Science Fair

This year the boys both participated in the school’s Science Fair.  They loved it and I did too!
We supply the materials, but the children do all the work at school, which is genius because {I’m being real here}, no parent likes science fair.  How awesome is that!  makes me thankful I am not teaching too!  I saw this on the internet the other day…

All along Miller had told me that he hadn’t done an experiment and had not completed his board. I was mildly concerned, but he did in fact have an experiment and a display board.  He was very proud to show me.

His experiment was listening to sounds that different levels of water made when tapped.

Then he was off to check out the other experiments.

Jackson’s experiment was a little more involved.  He did an experiment with evaporation.

He lit a candle that was in a dish of colored water, then put a glass over it and watched the water rise in the glass as it is drawn into the glass.

It worked!
Both boys did such a good job.  It makes me so thankful for their amazing teachers!

SOCCER! CHECK!

This time I am positive that our soccer season is really over.  {We had a long haul to the last tournament where they were practicing for several weeks leading up to this last hurrah.}

The long awaited tournament was on Saturday!  Both boys were up at 5:40a.m. excited to go….a full 3 hours before warm ups started!

They both played several games and Allen was traveling back from D.C. so I did my best to be on two fields at once.

Jackson killed it at goalie during the first game!  I was so proud of him, but I have to say I was shaking like a leaf with nerves.  He loves playing goalie, but it is a ton of pressure!  He played better than he has ever played!

In the next couple of games he played different positions.  They won 1 game, tied a game and lost one game.  I was very happy with Jackson’s playing!

Another trophy to add to the collection!  He deserves a huge trophy for his hard work!

Miller also played so so hard.  He wasn’t looking forward to playing but ended up having a blast! 

I love that he is so intense on the field.  There are some kids out there who are “flower pickers” if you know what I mean.  Not Miller, he may have Attention Deficit Disorder, but that boy can focus when he chooses to!

He is also an excellent defender.  Honestly he plays with American football style defensive tactics.  The other kids who play against him are often surprised {from behind} but he is effective!

He was beyond thrilled to get his first trophy!!

The boys have had such good experiences playing soccer and have learned so many valuable lesson as well.  I can’t wait to see if they choose to keep playing!

Fun with Papa and Nana

Jackson and Miller were so thrilled that their Papa and Nana were here for a visit.  They adore the one on one attention that they get when they visit and each time they spend with them the boys come away having learned something new.

Here is his Papa telling him how the dredgers are taking sand out of the canal….

This time he taught them how to do a proper push up.  Everyone needs to know that!

Miller favors his grandfather so much {If  I didn’t have Jackson I would say that I have weak genes}

There is such a strong family resemblance that it sometimes makes me grab my phone and snap a picture.

Jackson and Miller in turn taught them how to stand up on the paddleboards.

We are so lucky that the boys have their grandparents who will teach and learn with the boys.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Recently Jackson and Miller have been a bit hit or miss in the behavior department.  It seems that lately if they are being good at school they are awful at home and then it flip flops and they are good at home, but not so good at school.

I am glad that last week they were both so remarkable at school!

Being a parent is tough!  I always feel like I am struggling in one area or another, but I know that it is a parent’s job to worry if they are getting it right.

For that one week it looks like we did it right.  Hopefully we can string together enough good weeks to make these boys all that they can be!

I’ll have to tell you soon about the punishment I’ve been handing out when they are unkind to each other.  They hate it!  That means I am doing it correctly, right? 

Mother’s Day 2014

Every year on Mother’s Day it gets better than the last.  This year Jackson came and loudly told me “Happy Mother’s Day!” at about 6:14 a.m. and was so excited to give me his poem that I couldn’t even be mad.  Miller was right behind him with his Mother’s Day painting of flowers.  So cute!

I have a soft spot in my heart for kids crafts and Mother’s Day kids crafts are just the sweetest!

Allen and the boys made me a fantastic breakfast that we enjoyed al fresco.  While I was waiting for breakfast the boys were hard at work.
Miller decided he was going to clean the windows—with a broom.

Jackson learned to make a terrific latte.  I’m spoiled, right!

Then we packed up a lunch and headed to our favorite beach.

It was so crowded…

We ended the day with a delicious dinner of stone crab legs, filet mignons, and corn on the cob!  I am spoiled!

Thank you Allen, for making it all happen!

Young Artists

This year for the school art show both boys each created a painting.  I love to see young artists work and these are two of the cutest around.

Miller’s was called “The Danger Zone of the Ocean”.  It has an electric eel and a sail shark. {I also see people and a tree…}

Jackson called his “Pointillism Under the Sea Surface”.  His has a polka dot whale, a fish, a crab and a diver.

Pointillism is one of my favorite forms of painting because it is essentially many small dots of color that the eye blends to create one object.  It was really big during the Impressionist movement.  I think he did a fabulous job.

Unfortunately I was at the reunion during the art show, but I heard it was really nice.  I can’t wait to get these hung at our house.

A Little Recap

As I told you last week, I recently attended my Alma Mater’s reunion.  It was even better than I expected.

We arrived late Friday morning, just in time to walk around campus and enjoy an al fresco lunch.  We were thrilled to see some faculty and staff from our day still there.

Actually the picture looks like we ate lunch alone, but we arrived too late for the Founder’s Day Service  and ended up being a few minutes early for lunch.  Since they can’t fine us anymore for skipping, we lived on the wild side!

We saw our Freshman dorm, which is being renovated.

We were happy to see that the statues were still in Main Hall.  For some reason we used to put little things in the dish of the statue and then go back and see if it was still there. 

We totally didn’t appreciate the beauty of our college while we were there.  We did this weekend.

Have I told you how amazing my college experience was?  Yes, I thought so, but so many others think so too.  Here is another article that was recently written.

Friday night was our class dinner and the only picture I have of all of us is a bit blurry {and y’all won’t even believe it, but this isn’t even MY blurry picture}.

Oh wait, I do have this one, but we are inside and the lighting is not very flattering.  We are posing with Dr. McDaniel here.  He was interim president while we were there and we all adore him.  It was so sweet of him to come to our class dinner.  He kind of likes us too.  He said we are “His” class.

Roomies forever!  One day I am going to tell you all about this girl and our friendship.

Saturday we had a small baby shower for our friend who is expecting (Surprise!) in the summer.  We had a nice lunch and then headed back to the college for our class meeting. 

Mary Ames and I are so thrilled in this picture because we were re-elected as class reps. 

Yeah.  That is a joke.  We do it for the love and money that goes along with such a prestigious position.  Again, I kid.

Saturday night we had a fun dinner at the college and then it was followed by a concert by Daughtry.

Then all too soon it was over.  I love coming home to my guys, but I miss my girls when I leave.  Then I remember that I’ll get to see my girls again over the summer or here and there and my classmates…well we get to do it all over again in five years!