Boo @ the Zoo

Report Card Rewards *updated*

Both the kids have worked hard the first 9 weeks of school and brought home excellent report cards today.  "Andrew is a joy to have in the classroom" brought tears to my eyes.  I'm proud of them and want to reward them but we don't give $ for grades.  Personal choice, and if they were struggling we might feel differently.  After a little digging I found 3 places in Knoxville that offer rewards for good grades.  All of this info is from their websites/facebook pages.  We are headed to Zuma and Bruster's tomorrow after school, so I can confirm those tomorrow!  I couldn't find it in writing anywhere, but I've heard you get a free doughnut from Krispy Kreme too.  

Zuma Fun Center *confirmed*

FREE Tokens for Grades

We appreciate good students! Bring in your current, original report card for FREE Tokens*!
A = 3 Tokens
B = 2 Tokens
*20 Tokens Maximum

Chuck E. Cheese believes in the value of a good education. Have your child bring in their most recent report card and they will receive FREE tokens for good grades.

Valid only with a food purchase. Up to 15 tokens maximum per child. All grading systems accepted.

Bruster’s Knoxville *negative at Cedar Bluff*  The manager said they have never given sundaes to kids for good grades.  Makes me wonder who is running their facebook page?!


If you bring your child's report card to any of our Knoxville locations, they can get a FREE dirt or dino Sundae, just for making honor roll!

 Fun at Zuma!

We bought Bruster's anyway

Fall Break

Day one of fall break was a washout, so we went the dollar movies to see Cars 2.  Andrew liked it much better the second time.  We headed to the pumpkin patch yesterday afternoon and then drove on to Fall Branch to help peel apples for apple butter.  The kids loved peeling and being able to help.  They weren't so excited by the (long) process of cooking the apples today.  They stirred a couple of times, but had more fun playing with the dog, running around, and getting tractor rides.

 Wandering through the corn maze

 Tractor carts

 Andrew found his buddy from school last year on the bouncer

 Awesome contraption

Camp BaYoCa

Evie and I got to go to Camp BaYoCa this past weekend.  She had lots of fun, and is already asking about going there for summer camp.  Can she really be that old already?!

Go Vols!

We took the kids to their first Tennessee football game today.  They have been to a few orange/white games and have been begging to go to a real game.  I had no idea if they would sit still or how I would feed them.  Concessions and food allergies don't really mix!  However, the section we were in had expanded concessions and they stayed in their seats until the end of the game.  It was a very fun day!

 Our friend, Buddy, won tailgater of the game

 Awesome view

 from our seats in the Tennessee Terrace

 Go Vols!

 Dobyns-Bennett Band from Kingsport

Fun family day

 Watching the band on Papa's shoulders

 Evie got a pretzel as big as her head

Soccer Time Again!

Evie has played for all the coaches that were on the field this week and is either friends with or has played on a team with many of the girls. She had concerns before the game about playing against her friends.

It took her a few minutes to get her head in the game, but she had no hesitation about taking the ball away from friends and former teammates

Andrew is in a training division (U6) this year so he practices before his games and then plays 3 vs 3. He does have a team this season and parents don't play with the kids, so it is in between the training from last year and the full team that Evie plays on. We were all hoping for a "real" team this year, but he seemed to have fun on Saturday.

Happy 6th Birthday Andrew!

Take me out to the ballgame

Papaw Rick got us all tickets to go to a Smokies game as part of Andrew's birthday celebrations. We decided to still go after saying goodbye to my grandfather on Thursday. Turns out it was good timing, because having fun with the kids provided a much needed break after a tough weekend. Robert coached a guy playing for the Suns and arranged to have him come out and sign a ball for Andrew before the game, so that was really neat too.

The gang at the Smokies stadium

Uncle Robert's buddy, Kevin Mattison, came out and signed a ball for Andrew. He has a fan for life now. Andrew made sure we all knew when #4 was up to bat.

He was so proud of his dirty ball. Apparently a used baseball is way more special than a shiny new one.

The kids got to go on the field and participate in the balloon bust relay

It was hilarious!

The chicken run!

First Day of Kindergarten

Andrew had his first day of Kindergarten today. He was so excited that he was ready to leave the house at 7 am. The bell doesn't ring until 7:45, so that was entirely too early! Evie and Andrew were so cute hugging in the hallway at school before Evie headed off to the 2nd grade hallway. There were no tears this morning. He was excited to go to school and I knew he was in good hands. He told me he had a great day when I picked him up! He informed me that he had seven teachers but he didn't get to go outside. He knew 2 friends, which surprised me. One was from West Hills last year and one he had seen at our neighborhood pool. I asked if he saw Evie, and he told me no and reiterated that he didn't get to go outside. He must think that they will be together on the playground.