Yumminess!

The other day our neighbor brought over these amazing treats!

They are caramel, chocolate, candy bar laden apples.  So super yummy!  She brought them over because we have been trying to take care of her while her husband is deployed.  We have them over for Sunday dinner often, Emma babysits for them whenever she can (she tried to do it for free, but Kelly won't let her.  She always slips the money into something she brought with her), we help whenever she needs us.  One of the big times we helped out was when her house was hit by lightening.  Yep- hit by lightening!  Isn't it always the deployed spouses house that gets hit!!  It put a huge crack in her walls, blew out a bunch of light sockets, blew off all her fence post caps, rain gutters and split her trees down to the ground.  It also made the water main bust.  I was the one that discovered that.   The water man came out and said, "I have good news and bad news.  I found the problem, but it's on your side."  Rob talked to him for some time about what that would entail and how to get it fixed.  He finally told the guy that he was not the owner of the house, that he was there as a neighbor helping out the wife of a fellow deployed soldier.  I guess that softened the guy up quite a bit, because he started telling Rob what needed to be done, let him borrow his tools for the tricky bolts and explained everything step by step as he held Rob upside down in a hole.

Rob was able to fix it!  The owners wife came around to look at the damage (Kelly is just renting) and they asked who was helping hold Rob.  When they told him it was the water guy, he said, "nope, I'm just a neighbor!"  When Rob and Kelly tried to thank him, he just shrugged it off and said thank you to them for keeping our nation safe.  If there is one good thing that came out of the Vietnam war, it was a sense of gratitude for the soldiers that put their life on the line and the families that are left at home alone to fend for themselves!
The treats look so good- I figured she bought them.  There is a candy store that does the same thing.  But come to find out- she made them.  She told me how and I tried.  I didn't have the right sticks- so that was a lot messier and apparently I don't have her skill either.  Rob just said- "maybe you need to go have her show you how!"  Uh, yeah, thanks!!  So, on my to do list- Learn to make Caramel Apple Yumminess like Kelly!

Max's Behavior Chart for Mean People

Maxwell decided he needed to make a behavior chart to control the mean people in his life.  He made a picture chart- since he can't read.  His behaviors were
1.  Keep Quiet
2.  No stomping on people's foots
3.  No punching people in the face

4.  No laughing at people when they are crying

5.  No punching people while they are sleeping

6.  No touching Mom's computer

I especially like that he remembered the ultimate sin- touching Mom's new computer!  Unfortunately, Joe already has an x on his name.  He stepped on Max's foot.  Joseph immediately complained that Max had been punching and kicking him in the weaners and pulling his hair.  Max calmly explained, "but, Joe that is not on the behavior chart."  Oh my!  Boys!  They will make you laugh!

Emma (Not) at Homecoming

Homecoming came and went.  

Sam marched in the parade.  

Emma did not! 

 The soccer team had a game rained out on Monday and so they rescheduled it for the day of the parade.  Very nice of them, don't you think!  I had to work and Rob had to be at the parade with Sam and the little boys who wanted candy!

- so no one went to watch her game, either.

None of us went to the homecoming game.  We hear it is their tradition to loose the game.  We don't know.  Rob decided it would be too nuts at Homecoming and so we all just stayed in and watched a Big Bang. (LOVE) 

Emma went to her friend Megan's house on the day of the dance and did her hair for her.  

Then a group of them all went out to dinner.  

Don't they all look so pretty! 

 Then Emma came home. 

 I told her that she could wear the dress I picked up for our cruise last year.  It is modest and still totally appropriate for homecoming.  I know, right! - How did I ever find that?  I did.  I found it at Macy's and it was expensive!  But now I have one formal and one semi-formal that are both modest!  Anyway- she said she really didn't care about the dance, so after dinner, she came home.  The girls had fun at the dance, but one of the mom's told us that really the most fun part for them was the dinner.  I guess Emma saved some money and enjoyed the fun part!

That kid dances to the music of his own flute!

Samuel is an interesting kid.  Mostly, I think he really doesn't care what you think, but then at times he thinks way too much of what you think.  

The kid is what I would call a typical boy growing into his manliness- because I know all about those kind of things!  He doesn't care what he looks like- at least he keeps telling me that when I try to comb his hair. He doesn't care what clothes he has on, as long as they are jeans or shorts and the shirt is athletic looking.  He's not worried about his nails or anything else metrosexual.  I think we have finally got past the take a shower fight each night, though!  He likes to go out in the cold and pretend that he is warm without the need of a jacket, like all us other wimps.  He fought with his Dad over it at the soccer game the other day when it was 45 degrees.  I did however get him to wear a long sleeve shirt under his jersey the other day when we went to his football game at 8 pm, but no gloves or anything.  I bought him some under armor the next day and he actually wore it, because all the other boys had it at the game.  

He loves football, even though he is the shortest, skinniest kid out there by far- 

look at that picture, find the kid on the side by the coach whose arm you can only see.  That's Sam.  See how short he is compared to everyone else and his team is shorter and scrawnier than most of the teams we have played.

and he gets knocked over more than not.  

If he can outrun everyone (which he does) and catch the kid with the ball and bring him down by holding onto his legs till he's been dragged a couple yards and the kid can't stand it anymore, he is in heaven!

Now take that football loving, 

non-metrosexual, macho, don't comb my hair boy and add this in...

Yep, that's a flute the kid is playing.  

He is in band this year.  They tested them at the beginning of the year on all the instruments and gave them a rating from 1-5.  Sam got a 4+ on the trumpet, trombone and percussions.  He decided he would play the trumpet, but when it came time for him to choose, he said a bunch of other people had already chosen the trumpet, so he chose percussions.  After he chose, about 12 other people said they wanted percussions.  The band leader then proceeded to explain to them that they couldn't have that many percussions and trumpets and needed to have some more flutes (they are 7 flutes short still.)  He begged someone to change and no one would.  So finally Sam raised his hand and said he would play the flute.  Oh man, my little peacemaker!  Why can't you be a peacemaker with your mother and father and wear a jacket every once in a while?!

That's my Sam.  Some days I am just not sure what to do with him!  Luckily he's a pretty good kid on his own- except when he gets detention.  But that's another story!

Ok, Ok, so he got detention from his honors english teacher who gives excessively too much homework- and it's not the kind of stuff you would expect honors english kids to be doing, it is total busy work without a purpose.  He was staying up late, getting up at 5:30 in the morning trying to get it all done.  He didn't have it all done twice and then went into the wrong group one day at school.  He completed that work, but it was the wrong work according to her, so she gave him detention the next day.  We have had a talk with her since then!  But she doesn't understand how he can't be getting his work done.  So she had a talk with him at school.  She asked him stuff like did he have difficulty reading.  Um, hello, lady- he's in Honors english!!  Needless to say, we will probably be talking with her again!