Tobin Family Website

It was another busy week at school and work for the family.  The school had an open house mid-week, and we all went to get updates from the teachers on how the days are structured.  The kids had to come with us, and we had them work quietly in the back of the library on their homework.  They sure get a lot of homework for elementary school!  I don’t ever remember getting homework in those grades, but maybe my memory fails me.

Ben is feeling the pressure of being a fifth grader.  During the open house, his teacher said that the tempo this year is extremely difficult, as they have a lot of ground to cover under the “no child left behind” curriculum.  He is a member of the SIGNET gifted program again this year and spends one day a week outside of his regular class doing things as part of the SIGNET program.  Unfortunately, he has to make up the work he misses on his own time, so it adds to his homework load.  It is not uncommon for him to spend a couple of hours per night doing homework (to include 20 minutes of reading).  He hasn’t decided between soccer or cub scouts as an extra curricular activity, but we are leaning towards soccer.

Delaney wants to join the girl scouts this year, but they won’t take anyone else on unless they get a mom to volunteer to be the troop leader.  Karen has enough going on that she has no plans to volunteer.  As such, we are looking for alternative options for Delaney.  I am encouraging her, and she is considering taking up a musical instruement.  I suggested the Piano, but she is more interested in the guitar, or possibly the trumpet.  We will see what she decides and then pursue it.  She is really into music at the present, so I am hoping that she likes to play an instrument and sticks with it. 

Karen is looking into a job as a teacher’s assistant at another school within the school district.  A lady that hired her to support the head start program last year has encouraged he to apply to this new opportunity.  Karen thinks she might like it better as a teacher’s assistant than being a substitute teacher.  The hours and curriculum would be a lot more predictable too. 

Yesterday, Karen took the kids down to Palmyra to visit her parents for the day.  I stayed behind to work on cleaning up the house and getting the place ready for “guys night” poker last night.  This was the second poker night we have had in the office, and I offered to host this one about a month ago.  Five guys showed up from the office to play a few rounds of Texas Hold ‘Em.  The stakes were pretty low, but we had a good time.  I think I lost about $20 at the end of the night, but did get second place in one round for $30.  We also grilled hot dogs and had a few beers. 

Tomorrow morning I head out to San Diego for a series of meetings.  All in all, it is not a bad place to go on business trips…I just wish I had some more time to explore the place.  It is usually dark by the time I get out of the meetings and get something to eat.  ABout the only thing I have done off hours out there is gon eto the Pala Reservation Casino and played some blackjack.  A group of us occassionally head up on the last night there and have some fun.  We occassionally win some money, too.  Last month, a guy that works for me won $750 playing slot machines.  I stick strictly to Blackjack.

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