Saturday, July 7, 2012

July 4th and Jarrod

This is Jarrod (left) and Justin preparing for our 4th of July front yard picnic this year. The backyard is so dry that we didn't want to risk starting a fire, so me moved to the front driveway. Lexie (youngest daughter) wanted to also camp out in the front yard, but we thought our great neighbors might complain with a tent pitched next to the driveway. Every family member got shirts with United States flags on them thanks to $21 and Wal-Mart.


Justin and Jarrod were also playing with their water cannons. After a while, I convinced them to try and shoot birds with water when the birds dived down towards the grill. After missing bird after bird, Jarrod gave up, and Justin decided to try and throw the whole bucket of water on the bird. Soooo, the bird flew down, Justin threw the water straight up, and was soaked from head to toe when the water came back down on his head. And he looked surprised. Sir Isaac Newton he ain't.


After feasting on breasts, grilled chicken breast that is, I changed the music to some funk, which made the girls start dancing. That's Deborah, Miranda, and Lexie in the middle of the picture. Justin is over at the side dancing like I dance, which is never pretty. The girls, on the other hand, have a different gear in their hips or something.


Changing the subject, but Jarrod has always had a very difficult time in school. When he started kindergarten, his teacher pulled me to the side and said, "he's not going to be ready for 1st grade next year. He's just not ready." So, we tried 1st grade for about a week before moving him back to kindergarten again. After repeating kindergarten, he did a little better, but still struggled. His 1st grade teacher completed an ADD diagnostic survey for our pediatrician, and Jarrod began ADD meds.

Still, school didn't get any easier, and during 3rd grade this year, we realized that Jarrod was going to need professional help to stay at grade level. After multiple testings, we settled on a program through Huntington Learning Centers, which he started this summer. You would think a kid wouldn't want to go to summer school, but Jarrod really likes it. This week, Jarrod got his name on the wall at Huntington for doing good work, and he was so proud he asked me to come inside and look at it. I took a picture because I know how hard it's been for Jarrod to learn, so it's very exciting to see him happy about learning.