Reid and Stefani Adopt

 This summer our little family decided to do a vacation, with just the 5 of us, to Asheville, NC.  We spent 5 days there.  Each one of us took a day to plan what we wanted to do on that day.   Monday was Esther's day.  She wanted to see nature and catch salamanders.  We went on a hike.   Tuesday was Jaydon's day.  He chose to see waterfalls. There are tons of waterfalls nearby to see.  There is even one you can slide down.  The water was frigid, though.  Luckily, there was a hot tub to get into afterwards.   Wednesday was Mom's day. We went to visit the historic grounds and mansion of Biltmore. I took way too many pictures to post.  I'll just show you the one we paid for.  Sadly, it's not better than the ones we took... Okay, okay.  You convinced me.  I'll show you some others. This is the renaissance experience at Biltmore.  This is the famous painting "The Birth of Venus." We stood where Venus was sup...

 Jaydon's tendons and muscles on the backs of his legs are so tight that he toe-walks.  He also has frequently woken up from sleep crying because of muscle tightness in his legs.  This was one of the MANY things we needed to tackle for his health once he entered our care as a foster child. Unfortunately, we didn't know his entire health history and we kind of just tackled one thing at a time.  Well, the time came to tackle this one.  We finally got him into a podiatrist and it was recommended that he had a muscle lengthening surgery on the backs of each of his legs.   He got that done June 9, 2023, right after school got out.  The nurses were so good to him and made sure to help him feel more comfortable by giving his bear, Mr. Snuggles, the VIP patient treatment.  Mr. Snuggles got an IV, a blood pressure cuff (a real one, mind you, for infants), several hospital bracelets, bandages and wraps, and their version of a hospital gown for bears.  ...

Jaydon’s award at the end of this year was for most improved mathematician. The 1st grade team also gave an award for “Never a Dull Moment”. I was a little surprised when Jaydon didn’t earn that reward. I’m happy that Jaydon will be known for improving in math instead of being the perpetual wild card in class.  Esther has struggled this year with completing work and keeping her grades up. So it is my great pleasure to announce that she made A/B honor roll the last quarter of school. She got 3 Bs and 1 straight A.  Isaac has done SUPERB this year and has made at least A/B honor roll every quarter and A honor roll in the 4th quarter.  I’m so proud of you, Isaac!

1. We found a baby bird and took it in.  This was a dream come true for Esther.  We're pretty sure it was a fledgling mockingbird.  It was sitting on the side of the road as I was walking the dogs (mine and my brother's dog.)  My brother's dog stopped and sniffed at something on the sidewalk.  When I looked at it closer, I realized it was a baby bird.  I went home and told Esther about it and she was SUPER excited.  I've never seen her get out of bed and get dressed so fast in my life.  She named it Chirp-Chirp after the sounds it continuously made.   2. There was a freak hailstorm.  I was in the car trying to get the kids from school when it hit.  The hailstones were as big as shooter marbles, and some bigger.  I truly thought the windshield would break.  It was scary.  But afterwards, there were piles of ice everywhere.  Enough ice to slide on.  Isaac was loving it.  Unfortunately, the baby bird was o...

 Here's a few gems from spring break this year. 1.  Isaac has a crazy high jump.  Still can't believe he can do this.   2.  Esther is now featuring the ultimate in natural jewelry: real live lizards biting onto her ears and hanging on for dear life.  I almost want my own pair...just not actually alive. 3.  My sister came down for spring break this year and took her two oldest, Erin and Lainey, and all 3 of my kids to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios.  Reid and I stayed behind with her 2 youngest kids, Dawn and Owen.   Inside Gringott's Wizarding Bank. Outside of Gringott's Wizarding Bank. The Mystery Machine. (Thank you, Captain Obvious!) The kids also got to eat lunch in the Leaky Cauldron, and they each bought a Harry Potter themed toy. Isaac bought the Exploding Snaps card game and a golden snitch, Esther is now the proud owner of a stuffed dragon that is a replica of the one on the top of the Gringott's bank, and Jaydon has made fa...

 Isaac and Esther, since they participated in the Science Fair this year and are both receiving letter grades, were able to earn awards for these ventures this year.   Isaac won 1st place in the science fair in his category this year!  I teased him that he couldn't beat that next year, so what was he going to do?  He replied, "I don't know--get 3rd place maybe."  If he does that next year, he will have a 1st, 2nd, and a 3rd place trophy.   Esther's first year of letter grades got her on the A/B honor roll for the first trimester of school.  Considering all the difficulties we've had getting her to complete any work for the previous 2 years before that, I would say that is a great achievement.  We're hoping she gets her grades up again this trimester and gets another award at the end of the school year.  Isaac, at the end of last year, barely made it on the A/B honor roll after struggling all year.  This year, he started off on the A hono...

 As is our family custom, we went biking again this past Saturday.  We discovered owls in the trees, a dead chameleon, and that the Brevard Mountain Bike Association put in a new biking feature--a teeter-totter!  The kids all gathered up their courage and went down what we call at the Grapefruit Trail "The Abyss" because it's soooo steep.  Reid may or may not be encouraging reckless behavior by handing out slushies afterwards.  We came home to pizza and slushies.  It was a good day.   This is the face of a girl saddened by the loss of such a magnificent creature. The Chameleon These two owls were making quite the racket.  Esther thought they were fighting.  It's mating season, but I somehow forgot to correct her assumption. One of the men at the trail had to show Isaac and Jaydon how to play on this properly.