The North Pole by Pete Martin

Today, Pete brought home a booklet his class worked on . Here is Pete's page.

The North Pole

By: Pete Martin

Santa lives at the North Pole. He builds hot wheels, elves and legos. Santa has a dog up there, her name is Puff Ball. And he has a kid and her name is Kaia. Santa likes to play ball with them.

When it's not Christmas time, Santa stays inside his house and watches T.V. Santa's favorite dinner is chicken and bread.

For Christmas I want hot wheels, trucks and I want to get my sister something that she likes. Maybe a pony.

I love the ideas kids come up with!

Merry Christmas!

Pumpkin Patch & Fall Carnival

Fall is my favorite time to take pictures of my family. Of course, it doesn't take much for me to whip the camera out and start snapping. Oh my poor family!!!

Here are some of my favorite pre-Halloween pumpkin patch and

Fall Carnival shots.

Pete's First Report Card

Ok, so I guess I will be a cluster blogger today... Better late than never, huh??

This week we had Pete's student/teacher conference. His teacher said he is keeping up with the class quite well and has made tremendous improvement since the beginning of the year. We are always so concerned about Pete because of everything he has been through. Radiation can have long-term effects and cause learning disabilities. But, I'm happy to report, so far so good!!

Here is what Mr. Taylor wrote on Pete's report card:

"The world would be a better place with a few more Petes. Pete has made some great progress in class. Especially with his fine motor development. He is a fast learner, and an efficient

worker. I'm glad Pete is in my class this year."

I'm so happy Mr. Taylor sees and appreciates how truly special Pete is!

Another Student of the Month

Hailey was awarded Student of the Month for the month of October. Way to go Baby!!

I know I'm a bit behind with my blogging... This whole school thing is keeping me pretty busy. I'm so happy to have the long weekend and will be glad when this term is behind me!

This week, we had Hailey's student/teacher conference and got her first report card for this year. Once again, Hailey is exceeding the standards with mostly Es on her report card. As for her reading, she is way off the carts for 2nd grade, so her teacher agreed to place her in 3rd grade reading. What a smart kid!!

Happy Thanksgiving

In Pete's class, his teacher had each child tell their favorite recipe. Mr. Taylor copied them all down and made a Thanksgiving Recipe book for the parents.

Here is Pete's recipe.

How to Make Macaroni and Cheese

By: Peter Martin

Ingredients:

Just a little bit of cheese

6 chicken bones

7 green beans

This much milk (hands held out wide)

More cheese, cheddar cheese

Directions:

Now, just cook it. Cook it in a black pot until it tastes good. The pot should be about his hot (hands held out wide), about 7 degrees for 6 minutes. Serve it in a purple bowl, and eat it with a spoon.

I am thankful for my mommy cooking me it, and my daddy cooking corn beef hash, and I'm thankful for my sister, because she is a nice sister.

Wow, I think we might have a future chef on our hands. He certainly thinks outside the box... :-)

Here is another one of my favorite recipes from the book.

How to Cook a Turkey

By: Karis Mabee

Ingredients:

1 Chicken

Pink hand paint

1 cube of butter

Chocolate ice cream

1 princess "to eat the turkey"

2 pickles

Directions:

Put it in the oven for 28 days, at burning hot, and make sure to shut the oven door. Then take it out and eat it with your dog, and a penguin.

I am thankful for my princesses, and chocolate ice cream. I love school and my mommy.

Kids are just so funny!

Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for my beautiful healthy family and friends!

The Adventures of Peter - Not What You Think!

Last night I finished reading Peter and the Starcatchers to Hailey. It is a 451 page prequel to the Peter Pan story. This adventure explains everything that the original story didn't. How did the boys get to Neverland? Why is it a magical island with Mermaids in the lagoon? Why can Peter fly and why doesn't he grow older? Where did Tinkerbell come from? And the questions answered go on and on. Hailey and I both enjoyed this book so much that tonight we started the next book in the series - Peter Shadow Thieves. So far, there are 4 books in this interesting adventure (the fourth one goes on shelves tomorrow). Hailey and I are looking forward to enjoying the other books! And no, that's not Wendy on the cover... You will have to read the book to meet all these new characters!

Look Who's Student of the Month

When I picked Pete up from school today (Hailey gets out later), he mentioned that there had been a "Spirit Assembly" today. What he failed to mention was what happened at the assembly... When we got home, I was unpacking his backpack and found a crumpled-up piece of paper on the bottom. It was an award for Student of the Month! I asked him about it and he told me that everyone in his class got one... Well, no they didn't - what a humble little boy! Hailey also won a drawing to have a pizza party with Mr. Santi (the school principle). Way to go H & P!!

The Life of a Child

Children are just amazing. Remember those days of knights and princesses. In the whole scheme of things, that wasn't too long ago... Why do things have to be so different when we grow up? We all could benefit from living more in the moment, exercising our imagination and appreciating a good bug. We have so much to learn from our kids!

Pete's First Day of Kindergarten

Today, Pete started kindergarten. How is it possible that my babies are no longer babies??!! I was so nervous about today, that I didn't sleep well last night. Of course, Pete had no problem with me leaving his classroom. I was the one with the problem... I was anxious all morning and just hoping that his first day was a good one. Did he have any problems? No, he had a great day! Like usual, I worried for no reason. But, isn't that in my job description??

Festival Fun

Today, we took the kids down to the Talent Harvest Festival. I think it is the perfect event - not too many people, easy to find parking and the parade is short. However, we did wait quite a while for face painting...

We took Josie with us and I think it was good to get her out, to get used to people. I think she had fun, but being a black dog, she was constantly searching for a nice cool shady spot.

Puppy Pics

Little Miss Josie isn't quite so little anymore. When I took her to the vet at the beginning of the month, she was 16.6lbs already...

Here are a few of my favorite recent pictures of our pup.

Pete and I had to get Josie this Halloween costume at Old Navy today. It glows in the dark (a good thing for a black dog). I don't know if it will still fit her on Oct. 31...

Photoshoot

Pete hasn't started school yet. They do things a little differently with kindergartners. Yesterday, his teacher came for a home visit. I think Pete has a great teacher and that he will have a fun first year at school! Mr. Taylor likes to play guitar and sing, which I know Pete will love!

Today, I decided was a good opportunity to try out my new camera lens on my little man, while Hailey was at school. Well, I will tell anyone who will listen how charming and what a sweet little boy Pete is. However when I got the camera out today, Pete's snips and snails, and puppy dog tails were acting up just a little bit. Pete will tell you that he is not sweet nor cute. He told me the other day, "I'm not cute. I am tough!! Tough as ROCKS!" OK Mr. tough man... You will always be cute to me.

Here are some of the pictures I took.

Not sure what the backwards looser sign is... Maybe a new kindergarten gang sign?

There's my sweet boy!

We Have a 2nd Grader

Today, Miss Hailey started 2nd grade. I set the clock for 6:35am, so that I could give her plenty of time to get ready, as she tends not to be a morning person. However, to my surprise when I went into her room, she wasn't in her bed. The bathroom light was on, but she wasn't in there either... I finally found her in Pete's room. They both had smiles on their faces and were playing nicely - how unusual, must mean that they know Summer vacation is officially over! I brought both kids and the puppy downstairs. Everyone ate their breakfast with quite a bit of speed (no dillydallying this morning). After her meal, Hailey quickly brushed her hair and teeth and put her shoes on. This girl was actually ready to walk out the door before Jeff was - again quite unusual! I have to admit that I was ready for the school year to start and I do believe that our Hailey felt the same way.

I've said it before, but how quickly time flies! In the blink of an eye...