Ziplining Trip

One of Uncle Ron's birthday gifts to Tyler was a ziplining trip. Grandma & Grandpa C, Uncle Ron, Tyler, and Tyler's friend all went. I was the designated driver and photographer.

I used my 70-300mm lens when they were on the platform & ziplining overhead, and some of the pictures are cropped, so they look much closer/lower than they really were. They really were high up.

I couldn't zoom out enough to show how high up this was. The bottom of this picture is not the ground.

Tyler loved it. He said it's right up there with scuba diving and hopes he'll get to do it again sometime. It was a fun and memorable gift!

Healthy Harvest

Hope to post the ziplining pics tomorrow.

This is what I worked on today. (We had the day off school.) My director and I were trying to come up with ideas for the large bulletin board in the school kitchen. She came up with the topic "Healthy Harvest" and found some pictures for me to staple up onto the board. After looking at the pictures and thinking about it a little, I decided I could do better. So, the place we go to pick strawberries in the summer and pumpkins in the fall let me come before they opened to take pictures of their beautiful fall produce. These are some of my favorites. Can't wait to put them all up!

Tyler's Birthday Cake

Today was Tyler's 13th birthday. I will probably have a couple birthday posts, but I wanted to share his birthday cake in this one.

Danielle and I made all the decorations out of edible clay, although the clay isn't really very tasty. (In small nibbles it tastes marshmallowy.) I worked on it all week, and just couldn't bring myself to put candles in it. I made two 9" rounds and a sheet cake, but only used one 9" round in the diver cake. I slapped some leftover icing on the extra 9" round & used that for the candles.

These are a couple of Danielle's creations.

I stored the cake in the fridge until after dinner. He didn't peek.

The big reveal.

Happy 13th birthday!

A Proud Mom Moment

During our after school download today, Danielle told me about art class. All the kids in class displayed pictures they've been working on for a couple weeks and then they all walked around the room and awarded ribbons to the pictures they liked best. Danielle was proud to tell me she got the most ribbons, especially after having a rather rude encounter with the art teacher about her picture earlier in the week. I was more proud of the rest of the story, though.

She said there is a boy in her class who "has problems". His picture was messy and scribbly and really didn't look very good. As she was going around the room, she noticed his picture didn't have any ribbons at all. The girl in front of her noticed, too, commented about it to Danielle, and then kept walking. Danielle told me she thought about how bad she would have felt, so she decided to give him her last ribbon. And then, because they saw her do it, the two girls behind her decided to give him their ribbons, too. She looked at me like I was slightly crazy when I teared up.

God has given her a compassionate heart, and I'm so thankful she follows it, regardless of what anyone else does. And today her example encouraged two other girls to be compassionate, too.

It wouldn't have mattered to me if she'd failed every test today, and she had 3. Learning to be kind and compassionate is a much more important lesson to master.

Time with My Kids

One of my favorite times of the day is when Danielle gets home from school. She sits at the table to do her homework and have a snack, and she likes me to sit with her while she's finishing up. All I have to do is listen and she talks...and talks...and talks. Sometimes I put cookies in when I get home from getting Tyler, and they are just coming out of the oven when she walks in the door. I love hearing about her day and hope someday when life is more complicated (which will be sooner than I am ready for), she will still be willing to talk. I'll try to just keep listening.

The car ride home from school has always been where Tyler does most of his talking, and I'm glad I'm still able to have that time with him. After we get home, he goes for a bike ride, does his homework, and usually disappears to the computer until I call him for dinner. Tonight, though, he came upstairs while I was making dinner and asked if he could help. How could I refuse? He looked so tall standing over the stove. When did that happen?! He is growing up into such a nice young man. I love being with him.

Today's Pic

Time for a Remodel

We fixed up Tyler's room last year, so now it's Danielle's turn. She decided she wants her room to be teal with hot pink highlights. We worked on painting this past weekend. Next on the agenda is new bedroom furniture and curtains, which will probably have to wait another week since Tyler's birthday is this weekend.

Another Saturday, Another Game

Danielle had her first volleyball game of the season on Saturday. They won all 3 matches. She's decided she'd like to play club volleyball, too. (You have to try out and not everyone makes it. Kind of like travel softball & basketball, but with volleyball.) I'm not sure how she plans to fit everything in. Right now she's juggling softball practice & games, basketball open gym, and volleyball practices & games, in addition to school and homework. If only we could remove school from that equation. :)

Sneak Peek

I've decided to try something a little different for Tyler's birthday cake this year. Thankfully I can work on this part a little at a time. Here is a sneak peek of what I have done so far. (It's edible clay.) Shhh! It's a surprise.

Almost a Teen

 

 

 

Today's Pic

Practicing

Tyler has become pretty good at playing the trumpet. In fact, he has a couple solos in the music they are working on now. The other day the teacher had him play a solo while the entire band watched him and listened. When he was done, they all applauded. That was just the boost he needed. He brought his trumpet home tonight to practice (which he never does) and to play for us. He really is good. I was impressed.

Around Here Tonight

Ron's decided he's a truck guy. He bought a new (to him) truck yesterday.

Danielle's decided she's a truck girl. She was actually teasing Ron about standing in the bed to shoot baskets but humored me for a picture.

And just to prove I do indeed have 2 children, here is Tyler, who also likes the truck but dislikes having his picture taken. He will officially be a teenager in 11 days.

Thinning the Herd

Danielle decided it was time to clear out some of her Barbies. She picked a few she'd like to keep and decided to sell most of them. After she cleaned them up and got them all dressed, we posted them on Craigslist. She's just waiting for the money to rain down.

While I'm glad to get the playroom cleaned out a bit, it does make me a little sad. She used to sit for hours and play with her Barbies in her big Barbie house (which is also for sale). Tyler started cleaning out some of his car playsets to sell, too. Time just goes too fast.

Today's Pic

Truth be told, this is actually yesterday's pic.

Today's Pic

Today's Pic

Today's Pic