Monday, June 25, 2012

First day of Scout Camp

Today was our first day of Scout Day camp. It was also Keree's first time at camp, so she was super excited. Our day started off with meeting the rest of the girls in our group and making name tags. Then we headed to the main building for a lesson on how to hula. Because of such the long distances and Keree not being able to walk them since her surgery, we had to use her wheelchair to get around. But she was thrilled that she could get out and try a few things. 
 Hula dancing was easy for her to do because most of the movements were done with their hands.
After the lesson was done, we headed back to our unit's pavillion. What was bad was the Unit Leader kept leaving us behind. I mean did she really think that the wheelchair could go over concrete parking lot barriers? I suggested that we stay together and she balked at me. Once we finally caught up, they girls were already in the field with the volcano. Part of us earning our Aloha patch, each unit had to explode a volcano. Keree was so excited that she actually got to take part in the process.
This picture was taken after our volcano blew up, basically it was a bunch of soapy suds coming out of the top.
After the volcano, we headed back and the girls worked on paper bag hula skirts. Actually, this is all we did for the rest of the day. Keree honestly wasn't enjoying herself at this point. The other girls weren't very nice to her (there were 3 that were nice) because of the wheelchair and the Unit Leader didn't help the situation, she honestly made it worse.
 Keree with her finished hula skirt on. She wasn't able to fringe it because they only had one pair of scissors. UGH!!
In the afternoon, we headed back to the main building because they had a taste test of some fruits from Hawaii. Keree didn't like the mango but loved the mushed banana and pineapple. By this time, Keree's foot was super swelled up even though she had barely been on it.
For the end of the day, they had camp races. Because Keree's foot was so swelled up, we opted out of them. I would rather her miss out on one activity then having it swell way too much and miss all week. When we headed home, I told my Mom all the woos we had today, out of Keree's ear shot. My Mom asked Keree how it went and she told my Mom it wasn't fun, which is something you honestly never hear out of Keree's mouth. I just really hope that tomorrow gets better.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

The Giant VBS Musical

Keree couldn't wait to get to the musical this evening. She even made us leave the house almost 1 1/2 hour early to make sure we weren't going to be late. When we arrived, we had quite awhile to wait but finally it was time to drop Keree off with the other kiddos in the choir. 
When she came in, she was at the other end of the line but the Choir director came and moved Keree to the front of the row. She just shined there and I may be a biased Momma but Keree did great. She knew the songs and hand movements and unlike some of the other kiddos she wasn't all over the place (I can't even count how many kids jumped off the steps in the middle of the songs).
 There was over 600 kids in the choir and the church had over 1900 kids in VBS over the course of the week. Which just blows my mind when you consider that they do the entire vacation bible school for free.

After the performance, I cannot even count how many people came up to me and said there were mesmerized by Keree. One older Grandma said that even though her Grandson was close by Keree, she just couldn't take her eyes off of Keree. I honestly was amazed by all the compliments she got.
 After the musical, the church had tons of bouncy houses, which sadly Keree couldn't do. But she was ok with that because instead she got to have snowcones and cotton candy. I swear that the church went through 2-3,000 bags of cotton candy, it was crazy.



Saturday, June 23, 2012

Emotional Saturday

This morning, we all woke up on the wrong side of the bed. My plan for today was to work upstairs, of course, my Mom wanted to work outside all day. So instead, Keree decided to head outside with my Mom, while I worked upstairs. I didn't get as far as I wanted but I'm happy with my progress. While outside, Keree spent her time cleaning off her water toys and then she played a little bit in her water table. After about 2 hours outside, Mom and Keree headed inside. 

So Keree joined me upstairs, so I let her do a few home school assignments. Well after about an hour, Keree needed a little help and as I was helping her, she collapsed into  sobbing. I asked her what was wrong and she said that I was going to yell at her. I have no idea where that came from, so we stopped and tried to play, nope didn't help. Finally, she begged me to hold her and sing Farmer in the Dell. So, I held her tight and sang. After about 2 hours of sobbing uncontrollably, she finally calmed down.
She still couldn't tell me why she started crying in the first place but I'm thinking maybe it has to do with her week at VBS, they talked extensively about orphans and orphanages and I think deep down it  upset her. The previously years, they barely touched on the subject and by the time I found out they were talking about orphanages and orphans it was basically the last day. In the evening, she started talking and asking about her orphanage and how if I hadn't adopted her, she wouldn't have been able to adopt her stuffed Kitty. We took tonight easy, Keree is super excited that she gets to sing tomorrow in the VBS musical, so we practiced the songs and hand movements and also washed several cartoon movies.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Last Day of VBS Musical Practice

Today was the very last day of Vacation Bible School. Needless to say Keree was a little on the sad side that the week was already over.  But on the other hand she was super excited that she was getting to bring her lunch so she could stay for the Musical practice. 
 My Mom and I arrived about 20 minutes before the end of practice. We saw almost the entire show and was amazed at how many kids were in the choir. I marked where Keree was with the Orange arrows because it was so hard to see her otherwise.
 It was so weird because where they had placed Keree in the line-up, there was a spotlight that came right down on her. It literally made her look like she was the star of the choir. Also the little boy next to her, totally was had a crush on her. He kept trying to hold her hand and everything it was so cute because Keree was having none of it.
 After practice got done, we headed home. It was super hot and miserable but all Keree wanted to do was watch the movies we took of the practice. So she spent the night practicing the songs and hand movements.


Thursday, June 21, 2012

Fourth Day of VBS

Keree was so excited when she got out of VBS to show off her sticker. She loves that she's old enough this year to stay later tomorrow to practice for the musical. On her sticker it says to remember to bring a sack lunch. Well being that you have to bring something that can't be refrigerated, has to be thrown away and can't be nut related. It was hard to come up with something that wasn't going to spoil in 107 degree heat. Finally we decided to just send some jello and cheezit cracker mix. Then we decided that we would just have a real lunch after we picked her up. 
 Being that today was basically the last day of VBS, Keree made a windsock and also got her VBS certificate of completion. Once we got home, we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening trying to stay cool. Honestly, I have to say it would have been nice to have a/c today because it seemed like all the fans were doing was blowing the 106 degree hot air at us. But we all agree, we are lucky to at least have fans and plenty of ice water to drink.


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

VBS Day 3

Today Keree said that they learned about needs today in VBS. She said that they talked about if Baby Jesus was alive today what would he need. They even had to draw a picture of it, which Keree drew a bib, bottle and spoon. They also made a suncatcher with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus on it.
 Then this evening, we had our Scout meeting. I'm not sure what was going on but most of the Mom's seemed a little grumpy and basically snapped at my Mom (aka our Leader). We had planned a few super easy crafts to finish up the journey along with our book. And basically the night was, why do we have to do this or that. Seriously, this is suppose to be the girls doing the activities and having fun. Keree made her own recycled soda bottle flower. She did all the cutting and decorating herself. Which it makes me sad when the other Mom's don't let their girls do it and take over the project. 
This is our group with their finished service project. They made birdhouses to hang outside in the trees for our local retirement community. The Girls are so super proud of their birdhouses because they painted them all by themselves.




Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Day Two of VBS

Keree was excited again to head out to VBS. Her day started with them practicing their singing for the big musical. Then they pretended to visit Austria. They also learned about how God likes for people to celebrate and make a joyful noise. So they made musical instruments, some made horns, while Keree chose to make cymbals. They also made foam airplanes, which Keree tried to fly and it didn't work to well. 


Monday, June 18, 2012

First day of VBS

Today was Keree's first day of Vacation Bible School. We don't attend the one held at our church because it's so expensive ($40 a child). Plus, growing up, I always attended the Baptist Church's VBS because that was the church my Grandparents attended even though they weren't that religion. But back to Keree, she's been looking forward to VBS all year because this year meant she was old enough to sing in the musical!  This morning when we arrived, they started practicing their singing and she was downright giddy. Today they pretended to visit Brazil, Keree said that they painted a picture of the ocean. They also learned about one of the church's many missions they support in South America.
After VBS, we headed over to the Library to have Keree's reading log stamped. For her weekly prize, she decided to choose a foam donut.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Stormy, Humid, Super Hot Sunday

Last night, we had a few storms come thought. Honestly, they didn't seem so bad but when we arrived we saw this. Thank goodness for once this wasn't our tent but our neighbors. The winds completely mangled this double tent. The only thing we ran into was a few puddles in our covered pavilion space. Didn't hurt anything except one box got wet. When he and his mother arrived, I helped him move his tent and get the tarp off of it. 
 This was our booth space, there was plenty of space and didn't take us long to set-up in the morning. We even had enough time that Keree did some homeschool work in the morning.
 Of course, today was another record breaking heat day. Keree had pigtail braids but eventually I pinned them up so they were off her neck. It was miserable out there and sales were slow.
 Then the heat got to us. Keree and I made scary face at each other.
Since everyone was packing up 2-3 hours early, we finally packed up about an hour before the ending. Keree was thankful to head home because today was also her stuffed Kitty's birthday. Last year we held a huge birthday party for KittyKitty, complete with a picnic lunch and cake. This year it was a little more low key. But we still remembered to sing Happy Birthday to KittyKitty. We also talked with Great-Great and YeYe and they sang Happy Birthday to KittyKitty too. They said we was so polite when we meowed back to him, then Keree got on the phone and translated what he said.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Hot Saturday

This morning, we were up super, bright and early to set-up for our flea market booth. We were surprised at how quickly we were set up but was shocked also that even though it didn't open till 9am, there were customers at 6am. It was super hot and it got close to 100. Luckily, we had a fan and Keree stayed in front of it most of the time. Keree was also excited because at the store, I found Bacon Jerky. I know it's probably not the healthiest but she loves jerky and she loves her bacon even more. She practically ate the entire package in one sitting. Otherwise, we did walk around a little bit, we bought some new cookbooks that peeked our interest for a quarter and then we sat there and read them. There wasn't too many people buying but I honestly wasn't expecting alot between the heat and a holiday weekend. 

Friday, June 15, 2012

Homeschool & Brave Lunch

 Once we got up this morning, we had to run to our storage unit and load the van for tomorrow's flea market sale. By the time we got done, it was almost 11a, so we decided to stop by Subway for lunch. Keree was so excited to get a Brave tote bag. She is downright giddy and can't wait to see the movie. I'm thinking Brave and Merida is going to give Rapunzel a run for it's money in our house.
That afternoon and into the evening, we decided to try out the new free online curriculum. I've decided to give it a try this summer and see where she is in August. I started her at first in the Kindergarten level just to see it and thought maybe for a review but realized it was way to simple. So, I jumped her up to the 1st grade level and even though she's breezing through it, I really don't want to jump her up another grade level just yet. She's really enjoying it and other than having to print the worksheets, it seems to be going well. 

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Decisions and Tagging

We spent today mostly working on tagging and getting ready for the sale this weekend. In the afternoon, I spent some time researching homeschooling curriculum options. I am trying my best for Keree not to go back to public school for first grade. I was so disappointed by how little she learned in Kindergarten and since I was already supplementing her learning, why not just keep her home. I think I'm leaning towards one of the many free online options there are and then supplementing with anything else that interests us.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Summer Movie

Even though I was exhausted from the drive yesterday, we had already made plans to meet Keree's friend at the movies. So we were up early to make sure we got our ticket to the Free movie today. It was nice to get to visit with Keree's friend Alicia's Mom and it was nice for Keree and Alicia to get to spend some time together. This was the most time they spent together since they got out of school, so they really missed each other. Today's free movie was Zookeeper. It was a little more on the adult side than a kids movie...but it was still cute and funny. As for the rest of our day, we spent it getting ready for a flea market this weekend. Since we live in such a bad place to have a yard sale, it seemes like a good idea. I'm really hope we do well because we have alot of stuff to sale. 


Monday, June 11, 2012

Summer Reading & Dancing

This morning we got up bright and early, so we could be at the Library as soon as it opened. Keree was so excited to pick out her first prize of the Summer Reading program. It was a squishy slice of cake. We also turned in her book report. Then we tried to find the secret hidden poem and tired to guess the pictures of the candy. 
 This evening we had Irish Step dancing. This week, we were suppose to have two teachers so the class could be split up and learn more. Needless to say, there was two teachers but one teacher worked with the new girl and the rest of the girls were grouped together still. Which made it bad since the two bully sisters, were still stuck with Keree. I had really hoped with the new Teacher that Keree would be seperated from them. Two more classes and then have to decide to continue or not. Since it was so hot, I decided not to cook and we stopped off and picked up a pizza.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Summer Library Reading

We missed the original sign-up date for the summer Library reading program. It was on Monday, so signing up on Thursday of the same week, isn't so bad. Luckily, that means we missed the rush of Mom comparing how many books there kids have already read and sizing up the competition. Unfortunately, that also meant we missed all the fun activites that you had to RSVP for. That's ok, most of them involved junk food and that's really not how we roll around here. Now if it was a veggie or fruit activity, like build the Library's largest Veggie tray instead of build the Library's largest Ice Cream Sundae, then Keree would have been bummed out. 
After signing up at the Library, we headed off to the store. Keree is almost obsessed as much with the new Brave movie, as she is with Rapunzel. So, I had saved all the money and gift cards she got from her Birthday in February for her to use this summer or for her to keep saving. Well today, she decided to use her Birthday money. She got a small Merida that lets you change her clothes, the three Brother who turn into bears and finally the larger Merida but not the Princess one, Keree wanted the Archery Merida. 
 She spent the entire day playing with Merida, here she is taking her for a piggy back ride. She also loves the fact that you can kinda shoot the bow and arrow. Keree also loves the fact that she has Irish Step dancing shoes on, so she also was making Merida practice the steps with her.


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Summer Movie

 This morning, since Keree has been so good during all the chaos, we decided to take advantage of our local movie theatres free summer movies. They also have a special that if you sign up for their free movie rewards card, every Wednesday you get a free medium popcorn. I couldn't believe how much that bag of popcorn would have cost us ($7.00) and it was stuffed full. We came home with two bags that were both more than 1/2 full.  I was a little hesistant for Keree to see Kung Fu Panda 2 because I had heard many reviews from other Adoptive parents and so it made my extra cautious. But instead, I decided we would just go for it. I wasn't sure what to expect but other than a little intense section when Po finally remember how he ended up in the radish crate, it wasn't anything Keree couldn't handle. She was a little curious at the thought Po's birth father was still alive at the end. After the movie ended, we talked about  what she thought of the movie. She said her favorite part was after Po remember and he went back to fight with the Furious Five and he goes in slow motion "I love you guys."
After the movie, Keree got one more treat. We had a free $10 gift certificate to K0hls. My Mom was hoping she would pick out some clothes but instead, she saw this soccer ball with Rapunzel on it. The final total with tax was $10.49, so we paid a whooping 49 cents for Keree's new soccer ball. To top off our day before heading home to move and pack some more stuff. We had a coupon and got a free lunch from Wendy's. 

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Venus journey across the Sun

We spent the day moving and packing like we have done for basically the last week. Finally we sat down for a few minutes to rest. So we watched awhile on television and the internet Venus moving across the sun but finally Keree had to take her telescope outside and see for herself. Luckily, I have a very strong filter (part of an old welding helmet) that I was able to place across the telescope so she could watch. 
I tried to take some pictures of this once in a lifetime event but couldn't get anything decent. 
 Of course, Keree also thought she needed some sunglasses because the sun was so bright.


 Keree loved using her telescope that her Uncle had gotten her two Christmases ago.
I found this pic on the web that better showed Venus moving across the sun. It was amazing to watch and to share it with my daughter.