July 4th, 2012

What a great day! 

It rained all morning here in Arizona.  A nice change from the July heat!  And then it cleared up in plenty of time for the fireworks fun!

Our fourth of July this year included a morning fill with rest and relaaxation and crafts for the kids. Then dinner of hot dogs, homemade salsa and chips, watermelon, and cake with star sprinkles.  And finally, fireworks at night!

A good time was had by all.  And here's a picture to prove it!

And follow this link for a video that documents the fun!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/42887041/2012-07-04%20After%20the%20Fireworks.AVI

I am so very thankful for the great country that we live in and for the freedoms that we enjoy!!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY 2012!

 

Overheard

My dear, sweet Allison speaks in run-on sentences and goes from one topic to the next without a pause... 

She and Carter are watching a TV show and the "big bang" theory was mentioned...

Allison says to Carter, "That's the one we don't believe in unless God made it." Then without missing a beat she looks at Carter's foot and continues, "Oh! You should have used a toe band-aid. There's one in the variety pack upsatirs."

First, her simplistic translation of our beliefs amused me and then, her ability to jump immediately to another topic cracked me up!

 

Animals in Art Class

Allison took a class at Estrella Mountain Community College this week called Animals in Art.  I thought it would be about drawing animals...  Turns out, she drew a dolphin then made a stencil from her drawing which she used to make a dolphin sculpture!  They cut out two pieces of cardboard using their stencils, then taped them to s stick, stuffed them with paper, paper mached on top, painted it all white, then painted it with colored paint today! A very cool project!

They also did "Chinese printing" which, according to Allison, is the "oldest form of printing."  For this they drew a picture, then put the picture on top of styrofoam and poked holes around the outline of their drawing.  Then they covered the styrofoam with ink, pressed a paper on otp of it, and wa-la! They had a printed image of their picture!

And finally, today they painted with watercolors (probably while waiting for their sculptures to dry!).

Here are some pictures from they Art Exhibition at the end of class today...

 

Allison is Knowledgeable

Allison's 1st Grade Promotion and Awards Ceremony was this morning...

 

All the 1st Graders received a promotion certificate

 

Ten of the scholars received certificates for being the 1st grader who best exemplifies each of the International Baccalaureate Learner Profiles. (The IB Profiles include: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced, Reflective.)

 

My amazing, wonderful and SMART little girl received an award for best exemplifying KNOWLEDGEABLE.

 

Here's what her teacher, Mrs. John, had to say...

(It's very heard to hear, so turn the volume up!)

 
And here is a picture of that amazing little girl with her Promotion certificate and her IB Learner Profile certificate.

I am very proud of you, Allison!!!
 
     

Quiet...

It's almost 5 pm and both kids are home. I am getting ready to make dinner. Usually this time of day is punctuated by noisy squabbles, occasional squeals of delight and constant noise of raucous play. But today, all is calm. There is the soft sound of carnival-type music and the occasional calm conversation between the kids.


My normally loud evening had been replaced with peace, calm, and quiet.

The kids are absorbed in playing the Nintendo DS.

Thank you Uncle Brian. THANK-YOU.

Oh wait... now they are back to arguing.  Ah, but it was nice while it lasted.

 

Today, is a beautiful, sunny spring day in Arizona.

Our precious children are playing in the back yard... The farm machine that scoops up the cut grass and pours it into the truck goes by periodically. Both kids yelp in delight and watch it go by. So cute!

Earlier, Carter took his remote control car out and put it on the lid of the toy box and let it drive off the edge... then he picked it up and did it again and again.

Now, they've retrieved their scooters from the garage and are riding them in the backyard.

All this in between climbing on their slide to talk to the over-the-wall friends.

This is what childhood is all about...

 

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Allison wants to marry Luke Skywalker.

 

   

And the Winners Are....

...Allison and Carter!

Back in October Allison and Carter entered an essay contest to "Name the Shrunken Head" at the Buckeye Museum.  Allison won in her age group for 'best story' and Carter won is his age group for "Best Name".  The Buckeye Museum kept their entries and they will become part of the permanent recods at the museum... so I can't reprint Allison's essay here, but Carter's winning name for the shrunken head was 'Little Guy'.

The big question is... 

Is it a real shrunken head or a fake?

80% of shrunken heads are fakes.

It doesn't matter to us, though!  The kids did a great job on their contest entries and we are very proud of them!

 

My Lost Boy

A video from...

 August 26, 2011

I just came across this video of Allison in a dress rehearsal for her summer Musical Theater class.  The program was Peter Pan and she was one of the "Lost Boys". 

I love this video! 

This was their final rehearsal in the studio and most kids are in costume.  The lighting is so much better for video taking, and I could get so much closer than when she's on stage! 

Plus, she can see me as I am filming...  and that brings out a couple of really cute smiles!

 

Allison Excited About School

Allison is very excited about the sight word test she had today at school...  It was a test on third grade sight words and she only missed three!

Also, at the end there's a little clip of Carter doing his preschool homework.

 

Allison's Birthday - Glofish Tank from Uncle Brian

Uncle Brian, these videos are for you...

We have three glofish and they have already been named...

green - "Pip"

purple - "Fin"

blue - "Flipper"

(I think...  I've asked her to make a name chart

 for me so I won't forget which fish is named what..)

 

Decorating Pumpkins

Meet Sheesh Feesh Maruschak

Please welcome the newest member of our family!

Sheesh Feesh Maruschak

Allison rescued this lovely (and large!) jaguar from

a consignment sale for only $3. 

Quite a find!

Sheesh needed stitches to repair a wound to her tail...

Daddy performed the operation and Sheesh is recovering well.

Mommy is adjusting to the new addition and is trying not

to be creeped out when she rounds a

corner to find a stuffed jaguar staring at her.

Allison is thrilled to have yet another new stuffed toy!!

 

Carter Says

A couple weeks ago at about 2 o'clock in the morning we are awakened by a little girl standing in our bedroom doorway shouting, "Daddy! I can't see!"


My first thought was, "Then go back to your own room where your night light is!"  Fortunately, it takes me a moment to get my bearing when I am awakened in the middle of the night, so I didn't actually say that out loud.

Notice that she calls to Dad in the middle of the night...

She knows who's more likely to wake up.

And she usually shouts.

(I think she couldn't find fleecy, so Daddy had to go rescue it. Thanks, Daddy, for taking care of that so I could stay in bed!)

Yesterday Carter and I were in the car going through the pick up line to get Allison from school.  Having had a very busy weekend, Carter was a little bit tired and dozed off for a little car snooze.  Allison climbed in the car bubbling over with infomation about her school day.  She was very excited because her class had gone to the Scholastic book fair and she'd gotten the two books she'd wanted from the flyer. 

In her normal excited Allison voice she squeeled, "And guess what?!  We went to the book fair!" 

A few second later a little sleepy voice says, "Allison, you don't have to be so loud." 

My sentiments exactly.

 

Me and My Family by Allison

 

Allison's Karate Test

On Thursday Allison had her first belt test in her new karate "White Belts" class.  She was testing for a white belt with a black stripe.  She's been practicing every day!  She had to learn two forms to complete the test. 

Check it out... she's really good!!

And here is my karate kid with her new belt, her karate instructor, Master Guffey, and her certificate!

 

Swimming

ALLISON

Allison grew by leaps and bounds at swimming lessons today.  She transformed into a fish and can swim with her head underwater!  I've watched everyone else's kids do this since our first swim lesson...and finally, Allison has figured it out and is having lots of fun! 

Here's a video of her swimming in our small backyard pool:

(There's a lot of splashing... but keep in mind it's a small, 18" deep pool so it's a little hard to actually swim in it.)

CARTER

So, after bragging about Allison, I have to say that Carter is...well, Carter is...that is, Carter is, um, taking swim lessons.  There's not much to brag about.  He's less timid around the water.  That's something, right?  He's cute, too. 

So, here's his video:

My sweet kids!

 

Happy Birthday to Uncle Brian

 

Saguaro Art by Allison

A study of Saguaros in various media.

by Allison

(Done at Naira's house during her first ever sleepover!)

Saguaro with watercolor crayons.

Saguaro with pastel crayons.

Saguaro with watercolor paint.

 

 

Allison's Last Week Of Kindergarten

The last week of school for Allison was jam-packed with activities!  It was "Spirit Week", there was a "promotion ceremony", and then there were a few tears.  (Tears from Allison!  Which made Mommy cry, too.)  My sweet little girl is now a first grader!  It seems like just a year ago I became a Mom.  Despite all I do to try to preserve these precious memories and cherish the moments, I still feel like she's growing up too fast!

Take a look:

CRAZY HAIR & CRAZY SOCK DAY

Crazy hair.

Crazy socks.

KINDERGARTEN PROMOTION

Allison and her Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Kreshak.

Allison with her promotion certificate.

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

Tears.

Allison and her best friend Naira. 

Naira is moving in July and won't be at Allison's school next year.  :-( 

Dolphin trainer with a bucket of sardine to feed her dolphins!