Trunk or Treat

Parker - A Secret Agent

Conner - A Police Officer like Uncle BJ

Calissa - A Pirate

Ready to trunk or treat!

My New Home aka Book Fair

This has been my home for the last week and a half. It's been a lot of fun and a lot of work, but I was lucky to also have a lot of volunteers. I'm a little sad it's over, but I'm glad to get back to 'real' life and get ready for our cruise!!The sign on the floor as you walked in the door. I think this was my favorite decoration of the week!

The door.

Lots and lots of books!

More books

Another year down ... three more to go. I don't know what I'll do when Calissa's done at Monte Gardens. What will I do with my October?

Warms my Heart

One of the best things so far this year has been subbing for a special day class at Monte Gardens. The kids and assistants are fabulous, but the best thing is having my kids come over during lunch recess and play with the kids. Calissa and Conner are both learning compassion and to not be worried about differences. Today, both kids were putting the ball on Juan Carlos' lap while he steadied it with his nose and then pushed it off his lap. Then, they would throw it to Ben who doesn't speak, but had a huge smile on his face while the kids played with him. Special kids -- mine and the ones that I teach!

That's the Way the Arm Breaks

I'm sure you've heard sayings like "That's the way the cookie crumbles" or "That's the way the ball bounces" -- i.e., there are things in life that happen, so you might as well expect them. Well, for the Burr family, the saying is: "That's the way the arm breaks." And, once again, an arm has broken.

On the 24th of October, Parker was playing soccer -- running up and down the field with abandon and trying to keep his team in the game. One of his opponents was about to take a shot on goal when Parker jumped in front of the shot, blocking it out of bounds and likely saving a goal. He was only a foot or so from the kick when he blocked it and he went down pretty hard...and then he stayed down. It looked to me like he took most of the impact of the ball in the back, so I figured he probably knocked the wind out of him. Eventually, he got up and went to the sidelines holding his arm. Apparently, when he fell he took most of the impact of the fall with his arm outstretched.

Unlike his previous breaks (yes, this is his 4th -- all the same arm), it wasn't obvious by sight whether or not it was broken. However, the fact that he didn't want to go back in the game was a bad sign. We iced it on the sidelines for the rest of the game and then decided to have it checked out. The next Minor Injury appointment wasn't until the next morning, so Parker and I decided to go see how busy the Emergency Room was.

It didn't look too bad, so we went ahead and got in line. The line was moving very slowly and right as I was about to leave and wait for the morning appointment, we got called to register. Fortunately, there was a football game on ESPN, so the wait wasn't altogether unproductive...OK, I guess watching a football game is still unproductive to some, but it wasn't boring, how's that?

Eventually, we got in, got the X-ray, and sure enough, he had a compression fracture just above the wrist. They casted it and we were on our way. Here's a couple pictures of Parker after we got home -- if he's looking a little tired, it's no wonder since it was past 11:00 pm by now.

We just went back in this past Thursday and the X-ray showed he had a little bit of cracking on the outer edge of the bone, besides the compression fracture. Still not nearly as serious as his other breaks, but enough to have them put on what they called a long short cast instead of a regular short cast. Not sure why they don't just call it a medium cast, but whatever. He can now bend his elbow at least and this one is much lighter. As soon as his cast is off, Parker and I will be practicing the art of falling without breaking anything.

The doctor gave him a note excusing him from PE for a few weeks -- however, the teacher just told him to participate as much as he felt comfortable. So, apparently, he's been playing a little "light" soccer and also still got the fastest time in his grade on the mile run. That's Parker -- and, as they say, that's the way the arm breaks.

Court of Honor

Parker had a court of honor on Tuesday night for the things he's accomplished during the last year. He received a rank advancement to a 1st class scout and received the following merit badges: Astronomy, Swimming, First Aid, Soil & Water, Fish & Wildlife Management, Environmental Science, Mammal Studies, Fingerprinting, and Automotive Maintenance. He also received a BSA Snorkeling patch.

We're proud of all the hard work he's done to get these merit badges! Way to go Parker!!

School Pictures

Well, here they are. The 2009-2010 school pictures. They are growing up very fast!Parker - 7th grade
Conner - 4th grade

Calissa - 2nd grade

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Today was just a normal kind of day. Went to pick the kids up from school. Sent Calissa back to return a shell that she shouldn't have taken out of a planter box. By now, most of the traffic is gone from the neighborhood. We walk to our car parked down the street. Then, we head for home. I ask the kids how their day was and we are chatting as we turn left onto Farm Bureau Rd. All of a sudden Calissa starts screaming about a bug on Conner's neck. "It's moving, it's moving!" she screams. Conner then starts swiping all over his neck. I'm trying to drive and look back over my shoulder and see a GIANT caterpillar on his shoulder. We're talking 3-4 inches long and bigger around than any of my fingers! Calissa is still screaming and saying "don't look at it, don't look at it." Conner is trying to grab whatever it is that she's screaming about and I'm trying not to freak him out while I pull off to the side of the road. I knew that if I panicked, it would be all over for him and I didn't want him freaking out any more than he already was. He kept saying, "where is it, where is it?" while I told him to hold on and I'd get it off. I bravely opened my door, had him get out, grabbed a Kleenex (see Travis it's good we have Kleenex in the car - even if the box slides around while you're driving) and took that sucker off his shoulder. It was sticking on his shirt. I then dropped it on the ground and Conner freaked out a little. I would have freaked out a lot! As it was my stomach hurt the whole way home and Calissa kept saying in a shaky voice - that was so gross! Conner wanted us to get home as fast as we could so he could get out of the car and believe me he kept his eyes peeled for other ones. The question is ... WHERE DID IT COME FROM??? That was one huge caterpillar!!!

(This is not a picture of our caterpillar, but it will have to do ... didn't have my camera with me although I wished I did!)

PS - No more raccoons, but we have had two lizards frequenting the inside of our house. Don't know what it is with us and creeping things, but we must look like an easy sell because they continue to bombard us!