God Save the Queen!

We've worried over the last few days that the Queen of our bee family flew the coop... or the hive... or whatever. Pete thought we may have to order a new queen, and for several days he and the girls went out to the hive to see if the queen was there. She has a special marking so she's easy to find. JUST when he was about to order another queen, he found her this evening! The girls were excited!

I found all these bee pictures on my phone today along with pictures from all over the farm. SOMEONE got hold of my phone! Wonder who?

Anyhow, here are some pictures she took around the farm over the last few days...

Not sure why this is camera worthy...notice Addie ducking behind the sofa.

I also found this shot I took of the girls during last weekend's festivities. 

They look like children of Butcher Holler, Kentucky running around with no shoes on...

And the last shot of the night..

Packed up and ready to head towards the ocean tomorrow!  Not sure where we'll fit the kids in this packing scheme, but we'll have to do our best! 

CHEATER CHEATER! Pumpkin eater!

I'm sure by now, most everyone has read at least the headlines related to the rampant cheating on the CRCT in the Atlanta Public School System. If you haven't read the full report, I'd encourage you to do so. It is absolutely riveting and I'm not being sarcastic about that. It will blow your mind- especially if you are a teacher. 

What I find so disturbing is not that there were incidences here and there of a teacher giving students too much time, or accidentally not covering instructional materials on the classroom walls. This was a "culture of cheating".  Teachers were intimidated and threatened by administrators who were being threatened by district personnel to meet targets. The brave teachers and administrators who did stand up to the rampant cheating machine, were demoted, transferred, harassed and sometimes just fired. I really do grieve for honest teachers who were put into that horrible situation of having to choose between integrity and putting food on the table. 

It irritates me to no end to know that with the new Pay for Performance model, my income (yes I love teaching, but it is my job and I would not do it for free), would be affected by how well my students performed against the students of cheaters. It really makes me sick.

You want to know the greatest miscarriage of justice? Now, when citizens of this state see an outstanding performance at a school like mine, Louisville Middle School, they probably assume we cheated. It is one more reason for bigoted people in this state to say poor black kids cannot achieve at the same level as other children. It is pathetic and it pisses me off. We get our scores through blood, sweat and tears. It takes a level of HARD work and persistence that many teachers in wealthier districts cannot imagine. Not to slight teachers in affluent areas, because I've taught there before myslef, but teaching kids steeped in the problems of poverty takes an energy and a mental set that is indescribable. Our teachers at LMS do that and I am proud to be a part of that faculty. So, insinuate that we cheat to get those scores and I will punch you in the mouth. Seriously. 

State School Superintendent, John Barge, will be on Fox and Friends at 8:20am tomorrow to discuss the APS investigation. Tune in and be completely disgusted with the rest of the hard working, honest teachers in this state who are already kicked around and blamed for every problem imaginable. If you listen to the talking heads,  you'd think every problem our country is facing can be blamed on a public school teacher or an illegal immigrant. Frankly, I'm getting sick of hearing it. This debacle in Atlanta doesn't help matters.

Quote of the Day: I might be diabetic tomorrow.

We had a wonderful day on the Ponderosa! I left the farm for the first time since Wednesday to run into town for reinforcements! We were missing a few key ingredients for the pineapple cherry homemade ice cream. We have all laughed until our bellies all hurt and my cousin Meredith had the quote of the day after we'd all eaten barbecue chicken, potato salad, slaw, and a ridiculous amount of leftovers. She said, "I'm going to be a diabetic by tomorrow!" We had a good laugh out of that one.

Today I mostly enjoyed watching the kids play outdoors. the heat wasn't unbearable and they had a wonderful time together.

They climbed gates...

They enjoyed swinging on the gate..

 They chased each other on bikes..

 They laughed so hard they crashed...

We all ate way too much and laughed just the right amount...

Then the kids turned into superheroes and fought the evil forces...

They ran THIS way...

and THAT way...

and back THIS way again...

And then they declared victory over the evil villains...

The Cole cousins came back across the road to our house tonight and we had a great time. Reminded me of when we were little kids and our parents would get together and laugh all evening while we kids played in the other room. Now WE are the "parents" and our kids were the ones running wild through the house. 

After a huge breakfast tomorrow, everyone will hit the road home. We have had an absolute perfect weekend. It's a family tradition I hope to continue for a very long time. 

Food and Family

Eating well is definitely a part of Southern Culture. It is definitely a part of our family's culture! Because there are so many of us now, we've set Independence Day as our family get together time. This year's shin dig has been nothing short of a riot so far!  Not many words tonight... the pictures say it all...

*Seems like Saturday*

The great thing about having 2 parents and a grandparent who are teachers is that everyday is like Saturday during the summer! The girls are thrilled about summer! My parents have been working furiously in the garage/summer kitchen getting ready for the Cole 4th of July Hoo Rah.  It was in need of some renovations and upgrades. I'll post pics tomorrow but it looks AWESOME! Addie wanted to help Poppy paint yesterday, so here's what she wore:

Yes, every painter I know wears a white sundress and red satin gloves. Nice. 

Luckily we have great friends with a pool! And let me say this about my friend with a pool, Tammy. You know these types who make REAL strawberry lemonade (not the Crystal Light kind)... the type who make mouthwatering everything and not only does it taste wonderful, it also looks like a 5 star chef prepared it? Yes we all know a person like that.  Usually you want to slap them for being so damn perfect. But the weird thing about Tammy is- you don't want to slap her! She's a great cook and definitely the hostess with the mostest and she is passing that on to her sweet daughter, Mary Will. When we were visiting once, I handed a glass of ice to Mary Will, and she handed it back to me and said "guests first".  Impressive. 

 The girls had a wonderful time swimming with the Hodges and Frachiseur kids.  They were waterlogged when we got home. That's the greatest advantage to having a pool. Your kids are exhausted at night! Now I truly understand why my teacher mother insisted that my father get a pool when she was home all summer with my brother and me. I truly understand! :)

Uncle Ernie, Aunt Beth and Colten came by for dinner tonight and Ali Grace went with Beth to pick grapes. They looked like wine grapes. They were really good too!

 While we hunted grapes, Colten and Addie went on a gator ride around the farm. 

The girls are really stoked about seeing Meredith, Goran, Julie, Anneli, Cindy, Chuck, Bonnie, Carlos, and whoever else wanders in over the next few days! Everyone knows we party it up on the Ponderosa for the 4th of July! Fireworks on the dock Saturday night! Not the cheesy Georgia kind, but the dangerous Florida kind! Be there!

Crisis over.. Grovert has been located!

This evening I cooked Ali Grace one of her favorite things in the world, fat back. She's refugee thin okay? Don't judge me.  :)  

We spent a little time this morning getting ready for 4th of July company coming in at the end of the week, but most of the day we just chillaxed, as Addie says. Last night Addie cried herself to sleep because we could not find Grovert. No, it's not a typo. Addie has always called Grover, Grovert. I have no idea why but it was a major family catastrophe last night when Grovert could not be located before bedtime. Thank goodness we spotted his little blue head sticking up between the chair cushion this morning! 

The 4th of July is one of the girls' favorite holidays. Since everyone is so busy at Christmas and Thanksgiving, Mom's family gets together on the 4th. It's always a gluttonous week full of exquisite grilled everything, wine, and desserts. Most of all though, it's a great time with great folks! Addie particularly likes the holiday because she can wear her "Grand 'ol Flag" dress. Since her teacher taught their class the song "You're a Grand 'Ol Flag" this year, ALL American flags are now referred to as "Grand 'ol Flags".  Sorry Goran, our Swedish flag is a nice Swedish flag, but not a "Grand 'ol Flag".  We took the flag on our porch down a few days ago when the wind was really rough here. Yesterday Addie said "Mama, we need to put the grand ol flag back out on the porch." Indeed. 

Just so I don't forget...

Addie:(While I'm brushing her hair):  Mama, I don't want to grow up. I just want to stay this size forever.
Me: I love you this size too, but growing up is kinda cool too. Why don't you want to grow up?
Addie: Mama, I never want to leave you.
Me: (lump in my throat): Addie, you'll get to the age where you want to leave me, but you don't have to go far. I live across the road from my mama and daddy and you can too if you want to.
Addie: Well that's what I'm going to do Mama. My husband, Daddy, Poppy and the farm crew can build my house in that spot right next to Poppy's garden.
Me: That would make me very happy Addie Belle, but you know where EVER you go, as long as you are happy I am happy.
Addie: Good Mama. I like it when you're happy.

I just had to write that down so I never forget it... sweet soul my Addie Belle is..

Ali Grace put on the bee veil today and went off with Pete to check the hive. So far so good!

Great night on the grill too!