shiver me timbers

is this not the best, most handsome & scariest pirate you have ever seen? move over will turner! davis trogdon is now commandeering this ship.

i believe kindergarten is the most magical school year! especially with a teacher like miss mathis.  who wouldn't love school and want to get there every day as early as possible with days like "pirate day"?  avast, the kindergarten classes have aboarded the school and taken over.  here are some pictures at the beginning of the day....

me matey brye

party grub

deckhands arrival

all crew must sign in

 ahoy salty dog colt

look here lad, miss mathis still be the captain of this ship!

pirates of an ally ship

first-mates carson & davis in the galley

even scurvy siblings ready to swab the deck

precious faces

allison just made up our bed.  the child has finally faced the light. granted, she just smacked her irritating brother two minutes prior.  he deserved it.  she said he squirted her with a water gun.  um, okay.  just keep making up our bed and you can get away with a lot more.

i'm having a hard time believing that summer is over half done.  where does the time go?  now, i have to scurry around and make sure all registrations are in order for school and fall activities.  because when we get back from the beach, school will start, playschool will start for allison, her birthday will be around the corner, and round and round we go.  father time, have mercy on me.

these kids are growing up WAY too fast.

isn't he just the cutest!

our little einstein.  now i've been telling ya'll he's the brightest, most intelligent, sweetest, cuddliest little boy since he was......well, since one week old!  and what mother wouldn't be proud of this precious child!?  davis' preschool class did so good at their graduation.  SO GOOD!!  i will have to transfer the videos from our camcorder to cd before i can upload.  but they were adorable and animated.  i give them four stars!

diplomas awaiting graduates:

the class of 2024 walked in to pomp & circumstance and took their places on stage:

sang a few songs:

received their diplomas:

proudly displayed their graduation poem:

had a watermelon reception afterwards:

hugged the teachers goodbye!:

mrs. powell (above) & mrs. clark (below) - we'll miss you.  thank you for everything!!!

standing outside boiling springs elementary school.  kindergarten, here i  come!

deja vu to you too

there is something familiar about today. seems as if i've been here before. seems as if i've gotten the same phone call before too -

(teacher) "stephanie?"

"yes?"

(teacher) "davis fell and hit the picnic tables again on the playground. you need to come get him. he'll need stitches again."

"i'll be right there."

only this time, i knew EXACTLY where to take him and who to call to let them know we were coming. again.

not only coming back to the doctor's office for the the second time this week. (the first appointment was for kindergarten health assessment & 5 year old well-check.) but for the second time to get stitches in the head. only this time it was the other side of the head. and he got three staples instead.

well, the lesson for the day is......(because we obviously didn't learn it before)......when davis takes on a picnic table, the table WILL win.

and yes i did ask. ....."is my child the only one who has this problem or does it happen a lot?" thinking that it happens more often and we might need new tables at the school. but, no, it just seems to only happen to davis.

it is finished

on day 4 it started with a box, some cokes, popcorn and bubble gum and it ended up looking like this:

on day 5, a simple glass carafe, tissue paper and jelly candies did the trick.

and then it was done. mission: teacher appreciation week was completed. one year down. twelve to go.....

baby steps

zach got his stitches out and moved up to an aircast that allows him to bear a little weight with the crutches! i'm sure it's a lot easier than holding his foot up and having to hop along. though, allison has enjoyed hopping around on one foot declaring her foot hurts when she wants some attention, too.

so, while allison & i are patiently waiting ona prescription for zach at the local drug store, we whiz around the aisles to see if there is anything at all that i can snag for the next couple days of teacher appreciation week?

new displays of cute, summer items are partially out in one aisle. do i see a sale? yes! grab a 2 for $10 deal. nuts on sale 3 cans for $10? that will work too. great! teacher appreciation days 2 & 3, pain killers for zach..... all in one swoop. maybe we'll get through this week after all.

teacher appreciation day #2

teacher appreciation day #3

scrambled

wow! has this week snuck up on me.

two days ago I realized I had a week's worth of bible study homework to do. no problem! i'll just divide and conquer. half one day. half the next. well, two days went by and I showed up at bible study tonight with an empty notebook and a lot of blank paper. but the best intentions.

three days ago, I finally pulled out Davis' school folder to sign all papers and get ready for the upcoming week. new calendar. new month. first week BOLDLY states, "Teacher Appreciation Week!!!!!" oh snap. here I was, the night before the "big week" I had searched and jogged ideas of what to take each day for our two favorite teachers. but all those lists and great ideas were a month ago. old news. history. now, i had two kids to clothe and feed, a husband to bandage and chauffeur, a dog to walk, neighbors' kids to watch, suitcases to unpack, a house to clean, mountains of laundry & dishes to tackle and dinner to fix. now, I'm asking, "when did Teacher's Appreciation Day change to a Week?!!" and "how am I going to pull this together?!" we have no teacher's gifts. we have no money! all we have is a stack of bills waiting to be paid in US dollars and Great Britain pounds. sweet mother of abraham lincoln!

dig deep. there's got to be something. anything.

so as I'm spinning around the house in a panic attack, all I see are eggs. easter eggs. chocolate eggs. marshmallow eggs. eggs. eggs. eggs. how can I get away with giving our teachers some of the leftover chocolate from easter? am I REALLY about to do this? oh yes i am. and i promise to try and make it up to them tuesday through friday.

so after grabbing:

1. brown, lunch bags
2. kebob sticks
3. christmas ribbon
4. left over gift bag filler
5. chocolate eggs

we had Day 1 of Teacher Appreciation Week. phew.

gobble gobble

a few pictures from davis' thanksgiving celebration at school last tuesday......

pilgrims line up for lunch

a blessed feast

in good company

no serious pilgrims allowed.

ouch

last friday we got the call.

that went like this:

"come get your son. there was an accident on the playground. he needs stitches."

my next question went like this:

"zach, do you want to stay here with allison or go get davis?"

zach comes back with davis.

"he doesn't need stitches."

"mmm....i think he does."

an hour later.....

zach says (with a lotta-bit of pride),

"well, NOW davis and i look a lot alike....right down to our matching scar above the eye."