Girls Night Out!

It was a girls night out! I went to a Martina McBride concert with Beth and Christina at Nissan Pavilion tonight. It was quite a change from the Jonas Brothers concert. We had a great time - Martina is an amazing singer. John Michael Caroll and Jack Ingram opened for her - you country fans will know them. They were both really good and we had terrific seats. We parked in the VIP section and were out of there in less than ten minutes. It poured down rain, so luckily we were under the pavilion - although we still got wet. We had a lot of fun....thanks girls!

Mmmm...chick drinks!

Martina was incredible.
We were so close to the stage.
John Michael Caroll - sings the sad song Alisa Lies.
Jack Ingram was a great performer.

Hello!

Brownie Bear came to visit from Ms. Beth's.

Emma and her new baby doll-bribery for staying all night at a sleepover!
My sweet little Indy!
Owen finished his 550 piece Lego set! Got to love those meds!
Our tiger scout!

Hey everybody. I know it's been a while. It has been a crazy week. Between soccer, back to school night, and sleepovers, it seems like it's been a very quick week. Nothing too exciting to write about. Owen joined cub scouts and is an official tiger scout. He had his first pack meeting Friday night and he had a blast. Jonathan was a long time scout, so he's very excited for Owen to make some fun memories like he did. Jonathan even volunteered to help with the troop. Not only will we be selling peanuts and girl scout cookies, but now we'll add popcorn to the list! Ug!

Emma went to a birthday party and had a sleepover at her friends house. We're very proud of her. She was having some serious separation anxiety issues and was having difficulty leaving us to go to friends houses. She was a little hesitant, but she made it through the night and had a great time. We're still going to counseling, so hopefully it will continue to help. Logan is still obsessed with Indiana Jones. As Jonathan points out - Logan is much more obsessed than Jonathan was with Star Wars at that age. Oh geez...is that possible?!? We got him his Indy costume for Halloween and he wore it all weekend. He walks around with his fake whip, singing the theme song - all the time!!! As soon as I can find the cord to the video camera, I will try to download it. It is too funny!

Owen has been busy with soccer. We're having a difficult time with his coach - not showing up on time (or at all), so I have been out there trying to help. Go ahead and laugh...me helping with soccer. It is a joke. Fortunately, there have been a few dads (and moms) willing to help out, so it's the blind leading the blind. Oh well. The boys are having fun - although I am getting tired of watching them get their butts kicked every week!!!

That's about it from the McElwain household. Until next time....

Twins Day

This week at school is Spirit Week. Every day the kids are to dress in certain ways. Monday was mismatch day and today was twin day. Tomorrow the kids are to wear their favorite college wear, Thursday is dress to look like what you want to be when you grow up, and Friday is wear your school colors. Today was twin day. Owen and his friend Jack dressed alike and Emma and her friend Mary dressed alike. They looked too cute. Even I had a twin!!! Too fun!

A Little Bit of This...A Little Bit of That!

Owen has become quite a master lego builder. He practically put this set together all by himself. Daddy and I helped him with a few things, but he did most of it after school in the evenings while I cooked dinner. He was very proud of himself. Today we went to Potomac Mills and the boys got a chance to build part of a giant Yoda lego statue. It was pretty neat. There were bricks set up at a bunch of tables and the kids (and adult kids) could build sets of bricks that they would use in the giant Yoda. Afterwards, they got a certificate and a Star Wars poster. (Owen also managed to talk us into buying him a new Lego set!) It was a lot of fun.
Even Logan made a brick! (Check out the Indiana Jones hat!)
Owen had his first soccer game today. He did great - ran his heart out, but his team was creamed! Oh well, they had a good time.
Poor Max - tortured again. This poor cat is held, squeezed and tortured and he just takes it. The kids "love" him so much. I swear you can read his mind in the picture!
Logan is Indiana obsessed! We ordered this hat off of ebay for him and he wears it everywhere. The best part is that he sings the theme song along with it. Can you guess what he is going to be for Halloween?! I bet you can't guess what his birthday theme is going to be?! Now, look at the next picture and guess what he wants to be when he grows up!!!!

This was a page in his All About Me book that he made this week at school. I thought it was too precious! Love the hat on Indy!

We didn't forget about Emma. She went to her friend Mary's for a sleepover. It's almost 11:00 and we haven't received a phone call to come pick her up yet. Hopefully she'll make it through the night without missing us too much. She's been going through this stage where she won't leave our sides. I just want her to stop worrying so much and have fun being a kid.

Hope you all had a good weekend!

SOS - Save Our Schools

Well, we survived another week of school. It was another successful week. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but so far this has been the smoothest start to school ever. I have such a wonderful class, the kids are happy, and our schedule is light. Maybe having only one activity is making a difference. It's a good thing only Owen is playing soccer right now, because Jonathan and I will be attending many meetings over the next month or so. Right now, there is a study and a committee has been formed about whether or not to close Stafford Elementary and Stafford Middle. There are several other schools also on the list, but these two are near and dear to us. So, I've been to two information meetings this week. Monday was about the middle school. It is possible that they could close it as early as next year. Meaning, Emma would have to go to a new middle school and there goes the idea of us buying a house near the school. If they choose to close Stafford Elementary, it could be as soon as Logan is starting kindergarten. We don't know where I would be employed or where the kids would have to go to school. It is such an emotional and scary process. I sat through those meetings listening to their justification of closing schools and the bottom line is money. They don't care that some kids will be on the bus for 80 minutes (one way!!!!), or that there will be no sense of community for our schools (SES and Stafford Middle are right down the road from one another). It's all about politics and money. It's very hard for me not to get emotional about it. I'm going to sit down this weekend and write my letters to the Board of Supervisors and the School Board - I don't know what else to do. I always thought my kids and I would stay at Stafford Elementary. Let's just hope they realize that they can't put a price on a child's education!

Hurricane Fun!

So, the kids got the idea to make boats and float them in the ditch in front of our house. We said, Why Not?! Everybody loves to play in the rain! They had a blast or should I say splash?!! The neighbors probably think we are crazy, but oh well! The boats went really well (although the sails didn't last long) and the kids had fun getting soaked. Afterwards, we came inside, changed and had some hot cocoa. Hope you enjoyed the rain too!

First Day of School

Ready for school!

Logan...not so happy to have his picture taken!Emma and Mr. Stonebreaker
Owen and Mrs. Carr

Logan showing off his school work from the day!

Well, we survived the first day of school! It was actually a very good day. I think we had the smoothest first day ever. The kids were excited this morning and pretty cooperative. Emma was a bit apprehensive - she was unsure if she would like a male teacher. Logan did fine when I dropped him at Ms. Beth's. He wouldn't cooperate for a picture, but I knew he was glad to be back with his friends. He is the only boy in his group - Logan and five girls - just like Owen had when he went to Ms. Beth's. Hopefully the girls will set him straight. He loved doing his school work and he couldn't wait to do his "homework" when he got home tonight. Emma loves her teacher. She seems much more relaxed and she really enjoyed her day. She too came home ready and willing to do her homework tonight. If only the excitement would last all year! Owen also had a good day. He is really growing up. It was nice seeing him at lunch and on the playground. He may not like it, but I do! I also had a great day. I have a really nice class and as of right now...I only have 19 students!!!! I think it's going to be a great year!