Party of Five

Cub Scouts popcorn sale

I have been meaning to post these pictures. Back in October Dave had to run a popcorn booth for his cub scout troop.  His friend Barry let him do it in front of his store.  They ended doing really well there!!  Another friend of Dave's made him this really giant sign at work, which worked out great.  He'll be able to use it for a few more years.  The only "error" on the sign is that it should say Pack 235 not Troop 235.

Cameron was the 3rd highest seller in his pack.  He ended up selling $650 worth of popcorn.  His goal was $800 because he wanted to earn a scooter ~ he came close though!  He ended up getting a Tasco telescope and microscope.  It is pretty cool.

Girl Scout party

Lauren and Kaelin had their Girl Scout Christmas party. Cameron had to come with me because Dave had to work late....Cam was NOT happy about this. He had his Cub Scout Christmas party on Tuesday and it is very family oriented. He was expecting this party to be the same way. The girl scout party is really just a party for the girls. They tried to include him in things but he was very shy and just stuck to me like glue. He did enjoy eating the cookies and brownies though. I wish I had a penny though for everytime he said "I don't like girl scouts" LOL. I guess that is a good thing :) They had a swap among the girls and Lauren got a cute denim bag with a skull on it. She really liked it ~ it was perfect for her. Kaelin got a really cute monkey that she named Bo-Bo. Just what we need another stuffed animal....but she LOVED it. Kaelin's Christmas list mostly consists of plush toys (Pokemon, beanie babies, Webkinz etc.) so this gift was perfect for her. The pictures didn't come out great because I didn't use a flash (except for the picure of Cameron). This camera does not take good pics without the flash :( I miss my camera!

Christmas Tree

We have a really small tree.  We got it a few years ago and every year it seems to get smaller.  Next year we will probably retire the tree and get a bigger one.

The kids had fun putting the ornaments on.  Kaelin was upset because she didn't think she had as many homemade ornaments as Lauren and Cameron. 

Here are a few pictures.

Kaelin with "The Girls".  These are special ornaments that used to go on my in-laws' tree.  Kaelin loves these things and every year it is her job to put them on.

 

Cam showing off his ornaments

Lauren ~ as you can see her hair was a little crazy :)

These decorations are really special since my grandparents used to put them out every Christmas.  (Mr & Mrs. Claus)  They are falling apart but I have to put them out anyway, they hold lots of memories.

Finally the tree :)

Here we go again

Winter storm warning now in effect until 1 pm est Friday.

The winter storm warning is now in effect until 1 pm est Friday. Expect 6 to 12 inches of snow and sleet with some freezing rain. A half and one inch of ice accretion is expected.

High Honor Roll

Lauren got straight A's this quarter :) For some reason at this school they only give out honor roll
to 7th and 8th graders.  Kaelin would have received High Honors (all A's and one B).

 

November books

I can't believe it is already December.  November was a slowish month for reading. I only finished 4 books.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. 
After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell
Testimony by Anita Shreve
Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

The best book by far was After You'd Gone by O'Farrell.  Heretic's Daughter was interesting because the book takes place near my hometown (Haverhill) and it mentions Haverhill a few times :)  If I had to pick a least favorite I would say Case Histories...I found the "cases" very interesting...I just didn't think the parts with Jackson were that great.

Say it ain't snow

Ugh.  It's here.  Hopefully not to stay.

Now these were taken just 2 days ago.  I already miss the green.  I am such a whiner.

Cards

I am in a card making frenzy.  Trying to keep up with birthdays and Christmas presents.  I wanted to share these because they are made with my favorite Stampin Up paper -- Bella Rose.  The card laying down shows the inside.

More scrapbook pages

It feels so good to be actually USING all my scrapbook stuff :)   Here are some pages I finished recently.

I have wanted to scrapbook this page forever.  It is Cameron being fingerprinted at the Fire/Police department open house when we lived in Peterborough.

For some reason ~ which is really driving me nuts ~ my pages are being cut on the right  hand side.  So to see the full picture you might have to click on it to  open it in another window.

The next page is Cameron with my brother Jared.  I LOVE this picture of them. 

Lauren reading to Cameron. She still reads to him almost every night!  She is such a good big sister! I loved this paper (Fancy Pants) and wish I had more of it.  The quote is perfect ~ Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

The rest are all 2008 July 4th pages :)

]

John Hopkins University CTY Talent Search

Today we got a letter from the girls school telling us that they were being nominated for the John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth talent search. 

Here is a little info about the program:

What is the CTY Talent Search?

The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY), a world leader in gifted education, conducts national and international talent searches to identify, assess, and recognize outstanding academic talent. Through the Talent Search, high-performing students take a test designed for older students. This above-grade-level testing can reveal more about the academic talents of students who are toppingout on grade-level tests.

How was my child selected?

We ask educators to nominate students who exhibit outstanding academic talent to participate in the annual CTY Talent Search. The nominations are based on any of the following criteria:

• Achievement at the 95th percentile or higher on one or more areas of a nationally normed standardized test
• Achievement at advanced levels on state tests, designated as scoring in categories such as advanced proficiency, distinguished, honors, or gifted
• Demonstration of superior academic performance

The nomination of your child to the CTY Talent Search is an honor in itself, in that it recognizes your child's outstanding academic talent.

So you can imagine we were pretty impressed.   

Anyway. I am not sure that I will sign Kaelin up for the program.  I think she is really too young to have to go through taking the SCAT.  She can take it when she is a little older if she still qualifies.   However we will most likely sign Lauren up so she can take the SAT (which I have to say is strange to say since she is only in the 7th grade).   If anything I think it is good practice.  

Speaking of school...all the kids got their report cards this week.  Lauren did awesome...A+ in 3 subjects and A's in the rest.  She got highest honors.   She is in the gifted program and the teacher for that class told me the material  is substantially harder this year and that Lauren was really doing exceptional.  What I was most happy to hear is that she thought Lauren was well organized (something she always struggles with).

Kaelin did just as well.  She is also in the gifted program.  She got all A's and one B+.  She is a lot more organized this year also --- or so say her teachers.  I think she could  still use some improvement in that department LOL. 

Cameron does not get letter grades yet, but his teacher gave a glowing report.  She thinks he is hysterical and as she says very "worldly" LOL.   He is really coming far with his reading skills.

Okay I'll get off my proud parent soapbox now :)