South Africa was an incredible experience. I have selected some of the best photos I took and created a set on our Flickr page here.
Tue 22 Mar 2011
March update
Posted by sean under Uncategorized
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Okay, March Madness is in full effect. I am still trying to get the kids excited about KU basketball. They sort of follow the Jayhawks, but not enough to watch. Hmmm. In due time, I suppose.
Ellie and JD are busy playing tennis. Ellie just finished being in the school play (Sleeping Beauty) and she was a narrator. JD is getting ready to start lacrosse.
Our house is in disarray as our kitchen is being remodeled . . . I mean really, really remodeled. Our old kitchen and dining room have been combined into a very large kitchen. The old formal living room is now 1/2 formal living room and 1/2 formal dining room. It was a large room so it looks natural with the new look. And, the kitchen cabinets and flooring and new walls and openings are all in place. We’re just waiting on tile, backsplash, some lighting, countertops . . . and appliances, which come tomorrow.
I am leaving for 3 weeks to South Africa near Cape Town to work with some GVSU students who will be teacher assisting in township schools. We’ll also spend about 10 days touring the country along the Indian Ocean to see elephants and much more. Should be loads of fun. Be sure to check back for photos of the trip and of our kitchen.
I have been taking a photo each day and there are bunches of the kitchen in various stages. You can access our photos using the link at the top.
Fri 7 Jan 2011
well, we’ve been pretty horrible about providing updates. however, if you want to see photos, we are staying current in that regard. here is a link to our family photos and here is a link to our 2011 project of a photo a day — many are photos of us.
Thu 29 Jul 2010
so, Ellie and i were hanging out down on the floor with Ziggy the other day and we started laughing. and then we laughed harder . . . and harder. i think we laughed for 5 minutes straight. in fact, we laughed so hard that Ellie nearly started crying because her throat started hurting. and the first thing she said when we finally regained our composure??? “dad, can you write about this on thelancasters.net?” ta da!
both kids are attending camp this week. Ellie is attending a National Writing Project camp on the Grand Valley State University’s Holland Campus. she goes for 1/2 days this week and is working on writing her memoir along with some other creative writing. i plan to film her reading some of her writing at their performance so stay tuned for that.
JD is at Camp Manitou-Lin. he attended last year as well. every morning he jumps on a bus at 7:40 AM and returns home at 5:20 PM. in between, he rides horses, kayaks, and generally does camp things. fun stuff. we have a big parent night planned tonight and the campers will put on a performance so i’ll film that and post it soon as well.
Fri 21 May 2010
OM State Finals
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quick follow up . . . Ellie’s Odyssey of the Mind team finished 4th at the State Finals this year. Kudos to the team for improving over last year.
Thu 8 Apr 2010
Ellie and No Child Left Behind
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so, Ellie took our state test for the No Child Left Behind law — the MEAP in Michigan. in 3rd grade last year she did quite well, but this year she improved on the 4th grade test. in fact, she could not have improved any more because Ellie aced the reading half of the test; she got a perfect score. KUDOS to Ellie!!! on the math test she scored near the top and missed just one fraction problem, so she has some room to improve next year. ;~)
Mon 15 Mar 2010
March Madness
Posted by sean under Ellie
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sean: “Ellie, Yahoo won’t let you create a bracket until you’re 13. but we can make a new account & lie about your age if you want to be in my bracket challenge.”
ellie: “i don’t want to lie.”
sean: “okay, how about we create an account for JD and lie about his age so you two can share a pick in the pool?”
ellie: “that’s like being a supervillain’s sidekick.”
Sun 14 Mar 2010
OM and Our View
Posted by ellie under Ellie
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Hello. This is my first blog entry.
Odyssey of the Mind was really fun this year! I was a team member, Mom was a coach, Dad was a judge, and JD missed his Lego camp to see me win!!! We tied 2nd place in the hard region. We got the highest points for our skit too. That means on april 17 we will be at the state finals! We have a shot at going to the world finals.
A talent scout saw me perform at our church’s Christmas Pageant, he asked if I would like to tryout for a TV show. the TV show is called Our View. It is a twist on The View but for younger girls; it has girls ages 7-12. I won a part and will be on the show. The kids in my class are so happy for me, and I am very proud.
Wish me luck!
Mon 25 Jan 2010
so JD informed me that he wants to start writing articles for thelancasters.net . . . and Ellie wants to write some as well. this means that we should start seeing more activity around here in the very near future. i’ll make sure i keep them to their promise. in the meantime, here’s the latest photo i have of the two kids sharing a laugh.
Tue 8 Dec 2009
i have a photo posted from the first day of school below a little ways and i figured i should show another photo of the kids getting ready to go to school, but this time in December. brrrrr.
Sun 8 Nov 2009
the end of the innocence
Posted by sean under Ellie, family, JD, kids, Sean and Paula
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last night, JD started asking some probing questions. it quickly became clear that he no longer believed in Santa Claus and was going to have us admit it. come to find out, the boy hasn’t believed since Kindergarten. he just couldn’t believe that a giant bunny rabbit hopped from house to house with candy and stuff for kids all over the world. it seemed preposterous to him and he was just sure the bunny would have been arrested for breaking and entering. well, JD was in our bed and Ellie soon came in as well. all 4 of us on the bed with the dog. JD couldn’t contain himself any more and he just started laughing, which made me laugh. Ellie asked why we were laughing and then JD said it’s because my beard looks funny . . . and that made me laugh harder. and by this time everyone was laughing. eventually we turned to Ellie and asked her about her beliefs. she played along for a minute, thinking that she didn’t want to ruin it for JD. but eventually she let us know that she’s known for years. we all laughed a bunch more and the kid told stories about how i’d slipped up here and there (e.g., forgetting to do the tooth fairy once and coming back the next day, leaving toy packaging out in a bag for stuff in stockings, etc.).
eventually it was time for the kids to go to bed (it was about 10:30 when our session together ended). JD stayed in with Paula and Ellie went back to her bed — i went out to watch boxing. anyway, Paula said that JD then cried. why? because he just didn’t want to grow up. he’s having such a fun time being a kid and he doesn’t ever want to grow older. Paula explained that there is much fun in being able to make your own decisions and choosing your own destiny. i think part of this came on because the kids saw “Where the Wild Things Are” at the movie theater earlier that day . . . and JD cried during much of that movie as well. i think a lot of stuff was just hitting him all at once today. quite the overwhelming day, but he came through very well and the first thing he did today was jump up next to me on the couch and put his little arm around me and sigh with a little chuckle, “dad, that was fun last night, wasn’t it?” yes it was.
Sat 24 Oct 2009
quick update
Posted by sean under Ellie, JD, kids, Uncategorized
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both kids have been elected to the student council by their classmates. actually, JD tied so he and another child will each represent their class 1/2 of the year. academically the kids are getting off to a great start. in fact, JD had his teacher stop by our house the other day to tell him that he had aced a spelling pre-test. he didn’t have to take the regular spelling test like all of the other kids. this was the first time this has happened this year. JD’s teacher said he is breezing through the math tests they’ve had thus far and that he’s already at a much higher level of math.
Ellie has a wonderful teacher who is really pushing the kids to be much more cognizant of their roles in the learning process. Ellie’s writing is improving by leaps and bounds and i thought it was already great. she was also the first student in her class to take an Accelerated Reader (AR) test over an AR book, which means she read the book and was ready for the test before the other students. she just took the NCLB tests these past 2 weeks (called the MEAP in Michigan), so we’ll see how she compares to last year — when she took the test the day after we returned from Europe. Ellie was also selected to be a crossing guard when the 5th graders had a camp a few weeks ago. Ellie even patrolled the corner by our house so she got to help JD across the street. finally, Ellie also made the choir, so she practices for that early before school a few days a week.
the kids have their Halloween costumes. Paula was in San Fransisco so i took charge and helped the kids order costumes online. i’ll get the photos posted shortly after Halloween so stay tuned.