Sunday, January 30, 2011

3rd Grade Concert Night...

Big night for the 3rd graders last week. It was the 3rd Grade Music Concert. There was singing, and dancing, and instrument playing. I'm sure it was not an easy feet to organize 150+ third graders to do all of those things.

Ben...can you find him??

Drew...looking cool, as usual.

Jack is all ready to go.

And, just for the record, I took those pictures, from my seat, over the span of about 10 seconds. If you were there, you know what I'm talking about.... after the kids came in, about 50 crazy parents rushed up to the front of the gym to get pictures and stood there for a long enough to take about 100 pictures. The vice-principal finally had to make them all sit down. She even gave them a count down...like the kind I give to Charlie when his time is up "playing trains". "Ok (freaky) parents, you are all going to have to sit down when I get to five...1-2-3-4-5. Time to sit down now so that we can get started." It was craziness. I really regret not getting a picture of that mad scene!

Back to the singing and dancing...and cute 3rd graders...
...and instrument playing too.




The classes came down 2 at a time to "star" in a couple of songs. I don't think Ben liked being front and center. He was adorable, but see how he is looking off to the side. He did that the entire time that he was up front. After 30 seconds or so, he would smile a little and slowly move his head to the other side.


Quite a different story from the last time he was on stage singing...at VBS last summer.
Yup, during that concert, he directed one of these faces at me, right from the middle of the stage while singing his sweet Bible songs.
These concerts are always a good show.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Pinewood Derby #3

I just realized that if Charlie stays in Cub Scouts for the full 5 years, we are going to participate in 9 Pinewood Derbys. That is a lot of Pinewood Derbys. We ought to win it at some point...after making 20 cars, plus the extra "little brother car" that Charlie has been requesting the last couple of years. Lots of practice...


Last weekend was our Pinewood Derby #3.


I included this picture of the track. Spencer has been talking about how "high tech" it is compared to what he raced his cars on when he was a Cub Scout. Now, in 30 years, the boys can show their kids the old-fashioned track that they used to race on.



Ready to go...


Ben's car is the blue one. It was a very cool car with shiny silver windows and a cool tail.


Jack's car is the green one. Jack did not care what it looked like, he just wanted it to be FAST! "Jack, what shape do you want your car?" "I don't care, I just want it to be fast". "Jack, what color are you going to paint your car?"..."I don't care, I just want it to be fast".
"Jack, do you think you should sand your car some more?"..."No, I just want it to be fast! I just want to WIN!!!"



The yellow and red car is Drew's car. It also has green sides. Drew wanted it to look like a skateboard.



Ben was the "starter" for their first race. All 3 brothers raced together in their first heat. Unfortunately, Ben's car ended up getting disqualified in the first heat. He had a lot of weight in the back of the car, which apparently caused his car to jump the track. He was a trooper by keeping his chin up when he had to be the starter for the re-do race that did not include his car. He was really disappointed, but he felt a bit better when he placed 1st in the remaining 3 heats.



Watching their first race.



Jack's car did pretty well, but Mr. "I just want a fast car" also put a lot of weight in the back of his car. His car ended up spinning out at the end of the 3rd heat and didn't cross the finish line. That 9 sec. penalty time ruined his chances for finishing well. He also was disappointed, but managed to keep a smile on his disappointed face.




Drew, on the other hand, managed to keep his car in his lane, for all 4 heats. It resulted in him placing 9th in the Pack of 55 cars, and he got 1st for his Den.
Although we often question whether Drew even has a competitive bone in his body, he does really enjoy winning when it comes his way!!


Here is Drew...before the Cubmaster even called his name.

I guess he knew it was coming...


So proud...

Den 8 Rocks!!

The discussions have already begun for Pinewood Derby #4. Look out!!!



Saturday, January 15, 2011

Is this even the same kid?!?!

Charlie, 4 years old
July 2010


Charlie, 4.5 years old
January 2011

Is it just me, or does Charlie look CRAZY different?!?! I cannot believe how much older he looks in just 6 months. I have to admit that I was kind of hoping that he would hang on to that super-soft head of blondie-blonde hair. I knew it was a long-shot, but I was still hoping. The new curls were completely unexpected and a sweet "consolation prize"...but the baby hair is gone forever.



And, YES, that blonde hair really was as soft as it looked.



Thursday, January 13, 2011

I'm not doing a Picture of the Day...

...but, if I was, I'd use these pictures.

I worked for a couple of hours the other day attaching the most recent patches to the boys' Cub Scout vests. Every time I do that particular task, I find myself feeling proud for all of *my* accomplishments. How sad is that?!?

But, seriously, the boys have done a nice job. They have gone on all of the field trips that *I* coordinated, they have attended all of the Den meetings that *I* planned, they have earned all of the achievements that *I* researched and taught. And, they proudly wear the vest that to show off all of the patches that *I* glued-on...with love of course.


I did pretty well as a Girl Scout. I earned the highest award that you could earn as a Girl Scout. It was an accomplishment that I was always pretty proud of...until a couple of years ago when I my kids joined Cub Scouts and I learned the truth.

Now, the only thing that I have to say is Thanks Mom!! :)



Monday, January 10, 2011

I hope your New Years Resolutions last longer than mine...

This is the last edition of my stupid "Picture A Day" blog project. I've come to the realization that the whole thing is just "not me".

Why?, you might ask...


First of all, I can tell right now that I would have a really hard time working this type of project into my routine. Hmmmmm....I started a week late, then used the same day twice and then had nothing for the next 2 days. I won't say that I'm not organized, but it is safe to say that I am not organized enough for this type of project.


Second of all, I am not a photographer. I think that the blogs that are able to be successful with doing a Picture A Day are able to do so because they are photographers. A great photgrapher can tell a whole story with one picture. I need a whole bunch of pictures, lots and lots of words...and even a few :)'s to tell a story. And, before you tell me that I am a "pretty good photographer", just look at today's pictures...especially Jack's picture. You will notice that I've focused the camera perfectly... on the house across the street. That is also why I had to use a picture of Charlie not looking at the camera. In the 2nd picture taht one I took of him, I AGAIN focused on the house across the street. So, I am not really a "good photographer", I just take A LOT of pictures. :)



Please enjoy Outnumbered Mommy's final edition of "A Picture (or so) a Day (or so)". :)



My morning....







I thought when you had all of your kids on the same day, they were *supposed* to do things together and at the same time! It definitely did not work that way this morning...everyone had to be at school at a different time for different activities. After school was worse...way worse! A babysitter even needed to be hired, and Daddy had to take a carpool to make sure that everyone got to where they needed to be at the right time.



Our relaxing Christmas vacation is now a distant memory...

Sunday, January 9, 2011

7/375

This "Picture a Day" is working out swimmingly...not. It is now the 9th day of January. I sat down tonight and looked through my pictures from the last week to figure out what to post. I decided to go with these cute ones that I found from Friday night. After I uploaded the pictures, I realized that they were taken on the same day as the one that I used yesterday. So, here is another version of 7/365...

This was from the closing ceremony of the Pack Meeting. The Cubmaster was pretending that he couldn't find Drew. It was funny because Drew was trying hard to be found. Drew's expressions were so cute, IMO.









Saturday, January 8, 2011

A Picture a Day...

It is a great idea in theory. A few blogs that I follow did "A Picture a Day" in their blogs last year. I thought it was a great idea and I had a every intention of starting in on January 1, 2011.

Unfortuantely, I forgot until about January 3rd, and then I remembered, but, well, you know...



So, here is my official start...when we got home from Cub Scouts on Friday night, this is what we walked into....a "mean" game of Hedbanz between Charlie and Daddy.


7/365











Friday, January 7, 2011

The Best Thing About the Zoo in January...

...is the animals!!!

No joke, it was really cool to see the animals...up close...without crowding 4 kids into a small spot to see.They were right there...coming to see us!!

I must admit that typically, my favorite part of going to the zoo is the ice cream. I know that is terrible, and please don't tell my kids, but as much as I try to play the role of "animal cheerleader" for the kids...it's just a facade. I'm just really looking forward to the Dove Bar that I reward myself with at the end of the trip.
Going in January is so different. First of all, the ice cream stands are closed. Which is honestly ok, because the animals are beautiful, and fun, and easy to see.

Instead of the ice cream, I have to say that my favorite part of this trip to the zoo was when the seal waved to us. And, there was no mistaken that he was waving to us because we were the only ones there!!The boys and their friends had a good time too.
Yeah, a good time playing "hat-ball", which is a lot like football.

And, climbing everything they could find.

It turned out to be a really nice way to spend a day of Christmas Break...who would have thought.