Author: eaumaison (Page 33 of 207)

They also gave themselves code names and had us guess them. It only took a couple hints for me to uncover “Green Thunder” and “Blue Panther.”

I got a really bad cold last week and have been limping through life, trying to shake it off. Lots of rehearsals and meetings and class party preparation to get through, but somehow I made it. The kids had a blast at their valentines parties today. Ben got me flowers and chocolates and beautiful earrings. I got him beef jerky (He said he didn’t want anything!) Now he’s taking the kids to the gym to exercise and play, while I relax under a fuzzy blanket, looking forward to sleeping now that my nose is a little less congested.

It will come as no surprise that the Mason family thoroughly enjoyed the latest Lego movie release. One boy dressed as Emmet and the other one brought Emmet (on half a double-decker couch with Plantie).

It was not nearly as good as the first. Which we rewatched last night in preparation. The first Lego Movie was a masterpiece. (We are totally raising movie nerds. Jack and Sam sit through credits in theaters and marathon forerunners to sequels before seeing the latest. They BOTH use terms like parody and storyline and take note of actors from other movies.)

This evening we completed the circle of commercialism. Toys-movie-toys-movie-toys…

At least I made them use their own allowance to purchase the sets. Sigh. We have so many many Lego sets. And yet…I find myself perusing the Florida Legoland Resort website later that day. We are all fanatics.

We had another winter storm in Arvada.  By the time school ended we had enough snow to go sledding, something we don’t do often enough!  In fact, the kids were mostly clueless.  I had to teach them how to load onto the sled and keep the weight in the back, and use your legs to brake.

They did a couple runs together, then Sam accidentally took off without Jack.  He went down all by himself without realizing it!  Then Jack did a fast run by himself – so fast that he blasted onto the parking lot and knocked Sam clean off his feet.  Sam laughed it off, but after the next run he was out of energy and warmth (he wasn’t alone, my hands were freezing and the heater in my gloves ran out of battery!).

The kids liked it so much, they wanted to teach Ben and play more after dinner. Sam graduated to playing his own hand. Nimbus, now satiated, kept watch from her perch.

(Nimbus trying to get Jack to feed her dinner early using her powers of telepathy)

Yum!

Jack has had some great events lately. His “Magic Car” did well in the Pinewood Derby.

He came in 2nd or 1st of every heat. He came in 8 out of 22 cars in the final rankings. We told him to take out the cars which were likely made by the parents, and he probably placed in the top 3

As a third grader he got to compete in the spelling bee. He was in the top of his class in preliminaries, so he got to do the school-wide bee. He did great on the first round (spelling your own name), passed the second round (“tiptoe”), then got tangled up on the third round with “artistic.” Poor guy got pretty upset but pulled himself together to receive his medal.

The bee was TORTURE for me to watch as a parent. Most of the kids messed up because of nerves. They all clearly knew how to spell the words (including Jack), they just misspoke or their tongue got tangled. Some kids had to leave immediately with heaving sobs. “A very very nice beginning” it is not, Putnam County! Still, I was very proud of him. Learning to fail is just as important as learning to win.

I’m so proud of the progress that Sam is making in Kindergarten.  I discovered him reading his new scholastic book for the first time, all by himself!