More from the Back Bay

Here are a few more shots from our afternoon on the boat. After about an hour of cruising we thought about heading in, but as we neared the marina we saw our military relations senior missionary couple on the pier. We pulled up and took them for a ride around the bay. They had just been saying to one another that they needed to meet someone with a boat! They are so fun. We all think they are just great! We had a relaxing ride and then called it a day.

Monday on the Back Bay

Since the kids were out yesterday we wanted to do something fun and since the weather was beautiful we wanted to do something outside. The answer? Renting a party boat from Outdoor Rec and hitting the Back Bay. Here are some photos of the kids having a great time out on the water. Dustin even let them "drive" a little. The bird is "Pella" or "Pelly" depending on who you ask in our family. He or she, again that is also up for debate, tagged along for most of our trip. I am pretty sure it thought we'd throw him some fish. He even landed right on our boat and one time tried to eat our fishing lure. We brought it in after that so the dumb bird wouldn't get hurt. FYI: Pelicans like fish and not Chips Ahoy, even though their name sounds all nautical and all!

Henry the Helper

The night before last, Kelsey had a really rough night. I am pretty sure it was those pesky molars coming in that were causing all the trouble. So yesterday she was a total crab apple. I was trying to get lunch made and she was just throwing a terrible fit. She wouldn't stop crying for the longest time and, then all of a sudden, she stopped. I called to Henry to ask where the baby was and he said, "Asleep in my bed!" Now, that is super weird. This is what I found when I went to his room. He had indeed put little Kelsey to bed! Of course she's not safe there so I moved her to her own crib, but Henry was so proud of himself and I was so happy she quit fussing!

A Blue Ribbon for Jeffrey!

We are so excited to announce that Jeff's reading fair board won first prize for it's division. We put it in the K-3 Family division because Jeff and I did it together. He did most of the painting, he dictated the answers to the questions, he cut everything out with the sizzix and cricut, and he helped glue it all down. Now his board goes onto the district reading fair in February!

Reading Fair Display Boards

The Mississippi State Board of Education hosts a reading fair each year. 3rd-12th grades are required to create a tri-fold display board featuring a book they have read. K-2 grade can make boards too, but they are optional. I had a lot of fun helping the boys with their projects. Henry chose the book Hide Clyde! and Jeff chose A Grand Old Tree. The boards compete in school reading fairs, district reading fairs, and finally a state reading fair. I think they turned out really great. The boys worked very hard on their projects. Look closely at Henry's board and you can see where Henry cut out chameleons and we carefully matched them up on the border of the board. I thought that was a great idea!

Second Term Awards-Way to Go Boys!

Here are the boys at the Second Term Awards Ceremony. This one went much better than the First Term Awards Ceremony. We hadn't been at the school very long so, while the boys report cards showed they had earned awards they weren't awarded any because they hadn't been there long enough. That was tough because I had told them they had earned awards. Oops! So this time their names were called and smiles resulted! Jeffrey is working so hard with his good eye patched. His grades have shown a steep decline, however we are all working hard for him and are hopeful they will slowly pick up. He received a Perfect Attendance award. Jeffrey is the picture of tenacity! He keeps on trying! Henry made the A/B Honor Roll and earned 3 other awards for his CTA ( I have no idea what that stands for!) assessment test scores. He even has a 100% in Social Studies. We are very proud of Henry! Now if only he could be a little more responsible about things we might have straight As!

Hello 2011!

I have been trying to post this for a while now, but I am still having trouble with my photo upload!

This was our New Year's Day adventure. We went and toured scale replicas of Columbus' Nina and Pinta. They were so SMALL!! I can't believe they crossed oceans in these things. It truly is amazing. We had a fun time going all over both ships and learning neat things from the crew. Did you know the Nina was Columbus' favorite? Yep, she was! The Santa Maria was his least favorite- she sunk!