A Thumbless Man

Okay, I am wrong and if you are offended easily, do not continue to read...

It turns out that my room was once occupied by a thumbless male teacher. He could not hang posters on the wall very well so he used LIQUID NAILS!!!! I still don't understand the no thumbs = poor judgement in decorating thing, but oh well. So, this explains why I couldn't get the guck off of the walls. My camera didn't work today, no battery juice, but I will take some quick photos and post them later. Have a good weekend all.

The City Mouse in Room 232

Well, the summer days have flown by and once again the school bells are ringing for me. I finally went to my classroom last week and was mortified! I think my mice friends from the camper had distant cousins who lived in the city in room 232. Oh me oh my, why do mice think that I should be their toilet maid? Needless to say, mouse poo everywhere underneath the sink in my room. A former teacher had glued things...posters maybe all over the walls in my room and the ancient cement glue would not come off. So, I have been working on that to try and make it manageable for me to stay in for 8 or more hours every day. When you see the picture of the glue goo on the window of my door, let me know if you have any ideas. Well, I'd better be off to the snore zone because 6:00 comes around so early in the morning. Who knew it was so cold at that time? :)

Tackles and catches

This is not the "official" uniform but I wanted a glimpse of how my first born was going to look!

Trevor is very proud and told him not to get a big head if he plays in the Superbowl. Little does Trevor know that it's just 5th grade tackle football.

The stance that I had to get him in. I can't believe that he's playing football. Trevor thinks that he is way cool!

Football season has officially begun. Last night, Kaleb began conditioning. We were two days late because he decided to play at the last minute. The other boys will be in their full get-ups but Kaleb will still condition today and Saturday morning, without the pads. I am a nervous wreck but Kraig said it's a boy thing. I'm praying for a fast young man who skirts past all of the other teams' tacklers or a young boy who tackles without getting hurt.

Barfs and the historical adventure

At the National Zoo, we saw the panda. I think that this was the only moment that Ling Ling wasn't looking into his private area.

The boys at Union Station...trains, food, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Sitting on the lawn on the campus of Georgetown University.

Sitting in front of the Capital - Trevor's picture taking skills.

Sorry. Turn your head for a view of Trevor's future home. Did you know that the White House has 31 bathrooms? This was Trevor's biggest morsel of information from the bus ride!

The White House has 31 bathrooms and the WH Visitor Center has a dungeon of a bathroom. Trevor said that he was going to take care of this!

The scientist studying at the Museum of Natural History.

Just in time to view the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Barfs...how does this term come to life during our vacation? Hmmm, where to start. Unbeknowst to his clueless mother, Trevor gets car sick during long trips. Who knew? I thought that he just caught the flu on the way home from Florida. A half hour stop at a McDonalds (somewhere in Pennsylvania on the way there) let me know that vomitosis was alive and raging in my youngest son. Thank goodness Mickey D's was kind enough, or took pity on us to give us some large cups and we made it to the hotel in PA. to stop for the night. Tuesday morning, we continued the journey into DC with a trusty GPS system. Everything was fine until we continually took the wrong right turn because the GPS was like a minute behind. I was getting angry, Kaleb was getting upset and of course, Trevor didn't really care because he knew we'd get there...sooner or later. An hour later, we finally managed to find the hotel and I was never so glad to say goodbye to that van than at that moment!

The next three days were jam packed. We went on a tour bus that had a double decker. We toured the city and saw all of the monuments and memorials with the exception of FDR's because it was 90 degrees and I thought young one was going to die! The morning that we went to the White House, Trevor just knew that President Bush was going to see him and invite him for a tour. My friend Jodie called and broke the news that Bush was in China. This news didn't faze Trevor...someone would see him. Then he heard that some people were getting some kind of a tour and he wondered why we couldn't get one. As I was explaining that his mom decided on Friday that we were coming - there was no way to contact anyone to let them know that Trevor was coming. Chuckles came from all around us, Kaleb rolled his eyes and yet he still didn't understand why no one would take him through the house. Where do these ideas come from?

Museums galore, the National Aquarium, the National Zoo and so many historical places to visit...I thought that we would never finish. While it would not have been my first choice for a vacation, it was a treat for the boys. The Bickerman's rarely showed up because they were busy. Well, that and tired! Thank goodness for the pool at the hotel. Every evening, they came back and swam for over an hour and I was able to read and relax. The only downside was that hubby could not make it. He was home working 12 - 14 hour days but was so proud of the boys and happy that they could experience DC with mom. I did miss adults and adult conversation. Somehow, talks of "boy" things just don't do it for me. I had several friends call and allow me some glorious moments of adulthood. We left Saturday morning and Trevor took Dramamine and did not get sick at all...It was good to get back to a normal life. Even though that means that the dreaded school year will be starting soon. Summer just goes by so quickly.

And...they're off!!!

Tomorrow morning, Kaleb, Trevor and I are heading to Washington DC for a few days of history lessons. This was another last-minute August vacation decided on Friday. Today, I secured a hotel by the Capital Building and we'll arrive sometime on Tuesday. Kaleb wants to see the money being made. Rest assured, he knows that he won't be given any freebies. Trevor wants to see the monuments. He thinks that there will probably be a really cool gift shop. haha
Who knows...a few must sees and a couple of excited boys. Hopefully, the Bickerman's do not visit while we are there. Pray for safety during this vacation as I am a little nervous without Kraig being able to go also. See you all next weekend, God willing.

Camp Invention

The boys just finished their last day at Camp Invention. They learned about inventions, patents, trying new ideas out, and how to work collaboratively in a team. I was slightly concerned about Kaleb wondering if he would like it after his day long ranting of I donwanna go! However, both kids had a great time and found some friends. They both received t-shirts and patent certificates.

Kaleb and Gabriel made the silver viking ship to the right of the Big Gulp cup. It was able to sail through the stormy seas and make it to the other side of the ocean to get the gold coins. Hooray!

In the Superhero Module, Kaleb's superhero did not resemble this guy at all...but they could only use recycled materials because they were saving the environment.

This is Trevor's superhero...Snakeman something. He created a wonderful little story about all of the superhuman powers that this snake had. That's right, Trevor was writing and even enjoyed it. Hmmm...could it be that there were no worksheets? :)

This is Trevor's invention - the Laughbot 3000. This wonderful invention was created to get a laugh out of his crabby brother. Who would have thought that an old VCR, egg cartons, a slinky, and some duct tape could be magically transformed?

Kaleb's group created a machine that had to catapolt an egg across the hallway. Everything worked until the ball went through and wasn't heavy enough to hit the catapolt to throw the egg. A kid stepped on the system and the egg flew across the hallway and splattered on the wall.

If there is ever a Camp Invention in town again next summer, I highly recommend that you send your child. I saw a ton of enthusiasm with all of the hands-on activities and total participation by the kids.