 |
| Make that "Birthday in January"! |
I especially enjoy how I am the only one that is smart. :) She is excited to show this book to each of you, so when she does just pretend that you haven't seen it here already!
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Family Sentences Book by Sophie
After a difficult day at school Friday, I enjoyed seeing the book that Sophie created all on her own during free time at school. She wrote descriptive words and phrases about various members of the family. So without further ado...
I especially enjoy how I am the only one that is smart. :) She is excited to show this book to each of you, so when she does just pretend that you haven't seen it here already!
I especially enjoy how I am the only one that is smart. :) She is excited to show this book to each of you, so when she does just pretend that you haven't seen it here already!
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Polar Vortex #2
So, it's cold again. And this time it involves snow. Monday we were in school for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (with lots of prospective students visiting since the public schools had the day off), and at the end of the day they announced that we'd be closed Tuesday because of a forecasted snow storm.
The storm did indeed happen. Snow began around 7am and continued all day and into the evening hours. We probably received around 5 inches or so. Temperatures dropped all through the day, to a low of 2 degrees F by Wednesday morning. Because of the cold and the yucky roads, they called off school on Wednesday too.
Tuesday was an online learning day, which meant that I posted assignments on our online LMS for my 7th and 8th grade students to complete at home. The girls had already come home with a snow day folder with activities for them to do in the event of school day spent at home. This is a really neat innovation that allows us to stay home due to weather but still count the day as a school day.
The girls both worked hard on Tuesday to get their work done, and then boredom abounded. Especially from Sophie, who must have said "What can I do now?" at least 20 times that day. Eventually they went outside to play for a bit, as well as complete part of Sophie's work which was to measure the snow in several places and then bring some inside to see how long it took to melt.
Wednesday was not an online learning day, it was a true old-fashioned snow day. And boy, was it different! I gave the girls a short "to do" list in the morning that included cleaning up their rooms and at least 30 minutes of reading time. After completing that, they played and played and played together all day long.
The game of choice for the day involved them being parents to 4 daughter each (their dolls). They began their journey in Sophie's room and then traveled to other places around the house for camping trips and what not. Here are some photos they took of themselves in Sophie's room using the camera on their new Chromebook:
They would travel to new locales with a very sophisticated sled-type device, as seen here:
Here they are camping in the TV room and then again in the foyer:
They also camped in the dining room for a spell. There were various stops on the elaborate camping trip. They intended to go see a movie (watch something on TV) but got so wrapped up in their play that they ran out of time.
So far some nearby school districts have already cancelled school for tomorrow (Thursday), and we just received a text that we'll be on a 2-hour delay. Thank goodness, as I think we're all ready to return to school!
The storm did indeed happen. Snow began around 7am and continued all day and into the evening hours. We probably received around 5 inches or so. Temperatures dropped all through the day, to a low of 2 degrees F by Wednesday morning. Because of the cold and the yucky roads, they called off school on Wednesday too.
Tuesday was an online learning day, which meant that I posted assignments on our online LMS for my 7th and 8th grade students to complete at home. The girls had already come home with a snow day folder with activities for them to do in the event of school day spent at home. This is a really neat innovation that allows us to stay home due to weather but still count the day as a school day.
The girls both worked hard on Tuesday to get their work done, and then boredom abounded. Especially from Sophie, who must have said "What can I do now?" at least 20 times that day. Eventually they went outside to play for a bit, as well as complete part of Sophie's work which was to measure the snow in several places and then bring some inside to see how long it took to melt.
Wednesday was not an online learning day, it was a true old-fashioned snow day. And boy, was it different! I gave the girls a short "to do" list in the morning that included cleaning up their rooms and at least 30 minutes of reading time. After completing that, they played and played and played together all day long.
The game of choice for the day involved them being parents to 4 daughter each (their dolls). They began their journey in Sophie's room and then traveled to other places around the house for camping trips and what not. Here are some photos they took of themselves in Sophie's room using the camera on their new Chromebook:
They would travel to new locales with a very sophisticated sled-type device, as seen here:
Here they are camping in the TV room and then again in the foyer:
They also camped in the dining room for a spell. There were various stops on the elaborate camping trip. They intended to go see a movie (watch something on TV) but got so wrapped up in their play that they ran out of time.
So far some nearby school districts have already cancelled school for tomorrow (Thursday), and we just received a text that we'll be on a 2-hour delay. Thank goodness, as I think we're all ready to return to school!
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Frozen, Legos, and Icky Sickies
Well, it's been quite a week! Last Sunday Sophie came down with a stomach bug that kept her home for half of school on Monday. Tuesday she was fine most of the day but had a rough evening, which led to her staying home again on Wednesday. Charles stayed with her both days due to my schedule at school that involved an 8th grade field trip to EMES and the Greek awards show with the 7th graders on Wednesday. Sophie was happy to be able to return to school Thursday and even drink milk, as evidenced by this picture she wanted me to take as proof:
Notice her "Happy Birthday" sticker she's wearing. Thursday she celebrated her half birthday with her classmates. She took in white chocolate covered pretzels and a book to read. Dad was supposed to read the book on Monday and then again on Wednesday, but the icky sickies led to numerous reschedulings.
While Sophie hung out with Dad on Wednesday she dove into his big box of architectural legos, which led to both girls playing with legos the rest of the week. Here they are with their dad on Saturday morning:
They've also been very into singing and acting out the songs from Frozen. We managed to capture a couple of them on video this weekend:
And finally, a shot from this morning, just to show the wide range of electronic devices they now have: iPods, headphones, Kindle, speakers for iPod, and Chromebook -- all being used at the same time!
As I type this, Charles is taking a nap in an attempt to get over the cold that both he and I have been fighting this week. I had a two hour nap yesterday, followed by some time with the Yalla ladies for dinner out at Taste of Thai. This evening's festivities will wrap up with me hosting book club for a dinner of chicken chili and cornbread. Here's hoping this week is healthier than the last!
Sunday, January 12, 2014
36th Birthday and Other Assorted Items
This is how cold it was Tuesday morning. We had a few cold, cold days with windchill values around -20 degrees Farenheit. That's cold, folks! Hopefully the frozen streak will mean fewer pesky bugs in the garden this year.
Speaking of frozen, we celebrated my birthday on Friday evening. Officially I turned 36 on Thursday, but we had a busy evening at church, not to mention that it was a school night. So Friday we ate a delicious Mediterranean meal at Xenia and then rushed to catch the 5:15 showing of Disney's Frozen.
Turns out the movie didn't actually start until 6:45, so we went to Barnes & Noble to hang out for a bit. Hannah picked out a new calendar for the year (castles), and Sophie found the book version of Frozen for reading. This movie was fantastic with great music and a unique storyline about two sisters and their relationship, especially after the death of their parents. I highly recommend it!
Saturday the temperature was a balmy 53 degrees, so the girls took the gingerbread house outside to knock it to pieces. Charles and I had insisted that this be done outside (to keep from making a mess inside), and Saturday was finally warm enough to do the job. Here they are just getting started:
I think they're going at it with forks. I don't know what the end result looked like because I was out for a run to enjoy the mild weather.
Today is also pretty warm and the sun is shining, so I'm hoping for a run later this afternoon also. In the meantime we'll keep taking care of Miss Sophie who has not been able to keep anything in her stomach so far today.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
2013 Photo Book
Here is the photo book that we created to document our year:
Shutterfly photo books offer a wide range of artful designs and embellishments to choose from.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Hendricks Christmas 2013
The annual Hendricks Family Christmas-on-New-Years was earlier this week in Roanoke. We arrived around 9am to find Granny home and Papa at the gym. Chris and the boys hadn't arrived yet either, so we settled in and then Charles took Granny for a ride in our new Prius.
Once they returned everyone else had arrived. Granny had grab bags for the kids, so they did that before we opened the rest of the gifts. They got bags, notebooks, pens/pencils, and assorted items. Then we opened other gifts. Granny was proud of herself (and I'm proud of her too!) for not overdoing it this year. It's nice to see the girls appreciating what they received rather than forgetting about half of it because they got so much.
The girls and I received Target gift cards from Granny and Papa, so after a long lunch at a pub place we went shopping with Granny. On this trip I got a new and faster wireless router for the house, and the girls picked out toys. Hannah selected a Heart 2 Heart girl from Afghanistan, and Sophie chose a pink lockbox and a Barbie doll with a dog that eats and poops, which I find quite gross. We also went to Belk so Charles could spend his gift money on some new shoes.
Once we returned to the house Chris and the boys had already left for home to take care of the dogs. We showed off our shopping to Papa, and then the girls played with their new things while Granny and I got set up for a simple supper of sandwiches.
It was a good day, but I realized while preparing for this post that Charles didn't take any pictures of Papa. Here's one just for fun that also happens to match one of his Christmas presents.
 |
| The kids opening gifts |
Once they returned everyone else had arrived. Granny had grab bags for the kids, so they did that before we opened the rest of the gifts. They got bags, notebooks, pens/pencils, and assorted items. Then we opened other gifts. Granny was proud of herself (and I'm proud of her too!) for not overdoing it this year. It's nice to see the girls appreciating what they received rather than forgetting about half of it because they got so much.
 |
| Adults opening gifts |
The girls and I received Target gift cards from Granny and Papa, so after a long lunch at a pub place we went shopping with Granny. On this trip I got a new and faster wireless router for the house, and the girls picked out toys. Hannah selected a Heart 2 Heart girl from Afghanistan, and Sophie chose a pink lockbox and a Barbie doll with a dog that eats and poops, which I find quite gross. We also went to Belk so Charles could spend his gift money on some new shoes.
 |
| Posing on the red ball outside Target |
Once we returned to the house Chris and the boys had already left for home to take care of the dogs. We showed off our shopping to Papa, and then the girls played with their new things while Granny and I got set up for a simple supper of sandwiches.
It was a good day, but I realized while preparing for this post that Charles didn't take any pictures of Papa. Here's one just for fun that also happens to match one of his Christmas presents.
 |
| What?? This doesn't look like Papa? |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)