Today has already been a very busy day. We had parent/teacher conferences this morning, starting at 7:45am with Andy's teacher. Andy's teacher seems to have relaxed somewhat and isn't as focused on discipline as she had been -- this is a trend I like. She told us that Andy is a fantastic guy and he is doing very well in his classes. He will read aloud in front of the class anytime (he has a lot of confidence, she said) and also helps other kids in his class out when they need help. Andy's math skills earned him an S+ grade and the teacher is very pleased with his progress. This past week, Andy was the star of the class and he had to bring in a poster all about what he liked and stuff like that. He did it all by himself (since I don't do that kind of stuff) and came up with a great poster including pictures he chose from the millions I have taken. He took it to school Monday and did a whole presentation on himself in front of the class and his teacher said he did a fantastic job! During the conference, Ron tells me that last night at the pack meeting, Andy got up in front of the entire pack and read a book about bats to set the mood. He hadn't told Ron he was going to do it either -- Ron had no idea what was going on. Isn't that something?

Once we finished with Andy's teacher, off we went to Benjamin's teacher. I didn't know how this was going to go since I have already gotten a call from her about Benjamin not finishing his work. Benjamin is doing great things in reading and is in the top reading group. He has no issues with confidence and is willing to read out loud anytime. His teacher was also particularly happy with his progress in science. She said that he was doing very well in science and could always come up with a reasonable explanation for why something was happening. Benjamin also got a grade of E in gym class. I don't know why he merited that, but I am not really surprised. He is very interested in sports and loves to "go fast" as he told me. Benjamin's math skills are up to par and he understands what is going on. The teacher did say that he was usually finishing his work in school, but that she was going to have to move his seat since he was talking a lot to the girl next to him. My social butterfly! Wait until these teachers get a load of Elias -- they haven't seen anything yet!

Tonight we have the big fundraiser at school - the Fall Festival. Benjamin's room parent called me on Monday and talked a lot about how she was having difficulty getting parents to volunteer. Had I volunteered? Not on your life. Did I get guilted into it? Yup. I managed to get a babysitter so I don't have to keep James with me, but Elias and I will be on our way to volunteer at the train ride tonight from 6pm to 6:30pm. Thank God it is only a half hour. Tomorrow, Ron is taking the guys and meeting the rest of the boy scout pack to clean up the school from the festival, then heading out to the football game. Andy has a birthday party in the afternoon. Sunday, the babysitter is arriving at 5:15am because Ron and I are going to do a 100 mile bike ride. Now, I don't know if I am going to do all 100 miles, but I am pretty sure that Ron will. I will let you know how it goes. It is going to be a busy weekend!