What A Dump!

No really, it was! Brady's kindergarten class went on a field trip to the county landfill on Thursday. Picture this: 1 Yellow School Bus, 54 Kindergartners, 3 teachers, 11 (give or take a few) adult chaperons and several younger siblings riding to the top of the 300' pile of garbage! Once we got to the top of the stack, our Landfill Tour Guide went on and on over the "breathtaking view"! I admit, when you're higher than the city it is quite impressive to be able look out and see the many lakes and cityscape below, however, the realization that you're on top of a pile of waste never fully leaves your mind to allow for the appreciation to set in. The bus then drove all of us back down the stack o'garbage (which happens to be one of the older stacks that is completed) to the current dumping area. We got to see many garbage trucks, roll-out dumpster and bull dozers. After that, we got to go to the recycling center where the kids got to see how they sort all the different types of materials to be recycled. They got to watch a movie about recycling and even got a little souvenir. I have to admit, it was quite an interesting field trip and one that the kids really enjoyed. I, of course, forgot my camera so I have no pictures from the field trip. All in all, I give this field trip a B+.

Colonial Day

(This would be me and my friend Patti)

Today was Colonial Day for the third graders! All the kids(and parents too) got to dress up in period clothing and learn about different activities that took place during this time period! They got to make candles, carve soap, learn about the Colonial kitchen, visit a tinsmith, try their hand at quill writing, played games and cross stitch! After rotating through each of these stations, then they learned the minuet dance (I'm not sure if I spelled that correctly) and a sort of square dance style dance. In the minuet, the girls had to hold the boys hand...this of course was the most laughable activity, since all girls had cooties and all boys had cooties. We had some kids that chose to only touch elbows, some that would only use one finger and we even had some that wouldn't even walk next to one another. All in all, it was a great day of learning and a lot of fun.

Abbey and Laura

Perhaps journalism is in her future!

Last Monday Abbey came home from school with an assignment for her "Family Writes" project. Basically, this is a writing assignment that comes home once or twice a month and the kids typically have the whole week to work on it. Most of the assignments are fairly easy and include things like writing a conclusion paragraph to a given prompt or writing a short story, etc. So on Monday Abbey says "I have Family Writes due on Thursday (since there was no school on Friday), and I have to write about baseball. I need to go to the school website for the directions." So we pop on the school site only to find it was down. So I emailed her teacher and she said "Oh don't worry about it. The website crashed and we will be sending home the instructions tomorrow (Tuesday)." Alrighty, no problemo, we'll just wait until Tuesday to start working on it...! Then Tuesday comes and Abbey brings home her assignment. They were instructed to write a biographical essay on an influential baseball player (no more than 1000 words mind you), that would be sent to the Detroit Tigers (the Lakeland Spring Training office) for a contest! What...are you kidding me? My 3rd grader needs to write a biographical essay in 2 days??? So, we jump on the computer on Tuesday afternoon and we (as a family) decided to choose Ty Cobb, since he was a Detroit Tiger. We printed out the 15-20 page biographical information and we began reading it together. Man was there a lot of info! On Wednesday, Abbey got home from school and immediately started writing from the outline we worked on the night before. As the hours ticked away and Abbey was still trying to piece together a well developed essay, my frustrations grew with the unrealistic expectations of this assignment. So I thoughtfully penned a nice email to her teacher, venting my frustrations over this ridiculous project. In the mean time, Abbey finally finished writing her paper, not in time to make it to church though. She then began the remainder of her homework and called it a night shortly before 8:30. Later that evening I received an email from her teacher apologizing for the short notice and to not make a big deal about it. To just let Abbey write about "how baseball has helped change some one's life...such as a poverty stricken youth who now has an opportunity to get out of the type of life he has been living in." I sent a response back to the teacher saying we had finished the essay but I just didn't feel it was up to the standard that was expected out of the students. She told me not to worry about it, all would be fine. All of this long story to say, Abbey's essay was one of the ones chosen by the teachers to be sent to the Detroit Tigers. Out of the 90 3rd graders, one from each writing class was chosen. So a total of five essays out of 90 kids. Abbey is so excited. The Tigers will then judge all the essays (I would guess that other schools probably participated) and the winner will be asked to throw out the first pitch at one of the games for the Lakeland Tigers (the minor league here in town). Abbey has decided she needs to start practicing throwing the ball so she can make it all the way from the pitchers mound to home plate. So now I'm wondering...was her essay that good...or did the whiny wheel(that would be me) get thrown a bone? Whatever, Abbey got a little boost of confidence and is enjoying the glory. Who knows...if she gets picked, you will all be invited to the game!

He used to be my stylish one!

So what happens when the jet stream dips so low into Florida that it sends temperatures down into the 40's in APRIL? Evidently it messes with your children's ability to find suitable clothing to wear.

Brady got home from school today and put on a muscle t-shirt (sleeveless), shorts and flip flops which is fine and dandy in the house but then he decided to go out and play. He was given strict instructions that he was not allowed to play outside dressed like that...it was just too cold! So this was the attire he chose:

You can't see it, but he still has on his muscle shirt with a sweatshirt over it. Followed by the same shorts he was wearing. He added his bright red soccer socks which are pulled up to his mid-thigh. And of course what is an outfit with out your rain boots?

Wedding Bells!

Saturday our good friends Forrest and Brittany tied the knot. First of all, I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for asking me to help out with the big event. It was truly a blessed occasion. The ceremony and reception were absolutely gorgeous. I got to meet some wonderful people and also see people I hadn't seen in quite a while. I didn't get any pictures of the bride and groom, but I do have their amazing ceremony on video tape. However, I don't think it is my place to post their wedding video (plus it's about 45 minutes long). Congratulations again to the happy couple. May the Lord continue to bless you both in your new life together! Thanks again for letting me be a part of the festivities!