Weekly recap

Not a whole lot going on here - but that's a good thing! Cam is doing absolutely fantastic in school. He is loving every minute of it. We have really noticed a difference in his entire attitude and outlook on things. Especially during his skateboarding - he is enjoying it more, and not as frustrated when he can't get the first or second time. He laughs things off, whereas before, he would become angry. He talks about his day, what he did, gives us details of things they did in class, etc., all of which we could not pry out of him before. Even though he is in 3rd grade, he is doing 4th grade work. The school works an entire year ahead. Really, he was at this level in his old school, but the format is so different than what he was used to. It took a couple of days, but he's doing great. He's challenged, but still knows how to do the work. Parent involvement is definitely a requirement - we're signing off acknowledgements of due dates for book reports, homework assignments each night, folders once a week with previous weeks' work, etc. But it is worth it. So far so good! I'm glad we made the decision to move him. It was tough, and I second guessed our decision to do so on several occasions. However, I am now confident that he is where he needs to be. He's made several friends at school and even one that knows how to kick-flip! (It's a skateboard move ... I know, isn't that the GREATEST?!)

We decided to enjoy our Friday night and hit the movie theatre. We saw The Longshots last night, and it was great. We all really liked it - highly recommended!

Poop - Interesting topic for today's blog entry, don't you think? Poop is human nature. Everyone does it. So what makes it is so dang fascinating - to some? Not sure. Maybe it's a guy thing. Maybe it's just my family. But Cameron came out of the bathroom the other day and told me I had to take a look at what was in the toilet. I politely refrained, and then he warned me not to flush. He wanted to "keep it there until Dad could come home and see it." Now some of you may know the inside joke regarding the snakelight. If you don't, consider yourself blessed. If you do, then this incident would be right up there with it. Many times a "witness" has been called in to verify the size, similar to that of a fishing contest. Whatever. Hope you're not eating.

Hayden brought us our 7th present of the month ... a lizard. They're not big, probably no more than a couple of inches. But come on, as Cameron told him "couldn't you surprise us with some money or something?" They have been left in various rooms of the houses, only 3 have been alive. My office, the living room, the game room, and a couple in Cam's room. Hayden brought in two lizards, two nights in a row and we determined these were specifically for Cameron. Hayden had slept with Cam both of the nights and both mornings, there was a little surprise! It could be worse ...

Let's see ... that's really about it! Have been busy this past week with homework, skate practices, birthday parties (Cam's third one since last Friday is today) and just livin' the life!

*NOTE - I showed the below pictures of dad's "roast" to Cameron ... and here was his reaction to the 2nd pic ...

"I thought these were all of Papa? Who's that?"
"That is Papa."
"Is he wearing a wig?"
"No."
"It's a perm, isn't it?"
"No honey - that was just how his hair was - this picture is from a long time ago."
"Weird."

55 years old today ...

and no signs of slowing down.





HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Just wanted to post some birthday wishes. We hope you are having a fantastic birthday - it is definitely well-deserved! Know that I will be tipping one (?) back for you in celebration!


Okay ... now for the fun part ... enjoy your online roast! :) Love you Dad!

First Day of School ... Again!

Yes, that's right! Cam had his first day of school... again. :) If you scroll down to the original "First Day of School" post, I mentioned that we had been thinking about a new school for Cameron. After a week of an extreme disinterest in school (it literally plummeted) we decided to take his request for "looking" at a new school seriously. He had no interest in homework, and completely shut down when it came time to talk about what they were working on in the classroom. We decided that there needed to be some sort of a balance. The lack of social interaction with other kids his age was essentially starting to affect his attitude and interest in the classroom. By the time the second week of school rolled around, there were three 3rd grade boys - this included Cameron - and 6 girls. It was becoming difficult for us to send him to school in the morning knowing that balance wasn't there - he had nothing to look forward to during the day - and we didn't want to chance his grades or interest falling any more. So, I called one of the charter schools nearby that I had been researching and found out they were full, which was not a surprise to me, and that there was a waiting list for the 3rd grade. We decided to check it out anyway, and honestly hadn't expected to get in anywhere, for that matter, but figured we were just doing our homework for next school year if needed. We visited the school the next morning and found out that the 3rd grade waiting list was down to one. They learned the previous afternoon that the little girl next on the list had already started going to another school, so there was an open spot. This was definitely a lucky break. Bryan and I checked out the school, observed one of the 3rd grade classes, and then met another one of the three 3rd grade teachers. Her class was at music so we got the chance to talk to her for about 20 minutes or so and then found out she was actually the teacher with the "open spot." Another lucky break, because she was great! Very helpful in explaining her curriculum, where the kids were at academically, and how Cameron could possibly adjust to that type of classroom. There are 30 kids in the class, so this is obviously a huge adjustment. We decided to bring him back later that afternoon to find out his opinion. He met Mrs. Rodriguez, liked her right away, and after a little family discussion and comparing the two schools, he decided he wanted to make the switch. Well this was Wednesday afternoon, and he started Thursday morning at Benjamin Franklin Charter School. No wasting time here! If we wanted to enroll him, he had to start immediately, otherwise they would open the spot back up again. To make a REALLY long three days short, he had a pretty good first day. Loved the school, his teacher, class, made several friends, enjoyed eating a "hot lunch" in the cafeteria, and having a different teacher for P.E. and music. He felt a bit overwhelmed with the math format - they have their own math books - and this was frustrating fr him. After working on his homework and the realization that he actually could do the work, he was good to go. (This school actually teaches the kids a full grade ahead - so his class is working on 4th grade material, which is fairly comparable to where he was at with his old school.) At any rate, Friday was a fantastic day and he absolutely loved it. Could not wait for Monday. We went back to his old school, said goodbye to his class and teachers, (which was a bit emotional for all of us, actually) and called it a day. I struggled with our decision on Thursday night because he did have some tears, and he did go back and forth with the "well I'm going to miss this, and I'm going to miss that" but "I really like my new teacher and the stuff we're doing in class and I've already met some kids." I knew deep down that we did the right thing by pulling him out, more so because of some of the comments that we received from his old school somewhat bolstered our decision, but it was difficult to maintain that sureness when he was still emotional. It was no doubt an overwhelming day for him. The differences in environments are from one extreme to the other - he went from a 2nd/3rd split class with 10 3rd graders, to being one of 30, and two other 3rd grade classes. But he was all smiles Friday afternoon when I picked him up - he was one of the last three left in a spelling game they had played, he had a cheese enchilada for lunch, he played soccer at lunch, and he wrote his best story ever. He cannot wait for Monday. How could he not? They get meatball subs for lunch tomorrow and he can have chocolate milk every day if he wants ...

Daily Thought

"Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who help you."

#368 -Life's Little Instruction Book

Afternoon at Saguaro Lake

Well we got to take advantage of my telecommuting this last week, and hit the lake Tuesday afternoon! It was great. The weather was fantastic and there was NOBODY on the lake. I suppose it was worth it to start my work day at 6:30 am., so that when Cam got home from school, we were able to take off! Dad had been in town for a few days, so we all had fun taking the boat out. Bryan got to wakeboard with his new board - finally - and had some pretty darn good runs (and flips!). Age catches up to you though - he gets back in the boat and is beat. He informs us that it's harder when your older and fatter. :) Still looks good to me. Cam also gave it another shot - he's trying so hard, and almost has it. It was also the first time for Cam driving the boat - all by himself. He did awesome, and thought he was just tough you-know-what. We weren't out there too long, and the timing was just right. The dark storm clouds were moving in as we were heading off. See the pics below!