If I were Jenna’s age right now tomorrow would be one of the best days of the year. That’s because summer vacation starts the moment she steps off the bus!
END OF SCHOOL FUN. Jenna has had a wonderful year. We couldn’t have asked for a better teacher and she has made several good new friends. These last days have included lots of fun activities. She went to CiCi’s pizza as a reward for her 100+ Accelerated Reader points (only 6 of the 100 2nd graders achieved this). Her reading accomplishments also rewarded her with a movie party and extra recess. 2nd/3rd Grade Field Day was also a highlight. All the kids enjoyed many games and inflatable activities. (The 3 days of Field Day also marked Vicki’s last hurrah as PTO Volunteer Coordinator this year...and yes, she has agreed to serve another year.)
Speaking of getting out of school, Vicki and I were thinking about it this afternoon and realized that the kindergarten students she taught her first year at Bransford Elementary are graduating this year!
OUR GRADUATE. Ben is now an alumnus of the Mt. Carmel Mother’s Day Out program. They had a little ceremony Friday at lunch complete with matching t-shirts, baseball caps with tassels and certificates. The MDO Class of ‘06 was recognized again Sunday morning at church with each child receiving a Bible. Ben is proud of his Bible and insists on reading from it every day.
A NEW DISCOVERY. Ben and I went over to Aunt Mar’s the other day. I dropped him off at the mailbox to get the paper and drove on up to the house. Ben tried to race me up to the house. When he got to the house he breathlessly declared, “Dad, now I know that trucks and vans are faster than little boys.”
NOW WHERE’S THAT FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH? Nate spent the night with Mom and Aunt Mar on Friday. At one point he started looking at Aunt Mar’s hands and asked about the veins that are visible through her skin. Aunt Mar explained to him that they were there because she is getting old. Full of concern he said to her, “We gotta go to the doctor!’ He repeated this several times as he was serious about getting Aunt Mar to the doctor.
PLAY BALL! While Nate was spending time with Mom and Aunt Mar the rest of us went to a Nashville Sounds baseball game. Jenna had made a home run in a reading program at school and all those kids were given a free ticket to a game compliments of Ozzie (their mascot--a tiger). Vicki scored 3 more free tickets for all her volunteer efforts at school. East Robertson was well represented and several of Jenna’s friends sat around us. They had a great time talking, laughing , cheering, and practicing their hand-clapping rhymes. When Ben was still, he enjoyed watching the bats fly around eating bugs. We all got a kick out of one bat who checked out a fly ball and quickly decided it was not edible. The Sounds won after coming back in the 7th, and we were all rewarded with a fantastic fireworks show after the game. All the kids who stuck it out this long were invited to run the bases. Jenna and Ben thought this was cool. We had a late night run to Krystal (the only appropriate time of day for such a run) and then finally hit the beds at midnight. The kids will remember this evening for a long time to come. They are anxious to go back as well as Vicki. As for myself, I still like hot dogs, apple pie, and my Chevy truck.
Joe
