Pack meeting

Joshua received the following belt loops and badges at the Pack meeting tonight:

Belt loops: art, bb shooting, archery, music, map and compass (marbles belt loop at your first pack meeting)
badges: Polar bear camper

Who hoo! The loops are adding up! Great job:)

Animal Poster

Joshua decided that his animal facts poster for class would be about cats. We checked out a library book on Cats and chose some fun facts that his classmates may not know to put on his poster. Bailey was the poster cat and his picture was posted in multiple areas on the poster with the four facts that Joshua chose to write about. It was a challenge for me to give up some of the control of putting the poster together with Joshua as Joshua wanted to put his creative juices to work with the logistics of the items to be attached. I realized that I needed to give him more creative control and just let him experiment and learn while I sit back and enjoy his developing skills and ideas. Mommy is learning right along with you, Joshua! Taylor and I missed the presentation...I tried to get there by leaving my bible study class early, but missed it anyway! At least I got to watch you at recess and Taylor got to go to recess and play with the big kids for awhile! I'll make sure and be there for the next one! I was trying to just be there for your presentation because Taylor has limited listening skills and loves to hear her voice during presentation time! Great job on your poster and presentation...the other parents there said that you all did a great job with the presentations!

Mommy's Birthday!

I had a very sweet birthday this year thanks to my sweet family. Joshua came in and hugged me first thing in the morning and had a card for me when I got up. He didn't have school due to MLK day so I got to sleep in! He is a morning person (how did I get a child who is a morning person???) and designed a card for me with my Jeep and he and I sitting in the car and it said that he loved me on the front. Very very sweet! Taylor ran into my room and said "Happy Birthday" to me, too:) We had a low key day. We went to Kangazoom with some friends and the kids got to get out their energy out while I got to chat with some friends. We then went home and when daddy got home, we went out to eat at Los Bravos (Mommy's choice). We came home and had chocolate cake and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me...so sweet! The kids each had two pieces of cake...they obviously enjoyed it! Joshua had made me a paper crown for the big day which was very thoughtful of him! Taylor kept saying that it was her birthday...wishful thinking! Two more months, Taylor! It will be here before you know it. Thanks for a sweet birthday! All of you were very sweet and thoughtful!

Snow day...or snow week!

Atlanta got the most snowfall since the early 1993. We got 4-5 inches in one night which caused school to be cancelled and then we got sleet which turned all of the snow into ice which closed school for the rest of the week. The kids had a great time playing in the snow on Monday. Mason, our neighbor, came over to play in the snow with the kids. They had snowball fights and had fun going down a snow filled slide. Taylor thought that it was hilarious to throw snowballs at the windows and spent most of her time doing that and then later went down the slide several times. Doug got out there for awhile to play with the kids, but I was coming down with a cold so I took some pictures and stayed inside. Joshua was invited to go over to Mason's later for hot chocolate and cookies. It was a great kid snow day here in Atlanta! Sledding would have been a perfect way to take advantage of the snow and Warrior Way's huge hilly road would have been the ultimate sledding hill, but we didn't have a sled. I found out that the redneck solution to using a makeshift sled was using a cardboard box. We thought of that but thought it would get soggy. Because of the icy conditions, I guess that the box worked out pretty well! I will make sure the have a sled handy in case we are ever in snowy conditions again to take advantage of some winter sporting activities! Daddy spent three days at home working and then made it into the office the last two days. I took the kids to the library and Publix on Thursday and made it home safely, even though Nickajack was a little icy in areas. On Friday, I got a little bit more bold and took a side road when Fontaine was closed off temporarily where sand was being put onto the roads. I got through one road just fine and then turned and started heading up a hill on the next road. I made it halfway up and noticed there was ice at the top of the hill. I decided that hopefully, there wasn't that much ice and I could get past it. Not so much! I got stuck at the top of the hill on solid ice and my tires were spinning and going nowhere. Thank the Lord, a couple of men drove up in a four whee drive and offered to help us. They eventually got behind the car and pushed the vehicle past the ice to dry road! We would have been sitting there stuck until a tow truck or Doug came by to help. I learned my lesson and played it safe after that and just went home!

Polar Bear Tiger Cubs Camping Trip

Joshua and Daddy decided to face the fierce outdoors in January and headed out to Red Top Mountain for a weekend of camping in winter temperatures. They made it through both nights of camping, although, many did not stay the second night! The first night got down into the 30's and the second night got down to the low 20's! Yikes! They used their camping pads, sleeping bags with fleece liners inside, and another sleeping bag on top of the bag they slept inside! They managed to stay warm throughout the night and came home without any illness. I would say that the trip was a success! Joshua made it through the weekend with little effect from the cold until Sunday morning when Joshua's feet got really cold and he went into the car to warm up. Doug said that he was packing the car and when he returned to the car Joshua was crying because his feet were so cold. He put his warm boots on him and that seemed to help. Joshua had a great time playing with his buddies Jack and Patrick and came home smiling and very very tired! He did tell me that he wasn't ready to go on another Polar Bear trip yet. The cold feet put a little sting on the weekend high! Doug forgot to bring the camera so I didn't get to see any pictures! Taylor and I survived on our own with Taylor missing her daddy and brother pretty intensely. She wanted to see them badly and brought up their names about every hour. We were glad to see the boys safe and sound back home!

1st grade report card for Joshua

Joshua's first report card with letter grades has arrived and here is the breakdown!

Bible E, Grammar 92, Spelling 98, Handwriting S-, Reading 95, Phonics 94, Mathematics 95, Science E, Art A, Music A, Physical Education 96. Work habits were all satisfactory with improvement needed in following oral instructions and working neatly.

You did great, Joshua!! We are so proud of you! All A's...wow! Great job:) You are doing so well and cheers to continued success in your school career! We gave you $10 for all of your A's and you had $10 in Wal Mart money from tiger cubs in which you purchased a remote control motorcycle. Pretty cool!