Gone To The Dogs

Our local art museum is sponsoring a public artwork display this summer entitled "Dog Days of Summer." Several local artists have painted/decorated life-sized statues of dogs that have been placed all over town for people to see. As a part of their kick-off celebration for this exhibit, several elementary and middle school students were invited to have their own dog artwork displayed at the museum for the next month. I am so excited and proud of DD as she was one of the kids who were selected! She is definitely a much better artist than I could ever hope to be. Congratulations, DD!

Proud Moments

Today was the end-of-the-9-weeks award ceremony at my children's school for the 3rd 9-weeks grading period. Spring was definitely in the air as all of the school children were more restless than usual. They did, however, cooperate for the most part and remain quiet when necessary, thus proving what an overall well-behaved bunch they are. I am proud of DS and DD! They both made the A/B Honor Roll again this 9 weeks! Great job DS & DD! Mom is proud of you!

Growing Up

It's amazing how quickly the years go by when your kids are growing up. It seems like just yesterday that DS was born. Then he started school. Then in first grade, as a little 6-year-old, he joined Cub Scouts. He has absolutely loved being in Cub Scouts. He has had the chance to do all sorts of things, from camping to horseback riding to making and racing pinewood derby cars, and the list just goes on (and of course none of us will forget that scouts is where he learned to whittle, thus providing one of his more recent injuries & trips to Urgent Care!). It has been a wonderful bonding experience for DS and DH as well, as they attend the meetings and activities together. Well, part of that journey has now come to an end. On this past Saturday DS' Cub Scout pack held their annual Blue & Gold Banquet to celebrate the achievements of the scouts. DS and his fellow denmates (they were 2nd year Webelos.....the last year for Cub Scouts) received their Arrow of Light awards:This is the highest achievement a Cub Scout can reach. I am so proud of DS for this accomplishment! After receiving this award, it was then time for the "Crossing Over" ceremony for those scouts going on into Boy Scouts. DS and one other boy from his den crossed over on Saturday and are now Boy Scouts. So while one piece of the journey has ended, another has begun. I am looking forward to seeing what all DS accomplishes in the future, both in Boy Scouts and in other areas of his life, as he moves forward and continues to grow up. And while I will continue to miss my "little baby" I am excited to watch my son as he grows into a young man. Congratulations, DS, I am proud of you!

And The Award Goes To.....

Today my children's school hosted the awards convocation for the 2nd 9-weeks grading period. Now some of you may remember what happened with the convo for the 1st 9-weeks (if not, see the posts for October 20 & 29, 2008)......an amusing host of "Murphy's Law" in effect. So today I attended prepared for just about anything to happen. Both DS and DD made the A/B Honor Roll for the 2nd 9-weeks grading period and went up to receive their awards. Many other children went up to receive their awards as well. And thankfully nothing went wrong. I'm sure the principal was much relieved. It was a blessedly uneventful convocation with just lots of smiling faces and cooperating equipment. A good way to start out the new calendar year for sure. Congrats to DS and DD!

Can You Hear Me Now?

When the lights go out, do you need to talk louder in order to be heard clearly? Well, according to about 700 elementary students, the answer is a resounding YES! This morning was scheduled to be the awards convocation for my children's elementary school (they hold an awards convo at the end of each 9-weeks grading period to honor the kids who made A/B Honor Roll as well as a few other awards). DH & I went over to watch the convo this morning as both DS & DD made the A/B Honor Roll this 9-weeks. About 15 minutes before the convo starts, they start bringing the kids into the gym to get seated (the kids sit on the floor, the teachers wheel their chairs in to sit on, and they have folding chairs set up for the parents to sit on). This usually happens in a fairly orderly, yet somewhat noisy, fashion as the kids get situated. I've always been fairly impressed with how well the kids behave and how quiet they usually are throughout the entire convo each time I've attended over the past 5+ years that DS has attended this school. Well, this morning showed a different side to these children when something unexpected happened just as the last kids were being seated. What happened? The electricity went out! And yes, this made the gym (with no windows to the exterior of the building) virtually pitch-black. Immediately, kids screamed.....700 of them! The teachers were able to get them quiet amazingly quickly by doing a clapping rhythm they do at the beginning of every convo that indicates it's time to be quiet (the teachers/faculty start the clapping and the kids all join in until everyone is doing the same rhythm). Once it had been announced by the vice principal (the principal was not at school today) that the electricity had gone out and that the students needed to stay put until they figured out what they were going to do about the convo, that's when it got LOUD. Before, when the kids had been talking, it had been a dull roar. At this point, it became painfully loud. I had to chuckle when DH commented that the kids "seized the opportunity to disregard all personal responsibility for orderly conduct as soon as the lights went out." Although I was unable to see how DD's class was behaving as they were seated clear across the gym from us and it was completely dark, DS's class was seated directly next to us. I pointed out to DH that DS's class, in contrast to the vast majority, was sitting politely, quietly, and very well-behaved. So kudos to Mrs. B for teaching her class well enough that they were behaving properly even with the lights out!

So what happened with the rest of the awards convo, you may be wondering? Well, after contacting the electric company and being told that the electricity wouldn't come back on for about another 1 1/2 hours, they dismissed the classes (which went off well, considering it was done in the dark!) back to their classrooms and told the parents that the convo will be rescheduled for another day. Of course, no sooner had all the kids returned to their classrooms and most of the parents left the school building.......then the electricity came back on! Hopefully the rescheduled convo will go much more smoothly than today's attempt. Nothing like a little excitement to start off a Monday morning.....life is never dull!