"He's wearing my scarf!"

One of the 8th grade girls came to class with a scarf around her neck. One of the boys asked to borrow it and wore it for a few minutes. One of the other boys said, "You must be gay if you're wearing that." I replied, "Cross-dressers are not necessarily homosexuals." This opened the door for a bunch of questions I was NOT going to answer. I'm going to have to learn to bite my tongue a LOT in this new job!

Go Falcons!

The prince attended his first high school football game. Although they didn't win, it was a good game and he enjoyed himself. We'll get them next time!

Go Falcons!

Middle School!

This is what a middle schooler looks like--complete with middle school sneer. Notice she too is wearing her new Chucks--they're purple. She's also wearing her skinny jeans. I HATE skinny jeans, but it was really hard to find anything else this year. She's lovin' them. She'll do well in middle school. It's a building/atmosphere made for her. Rock on, brainiac sister!

High School!

Yep, this is what the bestest, gosh, darn freshman around looks like! Gotta love him, with his new "Chucks" (that's his Converse High Top Sneakers for those of you not in the know), plaid shorts and Pink Floyd t-shirt. Don't worry; he's getting a hair cut on Saturday, but we let him go all shaggy this week! Compromise, compromise, compromise. He had a great first day of school. He didn't get lost, had someone he knew in each of his classes, and found his locker after only 3 tries! We'll see how tomorrow goes when everyone is there! We just love this kid!

Back to work for me!

I went back to work yesterday and started a new job in the big ol' scary middle school. So far so good, but the kids haven't arrived yet. Today the sheriff came to give a talk on gangs, which are alive and well in our community! Who knew? Well the middle school teachers did. I can see I've got a lot to learn! I did manage to steal a "good" chair from one of the teachers in my "pod". I really thought I had one up on him until he told me he got to order an even better chair. So NOW I'm gonna have to steal that chair when it comes! And I'm going to have to go over to the college where I graduated and pick up a bunch of "Go Bears" stuff cuz there is far too much of other peoples' college stuff around the building. College rivalry is all the rage in this new building.

The prince starts high school tomorrow. Truth be told, I think we're all a little nervous for him. But he'll be fine (we keep telling ourselves). We're going out to dinner tomorrow night so he can tell us all about it. Stay tuned...

Whoot Whoot!

I LOVE this girl, and not just because yesterday she was named to an advanced competition dance team! We're so proud of her. Where, you might ask, does she get such talent? All I can say is, "NOT FROM ME!" You go girl!

Got Milk?

What kind of mom runs out of milk?

In 14+ years of doing this mom-gig, I have NEVER run out of milk!!! But we ran out yesterday. And that's not bad enough. Since finding out we were out of milk, I've been to a convenience store TWICE and not thought to pick up any!!!

Please nominate me for mother-of-the-year. I'll win; I just know it!

End of an Era

One of my missions this summer was to clean out the movie cabinet. We have one working VCR and lots of VHS tapes that the kids never watch anymore. I hate to just throw away Disney. It doesn't seem right! So the princess organized the videos and then she and her brother hauled them upstairs. We invited two friends with kids the right age to take these great movies off our hands, and they divided them up! Phew! We were a little sad to see them go, but now we have more room for all the wii gadgets. And never fear, we did save the very best movies...Lion King, Shrek, Toy Story...to enjoy occasionally...at least until the VCR dies.

Keys

I'm a bit worried. I'm starting a new job next Monday in the Middle School. I went to pick up keys to my new building and found I was issued 4 keys. Apparently they lock up a lot of stuff in Middle School. Either that or they lock the kids up a lot! There's a front door key, a room key, a key to the closet, and a master key for all the lockers! Yikes!

I'm used to working in a building where the only stuff kids are usually interested in stealing is your candy stash!

Another Sign of Fall

My sister just reminded me of another sign of fall:

I'm not on the computer as much!

It's true; I'm back at work this week.

Signs of Fall

Say it ain't so, but it is. Here's the proof:

1. I have to go back to work tomorrow.

2. The princess has all of her school supplies organized, labeled, and ready to go.

3, The prince goes back next Wednesday.

4. The princess goes back next Thursday.

5. Mums are starting to bloom in my neighborhood.

6. Saddest of all, some tree leaves are starting to turn yellow.

Who Wants "Smore"?

I believe the pictures say it all!

Yum, yum, yum!

Fair Dancing

The princess got to dance at the fair this week. It's hard to get into those slinky little dance costumes when it's 90*+, and you're sweating like a pig. But she managed to pull it off and dance divinely! Dance season gears up next week with a week of rehearsals before competition team try-outs. It's a good thing too, because she's about grown out of these costumes!

Weather Woes

We were suppose to be taking the kids to the water park today, but the clouds are rolling in and the temps are only in the low 80's so it looks like we're headed to BAND SLAM. It premiers today. The kids are excited to see it. Shelley and I would rather be seeing Julie and Julia, but a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do. We'll miss our little Skabelunditoes when they leave tomorrow. We've sure had lots of fun.

Fair Fun

Here are a few shots from the fair the other day! Hot times at the ol' fair! And good times too.

Andy LOVED the hypnotist!

The prince was a great sport to take Andy on lots of rides.

The prince and Andy.

Jared and the princess.

The princess won both races down the fun slide.

Climbing Camp

The prince, princess, and Cousin Jared took a rock climbing camp this week. They spent one morning at the indoor rock climbing place, learning to climb and belay. After that, they spent the last 2 mornings climbing the Rims. They had a great time. I highly recommend this camp!

This is the general terrain.

Coming down after the first day of outdoor climbing.
This is the only photo of the princess that I got.
Sorry princess!

Cousin Jared, climbing.

The prince, climbing.

I watched and photographed from a distance.

The princess was already done with her climbs.

Smarter than we look!

My sister's in town, and we decided to take the kids to the fair. We hemmed and hawed about when to go--which date/time of day--which "value" was best, though really, there is no "value" when you go to the fair.

Tuesday seemed the best day since A) the princess had to dance there that day anyway, and B) is was "Snapple Day" which meant the princess and her cousin would get in free with a Snapple bottle.

Then came our next decision: go during the day, when ride wrist bands were $20 each but the heat promised to reach over 90* or go in the evening, when it would be cooler? The problem with the evening was that it was "Buddy Night" which meant 2 for 1 entrance to the fair and 2 for 1 ride wristbands.

Hmmm...

We opted for the blistering heat. It was a good choice. The kids had no wait on the rides. They rode from noon until about 3:00 when we took a break to go watch a hypnotist in the shade. A few more rides then we were off to find dinner (Hey, a foot-long corndog is only about $5!!) and watch the princess dance.

Maybe we weren't as smart as we thought when we planned this day as we were hot, sweaty, and exhausted by the time we left, but we still looked smarter than the people coming in in DROVES, and I do mean DROVES, when we left!

Who Knew?

I've been walking mornings with my sister. We walked by the golf course the other day. Yesterday we walked at the school. We should have walked at the golf course and we might have seen Kelly Clarkson golfing! (She was in town for a concert last night.)

Who knew?

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Blake and Robin!

PHEW!

Last day of summer school!!!!   

YIPPEE!!!!

And only 1/2 the kids showed up--even better!

Gotta tell ya, Middle School teachers should get extra pay!  

Five Footer

The princess has now slightly passed the 5 foot mark. For some reason, this causes great excitement in her world. Oddly, when shopping for school clothes with her the other day, I noticed that the pants are still too long--even with her much taller status. At least she's in jr. sizes now so I might be able to find a petite. Either that or Grandma might have to break out her sewing machine!

Along that line, the prince does not want wide leg jeans this year. He wants them just plain ol' straight. I guess that's good because the other alternative is "skinny" jeans, and the prince (princess for that matter too) does not need to attempt SKINNY JEANS!

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner

Did you see 21? If not, you won't get that title.

Anyway, the prince is a big winner! He's been known to find $10 while walking to the neighbor's. He found a Gameboy on the playground when he was young. He turned it in, and at the end of the school year no one had claimed it so it was his. Last year he entered to win baseball tickets at our bank and won. Today we got a call from the last place he got his hair cut. He entered to win there, and tonight he can go to the baseball game if he wants because there are two tickets waiting for him at "will call".

What a lucky duck!

Mexican Fiesta!

Today the princess danced at our city's Mexican Fiesta to celebrate the Mexican culture here. Though we've never been to it, we always wanted to, and since she was dancing, it seemed like the perfect time.

Her dancing was awesome, as usual. She did a dance she doesn't usually do, and it was no problem for her. She had to borrow a costume for it, and it was a LITTLE short, but it all worked out!

When we got married we lived next to the Gomez family and hoped to run into Mr. Gomez at the park today. As luck would have it, we did, and got to catch up on all the family news. Mr. and Mrs. Gomez had very young grandchildren when we lived by them. Though Mrs. Gomez passed away, Mr. Gomez is now a great grandpa. You wouldn't know it to look at him!

It was certainly HOT today, 95* as she was dancing. The fiesta featured great food, music, ethnic dancing (with a little "cool kid" thrown in), and a car show. We'll definitely go back next year and sample the FOOD! It was a "muy caliente" time!

VIVA LA MEXICO!