Proud of My Kids

Saturday was our official celebratory breakfast for the kids 1st quarter grades.  Both kids were able to manage straight A's while both being in sports.  Ra played football this year for the middle school team at school - his last game is tomorrow night.  He's been super busy with practices every night and games on Tuesdays.  On game nights he wouldn't get home till 9pm after being at school by 7:30 in the morning.  Those are long days but somehow he managed!  He's also taking pre-algebra which until now, was a 7th grade course.  There is only one section of pre-algebra in all of the 6th grade and Ra seems to be handling the extra work load (and skipping 6th grade honors math) just fine.

Sis scored a 100% in Bible this quarter and a 99% in spelling!  She earned A's in every subject that you can earn a letter grade.  This is quite a feat while spending 9 1/2 hours Mon-Fri in the gym for practice!  We typically have to start homework on the weekend just to make sure we have enough time but she doesn't complain.  She's been showing great progress with her reading...She's been the exact opposite of Riley.  She doesn't read for pleasure, but reads because it's required.  I'm working closely with her teacher to help build a love for reading.  She just prefers to be more active and not sit still for long.  We've started reading in the car so she can play more at home.  Seems to be working so far!

We rode our bikes to the Metro Diner in Jax Beach for their straight A breakfast.  They were both super excited and love this tradition.  The Metro is our FAVORITE diner in Jax.  There is always a long line to get a seat but it's always worth the wait!

Baking Up A Storm!

It's no secret that I love baking yummy treats for my family.  Ra had been asking for my delicious pumpkin whoopie pies so I decided it was time to satisfy his sweet tooth!  The day before I made 2 crumb top apple pies that he tried to devour before Andy could even get a piece!  I made these to distract him from the pies!

These didn't even last a week in our house!  We also gave some to our friends who love them as much as Ra does!  

Ra started asking about the lemon flavored ones this past weekend.  Won't he be surprised to open the fridge to find this surprise after football practice tonight?!?

He is just like his daddy when it comes to homemade yummy treats.  The way to his heart is definitely through his stomach!  Both my boys were happy last week with lots of choices!

Practice Pays Off

Here she is working on her cast squat on.  This is the skill that she will use before jumping to the high bar.  It's a level 4 skill but she'll most likely compete as a level 3 for this upcoming season.  She's getting to learn a lot of advanced skills so when she does move up, she'll be ready.  She has no fear to stand on the bar and jump off...I'm so proud of the progress she's made!  

Get On The Bus

There is this great idea called The Brew Bus here in Jax.  You can reserve a spot on the bus to take a tour of local micro brews.  There was a Groupon for a Sampler Tour that I purchased for a date night idea.  The idea of the bus is great, but we thought it could have been organized much better.  

We got on the bus at Engine 15 here in Jax Beach.  They started with offering us a sample of their own beer.  Sadly, they started with an IPA which kills your taste buds for trying anything else!  We got these cute sampler glasses to use throughout the night.

After our sample, we got to try a full can of beer from their line.  I had a blueberry wheat which was pretty good.  It is their award winning beer.  Thankfully it wasn't too sweet, but starting with an IPA then to a wheat wasn't the best idea.  We got to sample their other beers as well while on the bus.  

Our first stop was in San Marco at Aardwolf.  Andy and I had been here before and we weren't impressed.  We've tried a number of their beers and neither of us found one we liked.  One of the rooms have these huge fans.  Andy said "Look at that big @$$ fan!"  Funny thing was when I looked up, the name on the fan was "Big Ass Fan!"

Our next stop was at Bold City Brewery in Riverside.  This was our favorite of the night.  Andy loves Duke's Cold Nose Brown Ale and now has fallen in love with their 1901 Red Ale.  I like their Killer Whale Cream Ale and Fritz Hefeweizen.

After we left Bold City, we headed on to Intuition Ale Works which is also in Riverside.  We both found a few beers we liked there.  Andy picked up a tank top for me that has an outline of the state of Florida with the phrase, "Drink Beer From Here" on it.  

We then headed back to Jax Beach via the Bus.  One guy on the bus ended up throwing up about 10 minutes from home.  It was nasty.  That was a negative but not sure how it could have been avoided.  We were also disappointed in that the cost, we only received a sample size of two beers at each brewery and they weren't samples of our choosing but the choosing of the Brew Bus employees.  Any other beers we drank, we paid for at each location.  The other disappointing thing was that we were under the impression that at each place, we'd get a tour and info about each brewery...that never happened.  So basically we paid for a few drinks and a bus ride to and from the other side of town.  We were glad we tried it, but neither of us want to go again.  We got our tickets for half price and that still seems expensive for what we got.  I sure am glad we didn't try it without a Groupon!  At least we didn't have to pay for a sitter!  ;)

First Quarter is in the Books!

I walked K to class yesterday and found her Fabulous Me Poster hanging in the hallway. Here's what it says. 

I love: gymnastics
Someday I will: be a gymnast
I wish: to do gymnastics
I like to: do gymnastics
I am good at: gymnastics
I love: gymnastics
I want to: do gymnastics
I love to doodle: animals

Not surprised, are you? Me neither! Gymnastics must be too hard to doodle!

She also had a writing piece on what she thinks Heaven is like that was hanging in the hallway.  She had so many good details in her piece.  I was so thrilled that she knows what to look forward to someday!  

Her Parent/Teacher conference this week went well.  It was exciting for me to see how well she's doing.  Her teacher said K is always raising her hand to answer questions - one of her top 5 students she knows will have her hand up!  That's never been like her before!  She loves her teacher this year - probably more than any teacher in the past.  It's evident by her performance in the classroom so far!   Looks like a breakfast celebration is going to be in order!  She's been able to maintain all A's even with spending 9 1/2 hours a week in the gym at practice!  I'm so proud of her!

Cooler Weather Is Here!

Sunday was finally cool enough to enjoy a fire in our fire pit.  The kids got the wood out of the box to make sure it was dry enough to burn after we got home from church.  We started the fire around dinner time and roasted hotdogs for dinner on the fire.

Everyone loves roasted hotdogs on the open flame.

Of course we had to have a few s'mores, mountain pies and roasted apples on the fire for dessert.  

It was such a peaceful and relaxing way to end our weekend.  Andy spent a good bit of the day at the office trying to catch up on work from being gone all last week and traveling again this week.  It was a great way for him to unwind before getting back into the grind again.

Lessons Learned

We were out running some errands this weekend and I needed to pick up a Starbucks gift card for a present.  The kids begged me for a vanilla bean frappe.  We looked at the prices.  For 1 small, it would cost $3.25.  For 1 large, it would cost $4.45.  I told them I would buy a large for them to share or none at all.  You can see they decided to get along and share the large.  Win-win for mom!

Nittany Lion Fans

Every Saturday Jerry's Grille hosts the Jax PSU alum & friends chapter to watch the football games during the season.  We have been going since we lived here the first time.  The owner of Jerry's is from Pennsylvania.  She also hosts Eagles fans for games on Sundays.  One of these weekends, Ra and I will go to watch a game together!  It's a great place to eat, drink and cheer on the Nittany Lions with lots of shouts of "We Are!" throughout the bar!  It's also very family friendly so it's great that we can take the kids with us.  They have the BEST nachos in town!  I look forward to them every weekend!

Party Season...

And the partying continues!  Aila is on team with Sis and had her birthday party at the gym Friday night after practice with all of her teammates helping her celebrate.  The girls had so much fun playing in the gym. They played hide and seek in the dark, sharks and lifeguards, got to have fun on the tumble track, etc.  I am so happy with our switch to Beaches Gymnastics.  Her teammates are so sweet and she has sit in so well there!  I'm excited to see what this season brings!

My Little Bookworm

Sissy isn't interested in reading...She hasn't been.  She will do extra math for fun, but won't read for fun.  I finally found some books about gymnastics.  She was reading non-stop for 2 days.  She would read in the car to and from school, at dinner and breakfast, etc.  I got some more from the library and have a few more on hold for her too.  Whatever it takes to get her to read!  Her teacher and I have a goal to foster a love for reading in my baby girl.  So far, we are off to a good start!

Stallion Football

Last Tuesday was possibly the last football game that Ra will play for the season.  There is a chance they will reschedule a B Team game against UC, but we haven't heard yet.  We decided to give Ra's coaches permission to let him play in the game on Tuesday against St. John's Country Day in Clay County.  He didn't play much, which was fine because he is still in a splint and healing from his torn tendon - Doc said he shouldn't be playing but...well...Here he is in action.

In this clip, he's the ball carrier.

In this clip, he's the wideout on the near side of the field.

They suffered a difficult loss to SJCD 25-6.  They had a great first play of the game that resulted in a touch down, but that was about it.  They are struggling with tackling this season.  The B Team is all 6th graders with half the 7th graders.  The other half of the 7th graders are on the A Team.  Ra has had a wonderful time this season.  I've been pleased with the way he's grown so far this year.  He's even more confident and more social than I've ever seen him before. 

It's Pumpkin Everything Season

Most people know how much we like Cinotti's pumpkin donuts.  This was the second year they opened at midnight for an hour for their pumpkin premier.  They only make pumpkin donuts for one season.  I ordered us a dozen and headed there at midnight so the family could have them when they woke up in the morning.  It was a fun event to be a part of this year.  The kids both woke up before their alarms to get downstairs to the donuts before their dad!

Party Season

I've lost track of the number of birthday parties my kids have been invited to this fall!  I'm thankful they have so many sweet friends.  There are parties almost every weekend and sometimes all weekend!  Both kids had parties to go to this past weekend.

Here is Sis at a party with her gym buddies.  They went to Rebounderz to jump on the trampolines then headed to Peterbrooke to make candy.

Sis has another party this Friday night and Ra has 2 good buddies who also have fall birthdays so the fun will continue for awhile!

We Are!

Flying the flag with pride here in the Sunshine State.  We've been watching games at Jerry's Grille every Saturday with the rest of the blue and white faithful.  It's fun to cheer on the team with the alum and fans!  It's like Cheers for PSU family!

Still Growing

Even though most places, people are finished gardening, here things are starting to grow again.  Now that the nights are cooler (but still very humid) and the sun is a bit less intense, my garden is starting to flourish again.  

I had read that if you replant celery that it will grow back so I finally tried it!  It WORKS!

Our peppers are still growing strong too.  These are habaneros.

The tabasco peppers are out of control!

I've also got basil, mint and strawberries still growing and I tried replanting some lettuce.  We'll see how that works out but worth a try, right?