Wednesday, June 10, 2009

School's out!!!

Today is the first full day of summer vacation! Too bad we're having such yucky weather. Oh well, the boys don't care as long as they don't have to go to school.

Justin and Kyle brought home the most awesome report cards! I already mentioned that we knew Justin was getting straight A's again, but seeing that many A's on one piece of paper is just amazing. For the 4th quarter, he was graded in NINE subjects. His teacher added a little side note that said: "What more can I ask for? You are a great kid! :) "
AND, Justin had lunch with the assistant principal (who will be the new principal for the 2009-2010 school year) on Monday. Only one student from each class got to have a special pizza lunch with her for being the best behaved in the class. He was also given an award for his excellence in behavior. I told him that was almost better than his perfect grades. What better compliment can you give a 4th grader?

Kyle has that wierd report card with the E's and M's. Twenty out of the twenty-four catagories that Kyle was graded in were E's, meaning that he consistently exceeds the district standards for those things. His teacher commented that it was great to have Kyle in her class this year and to keep up the good work at his new school. He has to make a transfer to move into the challenge program.

Wow, I sure do brag a lot, but I just can't help being so proud of my sons! My sons who are now a 5th grader and 2nd grader.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

The boys' bathroom makeover



I still liked the decor in the boys' bathroom (the hall bath upstairs), but it was getting old. We've lived in this house for almost seven years and I had only painted it ONCE! That's unusual for me. Obviously I had to find the right shower curtain to replace the one that we had. I found one last week and decided to go for it. I have never used turquoise paint! I'm not really a fan of the color blue. I like the way it turned out, but it doesn't look like a room that would be in our house. Crazy.

I'll be tackling a bigger room next. Mine and Jason's bedroom.


(The before picture is on top.)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

End of the year achievements


There are only three more days of school left! The teachers handed out the end of the year awards today. Justin and Kyle both came home with two awards each.

Justin received an achievement award recognizing that he got straight A's all four quarters! Kinda kills the suspense of opening the report card in a few days, but that's okay! I always reward the boys at report card time with small gifts ($10 or under). After Justin received his 2nd quarter report card, he said he thought he'd get something pretty big if he had all A's for the whole year. I told him we'd give him $50 if he did, knowing he most likely would. I guess I have to take a ride to the bank!
Justin's 2nd award of the day was the principal's award. This one is special because only ONE student in each class gets it every quarter. At the bottom his teacher wrote: "Thanks for being such an awesome hard worker all year!"

Kyle was awarded a perfect attendance award for the 3rd quarter. He also received an award for academic achievement.

Congrats to both Justin and Kyle for their outstanding achievements!!! And thanks for continuing to make your parents so very proud of you!!! You both had a wonderful school year and we love you both!!!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Unusual hair day



For the last 26 days of school, both the boys had an ABC countdown to finish up the year. Each day they had a different theme or activity that started with that day's letter. Their countdowns were different. Today was "U" day. Kyle had under the sea day - perfect for him! Justin's was unusual hair day. This is how he went to school this morning! Back in kindergarten they had a spirit week and this is what we did for crazy hair day. I can't believe he wanted to do it again four years later!

Monday, June 1, 2009

I named it "Pidgee"


If I see an animal in need, I help it. This has always been my nature. I'm not much of a bird lover, but they're animals, none the less, so I feel I am required to help them too.

On Memorial Day, I spotted a pigeon standing on my neighbors' drive-way. It was one of those pigeons you see on the sidewalk in downtown Chicago. We don't normally have those hanging out in our subdivision. I walked up to it and noticed it had bands on it's legs. I figured it belonged to someone, but I know nothing about pigeons. Hoping it would fly away, I left it alone. Later that day, it was in a different neighbors' backyard (next door to us). I decided to capture it and keep it in a cat carrier overnight. I was a little hesitant to catch the bird since I didn't know what it's reaction would be. It turns out that it had an injured wing, so it was pretty easy to capture. I put it in a carrier, gave it some bread, and named it "Pidgee".

The next morning, I started out by calling our county's animal control. I have very little respect for them due to previous experiences, but I figured I'd see if they could put me in the right direction. I mentioned the bands that were on the bird's legs and the guy told me it must be a racing pigeon. I almost fell over. I had NO idea there was such a thing! He told me I had to get the number off the band and look it up online to locate the owner. Seriously.

After I wrote down the number from the band, I found the pigeon union online. Yes, there is a racing pigeon union! They're located in Pennsylvania. So I made a long distance call and was told I had to call the supplier of the band. They gave me the "owner's" name and number. These people told me that they no longer owned the pigeon and it belonged to someone else. After I had this injured bird for 24 hours, I decided to contact the pigeon union. I was concerned not only because I didn't know the extent of Pidgee's injuries, but he also wasn't eating. I was referred to a member of the union that lives near me that would probably help me out. When I talked to him on the phone he sounded like the oldest man that ever lived! He's been racing pigeons for 50 years! He was very nice and helpful and came to rescue Pidgee. He said Pidgee probably ran into the power lines across the street from us and assured me he'd be okay.

The whole ordeal still seems unreal to me. I still can't believe people race pigeons! To each his own, I guess.