Brock's 14th Birthday

Another year for this fella has come and gone.  He's still not taller than me; however, he's wearing a 9.5 in men's shoes, so I know it's not going to be much longer.

He was wise to the fact that these were trick candles, so he resorted to putting them out with his fingers.  Fun buster!

For his birthday, he had friends over, so we made it a day of basketball and scavenger hunts.  They had jolly-good time.  😂

For the Selfie Scavenger Hunt, the boys had to separate into two groups.  Their mission was to complete a variety of tasks and take a selfie while doing them.  Somehow, Brock's team pictures got deleted a few weeks after the hunt, but I was able to snatch these from his friends.  

Birthday Breakfast 

(donuts and bacon)

Oh, wait!  We need a candle in it!

He wouldn't let me sing in front of his friends, and again, he used his fingers to put out the candle. 😞

After friends were gone, Grammie and Papa came over to deliver Brock's gift.  Grammie is known for her clever packaging techniques, and this gift did not fail.  It was a box wrapped in newspaper with a string coming out of the side.  Brock's instructions were to pull the string.  As soon as he touched the string, Grammie did this...

He took that as a clue that something was bound to explode out of the box.

At this point, he is terrified -- praying for the safety of himself and those around him (maybe a little less dramatic that that).

Here goes nothing!

When he pulled the string, Papa sounded an airhorn that was in his pocket.  Grammie then advised Brock that she looked for some sort of explosives to put inside, but none really met the safety requirement needed for survival.

Gotcha!

Easter 2019

Happy Easter! These kids are growing way too fast!

Chick Mania 2019

This embryology unit was a little worrisome for my 3rd graders -- thinking that the chicks may not hatch in time before they had to leave, or if they were even going to hatch at all.  With a little help from Mr. Stehlik, we were able to hatch 12 chicks with plenty of time to play with them before they found their new, happy homes. 😉

My kids always love this part of the year!

This year was a little different in that we had a snow day during our week of chicks.  This eliminated one day of chick-playing for my students.  The teachers were then able to keep their chicks through the weekend so we could have an extra day with them on Monday.  Some teachers kept their chicks at school, but Sophie was adamant about bringing ours home for a little chicksitting.

This girl LOVES all animals...even rabid raccoons.

To conclude our time with the chicks at school, the students take a picture with their favorite baby chick and write a poem as a keep sake.  This chicky fell asleep, and was OUT for at least two minutes.  It was so surprising to see how the chicks interacted with the students.  They loved being held, toted, and when the kids would make them little nests out of paper towels, they would lay down and fall asleep on right on top of their "nests."

 The hubs and kiddos definitely know how to make me feel special.  I am not one that likes a lot of extra attention, but I was very humbled by their thoughtfulness.  They brought me all of my favorite things!  For this birth week, my stomach has seen better days, so I am going to try my best to save most of these items for other special occasions...after the cake and cookie are gone!

The girls also got me a lavender and lilac scented candles to use with my baths.  

Sophie made me a pre-birthday birthday cake: confetti cake with rainbow chip frosting -- YUM!

When it came out of the oven, part of the center wasn't cooked all the way, so it had to be removed and eaten (because baked goods are so much tastier when undercooked).  I took out the center, and Sophie cleaned up the edges.  

Birthday dinner at home: Grilled steak and chicken with baked potatoes and salad.  

While Chad grilled, the kids played a little b-ball in the finally nice weather.

On Friday, we went out to celebrate Brock's and my birthday.  Excellent choice!  It was a wonderful family dinner!

Shed Hunting with My Love

I found a lot of the little ones...surprisingly!  Must have been the luck I got from the "Mike Tyson face tattoo."

Adios, Pepinos!

As you look out of your window and think to yourself..."Man, I wish we could have just a few inches more of snow," we are reminded of the most recent snow day...Snow Day #2 (bum, bum, bummmm!).  As always, we made the most of our unexpected time off.  Here are some of our highlights of the day:

Reading the Blog Book to Sugar:

Organizing classroom station ideas with a cup of joe and a view of the blustery snow fall.

Meanwhile outside, our wonderful neighbor has been taking his time each snowfall to come and plow our driveway.  We are so grateful for kind and thoughtful neighbors!

Clearing snow from the pond to slide:

 Sophie and Kynleigh's Snowman, Fred AKA Eddy.

Pig Nicholas withstands the blizzard:

Bath Bombs!

I had to try one of these to see if they lived up to the hype.

A little relaxation, and yes, the lemongrass bath bomb definitely made the bath more enjoyable!

Fixin' fence in the blizzard:

Snow Cones with Booger Bear

Box Social 

For her 4th Grade Box Social, Sophie wanted to create a replica of our Big Red Barn, and she did just that!  Dad helped with some, but Sophie was in charge of most of the measuring, cutting, glueing, and painting.

Sophie's Basketball Team 2018-2019

They have grown so much this year as a team.  I am looking forward to many more games in the future!

Painting Fun!

Reason #2 for not ever wanting to be sick: Substitute Aftermath