September 2017

School is off to a good start so far.  The 4th week begins tomorrow and we have been keeping pretty busy already.

Last weekend, on Friday night, the Girl Scouts went to scouting night at Clark's Elioak Farm.  We love that place and will always take any opportunity to visit there.  It was a fun night for all the girls.  The Farm has a new train, but it wasn't running that night, so I think we'll be making one more trip before the end of the season to ride the new train, and take a hayride and pick our pumpkins.

On Saturday of last weekend, we went to another one of our favorite places, the Days End Farm Horse Rescue.  It was their Fall Festival and this is one of our favorite events.  The work they do at the farm is amazing and we are happy to support them.  They offer a wrist band for rides and games, so if you buy the wrist band, you can do as many as you want.  Jocelyn did no less than 6 horse rides, and played the games until she had earned enough tickets to get the prize she wanted!!

By far, her favorite ride was on Officer Barney.  He is a beautiful HUGE horse that is a retired Baltimore Police horse.  He lives the life of spoiled luxury at the farm.  This is not the first time we've met him.  Last year Jocelyn got to brush him during Scouting day.  He loved all the attention!!  But at the Fall Festival, she got to ride him.  How do you think she was feeling about that??

Over the last few years, we have been following the story of Quest and Rio, two horses brought onto the farm after they were discovered severely abused and neglected.  No one had taken care of their hooves in years.  I had no idea that they grow like finger nails and have to be trimmed and cared for regularly.   Both the horses had hooves so long they could barely move.  They weighed about 30 pounds a piece.

Rio had been adopted about a year and a half ago, but on the day of the Fall Festival, Quest's adoption was announced and he was presented to his new owner.  It was so heartwarming to see how far he has come since he was rescued - and since the first time we saw him on the farm.  There wasn't a dry eye in the bleachers.  Including mine...

Our fall will include many other fun events. We already have planned lots of Girl Scout activities, including another visit to the Horse Rescue Farm for Scouting Day.  So stay tuned!

First Day of School - 4th Grade

On September 5, 2017, Jocelyn headed back on the bus for her first day of 4th grade.  I can't believe how time flies!  We had the longest summer ever, 11 weeks!  And it still seemed to go by in a blink!

Jocelyn has two primary teachers this year.  Ms. Rachel Dorchak is her Homeroom, Math and Science teacher, and Ms. Helen Lee is her Language Arts and Social Studies teacher.  It's a bit of a change for her in the way her daily schedule is laid out, but she seems to be adjusting to it pretty well.  

So far, they haven't had any homework, so it's been a more relaxed transition in the evenings, but the homework starts tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.  I've been assured it's not supposed to be as painful as in past years.  We shall see.

My beautiful girl is off into the big world again.  I manage to fill my days just fine with things to do around the house, and with volunteering at school and as Girl Scout Junior Leader this year.  It's hard to believe I have a 4th grader, but as always, I'm so proud of her!

Summer 2017

Another summer has come and gone, and once again, I find myself missing my girl so much when she gets on that bus every day.

We had a great summer as usual.  We spent a few days in Butler, PA with Pat's family.  And we went to the Pittsburgh Zoo for the day.

We went swimming many times with these kiddos.

 Jocelyn and Colin had a blast at a Pottery and Art Camp.

Jocelyn had her first official sleepover with her best buddy Kate.  I think we're still trying to recover from the sleep deprivation!

We watched the solar eclipse.  It was about 80% for us!

We went back to Patapsco State Park with friends -  Ayaka, Lily, and Colin.  And my friends - Ann, Kinu and Nicki.  It was like a MOMS Club reunion!

We made our traditional trip for pedicures!

And for the first time in years, we decided to bring Jocelyn and brave Kids Weekend at the the MD Renaissance Festival.  We had a blast!

We made a visit to the MD State Fair.  Jocelyn's new favorite ride is the bumper cars.  She's vicious!

We also got back into our Passport Howard County History Tour.  They updated it a bit this year to include a number of places we had never been too, like the original HoCo Jailhouse, the Lisbon Hotel, Whipps Cemetery, and the Benjamin Banneker House and Farm.  Jocelyn wanted to go to every location this year.  We have two left!

School started later this year.  They didn't go back until September 5th.  Once again I've said goodbye to my sidekick and hope she has a great year in 4th grade.  I'm already busy with my long list of things I want to get done, and I'm hoping that we ALL have a good year this year.

Last Day of 3rd Grade

The last day of 3rd Grade has come and gone.  Another year has gone by.  It was a tough year, but we got through it, and now the summer begins!

Jocelyn said goodbye to Mrs. Jennifer Incavido her homeroom teacher, and Mrs. Sonia Hurd her math teacher, as well as Ms. Janice her favorite bus driver.

Last Day photos...

Last trip on the bus as a 3rd grader.  

When the kids got off the bus in the afternoon, they were greeted with a water balloon fight!  What a great way to end the year!

Day one of summer break...  the usual suspects!  These kids should look pretty familiar by now.  We'll be seeing a lot of them this summer between swimming, play dates and our history tour.  It's going to be another great summer with my side kick.  I admit my heart jumps for joy every time I look in the back seat of my car, and see her smiling back at me, ready for our next adventure.  I'm excited about summer break and I'm excited I get to spend it with my girl.  Summer here we come!

The Brownie Years

This past week was the final Girl Scouts event for this year.  Jocelyn is officially a Junior.  Considering the rough first year as a Daisy, the last couple of years in Brownies have made up for it.  We love the troop we're in.  And I say we, because, no surprise, I've been the co-leader this year.  Next year I will be the leader, with assistance from a couple parents.

Anyway, this post isn't about my experience in GSs.  :)

At the end of the year, Jocelyn's vest is full.  I could barely wedge in the last badge.  Thankfully bridging to Juniors, means a new vest!  I've seen girls wear vest extenders and layered badges.  That may be in her future!

This is her Brownie vest.  

Front...

Includes badges and the summit pin for completing all 3 Journeys (she was one of only 3 girls to finish all 3!), and 7 legacy badges.

Back...

Includes badges for field trips, events, cookie sales, and camping - at least her version of camping!  Every fun patch represents a memorable experience.

That is two years worth of accomplishments and stories we will treasure, and I've loved being able to be with her through it all.  Look out Juniors!  Here we come!

Time Flys

Somewhere along the line, I lost a few months...

It's hard to believe Jocelyn's year in 3rd grade will be over in a week from today.  It's been a tough year.  I always strive to get something accomplished during each school year.  In past years, I've painted our bathroom, made a huge quilt, and rearranged kids rooms.
This year...
My accomplishment was survival.

In the fall, I tore the meniscus in my knee and eventually had surgery to repair it.  In December Pat (not so willingly) changed jobs.  His car needed to be replaced in January.   And we've all had our share of medical issues since then.

Frankly, at this point, I'm a bit relieved that it's coming to an end and I have high hopes for a fun filled summer with my girl.

Third grade has been the most challenging of all for Jocelyn.  There was a strong emphasis on writing and spelling.   Writing mechanics and handwriting have not been her strengths.  But she's come a LONG way since August.  She has an incredible imagination and her stories are amazing, but we spent a lot of time this year focusing on the areas she needed the most help with, and she has improved a great deal.  This summer we will need to do some school work to keep up those skills, because who knows what 4th grade will bring.

And speaking of 4th grade... how did my baby girl become an almost 4th grader???  I think I blinked!  
As for the last few months, (other than surviving!) we've been our usual busy selves.  This has been a great year in Girl Scouts.  This is Jocelyn's second year as a Brownie.  This was my first year as co-leader.  Next year she becomes a Junior and I will become the leader.  She has had so many great experiences with GSs this year.  She's gone to lots of weekend events, earned a ton of patches, and she's one of only 3 girls that finished all 3 Brownie Journeys!  I'm so proud of her!

It's a good thing she's bridging to Juniors because there's no more room on her vest!















Among many fun events, the girls had a field trip to the Robinson Nature Center.  And Jocelyn and Daddy went to the Me and My Guy Dance with the Girl Scouts.

A few photos of other things we've enjoyed this spring...

We spent a day at the Catoctin Zoo with the usual suspects!  :)

And proudly walked the March of Dimes Walk-a-thon with them again this year.

Jocelyn and I did a Mommy Daughter Day at the National Aquarium including a Behind the Scenes Shark Tour.  In the photo below she is holding the tooth from a Megalodon Shark and a tooth from today's typical great white shark!  Big difference!

 And this tree should look familiar.  It's the Dogwood in our back yard that for some odd reason, only blooms every two years.  The first photo is Jocelyn age 1 and then this year age 9.  What a difference!

In one week, summer break will start.  It's been a long school year for all of us.  I'm so looking forward to days with my side kick.  We'll have the times for school practice, but there's also going to be so much fun to come!  We are doing the history tour again.  Jocelyn is signed up for some really fun camps.  There's always swimming, play dates, and visits to the library.  But most of all, I look forward to spending time with my girl.  I do miss her during the school year.  Come on summer!!

Family pictures

I forgot to post these.  We had photos taken in January of all 5 of us.  Our photographer is AMAZING!!  We can't decide what our favorites are!

Since it was close to Jocelyn's 9th birthday, Gus got in the game!

I love this guy!

Our photographer does such an amazing job capturing her personality!

Of course, one of my definite favorites!