Happy Birthday Patrick!!!!

Today our grandson turns 13! Cannot believe it! Another teenager! That makes me a grandma of 5 teenagers! I love Patrick so much!!! Will never forget all the problems Heather had while carrying him and how blessed we were when he came!  And he has been a blessing ever since! We will be celebrating his birthday this weekend while camping! So excited!

I switched to my laptop....yes, finally got it going. I am loving it. But I don't have all my pictures on it yet. Something I need to get done.  So this was all I have of Pat.... happy birthday Patrick!

I am also feeling old because Andrew got his drivers license on Saturday!  Can you believe it? What stinks though is to have your license...you have to have your permit for 6 months first. So he has to wait until the end of the month to officially drive by himself.  Oh well.  At least he passed drivers ed and his test and is ready!

Maddie and lauren finished their last games in softball. They both ended really strong hitting that ball!  Riley and Jo are still playing. Not sure if theirs ever ends. lol! They seem to play tournaments every weekend. Don't know how they do it. They play this weekend again so won't be at our family camp out. :(

This week at school we are talking about CAMPING!!!!! So excited!  Right time for it!  Last week was Space....I could have gone two weeks!

Need to take a shower and get to work! Hope you all have a great week!

School and Camping....and summer coming!!!!!!

I keep meaning to post and I get pulled away from it for one reason or the other. So today I will try again. Let's see if I can catch up without making this too long.

First school: We had Circus Week where I let the kids bring their bikes one day and we closed off the parking lot. They loved it! We had a circus in the playground where Ella's parents brought popcorn and their cotton candy machine. That was cool. We set up games and let them go head first down the slide for the cannon ball and ride the trikes on the red top (which they never get to do). We put clown faces on the kids and two teachers dressed as clowns.... I didn't because I told them the kids had to take SOMEONE seriously. lol!  Plus I had to go to a game after work.

It was a great week and they wrapped it up by getting to go to Viking Fest and go on the rides for free before they opened!  They do that every year. Nice of the carnival people to do that for the kids. Now I missed that one because I took the day off and went camping!!!! I'll talk about in a minute..... Our next week was In the Jungle. That was fun talking about all the animals and the different parts of the jungle and making crafts!  This week we are doing Space!  It is SO INTERESTING!!! I am learning so much.... like there are 4 rock planets closest to the sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) and then there is Asteroids that separate us from the gas planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) and Pluto is now called a "dwarf planet" and isn't even counted anymore. What's with that???? We are learning about stars and the sun and moon. We could do a couple weeks on this one!!!

Yesterday was her last day. She has been coming forever. Next is Kindergarten for her.

And the girl on the right is going to Viet Nam to visit for the summer with her family. Not sure if she is coming back or not.

Ms. Sarah reading to a couple of the kids that are left in the late afternoon. We close at six and some are here until then.

Well... we went camping. Lauren and Maddie went....it was our first time since Papa's heart attacks back in 2007!  It went wonderful!!!! We had so much fun!  The girls did too!

I have the hardest time downloading onto this site! That is one of the reasons I need a few hours to do blog!  Does anyone else? 
Other than camping we have just been going to Softball games. Tonight is Maddie's last game and tomorrow is Lauren's.
Our family camp-out is coming up!!! I am so excited. We reserved and paid for this area as a Christmas present for our kids and grand kids. It is called the Wagon Wheel and it is a huge open area with a big covered area and a bunch of picnic table under it and there is a big fire pit. Then you camp all around it and each spot has a picnic table and little fire pit.  We used to go years ago but we haven't done it in 8 years!  So, yea, I am excited.  The grand kids are too!!! Bought a bigger tent yesterday because our trailer isn't big enough to hold everyone, we have a small tent for the girls toys etc, we have a dining canopy to go over our picnic table by where we will camp, and a screen tent for whatever.  Just jazzed I tell you!!!! Praying the weather will be good. So far the forecast is in our favor!!!
I am going to shower and get ready for work now.  I hope you all have a great week...or month or whatever. I can't promise to post more but I will try! I love you all...my dear friends!
xoxo

Wow.... it is May 13th! I haven't posted for a long time....and I am sorry.  Let me see if I can catch up. Work. There ya go!  I have been working 40 hours a week and I am tired all the time!

I kid you not. I get off work at 6 and am ready for bed by 7!  I think I may need my iron levels checked again. I have been anemic before. Plus softball season has started up and I try to get to some games. I have made one of Jo's and need to get to see Riley! Going to Lauren and Maddie's is a bit easier because it is right on my way home from work.  I also got to see my 2 nieces play against each other.... that was cool. And then Karla and Joel's team "Yank-A-Part" has their first game tonight at 8:30!  That will be a late night.
I have been at my job for over a year now.  It is getting harder.  They just keep letting more kids enroll....it never stops. Now I have 26 kids on my roster. Luckily they don't all come at once. But a normal day for us is overwhelming with about 18 kids. 

I do have an assistant who is wonderful! She is in charge of our arts & crafts and so many other things she helps with. I would be nuts by now if it wasn't for her!!!!  We took the kids on a field trip over a week ago and 2 parents went. It was fun!

Luckily we only had 14 that particular day.... and only one wet his pants. lol

We had parent come in a couple days to share what they did for a living.... that was interesting! We had a vet assistant, a occupational therapist, a bank manager, a jeweler, and an NCIS agent! The kids thought it was cool.

They thought wearing a bullet proof vest was super cool.

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with Nachos and Mexican Hat Dance. I learned Cinco de Mayo means the 5th of May. Call me dumb but I had never put it together. lol!
Last week it was all about Mother's Day. The kids made books.... first page had a flower with their picture on it and a poem I wrote. I will have to take a picture and post it. The flower was made from hand prints and footprints. There were also papers in there about their mom's that the kids had said. We made a recipe book too.... the kids told me how to make pancakes, cupcakes, cookies and stuff. Really cute. We had an awesome Mother's Day Brunch on Friday!
We had a pretty good week because we started a new STARS SYSTEM!  During lunch if they use good manners they get a star.  If they are nice at the playground they get a star. If they listen and sit during circle time...star. One mom was upset and didn't want her child on there.... but we got it all worked out....I hope.  Several things happened during the week that was kind of weird. Then Friday.... my assistant Ms. Sarah... gave me this beautiful planter made from lady bugs with mini roses in it. I will take a picture of it too! She said the nicest things on a post-it.

I had a nice Mother's Day. Kevon and I went to Red Apple Diner for breakfast and it was wonderful! num!  Had great conversations about everything. I love that kid!  I got calls from Karla, Ryan and Heather...and saw Tara at the game and got a hug.
In fact just got home from a softball game.  It started at 8:30 and it is now 10:30 and we just got home. Must be bed time.  I started this post hours ago and am just wrapping it up now. See why it is so hard for me?

Going to the dr tomorrow. I have had an ear ache in my right ear since yesterday morning. I hate them.  Hopefully we can figure it out.  Hope you have a great week! We are starting "circus week" at school. I only work 4 days and then going camping!!!!