What they want for their birthdays this year....

Oh, and might I mention that what they WANT and what they GET may be 2 very different things!??!   We took the boys to a power sports store just to look around.  We've been kicking around the idea for some time of getting a small go-kart or Gator type vehicle.  Something that seats 2 or more, off-road, and doesn't go too fast.  And, it must have seat belts, harnesses, and other safety features.

However, boys being boys...they went straight to these!  Oh my.

This little daredevil was in LOVE.  I've never seen his eyes light up the way they did when he sat on this.  He had a smile from ear to ear and his face beamed.  And, for a split second, I actually looked at how much he loved this bike and how cool he looked on it.  I had visions of him racing motocross, flying over this big hills and speeding down the track.  And then, reality hit.  I saw trips to the ER, broken bones, stitches or worse.  And, so, I gave my standard mom answer and told him there was no way he was getting a dirt bike!!!!

And, then there was this.....  Cole refused to even get off this bike.  Even when we were walking out the door to leave.  He yelled about how "cheap" we were and had other shoppers snickering.  "I can't believe you guys won't by me this!  You guys are CHEAP!!"  "You're too CHEAP to buy me what I want!"  "My life is terrible because you guys are CHEAP!"  Yelling.  Siiiiigh.

Sorry boys.....  As cool as these are, we had to say no.  Some day when you are parents, maybe you'll understand.  But, for now, I hope you get something you love equally as much for your birthdays this year, because dirt bikes are going to be over my.  dead.  body.

Hot Air Balloon!

One of our neighbors down the road owns a hot air balloon!  Every now and then we'll see them inflate the balloon and take off from the field down the street.  However, tonight...we were in for an even special treat!  We didn't realize that the balloon was out, until someone opened the garage door and we could hear it suddenly.  And, boy did it sound close.

We yelled for the boys to get their shoes on and quickly come outside.  And, here is the view we saw.....of the balloon landing in the yard of the neighbor next door!!!!  (From this angle, we almost through it would land ON the house!)

After a few minutes, the balloon took off again and was headed in our direction!  With the balloon so close, we could literally talk to the owners!  They asked if they could land in our back yard and those boys were super excited about that thought!  Unfortunately, after getting a little bit closer, they decided not to land due to the amount of trees back there.  But, we did wave and chat with them for a few minutes while they floated down the road and landed at the house on the other side of us, before taking off again!  (Guess they were practicing their landings and take-offs!)  That's something you certainly don't see every day!

3rd Quarter Celebration | Elementary School

Each quarter, the Elementary School holds a Celebration Assembly to celebrate the students' hard work who earned A's and B's on their report cards.  Once again, Cole was recognized!  (woo hoo!!!)  The amazing thing....approximately 50% of the school received an award!!!  Wow...our teachers ROCK!

On his way up to accept his award!

What does this say, anyway?

3rd Quarter Report Cards

How is it that the 3rd Quarter has already come to an end?  This school year is on its final leg and it feels like we just started it a few weeks ago!!!

As usual, the boys did really well on their report cards!  Couldn't have asked them to do any better than this!

Cole | 3rd Quarter | 4th Grade

Cole made all A's and B's again this quarter!  While his Writing grade improved this quarter, his Reading grade dipped slightly.  But, who is going to complain about a B+???  So proud of this boy!  He works so hard in school!

Also this quarter, Cole took on his first "job!"  He is a Library Helper and is responsible for a section of Biographies in the library!  He had to apply for this position, and request what section he would like to be in charge of.  He chose Biographies since he found this year that he really enjoys reading them!  Several times each week, in his spare time, Cole goes to the library to straighten and clean his section.  And, he also must make recommendations monthly about good biographies other children should read.  Way to go, Cole!

Chase | 3rd Quarter | 1st Grade

Chase made all A's this quarter, with the exception of that darn Writing grade that he struggle so much with.  I would argue that it is because the grade is based on a single writing sample each quarter, which he always seems to bomb for some reason.  Other writing work I've seen him do seem to be much better, so I'm not sure this is a fair assessment.  But, whatcha gonna do?   The rest of his grades were terrific!  Keep up the good work, Chase!

Obsession

The boys are obsessed with Minecraft.  Obsessed.  Its what they do night and day.  And, if the iPod and Kindle aren't within arm's reach, you'd think they were missing a limb!  On our way out the door to Scouts tonight, they were (as usual) playing their games.  Had to snap a quick picture of these Scouts doing what they love to do.  (And, no it isn't hiking or helping others...)  Maybe they can earn the video game belt loop and make this at least halfway worthwhile?

Wacky Wednesday

This is Dr. Seuss week and today was "Wacky Wednesday" where the kids were asked to dress in their craziest get-ups!  I meant to get a picture of Chase, but just completely forgot in all the busyness before school.  But, as I was browsing Facebook today, I saw that someone had posted a picture of his class!  While you can really only see the top of Chase's head, its the best (and only) pic we have!

He wore his camo long underwear, with a pair of black soccer shorts over it.  One LOONG Santa clause sock, and one shorter PINK (Ha!) sock.  Then, he wore his Spongebob PJ top with a Royals cap to top it off!  It was quite the look!

Random recent schoolwork and artwork

As the boys get older, I notice that they bring home less and less cute little works of art.  Instead, that has been replaced by math tests, writing assessments, and science experiment results.  But, every now and then, I see a cute little work of art!  Here are some random papers (and works of art!!) that they have brought home from school.  They both do really well in school!

Cole's work

Chase's work

Haircut day!

Just a couple of pics of Chase getting his haircut today.  (Didn't even think to get the camera out while Cole was getting his done.  BAD Mom!!!)  The boys love the new barber in town!  He makes haircuts fun and always jokes with the boys.  If we mention getting a haircut, I think the boys beat us parents out to the car!

100th Day of School!

The Primary School always has a celebration for the 100th day of school.  Unfortunately, with all the snow days we've had this year, it was delayed a little.  But, better late than never!!!!!!  Chase's class was asked to bring in a snack with 100 pieces.  He chose popcorn!  So, the night before, he carefully counted out 100 kernels to pack in his backpack for his special treat.

From the looks of it, I'd say he had a good day!  Love the "100" glasses his class is wearing!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Look at this beautiful diamond Cole made for his Mommy at school today!  :)  He said he thought it was "lame" for the boys to have to make a ring.  But, then when the teacher told him he could give it to his mom, he thought that was great idea and got to work on it!  

Class Newsletter

This week, Chase is featured in his teacher's class newsletter!  His favorite part of school is recess....LOL! That's my boy!

Playing around

Ok...this tihs post isn't technically about anything the boys have done.  Instead, its about Mom...who spent an evening messing around with a phone app and got some really funny pics of the boys.  Well, *I* thought so anyway.  They weren't as amused...  :)

Report Cards 2nd Quarter

Today was report card day!  As usual, the boys did very well in school for the 2nd Quarter (with one exception for Chase)!

Cole | 2nd Quarter | 4th Grade
Cole loves school!  And, it is really showing!  Not only are his grades fantastic, we are incredibly proud that he has been able to pull up his grades in the non-academic areas that he always struggles with!  He moved from "Inconsistent" to "Consistent" in the areas of Completes Work on Time, Participates in Class, Makes Good Choices and Accepts Responsibility, and Works Well With Others!  This is huge for Cole and he is normally so 'tuned out' in class that he doesn't participate or complete work.

We also received a new goal sheet for Cole from his Special Ed teacher.  This sheet also shows improvements in the amount of writing Cole is completing on his own and that he is starting assignments without being prompted.  We are so proud of the progress he is making and the way he is trying his best in school!

The only area in which his grade dropped a little was in writing.  He moved from "Proficient" to "Basic".  Not sure what caused this drop, but we will keep an eye on things.

Cole's 2nd Quarter Report Card | 4th Grade

Chase | 2nd Quater | 1st Grade
Chase also loves school this year!  Overall he is a good student and gets great weekly reports from his teacher.  The work he brings home each week is also very good.  And, his grades reflect that with an 80% in Reading Comprehension and a 94% in Spelling!  Math has dropped to 74%, which could use some improvement.  (But with 2 parents who struggled with math all throughout school, this is sort of a given.  Ha ha!)

The one bad grade on his report card is a failing grade in "Writing Traits."  This is very disappointing to us because we know that Chase is a good writer.  Unfortunately, it appears that the grade was based solely off of a single writing assessment, where he was tasked to develop an outline for his writing, then write a story about the a time when he was sick.

Either he didn't want to do the assignment, or he wasn't focused at all.  Or, maybe its the fact that he hasn't been sick (knock on wood) in ages and he just didn't have a good recall of the details.  Who knows.  But, the writing is probably the worst thing I've seen him do all year.  And, obviously the poor grade reflects it.  Siiiigh.  Hopefully he will try a little harder next quarter.

Chase's 2nd Quarter Report Card | 1st Grade

 Attached to the report card is the writing assessment that the writing grade is based on.  (Apparently this is the only thing the grade was based on, which is a shame.  Clearly Chase bombed this assignment.)

Outline of his writing assignment.

"Being sick.  Go to the doctor.  Lay in bed." 

"Drink a lot.  Have you been sick?"

Scoring sheet.  The blue highlighted areas apply to Chase's story. 

We're going to have a talk with Chase about this writing assignment and how he needs to apply himself on each and every assignment.  Hopefully 3rd quarter will be better than this one.  Although, outside of this one assignment, he seems to be doing fairly well in school!

The newest little Tiger Cub Scout!

So after watching Cole participate for the last few years in all those fun scout meetings and activities, it is FINALLY Chase's turn to join in the action!  He has been waiting for over a year to be old enough to join!  And, even though he missed the first few meetings while finishing up football, he didn't mind at all.

Here he is....the newest cub scout!  (And, not at all thrilled that I was taking his picture!)

Isn't he adorable???


















He is so excited to finally be participating in the Pinewood Derby next week!  He has been waiting a long time for this...