First 6 Weeks Is Over

Well, the first 6 weeks of the 2010/2011 school year is over. It's hard to believe the girls have been in school that long already. They got their report cards on Thursday and I must say that they did excellent! Rachel also got her TCAP results. (TCAP is the standardized test that all Tennessee students grades 3-8 must take each year.) TN changed the standards last year to make things tougher and as a result, scores are supposed to be lower. They've had all sorts of newspaper articles and stuff saying how low the scores were going to be. The Governor even wrote a letter to parents explaining why scores would be lower. I was a little worried Rachel's scores may take a little dip. However, she proved me wrong! She rocked the TCAP tests!!!

Our school uses the Accelerated Reader (AR) program as a way for students to read books, take tests, and earn points. Books are assigned a reading grade level and a point value. Kids are tested several times a year to determine their reading level, and then they're given a reading range of what level books they should be reading. Every 6 weeks they announce the top 10 AR point earners and then at the end of the year all students who earned 100 or more AR points get 100 point trophy and the top 3 point earners get special trophies. Last year, as a 3rd grader Rachel finished 2nd in the school with 453 AR points and Katelyn (as a first grader) finished 13th in the school with 175 AR points. Last week they announced the top 10 AR point earners for the first 6 weeks. Katelyn was 3rd in the school with over 50 points and Rachel was 1st with 101 points! Yes - my girls love to read!!! But let me say that they are well balanced and do more than just read. They are at church pretty much every time the doors are open; they sing in the kids choir and they're on the praise team; they both play sports (it just so happens to be soccer season right now, but they play most sports); they play outside with our neighbors Lily & Holly; they are in AWANA at church on Wednesday nights and both girls are always well ahead of where they're "supposed" to be in their AWANA books; we play cards & board games at home; we like to ride bikes and go swimming; they help with the laundry; they play like kids should play; they excel in ALL of their school subjects; they participate in the science, social studies, and technology fairs at school. So yes - they like to read and they do read quite a bit, but no, that's not all they do!

Week Three Soccer Pictures - Rachel

Week Two Soccer Pictures - Rachel

Week Three Soccer Pictures - Katelyn

Week Two Soccer Pictures - Katelyn

Soccer Season

Soccer season has begun! Actually, it began several weeks ago. Our first game was in a downpour! Rachel wanted to play, but we wouldn't let her since she wasn't supposed to get her cast wet! Katelyn played in the pouring rain and did a great job! She scored one goal but didn't even see it! As she kicked the ball she slipped and fell face first so she didn't even see it go in the goal! Everyone of her teammates also scored that first game, so that was a great start to the season! Rachel's team won their first game also.

The second week of soccer was a much prettier day for soccer. The sun was shining brightly and it was a beautiful day! Katelyn's team played well and Katelyn played well and scored another goal! Rachel got to play in her game also. We taped her fingers down so that she wouldn't hurt them or break them if she should fall, and we wrapped her cast in bubblewrap to protect other people. She played well and you could tell she was happy to be out there. She played defense the entire game. They didn't win, but they played well and held a super tough team to only two goals.

Week three was this past Saturday. Katelyn's team continued to play well. They just keep looking better & better! They won again! Rachel got to play without her cast this week!!! She was excited! She played the best soccer I've ever seen her play!! She played several different positions this week since she was without her cast. She played forward, defender, and goalkeeper. She did awesome!!! Her team won 4-1.

Don't mess with the cast!!

Wacky Day at School

We had Wacky Day at school last week. Katelyn decided against dressing up. She wanted her picture made though! She wanted to make sure we all read her shirt. She said she didn't have time to worry about dressing wacky because "being sweet is a full time job!" She's so funny! Rachel LOVES dressing up for wacky day! We braided her hair the night before to make her hair crinkly. She wanted to put something in her hair but couldn't decide what would be funny. I just jokingly said "how about that stuffed kitty!" She loved the idea! So yes - she has a stuffed animal clipped in her hair!


Katelyn with her non-wacky attire
Rachel with a stuffed kitten in her hair

Wacky Rachel

Rachel and some of her wacky friends

Rachel, 2 of her friends, and her teacher

PJ Day at School

We had PJ day at school last week and both girls dressed up. Rachel gets into the dressing up a little more than Katelyn does. Rachel wanted rollers in her hair, but Katelyn decided against them!

Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone

Kids Worship (the children's choir at our church) sang in the evening service last night. They sang two songs and did a fabulous job! Katelyn had a solo in one of the songs. I've posted that one here. The first video is just of Katelyn's solo when they were practicing. The second video is the actual performance in church.

Rachel's 9 Year Check-Up

Rachel had her 9 year check-up last week. No wonder I can't keep her in clothes! She gained 12.5 pounds and grew 3 inches since last September! She now weighs 73 pounds (74th percentile) and is 53.25 inches tall (64th percentile). Healthwise she is doing great!

She has been complaining of pain in her heel, so I asked the doctor about it since she's been complaining off & on about it for months. He did x-rays just to rule out any kind of bone spurs. He said it's more than likely Severs Disease which is common in girls her age who are active and growing a lot. The tendons in your foot get stretched as you grow so quickly and then can get injured during activity. Rachel has some stretches to do and we just have to use common sense. She's not supposed to go barefoot; she needs inserts in her shoes; she needs shoes with good support; etc. Severs Disease really isn't a disease - more like a condition. It's kind of a combination of growing pains and an injury.

Overall, Rachel got a wonderful report at her 9 year check-up!

Surgery is Scheduled

We went to see Katelyn's knee doctor on Friday for a check-up. Her left knee that she had surgery on in March is doing great!! The doctor couldn't even make it pop! Her right knee has been giving her some problems lately. She complains about it popping a lot, especially when she's been doing a lot of activity. The doctor wants her to have surgery on her right knee too, but it's up to us when we do it. He wants her to have it done within the next couple of years, but it's not an urgent matter. He said he's perfectly fine with doing it now, but he's also fine with doing it next year. We had already discussed it with Katelyn prior to the appointment and she wants to go ahead and have it done. The good thing is since this is basically like a birth defect in that her meniscus is mis-shaped, once the doc goes in and reshapes it, that's the end of the problem. It's not like he's repairing something that is torn and it might tear more later. She just has too much of a meniscus, so the doctor just goes in and shaves down the meniscus to make it the right shape and size. Once we get her right knee done, that should be the end of the discoid lateral meniscus problems! That's not to say that she couldn't blow out an ACL at some point, but that could happen to any of us. Anyway, she is scheduled to have surgery on her right knee on Friday, November 19th. That'll be after soccer season, but hopefully she'll be recovered in time for the first basketball game in January!

Labor Day Hike

This morning we decided to go on a hike. We had found a trail online that we decided to try out. It was on the other side of Tellico Lake. We had an enjoyable hike. It was an easy 1.6 mile loop that went through the woods and around the lake. We saw some pretty scenery and enjoyed the time together. Afterwards, we went to the park and had a picnic. What a beautiful day!!

Another Party for Rachel

Yesterday after church we celebrated Rachel's birthday with Mamaw & Papaw and Lloyd & Wendy. We grilled burgers and hot dogs, and then ate strawberry birthday cake with cream cheese icing! (Rachel requests Wendy to make this cake every year! It's delicious!!!) After Rachel opened her gifts, we played soccer and football outside! What a fun afternoon!!

Rachel Loses Tooth #15

Rachel lost another tooth last night! I knew she had one loose, and I had even wiggled it a bit last night to see just how loose, but I sure didn't think it would come out last night! I just heard her say "It's out!" Sure enough - she pulled it out! It must have been ready to come out because all of the roots were gone and it barely bled. So that brings her grand total of lost teeth to 15!

Rachel is 9!!!!

Yesterday was Rachel's 9th birthday! She started out the day opening her present from Katelyn, which was a new game for her DS. For snack time at school, I brought Dunkin Donuts for her class! Robert went and ate lunch with her at school. Then I surprised her when I picked her up at school by having Puddin with me!! Puddin & Papa came down for the evening. After we got home from school, she got her present from me & Robert - a new bike! She had said she wanted a new bike with hand brakes and gears, so that's what she got! Do you think 21 gears are enough?!!?!?!? Anyway, after that it was time to get ready for her party. We had planned a backyard Minute to Win It party with her friends, but we had also reserved the church gym just in case the weather didn't cooperate. We kept our eyes on the radar for a couple of hours, and finally decided that we would keep the party here. It looked like we might get a few minutes of rain, but nothing major. Sure enough, right about the time the party started, we got a little drizzle for about 3 minutes. After that the sun came back out and it was beautiful!!! We played Minute to Win It games until after dark!! I think everyone had a good time. Rachel said it was a great birthday!

Rachel's Orthopedic Check-Up

Rachel went back to the orthopedic doctor Monday afternoon to check and see how her arm is healing. They x-rayed it and said it's healing nicely! She has to wear the cast 3 more weeks. We go back Sept. 24th to x-ray it again and get the cast off! The doctor said she could pretty much resume normal activity! We specifically asked about soccer and he said it was fine, but she just didn't need to play goalkeeper. So we let her practice Monday night! Not sure we're going to let her play games or scrimmage with her cast on. The way it comes up on her hand/fingers, we're afraid if she does fall, she'll break her fingers! We'll see! We did ask the doc if there was anything we could do about the smell of the sweaty cast. He said to put her in another room!!! Rachel sweats so much - that cast is going to be NASTY when she gets it off!!!