The Kassel Family Project Life 365

We went to Field School for a Chili Supper Fundraiser and Open House for the EEE program at Columbia Public Schools.  EEE, or Extended Educational Experiences, is the gifted program and Laura attends class at Field School every Thursday.  After eating a delicious dinner of chili and gumbo, Laura showed us her classroom.  Currently, the students are learning all about Australia.  We got to see a display about Australia and a picture of a sailboat that Laura made.  Also, we spoke to Mrs. Richardson, her teacher, and she told us that Laura is doing very well.  Laura is adjusting well to the classes and she seems to like being there very much.  It was all great to hear and it was nice to see the other part of Laura’s school life.

The Christmas decorations are all down and boxed up.  You can’t move through our office…  I *swear* there are more boxes each year!  Christmas decorations are like Gremlins.  They multiply when you aren’t looking.

Sundays, aside from being “laundry day,” are also “homework day.”  Laura has math homework every week and John has recently begun getting “homework” from his preschool.  Laura’s homework has to go back to school; John’s homework is to prepare him for Kindergarten.  It was really neat to watch the concentration from the kids as they worked through their homework.  I couldn’t resist the picture.

We spent part of the day hanging out with Grandpa Ralph and Grandma Marianne.  The kids had a great time!  We had Grandpa’s great pancakes for breakfast and he even made special ones with ears for the kids.  Laura declared hers was a piggy and John declared his was Mickey Mouse.  After breakfast, cousin Thomas came over to play for a couple of hours.  The kids also had a great time jumping all over Grandpa Ralph.  All the excitement was followed by a tasty lunch of chicken strips, french fries, and my family’s canned green beans.  The real surprise was that Laura discovered that she *loves* my family’s canned green beans….  she ate *three* helpings!  Unfortunately, we had to leave after lunch and earlier than I had originally planned due to impending weather in Missouri.  We made good time on the way home thanks to my friend, Mr. Garmin, who found a quicker route for us.  It was good that we left when we did because at Moberly we encountered the beginning of the weather.  It was a mix of rain and sleet.  By the time we arrived home, this was the view outside our back door.

As promised by Mommy, the kids watched a movie and ate popcorn.  I took down some more Christmas decorations and then got the kids into bed.  I spent the rest of the evening enjoying a glass of wine and watching some reruns of “Gilmore Girls.”  It was a nice, quiet end to a great day spent mostly with family.

Our day began at 4:45 AM when Andy had to get up for the first of the Kassel Family travels.  He flew out this morning for Phoenix, AZ for the annual Grand Praetor meeting for Sigma Chi.  The rest of the Kassel Family left after Laura got home from school for Astoria.  We went to visit Grandpa Ralph and Grandma Marianne for the night.  We got there about 8:15 pm and had a great night.  The kids got to open Christmas presents and give Grandma and Grandpa their presents.  It was a nice ending to a long, tiring day.  I was happy to be there because you never get too old to see your parents.

Laura has met and exceeded both goals for selling Girl Scout Cookies.  Her first goal was 25 and her second was 75.  Next up is breaking the 100 mark.  Go Laura!