SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!!!!!!

I never thought this school year would end. We have all had a hard time adjusting to the VA school system. We came from a school that taught kids to think and problem solve to a school that is run like a military academy, sit down shut up and memorize 400 years of VA history.

It was tough going there for a while, home schooling was a hot topic, but we found our way. The girls made lots of new friends and I got to know the staff pretty well. Best of all, we all learned how to think and problem solve in ways we never had before.

Who's My Favorite Sister?

Every family has its quirks, one of ours is "who is the favorite?" To be fair I'll say the sister that visits the most will be the fav. Right now that
sis is Joan. She surprised me and flew down in January, and in March she came with Mark and my Mother. This is us at Virginia Beach.

2nd Place

The girls took home a prize - again (insert best Forrest Gump voice).

G (age 9) and A (age 7) got 2nd place in the 9 to 12 age group at the Chalk Festival this past weekend. We just found out because the award ceremony was cancelled due to tropical storm Barry dumping about 4 inches of rain on us, and our newspaper only comes once a week. It's one of the charms of smalltown living.

If you scroll down you can see the pictures.

For Lauren

Chalk Fest '07

This weekend was the first ever Chalk Fest in Gloucester. It cost $10.00 for a spot and the chalk was provided. The girls decided to share an area. Tony and I were happy about that because it was 90 degrees with no shade in sight. The theme was Pocahontas. The girls chose to draw Pocahontas swimming with two turtles, some fish, and a hot pink crab. The animal on the grass is a beaver. G & A had so much fun they don't even care if they win a prize. Next year we will bring an umbrella.

The second pic was done by some world famous chalk artist. I forgot his name.

Senior Skip Day

As some of you may know the last Friday before finals is senior skip day. To celebrate this great tradition Tony took the day off and we headed for Busch Gardens (without the girls) to ride the new roller coaster. It was awesome! If you'd like to get a better look go to www.buschgardens.com and there is a video you can watch.


I'm not sure if we were having old paranoia about skipping school or what but when we got to BG a helicopter was flying circles over the parking lot.

We really didn't think too much about it on the way in but when we left BG there it was circling our car in the parking lot. Have you seen the movie Good Fellas?

We had a good laugh and headed home not thinking twice about it. But, as we crossed the York River Tony noticed another helicopter!

Coincidence? I think not.

1st PLACE

Gracie won 1st prize and a check for $75.00 at the "From Whence We Came" art show! She recently learned to quill at the local art school. To quill you roll thin strips of colored paper and manipulate them into whatever you want to. It's hard to see the detail in these photos but if you look close you can see a horseshoe crab, starfish, and snails on the seaweed. Gracie is planning on investing her winnings in a new Littlest Pet Shoppe and Tamagotchi. Gracie also has the chance to win $200 in September for the peoples choice awards.