Oreo the hamster died

Emily's pet hamster, Oreo, died. Tonight when I was tucking Emily into her bed I mentioned that I hadn't seen Oreo lately. Emily said that we had better check on her in her cage. Oreo had a full bowl of food and a full water bottle--neither of which looked as if they had been touched. So I took the top part of the cage off and lifted up Oreo's little wood house on the bottom of the cage and I immediately knew she was dead (the smell!). I told Emily that she was gone--I put her in a disposable storage container and Emily petted her a little--then I put her outside for now (along with the cage).

Emily is sad about Oreo dying but she knows that she had a good hamster life. Actually, Matthew was really sad about Oreo too (he is very sensitive about death ever since Tim's grandpa died in October). I told the kids that we will remember the happy times with Oreo--she was a sweet and gentle little pet.

Crazy Busy!!

Sorry I haven't blogged for awhile...things have been crazy busy around here. I have been shopping for Christmas here and there this past month...when time would allow along with keeping things hidden from the kids. We decorated the house a little...I didn't get everything out this year as I planned to because things got way too busy. I am still going to put some more stuff out though at this late date. The kids and I are going to make our annual cookies...peanut butter kiss, family recipe sugar cookies and butterscotch haystacks!

A couple of weeks ago Nick and Matthew started taking karate lessons...they love it! We attend class about 2-3 times a week and they can't wait to go (they would like to go to class every night but that's a little too much for our normally busy schedule). They are still white belts and they are working hard to get to the next belt...Gold Belt:)

I finished my school yesterday...I had two finals which went well. I got A's in both of my classes and am happy to be on break until January 5th. Next quarter I have Intro to Patient Care and Clinical Specialties. I have to wear scrubs for these lab classes...I purchased white work crocs to wear--they rock!!

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Wicked!!

On Saturday, Nov. 15th Emily, my mom and I went to see the Broadway musical "Wicked" at the Orpheum in downtown Minneapolis. We had purchased tickets a long time ago and can't believe that it has come and gone already. We were soooo excited to see it! Emily really loves stage musicals--we go to see the musicals and plays at Burnsville High School every time they have one showing (they have wonderful performances!!)

I had read the book (twice) but the stage production is very different from the book. But I still loved it immensely!! The music was mind-blowing (I have the CD also) and the songs are very catchy--we find ourselves humming them all day long:) All in all the whole musical was great--poor Elphaba is so misunderstood, she just wanted to make good!

I am glad that Emily has a passion for the performing arts. I cherish the times that we go to see the musicals and plays together--it's time spent together sharing something that we both enjoy. Maybe some day I will be watching her up there on the stage singing her heart out:)

Wishes for Great-Grandpa

At the end of October, Tim's grandpa (Bob) died--he had ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). We traveled to Hastings, Nebraska for the funeral and to be with family at this difficult time. While we were there, the kids (Bob's great-grandchildren) wrote messages to Great-Grandpa and attached them to balloons--Nick drew a sweet picture of himself and Great-Grandpa with hearts all around. Then they released them while we were visiting a WWII memorial that has Bob's name on it recording his time in the war. The kids also did a rubbing of his name on the stone memorial. They turned out really neat and the kids have a part of history.

We had a nice time in Nebraska even though we were all greiving the loss of Grandpa (Great-Grandpa to the kids). We know that Bob got their messages in heaven and cherishes each one.

Halloween Party

My sister, Terri, hosted her annual Halloween Party on Oct. 26th. We all really look forward to this super fun party. Emily was dressed as a Corpse Rock Star, Nick was a Phantom Alien Warrior and Matthew was a Clone Trooper. We had a yummy lunch, played games and enjoyed some spooky fun.

There was a costume contest (Emily won), a Ladder Ball tournament (Tim and Matthew's team won), pumpkin face painting (Matthew won) and a pumpkin ball toss (Nick won)--interesting how each kid won something:) Their Aunt Terri made them a Ghost in a Bottle to watch over them and protect them--they are really cool!!

Everyone had a great time!!! Our dog, Sammy, was there and he was dressed up as a bumblebee--he was so cute that he got a lot of scraps of food from Great-Grandma. We can't wait until next year.

Apples!

The kids had this past week off of school for conferences and MEA. We had a pretty low key week since I still had to go to class (college doesn't get MEA off--bummer!). The kids were with my parents on Tuesday and with my friend Sharon on Thursday while I attended my classes on those days. Being a stay-at-home mom, I don't have a regular daycare or babysitter but it all worked out with the help of family and friends:)

Anyway, on Friday the kids and I decided to go the Minnesota Harvest Apple Orchard. The weather was a little drizzly but we didn't mind. We took a tractor ride out to the apple orchard to pick our own apples. We decided to pick Regent apples which were marked by a white ribbon attached to the trees. We had fun running around looking for the white trees but when we would find them most of the apples were already picked or had fallen to the ground.

Needless to say, we put our tree climbing skills to the test! Emily and Nicholas would climb them to get to the apples that were still there--way up high on the tree! I even had to climb one since I am the tallest (not by much though--Emily is only 2 inches shorter than me!!). Matthew didn't climb any trees but he sampled the apples from the other trees while waiting for us to pick the kind we wanted:)

We had a blast in the orchard! Then we took the tractor back to the main building and pet some animals they had there like goats, sheep, etc. Then we got some yummy apple cinnamon donuts for the ride home. We had a memorable day (of course I took lots of pictures for my scrapbook--you know me!!).

Cub Scout Fall Festival

On Sunday, the boys and I attended a Cub Scout day camp called Fall Festival. There were lots of activities planned for the day, we did: making apple juice, BB guns, crafts, running an obstacle course--then lunch--riding horses, archery and finally kickball game.

We had a great time and I really enjoyed spending the day with my boys. They really liked the BB guns (what boy doesn't?), obstacle course (they ran it multiple times), horses, archery--actually everything. The apple juice was okay but there were lots of bees around the apples and the boys didn't like that! They made a birdfeeder and a paper jack-o-lantern thing at crafts. Matthew was nervous on his horse but then he relaxed and enjoyed it--I was leading his horse so that made him feel better (Nick had been to this camp before so he knew all about the horses)

We had a fun day but we were sure tired out by the time the camp was over. On the car ride home, Nick fell asleep right away but Matthew had his Nintendo DS with and he kept busy with that. Oh yeah, we also found a fuzzy caterpiller while at camp and the boys learned that they are my favorite fall creature!! When I was little, I use to play with them until all their fuzz fell off:)

Matthew is 7!!

Matthew turned 7 years old on Sunday, October 12th. He had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese on Friday. He picked CEC because, of course, GAMES!!! He had a few friends from school at the party and we had pizza, cake and played games. The kids really liked playing in the small play system of tubes and slides too. We had a nice group of kids and they all had a great time.

Matthew met a new boy in first grade this year named Joey and they became fast friends. I think they are clones of each other!! They both like all the same things including video games, they look relatively similar and even have some of the same mannerisms:) Their teacher thought they had known each other and been friends for years--even though they just met a little over a month ago!

I can't believe how old the kids are getting! It seems like only yesterday when Emily was 4 years old, Nick was 18 months old and Matthew was just born. You blink and the next thing you know is that 7 years have passed by. And I cherish every moment of it all!!!

Matthew has a Shadow?

On Saturday afternoon Emily's hamster, Oreo, participated in a hamster race at Petco. Oreo didn't win the race--she actually went the opposite direction on the track!! But after the race, Matthew said he wanted a pet of his own--a hamster. So we looked at them and he decided on a male dwarf hamster that he named Shadow.

Matthew was so excited to have Shadow. He has his cage next to his bed and takes him out every day to play with him. Matthew got a hamster ball to let Shadow roll around the house in. They even sell a track for hamsters so they can roll in a circle and can go really fast!

Shadow is Matthew's birthday present from his Dad (Matthew's birthday is on the 12th--October is a really busy month for us!). Matthew brought pictures of his new pet to school yesterday and told his class all about him--he is so happy.

Looks like we added another pet to our zoo:)

Emily is 11!

Well, Emily is officially 11 years old. Her birthday was last friday and what a busy day it was! She opened her family presents that morning before school. Then Emily had a birthday party sleepover starting Friday evening and ending on Saturday morning--it was a long night:)

The girls got to our house by 6 p.m. and we had pizza and Emily opened her presents. Then we had a volunteer time of 8 p.m. at Feed My Starving Children in Eagan. We had tons of fun helping other kids--we fed 6 children for one year with the amount of food we packaged and boxed!! It felt really good to help others.

When we got back home after FMSC, the girls were excited and full of energy! Needless to say that they didn't get much sleep that night. I went to bed around 1:30 a.m. and they were still playing, watching a movie and talking. The next morning all the girls said that they had a great time and wished that they could stay longer. But I was ready to relax and take a nap!! Emily had a super fun 11th birthday--another cherished memory!

Med Terms and A&P

I started my two classes today. It was a crazy morning! Last night the battery on my car died so today I drove the kids to school, had to drive Tim to the transit station, then go to the doctor to get a tetnus shot (required by law for school), and finally head out to Shakopee for my first day of class.

I had Medical Terminology first. The instructor is really nice--very approachable and she wants everyone to succeed. The content is a little daunting though--it's like learning another language. I am sure once I put my mind to it things will fall into place. After that class I have a 45 minute break. I brought my lunch from home and relaxed while I ate it. Then I went to my Anatomy and Physiology (A & P) class. I actually found the content of this class very interesting. The instructor is very passionate about the subject and likes to have fun in class.

So far I have to review my Med Terms stuff from today and I have a quiz in A&P on Thursday--I better get studying!! It's a whole new world:)

p.s. While I was at school, my mom and dad came over to my house and saved the day. They replaced my dead car battery with a brand new one!! Yeah--thanks a million!

Busy Times!

Things are really starting to get busy around here! Emily has started her dance class--she is in the oldest group of girls this year. It seems like yesterday when she was just starting out in the preschool class:) So far she likes it--she gets to wear tap shoes that have the higher heel on them which she is pretty excited about. Emilly also started band in school. She is playing the flute and has lessons with the band teacher one day each week during school hours. They have their first concert in January--I can't wait!! She is also in girl scouts again and they have their first meeting today after school. Emily also was chosen for a program at school called Children Helping Children (CHC) where she helps kids to deal with many different kinds of problems. It is a real honor to be selected for this group and she is very excited to be involved. They had training all day yesterday for CHC to learn how to be a mediator, how to use open-ended questions to get kids to open up, recognize feeling statement, and many other skills--she is one busy 5th grader!

Nick and Matthew both are in Cub Scouts. They had their pack meeting last week--Matthew looked so cute in his new uniform:) They went to Fort Snelling for a scavengar hunt on Sunday and received a patch for completing the program. They had to interact with the Fort Snelling people who were all dressed up like people of that time--it was really interesting. The boys witnessed a canon being fired which was a big hit! Nick does not like loud noises so he and I stayed far away from the canon while Nick covered his ears tight--poor guy:(

Nick is taking a basketball clinic starting in Oct. and Matthew wants to take karate but I don't have him signed up for anything yet. Both boys (and me) are going to a Fall Festival Cub Scout day camp in Oct. where we get to play games, do crafts, shoot BB guns, archery and other fun things. Nick is also signed up for an Animal Book Club organized through the Humane Society and it meets at the library where they get to read to service dogs and discuss their book club books.

We have all this going on as well as Wed. night religion classes starting next week (I am teaching Matthew's class) AND my school starts on Tues. next week--what was I thinking? Hmmm...I guess I had better put my organizational skills to work or else I will go crazy!!:) Oh yeah, I am also going on two field trips next week (Wed. with Nick to a play and Fri. with Matthew to Gibbs Farm) as well as Emily's 11th birthday a week from today!!! Maybe I am already crazy:)

p.s. I wouldn't miss sharing all these activities with my kids for the world!!!:)

College Again?

Yes it's true. I am going back to school for yet another degree. I already have an Associate in Applied Science for Legal Secretary and my Bachelor of Science for Marketing with a minor in Psychology. But I have decided to completely change course and go back for an Associate in Applied Science for Medical Assistant degree.

Since I have my other two degrees, most (if not all) of the liberal arts credits transfer (the school hasn't received my transcripts yet) so I will basically have to take the core classes. I registered for fall quarter today (classes start on Sept. 29) and I am attending part-time (I don't want to get overwhelmed with school, home and kids). My two classes are Medical Terminology and Anatomy & Physiology (that is one class)--yikes!! I have both classes on the same days--Tues. and Thurs. while the kids are in school.

I am excited to learn a new profession. But I am also nervous because it's been so long (about 13 years!!) since I have been in school. The timing is good because the kids are getting older, they are in school all day and don't need looking after constantly--although I am still very involved in their lives (as I will always be) with volunteering at school, teaching at church, after-school activities, etc.

It will take me some time to finish school so I am still a stay-at-home mom and now a part-time student as well. I have been very blessed to be able to be a full time stay at home mom for 11 years and now go back to school and pursue a career that I have always wanted to do.

First Day of School

The kids started school on Tuesday, Sept. 2nd. Emily is in 5th grade, Nick is in 3rd grade and Matthew is in 1st grade this year. They were all excited to go back to school--mostly Emily (she loves school!!) This is Matthew's first year of going to school all day (he was half day afternoon kindergarten last year) so this is a big change for him. So far he is has been doing okay--this morning he didn't want to go and said that he didn't like school. He kind of did the same thing last year, so I'm sure once things get going and he gets to know all the kids in his class that he will like it better.

Emily has signed up for dance again this year and is still in Girl Scouts. So far the boys are only in Cub Scouts but we will get them into something else too. They all have Wednesday night religion classes starting in a few weeks (I am one of the teachers for the 1st graders this year). The days get busy once school begins--we will have activities nearly every evening. Sometimes it seems hard to keep up but we also have lots of fun too.

Minnesota State Fair

Yesterday the kids and I along with my mom and dad went to the State Fair. We go there every year and it is lots of fun!! We saw cows, sheep, pigs and baby animals which is always neat to see--the kids like to pet them and hear them make sounds.

This year the kids went to the Midway for some rides and games (in previous years we went to the Kidway--not anymore!! They are ready for BIG rides). I went with them on a roller coaster called the Crazy Mouse and it was fast, spinning fun--the kids said it was AWESOME. Nick won a stuffed animal at one of the games--he was sooo happy!

Another new thing we did this year was ride the River Raft Ride. Me, my dad and the kids sat in a round raft and floated along a water-filled canal. It was fast and had many rapids that would splash up and get us wet. Matthew said that it was his favortie ride.

We always do the regular stuff like Ye Old Mill ride, the big slide, eat our regular food, get the All-You-Can-Drink milk, get all the free stuff in the Education Building and the boys always get a toy tractor from the same shop. All three kids got an animal marionette puppet (with the strings and wood handling mechanism) that they can make walk, wiggle and dance--they are pretty cute!

We visited the Butterfly Garden at the fair too. We went in and there are tons of butterflies all around. They just land on you--the kids had them on their clothes, shoes and even on their heads! We stayed in with the butterflies for a long time--it was really cool.

After a long day and tired feet--we left for home. It was a great day and we look forward to next year with all the new stuff as well as the regular things too. We had a day to remember!!

Sammy the Grasshopper Hunter

Our dog, Sammy, loves to hunt grasshoppers (actually any bug). When we go to the lake, he likes to comb the beach for spider or any bug to "play" with. On this day, he found a grasshopper to follow. He picks it up and kind of throws it in the air--follows it around and sniffs it--digs at it in the sand. Ultimately he ends up killing the bug. Sometimes he eats them (spiders mostly) but usually he just amuses himself with his new toy.

It's fun to watch him when he is hunting down a bug! His days at the lake consist of looking for bugs, swimming in the lake, guarding the house and following me around all day. He is a funny little pup!

Emily & Oreo

Okay--we cannot go into a pet store anymore!! The kids and I (innocently) went to Petco to get crickets for Nick's lizard--a simple task, shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes, right? Of course NOT!

As soon as we entered the store Emily and I saw this super cute hamster up for adoption. We tried to pet it through its cage--she was black and white just like an Oreo cookie. We asked a Petco worker about her and got to hold her. Emily and I liked her a lot. After Emily found out how much the adoption fee was ($10 for the hamster, cage, ball to run around in and supplies) she wanted to adopt her--she can pay for it with her own money.

I reminded Emily about her guinea pigs that she had in the past and how she didn't take the best care of them resulting in finding a nice home for them. She said that she is older now and really wanted the hamster and that she would take care of her (she said that she might need my help a little too:) Oreo is an older hamster at 2 years old--their life span is between 2 and 4 years. I told Emily that she might die in a year or so but Emily said that was okay--she wanted to take care of her even if she was old.

Since I am an animal lover too, I said that she could adopt her. We got her home and set up her cage in Emily's room--Oreo seemed content and happy. Last night she was busy running on her hamster wheel--it was fun to watch. We can all hold her and pet her--even the boys--and she just sits in your hand. She is pretty cute. It warms my heart that Emily is growing up with a kind spirit to all animals and a big heart to want to give an old hamster a home.

Star Wars Legos

Nick was finished with summer school last week on Wednesday. He worked hard in class and his teacher repeatedly praised him--she even let him teach math one day! He got up every morning without complaining, ate his breakfast, got dressed and went outside to wait for the bus--all while his brother and sister were sleeping in!

He was such a good boy though his summer school that Gramma T. got him a special gift. He got to pick out something that he wanted and (of course) he picked Legos--his favorite thing! He really wanted the Star Wars Trade Federation ship set--it was a little more money than Gramma planned on but he had such a great attitude (not one grump or anything) during summer school that she got it for him.

Nick was extremely excited and happy. He put the whole thing together--Tim & I just sat with him to make sure that he didn't skip anything by accident. That evening after he finished the ship, we watched the Star Wars movie that had his new ship in it--he was overjoyed seeing it in the movie.

He was very happy to be rewarded for a job well done. Nick has such a tender heart that we know his special Lego set means a lot to him. He is an exceptional boy!

Stomp Rockets

Sunday the boys had their July Pack meeting for Cub Scouts. Nick is a Bear Cub Scout and Matthew just joined this summer and he is a Tiger Cub Scout. They were excited to make a stomp rocket--what boy wouldn't be?

The kids played some games first then they set to work on making a launcher for their rockets. Next they made the rockets by putting fins on the bottom and a black tip on top and they drew designs on them too. Then it was time for the really fun part--they got to shoot them! And they sure did fly high!! All the kids had a great time shooting their rockets.

While the kids were playing the adults BBQed lunch. There was a big spread of fun and everyone was hungry after all the rocket fun. Also, Tim had to get Matthew's rocket down from the roof of the picnic shelter once--then he shot it up there again and that time we couldn't reach it. He had to make a new rocket:) Nick shot his rocket and it hit him in the shoulder--it hurt! They learned that they need to stay clear of the rocket when they stomp on the launcher.

We had a lot of fun and when we got home after the picnic, the boys stayed outside and played with their rockets some more. Then we had to get them out of the trees but that was easier than the roof. Another fun, busy day!!

Sunburn!!

On Saturday we went to a water park in Shakopee for an afternoon of swimming and slides. The day was beautiful--not too hot or humid. Nick was there with a friend's birthday party and the rest of us went to enjoy the day.

The kids had an absolute blast going down the various water slides and diving board. Even Tim and I joined in the fun of the slides, etc. But, with the weather being so nice, I got really sunburned on my shoulders, upper back and chest. The kids were fine-only a little pink on the cheeks and Tim got a little red on his arm. Emily scolded me for not using sunblock--she was definately right because I am suffering the consequences!!

Star Wars

On Friday the 18th we went to the Science Museum to see the traveling Star Wars exhibit. We were pretty excited to see it--especially the boys! First we went to see the Omni-theater movie about special effects (Nick and I didn't go in because Nick doesn't like the huge, round screen and the steep slope of the seats--we looked at other stuff). I guess it was good but it had talked about many different movies--not just Star Wars.

Finally it was our time to go into the exhibit (they have designated entry times spaced 15 minutes apart). The kids really liked all the hands on activities that they could do. They made a hover car that really hovered (using the opposite polarities of magnets), driving a hover car, sustaining a computer city using tiles that the computer recognized--the boys liked doing that even though they didn't really know what they were supposed to do. There was programming a robots movements and of course the robots looked like R2-D2! And other stuff too.

There were tons of ship replicas and costumes from the movie--princess Leia, Chewbaca (it was really big!), Darth Vader, R2-D2, etc. They had ALOT of Star Wars stuff. It was cool to see it all up close. But by the end of the exhibit, I was very tired of looking at Star Wars!

We had a great time and we were all glad that we were able to see the exhibit before it leaves MN.

The Summer of Sleepovers

This summer Matthew has gotten into the habit of wanting to do "sleepovers". Either me or Tim will sleep downstairs in our guest bedroom with Matt. We bring our pillows and a stuffed animal for each of us. When Tim is with Matthew, they like to play music from itunes--Matt has a certain album he listens to and they play with the stuffed animals! But if it's me who is having a sleepover with him, we talk about the day a little and then get to sleep (I'm guess I'm not very energetic at night).

I have taken some pictures of our sleepover night (need to document it in my scrapbook album!) It is a special time with Matthew. Both Tim and I enjoy being with him and getting into his 6 year old world. We will always remember the summer of sleepovers!

Where has to time gone?

I can't believe that July is nearly half done! It doesn't seem like we have been doing anything in particular but the days sure go fast. The kids haven't been very scheduled this summer (we still need to get swimming lessons done though) but we have kept pretty busy with a variety of different activites.

Emily made some bookmarks to sell at the craft fair at our library, the kids have had lots of play dates and sleepovers, we have gone to the zoo a few times among a bunch of other fun day activities. Then the next thing I know, the newspaper ads have "back to school" stuff in them!! Wait--we still have lots of things we want to do before school. I need to find Father Time and slow him down a bit:)

I hope everyone is having a fun summer--even though it is flying by. I definately enjoy and try to capture all of our summer fun memories (my camera is in the kids faces ALL THE TIME) and to keep them close to my heart. I'm sure I will write about our next fun adventure soon.

4th of July at the Lake

We spent the holiday up in Alexandria, Mn at the lake. Tim's parents live there in the summer and we enjoy visiting them. The kids swam in the lake until we discovered that they aquired swimmer's itch from the water!!

Emily got it the worst--she is covered in red, itchy spots from her neck on down. She has been very brave through this ordeal. We took her to the doctor and they gave her some allergy medicine and said that it will have to run its course. She tries not to scratch but it's hard to resist--she has been covered in anit-itch lotion! The boys got it too but not as bad--they have taken some Benedryl and that seems to take care of it.

We had a nice time visiting family but Emily isn't ready to go back in the water any time soon:) We went to the movies, shopping, playing on the beach and just relaxing. Hopefully next time we go to the lake the kids will venture into the water again.

Canoeing

Emily and I went canoeing with my dad today. He is an avid canoer and he has wanted to take us down a section of the Minnehaha creek for a long time now. My mom and the boys dropped us off at the start of our journey then they went to the ending point to pick us up--they went to Target to bum around awhile while we were on the river.

We had a great time! My dad steered us in the back and Emily sat up front and paddled away. I got to enjoy the ride mostly--I was in charge of taking some pictures (imagine that:) We saw some ducks with their babies, turtles sunning on a log, geese and other birds too--lots of dragonflies flying close to the water. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

While the boys were at Target, Matthew lost his other top front tooth. He was eating some nachos and all of a sudden it was gone! They couldn't find it anywhere around and Matt said "I think I ate it!" Nick was concerned that he would have to go to the hospital but grandma said he would be okay. I think we will have to write a note to the tooth fairy regarding the where-abouts of the tooth!!

What a day!!

Minnehaha Picnic

Today we went to Minnehaha Falls for my sister, Terri and her husband, David's annual picnic. The weather was really windy and cool. I didn't pay much attention to the weather when we left for the picnic so we didn't have sweatshirts or anything--luckily David has some extra jackets!

We had a great time even with the cool tempature. We walked down to see the falls and along the river to where the river widens a bit and there is an area of water that is out of the main current and the kids can walk and play in it. Matthew fell trying to walk on the rocks and got totally soaked! He didn't seem to mind even though we didn't have any clothes to change into. And Emily was trying to clean off her feet and threw her croc shoe ahead of her in the water. She didn't realize the river current was really strong and her shoe started heading off down the river! Luckily Nick was after it in a flash and the shoe got hung up on a root just long enough for him to reach it. Thank goodness.

After that fiasco we went back up to the picnic site so Matthew could air dry himself by playing frisbee and trac-ball with his brother and Grandpa. We had a fun day to remember!

Summer School

Yesterday Nick started summer school through our school district. He was referred by his teacher in kindergarten to attend and ever since then he is automatically enrolled. Nick needed some help in reading intially but now he is doing good--grade level reading. But I am keeping him in the program as long as I can--even though he is doing good in school. I figure that any extra help is good and he will benefit from it.

So far he hasn't questioned why he has to go to summer school--seeing that his sister and brother don't go. He has been a trooper getting ready in the morning and getting on the bus (which is kind of a novelty because we live really close to their school and they walk during the regular school year--summer school is held at a different school in the district). We tell him how proud we are of him for being such a good student!

Even though Nick is only at school for three hours (a little more with bus time) a day, 4 days a week, until the end of July--it breaks up the day with all three kids. The boys get a break from each other which they need. Also Emily and Matt get to spend some time together too--it's beneficial all the way around:)

Welcome to the Bollinger Zoo!

I am excited to start blogging! This is a great way to share with family and friends everything that is going on in our busy lives.

The kids are getting older by the minute it seems...Matthew (6 years old) just lost his first top front tooth and the other one is hanging there by a thread. He looks pretty funny with that loose, crooked tooth! Emily (10 years old) is growing into a young lady--she is only a couple inches shorter than me! She will be passing me up in height soon. And Nick (8 years old) is constantly playing with friends now that summer is here.

And we really do have a zoo around here...with 3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 birds, 3 fish and a lizard (Nick is working on me to get a corn snake too--he knows mom is a sucker for animals:) So keep checking back to my blog as I'm sure there will be many interesting things going on around here!