I'm Baaack!

I'm baaack! Did ya miss me? I sure missed you! SO, so, very much has been happening over here at the Bird's Nest it's going to take me a couple of posts to cover it all.  I can't wait to see what's been happening with you. Please bear with me as I work my way through the ole blog roll and catch up with everyone. If I somehow miss you, know it is not intentional and I'd appreciate it if you'd pop in and let me know. Feel free to use all caps and lots of exclamation marks (which is the equivalent of shouting) to really get my attention. Try something  like this, "HEY JAYBIRD YOU DIM-WITTED, NEAR-SIGHTED TWIT, YOU MISSED ME!!!!!!!" I don't think I could miss that :)



Couldn't resist this mamma bird shot on a monument in Gettysburg! So cool.

On Sunday, The Husband and I decided to take the girls to Gettysburg, PA for a few days, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the battle. We went a week early, the true anniversary fun doesn't really commence until July 1. But they are expecting crowds in excess of 200,000 during that time and this Bird doesn't do well with those kind of  crowds. Even though most of the festivities didn't begin yet, the small town of Gettysburg and surrounding area was already pretty darn packed. It's close to impossible to find a parking space now; I have no idea how they are going to accommodate all of those people next week!

The Husband was in full paparazzi mode and took -get this- a whopping 850 pictures!! 8-5-0 freaking pictures! Although it was supremely hot, humid and painful to keep stopping and waiting for him to take the "perfect" shot, I have to admit it was worth it. Some of the pictures he  captured of the monuments and surrounding countryside are simply breathtaking. Of course, there are plenty he took of me I'd like to burn in a massive pyre.  Yep, my picture taking curse lives on. You'd think out of the hundreds of pictures he took at least a handful that had me in them would come out decent.  No such luck. I think there are only a select few where my eyes aren't wonky or closed. Welcome to my life. Oh well. I will share them anyway, even the bad ones, just because I have given up long ago on looking good in the pictures I post. :)

Before I get into all of the stuff I have been up to I just wanted to take a minute to plug The Armchair Squid's Cephalopod Coffeehouse, which is a ton of fun. The next meeting is scheduled for this Friday June 28th. We meet once a month to discuss the best book you've read during that time period. Best part, zero pressure here. You can choose whatever book or genre you'd like to discuss. Hope to see some of you sign up! For more info, here's the code for the link list:http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=A199C3EC-8B7C-4BE1-BA4B-E930EED810F0

How cute is the smile on my 6th grade graduate? Love her.

OK, on to some of the fun stuff that's been going on over here! On, June 20th, Faith graduated from 6th grade. And, holy moly did that kid leave on a high note!! For those of you who read my Field Day post, here's where I get my vindication. This is where I sit back and watch my daughter shine like a diamond.  So, screw you Field Day and all of the suckidy, suck, suck that you represent for me, because Faith was brilliant at graduation. She was a bit embarrassed at having won so much, but I was, of course, proud as a peacock, bawling like a baby and clapping and cheering like a lunatic. Faith works her butt off and puts her all into her work. And guess what? Best news ever. We just received word this morning- Faith was accepted into the STAR*GATE (gifted and talented) program she interviewed for!!!  We are beyond STOKED. 

**This is what Faith won at graduation** (See footnote at bottom)
1.  $100.00 and a medal for Excellence in History- she  took 1st place for writing the best American History DAR essay (Daughters of the American Revolution)
2. $50.00 and a medal from the Rotary Club for Achieving Highest Honors
3.1st place in the Spelling Bee for school
4.Highest Writing Achievement Award
5. Highest Reading Achievement Award
6.Highest Class Average Award
7. Outstanding Achievement in Art Award
8.L.E.A.D. Essay Contest Winner! (t-shirt and gift card for $15.00 to our local ice cream parlour)
9.A.D.P.(advanced placement) Award for Academic Achievement and Dream House Project
10. Certificate of Academic Achievement for making Honor Roll, every marking period, for every year she attended Elementary School.

Grandma Bird, Faith and Grandpa Bird so proud of her!

This is what ugly, red-eyed, make-up smeared, booger crying Jaybird looks like  :)

**Sorry about the bragging-if you think it's obnoxious, please know that this is coming from Jaybird, who spent most of her early education daydreaming in the remedial math trailer. The fact that I have such talented kids, throws me for a loop. So please, don't hate, join in the happy dancing and celebrating with little ole remedial me.