Today was Groundhog Day. Again. This morning before school, we watched a live stream of the celebration from Punxsutawney, which is an absolutely delightful word to type out. I finally have mastered the spelling of it, and should get an award or something for that. Anyway, while having breakfast, we watched the fireworks they shot off at 6:40 am or something like that. Seriously, 6:40 am, and they're shooting off fireworks, and a lot of them. All set to the theme music from "Star Wars" and "Superman." The good "Superman" movie, that is. Imagine being a neighbor somewhere with that. You just know you're getting up at 6:30 am, whether you want to or not. There were thousands of folks there, all in festive groundhog hats, all singing songs like "Shout" (not the Tears for Fears song, although that would be funny). There were a couple of straight-up religious songs done by a bluegrass band, which were great to see. And then, there were the guys in the top hats coming in from back of the crowd, each with code names and a commanding presence. Yes, this was the business part of the whole deal: the emergence of the groundhog. We watched as they brought him out, and hoisted the staff which allows the holder the special superpower of speaking and understanding Groundhogese (the language of the groundhogs). And that's when this year's most important moment (so far) came to pass: the groundhog told us that an early spring was around the corner!
Madison was a little behind on the schedule to get to school this morning, but it was so totally worth it!
The forecast for today seemed to confirm what the groundhog was saying: there were overcast skies today, but not in the forecast was the Gainesville Police Department. They were everywhere. This afternoon, Madison and Daddy noticed an amazing swarm of speedtraps, or seatbelt traps, or whatever. Fortunately, we were neither speeding or seatbeltless, but seriously, this was the highest level of lurking police cars alongside the road I've ever personally seen in my entire life, and therefore it is noted here.
We were on our way to piano practice, which went as it usually does, only four years later. That being said, it is amazing how much progress Madison has made with her skills. She can find and identify chords much quicker than Daddy can, and follow pieces of sheet music in ways that baffle Daddy. She's quick to pick up on notes, and has been impressive these last few months in catching on to things quickly. In short, she's got a knack for it. We'll keep her on this current course, but it's wonderful to see this emerging gift, and I can't wait to see what she is able to do with it.
Yesterday we reported her upcoming project on a famous American, Franklin D. Roosevelt. What we did not report is that she is sharing this project with a former internet rival, one boy named Ethan. Last year online, Ethan and Madison seemed to dominate the scores and times for math and other areas, both leaving the other classmates behind with the amount of time they spent in practice. Now they are working together, doing research, and creating a project similar to the solo efforts on Paul Revere and other Americans from the last quarter. Ye-Ye happens to be a huge fan of FDR, so we could possibly involve him in this, or at least see if he has anything interesting to contribute as a visual. As with all things, there is a real-life coincidence in play here - we were just at Warm Springs last November, driving through at least. And we were also driving through the heart of Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park as well, watching the sunset from the top of the ridge there. I'm not sure if we'll be making a return trip or not, but we could… I mean, we're on our way to Florida again really soon, and we could make a quick video or something. Although, if memory serves me correctly (and it does), Warm Springs is not exactly on the way to the part of Florida we want to head to.
Moving on: we got home, and of course, just as important as Groundhog Day, today is Taco Tuesday. This is nearly a ceremonial occasion, one that cannot be missed. I can see us out on the road on a Tuesday, and heaven forbid we don't have tacos from somewhere.
Madison went through her speech assignment, and then after that did math and reading assignments as well. And she did those as quickly as she could, because today was the big day where we saw the next chapter in the "High School Musical" series, "Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure."
Yes, this happened. Popcorn bowls out, and everyone back on the couch. It was time to see a whole lot of pink, and see what happens next to Madison's favorite character of the series, Sharpay Evans. It's actually a decent movie, one that Madison really liked of course. What she doesn't know is that Daddy got her a Sharpay Evans clutch, something purchased for her long before she was even in our house with us. It was a Disney Movie Rewards item, one that Daddy snagged some time ago. With Valentine's Day coming up, this might be a fun gift to finally give, and what a perfect holiday to give it on. The thing is pink!
Tonight we continued our reading of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," which is fairly similar to the movie, although there are some things in the book left out of the movie that are pretty hilarious. At the same time, there are some things in the movie that are great too - they may appear in later books, but the feeling of the book is similar to the movies, both a lot of fun for the family as we read by the bedside.
It's Tuesday though, and it's time for Mommy and Daddy to go on our date night. Translation, "Agent Carter" comes on soon. The weather is supposed to be rough tonight, wild storms and lots of rain. It looks like that groundhog may be right on: an early spring it is!
Madison was a little behind on the schedule to get to school this morning, but it was so totally worth it!
The forecast for today seemed to confirm what the groundhog was saying: there were overcast skies today, but not in the forecast was the Gainesville Police Department. They were everywhere. This afternoon, Madison and Daddy noticed an amazing swarm of speedtraps, or seatbelt traps, or whatever. Fortunately, we were neither speeding or seatbeltless, but seriously, this was the highest level of lurking police cars alongside the road I've ever personally seen in my entire life, and therefore it is noted here.
We were on our way to piano practice, which went as it usually does, only four years later. That being said, it is amazing how much progress Madison has made with her skills. She can find and identify chords much quicker than Daddy can, and follow pieces of sheet music in ways that baffle Daddy. She's quick to pick up on notes, and has been impressive these last few months in catching on to things quickly. In short, she's got a knack for it. We'll keep her on this current course, but it's wonderful to see this emerging gift, and I can't wait to see what she is able to do with it.
Yesterday we reported her upcoming project on a famous American, Franklin D. Roosevelt. What we did not report is that she is sharing this project with a former internet rival, one boy named Ethan. Last year online, Ethan and Madison seemed to dominate the scores and times for math and other areas, both leaving the other classmates behind with the amount of time they spent in practice. Now they are working together, doing research, and creating a project similar to the solo efforts on Paul Revere and other Americans from the last quarter. Ye-Ye happens to be a huge fan of FDR, so we could possibly involve him in this, or at least see if he has anything interesting to contribute as a visual. As with all things, there is a real-life coincidence in play here - we were just at Warm Springs last November, driving through at least. And we were also driving through the heart of Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park as well, watching the sunset from the top of the ridge there. I'm not sure if we'll be making a return trip or not, but we could… I mean, we're on our way to Florida again really soon, and we could make a quick video or something. Although, if memory serves me correctly (and it does), Warm Springs is not exactly on the way to the part of Florida we want to head to.
Moving on: we got home, and of course, just as important as Groundhog Day, today is Taco Tuesday. This is nearly a ceremonial occasion, one that cannot be missed. I can see us out on the road on a Tuesday, and heaven forbid we don't have tacos from somewhere.
Madison went through her speech assignment, and then after that did math and reading assignments as well. And she did those as quickly as she could, because today was the big day where we saw the next chapter in the "High School Musical" series, "Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure."
Yes, this happened. Popcorn bowls out, and everyone back on the couch. It was time to see a whole lot of pink, and see what happens next to Madison's favorite character of the series, Sharpay Evans. It's actually a decent movie, one that Madison really liked of course. What she doesn't know is that Daddy got her a Sharpay Evans clutch, something purchased for her long before she was even in our house with us. It was a Disney Movie Rewards item, one that Daddy snagged some time ago. With Valentine's Day coming up, this might be a fun gift to finally give, and what a perfect holiday to give it on. The thing is pink!
Tonight we continued our reading of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," which is fairly similar to the movie, although there are some things in the book left out of the movie that are pretty hilarious. At the same time, there are some things in the movie that are great too - they may appear in later books, but the feeling of the book is similar to the movies, both a lot of fun for the family as we read by the bedside.
It's Tuesday though, and it's time for Mommy and Daddy to go on our date night. Translation, "Agent Carter" comes on soon. The weather is supposed to be rough tonight, wild storms and lots of rain. It looks like that groundhog may be right on: an early spring it is!
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