Friday, April 8, 2011

She must take after her biological Mother.


The kids had their school conferences lastnight. I was in class at the college so I missed out. About 7pm Kari sent me a text message saying “Still at conferences! So far so good. No big worries.”

I couldn’t wait for class to end so I could get home and hear how the kids are doing in school. After school I raced home with a quick stop by the Forest Lake Taco Johns to get a small order of nachos.

The kids all bring me some concern. Becca was getting sloppy on her homework and having to correct so many problems each time Kari and I checked her work. Sometimes she needed guidance but usually is was from inattentiveness. Justin is the typical boy with little attention span, even though he only got one pink slip this year (a big improvement from last year) he still worries us sometimes. Julia acts her role of the baby in the household. Her speech is still missing a few sounds and she is the most stubborn girl I have ever met.

I arrived home around 10 pm. Kari was anxious to tell me about her day at work and then about the school conferences. She went on to tell me that Becca is in the highest reading and math classes her grade offers. I felt bad because here I was driving and pushing Becca to “Stay focused” “Pay Attention” “Learn to do Right the First Time” "Ask Questions". All these little speeches I had with her that are related to paying attention to detail and here she is a top student. Thumbs up to my smart girl!

Justin’s conference was also good. His reading has been great and he is also alittle math whiz; but it’s his sense of humor that came out at this meeting. The teacher was working on a project that included an ice cream cone and a string. She stopped and asked the class “What do think we are going to do with these?” and Justin promptly raised his hand and said “Tie up the ice cream man with the string and take all his ice cream?” I cannot laugh any harder!!! That is what I raised!?

Julia has made big strides in school. Her speech is improving everyday and she has become more mature and ready to start Kindergarten next Fall. She has been “following” her teachers around which is no big surprise to us. She rarely is around children her age therefore she doesn’t play well with kids. She is usually with adults or older kids, she loves attention, and she loves doing and participating in “big people things”. She is always full of questions. Just the other day I not only had to explain where a chicken egg comes from, but how it got in the chicken in the first place...This is another kid that will succeed with her drive, as long as she can focus her stubbornness into a positive outcome!

She must take after her biological Mother.

The Great Ice Cream Cone Race

Last weekend we decided to go to church in New York Mills. That is the hometown of my Mama, so we have a lot of relatives living there. We asked my Dad if he wanted to ride with. He said he did!

We left home around 7am and shortly into our journey; along highway 18 West of Finlayson we saw a wolf cross the road in front of us! I stopped the truck and we were all able to see as it posed along the frozen swamp. It’s not everyday we see a wolf in our area although there are plenty of them around.

Church services were good as always, we sat in the balcony. It’s a kid thing and anything that pleases the kids during church will please me. After church we talked with friends, cousins, aunts, and uncles for about an hour then we starting our jaunt back home which is about a 3-hour drive.

In Staples we went through the drive-thru at the Dairy Queen. I was driving my truck; Justin and my Dad were in the front seat. They got ice cream cones and the girls got those dinky blizzards.

Grandpa looked at Justin and asked him if he wanted to race. So off those two boys went, eating their ice cream cones as fast as possible! Justin was ahead then the 81 year old Grandpa passed him up! Justin gained some on the cone portion and when he finally pushed the last bit into his mouth he looked up with a great big smile at Grandpa thinking he won the race, however what he saw gave him a total surprise.

Grandpa was done! He was brushing the crumbs from his shirt. Justin said “What the heck!?” Grandpa laughed and said, “I beat you!”

What a great memory to keep!