Random

Tate worked his butt off and made honor roll all 4 quarters this year!

However, he is not showing a ton of advanced art skills- 

I found this drawing in his backpack recently and was in shock when he told me that it was Spiderman. He is in 3rd grade, still drawing stick figures! I honestly believe that this is a direct result of his going to school in Cali, where there is no art education in the public schools. So in Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade he was never taught/told to draw proper arms and legs! (I know this happens in Kindergarten here, because I just happened to be in the classroom this year when Macy was receiving instruction about it...) And he actually likes art. He enjoys drawing superheroes and has mentioned wanting to learn how to draw comic strips.

So, I decided he needed some art lessons this summer. He had his first one this week (with a local high school girl who's is in the advanced art program and comes to our house for $10/hr- score!) and after just 1 hour- he can now draw spiderman free hand, and very well-

Next week- how to draw arms and legs, plus staying inside the lines when coloring! HA

My friend Lauren posted a picture of her mother's day gift, and I instantly wanted one... A giant ruler to measure the kids height year after year-

Macy had just asked last month if I would chart her height on the wall and I explained that because we move all the time, starting that wouldn't make much since. I loved the idea of it, and remember how my dad would make hash marks in the bathroom doorframe of our height when we were growing up, so I was sad to not have this tradition start when Macy asked me about it. Then seeing Lauren's gift was prefect timing. And I'm proud to say I hung that big ruler on the wall myself too- and I think it's only about 1/8 inch off. Close enough for me!

I literally laughed out loud when I saw this van in the parking lot recently. It was a dad, and he clearly never has to worry about mistakenly leaving his kids unattended in a hot car-

Sunroof- open. Windows- all wide open. Door- OPEN! I did not see him exit the car, but I watched him walk back to the car and not once he did seem surprised to his his van door wide open! I can understand the sunroof, the windows in a rush- but the door? I decided that he is extremely absent minded, extremely rushed, or extremely trusting. Two of those make me question his parenting! But hey, at least the car seats were empty. Bonus points for him.

Macy got some matching doll & me clothes from Grandmommy Lynn for Christmas and still loves to wear them- and I think they are incredibly cute too-

80's hair day at school-

I almost stepped on this little guy coming out of Tate's room last month-

Before I cursed about it, I took a second to realize that there will come a day when toys will be absent from his room. When he won't actually play anymore. Sure, Tate likes his screen time, but he is also a kid who is completely satisfied to play in his room by himself. This time alone when he is using his imagination brings him great joy. And I am not ready for it to end just yet... When I realized this, I just walked right on out with a  smile on my face thinking about that little green army guy and the fun Tate must have had while playing with him earlier in the day.

Tate earned his Bear badge in Cub Scouts and is now a Webelo-

What the heck is a Webelo anyway? Prior to this level, the kids have been animals- tiger,wolf, bear. So you might think a Webelo is some rare animal, right? Wrong. Webelos is an acronym meaning "We'll Be Loyal Scouts". According to the Bear Cub Scout Book of 1954, the name originally came from the initial letters of "wolf, bear, lion, Scout", the rank of "Lion Cub Scout" became obsolete soon afterwards

Prior to Brian's deployment, Brian and I had purchased tickets to go see The Book of Mormon for Father's Day. We had both heard rave reviews (8 Tony awards is impressive) and were thrilled when we found out it would be in DC at the Kennedy Center. Then he left and I was stuck with two tickets. This is not your typical Broadway show- it was written by the creators of South Park after all, (However the music was written by the same people who did the Disney movie Frozen...) so I knew there would be very few friends who might bite to buy Brian's ticket. But lucky for me, Amy said yes and we had a great night out- 

And I will make sure to grab tickets again the very first chance I get as soon as Brian returns and the show comes back!