If I were President....

Andrew (age 8) recently completed this 3rd grade class assignment.  I had nothing to do with the platform he selected.  He did that entirely on his own.  He has the vote of his teacher (and his Momma!)  Here is what he wrote (quoted exactly).

If I were President...my platform would be to not have more than 2 hours on their electronics because people spend to much time on their electronics.  Grown-ups and kids need more time outside.  I encourage kids and Adults to try sports like Football, soccer, baseball and basketball.  I belive in playing outside.  Vote for Andrew.

Day of Exploration

Thanks to an extended weekend and the end of flag football season, we were blessed with our first free Saturday in several weeks.  We took advantage of one of our few remaining mild November days by taking to the road for a short road trip of along the shores of the Mississippi River.  Our first stop was a lock and dam on the river.  Due to security restrictions, we could only access our vantage point while under the watchful eye of a ranger.  However, he was a wealth of information and we learned a lot about how barges move up and down the river, what they carry and a bit of what the lives of these captains look like.  It was a busy day.  We watched a barge move completely through the locks as one lined up to go through shortly thereafter.  It was fun to spy this same barge later in the day as we drove along the shore.  Our next stop was a state park further up the river, but it was actually on the banks of the Illinois River just before it joined the Mississippi.  What a great day taking short hikes and still enjoying the changing tress.  We evidently need to do a bit more hiking in this part of the country over the several hikes the kids have done in the western US because one of the kids asked me if there were bears.  I assured them there were none.  One final stop on the way home took us to a memorial for the tallest man, Robert Wadlow, coming in at 8 feet 11 1/2 inches.  He lived during the 1920s-1930.  I remember reading about him, but I had no idea he was from a small town not far from us.  It felt good to get around and see the area a bit more.  Looking forward to a few more of these....

 Barge watching on the Mississippi

 Just a mini photo shoot - this one done by Andrew

 Robert Wadlow - 8 feet 11 1/2 inches.  The Bible says Goliath was over 9 feet tall (1 Samuel 17:4), taller than this man.  It's hard to imagine someone that large....

Luke hanging out in a replica of a special chair made for Robert

5th Grade Ambassador

Since the beginning of his 4th grade year, Luke has been begging to serve as a 5th grade ambassador at school.  We didn't know much about the program at that time, but knew they were able to serve in various aspects.  Fast forward to this year...he continued to beg to serve in this capacity.  After applying and learning how to fill out a nice application, I was thankful and Luke was excited to find out that he had been accepted to serve as an ambassador.  He's made a couple of posters to be hung in the building, but today was the day he'd been looking forward to.  He got to help with an assembly.  His job was to pass out programs and be sure visitors to the building knew where to sit during the assembly.  I'm pretty sure he loved every. single. minute. of. it!  I know he's looking forward to serving in this capacity and others throughout the rest of the school year!

Veteran's Day

 Luke is in this picture - in one of the few gray shirts

Chris and I spent an hour of our afternoon at school with the kids during their Veteran's Day assembly.  They always have a nice program, but I thought this year was one of the best.  The 5th graders essentially had the entire program.  Various students read thank you notes, poems and short paragraphs regarding Veterans that they'd written.  They also ran through various patriotic songs.  One of my favorites is the singing the anthem songs representing the various branches of the military.  However, my favorite this year was the entire school singing as one God Bless America.  In a week full of political tension, it served my heart well to be reminded of all those that have gone before and are currently serving for the freedoms we cherish today.

The Air Force song (please excuse the horrible videography.....)
Luke is in the middle of this picture in the gray shirt