Randomness

My Family

Last weekend a large number of my family showed up at my house unexpected. I knew mom was coming to pick up her NEW BIKE!! but I was not expecting Zach, Jodi, Avery , Alissa, Granny and Granddad. While Pete was fitting Nana on her bike the guys were standing around with nothing to do. It was 50 degrees outside with about a 50 mph wind. I have needed gutters over my flower bed for 3 years. Dare I ask them to oblige? Why not?!

So I was off to Home Dep*t with the boys, returning shortly with the supplies THEY needed to do the job :) It only took a couple of hours for them to complete the project because I made sure there was no loafing on the job.

Finally, after 3 years of a huge, ugly square of dirt in front of my house, I can plant flowers! Yea! Thanks guys. I am sure they will never show up again. Too bad, because I am wanting some wood floors and stuff...

how many men does it take to hang a gutter? I guess 2 with 2 "supervisors"

Yesterday was beautiful with a break in the wind (sort of) so Reese and I got started on the bed. Zach (my official landscape advisor) suggested that I make it smaller, easier to maintain. I think he knows that my thumb is the farthest shade from green and didn't want me to lose hundreds of dollars in a flower bed catastrophe. So I scaled it down. Now my problem is finding a place that will sell me some squares of sod; everyone wants me to buy a whole pallet.

here is a "getting started" picture and I will update it when we are all done.

Soren

A swimmer? Yes. A scholar? For sure. A runner? She was the 1st 4th grader to reach the 20 mile club at school (boys and girls!). And now she is setting more records during the tests in PE that are required by the state of texas. I think these tests are kinda funny, but it is interesting none the less. They do sit ups, pull ups, push ups, stretching, etc.

Last year Soren was labeled "average" by the state for being in shape. I looked over the test to see how a kid who swam 10+ hours a week could be only average. It turns out that she far exceeded the standards on all of the tests except for one. Flexibility. She is like her dad. You can't bend her very far. So because of that low score (she can't touch her toes without bending her knees) she is only average.

They are in the middle of these tests right now and so far she is doing great. To score "commended" you must do 30 push ups (I can only do 15). She said that if your knees bend, you put your head down, or any part of your body touches the ground then you are done. She did 50! It was the most push ups done by any student in her grade. The next day she could barely move her arms but that did not stop her from swimming 5,050 yards in practice that afternoon! Next was the long jump. In this event one boy tied her distance but because his foot was just past the line when he jumped, Soren was declared the winner for 4th grade with a jump of over 9 feet!

I just laugh everyday when she comes home with these feats of accomplishment. She is so excited and really wants to do track, but when in the world would she do that? This is Saturday morning, 7:30 am, and where is my child? At a special back stroke practice! I don't see where she gets her motivation.

Sorry. That was a lot of bragging. There is just so much to say about her. She is the best and I am so happy for her success in all areas of her life.

Reese

Yesterday Reese and I went to have lunch with Soren. And it was time. Time to sign up for kindergarten registration. We had to make an appointment; it is not just some paperwork you fill out. She will meet with the nurse, counselor and a teacher before being admitted. Wow. I was sad. She was ecstatic.

She asked about the tests that the nurse was going to perform and now she is concerned about passing them. "What if I can't hear good?" she asked. I told her that they would put a hearing aid in her ear and she would be fine :) So funny.

So that is what is going on in our world. Same ole same ole.