On The Road Again

Here's Sarah after an afternoon of beading bracelets for my friend Charisse. Can you ever have too many accessories?



I'm off to Dallas for a couple days. Robyn, her sister, niece and I are going to see No Doubt! We are super excited! Of course, it's the busiest weekend ever and we really shouldn't be gone but we didn't know it would be like that when we purchased tickets months ago! I'm sure this concert will "rock" and we'll be back Monday!

Naughty Boy

Here's what Lucas thought of the second grade picnic. (That's his sandwich on the ground five feet from the stroller where he threw it.)



This is what happens when he is left unattended with a brown eyeliner pencil.



There should be a picture of all the writing on the walls and computer screen but those got cleaned up before photographic evidence could be gathered. I think we all know who did it.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good: I chopped off my hair. Hasn't been this short since Jacob was a baby. My stylist had "a wild hair" and just went for it without telling me what he was doing. Good thing I liked it! I needed the change.



The Bad: This fork sculpture has caused quite a stir in the land of Pleasantville HOAs. It's outside of a new restaurant/art gallery plaza in our neighborhood. The community developers think it's a sign. The owner says it's art. I think it's awesome. But the developers won the battle and now the fork has a wall being built around it so you can't see it from the street. Haven't they ever heard of the Spoon Bridge & Cherry? But all the publicity surely hasn't hurt the new restaurants, so maybe it's a win/win in the end.



The Ugly: 'Nuff said. This guy was in the garage the other day. He did not live long enough to tell his buddies to stay out of the garage. Luckily, the pest control service will be here tomorrow. We must be due.

Honest Abe

Jacob had to do a biography report and oral presentation on Abraham Lincoln. Hard to say if he is most excited about the fact that Abe is on the five dollar bill and penny or that he was carried in a train after being shot in the head. Morbid? Yes. Interesting to boys? Yes. Anyway, he had to dress up for his presentation. Who knew Hobby Lobby sold hairy fabric?




Jacob was also very excited about the Star Wars legos from Grandma Meyer. He's got the little Darth Vader character in his pocket today to show people. I told him it was a bad idea and that if he loses it he doesn't get another one. Or if he gets an "N" I will take it all away until school gets out. Hopefully Darth does not find the bottom of the cafeteria trashcan or get lost in the playground rocks.

Jacob's Birthday

Today was Jacob's 8th birthday. We swam in the neighbor's pool and played "warmer/colder" to find his presents. He was super excited because almost everything was Star Wars related. I swear, he's been brainwashed by George Lucas.

We checked out a new pizza joint called GameTown thinking it might be a good place to have his party, but Mom and Dad were not impressed. Pizza wasn't great. Games were expensive and pretty difficult for any kid under 12. Jacob managed to earn enough tickets to get several fabulous prizes from the garbage can ...I mean, prize counter. A whoopee cushion, a cardboard airplane, a green bracelet, a ring and three sets of vampire teeth.



So it's looking like his birthday will be held at the house with a waterslide. Better squeeze that in before we go to Stage 2 water restrictions! Luckily it's rained every day for at least a little bit over the last several days. Unfortunately, there's so much packed into the next two weeks, he may have to wait until June 5th!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Angie's Birthday Party

Angie is Ethan's girlfriend at preschool. Or at least she thinks Ethan is her boyfriend. She had her birthday party today and sadly, only two kids from her class showed up. Tough day for a party though, which is why we'll probably have Jacob's after school gets out next week. Anyway, there was a pinata as big as the kids...



Ethan swung the stick so hard that it came around and whapped him on the head during his follow-through...



Sofia, Ethan and Angie. Awwwhhhhhh.

Second Grade Picnic

At Jacob's school, they had the Second Grade Picnic last Friday. I went with all the kids and a cooler filled with sandwiches, chips and juice boxes. I think the kids ate two bites of their lunches and made a beeline for the playground. Here is Jacob with three of his buddies: Noah, Jake and Chase.



Sarah, the future Kindergartener, mastering the playground.



Lucas on the swings.



Ethan on the zip track that really doesn't zip anymore.



Jacob was buried in dusty playground rocks by his classmates. Isn't that what friends are for?!?

Missed my calling.

Last night the local Papa John's Pizza place helped Jacob's school with a fundraiser. For every pizza ordered by a Hardy Oak family, a teacher would deliver your pizza! His school got 20% of the Hardy Oak sales and got to keep all of the tip money. The school that did it two weeks ago raised $3,300!

Since most of the teachers don't live in the school boundary area, they asked for parent volunteers to drive the teachers around. We had to do a background check, have a flag on the car and wait in a line up of cars for the next teacher to come out with an order or two. I drove a first grade teacher, a third grade teacher and a fifth grade teacher a couple times. Was fun to get to know them in that way. I'd drive them up to the right house and they would jump out and deliver the pizza, jump back in and we were off to the next one! It was pretty fun.

While I was driving, Mark placed an order for delivery to our house. Jacob was hoping for his own teacher to deliver it but a fourth grade teacher he had never met before was the one that came to the door. Bummer! Oh well. We all have newfound respect for the pizza delivery dudes and will probably tip better because of it!