Pushing Forward Part Deux

Working hard on his mission essay, too!

Pushing Forward

Look out world, he is in the groove now!

I see a fantastic grade in his future with all of this hard work!

(P.S. Shawn is about a day behind...should be seeing a pic of him doing his work tomorrow!)

Cute Big Boy Saturday

The boys played in outside and lounged around on our pretty, new grass. :)

Friday Four

The countdown to the end of the year has begun! The boys have 7 more weeks of school until summer break. I have 8 weeks. After the very trying week we've had around these parts, summer can't get here soon enough!

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It is that time of year again--the time of year that both teachers and students dread. It's testing time. State testing starts for the boys on Monday. We know they both will make us proud!

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We are still having one heck of a time trying to get to see the moon for Jack's moon project. lol. I don't know what it is, but the moon just isn't wanting him to see it.

Meanwhile, the big boys are cruising right along on their mission projects. Both have now finished their research. This weekend we'll be working on their paragraphs. (This is when it pays to have a mom who is an English teacher! Ha!) Hopefully they'll be able to finish the essay over the next few days.

Jason is SO excited to start working on his model! Shawn? Not so much. ;)

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I think we need to do something fun before everyone in the world is out for summer break. I'm not sure what yet, but I'm working on a fun plan for us after testing is finished for everyone. (I can't say what it is because certain little people read the blog now, and I don't want to ruin the surprise.)

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It's a Friday Four kind of day. It's been a long week.

Moon

Jack came home with a homework assignment on the moon. He has two weeks to record his observations on the moon. I don't know how the universe knows it, but every. single. time. we try to get that boy to see the moon, it ends up covered by clouds. In a way, it's a bit comical. Tonight we threw our hands up in defeat and just took a picture of the moon to show him. Now, we have five more days to try to capture...

Fingers crossed he'll actually get to see it in person tomorrow. Ha!

Selfie Love

At the rate these boys are growing, I'm going to need a longer arm! ❤️

Conversations With 10 Year Olds

Jason after trying some freshly baked dark chocolate brownies...

J - Hey dad, do you know what the Goldie Locks Zone is?

 Me - Ummm...Why?

J - The Earth is in the Goldie Locks Zone. It’s not too close to the sun or it would be too hot. And it’s not too far from the sun or it would be too cold.

Me - Well, that’s cool.

J - Yeah, the next time you make brownies, could you make it like that. You know, not too soft and not too crispy.

Me - Sure Goldie.

We're on a Mission

We continue to plug through the Mission projects. Jason is cruising along at a fantastic pace. He may be ready to start writing by Wednesday. I think he said he has three more categories to research before he's done. Shawn is just a little bit behind him.

And then?

Then we move on to Phase 2 - Mission Construction. (dum, dum, duuuuummmm)

Then lastly is Phase 3 - The Presentation. Both boys are to prepare a speech...and then present said speech to the class. I think Jay will be okay in this area. (He is most worried about the writing.) The speech, itself, may be the hardest part that Shawn will need to conquer (although conquer it, he will). :) 

Fingers crossed!

Interior Designing

There was a commercial on television about painting. I asked the boys what color they would paint their rooms if they could choose whatever color they wanted.

Shawn's answer was pretty immediate. "Bllllaaaack."

Jack's answer took a little longer, but he decided green was the way to go.

Jason's answer cracked me up. "Well, I think I would want one wall that was more like a maroon color. The other walls would be white."

I think my constant watching of DIY television is wearing off on him!

Cute Big Boy Saturday - Singin'

He's serenading us...

Friday Five

It has come to pass. The dreaded rite of passage for fourth grade in California is now upon us...(Did you hear the menacing music in the background? It was something like a "Dum, Dum, Duuuuum" musical loop.)

The fourth grade California mission project has been assigned. This project includes completing a research packet, writing a 5 paragraph (Yes, FIVE.) essay, and constructing a model of the chosen mission. Then, they have to give an oral presentation on their project. Eek! The boys have mixed feelings about the project (as does their mother).

Jason has selected the San Diego Mission. Shawn selected the Soledad Mission.

Wish these guys luck!

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Jason is jazzed that he earned another t-shirt for AR. Way to go, Jay!

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 This guy is pretty jazzed about his achievement, too!

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Isaac gave me a Magic Bullet blender for my birthday on Wednesday. The boys were SO excited to get to make smoothies with it. It was all they could do to wait until this afternoon before they finally got their chance to make some. Apparently the experience did not disappoint. They are hooked!

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Shawn has discovered a new favorite food - tacos. The boy has decided he loves them! Ha!

Throwback Thursday

Cutie pie, Jack, three years ago today...

Swimming in the tub

Birthday

Today was my birthday! It's so nice to be spoiled by all my guys. (That includes the guy who is behind the camera, too!)

Finally!

Today, just under two years from when we started (18 months to be exact), we finally finished the backyard. Woohoo!

When we had the backyard paved, all we had left to complete was the grass. The problem was that the work that was done with the concrete left a lot of extra dirt and sand, rocks, and concrete bits in the dirt that was to become the grass.

You can see the extra dirt we started to dig up. The pile to the right
is about two feet high.

The bad (and extra) dirt was removed. Manure was applied.

I was so impressed with just this look.
It is a world better than it was before!

But now it is finished and it looks so pretty!

Green!

With a little watering and some settling in for the grass and it is going to look so amazing. We are so excited!

Favorite Thing

Me: Shawn, what is your favorite thing about Jason?

Him: He's my favorite brother. I love him. I love to kiss him. He's my friend...

Me: Shawn, what is your favorite thing about Jack?

Him: He's my favorite brother, too. I love him. I love to play with him. And. He's my friend...

Shawn really is just about the sweetest thing. ❤️

Just Because

You just never know where you'll find him at any given moment...

Cute Big Boy Saturday

We got some new Play Doh, and this guy was happy to play with actual colors rather than the old brown mixture of Play Doh we had. LOL

Friday Five

Well, it was a good week. Boys did well in their first week back after break, and I enjoyed the nice quiet house. It was a win win!

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Shawn rocked an entire level of his not so favorite learning app. He does not like it at all, so it is like pulling teeth to get him to do any work on it. This week, however, he did all his work on the app and completed a full level.

Our goal is going to be a level a week until we finish the thing. Wish us luck!

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Jack wrote a real paragraph with details at school. It is too cute. His teacher has started them on adding two supporting details. He tells me he likes to write. I hope he continues to enjoy writing as he gets older. :)

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Jason, on the other hand, is a science and recess guy. Lol. He is also a great reader. He told me this week that he is currently reading three different books. At the same time! Ha! He says he has 148 AR points. Not too shabby, kiddo!

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Shawn says he likes math as his favorite subject. They have started long division this week, and Shawn has taken to it like a fish in water. It's so awesome to see him cruise through it in nothing flat!

Mini Post

Our first week of school after break is nearly over. The boys have been rock stars this week, too! Couldn't ask for a better week if I had planned it, frankly. Yea! :)

Waaaaaaay Back Wednesday

This week in 2015. He was so little!

In his favorite place - the dirt! lol

Drawing

"Mom, take my picture with my drawing."

He was quite pleased with his drawing. :)

Spring Pictures

Ding, ding, DING! These boys knocked their pictures out of the park this spring!

Man, these boys are cuties!

Back to School

There was a bit of sadness tonight at bedtime. They're sad that spring break is over.

 Me: "Tomorrow is going to be a good day."

Him: "Well, the only thing I am looking forward to is seeing my friends. And recess. And lunch. And reading. And maybe science if we do something interesting."

LOL. I think that is pretty much most of the day, isn't it?

Tomorrow should be interesting. Jack picked up a cold this weekend. He is a congested/phlegmy mess. Plus, he is kind of a wildcard when he's sick behavior wise at school (his already low threshold for frustration becomes nonexistent), so that is an added bonus. 

Shawn is also not feeling his best. He may be starting up with the crud Jack has today, although he's harder to read.

Yay, school! Only 10 more weeks to go until summer.

Cute Big Boy Saturday - Shop Keeper

"Mom, take a picture of me and my animal store. Want to buy something?"

*Don't mind the mess in the bathroom. His brother had just finished a shower. lol

Friday Five

Well, today was the last day of the boys' spring break. They are sad to go back, but they are happy there is only 10 weeks of school left this year. (Hard to believe that the year's almost done already!)

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We had a fairly calm spring break. We watched a lot of movies and played outside. We did some spot trips to Target. We played some iPad and read some books. It was nice!

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Shawn had a check up visit for the doctor this week. He has gained 3 pounds since the end of January! I knew he was in the middle of a growth spurt. He's face looks leaner and I KNOW he's a couple of inches taller. He put all those extra dinners to good use!

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The Easter Bunny brought the boys joke books. We've been throwing around Easter jokes like there is no tomorrow. Do you know what you call a rabbit telling jokes?

Do you?

He's a funny bunny. ba dum dum.

We've got a million of them. lol

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Shawn is trying to master reverse psychology. This is going to be a work in progress on his part. I'm sorry, but when I tell you to go to your room for a time out and you say, "Fine! I'm going to be in my room ALL DAY!" that doesn't make me want to change my mind and NOT send you to your room, kiddo. Quite the opposite happens, if you want to know the truth. lol.

Shakin'

Today was an interesting day. The boys got to feel their very first earthquake, and it was a good one -- a magnitude 5.3! Its epicenter was about 40 miles from here, out in the water, so the house rolled and shook (only a little) for almost a minute.

I felt it and said something a good 10 seconds before it registered to the boys that something was happening. They handled themselves really well, too. Once we knew all was okay, they were all quite excited to get their first felt earthquake under their belts. LOL