AR SUCCESSES

James met his AR goal for the First 9 Weeks today!

  

To do so, he had to score 80% or better on 6 AR tests. Other than his first test (when he was still learning the process and how to test on a computer) and one other test where he "got distracted" (that was a good lesson in taking responsibility for oneself and not allowing other children to distract you during testing, as well as being sure to read the question twice and answer it in your head before clicking the mouse), he scored 100% on 5 books and 80% on 1. He was extremely proud to come home with this little trophy today, and we're now stepping up his AR Level in prep for the next 9 weeks. (His first "longer and harder" book is a Berenstain Bears book - a series Jay and I remember fondly from our youth, and for which we own quite a few stories. It was fun listening to him read a REAL story tonight - with a plot! - rather than the more simplistic books he's been choosing for himself over the past few weeks.)

 Cora also hit a big milestone today, bringing home her first AR book and reading it by herself all the way through. We can officially call her a reader now, and it's been very exciting for all of us (we're proud of the progress she's made these first two months of school, she loves the independence reading is giving her, and James is truly enjoying the opportunity to help her on the harder words - after she's given it a good effort on her own, of course). She practiced her book just before dance class and impressed some of the other girls and moms, which made her confidence soar even higher.

SCHOOL PICTURES, FALL 2015

Pretty darn cute, eh?

(We'll order a few wallets and fridge-worthy-sized prints, but we like Jay's portraits much better for our wall frames. At least we know their yearbook photos will look nice!)

(UNOFFICIAL) 5K PR

I realize nobody but me really cares about this, but since I do, I'm recording it.

After taking the weekend off due to numbness and tingling in my right leg for 3 days straight (related to my back problem, perhaps, or maybe just a pinched nerve - the jury is still out, as I'm now seeing specialists in Jackson to solve the mystery), I went out at lunch today in the heat for an easy test run. My leg had been OK since Saturday (the numbness was Wednesday-Friday), and I wanted to find out if running was the cause of the numbness before I went to see the specialists tomorrow. I had taken 4 days off running (unheard of for me, especially during a training cycle), so my legs were well rested. I felt great and my first mile clocked in much faster than I expected. When the second mile was even faster and I still felt OK (I was working hard by that point, but not pushing myself to exhaustion), I decided to push through for a 5K and see what kind of time I could get (because my previous 5K's have not had splits like I'd just run). I was thrilled when I completed the 3.1 miles with a time ~30 seconds faster than the PR race I ran last April (10 seconds/mile faster, which may not sound like much, but it is). But I wasn't racing. Major bummer, since it would have been awesome to run that effort and receive an official PR for it! Oh well, at least now I know what I'm capable of (I was worried that the doctors would tell me to stop running, which is the other reason I pushed myself today, but luckily they gave their blessing for me to continue any and all exercise I want to do, as long as I listen to my body). My training with the Run Less Run Faster method must be working (which is a relief, because those training runs have been tough!) I'm hopeful that my back and legs will behave, the weather will cool off, and I'll have a great race morning at the upcoming Over the River Run 5-miler!

PTO/ELA NIGHT

 Cora and I attended the PTO meeting and ELA Night stations tonight while daddy and James were at soccer practice. We learned about the upcoming events and fundraisers at school (FYI, we'll be doing a caramel apple fundraiser sponsored by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, where you can spend $8 on one apple or $25 to get an apple per month - this will be a good one for our local friends!), then rotated between 3 ELA stations for an hour. I chose the STAR Exam/AR room first, where I learned how to interpret the test results, and also that AR Levels and AR Points are not the same thing (and that we need to bump up the level of AR books that James is choosing for his tests). Cora picked the computer lab next, where we received a list of good online learning game sites for kids (most of which we already list in a sidebar on our blog, but a couple were new to us, including MobyMax, which the schools pay into to allow access to their students). Cora had to teach one of the Kindergarten teachers how to close down open windows, which I found hilarious (and a little scary, actually...), as she was trying to go through some of her favorite sites. To end the night, Cora chose the writing session, which ended up being a lengthy discussion about the NEW, new grading system for K-2nd Graders in Vicksburg (which uses a 1, 2, 3 scoring system rather than grades - they dropped the 4s during the second week of school for unknown reasons). The teachers don't love it, and us parents don't understand why they had to change an age-old system in the first place. Apparently it's for self esteem issues - too many kids were upset because they were failing. I don't see how getting 1s is going to make them "feel" any better though... Anyway, I'm glad we went, even if just to figure out the STAR/AR stuff! Besides, now the kids get another free dress week, which they love. Win-win.

THE GREAT SUNROOM CLEANSING

The sunroom hasn't been this clean (walls wiped, blinds dusted, spider detritus scrubbed off windowsills and baseboards, grout brushed, floors washed) since Gramma cleaned it for us while James was home on sick leave due to Kawasaki Disease 4.5 years ago... I know. Shame on us.

CRAZY MAXINE

She pretty, but she's crazy. Lately she's been hiding in the bushes, just waiting to ambush Buster and whoever is out walking him. She gets us 50% of the time too... semi embarrassing to be jumping in fright from a tiny little fluffy cat, but we can't help it. Then she walks side-by-side with Buster back to the sunroom. We think she likes him.

WHILE DADDY PLAYS

Daddy attended his first poker night (in over a year, I think) tonight, so the kids and I spent the evening outside riding bikes (and chasing James) and walking the dog. The fall weather isn't quite here yet, but it's getting better! Bedtime was so easy for me after all this late night exercise ;-)

ANOTHER DAY AT THE FIELDS

James' team won again (11-8, I think?), even though they let the other team play one-up (5 players instead of 4) for the second half of the game. Jay really has some great players this season, including James. Tough guy performed some key goal blocks that were super impressive to watch!

Cora found a tiny puppy to love on while James played...

Cora's game went really well too! She scored some goals and kept her motivation up for the entire game this time, and most of her teammates had goals and/or fancy moves as well. Jay is so proud of these U6 players - they're really starting to get it PLUS they're all having fun!

She makes me laugh sticking that tongue out in concentration, just like James...

Goal, smiling run to daddy, and HIGH FIVE from the coach!

Another score for Cora!

The girls had a chance to get the field to themselves in the second half and they were on fire! Samantha may be the littlest, but she's the fiercest!

UNO DUO

UP-SIZED UPGRADE

We forgot how big this room is until it was empty...

The room isn't complete (we're looking into getting a long, thin accent table for behind the loveseat portion, maybe an upgrade of our toybox/shoebox, and some new art for the wall above the kids' table - in the front corner, not pictured), but it sure is comfy now! Come on over for dinner and a movie! Jay and I can sit on the same, longer side, totally stretched out, and our feet don't even touch...

BULLDOG STRONG

Spirit Shirt Fridays!

NOTHING NICE ABOUT NITS

During a trip to the nurse's office on Wednesday (due to tripping over/into a bench and bloodying her knees and elbows at recess), nits were discovered in Cora's hair. We still don't know whether the check of every other kid in class came after the nurse's check of Cora, or before, but it doesn't really matter. It's "nice" that there were no eggs or live lice, but still... YUCK. 

 James was clear, but we treated him as a precaution.

The house got a very serious midweek cleaning... and I suppose it was a bonus that there was no couch to worry about, on top of the bed sheets and car seats and carpets and rugs and many blankets and dozens of stuffed animals. Headlamps are useful for so many things...

BOBCAT RANK

You know he's just the cutest Cub Scout that ever was, right?!

Daddy gets all the credit for getting the patches onto James' uniform. He bought the invisible thread and denim needle (thanks for that tip Amy!), re-threaded the sewing machine, and sewed everything on by himself. My only job was to pre-wash the shirt and then admire the completed product. I'm telling you, Jay can solve pretty much any problem. There's a reason he attained Eagle Scout.

Tonight James had his first Pack Meeting (all the dens, different ages, for Pack 107).

Here are the 3 Tiger Scouts up in front talking about their service project of picking up sticks. Each den got up to talk about their recent goings-ons, and some even performed silly little skits. Cora and I were pretty entertained from the back of the room.

During the awarding of patches/belt loops, all the Tiger Scouts got up and received their Bobcat Rank patch, which was pinned on by their parent upside-down. Once they "do a good turn" (complete a good deed), their patch is righted and sewn on. The little guys were especially fascinated by this and super proud to be receiving patches like the bigger kids.

To earn Bobcat Rank, James needed to be able to (with help), recite the Scout oath and motto, and know the Scout laws, handshake, sign, and salute. James seems very committed to Scouts already, trying his best to behave as expected (he is quick to admonish Cora when she doesn't behave like a Scout - and yes, we are trying to get her into one of the two very full/at capacity Daisy troops here in town) and looking forward to all the things he'll learn (and the fun he'll have). Cora and I are excited that we're invited along on the Akela Campout at the end of October. Family adventure!

HANGING WITH THE KENNEDY KIDDOS

After the Lego club field trip, Al texted us about going to get ice cream. We debated, but ultimately decided to go home and have popsicles instead, because James had been begging to ride his bike. So Al and the kiddos (Christina was out of town) came over for snacks and outside time and we enjoyed a couple of hours of playing and talking (and drinking beer).

I got to take the big boys around the neighborhood (because I was the only adult with a bike there) and was proud of my bike-riding photography skills. Will sped up every hill while James had to get off and walk a couple times, but James regained pace on the downhills that Will was much more cautious on. I had fun just tagging along and supervising, while they pretty much did their own thing. They're really growing up...

 Grambot and PawPaw, we DID get Cora on her big girl Hello Kitty bike for a bit, but she's still nervous about it. No idea why, since she's now PLENTY tall for it...

 

Of course, there's ALWAYS dirt pile digging at our house...

We played some Washers and James scored more points than Al (but not more than Jay or I - go team married!) Will was completely uninterested in this, and Cora and Lauren didn't last long. Zip-lining was the highlight for most of the kids.

JLL: WATER TREATMENT FACILITY FIELD TRIP

As I mentioned last month at our first meeting, the theme for this semester's Junior FIRST Lego League creation is recycling, so today the group went on a field trip to our local water treatment plant to get some ideas. The kids were bummed not to get to play with the giant bin of Legos, but I think they found the field trip interesting (and I know us parents, who use Fisher Ferry Water, like it or not, were interested to get behind the scenes).

 Playing at their school playground for a bit before going across the street to the facility

Starting where the water comes up out of the ground

Listening to the water rushing down the center pipe of the tower. But not really. (They said they couldn't hear anything.)

 Don't open that hatch...

We asked to see water samples from the different steps. This was straight out of the aquifer. I was surprised to learn that the water comes out at 104 degrees. For some reason, both Jay and I thought it would be cold... A few of the adults and kids tasted it, but we declined.

 Instead, they have to cool it (before they treat it). The kids were fascinated most (of course) by the ice-covered pipe...

 Here you can see the ozonated and "straight from the aquifer" water samples. We didn't pull any of the post-treatment (chemically treated) water. The guy who led our tour told us the taste of the ozonated-only water is better than the chemically-treated final product.