Zippy's Blog

Well we had our Trip to sonic with the youngest again on Monday.  Kim and I waited expectantly as Faith tried to form the say the name of the breakfast item that she liked best.  Yes it was said that we didn't try and help her say the work correctly first, but hey, our amusement is important *grin*. 

Anywho finally after about 7 "I wants" followed by a break for thinking, our daughter let us know that she wanted some Tattoos.  We think by the next time we order, she'll have it straight and we will be at a loss for any more Titillating Tater Tot stories.

On our way to drop our youngest off at daycare this morning we pulled into Sonic for some Diet Coke and Diet Vanilla coke goodness.  When we pull in our youngest mentions something from the back seat.  She innocently asks "Can I have some poka-dots?" 

You see previously we had let Faith have some of mommy's tater tots and she liked 'em so much that we have ordered her some for breakfast since then.  Well, Faith recognized where we were, but just forgot the name of the thing she liked, so she asked for the next best thing, poka-dots.

After much giggling under our breath we told her we would order her some Tater Tots and she was happy.

It was a wonderfully funny/sweet moment and we wanted to share it.

Hailey, her dance class and the entire studio did a remarkable job at Hailey's first competition in Tyler this past weekend.  Hailey's Class took Elite Gold in Tapp and Platinum 2nd in Jazz.  The production number that the studio won 1st place and 1st overall in points, so that means that it will go on to Nationals this summer!!! 

Hailey was awesome!  While she was on stage her mom and dad cheered for her! We have a bunch of great pictures that we took before and after the events in the photo album.  We have actually purchased some shots from a studio that was there taking pictures during the events, as we were not allowed.

On a funny note, Hailey told one of her teachers that her Daddy embarrassed her by cheering so loud, to which her teacher replied, "oh honey, you better get used to it, that's what daddies do."  (I know this isn't an exact quote but it is the gist).

We ate at Cheddars in Tyler, which was AWESOME, as well as the Cotton Patch.  Both were great!  We were even able to go swimming at the Hotel Pool and sit in the Hot tub. 

Alas, poor Santa, I knew him Horatio!  So we are sitting at IHOP Sunday morning eating our usual Sunday brunch when my oldest daughter up and asks me.  "Daddy, is the Tooth Fairy Real?"  "Great", I thought "I'm in for it now".  This conversation went very quickly down hill as we jumped from the Tooth Fairy, to the Easter Bunny, and you know who comes next don't you?   Apparently one of the kids at school found out and decided to share said information with Hailey.

So after a quick consultation with the in-laws, they agreed with us that it was "time" to reveal the "big secret".  So now I turn to my oldest and tell her that though Santa isn't real, he was a real person and his spirit lives on each time you give a gift.  (I know its not the most poetic thing you've ever seen, but hey its what my mom told me).

Shortly thereafter Hailey made an extraordinarily long trip to the bath room from which she returned red faced and sad and had to sit next to mommy.  Eventually we got her a little cheered up and she asked about how the cookies were eaten by Christmas morning.  That's when my wife points to me.  Hailey says "Daddy!" and I say "but they were good!"

So now the cat is out of the bag for our oldest.  Now the challenge is to keep it special for our youngest while still demonstrating "Santa" for our oldest.  My wife told Hailey that she still got Santa Gifts up until she and I were married and that made Hailey feel loads better.

Well, that's all for now.

Jacob

With us now being only 3days removed from April Fool’s day i thought it safe to broach this subject. We have been caught up for the past 6 months or so at the office in trying to Rick-Roll each other. FYI RickRolling is the act of tricking someone into watching a Rick Astley Video. From what I understand the concept actually involved from Duck-rolling people. When a person would use a popular news link or item to secretly link to a picture of a duck on wheels. Anywho, for those of you who know a little about this stuff, check out the funny farked picture I found online!

Hailey went with part of her Dance Academy to the Walker County to give a performance.  She actually had 2 numbers so we had to bring both outfits.  This is good preparation for her as she will be competing in Dance Showcase USA in Tyler, Texas fairly soon.  We are nervous for her as this will be her first competition.  We know that she will be wonderful!  There are more photos available of her group dancing at the fair in our photo album, so check them out.

In other news we will be registering Faith for the Treehouse School & Daycare this week.  Her sister attended when she was younger and benefited greatly from the positive, educational, nurturing environment that is provided there.  It is a little bit more money for us to spend each month, but it is definitely worth it.  The kindergarten teachers in Huntsville, can always spot the Treehouse kids, because they seem much better equipped and prepared for school.

Yesterday I registered for Summer Grad courses.  They are as follows:

ASE 532 - Administration and Organization of Public Schools (I’m taking this one cause I have to, I may or may not ever use it)

CI 567 - Reading and Trends in Instructional Technology - This should give me lots of reading material

ASE 668 - Instructional Leadership

CI 587 - Workshop in Education (Technology and the Brain) - I will be interested to see how this course plays out.

ASE 532 and CI 567 will be during the first 6 weeks and the other two will be during the second.  All fo these courses are online, so again I won’t have to miss any work (hooray!).  Well, that is all for now, I will post more later.

Jacob

Great news all!  Hailey made 5th place in the WCFA Craft Project for her grade level!  We are so proud of her.  We are proud of the fact that she placed, but more proud of the fact that she did pretty much all of the work on this project.

In the contest instructions, Hailey had to create a project that was made of recyclable materials.  She choose to do a Ferris Wheel  and the tea cup ride that she had seen previously at the fair. 

We are so glad that she was not only able to create something on her own, but to see that from hard work comes success and the knowledge that with effort, you can achieve great things!