Big lunch packing, bus riding, homework doing, all day school kids.

The kids have had a great time playing with her and she is as sweet as can be. When you go to touch her she melts into a flat little rug looking up at you with a ragdoll like face of nose and fur.

Her eyes blend right into her black fur and she looks like a sweet caricature of a puppy you’d see in cartoons.

“C” was not feeling the pink backdrop!

Look at those droopy little eyes–we are so not morning people. We get up early but are not functional till after 8:30am …

This photo was taken before school on the morning of C’s big Betsy Ross presentation.  They all had to choose a famous American to research and do a speech about.  C choose Betsy Ross because well…she must be his great great great great grandmother of course.. after-all we have the same last name. It made him really excited to do the research so I went along with his assumption.  He had to bring a prop for his presentation and I suggested that I could help him sew his own flag, but like most boys and men it was only a good prop if it included food   C mixed the cake batter himself (spice cake, his pick) I baked it and he rolled out and cut the fondant himself.  I did the assembly (icing the cake with cream cheese frosting then applying the fondant).

There were lots of oohs and aahs from his classmates and C had a big proud grin on his face..totally worth it!

Oh yeah his speech was great too.  I was very proud of him. The video is hard to hear.  All the kids were were stationed around the room and the parents rotated from student to student.  All those speeches going on at once made for tough video recording,  but the bit at the beginning where he reveals his cake needs no audio …the look on his face was amazing!

iPod picture of C’s Betsy Ross portrait out in the hall on the second grade timeline:

One more cake pic

They also sang some cute songs and did some dances for all of us….here is my first try at an animoto video check it out!

They are so fun, the kids are excited.  I am excited.

The new year is full of promise!

I love to look back at the year before and think how grown up they looked to me then, and how little they look to me now.

C was the only one off today, Beauty doesn’t start Kindergarten till Friday.

I was proud of how independent he seemed, excited but not scared of what was waiting for him in 2nd Grade.

These are C’s soccer portraits.

He has been on the same  team for 2 seasons now.

They are called the Pirates, and there are some really great kids on this team.

A good team atmosphere makes all the difference – win or lose.

C was so excited,  just look how big his eyes are …

My hubby was a little excited himself…

Poor little Beauty was not tall enough to ride or drive yet…

But first they had to wait their turn for the track….

C was up first, with 3 other “little” boys…

He pushed that pedal to the floor and was off… and he was awesome!

Then it was the “big”  boys turn…

A wave for his adoring fans ….

The boys had a great time. I had fun taking pics and cheering them on.

As for Beauty… try not to feel too sad for poor Beauty.

She got to go shopping for a new dress after lunch!

It has been cold and generally not fun to be outside (unless you are on the mountain)  as of late.

C has been immersed in the world of personal video games.

He plays soccer in the spring, swims and goes to sports camp in the summer, and resumes soccer again in the fall.

But this time of year is rough on outdoor sports.

He makes a weekly appearance in Karate class, but the usual afternoons spent at our park just don’t happen when it is this cold.

After a long day at school he really enjoys zoning out with the video game for a little “me/down” time…. 7 year old style!

Look at his concentration

He says I am his Valentine and that Daddy has to share me.

Soon enough there will be other Valentines,  but for now it is just me……

My kids are dying for some outdoor activity.

We tried going out this afternoon, but quickly changed our minds.

I need the fresh air for my sanity, so do my kids.

But when it is so cold the fresh air actually makes you gasp, that is no good either.