Photos

 

James and Matthew's school had a big music and dance performance for kids K-6th. It was a testament to what kids and teachers can do with adequate resources and the full support of families. Holy moly. Matthew is on the center riser, third row down from the top, left end.

James got a better hiding spot. He's standing just to the right of the risers on the very back row. The kid in front of him is looking down at the floor, otherwise you wouldn't see James at all. Sneaky little boo.

Bobby got this fortune at lunch one day and laughed so hard he had to share it with me. There's nothing wrong with a sympathetic wife...it's the possession bit that just doesn't fit in today's society...how old were these fortune cookies?!

Alex attended a Bug Zoo event at the library and got to hold a tarantula.

Close up of the tarantula.

Alex and I went to tour the SIU Carbondale Campus. This is the ONLY picture I took! Argh. It was cold, but very, very good. Alex loved it all. The dorms are much nicer than the ones I stayed in as a freshman, and the dining hall was stunning. He met up with the German Studies advisor and got to attend an upper-level German class. He understood a good amount of what was said, but they were discussing art and history. He didn't have enough vocabulary in that subject to speak fluently. 

I traveled with Erin to Houston to visit my parents. I had to take a picture of my lunch because it was so, so delightful: carrot salad, collard greens, and steamed broccoli. I almost cried. 

While visiting Houston, I also took a side trip with Mom, Erin, and Lara to Alabama and Georgia to check off another couple 50-mile bike rides. Lara rode with me for a lot of it. Good company makes all the difference!

Nova is so calm and so sweet, but she can also be a little stubborn when it comes to her favorite spot on the couch. Matthew was sitting in it, but there was a little triangle free right in the corner. Nova hopped up and squeezed right in. She had no choice but to lay her head on Matthew...he was simply in the way. 

James competed in the Great History Challenge and qualified for the national competition. Here he is with his teacher, Ms. Gregg, who also happens to be the head archery coach.

Matthew has had archery tournaments almost every weekend during the season. He's very focused and deliberate when he shoots, incorporating everything his coach has told him to work on. He's not stressed at competitions yet. We're all just thrilled to see him improving. He finally shot his first score over 200, which thrilled him to no end. For context, a perfect score (all bullseye) is 300 and his first ever tournament score was 130. 

A friend introduced us to this rainbow sticky craft. It's pretty cool. James is all over artsy crafts like these. 

Matthew, finally asleep. He's not easy to share a bed with. The kid flails all over the place, grinds his teeth, and talks/cries/mumbles in his sleep. Things have calmed down a lot since taking the relaxant at bedtime.

Matthew playing around with a video chat app. It was hard on him to have me away in Houston for so long. He called me many, many times a day. 

Again, Nova is a sweet and gentle soul. Waaaaaaaay too tolerant of all the puppies in this household.

German Pancakes are the best!

James made a raised garden bed all on his own. He planned it, selected the wood, and assembled it with power tools. Then he painted it. We needed 4 full-grown adults to lug it to the backyard, but now it's in place waiting for soil.

Matthew selfie

First day of Spring Break, the kids decide to color their hair purple. It stuck nicely to Alex's sandy blonde bits, but you could hardly tell any difference on the little boys' heads.

How does she get all four paws in one place. A marvel of dog engineering.

Matthew's class made miniature parade floats for individual states. Matthew chose Montana. They pulled the parade down the hall for the K-3 crowd, then parked them at their desks for the adults to come see. Each kid had prepared a slideshow presentation about their state and had to present it to visitors at the event. Again, this was the ONLY picture I took (ugh!), but he's presenting.

Another incidence of Nova's quietly stubborn insistence that some seats are hers. Matthew had to sit in her
 seat one day to go to school. She wandered around the car for a bit, looking for another place that was suitable. She lay down, stand up, turned around, lay down again. No good. Then she noticed Matthew's legs were crossed. That left a little spot right in the middle of the seat! She slowly climbed up and sat down on him. He's laughing so hard here. We all are. She's such a gentle, polite, crazy sweet dog that knows where she likes to sit!