Riley our sentence boy

Our second grade Riley’s school work. His teacher put at the top, “Excellent sentences.”
These are typed as he spelled them. The ones in italics are the ones his teacher circled. I guess that is the word he is supposed to use in the sentence.

1. Do you know what inqisitive means?
2. We will protest against clinging to a tree.
3. Let’s collaborate to aim an arrow.
4. We are going to a magnificent gallery.
5. We will plunge into coloring a vivid picture.
6. It is futile that I’ll ever be famous.
7. I’m marooned in this ridiculous desert.

I laughed at how well he made up sentences. I told him he would have to be the writer since he writes better than I do. I even had to ask him what marooned meant. He said, “it means you are alone.” Like okay mom I’ll educate you.

The Covet Conference

For a wanna-be, that's what a writer's conference is. Lol. Well is past weekend I spent two days on my butt listening to authors instructing me how to write. The first day was a thirteen hour day. I left my home at five a.m. so I could attend "boot camp." This is where you sit at a table and read ten pages of your stuff for comment. It had its good with its bad.
The most inspiring was the video they showed: it was football practice. Some players complained about the upcoming season so the coach had one of the players come forward. He asked him if he would be willing to do his best at the task he was going to have him perform. The kid agreed. He then blindfolded the player and told him to get in the man crawl position--an exercise where the man crawled with his hands and feet while carrying another player on his back. It was intense and hard. Once the other player was on this blindfolded football players back, the coach said he wanted his best. And wanted him to make it all the way to the end zone.(ten yards was usually all they did) Well with this impossible task the player moved forward.
Being blindfolded actually helped him push further than he would have with sight. (profound) The coach yelled, "you can do it," harder and harder as he trudged forward in pain. A few times he was about to give up, but with the help of the coach he endured the strain of moving on. Finally he couldn't move any more and fell to the ground. By then he had made it into the end zone.
I had a lump in my throat. Isn't that life? Aren't there times when we feel like we can't go on any more? As I watched this simple video, I was inspired. Why not push foward even though you are in pain, disappointment, blinded? As long as we do our very best, it's worth it.
That was definitely the highlight.
Writing is a craft that takes all you've got, but I'm going to try my best and not give up.

WRITERS

so tell us about your writer's conference...

chickens?

We would love to hear about the chicks! hope Coco is doing well with them!

Haircut

Okay, so Gary and Riley needed a haircut. I started with Gary but Riley was told that he was getting one too. He whinned. When it was Riley's turn he fused like a three year old. I even had to count to three to get him to up and sit on the stool. Gary helped encourage Riley to relax for his haircut. As Gary was talking to Riley, who was finally sitting on the stool, I plugged in the buzzer. So in one hand I held the buzzer and in the other I held the attachment. I was telling Riley I'd hurry, and quickly thought, "I'll trim the bottom first." But in the rush, I took the buzzer and swiped it up his head. Seconds after doing this it was obvious that I didn't put the attachment on. He was now bald. I couldn't believe it. I have never butchered my boys heads, ever. I've let Grandma do it to Adam once, but I have never done it myself. I couldn't believe I had just lost my train of thought and butchered him bald. I proceeded to finish the haircut as normal, leaving the bald swipe in the back of his head. I was going to leave it like that but Gary said it was to obvious. (How could that be it was the back of his head, right.) My belief was it will grow out. So finally after feeling pain, I buzzed the rest of his hair. The bottom half is buzzed to the scalp and the top half has hair. Its the bowl cut. It doesn't look that bad, but it will never happen again. Thank heavens we don't have to take any pictures. And . . . I'm holding my breath . . . . the weather is suppose to get better.
So All I can say is, "It was his fault for whinning and throwing such a fit." Right?

Surprise Party

We threw a surprise party for Aubree's twelfth birthday. The thing I loved the most was she had been coming up with ideas for a party since Dec. so she had no idea it was coming. I told her we can't have a party on your birthday because her dad had a camp out, but that we would have it the following week. She ended up going babysitting with her sister Friday night (on her birthday) but she was anxious to make her birthday invitations for the following week the next day. Her neighbor friend asked her to go to the mall (see we were just getting her out of the house). When she got back, she came in and SURPRISE! She was really surprised. It was fun.
We played 'growing up' relays. First one: the new wheels took a ride down to the gas station. (a wheelbarrow with a driver and a passenger) they had to guzzle down a cup of water and run back until all the team had gone. It was Aubree's friends against the family (and the neighbor's family which is family) The girls won. Second one: dressing up and texting (each team had a BIG bra that they stuffed with balloons and some BIG panties, then a dress to go over them. They ran to a table to text, "dressed and ready to go") The family won that one cause the girls cheated and didn't put their arms in the dress. And they weren't young and perky cause their "stuffing" didn't stay in their bra. IT was soo fun. Gary looked real good! HA Third one: donut on a string. They couldn't touch it with their hands only mouth, first one done won. Needless to say the games were a hit and the party was a blast. This was our first surprise party ever.
SO if any one needs to borrow a BIG bra have two. HA.

pooping sugar bugs

Okay, so today we, Adam and I, went to the orthodontist to get his top set of braces put on. Which he is so excited about, I'm sure by the end of the day it won't be as fun, i'm sure. Anyhow, the assistant went into detail about Adam keeping his mouth clean. She said, "Be sure to brush, because those sugar bugs that eat all the sugar you eat, poop out acid that then gets into your gums and makes them swell." I laughed! I had never heard of sugar bugs pooping acid. Just the word 'pooping' should help him keep his teeth brushed. I told the cute assistant as we were getting ready to leave that I was going to go home and tell my other children about those pooping sugar bugs. Have any of you ever heard of this before? The only thing I've ever heard was come morning, dad saying, "guess what, a bear came along and pooped in my mouth." Well now he'll have to say, "It must have been a pooping sugar bug that I didn't brush away." Funny, funny.