Born Free

This dog. She is crazy but we love her. She is pretty impressive too. 

A few weeks ago Jason took her out running (like he does almost daily). He runs with her off leash as she minds him very well. Apparently, during the run they came across another person with a dog at a crossroads. She stopped to check out the other dog and didnt see which turn Jason took. Usually during a run she will run off (being faster than he is) and then check back with him every few minutes or so. Its never been a problem before. However, after a while, he realized that she wasn't anywhere near. He finished the run and got in the car, deciding to drive the nearby neighborhood to see if anyone had seen her. A few kids outside said that they had seen a light colored dog run by earlier. He searched and searched but couldn't find her. He decided to come back home. Guess who was waiting on our proch? Yep, our crazy dog, who had run through the woods, across a busy main street and through two neighborhoods to get to our house. I guess we don't need to be worried she will get lost. 

This morning Jason sent me this picture. He told me that she usually finishes the run before he does and waits by the car. I guess we know what else she does while waiting. 

Darby is 9!

I can't believe she's nine! Darby wanted Dad and/or I to eat luch with her at school for her birthday. I said I could come. As luck would have it, he had no patients and was able to slip away from work and come too. It was fun to eat with her and her friends. 

For dinner she chose to go to Red Robin. We opened presents there. 

She got a jewelry making kit that she asked for. The employees also sang to her and she got a free celebratory sundae. And a balloon, don't forget the balloon. ;)

Happy Birthday Darby!!

Awards Assemblies for the Second Quarter

I love living so close to the schools. Going to the awards assemblies is super easy. And the kids love it! Eva's assembly was first.

She earned AB Honor Roll for the past quarter. So proud of her hard work. Also, you can see her new glasses in this picture. She loves that the tinting turns purple in the sun.

Darby's awards assembly was the same day.

She is doing so well at Honeycutt! She got AB Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance and a Terrific Kids Award. Way to go!

John Griffin Middle School makes the awards assemblies a big deal. Brendan earned Principal's List again. He amazes me! Becasue of cold and flu season it was recommended that, instead of shaking hands, they give fist bumps. I think all the middle schoolers thought it was awkward to fist bump their principal. :)

Nerf War

We invited the Grindstaff family over for dinner and games. We have known them since the last time we lived here. They have a boy with Aspergers, girls our daughters' ages and Sam is Jason's first counselor.  We like them and have a lot in common.

Brendan requested a Nerf War and they were happy to oblige. They brought their gear and eye protection. Caleb, the oldest, bowed out and sat in the book room reading. Everyone else particpated. It was an absolute free-for-all! Chaos but fun. I got hit in the forehead. Nerf bullets hurt when they hit just right. I got the bishop a few times in the rear. That was funny to me. 

After the battle, we had dinner and the little girls ran upstairs to play. The parents and older kids played One Night Alien and had a great time. We will be sad when they move.

Candy Bar Game

For our activity after Family Council I taught the kids how we play the Candy Bar Game. It was so fun! In the end, I shared my chocolate with those who didn't get much. It really brings back memories of my childhood.

Dog Prayer

Stella always sleeps in our room. I ended up just putting a dog bed in there. When Jason and I kneel to pray she will come over and try to get on the bed too. Sometimes she gets her front half on and then lays down like she wants to be a part of the prayer. It cracks us up every time.

Loose Tooth

About a week ago Paige told us that her front tooth was loose. She'd been wiggling it and wiggling it. Today she pulled it out herself. Tough cookie, now with a hole in her mouth. :)

Broken Door

Things always seem to fall apart when Jason is unavailable. Today he is moonlighting Raleigh until late. One of the kids went outside and then yelled that they couldn't get back in. Yep, the back door knob broke and wouldn't turn. I had to take the whole thing off and try to fix it but only succeded in bending the inner workings beyond repair. So I put a chair up against it to keep the door closed and we will have to go buy a new one tomorrow. Sigh. 

Spelling Bee

All Christmas Break Brendan has been studying the Scripps list to prepare for the school spelling bee. He was very nervous. Jason was able to take off work to come as well.

 One by one the students would stand and recieve their word. They could ask about word origin or for it to be used in a sentence. Every time he stood up I was tense. But he did very well and seemed less nervous than before they started. They went quite a few rounds, with students slowly dropping off. The words got harder and harder. 

When there were four students left he go the word "galette". I knew he knew it but I could see him second guess himself as he slowly spelled it with two L's. And he was out. He was crushed. He tried to put on a brave face for a while as he sat down by me but evenutally excused himself to the bathroom. When he was gone a while, Jason went to go get him. He was so disappointed and crying so he and Dad walked around a bit and talked, trying to bring him out of his funk. I stayed in and watched the remaining spellers. It was a hard battle. They completed a record breaking number of rounds, running out of words from this year's list and going on to another list that none of the kids had studied before. Another seventh grader ended up winning. But it is a boy that Brendan likes and respects so he was cool about it. However, he did not want to be in the picture but we made him. Later he told me, "There's always next year". So at least there's hope. Disappointment, while hard, is a great learning experience. 

Second Half of Christmas Break

Jason had a New Year's Day off and then he had to go back to work. We bought a few new card games and, in conjunction with the games we got for Christmas, we've been playing a LOT of games. Gamewright makes the best games. Our new favorites are Long Cow and Squirmish. And, of course, we play Exploding Kittens with Daddy.

We also did a few puzzles.

When you are old enough and capable enough to read in your head, you get to stay up for quiet reading time for half an hour instead of going to bed at 8pm. Paige is finally ready for this. It is lovely to see all my kiddos reading!

Stella loves having the kids home but it makes her crazy after a while becasue she is so wound up (and used to napping during the day while they are at school). She loves the kids!

I rounded the corner one day and saw this. She was perched at the top of the stairs and blends right in. Maybe trying to get in a few winks?

Brendan tried out all his Nerf gear. That gun is scary. 

I tried out recipes from my new cookbook. The biscuits were delicious, even if they aren't as photogenic as Joanna Gaines are. I will definitely make them again. 

Furniture

 The chairs for the new table finally came in. I think they look great!

I decided that the big wondow needed drapes so I picked up these beauties at Target. They help with the echo in the big room as does the new faux plant I bought.

I finally found just the right place for the vintage desk. I plan on putting a plant on it by the living room window. 

And, in the theme of furniture, the kids thought it would be funny to make a double decker couch. Hahaha!

New Year's Eve

This year for New Years we watched Pride and Prejudice. All the kids decided to try and stay up with us. And they all made it. I think that was, in part, due to their interest in the movie. They were interested this year because we stopped every few minutes to recap and answer questions. Old English and British customs from the Victorian era needs explaining when you are a kid. ;)  The other part was that they loved the treats and really wanted the sparkling cider at midnight.

One thing I had forgotten about our side of Fayetteville on New Year's is the fireworks. From our backyard we could see three seperate sets of fireworks going off in our neighborhood. Love it!