Surf Camp

This summer for 2 different weeks (one in July one in August) Shayna went to "surf camp." It was run by "Skeeter (a professional surfer) and sponsored by Roxy and Quicksilver. It was held at Red Reef Park in Boca every day from 9am-3pm.

Here is Shayna in her Roxy gear: Roxy bathing suit, with matching rash guard top, Roxy backpack, Roxy flip flops and Abercrombie shorts:


we bought all the Roxy stuff before we knew it was sponsored by Roxy.

here are the tents that were thier "base" on the beach:

Shayna waiting for a wave, below. The red splotches behind her are the reef, one of our favorite snorkeling spots.

Shayna surfing:

She really liked the camp. They did some other fun activities, like snorkeling, dodge ball, and tubing behind jet skis.

Chickee Sandwich

Over the summer Skyler started eating sandwiches. He likes when I cut them out with a cookie cutter in different shapes. Connie calls the turkey or ham she feeds to Skye & China "chickee" so of course Skyler calls deli meats "chickee" also.

Also, Skyler eats better when its either Connie or his Aunt Christy that is feeding him. or when motivated by a toy.

Sponge

One of the times we went out fishing, we found this sponge. Skyler liked it:

Turtle Walk

On June 11th we went to the "turtle walk" at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca. It starts around 9pm, with an educational turtle talk in one of the classrooms. While this is occuring, the turtle experts are riding up and down the 3 miles or so of Boca beaches looking for any mommy turtles that come ashore to lay thier eggs. if they spot any, they radio Gumbo Limbo to let them know and tell them where. then everyone at the talk gets in thier cars and caravans over to the spot. there is not always a turtle sighting. Luckily, on our night there was! It was at Red Reef Park. We had to run from the car after parking to keep up...as everyone wanted to get there quickly to see the turtle before she finishes laying her eggs. You walk along the water line until you get to the turtle. She was closer to the dunes. We got to get up RIGHT next to the turtle! We arrived just in time to see her laying the very last of the eggs. then we watched for maybe another 20-30 minutes as she buried and disguised the nest. Eventually she turned around and made her way back to the ocean and she mysteriously disappeared as she swam away.



This was a loggerhead turtle, the most common type spotted in this region. After she swam away, we saw two more turtles nesting nearby! One was a less common green turtle...you are not allowed to go near them as they nest.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for both Shayna and Skyler.

Shayna is in 6th grade at Omni Middle School. http://www.omnimiddle.org/

We went to the open house Thursday night and she got her schedule, bought her gym clothes, and we walked around campus to find all her classes. She has 6 classes located in various buildings all connected with outdoor covered walkways. She took the bus in the morning and I picked her up at the end (they get out at 4:05PM). Her classes all have syllabuses. She has gifted world cultures, gifted science, then lunch, band, gifted math, P.E., and gifted language arts. I contacted the guidance counselor to see about getting her into the algebra 1 honors class...she will be tested later this week. more details about the individual classes in the future...although overall I am extremely impressed with the curriculum. finally-- challenging and enriching course work for shayna. also more details on intramurals/clubs...so far shayna wants to try out for cheerleading but that is not until Nov. or Dec.

Skyler started pre-K at Discovery preschool. he is going full time. he is in the Mickey class in the morning from 9am-1:30pm. In the afternoon is the "VPK" program from 2:30pm-5:30pm, he is in the Donald class. The time from 1:30-2:20 can be free time (centers) or enrichments. Skyler will do karate on Mondays, Computers on Thursdays, and Spanish on Fridays. I am enrolling him in swimming for one of the other days. There is an outdoor pool there and a swim school. They will get him to swim lesson, changed and then back to his VPK class. He will also get the specials in the morning program of spanish once a week, sign language, music, gym, and media. I enrolled him full time but don't intend on having him there until 5:30pm most days. I will pick up Shayna first and then go pick him up...so he will get picked up anywhere from 4:30 to 5pm depending how the car line goes at Shayna's school, traffic, etc. The curriculum there has writing, math, calendar, money, science, reading (learning sight words, word families etc.). His Mickey class is small, about 10 kids, so I asked his teacher to work with him on his reading, as he knows all his letter sounds and is starting to read.

School is closed Tuesday due to Tropical storm Fay which is hitting this area as a rainstorm with high winds.

Snorkeling

We went to Red Reef Park today in Boca around low tide. This is one of our favorite spots to snorkel and look around the rocks/reefs.

Skyler snorkeled today and did so well, unfortunately we did not have the under water camera but use your imagination. He was swimming around on his own and kept his head down in the water for very long periods of time. Since it was low tide there was a large area where he could stand, although at times he would swim out a bit further. He loves looking at all the crabs and colorful fish.

4 year old check up

Skyler had his 4 year old check up today. here are his stats:

Height= 41" (75%)

Weight= 40.2 lbs. (80%)

His speech seems to have caught up and the Dr. said he was talking at his age level and in complete sentences.

Goodbye Sippy Cup

About 2 weeks ago Skyler decided he only wanted to drink from a regular cup and not the sippy cup.

on a side note, I know I am 3 or so months behind on this blog, life has been insanely busy (even too busy for blogging oh my)...and will really try and catch up on our excitingly busy lives and what we have been up to the last few months.

Conch

Look what we found in the lake bottom!


That is a real live conch. There were hundreds of them in the lake bottom. Skyler thought they were so neat!

Note: Lake Boca is not a true lake, it is just called lake Boca but leads right out into the ocean and is part of the intracoastal.

Beach and Boating

Over Memorial Day weekend Skyler had fun with Miranda.

they got to play on the beach:



and enjoyed a fun boat ride to Lake Boca. We joined the yacht club, and this day we were out on the 28' boat that has an inside and a generator for AC.

when Skyler and Miranda are together thye are always having fun and laughing:

Dan Zanes

In May we had to fly back to Philadelphia at short notice so I could go to a meeting. While there we went to the Kimmel Center to see Dan Zanes in concert. dan Zanes videos are played on the Disney channel on Playhouse Disney. Skyler did his first ever rush up to the front at a concert. Here he is after starting a circle dancing with some kids:



Check out his website for more info. on Dan Zanes:
http://www.danzanes.com

FCAT results!

Your Student's 2008 FCAT Reading Score

Level 5=2059 - 2713
Shayna scored 2103

On grade level=1510

Level 4=1762 - 2058

Level 3=1510 - 1761

Level 2=1342 - 1509

Level 1=474 - 1341

Your student's FCAT Score is 2103, which is in achievement Level 5 for Reading.


The FCAT Score shows your student's achievement on the day he or she was tested. If your student were to take this same test again, it is likely that his or her Spring 2008 FCAT Reading Score would be between 1974 and 2232.


Your Student's 2008 FCAT Mathematics Score

Level 5=1957 - 2456
Shayna scored:2225

On grade level=1632

Level 4=1769 - 1956

Level 3=1632 - 1768

Level 2=1452 - 1631

Level 1=569 - 1451

Your student's FCAT Score is 2225, which is in achievement Level 5 for Mathematics.

The FCAT Score shows your student's achievement on the day he or she was tested. If your student were to take this same test again, it is likely that his or her Spring 2008 FCAT Mathematics Score would be between 2093 and 2357.

Level 5 is the highest level, and what is required if she wants to get into Algebra 1 Honors in 6th grade, if she takes this class in 7th grade she needs level 5 FCATS again. Shayna can take the algebra test (needs 95% or higher) and try to get in for 6th grade (typically only 1-2 6th graders do this) but as of now she is planning to try to take it in 7th grade. Its a high school credit class.

They also got the NRT FCAT scores, which compares them to other children nationally. Shayna got a 98 reading and 99 math (99 being the highest possible.) Her stanine scores were 9 (highest). This basically means she is in the top 1% in the nation compared with other 5th graders.

Mothers Day Show

The Wed. before mothers day, all the moms from Skyler's Elmo class were invited to see the mothers day show and then enjoy a delicious brunch. It was the cutest thing! as you can see, they did a beach theme, and we were told to bring beach towels to sit on. at the end of the show we were given gorgeous gifts they had made...I'll have to photograph it at a later time.




Some videos of the show. They were all sooo cute, it was the sweetest thing!! This will melt your heart.

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvZLTm7oiEA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97WZMlJ5YRw

Mango's South Beach - Video

Click here to see a really cute video of Skyler and Miranda dancing at Mango's in South Beach. The singer of the band cane down and joined them! Note, this was during the late afternoon hence no one else on the dance floor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb1EwR7WWl8

South Beach, Miami

After the Britto event we went over to South Beach for the rest of the day/evening.

First we had lunch at an outdoor cafe right on Ocean Drive:



This is a moment right out of alice in wonderland- Skyler and Miranda in Mangoes:

There was a band right to thier left, and just after this photo was taken they had a blast dancing. we only stayed for one song.

after walking for a while, we found this cute little "coffee" shop. I thought the decor was sooo cool. I love finding places like this you would never know about unless you stumble into it.

Our last stop on the south beach "tour" was the Delano. A really cool chic place. there were other kids romping around on the grass by the giant chessboard and hammocks. The pool area going towards the beach has giant "beds" to lounge on...I guess the ultimate in luxury?

Isn't it pretty? see the private cabanas across the pool- they are stocked including flat screen TVs.

We took a taxi back from here to where the car was parked...Skyler and Miranda thought that was so much fun. They were giggling the entire time. It was Skyler's first taxi ride.

Carnival

Sometime in April, there was a little carnival in West Boca. We met Luke and his mom and baby sister at TGI Fridays which was next to the carnival. as usual boca style, even TGI Fridays breaks thier red and white awning rule (even in London it had the awning- typical Fridays design). Instead, a spanish style single building...I took the pic to show the nice scenery and caught Luke pouting, he didn't want to sit:



Skyler and Luke on the roller coaster, look how happy they are:

another ride:

Moorhen Babies

In early April, the Moorhens that live in the canal behind our house had babies:


Shortly after I began observing them and taking photos, a hawk began to stalk them, but was unsuccessful as the mom and dad defended the babies. It was quite a loud scene.

Note: these photos/events occured before they moved the canal...but the Moorhens are still living in the canal.

Brave Boy

In early April, Skyler saw the allergist for the first time. He ordered bloodwork. Skyler was very brave when getting his blood drawn, and only shed ONE tear. Afterwards, we took him to Hoffmans chocolates and ice cream shop for home made ice cream and a chocolate treat. here is what he picked:

You can see the bandage from where the blood was drawn and also based on his shirt, he must have painted in school that day.

Still trying to figure out his allergy status, as the bloodwork was negative, but they need to do the skin prick testing which is more thorough. so far after 2 attempts for various reasons he has not gotten the skin testing. They have him taking singulair and pataday eye drops. skyler saw the eye doctor on 4/25 and he said it looks like an ocular allergy and to try using eye drop tears a few times a day for a few weeks and see if that helps.

Florida Activities

We have been taking full advantage of the Florida lifestyle. Here are some of the activities we have been doing lately:

1. Manny and I get our cardio exercise by walking on the beach. During high tide this can be quite the work out!

2. This past weekend went to the beach for the day. Physical activity included a beach walk, swimming, and riding the surf on the boogie board.

3. Fishing and chumming out on the ocean on our boat, then anchoring near the beach for a swim.

4. Skyler rode his tricycle out on our cul de sac. He is able to ride a tricycle now, thanks to playground time at school.

5. We played tennis Monday evening. Shayna and Skyler got thier own rackets. We went to just ONE of the many available free tennis locations in Boca.

6. Shayna and I went roller blading at our spot, which is along A1A on the path by Spanish River Park in North Boca with an awesome view of the ocean.

7. I even snuck in some family geocaching, last weekend, at Tradewinds Park.

The Guy

There are these homeless guys that stand in a few intersections of central boca asking for money. It seems to be somewhat organized as they have shirts. usually they have a hand scrawn sign that says something like "help me...I'm hungry." I find them extremely annoying and avoid eye contact because if you even glance thier way they pounce. not that I am against helping the homeless, I don't think having them panhandle is the best idea. also, I don't mind giving them food, because we all know where the money goes.

shayna and I bought these 'cookies' called O'cocos or something weird like that and we didn't like them. so instead of throwing them out, I said, lets put them in the car and next time we drive by the homeless guy we will give them to him. manny made some comments about how this was akin to the seinfeld episode where they got the muffin bottoms.well it happens that coincidentally the day of or before we put the cookies in the car something happened and Boca kicked the panhandling guys out...apparently they were too aggressive and disobeying the rules, harassing drivers, etc. so no homeless guy/s. we have been driving around for the last few days with the cookies in the back seat.



today we were on our way to the park and manny was hungry and asked for the cookies. skyler said "you can't have them, they're for the guy." the thing is, we didn't know he was paying attention when shayna and I were talking about this.

Later we went through McDonalds drive through and there was a panhandling Muscovy duck (these are the big ducks with reddish faces) right in the lane where you drive through. So we threw him some cookies and he ate them.

Ballet in Boca

The Boca Festival of the Arts is going on now until March 16th in Mizner Park. Its a series of cultural events and concerts.

Tonight they had a free ballet by Chopin so we took the kids for a little culture. It was such a pleasant experience. They covered the outdoor ampitheater with an elaborate structure (not a tent). They have folding chairs (normally at the ampitheater you bring your own chairs) and there was a little bar with not only drinks (beer, wine, etc.) but snacks. So we settled down for the show with a chardonnay, bottle of water, and white cheddar popcorn. In some way it reminded me of an extremely upscale version of the "casino" nightclub in peekskill, NY at my grandpa Leon's bungalow (they had a snack bar there). They had those wooden folding chairs there too and "cultural" entertainment. Before the ballet they showed a movie about Degas (the Boca art museum, next to the ampitheater, has an exhibit of Degas statues running currently). the ballet was beautiful and perfectly executed, and while skyler may have rather watched micky mouse at least he now knows what the ballet is.

Skyler's Friend

Skyler has a friend named Luke from school who we meet for playdates sometimes.

This was at Sugar Sand Park, somehow they just "posed" for this photo:


we went on a nature walk at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, or rather a nature RUN. This is pretty much how Luke's mom and I saw them the entire walk as we yelled "stop!" and "don't run!"

They enjoyed climbing on this giant coral rock:

we also stopped at the beach and they ran around and stopped at the intracoastal side of red reef where they rolled down a grassy hill. we went to dinner at mizner park and they were throwing coins into the fountains (we got the much coveted table next to the fountains) when Luke said "take our picture!"

VPK Certificate

I had to go to the library in Boca to get the VPK certificate (more on that below), so I brought Shayna and Skyler with me, since Skyler had a birthday party to go to and the library was on the way. Shayna wanted to go because she loves the library. Here they are in the "teen room" which is in the back of the childrens section. There are computers and internet access.


The VPK certificate is to enroll your child in a voluntary pre kindergarten class/preschool. The state pays for preschool under this program, and pays for 3 hours per day of instruction or about $2600 for the year. You need to go through the state agency which is in west palm beach and apply for the "certificate" which you then give to the preschool your child will attend for pre-K. So you need to get this now for Fall 2008. They come out to various locations at different dates to make it easier (not have to go all the way to west palm), and they were in Boca today. It does take a while and there were a lot of people (had no idea there were this many future pre-K kids!). It wasn't too bad, they give you a number so you don't have to stand in line. I was #140. Oddly enough, even though you could go inside the library, most people were standing in line OUTSIDE the library in the heat. For me the time went so fast, as I was inside the kids section. We found a few good kids books. Diary of a Wimpy Kid=probably the funniest kids book I have ever read! I highly recommend getting it from the library.

Writing Names

Both Skyler and his cousin Sam did a great job writing thier own names on thier Valentines:

Getting Ready for School

As per the normal morning routine, after dropping off Shayna to school, I come home and get Skyler ready for school.

I ask him to get dressed, which means put on his clean underwear, shorts, and a shirt.A few minutes later, he comes out with 3 shirts on one on top of the other, with the original (dirty) shirt on the bottom. So I say, noooo you need to go back and put on ONE shirt. Of course he giggles because he did this on purpose to be funny.

He goes back, and comes out a few minutes later. This time I notice he has on 2 pairs of shorts, one on top of the other. Again, I send him back to put on ONE pair of shorts.

Now its time for me to help him get ready in the bathroom. I call him over and hear approaching footsteps. I notice there are quite a LOT of footsteps. I look outside the bathroom, and Skyler is a few feet from the bathroom door stepping in place!