Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Last Full Week of the "March"

Havin' a good Spring day on the zoo carousel with Dad


In their Sponge Bob shirts Dad brought back from his trip to Minneapolis and the Mall of America Nick store


Lovin' the slides at Kid's Cove thanks to JJ's patience and helpful big brother tips

A picture with Brobee, Mom, Tori and Plex

JJ found his own entertainment with the trees and rocks at the zoo.

"I am ready to see Brobee and Plex!"

Waiting in line to see Brobee and Plex. . .and meeting up the red panda, Bamboo

Tori gives JJ a hug at his honor roll assembly. . .The school gave them really neat "dog tag" type medals to keep adding to for future honor roll times.

This week has been a roller coaster of emotions. . . saying a final goodbye to a young man much too early, but at the same time, celebrating Jonathan's accomplishment of making the Honor Roll and earning second place in the 4-H demonstration contest. Yep, it has been that kind of week. . .Sad and then joyful, but that is just life.

The highlight of our week came Saturday when we took Tori to the Knoxville Zoo to see the "Yo Gabba, Gabba" characters, Plex and Brobee. It was such a nice, Spring day yesterday, and we enjoyed it to its fullest. The kids really enjoy the kid's play area at the zoo, so that was an extra special benefit of going to the zoo.

Today and basically all week, the kids and I have suffered with allergies and sinus junk. The only bad thing about Springtime in East Tennessee is the consequence of blooming things. . .pollen. I love to see the beautiful Bradford Pears in bloom, but my do we sneeze and suffer with sinus pain!

I guess that the best thing that happened this week was that our claw foot tub finally came in (the third one, I might add) with no shipping damage. It is safely in our bathroom waiting for Tim to come back to put it in. Hopefully by the weekend, Tori and I will be submerging ourselves in bubbles in our new tub!

Please keep J.J. in your thoughts and prayers this week as he takes his Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment and Placement Tests (TCAP) in math, science, social studies and reading. These tests are a HUGE deal in our public schools in the state. And, of course, this year they have raised the standards and difficulty of the tests. I am afraid with all that the federal government has planned in education and with this idea of the "Race to the Top," this is going to be a permanent fixture with total focus on standardized testing. As a teacher, I really hate to admit that sometimes homeschooling (the right way of course) sounds really appealing!

It's so hard to believe that Easter is upon us! We are looking forward to a four-day week with lots of Easter activities planned like egg hunts, crafts, family time, and most importantly, celebrating Christ's resurrection. And it looks like after today we have one more day of clouds and then lots of sunshine and warm temps!

Yep, we have almost made it through the loooong month of March. Welcome April 2010!

We hope that your last week of March is full of lots of sunshine and warm, happy moments.
Cindy

2 comments:

Musings from Kim K. said...

Sounds like quite the emotional week. I can't wait to see pictures of your lovely tub finally installed. Best wishes with the next 4 days. Bring on SPRING BREAK!!

Tina Rolen said...

What wonderful photos-I remember you all coming by to meet Brobee and Plex, thanks to Tori's Brobee attire! ;) Thank you for coming out for Yo Gabba Gabba!
Sincerely,
Tina Rolen
Assistant Director of Marketing
Knoxville Zoo