Back-to-school

The last few weeks have been filled with last minute summer things, gathering supplies for back to school, orientations, schedule pick-up and school tours. All in preparation for the first week back at school.  There have been a few changes since last year.  Emma is now a Middle Schooler, starting 6th grade and Jack is now in 8th~Wow how time flies.

 Mark is now driving himself to school, and attending a new high school!  Double Eeek!

The first two days were full of anxiety, stress and discovery.  I am happy to report that the newness has officially worn off with the arrival of the dreaded....Homework! 

Mark was a lot less enthusiastic this morning.

Now with my trio away for most of the day, I can slowly re-discover my sewing room..ah! 

I am ... right?

My oldest had an in class essay to do sometime during the first week of school.  The essay was for English III honors. Keep this in mind as you are reading.  His stress level was high, which is the only consolation I am giving him.  *an aside*  (over the summer they were required to read an autobiography or biography.  M chose a book about Gary Paulson.  They had questions to answer regarding their selection and were told AHEAD that these questions would be used to write an in class essay.) 

The topic was something along the lines of, How did the person you chose to read about live or not live out the American dream?  Sorry I cannot be more specific, I am obviously not in English III.  Mark stressed about the essay, but seemed confident after it was over. (This should have been my first sign.)  He received the essay  back graded a week later.  He received a grade that neither he nor his father was happy about.  

When John questioned him, of course it was the teachers fault.   John looked M in the eye and said, "Let me read the essay."  John read the first paragraph and said, "You are lucky you passed this essay.  Your essay reads like a 4th grader wrote it.  The grammar is so atrocious I can't even see beyond it to tell if your context makes sense."  Well, M huffed and puffed as teens do, gave lots of eye rolls but John wouldn't relent.  John said, "This weekend you will re-write it for me. You have become a dependent clause and it is time you start recognizing one."  

Amazingly, M did rewrite the essay.  John, being far more knowledgeable in grammar than I, sat down with Mark and went sentence by sentence through the paper working on grammar.  When it was finished John said, "Now, I want you to email  the corrected version to your teacher.  I want you to ask her to re-read the paper.  Ask her to provide you with feedback and let her know that you want to do better. The worst that could happen is that she will say no."  Let me tell you I thought M was going to have a massive coronary when he heard this.  The look on M's face was priceless!  It took 3 days and more badgering and persistence than, well a badger , but finally M gave up the fight. 

All the while John was butting heads with M, John kept worrying about whether he was doing the right thing. Typical parental guilt, Am I being to hard on him? Am I expecting to much from him?  Is he really capable of the work I think he is?  If you are the parent, You know the drill, I am sure. 

His teacher agreed to re-read the essay and M, unwilling re-submitted his paper.  That evening John went with M to his meet the teacher night.  The first stop....English.  John said, that Mrs. W, M's English teacher, was completely blown away by M's willingness to better himself.  She said that this was the first time in 19 years of teaching that she has ever had a student ask for help just because they wanted to improve themselves, and not because they wanted their grade raised. (although that would have been OK )  As a matter of fact, Mrs. W. said she bragged about M in the teacher's lounge to her colleagues. John called me all excited about the positive response Mrs. W. had given.  He also spent time discussing the wealth of resources she has in her class room. Mrs. W personally invited John to bring M in to work on grammar.  She assured him he is welcome at any time. He was so happy that he was justified.  (I was just happy that I had nothing to do with any of it! :)

I talked with M the next day, and tried to give him praise for his hard work. M looked a little down.  When I asked what was wrong he replied, "All I was thinking the whole time Mrs. W was talking was, "Man, I cannot believe dad was right!"  The only thing that could have been more mortifying to M at that point, was if John had broken into his happy dance in the classroom.  It was mortifying enough to watch him do it in the Kitchen. 

The 3 R's

Well, it is finally here.  The first day of school. All three of my children went back to school this morning with smiles, laughs and giggles.  Oh, wait that was me.  I have to say it was an odd feeling this morning rising at 5:30, making breakfasts and lunches and realizing I would have the entire day to myself. (Pure Joy)  So odd in fact that I almost felt sad to have them growing older, entering a new grade and spending more time with their friends than with their family...almost.

In fact this morning there was no drama.  Emma was up SHOWERED and ready to go, Mark and Jack were equally motivated.  It was reassuring to know that they are growing more capable every year.

I only walked one child to their classroom, my youngest.  However, she soon saw that I was the only parent in the 5th grade hall and I was quickly dismissed with a "bye mom." over her shoulder. (Rule 1.  Do not acknowledge your parents around your friends.  They might realize you have them.)

Mark and Jack leaped from the car the moment I put the vehicle in park (I believe this was because they were filled with enthusiasm and vigor ready to start the new year.  Certainly not because they were embarrassed to be seen with me)  Once out they mumbled something that sounded like, "grumf"  or it could have been "brrmf."  Not sure.  I however interpreted this to be "Bye-mom!  Have a great day." in the ever shrinking vocabulary and language of the teenage boy.(I am becoming quite fluent you should be impressed. Really, you should.)

While my kids are off to study reading, writing and arithmetic and enjoying life without mom,  I am left home, alone.  Thinking happy little thoughts, dancing for joy and enjoying the sounds of silence.  Now that the shopping is done, the kitchen cleaned and my blog written I must finally get working on my three R's.  Reading, Rest and Riesling (not necessarily in that order.)  Happy First Day of School!

I mustache you a question...

But I shave it for later. LOL!
Last weekend at my sisters wedding we had an invasion of sorts.  A mustache invasion!  I purchased 6 of these peel and stick felt mustaches for the photo booth.  Boy were they fun.  The kids had a blast posing with their mustaches, even the adults got into the fun.  Here are a few pictures to enjoy.

With a great mustache comes great responsibility.

I'd rather be growing a mustache.

I'd love to stay and chat but really I mustache.

My mustache brings all the girls into the yard.

A sign of the times

The countdown begins.  With only2 weeks until my sisters wedding, things are coming to completion.  I am never sure if I am  helping or just getting in the way.  Being 500 miles away helps keep me out from underfoot but I am quite limited in how I can help. The dress was off being tried on, measured and adjusted this week.  While I had some time on my hands I offered to help by making signs for the tables.

I searched pintrest and etsy for home made signs and got some really wonderful ideas.  Most however were more formal than Adriana's summer picnic wedding plans.  With a few modifications and a little creativity I came up with my own designs.  The best part it cost me all total 1.25$!  Everything else I had on hand.  AWESOME!

I used 2x4's which were leftover from another project.  I painted them with white primer.  Once they were dry I cut scrapbook paper to size and glued them to the 2X4s.  The first coat of glue dried, I used solid color scrapbook paper and my own brand of Creative lettering to personalize each sign.

Another coat of decoupage then they were ready for ribbon.  2 in white ribbon was hot glued to several of the signs to give the edges some flair.  I purchased the black 12 gauge jeweler's wire and with the  use of needle nose pliers curled the wirer into shapes that would hold pictures or notes.

All of my kids helped in one way or another, which makes the project even that much more special.  Everyone of the kids has their favorite sign.  Emma loves the seed sign.  (She help with the flowers).  Jack loves the candy bar sign.  (I am not sure if he loves the sign or the candy or just the thought of all the wonderful desserts to come)  And Mark likes the game sign.  (always the competitor).

These were a quick, cute and fun project.  It was a great creative break from quilting, hand stitching and knitting.  With a little planing, a list and a great deal of hard work they will make it the 500 miles back to the wedding.

Yellowstone.

As I mentioned in the last post we took off to Yellowstone 3 weeks ago (can that be right?)  This had to be one of the most wonderful family trips we have taken.  We flew into Salt Lake City and then had to make the 5 hour drive to West Yellowstone.  As we pulled into our cabin on Tuesday night snow had just started to fall.  Yes, I said Snow!  June 5 and it was still snowing!  It was no surprise when we woke Wednesday morning to find just enough snow to make a little snowman.  The kids loved it.

 (Believe it or not this was the first snow we had encountered this year. HA!)

We took in every thermal feature, waterfall and geyser they had, and I have the 460 photos to prove it.  I believe some editing will be required prior to making a photo album of this trip.

 We were lucky enough to see a ton of wildlife.

Bison, Pronghorn, Elk, Coyote, Bear, Big Horn Sheep, Mountain Goat, Bald Eagle, Raven, Trout, and Osprey were among the animals we watched.

The only animal we did not see in the wild was the Wolf.  Emma had hoped to spot one out but we never did.  Emma and I did make it over to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center to see some of the captive wolves.  While the girls learned about Grizzlies and Wolves, the guys headed out to learn to fly fish.  They had a wonderful trip and learned a great deal.  If you are ever in West Yellowstone we highly recommend The West Yellowstone Fly Shop.

  Between the 3 guys they caught 20 plus fish, both rainbow and brown trout.  Just when we started to tire of Bison, if you can imagine that, we headed over to Grand Teton National Park.  It remained cool, snowy and a bit cloudy, throughout the trip.

 But at 8000 feet above sea level you take what you get.  We did several day hikes and saw some really beautiful scenery.

We also caught a glimpse of a Moose, Beaver and Marmot. Overall it was a wonderful trip and one we will remember for years to come.

Caution Curves Ahead

Typically, I don't subscribe to the notion of coincidence.  Things happen for a reason.  The older I get the clearer that pattern becomes. I'll admit, here are occasions where the pattern doesn't reveille itself until I am well into the pattern.  By then usually something smacks me upside the head so severely that I am aware of the pattern instantly.  "Okay, okay I get it!"

As I have posted I have been taking a curves class online from Stitched in Color.  Curves are not something new to me.  I have sewn them in the past and find them enjoyable.  I love to learn new ways of seeing the world and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

As I work with curves I am finding myself drawn to other ways I could use them.  I did settle on rounding the corners for the baby flower quilt.  Boy does It look ADORABLE!  I cannot wait to get the flower centers sewn on.

Flower Baby Quilt

But wait!  The curves keep coming.  Here is a flower quilt I am quilting for a USC student. She is making this quilt for her Senior Honor's Thesis. (impressed?) She embroidered the names of women who she felt help change the mold for women in the last century.(eg.  Rosa Parks, Madonna, Mother Teresa  and others)  She mentioned something about choosing women who were non-tradional and placing them on a quilt,( traditionally thought of as for women only) thereby merging the 2 halves. (Ah.  The young collegiate mind.)  Look More Curves!  How could that be?

Flower quilt

I tried to make the quilting subtle.  She really wants her flower to stand out.  I left the petals unquilted. Not sure if this was a wise move however, I think it does make the petals look more three dimensional.  I used a matching thread on the background to quilt leaves and vines.

Back of Flower quilt

Vine and Leaf design

Today the biggest curve of all hit me full force at 6:50 am.  I was driving my oldest to school when I realized that the reason I was taking him this early was so he could take the written portion of the drivers test.  When did that happen?  Wasn't he just a toddler?  How can he be driving?  He certainly isn't old enough to get his license because I cannot be old enough to be his mother!

Curves. Watch out!  The are everywhere.

My Awww. Moment

This weekend I, being a temporary single parent,  made it clear to my children that it was necessary to mom's sanity that they have other options of entertainment.  Jack and Emma completely understood, a miracle in itself.  They both made arrangements to hang out with their friends.  Saturday rolled around and Mark and I were left together for a couple of hours.  During this alone time we decided to take the dog for her evening walk.

I love those alone moments with my kids.  As any mother of more than 2 can tell you, they are few and far between, which makes them all the more precious. At that moment that child becomes the sole focus of my attention.  I feel as though I can get a sense of the person they are becoming.  I love that!   I don't feel rushed and we have time just to enjoy being together.  This particular evening Mark and I took the time to discuss High School.  A topic which can be highly sensitive at times.

Mark started a new semester 2 weeks ago.  I am still trying to learn the names of the teachers and the time frame of his new schedule.  We spent some of the walk talking about the teachers, how they teach, whether he likes them, what he is learning etc.  I had heard quite a bit  about P.E. mostly because his teacher is the Varsity Soccer Coach.  I had gotten a little information about his introduction to Architecture class and his Geography class.  What I hadn't heard much about was Algebra II, not much of a surprise since he claims to be "terrible" at Math.  A claim, I might add, that he cannot back up with his grades.

I started asking him about his Math teacher.  He gave me a description and said she was "about 50ish, maybe upper 50's".  Then he proceeded to regurgitate the facts as he could remember them.  About half way through his reenactment he said, "she started teaching right after she graduated in 1990."  This gave me pause,  to be upper 50's she must not have gone to college right after high school.   After further probing I determined that she did indeed go to college right after high school.  Hmm.  50ish my butt.

After a couple of quick calculations I said to Mark, "She can't be in her upper 50's she is only 3 or 4 years older than I am."  He looked at me and said, "No, that is not right."  I gave him the dates of my graduations, both high school and college, gave him my calculations.  He replied, "You graduated in 1989?  WoW, I didn't realize that.  That was a long time ago."    Thanks.

After a few minutes of quiet I said, "You don't think of me as old, do you?"   He looked at me and said, "No, Mom.  I don't." Aww..... He is my new favorite.

An Argument ?

In todays world full of technology an argument doesn't always have to be verbal. Tonight was a perfectly good example.

The transition from middle school to high school is a difficult one.  Freshman year, as I remember it, is loaded with tons of responsibilities.  The teachers now expect you to take notes and ask questions, how annoying.   My freshman year was certainly an adjustment.  I am trying, I really am,  to be sympathetic to his transition.   I don't know, but  at 6 weeks into the school year I am running rather low on sympathy.

Mark came home with a less than stellar grade in his biology I class.  I personally studied with him for over an hour the night before the test.  He knew the material.  Apparently, he only new it until his head hit the pillow, at which point aliens came down and sucked all knowledge out of his brain.  Well, I was... frustrated, annoyed, aggravated, at wit's end, ....pick one.   I sounded off and declared that tonight he would not get any television.  Furthermore, I decided that there would be no TV for the rest of the week.  Knowing that Mark would, (a) argue with me, (b) do what he wanted anyway (c) goof off  or (c) all of the above, I confiscated all of the TV remotes and hid them in various locations.

After dinner, I left Mark working on homework and took off for a much needed walk with the dog.  It is still uncertain as to who needed the walk more Me or the Dog.  I was not at all surprised when I got a text only minutes later.

Mark: did u hide da remote
Mom: yup
Mark:  done w hmwk.
Mom: K
Mark: Can I watch TV
Mom:  (no response)
Mark: AYT (are you there)
Mom: yes
Mark: can i
Mom: No
Mark: Found remote BLNT (better luck next time)
Mom: (no response)
Mark: ?Batteries????
Mom :p

Would you believe that I "accidentally" walked off with the batteries to all of the remotes, in my pocket?

Bye MarK!

The good thing about having a 14 year old is well... I am sure there is something, just give me a second.  Hmm.  Oh!  The good thing about having a 14 year old is you get to remember what high school was like without actually having to go back and do it again.  I may change my tune as the year progresses but for now, we're good.

Yesterday, on our return trip from the lake, I needed to stop off at the Supermarket to return a movie and pick up a few things.  Mark decided he wanted to go with me.  On the way to the store we devised our plan of attack.  I have found with the smaller males of the species you must, MUST have a plan.  This is especially important when going to places that are as repelling as the grocery, the pharmacy or the mall.  Our plan was this: Mark return the movie to the kiosk and I would pick up what I needed. Simple enough.

We took off to accomplish our respective tasks and met up in the produce isle.  A man stepped out in front of my cart as we rounded the corner from produce.   After I steered the cart around the man, Mark and I continued on our journey to dairy.  Only we didn't get far.  I walked no more than 3 steps before I heard, "MARK"S HERE!'  This is a common occurrence when we travel to places where there are girls attending.  A rather tall blond ran out from behind the shopping cart to give Mark a big hug.  Her dad and I watched and waggled our eyebrows at the situation.  The two teens exchanged pleasantries, talked about who they had seen and not seen over the summer and said their goodbyes.

 Only it wasn't goodbye.  The tall girl and her sister preceded to follow us around the grocery.  As girls do, they giggled and whispered and waved, "Hi Mark." from across the store.  Mark was more than mortified but I am sure also thrilled to be drawing attention from the soon to be Sophomore.  He turned many shades of red and tried desperately to escape the attention by acting as if he wasn't bothered.

We made our way to the checkout, not nearly soon enough for Mark.  We loaded up our goods on the checkout belt and the Girls yelled, "Bye Mark."  At which point the Manager on duty looked at him and said, "Oh! Are you Mark?"  As humbly as one can in this situation, Mark nodded.   The Manager went on to introduce herself to Mark and throw out some lame comment about how he will have to come back more often now that they are on a first name basis.  Mark, I am sure could not get out of their fast enough.  It is one thing to have 2 cute girls calling your name and embarrassing you and quite another to have the over the hill, grandma of a store manager talking to you in front of your friends, who happen to be girls.

I finished up the transaction.  The groceries were loaded into the cart. And we speedily made our way for the exit.  Just as we reached the double sliding doors, all of the cashiers, baggers and the manager yelled, "Bye Mark!"

I am most certain he will not enter that particular grocery for sometime.

Metaphoric Poem by Mark

This is poem my son Mark wrote for an English assignment.  

Warning: Get your tissues out, it is pretty darn sweet.

My Family Tree

By:Mark Hoog

My Family is like a tree.

My mom keeps us upright and healthy.

Like the roots of the tree she provides us with food and the necessary resources we need to grow.

My dad is the crisp brown bark of the tree.

Like a shield he protects us from harm and takes the brunt of the storm.

My brother is the deep dark gnarled hole in the tree.

The one that holds many secrets and treasures but no one is sure how it came to be or how to access it.

My sister is the leaf that dances, swirls and sways in the swish of the breeze.

The leaf that exhibits the full beauty of the tree yet, easily is damaged when the storm gets to strong.

I am the trunk under the bark that holds the tree up right and helps support the tree when the bark is missing. I am there, always there, to help the tree.

State Champs!

Yesterday, Mark and his teammates played in the South Carolina U-14 State Championship game.  It was a tough fought game, both teams were evenly matched.  The boys on both teams played an incredibly great game.  Mark scored the only goal with only 15 minutes left in the game.  I thought the game was going to come down to penalty shots, something I never like to witness.  I am so proud of both teams.  Both teams are full of phenomenally talented players.  I am sure we will be seeing more of them in the years to come.  Great Game Boys!  Go United!

Books a plenty

Just because I had a week full of fun in the garage, didn't mean I was excused from my other duties as Mom.  One such detail is HOMEWORK.  Most of the time I can muddle through with only the occasional eye-roll or weird glance from my kids.  What I hate the most is long term projects.  My kids are procrastinators.  They come by it honestly.  I was just the same in school.  I have tried to instill in them all of the lessons I learned as a child, but sadly they must never believe anything I tell them.  I think it is in the official child handbook.

Last week was "assign a book as a project" week.  Okay 2 or 3 weeks ago, apparently,  was assign a book as a project week, I don't know I never got the memo.  Both Mark and Emma had to make books.  Jack was relieved of this assignment.

Emma's Excellent Examples title page

Emma's assignment was to create a book using fractions of her life.  Let me explain.  Emma's teacher is phenomenal.  She is full of new and creative ideas for teaching her kids.  For the math unit dealing with fractions Emma had to go through her daily life and find fractions.  For example: Emma is 1/5 of our family or a 1/1,000,000 kid.  The catch was that Ms. Jones wanted the book to be "creative."  Creative is never a good word when used around me.  I tend to get a little out of control.  This book was no exception.   Emma and I brainstormed of ways to make her book. We had LARGE poster-board book or the tiny little notebook book.  What ultimately she decided on was the Fabric book.  I thought this would be a good project for her.  She is constantly asking for a sewing project. And we tend to have a steady supply of fabric around here.

Explaining a fraction

I tried to explain one or two possibilities for using fabric.  All of my explanations were followed by a blank stair and a "WHAT?  I don't get it.  I don't see how that will work."   After several attempts I said, "Don't you trust me?  This is what I do.  This is my job and my hobby.  You never question Dad when he gives you an explanation."  To which she replied, "Yes, but he has a real job."  Nice.

Emma is 5/6 the height of Mom

I helped her with several of the pages.  Dragged her upstairs multiple times to try to get her to finish one page or another.  But my attempts were futile.  Consequently, the day before THE BOOK was due there was much crying and hysteria.  The boys both took off to their rooms to try to avoid the volcano that was sure to irrupt at any moment.  It was not pretty.  The book was finished at well past bedtime and she was sent to bed much to the relief of the neighborhood.

Emma has visited 18 of 50 states in the US

Mark's book was much simpler. His assignment was to write a "biography" of sorts, in journal form, for a specifically assigned American during the civil war.  The journal was supposed to cover the entire life of the person, with pictures, drawings and it needed to "look OLD."

Matthew B. Brady

 He finished the typing the project the night before and had me proof read it while he was at soccer practice.  At 9 pm after a shower and another meal he was ready to argue with me.  He proceeded tell me I knew nothing about computers, not a good place to start. "Do you want my help?"   After I lectured him about respect for his mother and the possibility that there might be more than one way to do something, he tired enough to let me help him. I say "tired"  because certainly he would never admit to being wrong. At last we had it printed it out in the format he wanted.

The next day the book was washed with coffee grounds, something we have plenty of around here.  Once the pages were almost dried the pages were crumpled and the edges frayed.  After it was completely dried he punched holes into the paper with a nail punch and bound it with a single ply of hemp rope.  We even managed to avert the catastrophe that would have happened had he used the nail punch on the wood floor instead of outside on the deck.  I can just here him now as he exclaims, "WoW.  Mom I punched all the way through the paper into the floor.  Now I can't get the punch out."

Amazingly 2 out of 2 books were turned in on time.

SCUFC Win 2-1

Here's a pictorial video of the Saturday afternoon win!  As always Mark is #13.  They all played great!  Go United!

A Light Lunch

Yesterday, my 14 y.o. son had a late start day at school.  Collaborative planning for the teachers and all that  it entails.  He was able to sleep in until 9:30 which, if you have ever had a 14 y.o. is still early for them.  With school starting at 10:15 he was in the kitchen packing his lunch when I came down.  I asked if he had  found the new peanut butter, which he had.  I noticed he only had one brown lunch bag today, when he usually has two.  "Not hungry today?"  I joked.  He responded most seriously, "I packed light today, since it is only a half day and I just ate breakfast."  "Oh, Okay."  I responded.  I took a peek inside his lunch bag. The contents of his "light" lunch included. 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches., 2 Gatorade, a bag of chips, and an apple.  I really don't want to know what he packs on days when he is hungry.

HOT and Bothered

Have you ever been in the midst of a project nearing completion and had to stop and walk away? If you are mom, I am sure your answer is "Every FLIPPIN' day." Most of the time I take these interruptions in stride. Yesterday however, I was so focused and let's face it, excited to be almost finished with yet another birthday project, that every interruption set me off. Maybe it was having the finish line in site, maybe it was the heat over 100 degrees, and maybe I should have seen it coming with all of my self imposed deadlines. Every time I sat down to sew, something would happen to call me away.

Mark was one such situation. Mark has never been good at occupying himself. From birth he has always wanted/needed direction and someone to hang around with. That's just him and I recognize it, deal with it and expect it of him. Most of the time tasks, projects, chores and friends keep him busy, but not yesterday. Yesterday he needed mom. I tell myself it is good my teen wants to spend time with me, because I know it to be so. But no matter how many times I said this to myself, yesterday I was annoyed. Yesterday, Mark wanted to build something.

Mark and I often spend time building things together. We both enjoy these type of wood projects and enjoy working together. His expectations were high and despite my best efforts he could not understand that we just couldn't build 2 bird houses and a bat house with the few scraps of wood we had. Therefore, an argument started that put us both in a foul mood. Secondly, it was not the type of day to be doing hot, sticky, sweaty work. With the heat soaring over 100 and no breeze to be found, we were both sweating profusely, which only added to my irritation. Thirdly, I was apparently a hindrance to his ability to get things accomplished. Hmm. (Funny now that I look at it. We were both irritated with each other for perceiving that the other was preventing us from accomplishing our goal. Coincidence? I think not.)

Wanting to spend time with my son; I bit my tongue when I would have normally struck out. This prevented any further arguments but also prevented most of our normal bantering back and forth. It was sad really. Many of our projects, all of our projects are not so much about finishing the projects but about sharing a common experience and love of doing things together. Even though this project was successful from the stand point that the bird house was completed. It was a complete disaster in terms of relationship experiences. It all ended with Mark snapping at me, slamming the door in my face and ignoring any disciplinary actions I might have taken. I guess sending him to his room until college probably wasn't possible anyway?!

Later, when both our tempers and our bodies were cooler, we talked and discussed our reasons for being angry. We developed a plan that we both could work with. Today we are off to the hardware store to get more lumber for the bat house and something to hang the bird house with (that sucker is heavy). Wish us luck.

End of the Year at Show

The end of school brought with it lots of additional clutter. School boxes filled with broken pencils, crayons and pens. Glue bottles that were all but empty and workbooks that were almost completed filled the recycle bind. Among the clutter and the trash that was brought home were several important notes, invitations and artwork. (All of the aforementioned buried among the garbage.) I hate throwing the artwork out and I hate storing it. With the amount of moving we do the paper just doesn't stand a chance. Many of the kids drawings I frame, but one only has enough wall space. Here is a little end of the year Art show for all to enjoy. (I really should make a calendar for next year with all of the art!)

Birdhouse-- Emma

Castle--Jack

Dragon and Baby--Emma

The Sea--Emma

Garfield (a study)--Jack

Paisley--Jack

The Tree--Jack

The Drive--Mark

Math Art-- Emma

Shadow--Jack

Myself without glasses--Emma