The Fousels

He's been tossed aside since the boys got their dog.  I think I will move the hamster into our room.  Maybe then he might get some attention. 

I posted new stuff on the holidays and family pets links above.  So check it out.... :-)

We had a long week and are happy that we get a couple of days off.  I was in charge of the book fair at the boys school this past week.  It was like having a 8-6 job outside of the house.  The boys started to wonder what was going on and were happy when the book fair was packed up yesterday.  Now they get their classroom volunteer, dinner maker, and homework helper back.  But we raised a nice amount for the schools library so I am very happy about that. 
The boys also had their conferences this week and report cards were passed out.  Ethan is doing great in all areas and his handwriting has improved tremendously.  And as he points out - he has stayed on green this entire time!  We are very happy and proud of his accomplishments so far this year.   And Noah is doing great as well.  He is excelling in all areas.  He got 6 out of 6 A's.  Needless to say we are very proud of him as well.  Since he has surpassed where he is suppose to be at the end of 3rd grade already, his teacher would like him to set some personal goals for himself.  He will be working on that soon.  We did end up "paying" him for his A's.
And today is our community clean up day.  Their school is sponsoring it and we will be helping out.  We signed up for the campus clean up part of it.  The boys are very excited about wanting to help clean up.  Actually I take that back.  Noah is excited about wanting to clean up the community and his school.  Ethan is looking forward to the donuts they will have.  hahaha.  Such a silly boy.  He sure loves those donuts! 

Well we just got back from our cold camping trip.  Oh did I say cold, I meant freezing camping trip!  We went up to Cave Springs in Oak Creek for 5 nights and 6 days.  I must not have read the weather report properly because I packed shorts and short sleeve shirts for us.  We did have a few warm clothes, thank god for that.   A great time was had nonetheless.  Grammy, Grandpa and Grandma, and the Batizy's went with us.  We all had a good time, especially the boys.  Ethan always wanted to start the ghost stories but he was also the first one to get scared.  And Noah with his imagination, he sure has plenty of it!  The 5 cousins had a great time together hiking, exploring, rock jumping, a little checkers here and there, wiffle ball playing, marshmallow roasting, and much more.   I sure hope they remember these times when they grow up. 

Not really much going on.  But we did have a family bingo night at school last week.  We all enjoyed that.  The boys are still doing great in school.  Ethan is almost starting to read.  It's very exciting to see how far he's come since he started Kinder.  Noah had his retainer put in yesterday.  Or as they call it "his appliance".  You really can't see it unless you really look, so he's happy with that.  Especially since tomorrow is picture day. 
The boys start basketball club this Saturday.   They are very excited about that.  That's about all the news here.   

Noah had an orthodontist appointment today.  They put in 4 separators.  This Thursday coming up they will remove those and put in some new ones.  They also made some molds of his teeth.  That did not look comfortable.  But he was sure a trooper.  I was planning on buying him a bunch of gum today so he can get it out of his system since he won't be able to chew any while his retainer is in.  But since they put the separators in today, no gum for him.  He wasn't too sad though. 

The boys got their progress reports this week.  They are both doing fantastic!  Ethan needs some help with his writing skills (or lack of I should say) but otherwise is excelling in all other areas.   Noah is still an academic star!  He has straight A's and is doing just awesome.  He of course feels he should be monetarily compensated, but I'm not so sure.  Should he be compensated for something that is expected of him?  Or should we show him how proud we are of him by not just praising his hard work but by giving him some cashola so he can save up for a new Lego set?  Kinda on the fence with that one.  

Noah had his first Orthodontist appointment yesterday.  He is going to have a retainer put in soon and have some much needed tooth extractions.  He has a huge crowding issue and this will help him until he is ready for braces.  I told Noah yesterday that he will need to get a paper route to help pay for all of this.  He just looked at me blankly and asked what a paper route was.  I forget sometimes that the world is so different.  Maybe he can work on online newspaper subscriptions???  ;-)  My poor guy.  Hope it doesn't hurt too much.

I help in both Ethan's and Noah's class every week.  With Ethan, I am in there for the entire school day.  I don't know how his teacher does it.  When the bell rings at 3pm, I am mentally and physically drained.  (Maybe even a few hours before that).    ;-)
I don't see how they do it.  To come in to work and have a smile on their face each and everyday and to get 21-  5 year olds ready and excited to learn is just amazing to me.   So please, the next time you see a teacher - thank them for the awesome work they do with kids.  It's just amazing to see and be around.  It truly is. 

Thanks to Grammy,  Noah has discovered the wonders of Amazon.com
She showed him how they have tons of Lego sets on there.  So every night he's on there showing us which sets he wants next.   Did you know they have the millennium falcon for only $699.99??  What a bargain!! :-)