So Proud!

This week I have been a very proud Mom.  While I am always proud of Zach and Josh, this week has been a very special one.

Josh: In a different post I had mentioned that Josh had entered the reflections contest.  Going into the contest he did not expect to much considering he was making his art project with a cast on but we were both excited with how his project turned out (and who doesn't like playing with spray paint).  On Monday they held the awards ceremony for the kids that had won.  

Josh received an honorable mention for his project and was told by more than one person that they thought he should have won.  Not only was I proud of him for doing so well, but for also being modest and kind and congratulating those that had gotten the level higher.  He is such a great kid and is already planning what he is going to enter next year and has even decided to enter more than one category.

Zach: Yesterday I got to go with Zachs class to the aquarium for their class trip.  They had an absolutely great time.  For those of you that have been, you know that in one part there is a rope bridge that the kids love to walk across.  This bridge is very unstable, bounces, and wobbles and I have a hard time crossing it myself, but Zach really wanted to stand on it.  His teacher thought it would cute to get his picture just slightly on the bridge so I took him out of his chair and set him on the edge thinking we were just going to take his picture and he took off.  He ended up walking across the entire bridge with me only helping when his hands got stuck in the netting.  I know its a lot of pictures but the slideshow is his progress across the bridge. 

Crossing the bridge! - Video Maker

Hanging out with the witches!

This last week I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Zach at school and on his class field trip.  This week they went to Gardner Village to see the witches.    Since we live so close I must met the class there (thank heavens, bus rides make me so sick!) and  he actually didn't seem to upset to see me.

He really seemed to enjoy trying on the witches hats and Mom was more than happy to let him and make sure and take pictures of most of them.  At one point we were walking past the toy shoppe and he saw a light up sword he really thought he needed.  After he picked it up for the 3rd time and I had taken it away again, I told him if he really wanted it, he was going to have to pay for it with his own money.  He seemed to think about it for a minute, nodded his head, and handed me the sword.  It was really cute!  I can't wait for the next field trip, we are going to the aquarium.

Master Creator

As I have previously mentioned, Josh loves art.  I am not trying to brag when I say, he is a really good artist.  In my living room I have a framed picture that he painted in kindergarten and have been asked several times if I painted it.  Last year he was so excited to enter the reflections program.  The theme was Dream, Believe, Inspire.  He painted a portrait of

Martin Luther King and titled it "I Have A Dream."  His painting won on the school level and he was over the moon excited.

This year he had an extra obstacle working against him, his broken finger and his cast.  A regular painting like the one last year was out of the question.  We  started watching youtube videos on spray paint art and suddenly the little artist had a new brilliant idea.  The theme this year is, The World Would Be A Better Place If  .... and this is what he came up with.

He titled it, "The World Would Be A Better Place If Everyone Had Peace In Their Hearts."  He spent one day spraying colored paint and texturing the look and then we had to let that dry.  The next day he laid down some stencils and sprayed the entire thing black.  I think it turned out pretty awesome!  His artist statement read, "The world would be a better place if everyone had peace in their hearts. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of those things and still have peace in your heart."

Very proud of my little artist!

Playing Catch-Up

I am going to sum up our family life from the past years in one simple post, though this might take a little bit.

Josh is 10 and in 5th grade.  For the first time ever he really seems to be enjoying school thanks to an amazing teacher.  He loves to spend his spare time on the WII playing Infinity or on his Kindle playing Minecraft (which his poor Mom does not understand).  He also enjoys riding his bike, doing art projects, and when it was warm hanging out in the pool.  This last week he became the first in our family to get an actual cast when he broke his finger at school.  Unfortunately the break went through the growth plate and they had to put a full cast on.

Zach is 13 and technically in the 8th grade this year.  As always he was very happy to go back to school and we also love his new teacher.  He is still playing on his special VIP soccer team and loves going out riding on our go kart.  His love for Barney and Phineas and Ferb continue to annoy his Mom but his happy sounds make it impossible to deny him.  He also enjoys riding his bike and spending time in the pool.

Christian is still working away at Morgan Stanley.  He also decided to join our HOA board (though I think he greatly regrets that one) and is constantly being bugged by disgruntled homeowners.  His spare time is spent on the go kart or working on family history.

Melody is still a stay at home mom though has been considering off and on applying to be a substitute teacher since both kids are in school full time.  Since I am constantly surrounded by boys, my new hobbies have tended to lean to the girlier side, like nail art and cake decorating.

Well, thats us in a nut shell.  From now on the posts will be more of what we are actually doing, rather than what we have done.

We are back!

After a very lengthy break from blogging and at the persistent request from many, I have decided to start a new blog. While our life still fits the scary Terry profile, I am trying to look at things a little more positively which is why we have switched to the new blog, Crazy Fun Terry Life. Also, I am hoping since he was one that really wanted this blog back that Christian will take a turn with an entry every now and then. Hopefully, we will do better about keeping this blog up to date and use it more as a journal for our kids to look back on. Enjoy!