Last Day

School is now over, and tomorrow Christian is headed to Sharon’s to play with his buddy Ruben. Ruben is going to stay at Sharon’s a few days before heading off to his dad’s in Montana. Christian, meanwhile, is going to his grandma and grandpa’s house for a week starting on Saturday. He returns next Sunday and then heads off for a week of summer day camp at River City. Then, he finally gets to stay home and lounge around with his other grandma.

While they are in KC, Christian is going to the bounce house, aquarium and Legoland. Betcha I don’t even have to tell you which place he is looking forward to seeing the most. He has saved some money just in case he finds something wonderful in the Legoland store.

Christian did well in school and will be a fourth grader in August. This is his last year at Charter Oak. Next year, he will either go to Mark Bills, about a mile from our house, or Washington School (for the gifted). It’s a long road to getting into the latter, and Christian does not seem thrilled with the prospect, so he may just go to Mark Bills. Wherever he ends up, he will be fine.

Birthday Boy

Christian is now 9 years old. Lucky him, his birthday was on Mother’s Day this year. He got a present in the mail from us—Legos and was excited to learn that the rest of it comes every 2 months. He also bought some Monsters Legos—was super excited to see that those were out. His friend, Matthew, bought him a Ninjago Lego set, and he got a couple more of those. My child who detests shopping actually went shopping, and he was not shy about it.

Christian had a couple of kids sleep over. They stayed up until midnight, playing with the iPads, Nerf guns, etc. The kid next door hung around until 3 the next day and came back for a little while on Sunday. So, Christian had a really full weekend and was very tired come Sunday night. This week, he is looking forward to the Plants and Zombies stuffed toys we found online. Hopefully, he gets them soon.

The Big Push

Three and half weeks of school to go, and wouldn’t you know it, the work is increasing. Christian came home with an assignment to write a brief report on the state of Delaware. We spent days pulling research and checking it. Then we wrote a rough draft and revised it. Then Christian practiced reading it aloud. We also pulled tons of pictures and glued them onto a large poster board for his visual aide. Tonight, we are getting it all together and ready for next Tuesday. Whew.

As though the report were not enough, there is a spelling bee beginning on May 10. Christian came home with about 350 words to study. We’ve done a bit of work on that, but he is totally not into it. Wish us luck in getting through that list.

Out

This week is Spirit Week at Charter Oak and Christian refuses to participate. He has worn his school uniform everyday because Spirit Week is not for him. Of course, just because it is not for him does not mean he cannot critique his sister. This morning, he told Tori that she was not mismatched enough for Fashion Disaster Day. She did not want to hear it, and we told Christian to hush. If you don’t participate, then you cannot critique!

Christian has been having loads of fun with the kid next door. He spent most of the weekend with him and was bored when the kid had to go home. I think he is starting to forget how to entertain himself! I was shocked that he didn’t go outside last night when the kids next door were out and about. Something tells me Christian didn’t notice them, else he would have been out that door in a heartbeat!

Easter Greetings

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. We did. Christian spent Friday at home with us, colored eggs that night with his aunt and uncle, and played part of that night and all Saturday with his friend, Matthew, who lives next door. We took them to the park and then to Dairy Queen. He got up early on Sunday and was happy with his loot—he got everything he wanted and more, including a fuzzy, warm Angry Birds blanket that he wrapped up in all weekend. He hunted for eggs, got a little farther learning how to ride his bike, took a walk with me that afternoon and played on the iPad. This morning, he was snuggled up on the couch under his new blanket relishing his last day off from school.

Just the Beginning

We got the kids new bikes, and this was the first of many weekends to come teaching them how to ride their bikes without training wheels. Christian had no interest in it whatsoever, but we know he is going to want to go biking with the kid next door, so off we went. He walked to the school with me and let me give him a few rounds around the parking lot. He did pretty well, but when his dad started teaching him, he got ticked off. He called me Bad Clown #1 and his dad Bad Clown #2, then when he decided he liked my teaching better, he decided to call me Mom and his dad Bad Clown. Whatever. He is in for another lesson this weekend on the sidewalk—now if I could just get to practice tying those shoe laces.

Off On His Own

Christian showed his independence at his scout banquet by helping out the leaders and sitting with his pals during dinner. We told him he didn’t have to sit with us, and he chose not to. He only moved back to our table when it was time for the badges to be handed out. He seemed to have a good time up until the end when everything started to drag. I thought he was going to fall over from boredom, but he managed to keep his composure.

Next week is the ISAT tests. Wish Christian luck!

Fun In The Sun

Christian has been working hard preparing for the ISAT tests, and we gave him a break this past weekend with a trip to a resort with an indoor water park and amusement park. We got there on Friday night, and within half an hour, we were inside the water park. It was not as big as the one we went to in Wisconsin, but it was a lot of fun. Christian took off on his own and went down the big slides himself. He checked in with us often and had his brother and sister chasing him—Huts and I were their legs in the deep.

After a couple of hours in the water park, we headed back to our room. The kids zonked out, and the next day, we checked out the nearby towns and the amusement park. There were about eight rides. Christian’s favorite was the tilt-a-whirl. He rode that again and again, even on his own a few times.

Christian also spent a wad of cash on the arcade games. He loves the claw games. He is pretty good at them and managed to get Tori a teddy bear. He dropped everything else, much to his dismay. Huts called the games quit after he spend his wad, and Christian had to find other games to play.

Interestingly enough, Christian had a great time! There were no complaints or fits from him.

GlobeTrotters

Upon hearing that we were going to see the Harlem GlobeTrotters, Christian did his usual hemming and hawing about not wanting to go.  A few days later he started telling me about Amelia Earhart and how she died on her trip around the world.  I obviously didn't make the connection, she was a globetrotter!  Christian thought we were going to see someone who had gone around the world!  I assumed they had seen the commercials and new we were going to a basketball game.  Luckily, before we went I realized what he was saying and explained who the Globetrotters were that we were going to see.  He was more interested in this idea, but still didn't want to go.  He went anyway.


We had the best seats we've ever had.  We got the 2nd row off the court, so the kids could see everything up close.  Once the game started Christian was still reserved, but he laughed at most of the jokes and the globetrotter's antics.  They got to see how tall Tiny (7'8") was compared to them and how small Too Tall (5'2") was and laughed at how the names didn't apply.  During the game, they got to interact with Flight Time a bit.  Special K and Flight Time were fighting over the water right in front of us (between the first row and ours).  They fought a bit over the water and bumped some out of the cup right onto us.  Christian got the worst of it, but wasn't mad about it at all.  He laughed the hardest though when Flight Time sat down next to Tori (as you can see here - If you look at it as an image download, you can see it best.).  He thought that was the funniest thing of all.  I'm sure he was wondering why a player was sitting next to them in the stands.  


While he sometimes lost track of the game and asked why I was laughing (it was hard to see some of the antics being down so low).  It was difficult to understand some of Special K's jokes because of the sound system being poor.  He had a great time overall.  He's been telling stories about the Globetrotters for 2 days now.  Even though he had a great time when asked if he wanted to see them again, his reply was his usual "NO!".  He's nothing if not consistent with his answer to those kinds of questions.  But, he was intrigued by going again because he asked me later if they did the same tricks at other games.  He'll have to go to another game to find out.

Back In the Groove

The kids returned to school yesterday, and surprisingly, it was a smooth transition. Neither was looking forward to it, but they went without fuss. I thought for sure that Tori would shed some tears at before-care, but she didn’t. Miss Lynn at the program got married and is working the mornings only now. Miss Stephanie is now there in the afternoons and she introduced herself to me yesterday. She seems nice, and I am sure the kids are going to like her. Whether she does as many crafts as Miss Lynn remains to be seen, however!