Trying to catch up!!

Well, my two master's classes have come to an end and my next doesn't start until this next Wednesday. I am going to try to catch ya all up to what we have been doing in our lives. Hang on, it is going to be a speedy ride!!! By the way, I sure do LOVE looking at all of your blogs, it helps me pass time when I don't want to start an assignment or I just want to get away from it all. I'm not the best at commenting though and will try to do better in that department. Trudy

Newest Project--Tree House

Steve and the boys and sometimes Stevie are engaged in building a treehouse. Not even just an ordinary one, but a huge one. Maybe the kids will move out when it's done and stay there. The treehouse will have a main treehouse and then a rope bridge crossing over to a smaller one. They are all having fun working on it together.

Yuck!

Me letting a huge cockroach crawl up my arm during Career Day! I had to be a good example for my little ones. Even so, Stevie refused to touch any of the live things.

Anniversary Trip

Steve and I celebrated our anniversary early this year. I am going to be embroiled in classes during the real event so we took off early. Steve had heard of this place called Smith Island. He became intrigued and spent time researching it on the internet. He then rented a cottage for three days for us to stay in. On Friday, May 16th we got up and left the house by 7:30 am. We then drove 3 1/2 hours to Crisfield, MD. There we caught the mail boat for a 45 minute ride out to the island. It is located out in the Chesapeake Bay. We really enjoyed the ride. We got to the island and were met by the lady that takes care of the cottage. She took us for a ride around the island and then to the cottage, the ride took all of 5 minutes. Small island. The cottage was nice. The islanders almost all have golf carts to get around in and some have vehicles as well. The cars are in a state of disrepair and are all very loud, they also do not have current tags. When the islanders know that a law man is coming, they all park their cars because if it isn't moving it can't be sited. We enjoyed our restful time there and were impressed by how friendly everyone was. We enjoyed learning more of the history of the island and eating crab cakes. Steve went out on a boat tour, while I stayed being a little sickish. He saw snowy egrets, a peregrine falcon, some osprey, herons, sandpipers, tons of sea gulls, and even goats. He loved it! We really enjoyed our time together. Oh, we also tried the famous Smith Island cake. To tell the truth it just tasted like homemade cake with frosting, nothing special.

Mother's Day

Tina on Mother's Day. She is enjoying a rousing game of UNO.
These are the cards that my children made for me. They presented them to me as they served my breakfast in bed. I have convinced them that all that I require is toast and jam. Two years ago I was served blackened scrambled eggs. Baxter told me that he was really sorry but that the lid of the pepper had come off. Tee Hee
I love the inside of this card. When I open up the card everything is upsidedown and she is even in my class. How did that one get by me?? It was a pleasant surprise.
Mom on Mother's Day. Doesn't she look nice?
Me on Mother's Day. I hate my hair by the way. It has finally grown out a little, but not enough. I got scalped at the hairdresser!

Easter

The Bainter children dressed in their Easter clothes. My boys love suits and were very happy to get new ones. Ceci surprised me by getting a really pretty white eyletish skirt. (the surprise was that it was so feminine, she doesn't like frill at all) I had gotten Stevie and different dress, but when I went into JcPenny for something, I saw this dress and knew she would just love it because she loves frills. I must say that I think they all look really sharp!

Stevie's Fieldtrip to DC

We ate lunch on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Stevie was lucky enough to get to go to DC on a fieldtrip, the first that our school has taken since 9/11. We went to a series of vignette plays and then went and toured around the mall. We had been studying important people and symbols. The children got to see the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorial up close. They were so impressed. It really brought it alive for them. It was the first time in DC for many of them. As we were driving in one of them said to me, "Mrs. Bainter, I think that we are in a city. Look at the tall buildings and such." They were so excited to see a different world.
We saw Imogene's Antlers, If you give a mouse a cookie, and 4 others. The kids were spellbound during the performances.
As you can see, they were tuckered out going back home.

Zane's Fieldtrip to Elms Beach

I was trying to get a picture of Zane drinking both his orange juice and chocolate milk at the same time. Yuck!! He says that it tastes like a tootsie roll.
Zane's class was suppose to be using teamwork to place a stretchy ring around a coffee can full of water. They were then to empty the can into another container. Watching them was hilarious. The class has many chiefs, few followers which makes for not much teamwork. Zane finally spoke up and since he doesn't speak up often they listened to his ideas and did pretty well.


After many tries, they finally did it. Boy, were they happy!