The Huneycutt Family

2011 - A Great Year

2011-12-31T17:48:00.011-06:00

The following post is a year full of pictures . . . how the Huneycutts spent 2011. It was a wonderful year with many blessings!

In January, Jacob won the school geography bee and is pictured with Dr. Farrah, the moderator.

2011 saw our biggest snows ever. When you added up all of our snow days, we missed two full weeks of school due to the white, fluffy stuff.

We spent a lot of time indoors. At home.

Night sledding at St. Joseph's close to our house.

At the end of February, Hannah went to her first Razorback Baseball game.

March brought Spring Break. We made several day trips including Gentry's Wilderness Safari,

Lake Lincoln,

Laura Ingalls Wilder's home outside Springfield, Missouri,

and Silver Dollar City.

In April, Jacob got to compete in the state geography bee.

Easter

In May, the Seamans came to visit, and we took a hike to Tanyard Creek. The waterfall was in full force.

Jacob went on the Explorers Club trip to St. Louis with his two best friends, Joel & Ethan.

In June, our church had Vacation Bible School. Here is Samuel in a relay race against Pastor Mike.

We took a short outing to Prairie Grove National Battlefield Park.

We canoed the Buffalo River.

We spent many hot afternoons swimming at Aunt Ann's house.

We loved Schlitterbahn outside San Antonio during our summer vacation to Texas.

at the Alamo

Dallas Cowboy Stadium

August - 1st Day of School (Jacob - 7th grade; Samuel - 4th grade; Hannah - 1st grade)

My biggest change this year - - a new job teaching GT, and a new teammate - Vanessa Seward.

the opening of Crystal Bridges

celebrating Samuel's birthday at Modern Mission

Happy Birthday Hannah

Jacob performs on the bass drum at his first band concert.

Silver Dollar City is REALLY crowded at Christmas time.

Christmas Choir Concert

Hannah is a flower girl in cousin Lisa's wedding

Mr. & Mrs. Steve Kieklak

Just what she wanted for Christmas!

My parents having Christmas lunch

My mom - - just her being here was a great Christmas present!

Christmas break - - game after game of Sorry.

Remember the Alamo

2011-08-06T06:38:00.004-05:00

Texas history is so much more exciting than Arkansas history. They've got that whole Alamo thing. In preparation for our trip to San Antonio, I wanted to the kids to know a little bit about what we were going to see. Jacob knew a little bit about the Alamo, and all it would take for him to read about it for hours is tell him that we're going there. Samuel, on the other hand, knew nothing about it and needed a bit more prodding to become curious. So, we went to the Fayetteville Public Library and checked out a couple of children's books that told the story of the Alamo. Here's one I brought home specifically for Samuel, knowing that the graphic novel form would intrigue him.

(Sorry the picture is so big - I'm working on our new computer and haven't quite figured out copying and pasting with this giant non-mouse thing on the side of the keyboard.) It's not that Samuel is a struggling reader. Just the opposite. It's just that I have a hard time motivating him to start new books. Nothing is as good as Harry Potter (his opinion!) . . . nothing. So why bother, right? I brought this home and told Samuel he HAD to read it. He did, and he quickly wanted to know more.

So, we watched the John Wayne version of the Alamo (not the most exciting movie . . . I think I fell asleep a couple of times) AND the Disney classic, Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier. The boys loved both. And Hannah, well - - she watched and picked up most of the story. I won't go so far as to say she loved it. But, it's really more a story about being macho and less about being a princess, so . . .

By the time we got to the Alamo, the kids knew their stuff. Samuel spent a good deal of time in the museum searching for "Betsy," Crockett's famous rifle. He couldn't find it and went up to the docent and asked where it was. We found out that "Betsy" is owned by someone in Tennessee who hasn't "volunteered" to share it.

Here are some pics of our time at the Alamo:

The boys posing out front. We had just sampled some McDonalds Mango Smoothies, so that's what Samuel has in front of his face.

Hannah has to look inside.

Jacob was the best model for pictures. I know he was hot, but he stayed in a good mood and would stop and smile whenever I asked him.

This live oak tree was just about the prettiest thing in South Texas!

I just love these wooden doors to the chapel portion of the Alamo. This is where the women and children gathered during the fight and where the last of the men died.

Schlitterbahn

2011-08-06T06:21:00.003-05:00

When we first started talking about going to Texas for summer vacation (which is unusual in itself because we never go places that are even hotter than it is at home), Schlitterbahn was at the top of my list for places to take the kids. Schlitterbahn is a water park in New Braunfels, a little town about half-way between Austin and San Antonio. It's built into the side of a hill along the Comal River and uses all river water to supply the park. The Comal is spring-fed, so the water is about 60 degrees - - perfect when it's 104 outside. Plus, the word Schlitterbahn is just fun to say!

The kids all swim well, so they're at a great age for a water park. Most of the rides are tube rides with good old-fashioned black inner tube tires! Several of the tube rides last twenty minutes or so from the time you get in at the top, float through all the rapids and then splash into the river at the bottom. It's great fun to gently float along the river, which is shaded almost completely by the giant live oak trees lining both sides, until you reach the getting out point.

Pizza Parlor Fun

2011-07-09T12:52:00.005-05:00

Hannah has been dying to have some friends over to play, so we finally arranged to make that happen. Her friends, Audrey & Isabel, came to spend part of the day with us today. In an attempt to do something more creative than just a sandwich for lunch and just dragging out toys the whole time (or just watching a movie), I got the girls some aprons to decorate and all the ingredients for them to make their own pizzas.

First, we decorated aprons with fabric markers.

Hannah's design

Audrey's work

Jacob, who LOVES pizza, wanted to join the fun. Not so much the apron decorating fun, but the pizza making AND eating fun. Here, he's making his crust and spreading it in the pan.

Isabel is adding sauce and cheese. (I made the crusts for the girls, so all they had to do was add toppings.)

Hannah likes cheese, as you can tell from the large handful she just grabbed!

Audrey is going for perfection.

Hannah's cheese pizza.

Audrey and Isabel both added pepperoni. Yum!!! Doesn't it make you hungry just to look at it? I was smart in not making my own pizza. I was able to eat plenty just from eating what the girls didn't want.

Our Local Swimming Hole

2011-07-02T18:44:00.003-05:00

It was SO hot outside today. It was either lay inside in the air conditioning all day long or head for the pool. Lucky for me, my sister has a pool! She's out of town right now, and I'm supposed to take care of the pool and garden anyway, so we made the most of it this afternoon. The whole family went - - a rare treat. Usually, it's just me and the kids or me and a kid or two. Samuel didn't really want to go today (he wanted to play Wii instead), but we didn't give him an option. We all had fun. We played in the pool for almost two hours; hopefully our sunscreen worked! Don't worry Ann - - we put up all the pool toys before leaving.

Jacob's taking it easy.

So is Samuel.

Hannah is enjoying an orange dreamsicle. Mmm, one of my favorites!

Hannah finally gets a turn in the boat.

Yes, they can swim and not just float on tubes and in boats.

Hannah is still working on her dive. I think she's actually pretty good. Much better than me!

Revolutionary Berries

2011-07-02T13:23:00.004-05:00

A disclaimer first - - - I have been spending a lot of time reading the Pioneer Woman's blog, so I decided to get my camera out while in the kitchen this afternoon. I am in no way saying that these are Pioneer Woman worthy.

I was looking for fun, 4th of July treats to make and discovered this recipe for Revolutionary Berries. Hannah loves strawberries, and it definitely looked like something easy enough for her to make.

The recipe called for melting white chocolate chips, but I got a big block of Almond Bark instead. I love Almond Bark and can just lick it out of the bowl. Evidently Hannah can too.

Then, you need some blue sugar crystals.

Melt the Almond Bark in the microwave, stirring several times. And of course tasting to make sure it's ok.

Dip the strawberries into the melted Almond Bark. Try to cover the bottom two-thirds of the berry. Make sure there's still red berry showing on top.

Then, dip the berry into the blue sugar. Try to make the bottom third of the berry as blue as possible.

Lay the berries on wax paper so that they can dry and that the Almond Bark can harden. (I'm going to put mine in the fridge so that they'll be nice and chilled.)

A fun and easy patriotic treat! Happy 4th!

Cruising Down the River - Family Field Trip #2

2011-06-27T17:46:00.002-05:00

Cruising down the river

on a "Saturday" afternoon . .. .

ok, so we definitely weren't cruising. It was more like drifting down the river, into rocks and into tree branches. But, fun was had in the process. Early Saturday morning, we packed up the van with lunches, about 40 bottles of water, towels, and three sleepy kids. We headed towards the metropolis of Yellville, Arkansas to Buffalo River Float Service where three canoes were waiting for us. (That was along with a bus full of about forty other people getting on the river at the same time, and that doesn't account for the three busses of people from Wild Bill's Outfitters going to the same place!)

Our float trip would begin at Maumee North and go ten miles down river to Dillard's Ferry (at the Hwy 14 bridge). The trip is slated to take 5 1/2 hours. I think it took us about 7 hours.

My sister, Ann, and her husband, David, went with us for the day. They are like master canoeists - never steering off course and zooming down the river. John and I both had difficulty several times, especially when it was windy. We'd get blown to one side of the river and then not be able to easily get back into the main current. We stopped several times to get in the water and cool off. Did I mention that it was really hot? The kids loved swimming and floating in the current. I liked it too. Until I went down a section of water with large boulders (that I should have noticed and didn't) and banged myself all up. My knee hurt the rest of the day, and I have some colorful bruises as souvenirs. We especially liked stopping at Spring Creek, which flows into the Buffalo, because the water is very cold.

Below are some pictures of our day:

Ann, Hannah, and I in the lead canoe

Samuel learning to paddle

Doesn't David look like a professional?

Samuel floating down the river

I had to swim over and pull Hannah back to right side of the river.

Screaming to death COLD!!!

Master canoeists (is that a word?)

Beautiful scenery

Family Field Trip

2011-06-26T12:21:00.003-05:00

So, here goes another blog. I know, don't fall down in surprise or anything. I'm attempting to chronicle some of our summer activities. We're not taking a big vacation but instead are attempting to take lots of smaller "Family Field Trips."

On Thursday, we loaded the kids in the car and headed to Prairie Grove National Battlefield, a Civil War battle field about 15 miles from our house. We recently read an article in our local paper about the updated visitor center and thought we'd check it out. I've driven past the battlefield on the way to other places, but I honestly don't ever remember stopping.

Here's the commemorative plaque giving information about the battle, fought on December 7th (hmm. . . . a famous date in history??)

Inside the Hindman House Visitor Center, Samuel really liked the exhibits on weapons.

The kids all tried to lift a 10 pound cannon ball, but it was really hard to do!

Hannah wasn't really into reading about the battle, and she was not happy at all to learn about the medical instruments used to amputate wounded limbs. (The boys, however, thought they were cool.) Maybe she should have skipped this part.

Jacob and Samuel checking out some guns.

There was a little desk and a set of post-it notes and instructions that encouraged young visitors to leave a note about something learned or liked. Samuel and Hannah both wrote notes.

Responses were not surprising . . .

The tiny gift shop area did have some costumes. Samuel is sporting Union blue, and Jacob is all smiles as Johnny Reb.

It was hot out, but we did walk around a bit and look at the memorials, houses, and signage outside.

Boys love to climb on things.

Hannah decided to wear a dress on this outing. She thought this was a good opportunity to pose for some pictures.

We also did the driving tour, stopping to get out at this overlook. The kids are checking out the information about the fighting that took place in the field below. John read aloud the information for each stop , but the kids had pretty much lost interest by this point.

Floating Sans Canoe

2010-07-24T12:15:00.002-05:00

Buffalo Float Trip

2010-07-23T21:30:00.007-05:00

one of the many beautiful scenes along the Buffalo River

John and I have talked off and on all summer about going canoeing on the Buffalo. Neither of us has ever canoed much, but we've really enjoyed the few times we've been. So, a couple of weeks ago when there was an article in the newspaper about floating the middle section of the Buffalo, John decided to turn thoughts into action, and he booked a trip. We decided that it would be best to leave Samuel and Hannah behind with grandparents so that we would just need one canoe. (Canoes really only fit three people.) Also, we weren't sure what this section of the river would be like for smaller children.

We drove to the town of Harriet (which is next to Ralph) to Crockett's Canoe Rental, which John found online. It was pretty much a hole-in-the-wall place, but the people were really nice. We followed a canoe-carting Suburban back to the Hwy 14 Bridge (about 10-15 minutes back the way we had just come) to park our van. We then got into the Suburban and drove back through Harriet and then about 15 minutes past the store to Maumee, where we put in. It was a long and windy drive - - hot too because the air conditioner in the Suburban didn't work.

We spent the next five and half hours making our way down ten miles of river. The website information said to allow four hours for the trip, but that didn't include much time for stopping. I think it'd be difficult to make the trip in four hours unless you paddled the whole time, or the river was up and flowing a little faster, or you really don't stop at all. We stopped several different times, once to eat lunch and then several times to play in a neat part of the river or to cool off. Did I mention that it was hot today? I think the temperature was in the mid 90's by the time we got on the water (around noon). The sun was bright (and hot) all day long. In retrospect, I think the trip would have been nicer if we'd started several hours earlier in the morning, but to do that we probably would have needed to spend the night in a nearby campground the night before. Of course, an afternoon float would be just fine if the temperature was just a wee bit cooler!

Jacob had an absolute blast all day long. He loved being the only kid and having more attention just for himself. I think he also loved not being "bothered" by his little brother and sister. He was very responsible and didn't complain that he had to wear his life jacket the whole time he was in the canoe (state law until you're 13) even though it made him so much hotter. We did allow him to take off his life jacket whenever we got out to stop and swim or play in the water. He really did not need it. The average depth of the river was about two feet! Occasionally there were sections that were deeper - like four or five feet deep. There were also plenty of sections where the water was maybe 12-15 inches deep and we had to try really hard not to scrape bottom. After seeing how little water there was (still plenty for a good float), I think we'd feel very comfortable taking Samuel and Hannah as well. You can rent rafts which will hold five people, so we could all float together. Or, we could get two canoes and just split the kids between us.

We were careful to use LOTS of sunscreen, but I still ended up with a few missed spots. I spent most of the day with an extra t-shirt over my legs/knees, which I think saved them from being completely fried. Next time, I'll take extras just for that. I even wore a big hat the whole day. That's big for me; I hate wearing hats. I will admit that it kept the sun off of my face, neck, and shoulders for much of the day.

We'll definitely be floating the Buffalo again!!

Jacob is sitting in the entrance to Spring Creek; the water is VERY cold!

Crazy Cousins!

2010-07-21T10:39:00.003-05:00

Team Edward vs. Team Jacob

2010-07-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

Several months ago, a parent of one of my students asked if I wanted to attend the midnight showing of Eclipse with a group of girls and moms. Of course, I elected to go! Another teacher friend and I made plans to go out to eat, meeting up with the group of girls & moms. There were about 15 of us all together. It was an evening of fun - - albeit a very late evening! Here are some pics of us while we're waiting:

the moms

LouAnn & me

some of the girls

Just in case you're wondering . . . I'm Team Edward - - Abs aren't everything!

Minneapolis

2010-07-17T13:43:00.006-05:00

We spent the last few days of our vacation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The boys and I had actually just been here a few weeks before with McNair's Explorers Club. So, we had some places we really wanted to go with the rest of the family. We also did some things that were new to all of us. This picture below is taken in downtown Minneapolis. It's a bridge that crosses the Mississippi River just below St. Anthony Falls. It was a beautiful day, and there were people everywhere. The river looks so very different here than it does where we usually see it (Memphis or St. Louis).

We spent one afternoon hiking around Minnehaha Park, again in central Minneapolis. It's a beautiful park. It actually reminded me a little of Central Park in NYC. There was a little restaurant in the middle of the park, lots of bikes and buggies you could rent, hiking trails, playgrounds, etc. We hiked the trail down to see Minnehaha Falls (of Hiawatha fame). The trail then led us all along a creek (that flows into the Mississippi just a short distance away). There was a really neat place that had been designed for wading, and tons of people were enjoying the cool water on the warm day.

Fort Snelling was constructed to facilitate trade with the Indians. The fort has been mostly been reconstructed to resemble what it would have looked like when it was being used as a fort. There were soldiers who did a marching drill and cannon demonstration. We learned a lot about the history of the West from a different perspective than what we typically hear "down South."

Of course, a trip to Minneapolis wouldn't be complete without Mall of America. The boys were most excited about going back to the amusement park there. They discovered a love for roller coasters and all sorts of rides that spin you around, turn you upside down, and dangle you over the floor from three or four stories up. John took the boys on rides while I took Hannah to the American Girl store. Of course, we visited the Apple store as well.

I love this picture. The boys really do like each other!! I have proof!

Hiking and Pizza

2010-07-17T12:56:00.008-05:00

Those two things go together, right? We discovered a really neat state park close to Wisconsin Dells - - it's called Devil's Lake State Park. We drove about 30 minutes to get to the park, visited with the ranger at the park check-in booth to get a trail map, and headed out for a short hike. The trail we chose went around one side of Devil's Lake. The trail was mostly paved (which was good since most of us were in flip-flops) and wound through a pre-historic landslide of rocks, something created by the glaciers that existed here when the Great Lakes were created. The rocks were a really neat purple color.

I love this picture!

The rare picture of John!

After our hike, which lasted about an hour and a half, we drove back into town and headed to Uno's Pizzaria for some yummy pizza. One of the things I love about this place is that kids can choose to make their own pizza, which Samuel and Hannah thought was really cool! Jacob, on the other hand, insisted that as "pre-teen," he's really too old for such a thing. Ha!

Horses and Cheese

2010-07-17T12:40:00.004-05:00

One of the many other activities we did while in Wisconsin (other than water parks, that is) was going horseback riding. The boys each got their own horse, and Hannah rode on a horse with me. The ride rambled through the woods adjacent to our resort and lasted about an hour. Hannah seems to have the same affection for horses as her cousins Katie and Lisa do.

We spent one afternoon searching for a cheese factory that we thought was close to the Wisconsin River. After driving for about an hour (in the pouring rain), we discovered that the place was closed. Bummer. So, we drove back to the Dells and went to the "touristy" cheese store. No factory to watch cheese being made, but lots of cheese to sample and buy. We did find a real factory en route to Minneapolis. It was a really neat place. The kids could see cheese being made, and they got to sample some really squeaky curds. Yum!

The Dells

2010-06-15T21:46:00.003-05:00

This is our second time to visit Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. My parents gave us a week of timeshare to use at Glacier Canyon Lodge - Wilderness Resort. It is a fabulous place! There are six different water parks here at the resort (all included). Three are outside; three are inside. You can walk through a maze of skywalks and different wings of condo/hotel to get to each without ever going outside (which I'm sure would be great in the winter!). We have been to each of the parks once for a few hours at a time. The weather has been pretty lousy for doing anything outside - - rainy and cool. However, the outdoor water parks are heated, so as long as you stay in the water, it's not that bad. The kids don't seem to mind at all.

All three kids are having a great time swimming and going on the water slides. Jacob is completely fearless and will try anything. Samuel has met some other boys his age and has played water basketball with them on two different days. Hannah loves just swimming around but has also been willing to try most of the slides. Like me, she doesn't really like the ones that are completely dark. I don't like them because you can't tell which way you're spinning and turning - - makes me dizzy and nauseous!

We've eaten at some of the same places as last time, most notably "Moosejaw Pizza". It's a fun place that makes its own sodas - - the grape soda is so yummy! We also love Culver's, a burger/frozen custard chain that's common up here in the north. Today, we attempted to visit a cheese factory so that we could sample some fresh made cheese, actually watch some cheese being made, and of course, buy some cheese. However, the place we drove (in the pouring rain for an hour!) was closed. So, we ended up going to a cheese store across the highway from our resort. The cheese is still delicious, but it lacked that quaint idea of cheese making in Wisconsin.

We've noticed a number of extended families that seem to be staying here. It would be lots of fun to come here with the Seaman and/or Covington gang. I'm sure our family would make a big spash!

25 Memories of My Mom

2010-05-22T17:11:00.004-05:00

Ok - so I know I'm a week late with this post, but given all I remember (and know) about my mom, she completely understands being busy and getting behind.

25 Memories of My Mom

I remember your instructions each time I went out to play with friends - - “Stay within ear shot!” (That actually gave me a pretty big perimeter with which to play!)

I remember how hard it was during my first week as a teacher. After your own day at work, you cooked my dinner, helped me make lesson plans, and even offered to grade my papers!

I remember visiting Grandmother Mills with you at City Hospital each afternoon after school. I remember when you told me that I didn’t have to go every day so that I would have other memories besides Grandmother in a nursing home.

I remember playing in your classroom after school.

I remember many trips when we’d be driving cross-country, and Daddy would get lost because he turned a different direction than what you’d told him.

I remember how you always left a light on when I was out at night and how you always called out, “Carol, is that you?” (Like who else would it be??)

I remember how you helped me get from my house to your car and into the doctor’s office when I was pregnant with Samuel and so very sick.

I remember how you were always standing by with a wet washrag and a saltine cracker when I got sick.

I remember how you painted that awful orange stuff on my skinned knees.

I remember arriving in Ottenstein and being offered a glass of champagne. You just looked at me and said, “Drink it.”

I remember the hours you spent doing counted cross stitch in the evenings after all your work was done.

I remember how you went to bat for me when my band director gave me a hard time about quitting band.

I remember how patient you were when teaching me how to drive (and you were even in a neck brace!).

I remember how you ate the oatmeal I made even though it tasted like wallpaper paste (at least that’s what Daddy said it tasted like).

I remember celebrating your 25th anniversary in the camping trailer with Sara Lee cake and vanilla ice cream that Susan and I had bought at the camp store.

I remember the deal we made about me learning to drive. You’d teach me to drive the car if I’d teach you how to program the VCR.

I remember helping you into that fancy hotel in London and using those fancy cloth napkins to bandage your head.

I remember what you always said when I didn’t know if I should stay home from school: “Only you know how bad you feel.”

I remember the night we were sleeping in the bed at Grandmother’s house, and the bed broke!

I remember how excited you were for me to get a teaching job.

I remember the many times you’ve kept my kids so that I could go to class or do other work towards my master’s degree. I always felt encouragement from you to accomplish my goal.

I remember the many times you cooked Kraft macaroni and cheese instead of making homemade because I liked Kraft more.

I remember many trips to the condo in Branson and the days spent pushing my kids in strollers at Silver Dollar City.

I remember how you weren’t mad when I said I wanted to move home from Tulsa. You just came and helped me pack my stuff and brought me back home.

I remember watching Sound of Music with you every year when it came on TV. And then - - how excited we were to go to Salzburg!

A Diploma for My Birthday!

2010-05-09T20:36:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Debbie

2010-05-03T19:42:00.002-05:00

Today is my dear friend Debbie's birthday. Debbie and I met in the fall of 1989 in an education class at the University of Arkansas. I was a sophomore, and she was a junior. We both hated the class and swore off education, but we became the best of friends. We enjoyed making many college memories over the next several years, and we ended up as roommates once we both "came back to college" to become teachers. As you can see from the photo, one thing we had in common was hair!

After college, we remained close. She was the maid of honor in my wedding, and she gave me the same privilege in her wedding. I visited her when she lived in Carthage, Missouri and even when she lived in Paris, France!

Now that we're both "old married ladies" with children, it's been much more difficult to stay in touch. However, I know that I could count on Debbie at a moment's notice for just about anything. There's not many people you can say that about.

My hope is that, someday, we can take our daughters to Paris and for them to become the kind of friends that we have been.

Happy birthday Debbie!

Big Weekend for Jacob

2010-05-02T15:55:00.004-05:00

This was an action packed weekend for Jacob. He started his Friday evening by going to the Razorback game with Granny Bea. The Hogs pulled a come-from-behind win that Jacob said was the best game he's ever seen. In addition, he had some glorious commentary about the Auburn pitcher, who (according to Jacob) was "freakishly tall" and "crooked". Yesterday, David Hunt (who sits in front of us) confirmed that Jacob had indeed amused everyone in our little section with his description and that yes, the pitcher did look a little like Ichabod Crane. On Saturday, Jacob went to a birthday party at Fayetteville's new roller skating place. This was Jacob's second time to skate, and he was so excited to get to do it again. He's not as bad as you might think, especially since he's not particularly athletic. From the party, he went to his first Boy Scout overnight campout. Evidently, he had a great time. He learned to set up his tent, cook cowboy donuts for breakfast, and play capture the flag. It's hard for me to think of my little baby boy being big enough to do all those things.

Then, the thing that makes my heart so very happy - - this afternoon, he played in his first piano recital. For those that have known Jacob a while, you know that he has long suffered from extreme shyness and anxiety about being in front of a group. He didn't even talk to other children at school until he was in the 2nd grade. (and then it was just one or two kids). Well, he did express being nervous (I assured him this was totally normal) and he proceeded to walk up on the stage, sit down at the piano, and play this:

We've come a long way!!

This is Baseball

2010-05-01T20:59:00.003-05:00

Several years ago, you could probably have heard me say something like, "I hate baseball. I hope Samuel doesn't want to play." That was then; this is now. Obviously, I've been transformed into a baseball fan (at least Razorback ball and whatever team Samuel plays for). My sister, Ann, commented to me today (after telling her I was on my way to yet another game) - "Gee, your family has really gotten into baseball." Her comment made me start thinking - "Why, all of the sudden, do I like going to games so much?" Here's what I came up with:

1. The biggest reason - - Our family has found something we all like doing/following. That's a rare thing. We all have pretty different tastes, so we typically don't like the same movies, tv shows, outdoor activities, etc. Somebody is always complaining that they don't want to do whatever is the suggested activity. Even John, who's never really liked sports, likes going to the Razorback games. Today, John and I got to go to the game together. That's not too common - it's usually one of us with one of the boys OR one of the boys with John's mom (they're actually her tickets). We had so much fun going SANS kids and just being one of many couples at the game. He bought me a diet coke and some peanut m&ms. The usher even teasingly gave him a hard time for putting his arm around me.

2. The Razorbacks. It's fun getting to know the players (getting to know about them). You can see their personality more in baseball than in football. It's so much about individual talent and then combining that individuality into a team effort. The players are so encouraging to one another, never getting too upset when someone messes up. Baum Stadium is a fun place as well. Lots of school spirit. Lots of traditions.

3. Samuel loves playing baseball. He has been pretty good thus far (in his short career). This is his first year of machine pitch, and so far he's struck out in every game. He's still done well in the outfield, making a double play and catching a pop fly in the last game. But, he really feels discouraged about not getting any hits. It helps him so much to see the "big guys" strike out and still keep trying and still be considered good players. Going to the Razorback games inspires him to keep working hard to be a good baseball player.

4. Free entertainment. John's mom has two great tickets right behind home plate. We get to use them a LOT. At least once during a weekend series, sometimes twice. And one boy or the other goes when she goes. She also has given us her parking pass. It's so nice to park right outside the entrance. And, she will usually keep the kids if John and I go together. Free babysitting. After ten years of Montessori payments, we like free. So, even though we're going to lots of games - - we haven't ever had to buy any tickets.

Slumber Party

2010-04-25T17:55:00.003-05:00

Hannah was invited to her first sleepover this weekend, and it was actually for most of the weekend! The invitation came from the Alvarado girls, Audrey & Isabel, who are in Hannah's class at Montessori and who are also friends from church. They have become big buddies this year, and it's fun to see them together. Hannah went home with the girls after school on Friday, and we didn't see her again until we picked her up at church today. Wow - I missed her. But, I don't think she missed me much at all. She had a fabulous time! She got to play with Barbies, ride a horse, jump on a trampoline, build a bird feeder at Lowe's, and sport some lovely eye makeup. She even got a Fayetteville Police Dept. tattoo! Here are some pictures of her enjoying being a "big girl." Boy, she seems like she's grown up so much in the past few months.

Arrow of Light

2010-04-06T21:23:00.004-05:00

Tonight marked the end of Cub Scouts for Jacob. He can now call himself a Boy Scout! We attended his Arrow of Light Ceremony, held in the cafeteria at Vandergriff. Seventeen boys from Jacob's den were awarded the Arrow of Light this evening, a pack record! The ceremony was prescribed and relatively formal (for what these boys are used to in Scouts). Each boy was called up to get special pins, one for their uniform, and one for their mother. So sweet. Each boy was also given a special plaque made by a dad of one of the scouts in the Vandergriff pack. Jacob will be joining Troop 116. I'm a little sad that he won't be in the same troop that his older cousins were a part of, but all of his friends will be joining 116, so it's really the better place for him to be.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T21:02:00.004-05:00

We had a great Easter celebration today. We started our day with a great worship service at church, then we headed to Ann's house for Easter lunch. We missed James & Allison and Jeremy & Katie, who usually are with us for this holiday, but Lisa brought several new friends from college, so we still had a full table. The weather was so nice, that the kids played outside most of the afternoon and evening.

The Bike Ride Blues

2010-03-24T15:13:00.003-05:00

I had this brilliant idea that a family bike ride on one of Fayetteville's many trails would be a fun thing to do in the nice spring weather (the weather that we have had for one day out of all of spring break!). So, we packed up all the bikes, putting the kid bikes in the back of the van and the adult bikes in the back of John's car. We decided to park at Gordon Long Park and ride south on Skull Creek Trail. The kids were raring to go as soon as we got there. John had a difficult time getting the bikes out and accidentally broke off the seat of my bike. But, I managed to balance it on the bike, sit on it, and if I didn't wiggle too much, it stayed on. (I did have this fear in the back of my head as to how much it would hurt if the seat came off!) And, we headed off the trail. I quickly realized that John wasn't behind us, so I sent Jacob back to see if there was a problem. There was. a problem. The chain came off of John's bike, and he worked and worked but couldn't get it back on. He sent us ahead and said he'd keep trying. So, we took off again. The boys quickly rode completely out of sight. They had strict orders not to cross any streets without me, and I just had to trust that they would obey. Hannah got tired quickly and wanted to go back. I had to keep telling her that we had to get the boys first, and the only way we could get them would be to keep riding. We finally (like 15 minutes later) caught up with the boys, who were obediently waiting to cross Poplar Avenue. They were a little dismayed at having to return (Jacob wanted to do the entire trail) but quickly turned around and rode out of sight going back the way we had come. Fortunately, Hannah did better on the return trip. I guess it was because she knew how far we had to go and that we would be finished when we got there. When we got back to the park, John was waiting in his car. He was covered in grease but was unable to fix his chain without any tools. Poor guy. I sent him home and let the kids play on the playground for a bit. Then, we headed for ice cream which always makes things better. (except my waistline)

So today, we tried another adventure (sans Samuel who had a play date). We went to Lake Fayetteville to walk on the new trail. Unfortunately, we had not fully briefed Jacob that the trail was paved and NOT a real nature trail. He had a full-scale meltdown making the rest of us pretty miserable. He did perk up a bit when we let him cross the creek on the old bridge instead of using the new one (see picture below). We walked until Hannah had to go to the bathroom then turned around.

I think I would really enjoy biking on either of these trails and plan to do so as soon as I get a new bike, preferably one that won't impale me when I sit on it, AND just as soon as I find someone to go with besides my children. Any takers?

Snowy Sunday

2010-03-23T18:36:00.004-05:00

It started snowing on Saturday afternoon and snowed for a solid 24 hours. According to our resident meteorologist, we got a whopping 11 inches! The snow was beautiful and puffy with huge flakes. When we woke up on Sunday, we started trying to decide if we'd attempt to make it to church. According to facebook and local news stations, UBC was still having all morning activities, although many local churches were closing. Shortly after we got up, it started snowing much harder, and we decided to not try and get out. Our driveway is super steep, and while going down it in the van wouldn't have been difficult, getting back up . .. another story.

So, what'd we do with our day? I started by making pumpkin muffins (with the correct ingredients this time). I really liked them. John thought they were ok, and the kids wouldn't even try them. The kids bundled up for some outside play, sledding down that steep driveway and throwing lots of snowballs. John was a trooper and went outside with them; he knows that I hate being cold and wet. (One of these days, I need to get some boots and a ski-type jacket so that I can get out in the snow and actually enjoy it!) I made a big pot of chili for lunch (Samuel's favorite), and we played some games and goofed around most of the afternoon. At one point, I thought Hannah must have put herself down for a nap. She had closed herself in her room, and it was completely quiet - - for a really long time. Just as I was about to open her door and check, I heard the singing start. She proceeded to sing through her entire rendition of the musical, Annie. I did actually get her to sit still and sing a little for the camera. John was the cook for dinner. He made some really tasty chicken fajitas. My favorite tv show, Amazing Race, (it's the geography teacher in me that loves this show!) was on in the evening. Once the kids were in bed, John and I watched episode #2 of The Pacific, the new Speilberg/Hanks mini-series about WWII. It's supposed to mirror Band of Brothers in the Pacific theater. It is so good, and really makes you think about how good we have it today (even with all the mess in D.C. going on).

Pumpkin Muffins

2010-03-20T18:36:00.002-05:00

A good friend of mine makes pumpkin muffins all the time and talks about how good they are and how much her family likes them. She finally posted the recipe (ok, so it was like in January or something), so I was excited to try them. About two weeks ago when I did my grocery shopping, I tried to remember the ingredients . . . cake mix, a can of pumpkin, and cinnamon chips. So, I picked up a yellow cake mix, the pumpkin, and the closest thing Neighborhood Market had to cinnamon chips, which I decided was Heath brickle bits. When I got home and looked at the recipe, I discovered that I needed a spice cake mix, not a yellow cake mix. I knew the chips were off, but I figured it'd be ok. Well, the results were interesting. John and I liked them ok, but all of the kids turn up their noses. I must admit, I was a little disappointed.

So, today at the store (went to Harps because my friend said that's where they had cinnamon chips - - who knew they made cinammon chips like chocolate chips??) and got the correct ingredients. I figured being snowed in would make it a good time for muffins.

Yippee!!!

2010-03-15T19:24:00.002-05:00

I intended to write a post this weekend, but I was too busy doing NOTHING! Well, it seemed like nothing compared to the normal weekend of the past three years. Drumroll please . . . . I have finally finished all of the work for both of my independent study classes (6 hours) AND have written and submitted my comprehensive exam questions. Of course, I do still have to deal with the oral defense of those comps, but there's no other written work that has to be done. For one independent study, I had to go through a human development textbook chapter by chapter and do some sort of project. I did a combination of powerpoints, blurb books, outlines, quizzes, etc. My professor seemed to like everything that I submitted. So far, I have only met with him the one time we orignally made course assignments in December. I don't even think I have to go and meet with him. He emailed that he's giving me an A! Yeah! For the other class, I created a binder of social studies lesson plans that fit the Parallel Curriculum Model (it's a GT thing); it ended up being almost as long as the whole curriculum unit I wrote last spring. I haven't taken it to my advisor yet, but I hope to run it up to her office this week. It's done and sitting in my van for when I get a chance to swing by campus.

What's next?? Well, I intend to do much of nothing for the rest of this school year other than Samuel's baseball practice, trying to actually exercise, not getting so far behind with stuff for my classroom, etc . I can't believe that the school year is fast approaching an end. Of course, the end of the semester brings GRADUATION. I'm actually going to walk, something I didn't do as an undergrad. It didn't really mean anything to me then . . . it does now. And, graduation is on my birthday! So, it'll be a big day at our house! (And yes, it's a big # birthday too!)

Bring Your Parents to School Day

2010-03-08T20:54:00.003-06:00

This week is "Bring Your Parent to School" week in Hannah's Montessori class. I went this morning and observed for about 30 minutes. As always, I am so impressed with Hannah's class and her teachers. Every single child was engaged and working quietly - - EVERY single child. Words can't even describe how jealous I am, and how much I wish 7th grade could be like this. Of course, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the students get to choose much of the work they do. At the beginning of the day, the students get their notebooks and stand in line to meet with one of the teachers. Hannah met with Ms. Lisa, who made all sorts of "work" suggestions. She went through several categories: building work, math worth, journal writing, geography, and natural science. I got to watch Hannah complete two different tasks, building specific shapes and sizes as her "building work" and the "multiplication stamp game." Hannah was so proud of her "work," and she was so much fun to watch.

This afternoon, Hannah went for her kindergarten check up. We went to a different doctor because the Pediatric Clinic couldn't see her until the end of May. The doctor I chose is the mother of Samuel's best friend and of one of Hannah's good friends and Montessori classmates. I must admit that it was really nice going to a doctor who knows my child so well. I may really consider switching; after all, I got an appointment quickly and easily. Hannah is in fine shape. She is 44 inches tall and weighs 45 pounds. (I don't think I'll tell her that neither of the boys weighed 45 pounds until they were in 2nd grade!) I asked the doctor to look at some warts I've been treating on the bottom of Hannah's foot. She said she needed to freeze them off, or they'd never go away. So . . . bring on the liquid nitro. I was a little worried about getting this done on top of getting all of her immunizations (4 shots total), but Hannah was AMAZING. She made not a sound, moved not an inch, and didn't even make any bad faces during the procedure OR any of the shots. (She later told me that the freezing part really hurt bad, but that she wanted to be a big girl.) Big girl she was! The nurses seemed very impressed and allowed her to get more than one toy as a prize.

I can't believe that my baby will be starting kindergarten in the fall. She is very ready and very excited. How did she get so big so fast???

AGATE Annual Spring Conference

2010-02-26T09:34:00.003-06:00

I am attending AGATE's annual spring conference this week. My principal graciously allowed me to come, knowing that it would help me with my independent study for my last master's class. I am attending the special Parent's Institute as the parent facilitator from my school. I learned a lot of things about being a parent advocate for a gifted child (even some things I didn't know about from my coursework). That may come in handy for my own kids as well. For example, did you know that the University of Missouri allows high school students to take their full selection of online courses for free?

John is attending the conference with me. At first, he was just going to take personal days. But, another general education teacher from him school district that was supposed to come canceled, and he got to come as a conference attendee as well. Our first "teacher" conference together.

Some highlights included staying at the Peabody (formerly the Excelsior where we stayed 13 years ago for John to take the Bar Exam - - and funny, thing - the February Bar Exam is going on this week! John said he doesn't really want to take the test again!) and seeing the Peabody ducks. We also got to see the Governor (don't really know if that was a highlight or not since I didn't vote for him, but he was a good speaker).

Snow Day = Work Day

2010-02-09T20:54:00.003-06:00

We have definitely had our share of snow days lately. More snow than I can remember in a very long time - like maybe since I was in elementary school! We've gotten two snows in the past week and half with about six inches each time. This year, my school district didn't have any built in snow days. And while many people are starting to freak out that we'll be in school during the month of June, I just remind myself that we're almost always still in school during the first week of June; it's not really that big of a deal. I would LOVE year round school and like having time off during the fall and winter - - not just in the summer. Of course, snow days aren't like regular days off. You can't really plan in advance to go on vacation for a long weekend of snow days. (Well, maybe we could . . . )

This year's snow days have all been a HUGE blessing to me. I have so much work to do for my graduate classe (two independent studies). And now, I have my comps to prepare for. All that in addition to lesson plans, grading papers, chauffering kids to piano, basketball practice, the dentist, etc. Instead of lounging around with a book or watching movies on the snowy, cold days, I have put myself to work. Today was pretty productive. I finished the rough draft for two of my four comp questions, and I completed a power point for a 50-page chapter in my pscyh book for one of my independent study classes. Being able to work on grad work all day (because I'm actually caught up with lesson plans and grading) really helps to alleviate some of the stress of what sometimes seems like an insurmountable task.

What did the kids do? Yes, they watched some tv. Each kid had a turn on the computer and a turn playing Wii. Each kid played for a little while with Jacob's ipod touch. (Yes, Jacob willingly shared his Christmas present!) But, Jacob also finished his homework for the entire week and Samuel logged more than an hour of reading time. Hannah played for a long time in her room. So, they seemed to have a great day as well. And, wonderfully - - they all went to bed early!

Comps

2010-02-08T19:34:00.002-06:00

Ok - somebody's going to have to talk me off the ledge. I just got all of my information for doing my comp exams. I thought I would be going in to take a 3-4 hour test, answering 3-4 questions. Now, I found out that I have 30 days to answer questions I've just received and that I have to schedule a defense and go and meet a committee of three professors (that I may not have ever even met!) and defend my answers! I don't like this. I don't like this at all! Isn't there another option? I may have to go back to drinking Maalox from the bottle.

My questions aren't too bad, but now I basically have to write four papers, using APA (which let me be clear - - I HATE!) and citing sources. I thought I was just answering questions to a test! Oh well. My classmate has convinced me that I can do it. We'll see. I guess I'm going to start working on it asap. My 30 days started today.

Opportunities

2010-02-03T21:04:00.003-06:00

How many times have you gone out of your way to witness to someone? Me - not so often. I've had the opportunity over the past few weeks to talk with/share with a gal from work. God gave me the the courage to talk about belief, faith, and salvation. I know the courage came from Him because I was pretty scared to do it. He also gave me the wisdom to ask my big sister for help. Boy, is she good! We asked our friend to meet with us so that we could really talk. What a sweet time of fellowship it was this evening. To find out that she had already asked Jesus for salvation was a huge blessing. To see her hunger for Him and for the Word was inspiring.

Pray for someone's salvation today. Pray for the courage to witness. I hope to not be so scared next time.

Sledding

2010-01-31T20:06:00.002-06:00

This video is actually from our snow day a few weeks ago. I will try to upload video from the "big snow" soon.

2010 Pics

2010-01-31T16:36:00.003-06:00

New Year - New Attempt at Blogging

2010-01-31T16:11:00.003-06:00

Ok - so it's January (alright - January 31st), and it's been a LONG time since I've posted. Like since last June. I'll admit that Facebook has taken most of my online time, but I am going to try and start blogging again as a way to help with my family scrapbooking, remembering things that the kiddos have done, and helping extended family abroad (James and Allison!) up to date with the Huneycutts.

So far 2010 has been a full year! I've been busy with snow storms, lots of graduate work, Upwards basketball, piano lessons, and the daily work of being a mom and teacher. The weather has been AMAZING this month. We've had not one but three snowfalls. The first got us out of school two different days the first week of January. The last snowfall was the biggest we've had in years. We got freezing rain, sleet, and about 6 inches of snow. So far, we've only missed one additional day of school, but I'm thinking we'll be out tomorrow. We've also had some beautiful warm, sunny days where the kids have gotten to play outside, riding bikes and climbing trees.

Since I've been snowed in the last few days, I've gotten a lot accomplished for both of my graduate classes. I'm taking six hours this semester - - both independent studies. One is a general psychology class (Human Life Span), and the other is with my GT professor. I am gettinig to do fairly self-directed projects for each class, and I'm well on my way to being finished with one, and I'm half-way done with the other! My goal is to be done with both by Spring Break. I also have to take my comp exams in March. Then . . . drumroll . . . I graduate with my master's degree in May. Woo Hoo! It's been a long three years of classwork, but I've enjoyed a lot of it (Did I say that?), and I'll definitely enjoy the perks that come with having an advanced degree.

Both boys are playing Upwards basketball again this year. I was surprised that Jacob wanted to do it again; he's really not very athletic. But, it was a good experience for him last year, and it's sooo good for him socially. Samuel, on the other hand, is such a ball hog. I hope that he'll learn to be more of a team player!

Samuel Love Baseball!

2009-06-27T12:08:00.004-05:00

Today was Samuel's last baseball game of the season. His team made it to the semi-finals (much better than any of the parents ever expected!). They ended up being a pretty good little team. We only lost by one, so we felt good about losing - - unlike some earlier games where we lost by 15 or 20 points! Samuel has learned so much more about the game and really seems to play with passion. We're already looking forward to next year!

Now . . . we just have to wait for football season to start. That's always been his favorite - we'll see if he still likes it as much as he has learned to like baseball. He also really wants to play soccer. We made him choose last year, and I've always said that I didn't want my kids to do more than one sport at a time. Several people have tried to talk me into letting him do both. We'll see.

Summer!

2009-06-19T16:30:00.003-05:00

I'm finally writing another blog - I know it's hard to believe! I haven't posted since March, and now it's June! What happened? Well, I joined the world of FaceBook and haven't looked back. But, I'll try to do a little better this summer.

We have been out of school for two whole weeks now, but I haven't really had vacation yet as I'm teaching in the UofA Young Scholar's Program as part of my GT certification and master's degree. It's been a good experience overall, but I'm anxious to be done so that I can enjoy my summer. I'm not doing much else with school this summer, so I should have some good "playtime" with my family.

We have enjoyed swimming several times already as the weather is heating up. Both boys swim pretty well, but this is Hannah's first time to try swimming without her floaties. She is really doing well.

Jacob's 1st Basket

2009-03-22T16:33:00.006-05:00

We were so glad to be running the video camera when Jacob scored his very first basket in a game. This was his first year to play Upwards basketball (or any other league). He was very timid at first, but we saw real improvement as the season progressed. Overall, it was a great experience for him. You have to watch the video for about 45 seconds to see the basket.

Spring Break

2009-03-21T22:42:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that Spring Break is almost over. It has gone by so quickly, and for some reason, didn't even seem like that much of a break. I spent the first weekend of the break being stressed out with school type stuff. I took the GT Praxis early Saturday morning. It was hard. I so hope that I pass because I really don't want to endure another two hours like that. Then, I spent the rest of the weekend finishing the written reports for the Praxis III assessments that I did earlier in the week. I also graded unit tests because grades are due right after break.

On Monday, I drove to Dallas with my sister, Ann. We stayed with my nephew and his wife who are preparing to be missionaries with Wycliffe. It was fun to get to see them. I think the kids really enjoyed playing at their apartment complex. The trip was mainly so that we could go shopping - - boy, does Dallas have the shopping! I had hoped to find a bunch of spring/summer things for all three kids. I didn't find as many good deals as I as hoping for, but I did get several cute things.

The last part of break was spent doing lesson plans for my next unit at school and cleaning house. Sounds fun, huh?

Truly, I have enjoyed getting to sleep in a little later than normal and to stay in my pajamas as long as I want. One other plus was that John's parents had the kids spend the night for one night, so John and I had some peace and quiet. We rented Australia - hadn't seen it at the theater. I really liked it.

John has his spring break this next week. I'm hoping that will make the week less stressful than the normal week would be.

My mind isn't here right now. Please leave a message.

2009-02-26T21:28:00.002-06:00

One of my students wore a t-shirt today with this clever little message. It pretty much describes my last few weeks. For the most part, I spend the school week running in circles, trying to get enough done to be able to make it to the end of the day and be able to get started on the next one. Lesson plans, grading (grading and more grading - - who gives the kids all these assignments anyway?), basketball practice, my grad class, Wednesday night church, scouts and on, and on, and on.

My sister reminded me the other day of some sage advice I gave her 10-15 years ago. Something about how I wasn't going to run all over the place because my kids had all these different things to do. My kids were going to choose one activity, and that'd be it. I'm sure she just shrugged at me and thought to herself "You're so stupid. Just wait." She would never say it, but she'd be right to think it. Even with limiting activities to just one thing, good grief - I've got three kids, so that's automatically three different things! Plus anything that John and I want to add to the mix. I know this is just for a season, so I'm mainly just trying to roll with the punches.

For the few that actually read my blog, you'll notice that I don't post with any regularity anymore. Part of that is because I've been bitten by the Facebook bug. It's just faster and easier. But, my other sister told me tonight that I should still do it - she likes to read it. So, I'll try to be a little more consistent.

I'm so very glad that tomorrow is Friday. It has been a really, really long week.

A Spoonful of Sugar

2009-02-08T20:48:00.002-06:00

makes you get cavities! Hannah is getting this tooth fixed tomorrow at the dentist. The boys haven't ever had any cavities, but alas, I was bound to have one child with bad teeth. John and I both had bunches of cavities when we were kids, so it's a wonder we don't know the dentist on a first-name basis. I'm hoping that Hannah won't freak out at getting a shot, the filling, etc.

We go to her appointment first thing in the morning, then I'm staying home with her - just in case she feels badly or is exceptionally grouchy. I'm hoping to get a lot accomplished at home.

Life in the Dark Ages

2009-01-30T22:20:00.003-06:00

Ok - so it was only "dark" for about 11 hours. We were very fortunate this week in that our power was only off for a brief time. There are lots of people who have been out of power for days now (including my parents). We came home from school early on Monday, though the weather wasn't yet that bad. Not long after dark, that changed. By Tuesday morning, we had so much ice accumulation that we lost power. The kids were amused at first, I think because it wasn't dark, so it didn't seem that strange. We turned on our gas fireplace which did a fairly good job of keeping us warm. Fortunately, we had turned up the heat warmer than normal in anticipation of losing power; that definitely helped to keep it from getting too cold. John cooked macaroni and cheese on the grill outside, so we enjoyed a warm lunch. The power came back on for a few hours in the afternoon - long enough to crank up the heat again - before going off for a longer stretch of time. We grilled again for dinner and ate by candlelight. We played board games with candles and flashlights; the kids were most amused. Baths were by candlelight (a well-known treat for me but something new for the kids). We all went to bed by 8:30 - also a treat - - extra sleep! We awoke in the middle of the night to every light in the house coming on - and, the power's been on since.

We've watched several movies, played games, and read books. The kids played outside several different times. Unfortunately, the whole family got sick with some sort of bug. Samuel threw up all day yesterday, and Hannah had a fever all day. Jacob was sick with the stomach bug today. I think all are feeling better now.

I left the house today (Friday) for the first time in four days. All I had seen of the storm was what I could see from our windows, the tv news, and facebook pictures people had posted. What I saw in person was absolutely unreal. It's like a tornado has ripped through town taking trees and power lines but, for the most part, leaving houses and buildings. The ice was beautiful, but the damage is astounding.

Pinewood Derby

2009-01-28T18:20:00.003-06:00

And they're off . . . .

This weekend, the boys participated in the Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby. This was quite an event! John worked on their cars (you'll notice I said John, not the boys!) for days and days. The boys picked out a pattern and colors, that's about it. We had no idea what to expect. Next year, we'll be more prepared. Neither of our cars won any heats at all. They were pretty slow, in fact. Oh well. I think the boys had fun just going. We got free lunch too.

Jacob checks out the competition.

Samuel's troop votes on the coolest car.

Some of the cooler cars . . . .

Some Kind of Joke?

2009-01-17T19:54:00.002-06:00

Ok - one product was kinda weird, but another has shown up at my door. Has someone filled out some new expectant mother card with my name on it? Earlier this week, I got a box of canned baby formula. Then, a second package showed up - sample diapers. I'm trying to get rid of baby stuff, and more shows up??

Stuff

2009-01-12T21:45:00.002-06:00

Can you believe that I'm finally writing another post? Since joining Facebook, I find it harder to get around to writing something new for the blogging world (not that there are many out there who read this!). School has been back in session for just over a week. Things at school are going fairly well. We've implemented some new behavior plans for our entire group, and so far, they seem to be working - at least a little. That's a good thing because it's a long, long time until June.

I started this semester's grad class tonight. It's GT Curriculum. I am so glad to be back with my advisor; I love sitting under her instruction. I get something out of every class, and it's usually something that I can use in my classroom even though I'm not teaching GT. This semester I will have to write an entire unit based on an "ology" or "ography." I pretty much have free reign over my choice. Any cool suggestions? We spent part of class trying to match "ology" and "ography" vocabulary terms with what was being studied. It was really pretty challenging (although I'm certain that James would have been great at it because of his vast vocabulary!).

4th Grade continues to be a burden on me. Jacob is really doing fine, but his grades have slipped a little. I don't know why I feel such pressure about his performance. Actually, that's not true. I do know why. I still question (on a regular basis) our decision to skip kindergarten. Anytime he misses something, I worry that we made the wrong decision or at least that his teacher questions our decision. Then, if I get onto Jacob to get him to work harder (the problem is mostly not checking work, careless errors, bad handwriting) then he gets all upset. I have got to work on some kind of balance. AUGHHH!!

2008 Year in Pictures

2008-12-31T19:38:00.005-06:00

Here's a look back at 2008 in the life of the Huneycutts. We had a wonderful year full of blessings.

January - - We had several snow days in January. You can tell how broken-hearted Samuel was to miss school.

February - - Samuel & Hannah enjoy a warm day by swinging .

March - - We visited the Air Museum in Gulf Shores on the way back from our Spring Break trip to Florida.

April - - Hannah was a German girl for Montessori's International Dinner

May - - Hannah performed in her first dance recital

June - - a camping trip to Lake Ft. Smith State Park

July - - Swimming lessons at the Swim Ranch

August - - A new year of school brought a new activity, Cub Scouts.

September - - Samuel runs for a touchdown!

October - - Hannah gives a cheesy smile while holding Sleeping Beauty, a gift from Greg Harper, the Panasonic guy.

November - - Hannah made princess cookies for her 4th birthday.

December - - Most of December saw lots of this activity. Wii, wii, and more wii!!

Christmas Choir Concert

2008-12-10T22:05:00.002-06:00

Tonight was our church's Christmas choir program for children's choirs. All three of our children got to sing. It's hard to believe that Hannah is now big enough to sing in "big church." She was so very excited, and has been talking about it for days. Samuel's first and second grade choir was performing a mini-musical called "The Christmas County Spelling Bee." He had a solo and a speaking part and has been singing up a storm for several weeks now. Jacob wasn't particularly thrilled at having to sing in front of an audience, but he gave it his all. He's not the kid who wants to be in the spotlight (unlike the other two). All three kids did so well. We took lots of pictures and finally put our new HD video camera to good use. The quality of the video was amazing.

Happy Turkey Day

2008-11-27T08:48:00.005-06:00

Thanksgiving already. I can't believe that my week off from school is more than half over! Yikes! I've accomplished a lot, but there is much left to do. We celebrated two birthdays this week - - Hannah turned 4 on Tuesday, and Samuel turned 7 yesterday. On Saturday, we celebrated with Samuel. He invited a few friends from school to go and see Bolt 3-D. The movie was pretty good, but I think I would have liked it better without the 3-D. The glasses were bothersome, and there wasn't really anything that the 3-D was needed for. After the movie, we went to CiCi's for some pizza. I thought it would be an easy place to go with a van full of kids. Evidently, a bunch of other people thought the same thing; the place was packed. Samuel had a great time, though - and what an easy party - - little or no prep! Hannah's bday was a little different. I spent a lot of prep time for her bday bash. When I was in Houston a couple of weeks ago, I went to Williams Sonoma and found a set of princess cookie cutters and an adorable pink princess apron. This inspired the party. I spent several hours on Monday baking sugar cookies and cutting them in various princess themed shapes. I also "made" some pretty cute aprons for party favors. (I had asked my mom to help me make aprons, but we found some ready-made aprons at Hobby Lobby, and I ironed-on a princess transfer. I thought they turned out so cute!) Tuesday morning, some of Hannah's little friends from church came over and frosted cookies and played in her room.

I've also gotten the house fairly decked out for Christmas. The kids and I managed to set up the big tree all by ourselves - quite a surprise to John! I switched out all of my dishes for the Christmas set, and have set out an assortment of Christmas decorations. I was really worried about where the big tree would go because our new tv cabinet takes up the whole wall where we used to put our tree. I ended up moving our big chair out of the corner and putting it across from the other living room furniture. It kinda blocks the fireplace a little, and it doesn't face the tv, but I think it looks ok - and it's only temporary. That way, the tree has a really good location in a corner by the fireplace.

We'll be headed to John's brother's house for a big Thanksgiving meal at noon. I'm sure we'll eat way more than we should! Happy Turkey Day!

Bring Your Parents to School Night @ Montesssori

2008-11-15T12:56:00.003-06:00

Last Tuesday was Montessori's "Bring Your Parents to School" Night for Hannah's class. I took her, and loved watching her show me all of the "work" she does during the day while she's there. She loved showing off and having her picture made. I took some video of her "reading." I'm hoping that I can manage to post it here.

Presentations & Food

2008-11-15T12:50:00.002-06:00

I've accomplished two main things in Houston - - 1.)getting some good new ideas for my classroom AND 2.)adding to my waist line with some really great food!! I have attended several different sessions on teaching world history. I saw an awesome poster presentation (meaning that it was a display you visit rather than a session yous it through - and you get to talk one-on-one with the presenter) on scrapbooking history. The whole project was creating a scrapbook of your "journey through time." I"m thinking of doing this as a final exam project instead of a test! It was really neat. I have visited a couple of good restaurants thanks to some Houston teachers I met sitting outside a conference room. They made all kinds of suggestions of different places that the locals like (rather than tourist spots or standard chains) and gave really good driving directions. The mexican food we ate last night was wonderful!

Tonight, we have free tickets to a special showing of a movie that doesn't come out until January. It's called Definiance. It's by the director who did Glory. It's a WWII movie about Jews in Eastern Europe. It looks really, really good, and I'm so excited that we get to go for free! We're going to go really early to make sure we get a seat. It's first come first served with limited seating. The theater is downtown and not too far from our hotel.

We start home tomorrow. I hope the drive goes by quickly. Nothing like nine hours in the car!

Houston, Texas

2008-11-13T22:47:00.003-06:00

I am in Houston getting ready to attend the National Social Studies conference which begins tomorrow morning. I left home yesterday morning (with another teacher from McNair - Terry), and we drove as far as Dallas. We had tickets to see King Tut which was showing at a big museum in downtown Dallas. My nephew, James, and his wife Allison met us at the museum and toured King Tut with us. The exhibit was great! It was neat to see in person so many of the things I've been teaching the kids about ancient Egypt. I had such fun getting to see James and Allison as well. We stayed at their apartment last night and got to visit for a short while. (Thanks James & Allison!) We left this morning and drove the rest of the way to Houston. Our hotel is downtown and is connected to the convention center where our conference is located. It's a really, really nice hotel! The only problem is that this place is crazy because the Latin Grammy Awards are going on across the street from us. There are cops everywhere, and tonight when we were trying to come back from shopping, all of the streets were blocked off. We drove around for 15-20 minutes trying to figure out how to get back to our hotel. We also saw some crazy teenagers at the Galleria where we went shopping. There were close to 3000 (I kid you not!) teenage girls standing in line to see "Jacob" from the Twilight movie (from the famous Twilight Saga book series). We talked to some of them and found out that they had been standing in line since 3:00 a.m.! Unbelieveable! Terry and I do our presentation tomorrow morning at 10:15. I'm actually kind of nervous. I'll be glad to have it over and done!

Fall Family Fotos

2008-11-02T16:12:00.004-06:00

This week has been a lot like Christmas - - all of our Panasonic stuff is here and finally installed. We've had boxes and packing material everywhere. Our garage is now full of cardboard and some old furniture. On Wednesday, Greg Harper (the guy in charge of the project for Panasonic), flew in from New York City and spent the day with us. He was incredibly nice! He spent several hours showing us the many functions of our still cameras and the video camera. It was a little overwhelming. Two guys from a home theater installation company drove down from Springfield, Missouri and set up the tv, dvd, and home theater system. Our furniture still isn't all here yet, so we made do with using a bookshelf that's about the same height to complete the entertainment center. It's going to take some getting used to (especially figuring out how to turn on everything!), but it's great so far.

This afternoon we headed outside to see some pretty fall leaves and make some family pictures. We went to the Confederate Cemetery, a favorite place for posing in the fall colors. Here are some of our pics:

Happy Birthday Jacob!

2008-10-25T16:47:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is Jacob's 9th birthday! It's hard to believe that he is already nine years old! This year, we opted not to have an official birthday party with invitations, lots of kids, etc. Instead, we invited a couple of friends from school to go with us to Fast Lanes in Lowell for some laser tag, bowling, and pizza. I think all of the boys had a great time.

We were able to document the fun with some of our new Panasonic equipment. All of our stuff was delivered yesterday afternoon. It was like Christmas! So many boxes with so much unbelievable stuff. We had permission to open and begin using the cameras, video camera, and laptop. So, of course, we have jumped right in trying to figure out how everything works. We have to wait for the official Panasonic visit this next Wednesday to hook up the television, dvd player, and home theater system. We managed to unload the old tv armoire, move it to the garage (with only minor trouble), and put the new furniture where it needs to be. Unfortunately, the new entertainment center still has one piece that won't be delivered until late December, so it may look a little funny until then. Don't forget to check out livinginhd.com. The latest contest deadline is next Friday, October 31st. Enter - - you might just win!

2-4-6-8- Who Do You Appreciate?

2008-10-19T13:33:00.004-05:00

Samuel! Samuel! We were cheerleaders at yesterday's football game as we watched Samuel rack up four touchdowns! Football season is almost over, and Samuel has had a blast learning to play. He really loves being coached. I just wish we had more time to practice with him and that either John or I could throw a decent pass. Last weekend, one of my students who lives in my neighborhood came over and played football in the backyard with Samuel. Boy, did Samuel love the attention!

My school has gotten some new, fun little video cameras - the flip video. I took one to yesterday's game and took this video:

The Face of the Earth

2008-10-14T20:16:00.002-05:00

I haven't really fallen off . . . . I have just been really busy. I have pushed the blog world to the back burner for a while. My schedule has remained pretty much the same, but it seems like things are flying by at warp speed. Since my last post, I have been to Little Rock for Praxis Assessor recalibration, an all day training that required me to give up my ticket to the Florida football game (we lost anyway) and be gone all day long. Missing a Saturday at home put me woefully behind on chores of all kinds. I more than made up for it this weekend as I did a whopping twelve loads of laundry! (and another one already tonight)

I go to Silver Dollar City with 110 7th graders on Thursday. I'm really hopeful that the weather will be nice. It has been so warm, and we've only had a little rain. But, it always seems to rain on field trip days.

On Sunday, I go to Hot Springs for the AAMLE conference. Another teacher and I are presenting at the conference; we're doing a session on using GPS units in the middle school classroom. From there, I leave the conference early on Tuesday to drive to Ft. Smith for Pathwise Trainer recalibration. I have a mid-term in my graduate class on Wednesday night and parent teacher conferences on Thursday & Friday. In the midst of this, we were supposed to have the Panasonic people come and install all of our goodies on Thursday, the 23rd (I've rescheduled all of my Thursday conferences), and I got an email today saying that they might not be able to come until the next week. Thus, the craziness . . . . . .

John took the boys on a cub scout campout at Camp Orr (on the Buffalo River) this past weekend. They seemed to have a great time. I was overjoyed that the boys could have some quality time with their dad. I must admit that I was also overjoyed to have a day and half with just me and Hannah. We called it our "girl's weekend." Saturday night, we rented Nim's Island and watched it in our jammies. So fun.

Football Frenzy

2008-09-22T18:20:00.002-05:00

Our family is getting football frenzy! Samuel had his very first flag-football game yesterday. It was a family affair with grandparents and Aunt Ann in attendance. Samuel's team finally got their uniforms. They're the Dallas Cowboys. His jersey looks really cute on him, but it's about five sizes too big. Samuel really has the concept of the game and is trying really hard to pull flags (although I think he'd prefer to tackle!) and to follow offensive instructions. Samuel scored a touchdown at the very end of the game. He was so excited. (Last week during a scrimmage, he intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown!) Fortunately, there aren't too many games in the season, so practices and games will be short-lived and shouldn't eat up too much of our time.

I Was Sleeping, and Right in the Middle of a Good Dream . .

2008-09-14T17:17:00.005-05:00

all at once I wake up . . . . with Jacob telling me that the power is out. Hurricane Ike (a tropical depression by the time it got here) was pelting rain and wind on Fayetteville. Our power was out for about two hours, something that caused Jacob to have an absolute inability to stay asleep. I was sleeping just fine; in fact, I might have slept through the entire storm were it not for the constant updates of "the power's out, the power's back on, the power's out again, it's raining really hard, the wind is really blowing, you should go look outside, etc." This morning, the sun came up, and I couldn't believe it. I thought it was supposed to rain all day long, but it has been absolutely gorgeous! Bright sunshine, blue sky, and cool temps. The high today has been 68 degrees. Just about as close to perfect as you can get.

Now, if you recognized the lyrics from the title, you'll be excited to know that I have been listening to the best of the Partridge family on my ipod this weekend while doing housework. Now, I'm not really old enough for this to be my generation's music; however, I do have older sisters who had this record, and I played it over and over again. John is amazed that I still know every word. John has worked hard over the past few weeks to update music on my ipod, and I now have quite the collection - old music, new music, things I haven't heard for years. Bobby Darrin, Bobby Sherman, Billy Joel, Barry Manilow mixed in with the new Steven Curtis Chapman and the Imperials Greatest Hits. I now know what I want for Christmas - a docking station so that I can force others to listen to my great tunes.

I have had a great school-free weekend (well, almost . . I did work this afternoon on some lesson plans, but they're lesson plans for in the future, and I enjoy doing searching and reading if I'm not under pressure for what I'm doing tomorrow!). I have done some much needed house cleaning (not that you can tell!). I spent several hours cleaning in Hannah's room and closet. I weeded out clothes to consign, clothes to give away, and toys to throw out (shh! I can't let the kids catch me). It's amazing how much I can get done when I don't have my nose buried in a book. I have read about 3500 pages of fiction in the past week. I read the entire Twilight series (I started the first book at the insistence of a student in my reading class; I didn't think I'd like it at all) and I couldn't stop reading until I'd read all four books. Now, if I could just make myself read for my grad class - - history of education. I need to read several chapters on education in the middle ages. Not quite as entertaining as a romance novel.

It's Official!

2008-09-12T21:19:00.004-05:00

We have finally gotten a call from Panasonic. We really did win and will become a part of the Panasonic Living in HD family! I think it took so long because so many of the people working for that part of Panasonic were in Beijing for the Olympics.
We got a more complete listing of all of the incredible things that we'll be getting and have a tentative time for installation. We will be getting a visit and "training session" from one of the top guys, Greg, sometime in early October. (There are several winning families scheduled in front of us.) My sister is excited that he's the guy coming; he's evidently really nice and will be very enthusiastic about helping us get all of our stuff situated and working. I was very excited to find out that the tv is internet capable as is the video camera and still camera. I can post pics directly to the tv. I may even be able to blog on the tv!
John and I plan to go shopping this weekend (if Ike allows us to get out of the house) because we have to find a new piece of furniture for the living room that will hold the tv and other media components. We have to get rid of our large armoire - - fortunately, I think Ann is willing to take it and use/store it until the day we might decide that we want it back. We had the option to have the tv mounted on the wall, but we've decided to get furniture instead. We have to get something new anyway that will hold the dvd player and assorted media stuff like dvds, wii games, etc. That stuff is currently in the armoire that will be going away. Panasonic is giving us an allowance that we can use for furniture or costs incurred in upgrading to HD, electrical work, etc.
To check out the contest, visit http://www.livinginhd.com/ Check out my sister, Susan, who is on the website already. It's not to late to enter the next round of the contest, but the deadline is soon!

Finally

2008-09-07T09:30:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm finally getting around to writing another post. I can't believe that it's been so long. I've written several posts in my head about different things, but never got around to accomplishing much. I have tried to keep up with reading other blogs, though.

Things have pretty much settled into a routine around here. Mornings have been pretty good, actually. I'm now taking Hannah in addition the boys. John's school is starting earlier this year, so he has to be out the door more quickly. I just didn't think I could have Hannah ready to leave by 6:45. (Although, I think she's been ready that early pretty much every day). We try to leave between 6:55 and 7:00 to get to Montessori. That gets the boys back to Vandergriff around 7:20 and me at McNair around 7:25. Yes, it can take five whole minutes to get from the Vandy parking lot to my parking lot; you would not believe the traffic!! The boys still walk to my classroom in the afternoons. We stay long enough to get things wrapped up for the day and anything done for the next day that still needs doing.

Samuel has started football, finally. We were wondering if they would ever find enough coaches. His team is the Dallas Cowboys, which he's excited about. All of the practices are at Vandergriff/McNair, so it's pretty convenient. I think the games are at the Boys & Girls Club across town. Both boys have joined Cub Scouts (I thought we were just going to have Jacob do this, but John came home from the meeting with both boys signed up!). Fortunately, the den meetings are also at Vandy - very convenient, and we don't have to stay. Yea!

Wednesday nights have gone well so far. I take the kids to church for the Wednesday night meal, and John joins us there. The kids leave around 5:30 to go to choir (and then AWANA), and I leave to go to my class at the U of A. John and the kids are done at church around 7:45. My class is out at 8:50. So, there's not too much time when I'm not available - - the kids don't seem to notice that I'm not there (although I'm quite sure that John does). My class, the History of Education, has been ok so far. Not terribly exciting. I have to come up with a thesis for a paper (if I want to be eligible to get an A I have to write a 20 page paper) - - yuck. Any ideas? It can be on anything in the history of education - - anything that I could talk about for 20 pages.

Things at school are going well. I really like my kids this year. They are really sweet. My team is getting along really well too. I'm doing GPS stuff with my classes this week. I have parents coming to help. I'm really hoping that the weather will be ok. We can't really go geocaching in the woods if it's raining. I guess I need to have a movie handy.

John took the kids to church this morning while I"m at home. I woke up on Friday and felt kinda strange. I looked in the mirror to discover that my face was all swollen. I look like I've had my wisdom teeth taken out! I went ahead and went to school Friday morning (because we were having a special team day) but I left around 11:00 to go to the doctor. I have something called Parotitis. It's basically a virus like the mumps, except it's not the mumps (although they did a blood test for mumps!). Yes, I've had the MMR - - like three times! Yesterday was even worse. Jacob told me I looked like I did when I was in the hospital with Hannah - - great, I didn't know that I looked that bad! I told John that I was NOT leaving the house for anything! It's maybe a little better today, but it HAS to be better tomorrow. I have to go to school; a sub cannot do my GPS stuff, and I have parents coming the next day, so we have to do our intro tomorrow. John wants to take a picture of me, but I said no.

So, here's a picture of my little cub scouts. . . .

One Week Down

2008-08-24T20:58:00.002-05:00

We all survived the first week of school. Other than being exhausted by the time it was Friday, it was a really good week. I seem to have a really good group of kids. I have to admit to being really worried because we have about 80% boys this year. Putting that many 12-13 year-old boys together in a classroom can be a crazy thing. But, all of our boys seem wonderful. No noticeable behavior problems at all - - which is wild because usually I can tell even in the first week. My team of teachers also seems to be functioning well thus far which is a praise. We have a new team member, and he seems to be catching on quickly and nice and laid back.

The kids all seem to love their teachers. Jacob is the one I worry about the most, just for social reasons, but he seems to be doing well. He is in class with his best friend, a true blessing! Samuel actually seemed disappointed on Saturday morning when I said we weren't going to school. Hannah cheered tonight when I told her that tomorrow is a school day. I just hope their attitudes stay like this in the early morning when we're scrambling to get out the door in time.

We haven't heard anything further from Panasonic about winning the Living in HD contest. However, my sister (the one in China!) has spent the past week with the guy in charge of the contest. She told him about our connection (the one hitch I was worried about), and she said he was cool with the fact that we are sisters. He even remembered our entry and said that what we wrote about Jacob (his intense interest in weather, forecasting, maps, computers, blogging, etc.) is what got their attention. Needless to say that Jacob has pretty much got the big head now. (Of course, I think he is a pretty unique little guy!) We hope to hear something soon. Since many of the Panasonic crew are in China with the Olympics, I'm thinking that's the reason we haven't heard anything.

Fabulous First Day

2008-08-18T20:35:00.002-05:00

4th Grade - Wow!
new class - P5
first day of first grade

Well, the first day of school has come and gone. For me, it was a whirlwind! The first day always seems like such a blur with the craziness of making sure everyone is in the right spot, assigning lockers (and making sure students can open them!), and giving the same introduction over and over again. My kids all seem pretty sweet so far. I am looking forward to tomorrow which will seem like a more traditional school day. I just hope I can remember all the names and faces that I learned today.

Jacob, Samuel, and Hannah seemed to have a great day as well. They were pretty quick to get up and ready this morning. Well, Samuel was dragging a bit and had to have some prodding. Hannah even got into the excitement and was quick to get in the van and get buckled. We actually left home on time (about 6:55) and got to Montessori in record time. Hannah's new teacher was there to greet us; it's nice to be able to take her to her classroom instead of to an early drop-off room. The transition is just smoother. After dropping her off, we headed back towards Vandergriff and McNair. The boys jumped out of the van (yes, I slowed down) with smiles, ready to go to their new classrooms. They anxiously shared stories this afternoon about their days.

Tonight we went out for ice cream after dinner as a traditional "First Day of School" ice cream treat (an Aunt Ann tradition that seemed like a really good one to me). It was a yummy evening!

Split Again

2008-08-12T21:50:00.000-05:00

I went to Vandergriff tonight for a meeting about Jacob's class placement for this next year. He will be in a "split" class again this year - a 4th/5th grade class. This is the second time we've done a split class. He was in a 2nd/3rd split as a 2nd grader two years ago. I must admit that two years ago, I was a little apprehensive about Jacob being with older kids, especially because he was already a year younger than everyone in his grade. I have a little twinge of that this time when I think about my sweet 8-year-old being in class with 5th graders! (Of course, he's almost nine.) We had such a wonderful experience with his split class before (primarily because of his awesome teacher) that I don't really have any big qualms going into this year. Now that I've spent an hour listening to his teacher talk about her plans for this year, I am feeling great about what's in store for him. His teacher appears to be nothing short of absolutely fabulous. I will be praying that she will be understanding of his special quirks and needs, but from everything that I've been told, she will be good for him. Another blessing is that Jacob's best friend is also going to be in this class. That's the biggest praise from my viewpoint. It took him so long to make some friends; I'm glad that he doesn't have to start over in that area. Jacob seems a little apprehensive, but he was excited when I came home excited. Once he knows the routines and gets to know his teacher, I think he'll be fine.Tomorrow is "Meet Your Teacher" day at Vandergriff. We'll go and find out Samuel's class (since Jacob's isn't a surprise) and see classrooms, meet teachers, pick up school supply boxes, etc. Samuel is very excited. His question tonight was, "Do we get to start going to school the next day after that??" He would start tomorrow if he could!Hannah is slowing getting into the school routine. It's been hard for her to start a different class. I'm anxious for her to start with the gal that will be her regular teacher. She'll also be better when tap lessons and tumble time start back.I have Open House at McNair on Thursday night. I'll get to meet the students in my classes as well as their parents. I'm hoping to have my room completely finished as well as the area right outside my room because first impressions are so very important. The kids have seen everything before, but the parents haven't. I can't believe that school starts next week!! I feel like the week is going at warp speed!

Ok - I Can't Stand it Anymore!

2008-08-07T20:55:00.002-05:00

I just have to share some incredible news . . . . When I got home yesterday (after a very long day at school), I asked John if I had gotten any mail. He nodded to the kitchen table and then said I had gotten something from FedEx. Hmmm. . . . Could it be? I knew when I picked up the envelope that I hadn't ordered anything. I also knew that FedEx would be bringing good news to someone just about now.

I entered a contest sponsored by Panasonic earlier this summer. I wrote a short essay and submitted it online. And guess what??? I won! I keep thinking that it's too good to be true. I had to sign an affadavit that I meet the criteria (age 18+, a bona fide citizen, etc.) and have it notarized and FedEx it back. Of course, I was at the bank at 7:30 this morning taking care of that. I can call tomorrow to insure that they received it. After that, I should get a call from someone in their office giving me more information.

What did I win? You name it; I won it. All kinds of products from Panasonic! You can check it out at www.livinginhd.com.

What Goes Down Must Come Up?

2008-08-04T19:41:00.002-05:00

We are back home now. The drive back wasn't too bad. We drove from Wisconsin to Kansas City, taking a more western route back than what we took going up there. We stopped at a park alongside the Mississippi River at LaCrosse, Wisconsin. It's amazing to me how different this mighty river looks further north. I always think of the way it looks at Memphis (far less scenic and much larger). We passed through one corn field after another, and Jacob found the huge windmills quite interesting.

Jacob got a new atlas on this trip. His last one was literally tearing apart. He continually gave directions and information about the state we were driving through at any given time. I think John could get rid of his gps entirely and just use jps (jacob positioning system)!

To the title . . .what's the worst way a mom can be woken up during night? You guessed it - a sick kid. We woke up on our last night in Wisconsin with Jacob at the foot of our bed telling us that he had thrown up. I hate waking up like that, but unfortunately, that wasn't all . . . Hannah was screaming from the other bedroom. She had been sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor between the boy's beds. Jacob had thrown up ALL over her! The poor thing; it was in her hair, all down her nightgown, and on her toes! John took over cleaning up Jacob (and the small area of floor - Hannah got the brunt of it) and I took Hannah and stuck her in the tub (still screaming). Poor Jacob; I didn't really pay him any attention, and he was the one who had gotten sick. I just felt so badly for Hannah - - soooooo gross! Hannah spent the rest of the night in our bed, and Jacob went back to sleep and was fine in the morning. It must have been something he ate.

I didn't have much time after getting home to plunge into school. I started teaching a 3-day Pathwise Training session today. At least I've done this enough now that it doesn't take hear as much effort or preparation as it used to. I have fun working with Gail, the other trainer. My room is pretty much ready to go. I just have a little more work to do on it. I haven't done any of the work in the area outside my classroom. That will still take a chunk of time. I officially start my contract days on Thursday, and it's a day at my school. I'm hoping that we won't have meetings the entire time, and that I"ll be able to meet with my team, including my new team member that I have yet to meet. (Leah - - it's Ben D., the one you commented about).

Hannah started her new class at Montessori today. She seemed to have a really good day. The class isn't officially open for another two weeks, so she's in with another group of students for the time being, but it's in the room where she'll be staying. I hope tomorrow's drop off goes as well. If she's like the boys, the first day back is easy. The second . . not so much. The boys are staying with my mom, and of course, are having a blast!

John had his MRI today, and he's gotten some indication that all is normal. He also went back to the ENT. There hasn't been very much change. His hearing was tested again, and there's been no improvement with his tonal hearing, but he has improved in the area of speech sounds. He will be continuing to take prednisone for the time being. He has also been told about a doctor in Ft. Smith that specializes in this kind of problem, so he'll be deciding whether or not to go there. He's also considering going to an audiologist who worked with Jacob (and I know her from having her kids in school - - she's a neat Christian lady). He would like to consult with her about different types of hearing aids. If you want more information on his condition, and to see what he's hearing, he's going to put some links on his blog that demonstrate what his type of hearing loss sounds like.

But I Don't Want to Go!

2008-07-31T12:44:00.004-05:00

Those are the words that have come out of Samuel's mouth every time we've said it was time to leave the condo and go somewhere, whether it's to swim, to eat, to ride the Ducks, etc. Every time he has had a blast, but he just doesn't ever want to get up and go!

We are still having a really good time in Wisconsin. We have gone to all six of the waterparks here at our resort. Each kid has a favorite slide or water activity. I'm particularly fond of the lazy river! I just love it that there are indoor parks as well as outdoor ones. We have tended to go to the outdoor ones first (while we're freshly lathered with sunscreen), stayed for a couple of hours, and then headed inside.

On Monday, we went to tour a cheese factory, only it wasn't really a tour. It was watching a "How to Make Cheese" video in the corner of the store. We did try some really good cheese, though. We drove the scenic way to Madison, crossing the Wisconsin River on a ferry. The kids hadn't ever been on one. They were pretty fascinated. We went to a zoo in Madison that a parent from this past year told me about. It was about the size of the Tulsa Zoo, and it was free! The kids really like seeing the animals. The cages were a little different than one I'm used to. We could actually stand about eight feet from two grown lions - with just a fence inbetween. We also went to an interactive science center.

Yesterday, we rode a Duck on the Wisconsin River. It was fun; the kids loved going from land to water - - just driving right in. There were some differences between the Ducks here and the ones in Branson - - no quacking, for instance. This morning we headed out early to Mr. Pancake, the local pancake house. It was really yummy. I had peanut butter stuffed pancakes. After I ordered, I started thinking . . . why do I always pick the really fattening things? Fruit on my pancakes would have been a better choice, I"m sure. But, the peanut butter ones were really good. And, it's not like I ate anywhere near all of them. I was stuff after eating just a little off my plate! After breakfast, we headed out to "The Ranch" to go on a horseback ride. Jacob rode on his own horse - - he did great! He thought it was so much fun. Samuel rode with me, and Hannah rode with John. Hannah whined and cried through the first half of the ride, so much that the trail guide stopped and switched her with Samuel. She was fine after that. I guess she's just a mama's girl. I thought the horses were pretty fun. I guess we'll have to get Katie to take us riding sometime.

I think we're going to hang out and swim for the rest of the day today. Maybe we can find a good movie for us all to watch this evening.

More pics . . .

Vacation!

2008-07-27T20:43:00.003-05:00

We made it to Wisconsin! The drive was long, and I'm really glad we did it in two days. We drove to St. Louis on Friday. We ate a great place in Laclede's Landing downtown (Old Spaghetti Factory) which is wonderful because you get dessert (ice cream or spumoni) included with every meal. Then we went to City Museum for a few hours. The kids loved it! Unfortunately, it's not air conditioned through most of the museum, so it was pretty hot. Of course, the kids had to climb through all the outside stuff too, which was very hot and humid. (City Museum isn't an ordinary museum; it's like a giant art deco playland.) Hannah's favorite was the three-story slide. The boys just loved it all. If we lived in St. Louis, it would definitely be the place to have a birthday party.

We drove the rest of the way to Wisconsin Dells on Saturday. Our condo here is incredible! By far the nicest we've stayed at anywhere. It's huge, new, very posh. Thanks Mom & Dad!! There are six different water parks here at the resort, and all are included for guests and can only be used by guests. Some things were crowded by afternoon, but never too crowded. Some of the water parks are inside which is nice since I can't be in the sun for too long. We did an outside park this morning and an inside one this afternoon. I only had to apply sunscreen to everyone once - nice. Last night and tonight, we let the kids play in a giant indoor playland (no water). It's wonderful just to let them go and sit and watch. (Yes, I did climb through lots but am sore and bruised from City Museum!)

We plan to drive in to Madison tomorrow. The zoo there is free, so we'll probably do that and go to see the capital building. There's a free ferry across the Wisconsin River that is supposed to be really neat. We also want to tour a cheese factory.

Please keep praying for John. His hearing is ever so slightly better, but he's experience extreme tenitis (sp?). That's a reverberation/whoosing sound in his good ear (trying to compensate for the bad ear). It's driving him nuts. He isn't having any bad side effects from the prednisone, so that's a praise. He is still really anxious about whether his hearing will come back. He's being a trooper, though. We're still all having a great time. I've included some trip pictures. I don't have many water pictures yet, so more of those later.

Please Pray for John

2008-07-24T15:55:00.005-05:00

John woke up unable to hear out of one ear - basically not hearing anything at all. He saw an ENT today, and we really expected to find out that he was having sinus problems, and that his eustacian tubes were just stopped up. Instead, we found out that he has a condition called Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. The cause is not known. Lasting effects are unknown as well. His hearing loss was measured by an audiologist as moderate/severe, and he thinks it's continuing to worsen. He is going to be taking large amounts of prednisone for two weeks to see if that will improve his hearing. There's a 75% chance that his hearing will return in some capacity, either mostly back to normal or limited improvement. There's a chance his hearing will not come back at all. He will have to get an MRI (when we get back from vacation) to determine if there's a tumor on his auditory nerve (benign) which is sometimes associated with this condition.
We are thankful that only one ear is affected; the other ear seems perfectly normal. We are praying that it will remain that way. Please pray that his hearing will be restored to full capacity and that he won't develop any of the other symptoms associated with this condition (vertigo, loss of balance) - especially while on our trip. Please pray that he will be able to enjoy our vacation and that the kids and I will be sensitive to the situation.

Huneycutt Family

2008-07-23T13:24:00.001-05:00

Never Ever Mess With Your Layout

2008-07-20T21:54:00.003-05:00

. . . unless you really know what you are doing. I was inspired by a custom layout on a friend's blog, and I thought, you know . . . I could surely figure out how to do that. Ha. I went to webfetti and instantly had a new background/layout. I was just playing around and didn't really want to keep the background. But, I could NOT get it to go away. I did all kinds of things to my blog before I figured out how to fix the background. When I finally got the background to go away, I had succeeded in removing all of my pictures, sidebars, etc. The most confusing thing was that I didn't have a page elements tab to be able to try to put it back on. I even enlisted John's help in trying to figure out what I had done. I have spent the last hour trying to figure it out - -- finally, I have things back to a relatively normal state. I was tempted to call my friend, Reba, to tell her my frustrations - - knowing that she would understand. Leah, I need REALLY detailed instructions. Otherwise, my blog will have to not be cutesy.

Monopoly, etc.

2008-07-20T14:38:00.000-05:00

The boys have discovered the game of Monopoly. We have played several times in the past few days. One morning, I had intended to get a lot of cleaning done and ended up staying in my pajamas and playing monopoly for more than two hours! I just told myself that making memories and playing with my kids was more important than having a clean house. Of course, based on what my house looks like most days, you'd think we play and make memories all the time! I've been impressed with Samuel's ability to strategize what properties he wants to get as well has his ability to make change. I wish that the boys would realize that they could play without me - - hours of staying busy, how great would that be!
All three kids spent Friday night with John's parents. It was just supposed to be the boys, but Hannah asked all afternoon is she could stay too. I told her that we'd have to ask Grannie Bee which she promptly did as soon as we arrived. Grannie Bee said no at first but then saw how disappointed Hannah looked and recanted. I told her that I thought Hannah would be fine and not any more trouble than the boys. Saturday morning, John's dad (85!) took all three kids to Cracker Barrel for breakfast - - by himself! So impressive! The kids seemed to have a wonderful time, and no one seems worse for the wear.
We've enjoyed swimming a lot this past week. We went to Ann's house several times, and we also went to Ms. Terry's house (a friend from school) when she had a pool day. While there, Samuel busted his leg open, and I thought we might have to get stitches, but a butterfly bandaid seemed to work fine. All three kids have gained a lot of confidence in the water. Hannah is wanting to swim without floaties between me and the wall. I'm so glad that she's not timid like she was last year. It's so nice to have a sister with a pool - - thanks Aunt Ann for letting us come over so often!

Busy, Busy

2008-07-13T21:22:00.000-05:00

This past week went by quickly as I was busy with several different school related things. I spent Tuesday & Wednesday working all day with a couple of other 7th grade social studies teachers. This is what I counting for my "swap" days. (In Fayetteville, we can "swap" professional development days that we do in the summer for days off during regularly scheduled professional development during the school year.) Working these two days will allow me to have the whole week of Thanksgiving off. Plus, since the teachers who worked these two days could determine what we worked on, we were able to get a whole lot accomplished. We were able to sketch out lesson plans for the first nine weeks of school. We were able to create several complete new lessons and create some new things using our new textbook materials.
My other school activity was teaching in the Non-Traditional Teacher Licensure Program. This was a first for me. I taught a group of about 80 novice teachers. Fortunately, the topic was one I know well - - Pathwise and Praxis III. The teachers had a lot of questions about doing their Praxis assessment that I was able to answer. I teach again tomorrow (for the second and final time). I'm a little more nervous because I'm using canned materials on professional ethics. I have tried to throw in some of my own stuff to "jazz" it up some. I certainly don't want my audience to feel the way I have felt in many a professional development session (like I want to impale myself with the plastic fork at my table!). It's been a good experience, something new. I think I will have the option of teaching some Saturday classes during the upcoming school year.

Swim Ranch & Basketball Camp

2008-07-05T13:36:00.000-05:00

Our house was a flurry of activity this past week with Jacob going to basketball camp and then both boys going to swim lessons. Jacob attended the John Pelphrey camp at the U of A from 9-12:00 each morning this week. I was anxious to see how he would do with going to a camp type environment where he would just show up by himself not necessarily knowing other kids in his group. Fortunately, I did know that a couple of friends from his class were also planning to be there. He didn't get placed in a small group with these boys, but there were a couple of boys from his class this past year in his group. He seemed to really enjoy camp overall. Anything social we can do is good for him. We didn't send Samuel because we thought you had to have finished first grade to be able to go. We found out later in the week that he could have gone. Next year, we'll have to send them both.

We headed each afternoon to the Swim Ranch for swimming lessons. Both boys can swim, but neither are great at specific strokes and skills. Samuel has actually been very timid in the water this year after jumping off the diving board at Ann's house and then panicking. I think it made him think that he couldn't swim anymore. Samuel did have a couple of major fits about not swimming, but he ended up having a lot of fun as you can tell from the pictures. I think both boys will advance to the next higher lane next summer. Lessons were more fun for me this year because a long-time friend was there with her kiddos at the same time. Also, Hannah was able to entertain herself in the puddles and could play with a boy from church while she watched and waited.

We ended the week with a 4th of July party at Ann's house. The kids enjoyed swimming, especially playing with James & Allison. We will miss them so very much ! :( We ate well and enjoyed sitting around the pool and visiting while John played with fireworks. We also enjoyed another exciting round of hide and seek. Lisa broke Matt's record and stayed "lost" for at least 45 minutes. We would never have found her if David hadn't joined the game. The hiding places just get crazier every time.

A Camping We Will Go

2008-06-27T14:54:00.000-05:00

We decided on the spur of the moment to take off for a short camping trip as soon as my classes were done on Wednesday. We chose to try out the new state park at Lake Fort Smith. It's only been open for about six weeks, and we figured it'd be pretty nice since it's brand new.

We got a pretty late start on Wednesday even though I got out of class really early. We were having Direct TV installed (We're getting rid of Dish Network because of the MANY problems we've had). The guy came at 3:00, and we thought he'd take about an hour. He was here until 7:00! We didn't get to our campsite until almost 8:00. Fortunately, it was still plenty light outside, we had a pull-through spot that was easy to get into, and the kids had snacked off and on all evening, so no one was dying for dinner.

The park is really nice. The campsites are large, pretty level, and equipped with cable (and we think internet). We didn't take tv or computer, so we're not sure if that part really worked. The bathrooms were very new and clean (I didn't even wear flip flops in the shower; it looked like nobody have even used the shower.) The swimming pool was nice, and it had a neat water spraying area - like the aquatic park - for kids. There aren't really any trails there yet, but the park ranger said they'd be putting in about 15 miles of trail over the next year. The Ozark Highlands Trail terminates at Lake Fort Smith, so we were able to walk on part of that. (Jacob would really like to hike the entire thing - - maybe he has a cousin who will take him someday :)

It was so nice to just get away from everything. I didn't even wear a watch, so I really had no idea what time, day it was - - nothing I had to accomplish. The kids played together pretty well. The boys played dominoes and a card game (Hannah tried to play but was mostly in the way). I can tell that they'll be lots of fun with games once they get just a little older. The boys also had a blast riding their bikes. I loved that when we first got there, I could tell them both to get on their bikes and go riding so that they weren't under foot while we tried to set up the trailer.

Hannah had only one major fit - -when we tried to hike back from the visitor center. She wanted to be carried, and I refused. She screamed for the whole 15 minutes back (I swear, it seemed like an hour!). I made her take a nap when we got back, even though it was only 10:00 a.m. She slept for close to two hours. Fortunately, she seemed to learn the lesson that screaming wasn't going to get her a free ride.

School's Out!

2008-06-25T16:10:00.000-05:00

Summer break is here! Yes, I realize that public school has been out for a while, but I've still been in class each and every day. Today was my last day of class for summer school! Yeah! I finished 6 hours in just 13 days. All in all, it wasn't bad. I feel like I learned a whole lot, and most of the work I had to do (the lesson plan part) is stuff that I will be able to use in my social studies or reading classes next year. I'm now half-way done with classwork towards my degree. Just six more classes to go.
We are leaving to go on a short camping trip in just a little bit. We're going to go to the new state park at Lake Fort Smith. It's just been open for about a month; the park has been closed for years and years while they built a new dam. The kids are excited about going. We haven't camped since our trip to Florida during spring break. It will be nice to get out and be away from tv and computer. I have a couple of books I'm wanting to read.

Play Ball!

2008-06-21T20:41:00.001-05:00

Samuel's last baseball game was this week. His team made it all the way to the championship game. Samuel was so excited! J.R. Ball vs. Tune Concrete. (Samuel played for Tune Concrete last year and pointed out that he has uniforms for either team.) The game started off badly - - Samuel's team didn't score at all and the other team got their 8-run limit. We gradually caught up throughout the game, which was a total of 5 innings. We lost, with the final score 18 to 16. Samuel still got a trophy and didn't seem upset at all to lose. He is a very happy, go lucky kid and just has so much fun playing.

Tomorrow, John is taking him to a baseball clinic put on by the Naturals, our new minor league team. He'll get to play at Arvest Ballpark which is new, huge, and really nice. He's also supposed to get tickets to the Naturals game tomorrow night. It's free, so we figured it was worth taking him up there.

I'm almost done with my classes -- just three more days. It really hasn't been bad. Just really fast. I'll be half way done with my degree, and I'll be certified in GT before the start of next school year (Fall '09).

Keep an Eye on Summer

2008-06-16T20:45:00.000-05:00

It doesn't seem much like summer has come yet. I had only two days off between teaching school and going to school (and one of those was spent getting a second root canal and a temporary crown). My classes are almost half over now, and they're much more demanding than I had anticipated. I don't know why I thought six graduate hours in just 13 days would be a piece of cake. Nothing is actually all that difficult, it's just a lot of assignments all together and such little time to get them done. I have been learning a lot and have gotten several really good ideas to use at school next year.

John took the kids to Branson last Wednesday and spent several days there without me. It was a good time for me to work on class stuff without the interruption of family. Ann and I also had some great sister time. We ate out each night (David was in India, and Lisa is still in Germany, so she was alone too) and watched movies until late. Of course, I tried to work at the same time and did get some done. I would have been more effective if I'd just done school work, but it was so fun to just do some girl stuff.

I drove to Branson when my class got out on Friday afternoon. I met John, the kids, and my parents at Branson Landing. We ate some dinner, walked around a bit and then headed back to the condo. We spent all day Saturday at Silver Dollar City. The kids had already been once during the week, so we had a pretty leisurely day doing the things they really wanted to do again or the few things they hadn't gotten to do. Hannah is now big enough to ride lots of rides. She could ride all the little kiddie rides in the Grand Exposition and could also ride the big swings and the swinging pirate ship. We also got her onto Fire in the Hole (that may not happen again for some time). Jacob is the dare devil of the group. He rode this twirly thing all by himself because the round and round things make me and John both sick. He was in line with John to ride WildFire but wasn't tall enough. He actually seemed kinda sad. Oh well - next year.

Here are some pics from our weekend.

The kids after playing Pirate mini-golf

Hannah waving from the butterflies

Jacob riding solo on the ElectroSpinner

Samuel and Hannah listening to the teacher comment on their work

Watch out, Tiger!

Taking a "Bite" Out of Summer

2008-06-08T16:35:00.000-05:00

Well, it's finally happened. Samuel has joined the ranks of kids who have lost teeth. He has been waiting for months for his loose tooth to be loose enough to come out. And, of course, I wasn't here when it happened. I have been gone for every lost tooth so far! I had taken Jacob to a birthday party at Locomotion. John called me on my cell to tell me that Samuel's tooth had come out. Evidently, Samuel was attempting to open a bag with his teeth (something I think his Granddaddy taught him!) and pulled his tooth out in the process.

I spent a lot of time on my teeth again this week. To celebrate the first day of summer vacation, I went back to the dentist for an early morning appointment. I thought I was just getting a temporary crown put on, but found out that I was getting another root canal! Actually, the dentist had to finish the original root canal - - I didn't know he wasn't done. I wasn't super thrilled, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the first time around. I have to go back in two weeks to get the permanent crown put on. Until then, I still can't eat on the left side of my mouth - something I haven't done in about six weeks now. I will say that I like my dentist; he's pretty new, and I wasn't happy that I've had to start seeing him instead of the dentist I've used for years (who is basically retiring even though he's not old enough - - must be nice). Anyway, my dentist called me at home - himself - after each root canal to check on me and see how I was doing. That's pretty impressive. Not many people do that for themselves if they have a nurse, secretary, or assistant who will do it for them. Also, I highly recommend taking an Ipod to any long dentist appointment. It definitely helps for long appointments!

I start graduate classes tomorrow. It will definitely take a big bite out of my summer vacation. I'll be going 9-4:00 every day for three weeks. That sounds pretty bad, but I do get six hours out of the way pretty quickly. Both classes are GT classes with the same professor I've had all this past school year. She's very nice, very laid back, and pretty easy to please. I'm hopeful that it will be painless as far as the amount of work expected outside of class. John will be keeping all of the kiddos. I've been trying to figure out different things to occupy their time so that they'll be easier to watch, not whiny, fighting with each other, etc. One thing they'll be doing is going to Branson for part of the week. My parents will be in a condo there all week. John is planning to take the kids on Wednesday, and then I'll drive up after class on Friday (if I'm brave enough, maybe I'll ditch early!). I get a couple of nights all to myself. Hmm . . . . what ever will I do??

Ouch!

2008-05-29T20:48:00.000-05:00

For the past several weeks, I've been having a toothache, especially when I ate or drank something cold. So, I went to the dentist on Tuesday afternoon and found out that I needed to have a root canal. After attempting to get in with an endodontist, I ended up having to schedule with my own dentist for the next morning! So, yesterday I had my first root canal. I went to school first to get things ready for the final exam I was giving, and my 7th graders gave me great pep talks (as well as horror stories) for going to the dentist. The whole process took a good two hours and has left me quite sore. I have to go back next week to get a crown.
Another ouch has come and gone. I have completed grading all 110 essay exams - - in 24 hours at that! I try to grade quickly so that it's over and done with, much like ripping off a band-aid. There's only four days left of school. There is so much to do to get my classroom ready and to finish up a project or two that needs completing before summer break.
Tomorrow is Hannah's last day at Montessori until August. She is excited to give her teachers a gift, but I know that she will miss her friends. The boys are jealous that she's done before them.

First Dance Recital

2008-05-20T20:48:00.000-05:00

Hannah has been taking tap lessons this year at Montessori. It's a fabulous deal; the instructors come to her school each week, so I don't have to take her anywhere, and it's only $5/lesson! She has practiced on the tile floor at home numerous times. She loves the sound her tap shoes make on the hard floor. (John and I aren't quite as crazy about the sound as she is.) I wasn't really planning on having her participate in this year's recital because it was when I would be out of town with Explorers Club. However, when I saw her costume and how excited she was about dancing on stage, I knew I'd have to figure out a way to make it work. Thanks to a friend from church (whose child is also at Montessori) who could take Hannah to dress rehearsal and to John and my mom for going to the recital, Hannah was able to debut her dancing abilities. I'm not sure she's ready for Dancing With the Stars, but she's pretty darn cute!

Louisville

2008-05-15T22:07:00.000-05:00

Jacob and I left last night at midnight on a charter bus bound for Louisville, Kentucky. We drove through the night getting little snippits of sleep here and there. We got to Louisville about 11:00 a.m. central time. Our first stop was the Louisville Science Center. It's a science museum geared to elementary and middle school students (but the adults had fun too!). It was a pretty neat place. We saw an IMAX about how the brain works, but the focus was on bike riders in the Tour de France. It had some amazing scenery.
After the museum, we went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. It actually took about an hour to go just a few blocks away because our bus driver got really turned around and drove across the river into Indiana and had to turn around and cross back over. Dinner took a really long time; groups of 25 make things harder for restaurants. But, it was really nice just to sit for a while. My crab cake sandwich was awesome!
Tomorrow we go to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom for the day.

International Dinner

2008-05-03T19:48:00.000-05:00

Every spring, Montessori hosts an "International Dinner." The children from each class choose a country to learn about. They learn to count in the language of their country and to sing a song or do a dance from that country. They also wear a costume that is somewhat reflective of the country. This was Hannah's first time to participate. Her class represented Germany. She had cute little suspenders and a feathered hat to wear. Thanks to Grandmama for making the black skirt; we couldn't find one to buy. Hannah has been learning some German (thanks to her teacher, Mr. Kevin, who is a German major). She can count to twenty, and she's learned to sing a song titled, "Baka Baka Kuken." (I'm sure I didn't spell that correctly.) We had so much fun watching her perform! Unlike either of her brothers who never did much more than stand on the stage and look scared, Hannah actually sang, danced, smiled, waved, and acted like she was having a grand time. Here are some pictures from the event. I hope to post some video just as soon as I can get another S video cable for my video camera.

Trip to the Farm

2008-04-24T19:54:00.000-05:00

Samuel went on his first elementary school field trip today. He was so excited when he was getting ready this morning. He was going to get to ride a big yellow school bus for the very first time! I took the day off from school so that I could just be "mom" and go on the trip with him. He was supposed to get to go to the park for lunch and play time before going to the University farm to visit the animals. However, it rained so much last night and some again this morning that the park was too wet, and that part of the trip was canceled.

When I got to his classroom, his teacher had everyone assigned to groups. I had four students in my group. We got all the kids onto the bus. Three kindergarten classes on one bus - that's 75 kids, but they're so small that they can sit three to a seat. The bus ride was an experience, that's for sure. The kids were LOUD. When we went down Township (a really steep hill), all the children held their arms over their heads and screamed like they were on a roller coaster. Once we got to the farm, we toured the equestrian barn. Local farmers and 4H people had stalls with all sorts of different animals. We saw sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, guinea hens, a turkey, ponies, horses, cows, puppies, baby chickens, bees, and worms. Samuel had lots of fun, and I really enjoyed getting to experience it with him.

I had intended to post some cute pictures from the trip. Unfortunately, the camera batteries were dead as were the extra batteries in the camera bag. Oh well.

Girls Night Out

2008-04-22T21:46:00.001-05:00

Another great break from routine came tonight with a special girls night out. I got together with three other women (my sister, another teacher at my school, and a gal from church). We are an interesting assortment - different ages, kids in different stages of life, one of us single, etc. and yet we have such a good time together. We were officially meeting to celebrate my sister's birthday (even though it was five weeks ago). We met at Olive Garden and spent a little more than two hours having a leisurely dinner. It is so nice to be a grown up and not have to be "the mom" for a couple of hours. It was even nicer when I got home and all three of my children had been snugly tucked into bed for the night. Kudos to John for that!

Burn Out

2008-04-22T21:11:00.001-05:00

First, let me start out by saying that I do really love my job on most days. However, I am starting to feel really burned out. With each class period at school I find myself doing my own little pep talk about how many more times I have to teach a lesson again before the day is over. I know from experience that life after spring break is usually like this. Fortunately, there is SO much extra stuff going on, both inside and outside of the school day, that time passes pretty quickly. I'm getting a couple of small "rejuvinations" this week with a little time away from school. Today I went to the dentist - - DURING the school day! That's a first for me. I was supposed to go about six months ago, had to cancel and could never manage to get an after school appointment. I finally just decided - hey, that's what sick leave is for. So, I got to relax and enjoy having my teeth cleaned. I decided it's pretty sad when you choose the dentist chair over other stuff. On Thursday, I'm taking the day off to go on a field trip with Samuel's class. My school district now offers leave to do things with your kids. I am making an effort to use every minute of that time! We're going to eat lunch at the park (unless it rains, which it probably will) and then to the UofA farm to visit the animals.

Any suggestions for ways to not feel so tired and ready for a break? I have six more weeks of school before summer vacation. 29 school days. 145 class periods. 4 projects. 2 final exams. 1 field trip. 1 fire drill. You get the picture.

Going on a Date

2008-04-18T22:11:00.000-05:00

We are blessed to have a high-school aged niece who lives close by who is frequently willing to babysit for us. The kids are always excited to have Lisa come over. The boys rarely even ask where we are going; they don't care that they have to stay at home if Lisa is coming to play with them. Hannah, on the other hand, always wants to know where we're going and when we're coming back. She has to have a hug, a kiss, and a handshake (it's a Montessori thing) before we leave. Today, when John told her about Lisa coming over, she inquired what we were going to be doing. John told her that Mommy and Daddy were going on a date. Her response was, "like on 'Chanting'?" [We have recently watched the movie, Enchanting, and the princess learns what it means to go on a date.] John explained that she was correct. Hannah seemed to really get the concept and was happy for us to leave.

Our date was really a double-date (I didn't explain that concept just yet) with Ann & David. We went out to eat at the Pesto Cafe. It was yummy. It's a place John and I had only been once before, but it's a very popular, local place for Italian food. Then, we went to see the new documentary, Expelled, by Ben Stein. It's all about the debate between evolution and intelligent design (well, you might say the lack of debate). It was very thought-provoking and makes me think about science a little differently.

Unlike my other half, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about or questioning such theories and ideas. I pretty much stick with the child-like faith approach. To me, it doesn't really matter how God created the earth (whether He used evolution as a tool, whether a day was really a day, etc.). I know He created the earth; that's good enough for me. I know what I believe, and I do have my own opinions about creation. I don't have a problem at all with people spending their lives trying to figure it out; I just don't think anyone CAN figure it out. I think it's one of those things we'll only know in heaven. That being said, I am waiting anxiously for the brothers of Consanguinity (who both saw the film today; how weird!) to post their thoughts. The big debate for me is which one of them will weigh in first.

Prayer Request

2008-04-14T20:37:00.000-05:00

Please be praying for Hannah and our preschool situation. We have always had wonderful daycare/preschool environments for our children. Today, we've encountered a problem that's new territory - a problem with another child in Hannah's class. It isn't necessary to know the details, just that even toddler friendships can pose concerns, and this mama just needs better peace of mind. Hannah's teacher is wonderful and is being very proactive, so I think everything will be ok - - just may be rough for a few days.

p.s. I thought I needed to post a cuter picture than the last one I posted! :)

Miserable

2008-04-12T14:40:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure, even gross as this picture is, that you can really tell how bad Jacob's face looks. This is day #3 of the outbreak. Jacob re-visited the doctor again Wednesday morning (after getting steroid injections on Monday & Tuesday) to find out that he had developed a secondary infection - ya think? Anyway, the doctor put him on antibiotics and started him on oral prednisone. This picture was made Wednesday night at the height of his feeling bad. He even ran a slight fever throughout the day on Wednesday. Jacob ended up missing the entire week of school. My mom kept him the first three days. After seeing how miserable he was, I opted to stay home with him on Thursday. John stayed home with him on Friday. He seems pretty much all better today, although he still has patches of red blotches and peeling skin here and there. Through all this, we did find out that there are poison ivy injections you can get yearly to help prevent a reaction. We will be getting these as soon as this outbreak has run its course.

Not on the Test

2008-04-09T21:31:00.001-05:00

We watched this today during our faculty meeting for Benchmark test training. If you have any personal connection to standardized testing, you must watch this video!

Poison Ivy & Bees

2008-04-07T21:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I started noticing this weird red blotches on Jacob's face. By evening we had figured out that he must have poison ivy. The red blotches had spread all over his face - eyelids and all. I gave him Benadryl and sent him to bed. This morning when he woke up, I took one look at him and announced that he was NOT going to school. Fortunately, my parents were able to keep him today. My mom graciously took him to the allergist where he got a prednisone shot. He seems much better now, and since he's a boy (and only 8) he doesn't really seem that worried that his face maybe looks a little on the scary side. (James - - it's one of those "Mercy! Your face!" kind of things.) I have to take him back to the doctor tomorrow morning. If he's significantly better, he can go back to school. If not, he gets another lovely shot and will go back to Grandmama's house.

On a totally different topic, I went to Conway last Friday to watch one of my students compete in the state level of the National Geography Bee. He finished second overall. I am so very proud of him! He answered some really, really tough questions - - questions most adults couldn't begin to answer. And, he answered them without hesitation. He and the first place winner went through the entire championship round without missing a single question. They had to endure four tie-breaker rounds before my student missed a question that the other boy answered correctly. It was intense to watch! It was impressive to watch all of the final contestants answering questions and to know that there are still some kids out there who know some geography.

Parent Teacher Conferences

2008-04-02T21:02:00.000-05:00

I had parent teacher conferences for both of the boys today. I had to do them early because I won't be here on Friday during the time I could normally run over to Vandergriff while there's a lull in my homeroom conferences. I'm going to the state geography bee to watch one of my students compete.
Anyway, I was very pleased to find out that many of my prayers have been answered regarding Jacob. Jacob has really struggled with social skills. He, for a long time, would not talk at all to other students and would barely talk to adults (and then, only when asked a direct question). He is now talking up a storm to a few friends has made over the course of being with the same boys two years in a row. His wonderful, wonderful teacher has worked really hard to see this success in the classroom. We are so blessed to have her! Jacob actually told me the other day that one of his friends told him that he talked too much! (Of course, we've been telling him that at home for a long time.) I've never been worried about the academics of skipping him a grade, but I really thought the social would have been easier than it has been. So, getting the report today was a big encouragement and relief.
Samuel, on the other hand, has no problem being social. Kindergarten is very easy for him. His only problem, according to his teacher, is that he blurts out answers and doesn't give others a chance to answer. Kids are so different from each other! I wonder what Hannah will be like.

NCAA Fever

2008-03-23T18:33:00.000-05:00

Has NCAA fever hit your house? We have one with severe symptoms and one with mild symptoms and then several who are dealing with headache and fatigue that come from caring for one with the fever.

Jacob has gone college basketball crazy! I gave him a bracket to fill out. I took a picture of it so that you could see his predictions. I don't know what's up with his spelling! Uncle Terry will be happy to see that Tennessee will make it to the final game but not so happy that Jacob has picked UCLA. Based on what I've seen of both of those teams, my money is on Memphis and North Carolina! Our poor Hogs are getting bacon made out them even as I write this post. Oh well. We've had more fun watching Razorback basketball this year than we've had in a really long time.

Panama City Beach - Spring Break '08

2008-03-22T20:24:00.000-05:00

on a hike around Gator Lake
the whole crew at the beach

home sweet camper
the beach at sunset
cousins
pirate Hannah
celebrating Ann's St. Patrick's Day birthday

We just got back from a spring break trek to Panama City Beach, Florida. This is our third time to visit the beach for the week, traveling in our pop-up camper. We spent the night in Mobile on the way down. The whole trip is about 15 hours. This year, my parents and my sister, Ann, and her family also made the trip and camped right along side us. We set up camp in St. Andrews State Park which is located on a peninsula that sticks out into the Gulf of Mexico. It's a really nice park because it has wooded campsites that back up into sand dunes, and it also looks out into a sheltered lagoon area. The park is always packed with other spring breakers, but the sites (even though close together) feel pretty private. Because it's a state park, alcohol isn't permitted, so that keeps the rowdier crowds away. Ann's trailer was next to ours, and my parents were kitty-cornered across the street. We were just a short walk from the bath house which was nice because the boys could go by themselves. The loop we were on wasn't terribly large, so the boys could safely ride their bikes around until their hearts content.

We spent a couple of days playing on the beach. Lisa, my niece, is a sand castle architect! My kids really enjoyed watching/helping her with her construction efforts. All three kids enjoyed the really cold water, but Jacob especially loved the huge waves. There were red or double red flag warnings each day, so the kids couldn't really do much more than wade. Samuel loved flying his new spiderman kite.

My sister, Susan, and her family were vacationing further east along the gulf and were able to join us for an afternoon on the beach. It was great fun to see her and for our kids to play together.

Our one scary event was losing Samuel. We were all gathered to eat dinner outside my parents' camper. Samuel had been in our camper, and I had just seen him hanging out the door. I called him to dinner, but he didn't want to come. A few minutes later I had John go get him only to find out that he was gone. We began searching, calling his name, walking all through the camp area. Just about the time we all started to get very panicked, Samuel stood up out of a large palm bush right by my parents' camper. He had been hiding the entire time! Turns out, he didn't want to eat dinner and thought we would make him eat anyway. Needless to say, he got in BIG trouble. I don't think he'll be disappearing anytime again soon.

On the way home, we stopped at the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola. This is an awesome museum! (not to mention, it's free) The kids, all three of them, were really fascinated by the airplanes. We only spent a couple of hours there, but we could definitely have spent way more time. We were fairly late arriving in Jackson, our overnight spot for the way home. We made it home on Friday around 6:00 p.m.

Seven loads of laundry later, I am ready to start looking at some pictures of the fun we had.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame (I would if only I could get there!)

2008-03-10T21:51:00.000-05:00

My stress level has just greatly increased! I got an email from Samuel's coach telling us about the first practice. I found out that practices are going to be on Wednesdays from 4-5:30 p.m. I have faculty meetings on Wednesdays, and they typically last until 4:00. We go to church on Wednesday nights, and I lead kindergarten choir that starts at 5:30. We eat dinner at church as well (before choir). Did I mention that the park where they practice is on the other end of the earth from our house, school, and Montessori? It is relatively close to church (relatively speaking). So . . . . what am I to do? I have to figure out how to be in two places at once. I know this is a typical problem for moms of school-aged kids. For this very reason, we didn't allow Samuel to play soccer this spring. We made him choose one activity. He really wants to play baseball. I never dreamed that practice and/or games would be on Wednesdays. I guess it's not really "church night" anymore for most people. I may be able to get someone to fill in at choir for me (at least until I can get there) until I get the conflict resolved.

On a brighter note, I think I have found someone to borrow a crayon maker from. If he still has it. I should be able to find out tomorrow. That would definitely make my invention process easier. I'll take anything being easier just about now.

A prayer request: This is the time of year when we have to apply to pull Hannah out of Montessori for the summer and not lose her spot. This has never been a problem in the past, but as always, they threaten that we won't be able to get back in the same class (which would make me VERY unhappy). Please pray that this situation will work out. It will save us a large chunk of change to not pay for two months of daycare!

"It's Just Wrong!"

2008-03-09T12:57:00.001-05:00

That's Samuel's take on Daylight Savings Time. Samuel had an emotional morning as we tried to convince him that it was really an hour later than what most of our clocks said that it was. I guess we should have been careful to change all of our clocks last night so that they would be correct this morning. Samuel just kept saying, "It's just wrong; it's just wrong!"

Today at lunch he said something else funny. We were talking about basketball teams and the fact that North Carolina beat Duke (the underdog). Samuel said he was going to be for teams that were the "upperdog," not the underdog. I guess that's because he wants to be sure of winning!

Today is finally a gorgeous day! I am hoping to get some trip preparations (for our spring break trek to Florida) done this afternoon. I also need to spend more time working on my "invention" for my graduate class. I finally came up with an idea. Now, I just have to figure out how to create it.

I am trying to make clear crayons. These would be used to help teachers with grading. When students grade their own papers (especially at the middle school/junior high age), there's a pretty big chance that students will change some of their answers. If they color over their answers with a crayon before grading, they can't erase/change their answers because of the wax from the crayon. The problem with using colors is that sometimes kids color too darkly or there aren't enough light colors to go around. Thus, the idea of the clear crayon. I haven't decided on a name yet. Maybe "Gradeables" the self-grading marker. I can't seem to figure out something to use for a mold in which to melt my wax. Ann brought over some plastic test tubes that would be the perfect size and shape, but we couldn't get the hardened wax out of it. Crayola makes a crayon maker, so I may have to break down and buy one. Any ideas?

Go Hogs!

2008-03-02T19:32:00.000-06:00

What a game! We had a rare treat yesterday to be able to go to the Razorback basketball game. My intern gave us four tickets to the game, so John and I got to take both boys. Although both boys have gotten to attend a game this year, we've never had more than two tickets at a time. It was fun to be able to go as a family (minus Hannah, but she wouldn't have liked sitting there for that long!) and sit together. And, what an incredible game it was! We were ahead most of the game, but in typical fashion were neck and neck right at the end of the game. (Of course, it wouldn't have been such a close game if we had decent officiating!) The Razorbacks pulled it out and beat Vanderbilt!!

We also had fun walking through campus to and from the game. The weather was so nice. I can't believe all of the changes that have taken place on that side of the University. I obviously need to drive around more often so that I'm not so surprised at new buildings, parking garages, etc. Did you know that the new parking garage is the largest parking garage in the state? Go figure.

How are your new year's resolutions going? I'm still doing well at drinking water, although not as good this past week. My exercise goal has gotten a good work out this week. We bought an elliptical machine so that I can get some quality aerobic exercise without having to leave home. Finding any time (other than the middle of the night) to go somewhere - even to walk in the neighborhood - was too great of a challenge for me to overcome. So far, so good with the elliptical. I've gotten up early every morning to work out before my shower. I'm up to 20 minutes. My goal is 30 minutes every day. My quiet times still need some work. I'm having a hard time being consistent. I've tried morning as well as night. I just can't seem to get into a good routine.

Family worship was really good tonight. The kids are very enthusiastic about this time. John went last week and bought new guitar strings for his guitar. He pulled it out tonight to attempt to play some praise music. Although a little rusty (How long has it been, honey? 15+ years maybe?), he can still play some recognizable chords. I bought a family worship book by Ruth Graham. It has good selections for the ages of our kids - at least the younger two.

I've been thinking about adding a recipe section to my blog. Maybe a recipe of the week? I love trying new things. Maybe some of us could share some recipes!

Have a great week!

Ministry Opportunity

2008-02-21T21:02:00.000-06:00

Tonight we met with a family about being potential sponsors/partners in their efforts to spread the gospel to Palestinians. I've been friends with Terry Rhodes for a long time; we have taught 7th grade geography together for years. He, along with his family, is taking an enormous leap of faith to further the gospel. Terry is quitting his job here in Fayetteville and has taken a job for next year teaching at a school in Bethlehem. His main outreach will be to students at Bethlehem Bible College, teaching them how to mentor younger students. He also wants to establish some sort of after school program for teens in the area. There is little for Palestinian teenagers to do; this would help give them a positive outlet for their time and energy.

It was fun getting to visit with them; our boys had a great time playing with their boys. They're about the same ages, so it was easy to make friends. Hannah had a good time too, except she mostly stayed in the room with us. Somehow, four boys was a little much for her.

I am so impressed with this family's willingness to leave home, leave family, and totally change their lifestyle to do what they feel God is leading them to do!

Please remember to pray for the Holy Land!

Family Worship

2008-02-17T20:36:00.000-06:00

We had a guest speaker today during church - - Don Whitney from the seminary in Louisville (Leah, is he one of Evan's professors?). He spoke about family worship. His lesson was wonderful but very convicting. John and I have never been consistent with family worship, either as a couple or as a family with children. We both feel like this is something we really need to do. Jacob was in the service with us. He came home excited about trying again, and he spent a good amount of time this afternoon looking for music for us to sing. He wants to be in charge of music for our worship time. He had about five different things picked out; he wants a mix of classical hymns, contemporary choruses, and easy kid songs. He's quite the music minister!

We read through Psalm 67 tonight which was the suggested reading from Pastor Lumpkin's family resources online. It was fun to hear the kids' responses to questions about the passage. During prayer request time, Samuel said we needed to pray for the churches in Indonesia and for the missionaries there to be able to tell people about Jesus. (They're learning about Indonesia during Kids on Mission. I helped with that today, and I didn't think Samuel was paying very good attention. I'm glad that he can wiggle and listen at the same time!). All in all, tonight's experience was a good one.

I would love to hear about the things you do for family worship. Any good ideas for small children? Any good devotional books to recommend?

There's No Place Like Home

2008-02-10T21:09:00.001-06:00

That's the comment I made to Ann as we topped the hill on I-540 that overlooks downtown Fayetteville. Even though I love to travel, I love coming over that hill and seeing home.

Ann and I got back about 7:00 p.m. Sunday night. We left Nashville around 10:00 a.m., so it was a long day of driving! I think I drove all but the first hour or so of the trip. Ann (who was a real trooper the whole weekend) was feeling much worse today. She has some kind of crud which we think has become a sinus infection. We were both pleased to hear of the slight possibility of freezing rain in the wee hours of the morning. A day off from school to catch up from not having a weekend at home would be really nice.

Our first annual sister trip was a lot of fun! We spent a lot of time shopping. I think we know all the major stores in Nashville now. We also went to Franklin and shopped in the big mall there. I didn't really buy much; it was just fun to shop (with no kids or stroller!), try on things (well, maybe that wasn't so fun; I have got to lose some weight!), and be together. We went to two movies; I'm lucky if I go to two movies at the theater in an entire year let alone in a 24 hour period of time! Of course, we also enjoyed eating out and talking. Lots and lots of talking.

John did a great job while I was gone. Not only is the house still standing, but the kitchen is clean, the laundry has been done, and all three kids have smiles on their faces! Thanks, sweetie! (Of course, there are now some pet mice in a cage in my living room . . . . . . but, I think they leave tomorrow for his classroom.)

Any recommendations for next year's sister location?

Chick Flick

2008-02-08T22:30:00.000-06:00

Well, the first annual sister trip has been a blast so far! We met around noon today at OpryMills and spent the afternoon shopping. Tonight we saw a great chick flick - - 27 Dresses. You'll be happy to know that between the three sisters, we've not been in that many wedding combined! One of our favorite quotes from the movie was "Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is slowly losing your mind." Another is "The great thing about this dress is that you can shorten it and wear it again." Yeah right. Actually, Susan and I have both worn a bridesmaid dress again. I'm not sure what that says about us. Maybe we're just too cheap to buy a new dress.