First Day of Third Grade--August 2014

The kids started third grade last August.  It was really hard on me to think of my kids as third graders.  Second grade still sounds little, but THIRD GRADE sounds like BIG KIDS.  I remember third grade so much more vividly than I remember the earlier grades, so it feels older.  I don't have little kids anymore.  I have big kids.  Sigh.

Jonathan, Zachary, Reagan, Thomas

Here's the tub of school supplies we took to school.  It may look like less stuff than previous years, but I think that is just because some of the supplies fit inside other supplies.  There may also have been some of the larger boxes, like Ziploc bags, that weren't in the tub.  I can't remember.

This year we will break with tradition and make the kids carry their own stuff.  I know certain people will be disappointed because seeing Jim haul in the giant tub of supplies brings them such joy, but it draws a lot of unnecessary attention to us, and we get enough attention as it is!  Besides, the kids will be fourth graders!  (Sigh) They are plenty big enough to carry their own supplies!

Much Ado about May—Lots of small things lumped together

Woohoo!  I’m closing in on summer and catching up to the present day!

Here’s a shot Jim took of us on Mother’s Day, all eating dinner together on the patio.  Eating outside on the patio is one of our favorite things!  I’m so glad we were able to do it on Mother’s Day!



A few days later, the kids had field day at school, and I was able to run over there and see them for a little while.



After that the boys had their crossover ceremony at cub scouts where they were promoted to the next scout level.  I think that makes them Bears this upcoming year.



All the scouts had spent the last couple of weeks building rockets, and they blasted them off that same night.  I think they were much more excited about the rockets than the ceremony!

Here are the boys’ rockets (Thank, Uncle Clay!).  Never fear, Reagan had one too!
 

Thomas had a fancy two-stage rocket, so powerful it blasted all the way across the field and got stuck in a tree!
 

Jim went after it to try and get it down, but to no avail.  Sorry Thomas!
 

Clay and Carey and the cousins also came back in May for a quick visit one weekend.  The special occasion was the wedding of Jim and Clay’s good childhood friend, Jason!

Handsome Jasper boys!
 

A family affair—Jason, with his two kids, and Kelly, with her two kids
 

I was in charge of senior luncheon at school this year.  Here is a shot of The Foundry, minus all the kids.  Isn’t it beautiful!  Big thanks to The Foundry and Janine for helping make it a fantastic luncheon!
 

Red, white, and blue popsicles!
 

Fun times with Jake, John Pierce, and Avery (and their parents) Memorial Day evening
 

Spiderman strikes again!
 

Stopping a moment to take a picture outside our favorite Target!
 

Men on a mountaintop!
 

Jim, with Michael, Bryan, Graham, John, and Brian on Mt. Le Conte

I have one more thing to blog for May, but it’s big, so it will get its own post!

Under Water and Around the World—trips to the aquarium and zoo—March 2014

In March, I took a day off of work and chaperoned the 2nd grade field trip to the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies.  It was a fun day with all of my kiddos!

Then, one day during Spring Break, we went to the Knoxville Zoo.

Oops! Missed a few! Camping, Artwork, Safety City, Lysa, and RISK

I should have known that I would miss some pictures!  These came off my phone and didn’t make it into the correct folders.  Now they are in the right place, and I’m ready to share them with you!
First, in September 2013 over Labor Day weekend, we took the kids on their first REAL camping trip.  That is, we camped in a tent for more than one night  somewhere other than our back yard!  It was miserably hot, but the KOA had a pool and our camping buddies, Josh and Cris and their kiddoes, had a camper with air conditioning, so we managed to survive and have a great time!

Jim holding the big fish Cris caught.  She used hot dogs as bait, and now my kids think that is the only bait anyone should ever use!

All the boys on the playground—clearly it was a game day!  Go Vols!

Actually, I know it was a game day because Jim and Josh worked their tails off in the heat trying to hook up a TV to watch the game!

Also in September, Thomas painted this picture for me.  He said it was a blood machine and told me all about how the different parts worked to carry blood to people who need it.  He’ll make an excellent blood donor someday!

In October, the second graders went to Safety City, and Jonathan and Zachary’s sweet teacher snapped this pic of them and sent it to me.

In November, I went out of town one weekend with my friends Michelle and Katie.  We went to hear Lysa TerKeurst speak and even got to meet her.  It was a great weekend!

Jim also taught the boys to play RISK!  (Reagan and I were gone to ballet and a birthday party.  She wasn’t purposely excluded!)  They had to take a couple of breaks, but they finished the whole game!

Okay, now I think I’m caught up! 

Back to School—August 2013

Second grade, here we come!

Like last year, the kids were grouped two and two in their classes, which is such a blessing to me and Jim!  This year, Jonathan and Zachary were in one class and Reagan and Thomas were in the other.  That’s a different pairing from last year.  Last year, Jonathan was with Thomas and Zachary with Reagan.
Overall, the kids had a great year.  We loved their teachers!  They learned a lot, academically and socially.  We faced some challenges with friends, but learned, I hope, some valuable lessons. 
I can’t believe they’ll be in third grade this year!  That just seems so BIG.  I’m not ready for them to be so big.  It’s going by too fast!  But I suppose every parent feels that way.  They are great kids—not perfect, by any means—but truly great!  I LOVED third grade, and I hope they do too!

Scouts Closing Ceremony and School Field Trip—May 2013

In May, the boys had their final cub scout event of the year.  It was a special ceremony for the Tiger cubs (and all the other cub scout levels respectively) to cross over into the next level of scouting. 

Crossing over the bridge to symbolize crossing over to the next level of scouting

 

The boys with their leader Andrea

 

I was able to attend the kids’ final field trrip of the school year, a trip to Ijams Nature Center for Waterfest.  It was great to spend a day with my kids and meet some of their school friends.  Plus the kids had a lot of fun playing water games and learning about water.

 

We love Ijams Nature Center!