionette Theater, a fort making kit, money, clothes and some CD's made for some great family gifts.

Make me laugh......

When it came time for cake, who knew that Daddy had trick candles...... this is what that looked like:

Six glorious years seizure free was also celebrated the Monday before. Both of them mean the same thing to me though....... I got to keep my daughter.

Manatee

2011-01-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday I packed up a majority of my students, and headed for Florida. The annual Manatee fieldtrip is one of my favorites - this year was great too. We didn't see as many manatee because it was a lot warmer, but my students are amazing, and showed such absolute trust in me that was very heartwarming. I did get an underwater digital camera for Christmas (thanks Brian) and was CHARGED UP to use it, but only saw a few. Most of my pics are of my students which I can't share, but I managed a few natural wildlife all the same.

The kids became very adept at identifying a few fish - mullet (above) the loved because we read the book Hoot before we went and they tried to catch a few like Mullet Fingers does in the story.

This is a sheepshead - once I gave them the name they quit saying zebrafish.

Then of course, the amazing manatee. Not too many because of warmer temperatures and scuba divers (they don't like a sound that scuba gear makes, and we watched them leave an area VERY quickly when the divers showed up).

This one below, wanted us to rub his belly. This onewas wonderful because it hung around for a LONG time and allowed a bunch of the kids to experience it.

We also snorkeled Rainbow River- no manatee, but tremendously gorgeous scenery. We saw turtles, birds, fish of all sizes, and of course the bubbling sand.

I will try to post some video I (or my colleague) took, but I can't have any with students in it, and quite honestly, mine are very jerky because I was swimming students on both arms, whenever they got scared their little hands would start to shake (my arm) and it was hard to take a lot of decent anything.

And Then the Ice Melted

2011-01-13T18:24:00.001-08:00

Enough for us to get out of the neighborhood anyway. Today was Day 4 of no school due to snow. I had already scheduled a cadette meeting for today, because of cookie paperwork needing to go home, so we met at the bowling alley. We SOOOOOOOOOOOOO needed to get out of the house, and these girls just love hanging out. We made them play without the bumpers (don't you think they are old enough?) so there were a ton of gutter balls, but they had a great time making fun of each other. While the big girls played on their two lanes......

the younger siblings (Blondie, Cheesie and T) played on their own lane. Cheesie and T had a lot of trash talking going on. Things like "OOOOH take that strike," and "You are going DOWWWWNNNN." Blondie had a spill on the slick floor, but eventually popped back in to play. T won the first game (much to Cheesie's horror) and Blondie blew out the second game. I was glad to have something silly and active to do with all these kids.

Part way through bowling my Brownie coleader called me and asked if the girls (and any other cadettes) could meet at the council office for a photoshoot for the local newspaper. Cookie sales start Friday, so they were doing an article about it, and since the article mentioned the soldiers, and the VA hospital (earlier posts) and the girls participated they thought it would make sense to have the girls there. The photographer stood on a stool and shot a ton of pictures and we were finished fairly quickly.

Blondie said it was the BEST DAY EVER. I must admit I enjoyed it too.

Brian's portraits

2011-01-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

Brian took Blondie and Cheesie out into the yard and created these portraits. I think they are gorgeous. He photoshopped them into black and white too, but these were my favorites.

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

2011-01-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wow! South Carolina has had 2 significant snowfalls (day after Christmas and today) in one winter (3 times in one year - last February T-Rex was sledding in a cast).

This white stuff may actually be around tomorrow too because its supposed to be freezing rain tonight. EVERYTHING is closed down because our city has only about 4 trucks for sanding and clearing roads. I was laughing at the newspaper photo in the state that showed the very depleted milk shelf at the grocery store. Everyone runs out to stock up as if we're going to be inside for a week.

The kids (and our dog Maggie) have been in and out all day, playing with 3 other houses of neighborhood kids. They built a big fort (or two) and have been having snowball fights all day. Big Al's thumb is bruised, and moving minimally so we'll have to keep an eye on that, but otherwise they have had a great time. Apparently they pulled out all of the yard equipment (hence the leaf rake) to gather all of the snow.

Oh sure, make the youngest one shovel the snow.

I hope my rakes aren't destroyed so we can get all of the leaves hiding under the beautiful snow.

Maggie spent a lot of time supervising the girls, while the little dog Tate spent the day curled up next to me inside. Maggie can't stand for the girls to be outside without her keeping an eye on them.

They also spent time catching snowflakes.

The kids are crossing their fingers for at least a 2 hour delay tomorrow so we'll have to wait and watch the news later tonight.

Midnight

2011-01-01T09:40:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a family gathering at our house for New Years since my family was sick for Christmas. My Uncle Tom and his wife Amy, and their daughter CJ came, along with my mom, sister and niece, and Big Al's friend "K". Around about 11 Brian remembered to pull out the camera and started taking pictures.

CJ and Tom - drinking slushies
CJ and Cheesie reading a book.

Blondie and Cheesie did a great job keeping up with CJ, although at one point I heard Blondie tell Cheesie, "Your turn" so apparently they were tag teaming. It's tough keeping track of a two year old when you have so many cool things to play with.

About 5 years ago on the 4th of July Big Al was burned by a firework. She wasn't shooting them off, but watching them, when one tipped over and shot into her leg. It was incredibly traumatic, and with all of our kids illnesses, it is the one that Brian and I feel responsible for. Since then we generally don't do ANY fireworks, but Brian held on to some sparklers and pulled those out. For the record the kids did these one at a time and with pretty intense supervision. I stayed inside because I couldn't stand to watch.

T-Rex and her sparkler.Cheesie

CJ with hers..... her Dad was standing RIGHT THERE.

Big Al and "K"joining the fun. Blondie participated too, but Brian didn't have his camera out at that point.Blondie had waited all night for the Times Square festivities to be on TV, apparently that is a big tradition for her. She slept on the floor until after the Carolina bowl game (tragic) and popped awake once I told her we were switching the channel.

Nearing midnight, CJ was waaaaayyyyyy past tired, and on full throttle, but having a good time. A fun night with my great family.

One down, three to go

2010-12-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

Today Big Al had her braces removed once and for all. About a month ago they took off the top ones, but the lower teeth just weren't exactly ready. Today, perfection:

I know she'll hate this picture because it isn't her normal smile, but we needed PROOF that the braces were gone... I'll replace it when we get a better one.

After the appointment we got her set up for her science experiment (trying to prove that organic pesticide is just as effective as Sevin - which is used a TON, but comes with hideous warning labels like "Don't let it absorb into your skin, or get into your storm drains" but we're supposed to put it on our food crops). So far we're thinking she needs to set up with more pesticide in her bags because the organic is slowly killing more fruit flies than Sevin, but not quickly enough (she has been observing for hours).

Once she got to a stopping place she talked her Dad into hanging up her hammock, and then tried it out.

Yes, she is wearing her wool pea coat and snuggie because it was chilly. Next I have to teach her to lie down the other direction so she can enjoy the view.

Let it snow

2010-12-26T13:47:00.001-08:00

This will be the second time this year (see February) that it snowed in SC. It missed the "White Christmas" with us, but showed up at 2 a.m. Sunday morning. The kids had a great time, and right off the bat tried to make a snowman.

YES! We used broccoli and carrots to make the face. He of course needed a gamecocks baseball hat to pull the whole look together.

They definitely had to take advantage of it as fast as they could, because it will all be gone tomorrow. They managed to get two finished (one back closer to the house, but don't think they ever put a face on it).

Christmas Day

2010-12-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

Thankfully we all woke up reasonably healthy this morning. Brian had bribed the little ones to stay in bed until 7 a.m. so we got to "sleep in" a bit. Everyone seemed very happy with their gifts.The little girls both got DS games today, as well as American Girl Dolls (Molly and Emily) from Santa. The bulk of their presents were movies, books and art supplies. They have left a steady trail of activity through the entire house (see pics at the bottom).

The family received Band Hero from Santa. They enjoyed playing it today. Anything that gets all of them involved is a great thing.

At some point during the day, some of us felt the need to crash.

T-Rex got a much wanted erector set, an ihome, and a bunch of cooking things. She currently thinks she wants to be a pastry chef and open her own bakery. Fine - although she made a lot of chocolate things that are still in the fridge, so I think we'll be visiting folks with homemade chocolate creations over the next few days. She also loved her art materials, crosstitch, jewelry making supplies, clothes, movies and gift cards.

Big Al wanted a hammock for Christmas..... unfortunately she didn't tell me until November and of course they can't be found in stores. She thought it would be a quick run to Pawley's Island for their handmade ones (3 hours of a very boring drive), and when I finished laughing at her I simply said no. Lucky for her, Santa found one on Amazon with free shipping. Her other Santa gift was a ripstick (pretty sure its going to be the reason for my next ER visit with a kid). She also received jewelry, books, clothes, and a bunch of gift cards. She is ready to go shopping TOMORROW to spend it all.

Cheesie wanted a snuggie VERY badly, and it isn't something I would normally buy (I don't "get it" at all), BUT it was on her list and I found them on sale, and in kid sizes - and what I buy for one little girl, generally needs to be purchased for her sister and roommate. Oma sent Big Al hers. They think they'll be great for the car.

Playing Aunt Lori's game - Hedbandz. We're thinking about adding our own pictures to the game to expand it.

The afternoon carnage - at this point everyone had pulled out parts of everything and spread it around the living room, and kitchen.... thankfully they cleaned up the mess in the library.

The little girls received a LOT of art things, including these cool easels with drawers and they found a lot of time to paint. This was a good Christmas, with lots of family time together. We did cancel meeting with the rest of our family today, so we missed that, but we'll catch up with them soon.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T14:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry we've been out of commission this week. The stomach flu has made an appearance and knocked all but Brian over. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.

Cupcake wars

2010-12-20T14:39:00.000-08:00

This past Friday I hosted a Christmas party for my Cadet girl scouts. I've known most of these girls since they were in first or second grade. At some point, SOMEONE (Big I) smashed a cupcake in SOMEONE ElSE'S (Miss H.'s) hair, then retreated to the bathroom.

Miss H; M.C.; A.M. and Big Al all waited for the moment that she would exit the bathroom - even trying to make sounds of leaving her all alone instead of surrounded.

At one point Big Al even grabbed a screwdriver to take off the doorknob. When Big I finally came out, they pounced, smashed a fast cupcake, and then the chase began.

Over my couch and around kids playing the Wii,

and back to the kitchen where green frosting was everywhere.

I LOVE this group of girls. They are stellar examples of young teenagers (even when cutting loose with cupcakes), and work very hard to help others. On a side note..... I WAS undefeated in Just Dance 2 for the Wii until M.C. practiced the Viva Las Vegas dance, and beat me. I will go on record saying that I beat the rest of them (including M.C.) later to regain my title. THANKFULLY there are no pictures of me dancing.

Use the Force..... Blondie

2010-12-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

This past Thursday Blondie participated in "black light fencing." Brian stayed to take pictures and said it involved a black light, and a lot of tape on the foil.

Pick Me! Pick Me!

Young Jedi

In the video below Blondie is on the right - not bad for someone who has only been fencing for a month.

En Garde

2010-12-05T18:23:00.001-08:00

In early November, Blondie began taking fencing lessons like T-Rex. She had watched a few practices, and thought she could do it. I thought it might be worthwhile because she doesn't have to use two hands, but she does have to concentrate, and balance on both feet to be effective. A little boy from her school takes lessons too, so she was very excited. Rick, the coach, didn't see any problems with her taking the class so we went ahead and signed her up.

YES, I'm sure the bigger girl was letting Blondie poke her, but Blondie is absolutely loving this class. She works very hard to have her homework completed before she goes (or she knows she has to stay home), and on Tuesdays she takes the class in addition to physical therapy - so she's one tired little girl.

14th

2010-12-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

Big Al turned 14 in late November. She was born on Thanksgiving Day, which was great when she was little, but now means that friends are usually out of town that weekend. Since she isn't playing soccer this year we decided to have her birthday party the weekend before, but rescheduled when we went to Dot Dot's funeral. Many friends still couldn't attend this weekend because of Nutcracker practice or soccer/basketball tournaments, but 12 were at our house tonight. They mostly hung out, ate hamburgers, and played a LOT of Dance Party 2 - which they seemed to enjoy. It looked a lot like this:

She also opened presents

and then more dancing. Some danced out on the screened porch - in the cold..... rainy....weather.

Lots of laughter and enjoying time together.

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-04T13:03:00.001-08:00

This afternoon was very busy. Big Al had an honor band concert. She enjoyed playing a Japanese drum piece (She is second from the left - had to hold the tempo together):

The rest of the day was spent decorating the tree

And getting ready for Big Al's birthday party tonight.

It's a little too cold to go out and do the firepit like she wanted, so we've tried to make the inside of the house welcoming for them. Thankfully the SEC championship game will be on and they'll probably start by watching the end of that (GO GAMECOCKS!) and then move in to more music/dancing/ silliness. I'll try to snap pictures unobtrusively tonight..... I'm sure a 14 year old won't mind her mommy taking pictures, right?

Dot Dot

2010-11-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we drove up to Greenville for Brian's grandmother's memorial service. Dot Davis was a wonderful woman, and taught so many people about living and loving family. The center of her life was God and her family, and she spent almost 89 years here on earth.

While there we also spent time with Brian's grandfather, also 89, Jack. Below are Brian's sisters with him.

All of the family came together, minus Brian's brother Barry (he and his family were representing our family at an Uncle's funeral in Texas). It was a beautiful service at the church where both Dot and Jack (and their son, and grandchildren) attended.

Jillianne, Stephanie, Lori, and Lisa

My daughters with their Aunt Lori and Aunt Jillianne

Cheesie and her cousin T.

Aunt Jillianne, Big Al, and cousin Will

Brian's cousins, Julie and Melissa

Although very sad to lose Dot, we recognize the long, influential life that she lived. We were very thankful to meet cousins who have recently moved back to SC, and visit with extended family.

The night before Dot died, Brian also lost his Uncle Dorman. He had been ill for awhile, but we are still very sad for his family. Both sides of Brian's family are very close, and I know they will continue to support each other, and remember with love those that are no longer with us.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T15:09:00.000-08:00

Today my family gathered for a very nice afternoon. All of the girls helped cook, and then we all sat down to eat together. My family, my Mom, sister Natalie, brother Colin and his girlfriend Charley, and later my sister Christy and niece Cate stopped by.

While I was finishing up cooking, my mom and Brian took the kids out to take a few pictures. I can see Christmas presents coming from some of them.

Sunday was Natalie's birthday, and my mom had bought a cake to celebrate. She didn't realize that she bought the candles that act like sparklers and then relight. Thankfully Natalie is also a fire-eater with her circus Columbia Alternacirque.

After dinner we went outside and took a bunch of family pics. The only ones missing were my brother-in-law Chad, and of course my Dad. I'll leave you with the good ones, and the out takes.

One more of those days when we wish we could have my Dad back, and live closer to Brian's family too.

Watch out Top Chef

2010-11-24T14:19:00.001-08:00

I decided to take advantage of a big sale, and allow T-Rex to buy those candy molds at the craft store thinking that it would be fun, and of course, useful. We found a couple of them we liked - one for chocolate covered pretzels (a favorite at our house) and one for chocolate bowls.
We can't wait to try out these bowls tomorrow at Thanksgiving dinner.

The biggest pile ever

2010-11-07T18:56:00.000-08:00

This may end up being part 1 of 2, because Blondie and Cheesie are quite determined to rake and build the biggest pile of leaves ever seen by humankind. Last fall we were raking the yard and taking pictures of them jumping in piles. Apparently that was a favorite memory, and they are looking to recreate it, even with only one hand working (she didn't want to use two). Unfortunately for them it is COLD right now in SC, not cool..... COLD, so they were on their own.

Obviously Cheesie has very busy parents because no parent in their right mind would let their kiddo wear cotton capris, a short sleeved shirt, and flip-flops when it was necessary to apparently also wear gloves. Honestly, I tried to get her to wear more clothes, but she said she was fine, so that's that. I'm curious to see how long they are willing to rake to get this gigantic pile of leaves they envision.

Settling in for election results

2010-11-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Voting, at our house, is a big deal. We go to vote on just about everything, and we always take the girls. Tonight with so much at stake, we all settled in to watch, but still did our own things. (T-Rex and Blondie were in and out with homework, or reading, I didn't catch their pictures).

Cheesie read some, and then graphed out her Halloween candy (school assignment).

Brian is the most obsessive about politics in our house (notice the stress ball in one hand and the remote to check commentaries in the other). He shushed Big Al and I a LOT tonight.

Big Al just returned from D.C. on a school trip, and has to make a scrapbook as a project, and she chose the living room floor to spread out.

I'm sure it will be cleaned up before bed (yeah.... I know....if I keep repeating that it may happen).

I started cutting out a fall banner that I wanted to make (I'm trying to not be too anal about my sewing and freely put things together, but honestly it stresses me out not to have some math, so these were cut on a 60 degree angle).

So hopefully we are comfy, because its going to be a very long evening/night.

Halloween

2010-10-31T17:52:00.001-07:00

Brian and Big Al working on the pumpkins....

The other girls looking on....

The final result.

Yesterday I spoke to my uncle about bringing our cousin CJ to go trick-or-treating with us. We had a ball with them last year, and wanted to see how they dressed up this year. They let us know that CJ was going to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, so the girls and I started pulling things out to see what we could come up with. I bought face paint, and a few accessories, but everything was pretty much here in the house. Big Al was the scarecrow - wore jeans, flannel shirt, and bought a straw hat and Raffia to make into neck/wrist/anklets of straw. T-Rex wore an old witch costume and painted her face to become the Wicked Witch of the West. Blondie grabbed a princess dress and was Glenda the Good Witch, and Cheesie was the Tin Man - wore gray sweatpants and shirt, covered a funnel with aluminum foil and hot glued an elastic chin strap, and bought her a plastic woodsman's axe and painted her face grayish blue.

Big Al was up for painting her scarecrow face, but after she saw it she just couldn't go through with it. This was the only pic we got before she washed her face.

T-Rex gets ready for her face painting. She and Cheesie kept theirs on all night, Blondie simply needed some glitter for her cheeks.

About to start the fun....

The Wicked T-Rex.

We brought the wagon which helped Little CJ get through the evening, and came in handy when Blondie eventually got tired. BUT I was quite surprised at how far the little girls made it this year - about 2 hours for the whole night. Usually I bring them back and then switch off with Brian taking out the big girls for more fun. Tonight though they made it all the way through. CJ kept handing her mom candy at most houses and asking her to open it.

And then back home to check through the candy, and have a couple pieces before heading for bed (school tomorrow).

The ocean and the marsh

2010-10-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

Back on the field study..... We left the maritime forest and headed for the beach. The kids noticed immediately how the breeze kept the mosquitoes away. We discussed the longshore current, waves, tides (full moon making it the largest one of the month), and picked up/observed the critters washed ashore.

A horseshoe crab

A jellyfish

This is the area where we stood in the forest at the end of the trail.

The gorgeous lighthouse

The students learned about sand dunes, how necessary they are to the barrier island, and how the fences are there to catch blowing sand and create new dunes. We also learned that one of the grasses on the dune has about 10 inches of root system for every inch above ground.

After the ocean, we ate lunch, and headed for the marsh. I think the rangers learned a valuable lesson at the marsh - when landlocked suburban kids come to the marsh, let them lie down on the boardwalk and watch the snails and crabs.

If you look closely at the spartina grass you'll see little mud snails. Apparently when the tide comes in they crawl up the grass because otherwise they become food for the blue crabs in the marsh.

Then there were the fiddler crabs. An absolute favorite. The males have one claw larger than the other, and wave it outside their burrows to attract the lady crabs. This was big time viewing by my students. I definitely have to go find something fun like this to keep in my classroom. The picture below is of some volcano-like burrows for the crabs.

We finally arrived at the hammack (an island completely surrounded by marsh, and looked at the plants, trees, and amazing views. Walking to the end of the second boardwalk we watched a tidal creek heading for low tide, but the students thoroughly understood the difference between tides, waves, and current after this - check that off my standards to teach. I heard one girl tell another, "OHHHHHH, now I know what she's talking about."

This is a view from the parking lot of the boardwalk and hammack. This was a totally worthwhile trip for my students, but I think I'm going to make sure I go back with my own kids. Heaven must have a marsh.

Hunting Island State Park

2010-10-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took my students to Hunting Island State Park near Beaufort, SC. It is BEAUTIFUL - except for the mosquitoes. It is ridiculously warm for October - even for SC (in the 80's and VERY muggy), and the bugs just won't let go.

We were there to look at the various ecosystems on a barrier island, and had a ball. It was perfect for a bridge between our landforms unit, and our ecosystems unit. These will look similar to my June post about Bull's Island, but I AM a Master Naturalist ya know.

My class started with a hike down a trail in the maritime forest.... you know..... where mosquitoes live. We learned about the three trees found there -Slash pine trees, Live Oak (with Spanish Moss - very southern, and always breath-takingly gorgeous)

and Palmetto trees - except they are really cabbage palms, and according to our ranger, not a tree. What? I need to look it up, but he told us it was a member of the grass family as evidenced by the sponginess, resilient, bounce back sort of thing it does. Hmmmm. really need to google that. The kids were spectacular and told the ranger all about how they became the state tree because when Fort Moultrie was being bombarded the cannon balls would sort of bounce off the logs of the Fort made of the Cabbage Palmetto, and since the trees are springy/spongy they wouldn't explode, so SC was able to repel the British.

We continued our walk along the path and he pointed out the mounds (brown in the photo below) that are ancient sand dunes (stay off them at the beach) and explained how they protect the island/inner forest from the salt water/spray. It really fit in with the whole weathering/erosion thing we've been teaching about dunes.
We saw foxfeather, GIANT banana spiders, and little crabs in the forest- the kids were very surprised by that. We were definitely walking quickly because the mosquitoes were obviously feasting on us for lunch, despite the DEET we were wearing, but the end of the trail was absolute HEAVEN.

We got toward the end of the trail and it started thinning out (trees don't like to drink saltwater so the trees were getting that "boneyard" look).

And since Hunting Island is a barrier island, the northern part is generally eroded by the ocean, and then the longshore current takes it and moves it around to the south end, and our trail abruptly ended at the ocean in trees. The students were absolutely enthralled. We had great discussions about the longshore current, as well as how the salinity affects the trees, and why there isn't a sandy beach on that part of the island.

I'll try to post more pics soon about the ocean and the marsh. Blogger is taking a long time with uploading pics tonight. Enjoy.

The State Fair

2010-10-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had big plans to go to the State Fair. Unfortunately we went out to the car and found a BIG FLAT TIRE. Then there was a problem getting the spare out, and then Brian was already dressed and needing to go get Big Al from gymnastics, and needing to be at the Fair before 1 because it was scout day. So I did what all mom's would do (I hope). I recognized that Brian wanted to go because he loves photography and it was a great place to shoot pics, as well as look at the photography contest. The kids wanted to go because, well..... they are kids. So I stayed home. No martyrdom, just what needed to be done, and I'll admit..... I enjoyed the quiet. So while I hung out and actually read a book, the kids ate cotton candy, fried butter (actually extra credit for Big Al) giant corndogs/hotdogs, and lots of lemonade. They were very thoughtful and brought home some cotton candy for me as well.

I also got to hear about the pig races, the quilt contests (Brian put in an order for me), and the cake decorating contest (T-Rex was terribly impressed) and all of the animals. The little girls were also very impressed with the giant sand sculpture. Next year they want to ride a bunch of rides. They are already planning that visit.

The Blondie Fairy

2010-10-17T12:58:00.001-07:00

In all fairness, grandma got busy making Blondie a fairy too.

The Cheesie Fairy

2010-10-16T02:48:00.000-07:00

My mom is a photographer, and has been playing around with some of the images she has taken, as well as photoshop. Cheesie tends to be the one that both my mom, and husband take the most photos of, mainly because she jumps into the middle of them. Cheesie is quite pleased with this one, although I think next time we'll have to dress her up a bit more. Nice work mom. To see more of my mom's work you can go to www.photoblog.com/widcat or www.redbubble.com/people/widcat/art The second link allows you to buy certain pictures in various sizes. You'll see Cheesie in a bunch of them. Enjoy

Before and After

2010-10-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

A big day for a teenager....

She was only able to get the top ones off, and has to wait until Dec. for the bottom braces. The retainer is great though because it is perfectly clear and you can't really see it - really beats the wire across the teeth that I had to wear.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

Brian took the girls to a great church pumpkin patch. They found a pumpkin with warts and a great gourd that is shaped like a swan (sort of). Great pictures of most of the girls - T-Rex doesn't tend to jump into pictures, so Brian is going to have to work on getting some more of her, but the others are usually game.

Festival

2010-10-10T00:53:00.000-07:00

Blondie's PT had another festival today for her clients. She has two of these a year, and my kids always want to go. Cheesie and Blondie had a great time, while Big Al and T-Rex helped out with making masks and delivering water around - even in October SC has some HOT days.

This one had a fall theme, and the kids decorated pumpkins with sliced vegetables. They decorated masks, played games, and ate a lot of snacks. There was a pinata for the little kids, and then one for the older kids.

Horseback riding was the big hit with my little girls! They both went a couple times. The hardest part was getting Blondie up because she had to step up with her weaker foot, but once she was up she was fine. Cheesie was all smiles and enjoyed it so much.

Delivering acorns to squirrels in need

2010-10-06T15:49:00.000-07:00

Yep.... thank goodness for facebook. I keep up with an organization called Carolina Wildlife Care, and my mom mentioned that they had posted on facebook that they needed acorns for squirrels that they are rehabilitating. Blondie had a great time looking for them in the yard, and my mom took them over to the place, and while very grateful, they needed more.

So, today at the end of my Brownie girl scout meeting, Blondie, Cheesie and the other girls, all went outside and gathered 10 or 15 pounds of acorns from under our oak trees at school as a simple community service project. It only took them 15 minutes because they were VERY engaged with the whole idea of helping injured animals. I was going to just hand them off to my mom tomorrow, but Blondie and Cheesie really wanted to see the place, so I drove across town, in rush hour traffic to deliver them in person.

This place runs on a few donations, and a whole bunch of volunteers, and they take in any wild animal to try to rehabilitate. I was NOT prepared for how many cages (about 50-70) of squirrels (several in each cage) were in one room. Honestly, squirrels are a bit of a nuisance for our family because try as we might, we can't keep them out of our attic in the winter, and we can hear them running the walls on really cold nights (creeps me out). Blondie and Cheesie however, are planning on going back out to the schoolyard tomorrow afternoon and pick up some more acorns - although I'll definitely hand those off to my mom to deliver on her way home.

Around the house...

2010-10-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

Nothing specific has been happening.... just a lot of the same. I did manage to make a few Christmas presents this weekend for the little ones. I went to a few garage sales and found some great legos for the classroom, some more books for the kids (my daughters and my students), and T-Rex got a barely used bike and some nice shelves. So here are random pics of the kids for the weekend.

Big Al: Self portrait. I think these are about the only pictures she takes, unless its one with her and a friend. Big Al went with her friend to a charity walk for her friend's cousin. He has tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) which is when the body grows tumors in major organs. Big Al and her friend volunteered for about 11 hours, and I was quite pleased that she decided to do this on her own.

T-Rex: No idea what she's thinking here...... She is still on "Dawson Unplugged" which is our term for grounding - nothing that plugs in except the hairdryer. If you have time for the other stuff, then you certainly have time for studying math.

Blondie: played a lot, rode her bike. I love the sleeping picture. One night a weekend they can sleep downstairs and watch tv late. Blondie made up a special area and promptly fell asleep.

Cheesie has been keeping the tooth fairy busy this week (two teeth lost and one more loose). I would take a picture and share with you, but she is passed out on the couch from a very busy day in second grade (and if I don't post something soon, I'll be hearing from my father-in-law).

Scooping ice cream with one hand

2010-09-27T16:29:00.001-07:00

So I bought ice cream cones yesterday (a rarity at our house). Tonight I'm helping T-Rex with math while Blondie reads to me, and Cheesie pipes up with.... "OH! We have ice cream cones." Blondie stops reading and heads to the kitchen to make herself one. As she is walking out I tell her to make me one too.

Then it occurs to me. How is she going to scoop ice cream and put it in a cone using one hand.... I was halfway hoping she would remember her left hand and use it somehow. A few minutes later I get an ice cream cone delivered to me. "Cool," I think to myself, "She figured it out."

Brian goes into the kitchen a minute later and starts HOWLING with laughter. This is how a one-arm working child scoops ice cream into a cone... (Please excuse the condition of her shirt.... she comes home from school everyday looking like this.)

Shove the cone into the ice cream until it stands up.

Scoop and pat...

Lick the ice cream off the bottom of the cone, and enjoy.

She is BRILLIANT!

Group photo - out takes

2010-09-25T15:19:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday we went to the University of SC's arboretum. It's only open on the 3rd Sunday of the month to the public, so we seized the opportunity since we had never been. Someone left the University under 10 acres for the science department, and it was a densely packed jungle, in the middle of the city. Over the years one woman has been working with volunteers and students to create something spotlighting native vegetation and ecosystems. It is still a work in progress.

The beauty berry was full of its purple berries.

We walked along the trail enjoying the different gardens, and periodically trying to get a good "family" pic of the kids. Do you know what its like getting 4 kids to all look in the same direction for a picture? It's a little like herding cats......

We tried the zen garden

SMILE, oops, no not a fake smile. Put your hand down.

Why are you tilting your head like that? Response, "Uh.... its what models do."

We tried the outdoor classroom....
Sit Up..... Quit talking to your sister

Cross your legs.....not like that ...... just your ankles...... YOUR ANKLES. Sit up AGAIN, no not your chest.

We tried different seats in the outdoor classroom.

SMILE. Look at DAD! not the lady walking by.....

It was MUCH easier getting this little salamander's picture

I... just....didn't....know

2010-09-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

I went up to my room the other night, and found Cheesie sleeping in my bed. So I woke her up and shepherded her to her bed. As I walked in, I saw this....

And then promptly yelled, "BLONDIE!"

Blondie came trotting up the stairs and I asked, "WHAT is THAT on the WALL?"

To which she replied while rolling her eyes, "Um... My tally sheet for days until Halloween." and then I'm pretty sure she thought, "DUUUUH!"

Closer inspection showed that she used playdoh to stick the pencil and paper to the wall. This led to the question, "Why did you use playdoh?"

Again, you could hear in her voice that I was an idiot, "It is just like what you use at school for your posters."

Not exactly (I use properly sanctioned blue gummy poster thingies), but I let it slide. I didn't ask about the orange foam sticker stuck to my wall. Whatever. Hope it all comes off.

Kitchen Table

2010-09-21T00:52:00.001-07:00

School is obviously in full swing... tonight I looked around my kitchen table and saw:

T-Rex working to fix her pre-algebra homework

Blondie working on her math (she and I are working hard to master the concept of place value - hence the base ten blocks)

then her bug project (Cheesie was absolutely entralled with the paper mache' and kept jumping in too).

Cheesie had finished her spelling earlier, and Big Al was in and out with her Algebra homework (she had retreated to her bedroom to avoid the glue and paint). My table was an amazing mess.

One UFO down

2010-09-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

A UFO is an UnFinished Object in the quilting world. I have a lot of them. Back in January my resolution was to make a list and attack them one at a time. Brian was out of work, I had a stack of things to do, and nothing new needed to buy. I sorted them into piles, and there they sat. I worked on one knitting project for awhile, but honestly, boredom set in, and I got busy with other things. SO, then I figured I would work on things this summer, but instead I was working on a class, and literally just hanging out with my kids.

Lots of excuses right? A few weeks ago, one specific project kept getting in my way. I have a very messy drafting table with my sewing machine on it, and I had to keep shifting this project around to get it out of my way. It was the jean quilt. I had a couple pairs of my Dad's old jeans, mine, Brian's, and some the girls had outgrown. I spent the last two weekends using my down time to purposefully cut the jeans up into pieces so I could at least get them out of the way. Then I cut the flannel while I was at it thinking I could put the whole quilt in a bag and at least it would be smaller. Last weekend I spent an afternoon to test out my idea (I was making this from a picture, but no directions), and then I looked up to find half of it finished. Yesterday, I finished the rest of it.

The idea came from a website where they made a travel quilt and put patches on it from all of the different places they visited. There's was made out of polarfleece, I wanted mine out of blue jeans. I only used family jeans. I matched up the jeans and the flannel backing, and sewed the seam to the next square of denim and flannel. I left the seams exposed so they could fray. No batting in between because the denim was heavy enough, and I was sewing through 4 layers at a time anyway. I used 6 inch squares, but then the adult pockets were too big to be used. I saved those, used up the kid pockets, and if I ever make another one I'll use the adult pockets and a bigger square. I had a few squares left over, as well as the extra pockets, which did go into a bag, but I used every inch of flannel, so I'm counting this UFO checked off. WOO HOO!

Today we're cutting out T-Rex's African animal print quilt (crossing fingers it doesn't look like a hot mess when we're finished), and I'll start quilting the santa quilt because if I FOCUS it should only take a week or two, and lets be honest...... I need it ready by Thanksgiving to use for my holiday decorating. Maybe I'm getting back my quilting juju.

Lost tooth

2010-09-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

Cheesie lost a tooth a couple months ago, but with 3 more loose she was not wanting to wiggle them or even touch them. Tonight, she lost one on top. Two more loose ones to go.

If you remember, Brian named the last lost tooth entry "First lost tooth on the last child".... just so he knows, I do not agree that this is the last child, adoption is a wonderful thing.

A Girl and her NEW bow

2010-08-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

You've seen T-Rex and her archery bow, which she has now traded for fencing lessons...... but now T-Rex has added a new bow to her repertoire......

Let the um....... playing (ahem) ...... begin.

Reader's Theater

2010-08-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

Blondie wants so badly to be able to enjoy reading, but it is a struggle for her compared to other children. Her teacher introduced the class to reader's theater this week. Each child gets a script, and instead of doing a play, they read it with appropriate emotion, etc. She was SOOOOOO excited.... the hitch.... they performed it today at 2:00..... when I was teaching my own students and couldn't leave. I was bummed because it was yet another event (added to awards ceremonies, kindergarten performance during the day, fieldtrips, etc) I couldn't attend.

THANKFULLY, Grandma Cathy was able to show up, provide audience support, and take pictures for me. Mom was quite impressed with Blondie's ability to flip the script pages with one hand. Blondie told me grandma was silly because all you have to do is slide your finger between the pages and then whip it over. That girl is always problem solving.

AAARRRRG me hardy

2010-08-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

This afternoon around 4:30 my neighbor Cathy called me to see if T-Rex was going to the "pirate thing." Ummmm..... I had no idea what she was talking about (T-Rex told Dad not Mom), so she clued me in to the fact that Buddy S and T-Rex and the other fencing kids were invited to the state museum for their pirate night exhibit. The museum was showing Princess Bride, opening up late for their big pirate exhibit, and having fencing as a bit of entertainment.

Crud..... they also had to dress up. So on very short notice, and raiding my sister Natalie's closet (she is a bellydancer so she has a lot of costumey kind of "stuff") this is what we came up with.

Once at the museum we saw all kinds of people dressed up.

Rick (the coach) had the older kids suit up in their fencing gear while the newer kids stayed in pirate gear and talked to the audience about swords/foils/sabers/cutlasses, etc. Rick had T-Rex walking around with an actual cutlass and showing people, while other kids had other weaponry from the time period.

As the older kids fenced he gave a running monologue about the difference between movie fighting (like Princess Bride) and actual fighting (someone dies in about 10 seconds and 3 moves). The kids would then rotate out and finally T-Rex and Buddy S got to face each other. T-Rex wasn't thinking about her footwork, and Buddy S was really putting together some great lunges.

Eventually one of the boys rotated in and the coach spoke about how it was one of the few sports where men and women competed against each other. The kids had a great time, and T-Rex really seems to be loving this whole thing.

If she starts to get really serious then we'll have to move on to a more competitive group, but this has been a pretty good, casual introduction.

First Day of School

2010-08-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

First day of school pictures are a bit of a tradition here.

Big Al started 8th grade. Age 13

T-Rex beginning 6th grade in middle school. Age 11

Blondie looking forward to 3rd grade. Age 8

Cheesie off to 2nd grade. Age 7

Everyone came home very happy and looking forward to a good year. Kids seem happy with their teachers, and I'm really looking forward to this group of students. I'm optimistic that we can stay positive and have another fantastic school year.

Seven

2010-08-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

Cheesie turned seven today. She is such a funny little thing - sweet, smart, sassy, and an absolute control freak.

My sister has a tradition where she takes the girls out for a special day after their birthday - she might take them shopping, to the movies, dinner, something fun. Last week Christy was out of town, and Cheesie realized that there was something she wanted for her birthday and she figured she would never get it. I walked into the living room to find her crying:

Me: What is the matter?

Cheesie: (sobbing) Aunt Christy is gone this week.

Me: Yes, but she'll be back on Thursday.

Cheesie: (still sobbing) but I want to go shopping because I really want something.

Me: What is it you want that you can't wait for your birthday to see if you get it?

Cheesie: A Tervis Tumbler.

Me: Seriously?

Cheesie: YES, I want a bunch of them.

I walked out so she wouldn't see me laughing. My almost seven year old wants a 10 dollar plastic cup that doesn't leave rings on the tables, and can hold hot and cold drinks. She thinks they are awesome. I was given one for my birthday, and one from my school, so she has wanted one for awhile apparently.

Seven year olds are very tech savvy, and mine went online and googled tervis tumblers, and made a list of what she wanted. She also wanted an erector set. Thankfully, she received two of the cups (flip flops, and her initial), as well as a big erector set that she can't wait to build things with, and a couple of puzzles that she loves to do. Family came over for dinner tonight, and helped her celebrate. This weekend she'll have a couple little girls spend the night, and play. I think she was pretty happy.

Back to the zoo with Dad

2010-08-17T00:27:00.000-07:00

Brian took the girls to the zoo this past Saturday while I worked in my classroom. We were very curious about the new baby flamingos that are white until they eat enough shrimp to turn the pink/coral color.
Something about the zoo makes all kids climb on the statues and pose for pictures that they've posed for a million times. Our favorite is the orangutan statue.

Enjoy the pictures. School starts Thursday and everything is pointing to a good year. Looking forward to my new students, and the girls are looking forward to catching up with friends and new teachers.

Last Weekend

2010-08-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed back to the lake for one last weekend before I have to go back to work. Friday I got to catch up with a friend from high school who now lives in New York. Her little boy played with my little girls, and they all had a ball. The difference between parenting one and parenting a whole bunch are quite noticeable.... Lan would check on them if they were loud, while I only moved if it got too quiet. Their little guy is being raised in Brooklyn, so the lake was a great place for him to be -- walking barefoot through the grass, seeing the ants on the sand, the fish swimming near him in the lake. If it weren't for the huge thunderstorms that day it would have been perfect.
As for the rest of the weekend it was pretty typical:Big Al perfected her round-off, and then practiced cartwheels off the dock.

Cheesie tried forcing water through the noodles.... if you can perfect that then you can ambush sisters and parents.

Big Al took the little girls canoeing.....

Blondie built more sandcastles.
We all picked some muscadines from the vines out back (all of the pears have disappeared from the trees)
Brian and the older girls caught a crayfish for me for my classroom (mine died last year) but after playing with him for awhile we decided to let him go. This one has always been wild, while the ones we use at school are bred at a science company. This one was an absolute gorgeous red and black, and very snappy.

I go back to school tomorrow, and the girls go back next week. I'm looking forward to a couple more swim weekends at the lake, but not sure when we'll get back there. Hopefully soon.

Fencing

2010-08-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

Last week T-Rex started a fencing class. She has been wanting to do this for about a year now, and was very patient waiting for the opportunity. She has always been interested in unique extra curricular activities, and in adding fencing to archery and horseback riding I frequently tease her about growing up and becoming an Elf from Lord of the Rings.

On the very first day she learned about footwork, found an outfit and foil that fit, and got to spar with another student. She is very excited to be learning to do this, and is already talking about competing - which is thrilling because she generally stays away from being on stage. She enjoyed it so much that she kept talking about it to her buddy "S" and now Buddy S is signed up for lessons too.

Here they are competing against each other. T-Rex is on the left, Buddy S on the right.

Fencing is a workout!

Back to blogging

2010-08-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

More than a week ago I was doing research for a class I'm taking, and downloaded a virus.... apparently a pretty vicious one. The computer went to the fix-it store and when we got it back we couldn't connect with the new wireless. So, over the next few days I'll post what we did without a computer.

On Saturday July 31 we went to the Medical College of GA's epilepsy surgery reunion. We had a nice lunch, and listened to a bunch of testimonials. Afterwards we walked around the museum where it was held. Our real reason for going though was actually to meet the Hardy's. Their daughter "A" had a hemi when she was even younger than Blondie, but it was great to meet her family. They share a lot of our opinions and determination in raising a hemi kid, and their daughters are absolutely charming. "A" didn't let anything slow her down, and she was constantly chatting up a storm. It was fantastic to watch a little girl move past her surgery, and absolutely bloom.

After the museum we walked along the waterfront in Augusta which is absolutely beautiful. It did start to rain, so we headed home.

Found toys

2010-07-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Last night we gave our treadmill to someone who could really use it, which cleared out a HUGE section of the playroom, and of course exposed all of the junk left behind. I started cleaning the playroom, and started evaluating the toys left - thinking which should stay and which should go. With the girls, I try to only buy toys that are open ended, and allow for creativity - the Brio train was one of those choices back when Big Al was little. Slowly our collection grew, but no one ever really played with it. So, as I got to that drawer I thought.... hmmmmm.... maybe its time to put these away, so I went ahead and sorted out the drawer, and tossed a few broken pieces. We moved the big foam bean bag to the playroom, and I was done for the night.

This morning I actually got up before the little girls, and was thinking about what to do with the Brio when the little girls when running past me to see the "new" playroom (their term for a playroom that is simply cleaned within an inch of its life). Pretty soon, Blondie comes out with a train that needs a new battery, and I hear Cheesie bossing away about track construction and engineering. Sorry for the crummy pics - remember I said that only half the playroom was reasonably cleaned.

I go in to see what they have created (like a giant mess), and Blondie looks up and says - "Mom, in a clean playroom we can finally play." Umm...... yeah..... that's why I ask you to clean up all the time. So I guess Brio gets a reprieve and can hang out for awhile. So far they haven't noticed the things I have gotten rid of.... crossing my fingers.

Last Weekend

2010-07-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

I've been away from the blog for too long (for my father-in-law anyway), so here is the update.

A week ago we went back to the lake - just the girls and I. It was unbearably hot - the kind of hot where even at 8 a.m. the lake is already warm. The little girls swam endlessly, the big girls hung around, and swam a little bit. It wasn't as exciting for them because the cousins (and the boats) weren't there, in addition to no computer and t.v.

My Aunt, Uncle and Brian showed up on Friday and continued working on converting a bedroom into two bathrooms inside, while I continued to sit with my kindle and watch the girls play. We were also treated to a mayfly invasion - for whatever reason they have had about 3 hatchings this year. It usually happens early in the summer, and the bugs only last 24 hours. T-Rex and Big Al were not pleased because if you walked to the lake they would always swarm since they were hanging out on the pampass grass and tree trunks that are down by the water. The fish and birds were having a field day though.

That evening my mom, and I, took the girls to Sullivan's Island to take pics by the ocean, and give the girls a change of scenery. We watched the guys out there

kite surfing,
and pole boarding.
Big Al was practicing her tumbling,

while T-Rex flew a kite,
and Blondie built a sand castle - just out of reach of the tide,
and Cheesie followed grandma around jumping into all of her pictures.

This was all fine with me because I could just wander around and look at the natural world

ghost crab

brown pelican

Most nights ended with a campfire (even though it was easily still in the 90's). It was an enjoyable weekend, and I hope to get at least one more visit in before I have to go back to work.

The Fort

2010-07-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

My husband is an avid photographer. He absolutely adores nature photography, and I think this fall we're going to combine my love of hiking, with his photography, and take some weekend trips.

Yesterday we had my mom and brother come over for dinner, and as I'm buzzing around the house I look out and see this:

He explained that he wanted to get better pictures of the birds on the rail eating the birdseed, but every time he opened the door to the porch they flew away. He figured if he built the fort that they would get used to it and he could sneak his pics since the camera was hiding in the plants. Um...... okay.

Today, tent 2.0 was created. Plywood and tarps from the garage came out, I guess to protect him from the rain.

This is the man I married 18 years ago today, after dating him for 6 years. He is still the funniest thing ever.

This will be good for her..... right?

2010-07-16T17:43:00.001-07:00

Big Al started percussion in 6th grade because she loved what her uncle did in his band. Lucky for her, Uncle Colin dropped off his drumset for a couple weeks.... so this moved into Big Al's room.

I first thought to put it in the library, but it doesn't have doors, so we put it in her room - right smack dab in the middle. Colin showed her how to set it all up. Then the little girls jumped in with Big Al, and it looked (and sounded) like this......

Yay ...... right?

Hiking Congaree

2010-07-15T12:42:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine from the Master Naturalist class I'm taking (Karen) and I went to Congaree today to try to find pictures of the animals/plants we need for the culminating project. It's supposed to take 30 hours, and we used about 4 today. I'm doing Cypress tress, because I LOVE Cypress knees, but I couldn't find the Prothonetary Warbler that I wanted (it nests in the knees).

My favorite place on our hike - There was a little waterfall and then it spilled into this place of tupelo and cypress trees. The one tupelo has a nesting hole in it.

Video of my favorite spot.

We had a great time hiking 4.5 miles on the Westin Lake Loop - and thankfully didn't come across any wild pigs, although we did see the tracks. It was lovely to walk along the creek.

We saw a bunch of 5 line skinks ( a broad one too, but I didn't catch it with the camera).

There were a couple black snakes (watch where you walk even on the boardwalk).

Praying Mantis

Cypress Trees and Knees

Look closely for the lovely barred owl.

If you're ever in the Columbia area you really need to pack your hiking shoes, and the bug spray - and get to Congaree National Park. It's free, and its worth your time. It's the last tiny bit of old growth forest in South Carolina. If you like hiking then get off the boardwalk - the boardwalk is nice, but there are soooooo many ways to experience this place.

Avoiding the inevitable

2010-07-14T07:20:00.001-07:00

The little girls and I are having an ongoing battle of wills. I want their room kept reasonably clean for a 6 and 8 year old. They want to play in it the minute it is clean, trash it, and then use every other room in the house to play their games, and set up house.

So I sent them up to their room, to clean it up after dinner (around 6:30) and it got VERY quiet. I went upstairs expecting them to be quietly playing and avoiding cleaning, and instead found this:

Notice the bright sun outside.... hours before bed time. This is their latest tactic. I intentionally didn't include their floor in the picture- it's too embarrassing.

Determination

2010-07-10T19:10:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Big Al decided to try her hand at skiing. She is a fairly athletic person, and game for pretty much anything. When I was a kid I learned from my Uncle Mark and Uncle Tom. Big Al had the same teachers.

Mark in the water with Big Al, giving directions, and boosting confidence.

Tom driving the boat - either giving more directions or making ridiculous comments.

Giving it a try - she finally gets up. I don't know how many times she tried.

Getting cocky -she was showing off.... not falling over.

Around the cove a few times

Coming in for a landing.

She is quite excited about knowing how to do this..... of course she wants us to hurry up and buy a boat (won't be happening) so she doesn't have to wait for an Uncle to be at the lake. She's also anxious to learn to slalom. I bet she'll do it too.

Last Weekend

2010-07-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Last Friday (until this past Wednesday) we left for the family lakehouse. It is a place of absolute peace that everyone loves when they visit. The reality is that it isn't anything glamorous, but it is the perfect place for kids to walk in with a wet swimsuit, and towel, and eat a sandwich and not worry about tracking in sand, or leaving wet hiney marks on something nice.

My grandfather helped build it for his family back in the late 30's/early 40's. His parents, sisters, and he lived in it until their house was built in town, and then rented it out to WPA workers who were working on the dam. In the late 60's he bought the lake lot, and moved the little cabin out to the lot, and over the years he expanded it, although it is still tiny. If you sleep out there it is pretty much accepted that you can hear everything, and have very little privacy. There is currently 1 bathroom (although the family is working on that), and we brought down bunkbeds for the bunk room to help sleep more bodies - although Blondie and her aunt ended up sleeping in a tent because it was actually reasonably cool at night.

With it being the 4th, all kinds of family desended on the lake house, so there were lots of Aunts, Uncles, and cousins around. My girls LOVE tubing - I'm going to have to get them a knee board at some point. Big Al did learn to ski this weekend (on two), but I'll post more on that tomorrow. Thankfully, the cousins were more than willing to take out the boat, and haul the kids all over the lake.
Our littlest cousin swam and played too.

In the evening we sat around the fire and ate smore's or watched the fireworks. We were able to catch up.... act silly, and just plain hang out together.

We ended each day fairly exhausted, although not everyone made it to their bunk before falling asleep.

Big Al versus Maggie

2010-06-26T17:59:00.001-07:00

In which I run away to become a Naturalist- long

2010-06-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

Last October I met Rudy Mancke at a science teacher convention. He totally changed my life - seriously. Through high school I HATED biology- I hate body systems, and microscopic junk, etc. So when I met Rudy I was impressed with his enthusiasm but the extreme depth of his knowledge was phenomenal. That man knows every plant, bird, animal, insect, fish and shell. It took us 45 minutes to cross a lot in Myrtle Beach because he had something to say about everything. I thought of my students and how I teach ecosystems (and other topics), and thought they deserved someone who really knew that material in depth. So I signed up for a Master Naturalist class through Clemson to try to put together what I already know about the great outdoors. Turns out..... I actually know more than I thought about the natural world.

This week our class met on Pawley's Island and stayed at Belle Baruche's Hobcaw Barony. This woman grew up on a plantation there, bought more land when it was handed down to her, and then left it to USC and Clemson both for environmental scientists to study. It has tons of acres of long-needle pine forest, and a STUNNING estuary which is very protected and pristine.

The first day (Monday) we arrived at 8:00, and took off to Lewis Ocean Bay and stomped around the forest. We were on the look out for bears (only saw the scat) as well as began the process of plant identification. I enjoyed it, but was looking forward to the afternoon period where we were supposed to go to Brookgreen Gardens (one of my FAVORITE places) but we didn't make it there because of some big thunderstorms. I was bummed, but we made it out to dinner (after hunting in the woods for Red Cockaded Woodpeckers - which I think I actually saw on the way out) and got to know each other.

These are the very cool pitcher plants in the forest.

And these are the pretty neat Sun Dews growing close to the ground.

On the second day (Tuesday) things got very exciting for me, because I love estuaries and marshes. We drove out to the shore, and met up with Jen an environmental scientist who works out there. She had us walk out on the dock and do some water experiments (the old school way - since now everything is done my computers), and then we toured the science facility. Graduate students, and environmental scientists stay out here to do their research, for periods of time. She grabbed some nets, and buckets and we went over to the edge of the estuary. On the way out we were identifying plants, learned about salt panne, hermit crabs, and wrack (with a w).

We did some Seine netting (I have video, but don't feel like dealing with youtube tonight) and caught fish, crabs, shrimp, etc in the net and then identified the various species in the net. That was TREMENDOUS fun, and I need to find out if people can still use seine nets for non fishing purposes. The most fun was sinking into the pluff mud up to our knees, and looking for crabs and oysters.

Here I am with pluff mud (I had already attempted to clean it off) on my boots. That stuff is deep, and stains everything. The guy in the white shirt below had us scoop up handfuls and put our handprints (or boot prints) on his shirt - that will probably NEVER come out.

We drove around to a fire watchtower, climbed it and looked at the amazing views, and enjoyed the absolute peace around us. While waiting on the ground for the others, another teacher showed me that some of the limestone on the car path had fossils of shells and urchins in them, so I collected a bunch of samples for my kids, and my students.

We ended the evening with dinner with other Master Naturalists who had previously taken the class. It was great to learn about the projects they lend their time too, and I think it was pretty smart to bring teachers into the program. Most of the others were retired from various different non-science jobs (real estate, etc) and I'm glad they do the work they do, but I will be able to pass it on to the kids.

On the third day (Wednesday) we drove down to Bull's Island. It was used as a hunting preserve back in the early 1900's but now is a protected wildlife refuge/ barrier island. We were supposed to do bird watching, which honestly was not on my list of things I wanted to learn about. Simon, a bird expert from Asheville, NC and his enthusiasm was contagious. I didn't think I would be standing there like my classmates seemed to be able to do for hours:

I very much appreciate, and can identify shore birds, but preferred the plants and obvious landscape of the uninhabited island - and I need to keep moving. Our boat captain was late, so we checked out shore birds, and the birds in the trees around the parking lot. I learned to appreciate the skill involved in identifying those LBJ's (little brown jobs - what I want to call all little birds in trees). We eventually got to the island and saw beautiful plants - totally natural to SC.

When we landed we saw live oaks with palmetto trees growing right next to them. We spent a lot of time watching a beautiful painted bunting, I was amazed at the lengths people go to see a bird, but I would probably do the same thing for an awesome insect, or cool tracks.

Speaking tracks - as we walked along the dikes out toward the beach, we were constantly stopping for birds (mottled ducks, indigo bunting, etc) and plants, but my total appreciation were for the above tracks of a gator that dragged itself through the mud and off into the marsh. Wish I could have seen him to see how big, but I'm thinking not too big of a guy (kind of narrow tracks).

So, this caught my eye, and I'm touching it (and getting pricked) and observing how stiff the flower casing and petals are, and I ask - hey Karen (our Clemson Ph.D) what is this thistle thing? "Why Kelly," she answered, "that is a thistle." Oh, okay. I still liked it.

Then we made it to the coastline and with NO ONE else on the island, we all ran to the ocean and jumped in (because it was H-O-T). We saw HUGE Horseshoe crabs lying on the beach, and these loggerhead turtle tracks. There is always a naturalist (from the program I'm in) who walks this beach every couple days to look for them. Only 1 in about 10,000 will survive to make it back to the beach to nest, so they are very endangered. The tracks below show how she crawled up on the right side, dug her hole, laid her eggs, and then headed back to the water on the left.

In the picture above Karen is pointing out the disturbed sand where she (turtle) buried her eggs.

Karen works in my district teaching preschool, and was selected for the Teacher to Ranger program at Congaree. She and I are going to be GOOOOOD Friends. I am totally ready to go canoeing and kayaking with her - now have to figure out how to get the kids in boats.

After lots of wandering we headed back to the boat for the ride back, and were escorted by a pod of 6 or 7 dolphins. I'll post video of that tomorrow.

I LOVED this experience, and look forward to sharing my information with students, as well as identifying more things around me (like the hairy woodpecker on my porch today). I am definitely going to make more opportunities to hike and explore with my kids too.

Respite at the lake

2010-06-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

We headed for the lake this past Father's Day weekend.

The kids kicked around.....

Maggie finally went swimming. She usually just walks in and stands there, but she hates when the kids are doing something without her....

We just generally goofed around.

Monday, Brian took off work to watch the kids while I got to go on my adventure that I'll post about soon. A very relaxing weekend - exactly what we needed.

More service

2010-06-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Today a few of my girl scouts got together and unloaded a uhaul full of cookies at the VA hospital. Blondie and Cheesie wanted in on the action too. Some unload, some stocked the closet.

Afterward back to our house so we could cut up sheets and towels to be used as cloths to wash animals covered in oil in the gulf. Thankfully no one cut off anything.... major..... using the rotary cutter. You know how people usually complain about teenagers..... not these girls. They are awesome.

God Bless the U.S.A.

2010-06-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

I've said this before, but I LOVE my girl scouts. Yesterday I got an email from another girl scout leader that she needed girls for a deployment of sailors going over to the middle east. The girls were needed to hand cookies out to the soldiers for their long flight, and as a morale boost. So, if you've ever been asked by a girl scout if you want to donate a box of cookies to the soldiers this is what happens to all of those donated boxes.

I had initially thought to only take Big Al (T-Rex was thinking she wanted a break from scouts), but when I mentioned it at dinner last night Blondie and Cheesie asked if they could go too since they were scouts. Well, of course. At the last minute today T-Rex decided to come as well, and I'm glad she did. Blondie decided, on her own, to start coloring a bunch of pictures for soldiers, and by this afternoon had about 25 or so to hand out - they said things like "you're my hero", etc. We arrived at a hangar near the airport and joined a bunch of people setting up tables. The blue star mothers, VFW, VA, Boy scouts, and even Harley riders showed up to support the men and women about to deploy. We had four busloads of soldiers coming in before they got on their plane, and before they left they walked around to the tables, grabbed a bunch of goodies, called home one last time, ate pizza and donuts, and relaxed a bit. Some tables had food, others handed out decks of cards, or used paperback books. One group created these dolls called Dang-It dolls for soldiers to take out their frustrations on (the girls were interested in learning to make those). The girls handed out bags, and tried to get the soldiers to take a bunch of the cookies donated by our city.

At first the soldiers were reluctant and wanted to donate money to the girls, but the girls got out there and explained the program, and how when they sell cookies people donate money and boxes specifically for soldiers. Eventually we made sure just about everyone had a box or two. The men and women were incredibly nice, and thanked the girls again, and again for just showing up.

Blondie kept handing out her pictures, and I was so proud of her because she came up with it on her own, and carried it through completely. This picture shows the soldiers talking to her about it. T-Rex was excited to meet a Medal of Honor recipient, and the whole group took a picture with him (I don't have it yet). My mom also showed up to take pictures, so I'm hoping to have another post with more to show.

I can't tell you enough what an uplifting evening it was. All of my girls were thrilled to be part of it, and it showed them first hand how grateful folks are for their hard work. It was VERY hot tonight, but even the little girls hung in there for about 3 hours. Think about calling your local VFW to find out about a deployment in your area - it was wonderful to participate.

Update on Blondie

2010-06-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

If you read the Rasmussen's blog you know that a few weeks ago Blondie's left leg started shaking. We had never seen anything like it, and were nervous that her seizure may be back - either through a connection left behind, or they were somehow now on the left side of her brain as happens to some of the kids. Up until that day we chose to believe that Rasmussen's was behind us, but that leg shaking (which has occurred several times now, as well as her arm) really threw me into a tailspin. It honestly took me right back to that first day of seizures, and the weight of reality kind of overwhelmed me for a bit.

Today (Tuesday) we did an MRI to find out if there actually was seizure activity going on, or if it was more likely clonus (repetitive muscle twitches). We realized over the weekend that Blondie was incredibly anxious about the whole thing despite our best effort to downplay everything. Turns out the poor kid was equating going to sleep for the MRI with how animals are "put to sleep." This is not a term we use, but she has heard it before, so the poor kid was worried about not waking up. She was, of course, also worried that she would have to have brain surgery again (much scarier for an 8 year old, than a 3 year old). In the hospital she did a fantastic job of getting the IV, and trying to remain calm. I knew she was scared to pieces (when they called her name she walked VERY slowly). Afterwards she was very tired, but wanted to eat (it was 2:30 and she hadn't eaten since 6 a.m.) so I took her to Red Robin, and then home to watch TV in bed. She took a few naps, but is generally in good spirits because it is over with.

Are seizures possible? Yes, some kids get seizures back after years of being "s-word free." Some kids have to have redo surgeries (some have undergone several redo's - although not for necessarily for Rasmussen's).

Those of you that know me, know that I tend to be a little strong-willed, so I have totally decided that this is clonus, not seizures. She is alert during the shaking, and it doesn't last long. It was unnerving to see her hooked up to machines today, and in a hospital bed, and we won't know the results for a few days, but I'm diagnosing clonus. And that's that.

Finally starting to unwind

2010-06-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

Every summer teachers across the country take a week or two to just try to relax. I think I'm finally there. I've decided this will be our laziest summer ever.... unfortuantely the kids are not with me on it. They are bored because I'm not planning huge adventures.

The girls tried to turn on the sprinkler system but one of the heads is messed up so they had to find something else to do. They finally alleviated their bordom when they found some water balloons and figured out how to fill them up when the nozzle thingie didn't work. Then they started their own games, and finally just resorted to throwing them.

I'm sure I'll hear how bored they are tomorrow too. They'll just have to figure it out - without the TV. Maybe in another week I'll be up to getting them out and doing things.... we'll see.

5th grade promotion

2010-06-03T00:07:00.000-07:00

This is an incredibly busy week, but T-Rex faced a big milestone Wednesday night. We celebrated the end of elementary school and her promotion to middle with a graduation style program.

She has grown so much this year we had to buy a new dress, and quite honestly she is between the little girl type dresses, and the teenager type thing. We tried to go with something in the middle, but when I saw her all accessorized, and ready to go she looked so grown up.

As a teacher I was on the stage watching, and was very proud of T-Rex and all of the kids. She received the Presidential Educational Excellence Award for grades, and will be attending the same magnet middle school as Big Al. We are really starting to look forward to summer.

I'm back

2010-05-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

Apparently I've gone too long without blogging.... my father-in-law has mentioned it to my husband. We've had a lot going on with Blondie's appointments, and the school winding down. As a teacher the end of the year is an insane race to the very last day, so I'll be working madly until Saturday (my last work day).

Yesterday we took the kids to the zoo... again. We went fairly early because we wanted to beat the crowds and see the new wallaby/kangaroo exhibit. It's pretty cool because you walk through the exhibit with them in the same fence. Visitors must stay on the path, but it is pretty neat to think about the possibilities. The kangaroos aren't in yet, but the wallabies were there. They sort of hung out afraid in the brush. I look forward to the whole thing being finished.

We also went to see the Gorillas. Usually they are just hanging around by the windows, but this morning one of them was up on the hill, started beating his chest, and then charged straight at the windows. Quite a few people ran backwards - I have to admit, that was my first thought, but then I figured the building I was in probably had appropriately thick glass to protect us. This gorilla was incredibly fast, and then whipped around and sat right by Brian who started clicking pictures pretty quickly. After a couple minutes the gorilla smacked his hand against the window right where Brian's camera was poised. It cracked me up because its the same thing I want to do when he has the camera in my face.

We swung by the giraffes and saw the three babies, but we didn't stick around to feed them this time.

We grabbed the tram and took it up to the botanical garden and walked around. I got a lot of ideas for my "someday" yard, and Brian took a ton of pictures (which I'm sure you'll see on his photoblog over the next couple weeks.

Kayaking - Sunday

2010-05-19T18:26:00.001-07:00

Sunday, the girl scouts got up and got moving. We were a little sore from paddling the day before, but they were ready for the trip on Wadboo Creek. Wadboo is a totally different kind of water from Charleston. Wadboo is blackwater, creek merging into river one way, and more swampy the other. We started with the river"ish" way first. The girls were apprehensive because I was honest and told them we would probably see some alligators, and within about 15 minutes we saw a few - mostly small ones, but one really good sized one. After that, the girls were really staring down every single log or mudbank to see if it was a gator. The guide was a retired forester (same guy we had last year) and he would tell the girls, "Nope, that's a logigator."

T-Rex (in back) enjoyed going without an adult, and a lot of the girls wanted to go "by themselves." Besides the alligators, we saw turtles sunning themselves, and Ospreys sitting on their giants nests.

We had signed up for a three hour trip, but about half way through we stopped back at the boat landing to get a snack, and some of the girls decided that they had done enough. My co-leader, and another friend took those girls back to the lake, and I took T-Rex and the other ones who wanted to stay on with the guide. Honestly....we weren't thinking too clearly. Leaving the river part, and traveling up more into the swampy area, we were riding the current. Which was great, and easy, especially with sore muscles. Unfortunately riding a current takes you farther faster, so when we turned around to go back, we were fighting the current, with exhausted muscles. The girls hung in there really well though. T-Rex and her partner did a great job paddling around trees that were submerged, or blocking paths, and they did it all by themselves. There was a lot of problem solving involved in some of the places they found themselves, but as our guide said, "The only way you learn to paddle is to do it."

This was T-Rex and her partner following the guide through the swampier part of Wadboo. Overall an enjoyable weekend - I need to get a couple tandem kayaks, and start checking out other paddles around here. I really enjoy this, and T-Rex did an amazing job paddling. I love hanging out with these scouts - they are tremendously sweet, and really up for anything.

Kayaking - Saturday

2010-05-19T18:11:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I took seven great girl scouts kayaking in Charleston. Big Al went last time, so this time it was T-Rex's turn.

The first jaunt was out Shem Creek into the harbor. We paddled around the rookery where a ton of Brown Pelicans were sitting on their nests. We learned to identify different birds, watched dolphins running mullet in to eat them, and fiddler crabs running up banks. We picked up mudsnails, and hunted for different types of oyster shells with our guides. Two girls had to paddle by themselves which was tough going because of the winds, currents, and inexperience, but they were absolutely amazing.

Later that day we found ourselves in downtown Charleston, walked through the market, and then went to the local park. One of the girls was disappointed that park didn't mean playground, but they played frisbee, and flew kites for awhile. Later we headed back to the lake house where we were staying.

First tooth lost on the last child

2010-05-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

After weeks and weeks of wiggling a stubborn tooth, Cheesie finally pulled lost her first one yesterday. The tooth fairy forgot to come last night, I'll have to have a word with him.

Things my kids say

2010-05-11T17:42:00.001-07:00

Cheesie: What is conflict resolution?

Me: It's making up with somebody.

Cheesie: Oh, like when Big Al wants to kiss a boy?

Me: NO! That's making out not making up!

Cheesie: Ohhhhhhhh.

Now I need to go find Big Al!

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

I had a delightfully lazy day! Started with breakfast in bed with homemade cards, and school gifts, and then downstairs to receive my new orange tree (YAY!). I know you're thinking... orange tree.... really? Yes, I love it.

We had a great couple of days with Brian's parents from Texas, and Blondie has been keeping me jumping this week (take a look at the Rasmussen's blog on the right side of this page). Overall very enjoyable weekend. Happy Mother's Day to all of those Mom's out there. Hope it was great for you too.

Weekend painting

2010-05-02T01:48:00.000-07:00

T-Rex is our child who likes many different artistic activities as well as the one we have to pull out of the books to get outside and do things. She loves her archery, knitting, making jewelry, cooking, and is willing to try anything hands on.

This weekend she pulled out her paints and got busy on a new painting. I'm biased, but I think it came out pretty well.

Taylor Swift

2010-04-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

Back in December Taylor Swift tickets went on sale and sold out here in about 10 minutes. Brian was lucky and scored 3, so he gave them to T-Rex and Big Al for Christmas. All this week the radio station was giving away sweets from the fifth row closer, and Big Al commandeered all of the cell phones and the house phone to try to get them. Yesterday I was upstairs getting ready for work, when I hear screaming. Big Al finally got through and won the "mosh pit" tickets right at the stage. So this meant she and Brian would be down on the floor and T-Rex had two empty seats next to her. Now I had to go and we let T-Rex bring a friend. It wasn't so much that I didn't like Taylor Swift, but I hear her ALL THE TIME on the radio, in the house, from the backseat of the car.... and I am honestly not a big fan of country music. But I went.... and I had a ball!

T-Rex, her friend and I sat up the roof, but were on the side and had a great view. Big Al and her Dad were super close. They were able to touch Taylor's hand, and Big Al was given a drumstick from their drummer when her Dad yelled that she was a percussionist. It was a very well received concert, and at one point the audience screamed for about 10 minutes straight, and she seemed to be genuinely touched by the emotion in the coliseum. I, as does most of America, knew most of the songs and was singing along with the girls. A couple of things grated on my nerves like how she said, "S-o-u-t-h Ca-ro-liiii-na" and the girl can flip her hair in every direction, AND you know the eye darting thing (left and right) she does it ALL THE TIME. But, I have to admit I walked away from the show understanding the phenomenon that is Taylor Swift, It was a great night.