Great Debate

In a classical education debate is a part of the curriculum.  In 7th grade, students start to learn about debate in their Logic class.  Isn't this appropriate since they are so into arguing about EVERYTHING at this age:) Zachary was paired up with another student, Alexia Amick for the first great debate.  The topic was should dogs be leashed or unleashed in public.  Zachary and Alexia won the debate!  They both worked very hard and did an excellent job.  

Brian turns 38

OLD!!!!

State Winner!!!

A few months ago Olivia decided (on her own) to enter a DAR writing contest through Granite Classical Tutorials.  The assignment was to write a story as if you were coming to America, aboard a boat from another country, entering at Ellis Island.  Olivia read multiple books and then set to work on writing.  Her original piece was over a 1,000 words long.  The assignment only allowed for 300-600 words.  Brian helped her cut it down to the 600 word max. 
Olivia's story won at the chapter level and then went on to the state level.  Guess what?  She won for her age group at the state level. She was recognized at a lovely luncheon that DAR invited us too. She received a medal as well as a check for $250 (which she had no idea was coming).  It was a joy and an honor to see her hard work being recognized and to see that smile on her face when she found out money was involved as well!  So proud of her!

In the top picture on the right is the lady in charge of the essay writing contest and on the left Mrs. Dolly Myers from DAR as well as Granite.

Sticky or sweet?

It's all in your perspective, right?  When I first opened the fridge and saw yet another mess to deal with I was annoyed and frustrated.  But then I realized this is NOT a big deal Heather.  Most of life is sticky but you can almost always find a sweet spot.  

Mornings

One thing has become VERY special around our house.  It is simply this - who gets to sit and hold Jake on their lap while he eats his morning breakfast.  It is such a precious time.  He is happy, LOVES cereal and it's so cool to watch him.  He makes these creations that we all marvel at.  Usually mixing multiple cereals together and then enjoying them to the fullest!  A must have is raisins (from the Raisin Bran only m- might have something to do with the sugar on those raisins). So here are a few pictures captured while I was holding Jake on my lap enjoying breakfast.

And did I mention the bubble blowing in his milk?  He learned early how cool that was!  XOXO

Peabody

One of my closest friends is going back to school - for the clarinet - she attends Peabody in Baltimore. One of her requirements is to put on a recital.  So on Feb. 2, 2015 she invited us to attend and listen. It was a joy.  She is SO gifted and plays beautifully.  Olivia, Ella and Bunny went with me.  Before the recital we were able to sneak a peak at the Peabody Library.  It is gorgeous!!!

Here are a few pictures that were taken with my phone.

Ummm gross...

So when your son's umbilical cord falls off when he's about 4-5 weeks old and you can't find it you assume the dog ate it, right? Well, we found it - WHEN HE WAS 15 MONTHS OLD!  Umm, yeah gross.  It was in our chair, in our family room, all those months.