Primary Program

Last Sunday was our Primary Sacrament Program. The Primary did an excellent job with the program. It was well organized and well executed. Andrew gave a talk about preparing to go to the temple. He did a great job with it. He spoke clearly and was very professional. In fact, the Primary President told Kevin that Andrew would be president one day--of the USA that is. Marin sang the second verse of Tell Me the Stories of Jesus with her friends. They were so cute and have the voices of angels. Her class also shared a poem about being baptized like Jesus with hand motions. They looked so precious. Too bad I don't have pictures. It was a very nice program.

Grandparents/Special Friend Day at School

Each year, the school has a Grandparents/Special Friends day at school. The grandparents or a special friend is invited to visit each child in their classroom for about 45 minutes. The teacher has discretion as to what they want to do during that time. Then there is a musical program that the K-2 graders put on, followed by one for 3-5th graders. It is only about 20 minutes long. Each grade sings a couple of songs. Then there is a reception area with donuts, coffee and muffins for the visitors. It is very cute. This year, the Harker grandparents were going to be out of town so Keri and Lisa were invited to be the special friends. Andrew wanted Lisa to come to his class and Marin wanted Keri. I hopped back and forth between the two so I could see them both. Andrew's class sang a very cute song twice so that some of the late visitors got to hear it. Marin's class made hand puppets. They both did well in the musical program. Andrew really belted it out. I could hear him above all the other second graders. In fact, so could one of his soccer teammate's mom. She said she did not realize how loud Andrew could sing.

Halloween Sugar Cookies

For each major holiday, I usually make sugar cookies and then let them decorate some. This year for Halloween I thought it would be fun to do Chocolate Sugar Cookies. I have always been a traditionalist when it comes to sugar cookies but I wanted to be a little spooky for the holiday. Marin really liked the choice of chocolate. Andrew said that he prefers regular sugar cookies. You can't please them all. They tasted pretty good, especially with a light covering of cream cheese frosting--think chocolate cheesecake. I am getting hungry just posting. Anyway, I made the dough while the kids were at school and started baking them before they came home. I know, I took away the learning opportunities of fractions and measurements and all the other stuff. I also took away all the mess and the fighting that comes with letting them make the dough. So for Family Home Evening we decorated the cookies. The kids were allotted 5 cookies each to decorate to take in their lunches for the week. They did quite well. It was a fun evening and nobody made a mess.

Oregon Zoo with Andrew's Class

I chaperoned the trip to the zoo with Andrew's class. Actually, it was all the first and second grade classes that went. I was assigned to Andrew, Eli, Savanna, and Kristen. They were a pretty good group. They stayed together well. They didn't fight with one another and generally got along. We were free to roam around the zoo to whatever we wanted to see. I think we got around to all of the exhibits. One highlight was at Lorikeet Landing. I had bought a cup of nectar for the kids to take turns feeding to the birds. Andrew took the first turn. He was so scared when the birds were dive bombing him that he dropped the nectar and no one else got a chance to feed them. Like mother like son. I hate birds. They scare me to death. Anyway, we got some great pictures of the kids and nobody was the worse for wear. In fact, I am still going to continue to volunteer for field trips because I enjoy being involved in the school.

Board Breaking

Since Andrew is now a blue belt in Taekwondo, he is eligible to break boards in class. He doesn't have to break any for advancement in rank until he is 14 years old but he can practice. He was very excited when he got the opportunity to break a board in class. He didn't break it on his first try, but he got it his second try.

The Pumpkin Patch

We decided to go to Sauvie Island to the pumpkin patch with the rest of the Harkers. It was a beautiful day out there. It was quite busy trying to cross the bridge to the island but well worth it. Everyone had fun. Andrew, Grandpa, Keri and Charlie put pumpkins in the slingshot--I think Keri had the closest shot to the open pumpkin mouth. We went for a hay ride. We picked pumpkins. Marin went down a big inflatable slide. We ate carmel apples. All in all, it was a blast. The only thing missing was Kevin. He had to work. Poor Kevin.

Blue Belt

Andrew tested for his blue belt in Taekwondo and passed. He was so proud of himself. He has been wanting his blue belt for a while now. He has tested opposite the same girl, three of the four times he has tested. It is a running joke now with him. He did his form really well and had some nice moves while he was sparring. We are very proud of our sweet Andrew and hope that he continues on with Taekwondo. It has been really great for him.