EOG's

EOG's are the standardized test for North Carolina. End Of Grade Test. The kids start taking them in 3rd grade and continue on til 9th grade when they then take EOC's or End of Course test. Every year they need volunteers to proctor the test. To be a proctor you simply have to be with a teacher when she is administering the test. You can't help the kids at all. Every year I've been asked to be a proctor but I haven't actually helped until this year. Today was my first day. I have a new respect for Nelson Mandela.

I was with a special needs child who took the test individually. So it was the child, the teacher and myself for two and a half hours. My entire duty was to monitor the child and ensure that she was taking the test without any assistance. You can't bring anything to do since you are suppose to be monitoring the entire time. I thought I was going to go insane after the first 20 minutes. Two more days of this!!!! I'm taking something tomorrow. I just haven't figured out what yet. My knitting I can do and watch her but I wouldn't want the clicking of the needles to distract her. Maybe something to write on. It was way harder than I thought it would be. Any suggestions? Help, I think I may die of boredom!!!!!

Girl/Boy, Weeds and Ocracoke at Sunrise

So many shells, so little time...

This past week Kirstin came downstairs dressed like this. She decided that she wanted to go to school dressed like a boy that day. Just to see what people thought of her. Everyone decided she made a pretty cute guy. She's so bizarre sometimes but pretty much harmless in her quirks so I indulge.

Our family camping trip we have planned for a month was this weekend. We had orginally planned to go to the mountains but Kirstin's Softball tournament was on Saturday so we had to adjust our plans. We left Thursday night and got to the state park around 9:30pm. We took Emily Long

and Solomon Pennington.

The ferry ride was a bit chilly but fun even at night when you couldn't see anything.

We set up camp and went right to bed since we were all bushed. (One nice note about the weekend, the wind was blowing all weekend and there weren't any biting flies or mosquitoes! Wooo Hoo!) The next morning Blaze and I got up early, and went for a walk on the beach.

I love the beach in the early morning. The sun wasn't even up but the temps were just right and there wasn't a soul to be found except for me and the wild dog Blaze.

She looks like a Hound of Hell in that picture! She was so funny. The sand squeaks when you walk on it sometimes and for the first five minutes we were out there she could not figure out what was making that sound. She had a great time tearing down the beach chasing anything she could find and digging in the soft sand.

If you've never watched the sunrise on the east coast you are missing something special..

I was getting pictures of the moon over the ocean (you can see just the little sliver of it in the left hand corner) when I noticed this great big old orange ball on my left, coming up from the ocean.

The pictures just don't do it justice.

It wasn't so bright yet that you couldn't look at it fully. It was just beautiful. I don't know how you can witness that and not believe in God.

So here is a look at our campground from the beach side.

And a look at the beach from our campsite trail.

We packed up and went to the sound side to try to go canoeing but the wind was strong and the water was low. I didn't want to get my camera wet so I didn't take it along for that. Afterwards we hit the beach and just hung out all day.

Noah and Solomon had fun playing in the dunes. Pretending that they were lost Army guys in the desert.

Kirstin and Emily had fun in the water. (Little too cold for me!)

Emil Michael doesn't like the beach and sand so he hung out in the truck all day.

Lucky for him it wasn't hot and he got a lot of writing done.

There weren't any waves so Emil just hung out on the beach. It was very nice. That's probably the most time I've spent with him on the beach in years!

We packed up and headed home, stopping at Oregon Inlet for dinner over a fire. Hot dogs and s'mores. Yum! I make the best S'mores. None of that burnt marshmallow stuff.

Then we went back to reality. If only life were a beach....

The Promise of Spring

Spring has definitely arrived in NC. Everything is blooming and every yard is ablaze in color. I love this time of year!

The azaleas are in bloom and I've enjoyed bringing in the beauty of the outdoors inside.

One of my good friends gave us a planter last week. It looks amazing! Wish I could plan so well. Oh well, I'm learning.

This is one of my favorite plants. It's called Lantana. I think that's how it's spelled. It's a ground cover and it looks like it has tiny bouquets of flowers. I like the yellow but there is also one with different shades of pinks that is just beautiful.

Our garden is growing slowly but surely. Here are some cucumbers I think. (At this stage the beans, cucumbers and squash all look alike.)

Note to self: Do not allow Kirstin to plant radishes next year. They need a little more room than one square inch per 30 seeds.

I cut Noah and Emil M.'s hair a little while back. Now if I could only get them to style it.....

The sports seasons are at an end and I am getting my nights back. Yeah!!! We had this amazing salad last week. It was so simple. Doesn't it look tasty???

Mixed greens, blackberries, strawberries, red grapes and walnuts. I used that Orange Poppy Seed dressing I had put in a blog about a month ago. It was soooo good. I did put some chicken strips on top for my meat eaters. I love salads in the summer. They're so easy and you feel good about eating healthy. Enjoy!