Homework!

Anyone else sick of HOMEWORK yet?  Ugh.  I dread it every night.  4th grade at the kids' school is rumored to be the worst year of Lower School.  They are only graded on tests & quizzes!  Math and Language grades are weighted 67% Tests and 33% Quizzes.  They've only had 2 tests in each subject but multiple quizzes.  Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out those test grades are critical to earning a good grade.  I hate high stakes testing situations which is what is created in 4th grade.  No room for error.  A lot of 4th graders are struggling with math this quarter too.  Every mom I've talked to about it is having the same problem regardless of what class they are in (there are 3 classes and they teach/test the same).  It makes me feel a little better that other kids are struggling too - that means Riley's struggles aren't because he just moved in last April.  If I survive 4th grade without becoming an alcoholic, it will be a miracle...Just kidding, but it's tough!

Well, I'm grateful for my 11 years of experience in the classroom because I've been finding all kinds of different ways to teach my kids their lessons at home.  Thankfully I have the time during the day to come up with ideas.  I've created games for math for Riley.  He's always up for a challenge that includes chocolate chips or m&m's!  

Kendall has a memory verse, sight words and family words that she gets tested on every Friday.  I've made her flash cards but that gets boring.  I've found some great coloring sheets where you can type words on the pages.  I have her trace and then copy the words she's learning and then I write the words in the picture and she must "Color By Word" instead of color by number.  She LOVES it.  

As much as I hate all the homework of 4th grade, I absolutely ADORE Riley's teacher.  She's awesome and a very dear friend of mine.  She is a workaholic and puts her heart and soul into our kids and I couldn't be more thankful for her.  Kendall's teacher is like the grandmother we all wish we had.  She's the most positive person I've ever met.  She calls literally everyone "Precious" and she shines the light of Jesus wherever she goes.  

Now it's time to have the kids "hit the books!"

It's Official!

After a LONG 2 day weekend, it's official!  I passed my motorcycle endorsement test.  Tomorrow I plan to head over to the dreaded DMV to get the official "M" on my license.  That will make me legal to ride my new scooter!!!  I still have to get it painted purple so I can keep Andy from riding it!  ;)  In Florida the state requires you to complete (and pass) a motorcycle endorsement class to get your motorcycle license.

I was up at 5 am both days to drive 45 min to the north side to sit in a class and then spend most of each day on the range learning how to ride with 10 other new friends.  It was long days and lots of hours.  I was in class from 7-4:30 then a 45 min. ride home.  It was HOT and HUMID and we were required to wear pants, long sleeves, plus helmets and gloves.  We all got worn out from the sun.  Unfortunately on Sunday it rained on us for a bit but thankfully the sun came out in time for our "Skills Test" portion of the course.  

I scored a perfect 100 on the written part which was easy compared to the skills part.  Thankfully, as long as you don't drop your bike, you pretty much can pass the test.  There were 2 people in our class who didn't pass.  One did drop her bike during the 2 U-turn section and the other one had dropped her bike right before she took her skills test and her head was a mess.  I felt so bad for both of them.  They worked so hard for 2 days and both had come so far.  

Last night once I got home (and after a much needed shower), we headed to Nippers to celebrate.  Now Andy and I can go ride together!  As soon as I get more comfortable riding alone, I can start taking Sissy with me and Riley can ride with Andy.  I was thinking about how much time I wasted by not taking my endorsement class earlier but after dealing with the heat and rain, I'm so glad I waited.  Now that the weather is changing, it's perfect for a ride!!!

Here it is...Proof of passing the class!  Off to DMV tomorrow (you have to wait to make sure the class instructors get the info to DMV)

  

Instant Friends

Want to make friends fast?  Show up in your Blue & White on a Saturday at Jerry's Sports Grille and you will find the Jax PSU alum cheering on the team in the back by the big screen.  It's been fun to go watch with other fans and have someone else to high five and hoot and holler with especially with us living in our apt.  The kids like it because they can run around and play the video games.  We keep them pumped full of sodas and food so they do pretty well.

  

A Little Family Rivalry

The Philadelphia Eagles came to town for a Preseason game this summer.  Of course I couldn't pass up a chance to take the family to the game!  I found tickets for decent seats for $25/person.  That was a no-brainer considering what you'd pay for tickets at the Linc!  Kendall and I dressed in our Eagle best while Riley wore his Jags jersey.  It was a great opportunity for Riley to learn more about football up close and a chance for Kendall to get use to a night game because we are taking her to Penn State vs Michigan this month.

Notice the Eagles hat with the Jags jersey?  He just didn't want Kendall wearing his hat anymore!  He was 100% Jags the whole night - but sadly for him, the Eagles pulled off the win.

After School Activities

I think gymnastics is going to be her "thing" at least for now.  Dance didn't work into our schedule this year but she's been LOVING her new gymnastics program.  She started a few weeks after school started and has already been moved up to Level 2!  She just turned 5 and was the youngest by far in her Level 1 class.  5 year olds can start in the younger program or in the Level 1 program.  I thought for sure her attention span would keep her in Level 1 longer, but her teacher came and talked to me on Monday and said she's ready to move up!  I can't tell you enough how much she loves it.  I'm glad she's found something that she can enjoy outside of school.  

These are pictures from her in the Level 1 class.  

Riley has found two things to participate in outside of school as well.  He does Bricks4Kidz with some of his buddies.  It's an hour long program run by Bricks3Kidz that takes place at the school.  This is a LEGO maniacs dream!  They build all types of structures from LEGOS.  They are following an Environment/Weather related theme for the fall.  They learn about their topic and what they build has to do with that topic.  He loves it.

Riley has also rejoined Cub Scouts.  We thought we had take early retirement when we had to quit due to therapy while in Utah, but he's been talked into doing it again.  His buddy (his 4th grade teacher's son) is in his den and his dad is also a den leader assistant.  So far it has been pretty laid back (They wear tee shirts and flip flops to meetings!) which has been nice.  He has LEGOS and Scouts on the same night and homework in 4th grade is off the hook!  But right now he's happy and we've all discussed that homework comes first and Scouts is last on the list.  Andy's not thrilled about scouts because he's busy enough as it is, but sometimes being a Dad means doing stuff with your kid because it's meaningful to your son.  If anyone wants to buy some Boy Scout popcorn, let us know!  We are your connection!  ;)

Here is Riley and his good buddy at our favorite Friday night hang out.

MINECRAFT Obsessed

Anyone elses' kids obsessed with playing Minecraft?  Mine are!  They have somehow figured out how to play together while each on separate ipads.  Scary how quickly they pick up technology, isn't it!

Fun Times In KDG!

Kindergarten is so much fun for kids these days!  Kendall is loving school this year after a bit of a tearful start.  She use to cling to my leg and beg me to stay and now she sees a friend and takes off without even a wave!  

Thankfully I'm able to attend most of the kids activities and field trips.  It's been a blast so far!

Here is Kendall at the Children's Hands On Museum.  Riley had been there when we lived in Jax before, but this was Kendall's first time.  She LOVED it!

Here she is checking on an injured tiger.

Last week they had their Community Helpers parade.  They all dressed up like the different types of community helpers they learned about and then paraded with the other two kdg classes throughout the entire lower school!  She LOVED it!

The future Dr. Chunko

Her entire class - they had parents come into talk to the kids about their different types of jobs where they served the community.  Such fun!

Earlier in the year, they had a Teddy Bear Picnic.  They went on a bear hunt and then sat outside and ate all the different foods that bears like to eat.  Such a great time!

I'm so glad she is really enjoying kdg!  She's got a new BFF who's adorable!  The two seem to be glued at the hip.  The best part is her BFF's mom and I are friends and she has a 4th grade brother too!  I hope they can continue to develop their friendship and it lasts throughout their years there.  Kendall is more like me in the fact that friendships are very important to her and as long as she has buddies, she's happy anywhere.  

House Update

In the upper left you can see part of our family room.  This room opens with sliding doors and windows on the sides to the back porch.  You can see the doors in the bottom right picture.  This room is open to our kitchen which is behind where I was standing to snap this one.  It will have coffered 10 foot ceilings.  We have picked out a dark coffee/espresso stained hardwood to go through the entire first floor and up the stairs and upstairs hallways.  

The upper right picture is of our garage.  The garage is detached and in the back corner of our property.  The driveway will be narrow and follow along the east side of the house.  Between the house and the garage is where you will find Kendall swimming in our pool.  We haven't ventured out to meet the pool guy yet.  Nothing fancy, but hopefully as nice as we can afford.  A salt water pool is a must though.  You can see the cedar shake and window trim on the garage.  My plan is to hang some wrought iron with coconut liners from those windows.  I've also been eyeing up a wooden seahorse at a store around the corner from us that might look great hanging on the wall between the windows.

The bottom left picture is of what will be our future summer kitchen.  A Floridian summer kitchen means a completely different thing than a Pennsylvania summer kitchen.  These are outside and usually on your back porch.  Ours will have a sink on the left , grill in the middle and fridge and the lower right.  We've picked out a granite counter top but still need to pick out the brick face for it.  It will have shake around the back side and end.  There will also be beautiful slate on the back porch on top of the concrete. I can't wait to see it all come together.

The lower right picture is of the back porch taken by the front door of the garage.  The back porch will run the entire width of the house.  We have it wired for cable so we can watch our favorite football games from the pool!  The  ceiling is one of my favorite parts.  It's a paneled board ceiling - as are all the porch ceilings on our house.  There will be two big panama styled fans out there to keep us cool in the summers.  I want to try to find some type of fire pit (for real wood fires, not that fake gas fire stuff) with a screen so we can continue our tradition of roasting marshmallows with friends while we sit around and enjoy a few beverages.  

Seriously?

You just can't make this stuff up!  It gets more ridiculous every day.  Hoping the American people wake up.  This is the Obama administration demonstrating their frustration and taking it out unnecessarily on the American people!

Article from Brietbart.com (plus I've read this other places and seen it on tv.) Link to article HERE

OBAMA FORCING SHUT DOWN OF PARKS THE FEDS DON'T EVEN FUND

Looking to cause as much pain as possible to the American people during this shut down, President Obama sent National Park Service (NPS) police officers to shut down hundreds of parks and historic sites that the federal government doesn't even fund.

We are all familiar with the barricades erected at the open-air WWII Memorial in Washington DC. Images of aged WWII veterans being prevented by armed NPS officials from entering the memorial were all across the media.

In the case of the WWII monument, it was soon reported that there was no reason to erect the barricades--wryly termed Barry-cades after the President's childhood name--because the memorial is open 24 hours a day even though it is only staffed with NPS personnel from 9:30AM to 11:30PM. A government shut down could not have affected the memorial regardless. But Obama went out of his way to prevent the old men from visiting the monument.

Needlessly shutting down the WWII memorial wasn't the only unnecessary shut down Obama perpetrated. He also sent NPS personnel fanning out across the country to shut down dozens of parks that the federal government doesn't even fund.

One place the NPS stormed in without prior warning was the Claude Moore Colonial Farm (CMCF) in Virginia.

President Obama sent the NPS to the Virginia park without prior notification upsetting an event that was underway and forcibly removing everyone from the premises.

“We do not know why CMCF was barricaded from public access or why NPS police escorted staff and volunteers off the property right before a fundraising event on Monday. The National Park Service does not pay CMCFs employees, for its operations, maintenance, events or programs,” Claude Moore Colonial Farm Operations Manager Heather Bodin wrote in an email to FOX Business. "In our 32-year history of running the farm, through other government shutdowns, we have never had to close our doors before.”

In a public email to supporters, CMCF Managing Director Anna Eberly wrote, "For the first time in 40 years, the National Park Service (NPS) has finally succeeded in closing the Farm down to the public. In previous budget dramas, the Farm has always been exempted since the NPS provides no staff or resources to operate the Farm. We weren't even informed of this until mid-day Monday in spite of their managers having our email addresses and cell numbers."

Another such nonsensical shutdown occurred in Arizona where 100 campgrounds that are fully funded by fees paid by visitors were forcibly shuttered and all campers removed.

The campgrounds, run by Recreation Resource Management, take no money from the government.

RRM president Warren Meyer told Fox Business, "our operations are self-sufficient (we are fully funded by user fees at the gate), we get no federal funds, we employ no government workers on these sites, and we actually pay rent into the Treasury."

Meyer speculated that this was a tactic intended to make the government shut down hurt as many people as possible. "I can only assume their intention is to artificially increase the cost of the shutdown as some sort of political ploy," he said.

The famous Ford's Theater--site of Abraham Lincoln's assassination--was also forcibly shut down even though the theater and its programs are run by a private non-profit group.

Another unnecessary shut down occurred at George Washington's home, Mount Vernon.

In the case of Washington's home, the park is run by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, a group that takes no federal or state money to operate. After the NPS arrived on the scene, though, the MVLA insisted that they were open despite Obama's attempt to send his NPS stormtroopers to shut the place down.

“We receive no funding from federal or state governments. We are not a national park or monument,” the Mount Vernon website states. “We rely solely on the generosity of caring people to whatever degree they are able.”

Former Speaker of the House and recent candidate for the GOP nomination for President Newt Gingrich was outraged over Obama's attack on the privately-run Mount Vernon. Speaker Gingrich posted a series of Tweets attack Obama over it all.

Gingrich agreed with the campground operator from Arizona. This is all a tactic by Obama to inflict as much pain on America as possible.

Strong Foundations

Beach House Update:

Today we spent some time at our (not soon enough to be) new home.  While we were there we decided to write some scriptures on the walls of our home.  I want us to always remember that life is about keeping our eyes on Jesus and not about material things.  Don't get me wrong, this will be our most beautiful home to date and we are grateful we're able to afford it, but having a beautiful home isn't what's most important in life.  This was a family activity today.  The kids helped write the scriptures in their rooms.  They were so excited to take part in it!  They are supposed to start insulating and dry walling this week so it was important that we got this done today.

Here's a recent picture...Still about 7 months out.  

For our kitchen:

 In our office:

 A family favorite - in the hallway by the front door:

 By the front door:

In our family room:

In our dining room:

 On an exterior wall between the kitchen and the family room:

 Perfect for the laundry room, huh?

In our closet:

In our bedroom: 

Another bedroom verse: 

Little Man's room:

Another good one for him:

He wanted to write 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 in his room.  He wrote it all from memory.  He learned this at school this year. 

 In Sissy's room:

She and Daddy wrote this in her bathroom:

 This one is hard to read, but I wrote Deuteronomy 28:6 by our side door which we will use daily - You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

The kids had a great time helping us with this activity.  I can't believe that this is our 4th build and we only now thought to do this!!!  I'm so glad that we did - a lesson for the kids to always thank God for everything we have and to (literally) build our home on the word of God.

Quiet For Too Long

What a sad state of affairs we are facing as a country these days...So many political issues that just frustrate me to no end.  I think I may spend some of my "free time" getting involved instead of just reading things and spouting off about them to my family.

Here are some of my many concerns:

IRS vs Conservative Groups - Do we really trust this same group to run our health care?  It's scary when I hear about what Obamacare plans to do...

Obamacare Will Question Your Sex Life - Like it's anyone's business

Obamacare Forced Home Visits - Now we are allowing the government into our homes to question our ability to raise our kids based on "high risk" categories?  Doesn't anyone else see this as an opportunity for abuse...Kind of like the IRS vs. Conservative Groups???  Remember these are the same group - government employees, not doctors.

Teacher Tells Student She Can't Use God As Her Idol - Would the teacher told her the same thing if she had chosen Jesus instead of God?  

Conservative Prof. Response To Being Called "Biggest Embarrassment To Higher Education In America" - I am horrified to see how these public institutions (not Duke) are using NC tax dollars.  Wonder if my parents know how their money is being spent?

Jax 4th Grader Forced To Write Willing To Give Up Constitutional Rights - Seriously?  So glad my kids are in a private Christian school.  Just pray we don't lose the right to choose to send our kids to a school of our choice.

Iowa Dems Pray For Abortion Rights - Really?  Speechless.  These folks need to come to a service at Eleven22 to find out who God really is!

Schools Sending Fat Letters To Parents Of Overweight Kids - Like schools don't have enough to do?  Maybe schools need to take a look in the mirror and evaluate their unhealthy school lunch options before telling parents that their kids are fat.  Isn't that an issue for the doc to discuss with the parents?













Stepping off my soapbox for now....