Orange Belt Graduation!

Emory earned his Orange Belt today!! 

So proud of our little Emory.  

:)

Dickens on the Strand

We had a wonderful time yesterday at the annual holiday street festival, Dickens on the Strand.  It's based on 19th-century Victorian London, features parades,  strolling carolers, musicians, bagpipers, jugglers, costumed vendors  in rolling carts with holiday foods/drinks, Victorian-inspired crafts, clothing, jewelry, holiday decorations and gift items.  

Take a look at Mrs. Claus; she  could be my sister from another mister. 

The following photographs were captured by photographer Andrew Broadfoot.

Christmas Goals

Tae-Kwon-Do Graduation Day; Half Way to Black Belt

Today Everett graduated to Blue Belt, along with two others from his class.

We are so proud of Everett and his dedication (45 min. / 3 times a week) to Tae-Kwon-Do.   

Whew! Test over and he did great!!

Hello Blue Belt!

We think so highly of this program and especially Master Robles for all he has instilled in Everett through his challenging and rewarding program.  We can't thank him enough for his guidance, teachings and wisdom.  

6 belts down (white, gold, orange, green, purple, blue)

5 belts to go! (Red, 2nd degree Red, Brown, 2nd degree Brown, Senior Brown)
then Black!!

Half Way to Black Belt!

Native American Weekend - Cub Scouts

President Guajardo

This boy says he will be a lawyer one day because he would like to become the 56th president of the United States. What. WHAT?! In the meantime he wants to be a peacemaker and study this oversized book.  #YouHeardItHereFirst #PresidentGuajardo

America is Divided - Election Day

You tell your kids to "be kind" , "don’t be a bully", "respect one another". 

You tell your kids, "don’t be a bigot". 

You tell your kids "it's not okay to discriminate because of the color of one's skin or where someone comes from" 

And then America votes for a man who is the poster child for Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan to be the next President of the United States of American. 

In my opinion "Election Day 2016" is one of the darkest days in American history.  

If you voted for Donald Trump, shame on you. You are the antithesis of my America. You are the antithesis of "loving thy neighbor". Unfortunately you have forgotten the United States is a melting pot. The human race is much grander than the land mass called the USA. You are selfish and a replica of the man you voted for.  I hope you can take pride knowing this.

Please take a moment to read these two posts I came across; If you voted for Trump, I hope these shed some light:

  

I have lived for more than 50 years. I remember the Vietnam War, Watergate, the economic stagnation and international humiliation of the 1970s, the "greed is good" days of the 80s, and, of course, the Clinton scandals of the 1990s and the GW Bush disaster of the 2000s. But, until now, I have never been ashamed to be an American. I always believed that, whether Democrat or Republican, our Presidents were basically good people who were reasonable and thoughtful, even if I did not agree with them. Donald Trump is not reasonable. He is not thoughtful. He is a fraudster, a thief, a man who has done business with the mob, a racist, a sexual predator, a misogynist who thinks women are here only to serve him, a fool who knows nothing of the world and has no curiosity about it, and a smug, self-satisfied rich boy at heart who has never had to work for anything in his life. Moreover, he has said he likes the idea of some dictatorship in our great nation. No, we will not come out of this unscathed. Our countrymen of color, our sisters and mothers and wives and daughters, our armed forces who will bear the price of the wars this arrogant idiot starts . . . they are only the tip of the long line of victims this misguided decision to elect a truly evil man will create. I cry for my country. I cry for our heritage and our history that has been forgotten and forsaken and dishonored. And I do not believe that all who voted for Trump are good and decent people. Some may be. Others are enablers of all the awful things that will now occur as the direct, predictable, well-understood, and inevitable result of their actions. -Hank Lacey (via Facebook)

If you're a Trump voter who is tired of being called a bigot, if you say you voted for him based on gun rights or economic issues, or because you think Hillary really was that awful, and in spite of his rhetoric, rather than because of it, I believe you. If you're in my life, I clearly don't think you're a vile hateful person. But if you're now watching protests across the country and you don't understand why, or think they are just being sore losers, let me break something down for you. These people aren't just angry or sad that someone they didn't support won the election, they're scared.

They're black Americans who hear talk of law and order and remember a racially charged stop and frisk program, or see an emboldened KKK holding a celebratory parade.

They're Muslim Americans who worry that spitting in their face is now okay and violations of their rights to assemble and their rights to privacy are about to come.

They're LGBT Americans who fear not just of the loss of marriage rights or restaurants gaining the right not to serve them, but of an administration that thinks it's more important to research electrocuting the gay out of them than AIDS.

They're Hispanic and Latino Americans who are scared their children will be bullied in schools, and their families ripped apart while their culture is mocked.

They're women who are wondering if we've normalized groping, and if their career endeavors will be judged by their face and body, and not their minds

I believe you when you say you didn't vote for any of these things. Most of America wasn't thrilled with the choices we had in this election. But If you didn't know that this is why they're protesting, if you think it's really just about free tuition or more government giveaways, then you, like the elite liberals you love to castigate, have also not been listening. If you're tired of being called a bigot, then you need to use the same voice you used on Tuesday and speak out against these things fully and clearly. It's not enough that you didn't say them yourself. You need to reassure your friends and family members who feel like they no longer have a seat at the table that you still stand with them, even if your priorities were different on Tuesday. If you aren't willing to do that, then you have no right to call for unity.  -Angelo Mol-hem (via Twitter)

If you voted for Hillary Clinton, thank you.  Although not the perfect candidate she IS the best candidate to protect our Nation.

If you voted for Donald Trump please let me know so I can remove myself from your presence.  Yes, I am that angry. 

Coastal Learning on the Gulf

 One of the many benefits of our coastal studies magnet school are the many "hands-on" learning opportunities on the Gulf coast.

 Students determine the order in which litter decomposes.

 Fish Prints

Forcing a smile and fighting back tears because he was the only one in his fishing group that did not catch a fish today.   Even so, Everett learned a lot and had a blast. 

Book Character Dress Up Day

Harry Potter and classmates.

Charlie Brown with his best buds.

Grampy came to visit

 

 

and he left us looking a bit different. 

  

  

 

 i think we aged him.  :-)

#SnapchatFun