My Little Drummer Boy

Well, Bubby had his first drum lesson last week and LOVED it !!

He has been practicing almost nonstop since. Every morning I expect to see For Sale signs in our neighbors' yards. None yet. We are strict about times of day he can practice. The neighbors swear they have not been bothered. I hope they are being truthful. I have been outside when he is playing and it honestly sounds like a radio that is just a bit too loud .... not too bad. I am amazed at how muted it is because I swear, I am considering buying myself some earplugs. It is SO loud inside.

To show you his passion level .... here is a picture of his to do list (helping set priorities) from Church this weekend: I guess I should be grateful that atleast his #1 is right.

We hung that up on the wall by his drum set .... here he is being silly:

And here are some pictures of him practicing:

Have a great week !!

A Nature Walk

The other day, after finishing up school and getting ready for work, I realized it was a FABULOUS day outside. I was ready a bit early, so the kids and I decided to go to the park. We were finished with school work for the day, but I figured I could count this "school" too ..... science .... a nature walk. I didn't tell them that ..... let them think it isn't a learning experience. hehe

We took along the sketch book and colored pencils, and the digital camera. I let the kids take some nature pictures of their own and they each drew some things they saw. Bubby drew bugs and Fancy chose flowers .... fits, I guess.

It was SUCH a great end to a school day and beginning to a 12 hour night for me. It was about 80 degress (cool Fall weather to us Texans), dusk was almost here, the park was quiet and almost empty of anyone other than us, the dragonflies and the squirrels. That one hour in the park gave me peace after a long day of school and the energy to make it through a long night at work after no nap during that day. Being outside can be so rejuvenating .... espeically when the temperature is just right.

Here are some pictures Fancy took:

And here are Bubby's:

(I was impressed he got as close as he did to take that one .... that was a pretty big dragonfly)

I took a few myself:

As we completed our walk around the park and were headed to the car, the kids saw the splash park nearby. My plan was to lay back in the seat of my car and doze off for a bit. Bubby asked (begged really), if he could run through the water for a bit. The Husband was on his way from work to the park to pick them up so I could head to work. We had to wait there anyway. How could I say no? Bubby immediately stripped off his shirt and literally ran right out of his flip-flops and straight in to the splashing water.

You can see by the pics the sun was escaping and it was getting downright cold (to us Texans) .... it was probably around 75 degrees. Add to that some cold water and NO meat on your bones, and you are sure to be shivering real soon. His teeth were chattering within about 10 minutes, but it didn't stop the fun.

Always the comedian - Here he is being goofy and pretending he is in the shower:Sheer Joy: Where is Fancy in all this, you ask? Well she was just too cool (and I don't mean temperature) to play. "I'm too old" is what she told me. "Besides, I don't want to get my hair wet."

So there she sat, on the bench next to me as I sat, enjoying the quiet, the cool air and a good book.But, all of a sudden, like a bolt of lightning, she was off .... the temptation for fun was too much. I think she may have also taken into account that there was NO one else around.

These moments (rare as they are) when she allows herself to be a kid, bring me great joy.

I plan to go to this park more often, especially as the weather gets nicer.

Have a great weekend !!!

Job loss, Six Flags, Canada, and a Wreck

No .... I am not going to try to come up with some cute way to relate these. I just had some posting to do on each.

For those who haven't already heard: I was laid off from my job last week after working there almost 2 years. Things have been really slow and I kind of felt it coming, but it was still unsettling and a bit of a kick to the ego. They did it strictly by seniority, but it still hurt a bit. Luckily, being a nurse, I didn't go long without a job ..... less than 12 hours in fact. I have been working full-time at my new job about 2 weeks now and things are going pretty well. It is in a SMALL hospital so it is taking some getting used to. I am trying to embrace the postive things about it though .... one important one being that it takes about 45 minutes off my commute (and that is ONE WAY). Pray it continues to be a good experience.

We had a great time at Six Flags over the weekend (Free tickets thanks to the hospital I now work for). I took my camera but had left the memory card at home ... so use your imaginations. The kids rode lots of rides while I kept things under control down where things were safe. hehe. We ate too much junk, got too little sleep and just plain enjoyed ourselves. We should really go there more often. Maybe next Spring we will get Season Passes.

We got a caricature drawn of the kids while there and the artist captured their "Love" for one another quite well. We got a good laugh out of it. I' m going to get a frame for it this week and decide where to hang it up.

We are finishing up our studies of Canada this week. The kids have not found it as exciting as Mexico and are ready to move onto Brazil next week. We will be going to the Library on Friday to exchange out our books after P.E. (which is a class they will be taking on Fridays at the Homeschool Co-op in our area). Bubby is really looking forward to it. Fancy .... not so much. But as I recall, I don't think in Middle School I liked P.E. either.

Here are just a couple of things they did on Canada .... a crossword and a flag.

Oh .... and someone rear-ended us in the Jetta a couple of weeks ago. I thought I'd cry. Have I told you I love my car? Anyway, the damage is minor but here is a picture of the rear bumper. It should be in the shop for replacement soon. We have been dealing with her insurance company for over a week now. They aren't fighting us on it, it is just A LOT of red tape. ugh.

Have a great week !!

Schlitterbahn Fun

Here is a quick picture of the kids enjoying some Dippin' Dots at Schlitterbahn.

They went last weekend with my parents.