Strawberry Pickin,

Our van is really getting old and is well used.  We just got it back from the mechanic and finaly had the freedom of wheels again.  Whoot Whoot!

I have been waiting for wheels to get to the strawberry patch for some jam berry pickin.

It has been raining almost everyday for so long now. Finally our opportunity came when I had a working vehicle and it wasn't raining. So off we go and boy were we dissapointed.

I have never had a bad experience picking strawberries, until now.

The field was flooded.The berries we over ripe, waterlogged, and molding right on their vines.

It was such a disappointment. Oh well, maybe we will need to buy store bought strawberries to make our jam this year.

It helped me realize just how many good years of strawberry pickin we have enjoyed.  It never occurred to me that we would have anything but the best of the best.

Boys only party

Caleb requested a "boys only party " in order to keep in contact with his buddies from school  over the summer break.

We enjoyed the trampoline and made an angry bird sling shot party game.

It was very roudy loud.  The boys really had fun.

Pictured are Julian, Tyeus, Caleb and Nathan.  David was away at camp.

David turns 12

Twelve years old, where does the time go?

We bought David a new mountain bike for his birthday.  It is really amazing how many styles of bikes there are to choose from.

David has a bunch of money saved from working this summer. He is considering purchasing an electric scooter.  So his toy purchasing days are just about over. Mostly he saves his money for big ticket items.

He went off to summer camp 2 days after his birthday.  It rained both days between his birthday and going to camp.  He hasn't had a chance to go on a decent bike ride yet.

Lemonade Anyone?

It was a hot one yesturday.

Nathan and Caleb decided to set up a lemonade stand.

They made $5.00, which is a lot considering it was a quarter per cup.

Both boys were excited with their profits.
They sold out in an hour.

Baseball

Summer has officially arrived.

(Someone needs to notify the temperature, its too low!)

Baseball has begun and we are back to rushing out of the house after dinner 4 nights a week.  It is more manageable now that Caleb and Nathan are on the same team.

Caleb and Nathan were delighted to learn their little league team sponsor was Rock N Rollls Pizza and Subs.  It is their favorite restaurant. In addition, they have a great coach who has coached Nathan before.

David is on the National league team sponsored by Evansville Home Talent.His coach is a friend of ours from church and is the manager of the league.

David's league is kid pitching for the first time and so far it is going really well.  One of David's closest friends pitched the last game and struck out many of the opposing teams players.

David was shot stop at the last game and stopped a ball with his chin. It looked painful but he was fine and was able to get the ball to first base.

Caleb had a great play on his second game this week. Nathan is the most enthusiastic of the 3. He is serious minded and isn't like most of the 5-6 year olds who are watching the airplanes go by.

Here are a few pictures:

I Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream

Frosty Freeze - oh how I love your dollar twist cones....

Summer Break for Caleb

School's Out For Summer!

Caleb had his final day of second grade. As most last days of school go,  he had many supplies and papers to bring home.  He was especially excited to bring home 2 of the classroom pets.  In a container he has 2 Madagascar Hissing Cockroachs.  Blach! We will see how they do as they are banished to the garage.  School is over for all the boys and the van is stocked for baseball season. Let's play ball!

School's out for Summer!

<p>Whoot! We are closed for the summer. No more lesson plans for me! Time for a summer filled with baseball.</p>
<p>David has completed his state testing for 6 th grade.&#160; He took all his language and math tests online this year. What a better way to go! No need for number 2 pencils and darkening the ovals, only to wait 3 weeks for results. </p>
<p>He was tested in Reading Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Language Mechanics, Language Usage and Structure, Language Spelling, Mathematical Concepts and Problems, Mathematical Computation.

It took us 4 hours of testing  to complete. It is hard to keep a 5 year old younger brother quiet for that long!

David's scores were outstanding. I knew the kid was above grade level but I didn't realize just how far above he was.

Here are his scores in grade level equivalence and stenine (1-9 with 5 being average 6 th grader score)

Reading Comp: grade 12 stenine 9
Reading Vocab: grade 9 stenine 7
Lang Mechanics: grade 10 stenine 8

Lang Usage&Struc: grade 13 stenine 8
Lang Spelling: grade 7 stenine 5

Math Comp: grade 10 stenine 8
Math Concepts: grade 13 stenine 9

Now that blew my mind! The dude is 11 years old and in grade 6. I am one proud mama.

These test scores don't really do my pride justice though. For I am most proud of David's work ethic and his spiritual growth from this year. The conversations we have are mature and strong. His misson trip made a gigantic impact in all areas of his life and I am most proud of the fine young man he is.