February 25, 2006

It's been an interesting week. The girls continue to be a joy, and to fill our lives with laughter. For instance, Kayla had a meeting with some catfish this week! Some friends of ours from Mississippi brought us back some fresh catfish last Christmas, and I asked Jennifer to fix it this week. When she did, she also fried up some chicken. The girls, not really being very observant, assumed it was ALL chicken. When we sat down to eat, Jennifer placed a piece of catfish on each of the girls' plates. Kayla was in LOVE! She was enraptured by the "chicken." She said, "Mom, this is so good that you could fix it EVERY DAY FOR A WEEK!" She begged for more and more and more!!! When we finally told her it was catfish, her face fell. She was crushed. She felt betrayed by our "treachery." However, she was informed in short order that we'd have none of this "It's okay, but I don't really want to eat anymore" stuff, and that she was expected to eat catfish WITHOUT COMPLAINT!!! Today, she informed us that it was no wonder she had confused the two--CATFISH TASTES LIKE CHICKEN!!!

Kayla also received the "Good Citizen of the Month" award for her grade. We are very proud of her, and she is leaving big shoes for her sister to fill. She attended the arraignments of several juveniles, and was greatly saddened by the plights in which they found themselves. She was very impressed at the kids in shackles. After her visit, she was required to write a letter to the Judge, thanking him for allowing them to visit and for meeting with her class and answering questions.

Sierra lost a tooth this week. The "Tooth Fairy" at our house is not very quick at compensating the children for lost teeth. Sierra was quite disappointed after day one, and no appearance had been made. She was even more worried on Day Two when she couldn't even find the cup! Apparently, the Tooth Fairy had borrowed everything so that she could put money in AND give Sierra a new headband. Sierra has yet another loose tooth, so the Tooth Fairy will have a chance to redeem herself soon.

Jennifer is continuing to teach two Communications classes at the local community college-College of Southern Maryland. The classes are going well. She is teaching interviewing skills this week, and always enjoys this part of class.

I am also teaching at CSM. I have a Remedial English course and a Freshman English course, both of which I enjoy. I enjoy the students. My problem is remembering what I taught each class! I am also teaching American History to 8th-graders at the local Christian school. It's amazing how quickly they can drain my energy. I'm hoping to do a field trip with them to one of the local Civil War battlefields soon. My really big problem is coming up with lesson plans for three classes every week.

Oh, yes! I have been asked to preach at a local church this Sunday. It will be nice to be back in the pulpit.

And, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one last thing. We bought Kayla a game, Phase 10, for Christmas, and played it last night. Sierra was on Jen's team, and Kayla and I each played separately. Jennifer usually has really good luck with cards, and last night was no exception. She beat us so badly that Kayla went to bed in tears last night! It was sad. Even sadder was that Jen beat us again today! Kayla and I will be giving Jennifer a "Blanket Party" tonight!!!

February 18, 2006

Hi, this is Kayla! I drew the lucky number for doing the blog this week. I have some very interesting news to tell you this week.

1. Sierra can't eat corn-on-the-cob because she has a loose front tooth! It was really funny watching her try, but Mom took pity on her, and eventually cut it off the cob.

2. It tried to snow today, but now (sniff! sniff!), it has melted. :(

3. A friend of ours had a baby this week. We're going to take them cookies today. However, because I'm sniffly and coughy, I don't get to hold the baby!!!!!! :( Sierra gets to, though. Grrrr!

4. Dad, and the other husbands, had a Valentine's Day Banquet for their wives. There was filet mignon, twice-baked potatoes, green beans (ugh), homemade rolls, and Dove chocolate and chocolate roses. We kids were stuck with pizza and sugar cookies and put in the basement.

5. When we woke up on Tuesday, we found surprises from our lovely father. Before he went to work at Staples that morning, he put out boxes of M & M's (the kind with messages on them) and cards for each of us. Mom got a box of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

6. Sierra and I both had Valentine's Day Parties at school Tuesday. We both got lots of valentines. Dad doesn't like it that some of them were from boys!!!!! I got lots of candy. Sierra asked both Mom and Dad to attend her party, but they couldn't come. They had to teach class. :(

7. Yesterday, surprisingly, I only picked up pencil one time at school!!! That's not normal for me on Fridays. Instead, I had computer lab twice, did lots of reading, and a guest speaker--Mr. Rice--shared with us about Juvenile Detention. We get to go to Kids In Court on Wednesday. I never want to go to Juvenile Detention because I think it's really bad! They tell you when you can go to the bathroom!!!!! You don't even get to bring a book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's all of my interesting news for this week. Dad is still waiting for medical reports from his teenager life before he can have his physical scheduled. Talk to you next week!

Kayla for the East Coast Smith Family

February 11, 2006

Hey everyone!This is Kayla.It's my week to update the blog.I'm doing better with my homework.I still hate(sorry,I meant dislike)homework though.I am sorry to say that I got a C on my report card.Sierra got all good grades on her report card(she doesn't get letter grades).Now About the Air Force, as you can imagine, we are very short on patience. In cschool, I'm learning about the St. Mary's River Project (SMRP). This project helps us understand about our watershed area. I'm having a lot of fun, and I think I'm going to like it when we move into the Air Force.

We had a date last night with Dad. We ate at CiCi's Pizza, and then played games there. WE also sent to Jacob's Well, and then watched some of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, but they were too long for us, and we didn't even get to see the lighting of the torch! I really wanted to! Here are some pictures from our date.

Sierra's doing better on her reading. She's enjoying reading, even though she says she doesn't.

Daddy's getting medical records from various places so that he can schedule his physical. The physical will take four hours! He has to have everything checked. Basically, I think he's in the USAF.

Call me sometime!

Kayla (for the East Coast Smith Family)

Hi! This is Sierra. This weekend, I update the blog!!! I have been cleaning my house and going to school. I have been doing fun stuff like working with magnets, having recess, and reading books like After My Bath and The Three Little Pigs. Kayla is struggling to keep up with her homework.

Daddy went to the USAF recruiter. He talked with the recruiter, turned in his papers, and bummed free stuff (t-shirt, pens, stress balls) off of him! Afterwards, he and Mom bought Kayla and me each something. I got an Air Force magnet, and I'm going to put it on the car!

On Sundays, since we don't get to go out to eat as much as we used to, we have a different restaurant at our house every week! This week, our restaurant is called Betty's Spaghettis! We have invited our friends, the Kendigs and Tina Long, to join us at this restaurant.

Okay, back to Kraig. Six year olds don't have a great mind for details. Anyway, I will have to go up to Baltimore for my physical. Yeah--can't wait for the checking of my body cavities. :( After that, it will be another two weeks before the results of the physical come in, and the recruiter will then send ALL of my paperwork (security form, credit check, etc.) down to Randolf AFB in Texas. Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, I have to wait (surprise!) for the next Chaplain Review Board (whenever that is). And then, . . . . . . . It's hopefully going to end soon!

So, there's our weekly blog. It's now on the schedule, so hopefully, it will stay up-to-date.