Karate and Bears

Today has been filled with fun with the kids! This morning, Alexa, Naomi and I took the white belt karate class. Then Alexa had her green belt test, which she ACED! Then she stayed and took the green belt class. They learned some impressive moves, including this neat spinning kick and a jumping kick while they run. Really cool and she was SO proud of herself!

This afternoon, we had our last Girl Scout field trip for the year. We went to the Build A Bear at the mall. Each girl was allotted $40 to spend however she chose - most got a bear and some outfits, although 1 girl got 2 bears and her Mom payed separately for outfits, lol. The girls were so excited to spend their money!!! And since we only had HALF the troop show, we had them make a bear for their friends. Linda's awesome husband sewed Daisy smocks for the bears to match the girls' uniforms and then Linda ironed on the Daisy petals. Holy cow did they turn out CUTE!!! And afterwards, the entire troop got free ice cream at the Dairy Queen with our Build A Bear party receipt - even the adults!!!

We got home in time for dinner and then we played outside for a bit. Naomi asked to go inside after about 30 seconds because it was chilly and the mosquitos were out in full force. That didn't surprise me because she generally doesn't like being outside unless the conditions are PERFECT! So when it was time for the rest of us to come in, I was suprised to find the front door locked. I rang the doorbell over and over and knocked and pounded to no avail. I finally had to go to the neighbor's for our spare key. Lo and behold, Naomi was sound asleep under her covers!!! She must be completely exhausted, lol! :)

After the twins were bathed (wow were they dirty and sticky!), Alexa and I played Wii Fit for a couple of hours. Now I'm the exhausted one, lol!

From Daisy to Brownie

Last night was the Girl Scout Bridging ceremony. It was a big deal with a LOT of kids and parents. I had 6 girls in my Daisy troop that "bridged" over to Brownies, including my oldest! I had the twins with me and they did fairly well considering it was like an hour and a half long and uncomfortably warm and muggy in that room. Overall it was a nice ceremony complete with cake a juice. The terrible thing was I didn't have a chance to feed the kids before we left because I had to leave when daycare closed at 5:30pm and the ceremony ended around 8pm. So yet another night of McCrap, which they love. Yuck! Naomi ended up going to karate and band practice with Dave, so she also had a crappy dinner, totally void of nutrition or vegetables, and didn't get to bed til after 10pm. Their bedtime is 7:30!! So I'm enjoying a morning of very cranky ladies!

Meagan Graduates!

Yesterday was Meagan's high school graduation! I can remember when I first met her. Dave and I were teaching at the same school - Springhill Lake Elementary - and he had brought her to work that day. She came down to my Kindergarten classroom as was playing with the dolls in my housekeeping area. I think that may have been the first "real" interaction Dave and I had! Anyway, so much has happened in the 14 years since that day!! Some great, some not so great. She has had a difficult childhood to say the least. But yesterday she seemed genuinely happy despite the actions of her "mother" and maternal grandmother. I swear they go out of their way to hurt her! Anyway, we had a wonderful day with our family and enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Sakuras! It was really nice to have Dave's dad (Papa John) with us - it meant a lot to all of us that he drove a several hours from West Virginia to share this special day. :D

Blue Crabs Campout

The girl scouts were so excited to see the baseball game (I think there was a game) and then campout and watch Kung Fu Panda on Saturday! But sometime between 4 and 5am, we were told to evacuate the girls to the main concourse to seek cover from a lightening storm that was coming through. It POURED! Linda and I had to take the tent down in the torrential rain - it was quite an experience! The girls slept through most of it in their sleeping bags on the concrete, and really don't remember much about it. In the end, we all made it home safe and sound, albeit exhausted!