June 2011....BUSY!!

Where to begin. It has been a very busy June. Jack's Eagle Scout Project is underway! Kate went to her leadership camp this past week and enjoyed the experience.http://www.lead-america.org/ 

I visited with my cousins while she was there and had a good time catching up with them.

There was an emergency back on LI and my siblings pitched in to help out. This week I am headed out there to visit and help out.

Here are some of my highlights from my trip to DC. I visited the 

National Gallery of Art National Gallery of Art: The Dale Collection

Lunch: Mozzarella caprese at the Italian Garden Cafe

 

Capitol Building  http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/

Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/index.html

and the Newseum  NEWSEUM

and hit a Dive from Diner's Drive Ins and Dives http://lacaraquena.com/

It was fun to visit all these places with my cousins and one day by myself. However, I found that taking pictures without Jack and Kate in them....just feels weird. What's a view of the Capitol in the background without those two in the foreground?  Everything I did, I thought of them and how much they would like something. Whether it was the interactive parts of the newseum or the Civil War display in the Library of Congress. The 'spy' chamber in Capitol Building, where you can hear someone talking on the other side of the room because of the acoustics with the dome, was incredible but not as cool if Jack and Kate got to experience it. The dive didn't seem as exciting without sharing a fried plantain appetizer with Kate and Jack. Don't get me wrong, I did have fun but I found myseld pulling a page out of Libby's book and wore my sunglasses so you couldn't see the tears. Granted the 9/11 display made everyone cry as did the Pulitzer Prize photos in the Newseum.

The art in the the National Gallery is Incredible!! You have to visit it if you have not. The Dale collection is captivating that I saw it on Wed with my cousin and visited it again by myself on Friday after my mozzarella salad.   :)

The permanent exhibits were moving too. So much of the art depicts stories from the bible. So as I looked at dozens of Madonna and child paintings, sculptures,  etc...I saw all the mysteries of the rosary and thought of my mom and my beautiful cousin Jeannie.  They both say the rosary and inspire me to do so too. I texted her from the gallery and tagged her in the sculptures of the Annunciation (as you can't take pictures of the paintings)

The only thing that cost anything, as all the museums are free, was the Newseum. I would go again and pay for the kids to see it. It was that good! Interactive, fun, informative, moving, ...everything you want in a museum visit.

Enjoy the pictures.

Angel Gabriel

Eagle Project

To say Jack has grown this year is obvious to anyone that sees him. He is 6ft 1/2 inch as he proudly told me this morning after his physical for Golf and Track.

It's the growth in his spirit and leadership that really overwhelms me at times. This Eagle project is so much work and he is so motivated to do it. Making phone calls to total strangers, speaking to adults he doesn't know and some that he does. WOW. He is an amazing young man. It gives me such joy to see him working on this. 

Physically it has only been a week but officially the project started in April when he first talked to our Church Council. Technically it began in grade 1 when he first joined scouts. There have been some rough patches over the years and I am sure he may have questioned belonging (never to me) but I can tell he is proud of himself as he does these things, earning merit badges (20 right now) and camping and dealing with adults that didn't always believe in him. 

Yes... my son. I am so full of joy for you and what you are accomplishing.

Here are some beginning pics of the project: 

A Prayer Garden around the Miner's Monument at St. Gregory's church

 Miner's monument, getting ready to dig for the platform for the bench

 

Next step, till the ground and plant some perennials.

More pictures!

We didn't get to Long Island for Easter. However, we enjoyed a nice Easter Brunch, just the three of us at Seven Springs.

More Spring Photos

Here are some pictures from Kate's Spring Concert.

The best singer and "Introducer" of music.

♪♪♫"Just Singing"  ♬♬

Kate is in the back row, 4th from the left.

♫ Beyond the Sea ♬

♡

  ♬  You've got a Friend in ME!!  ♫


♫♫  HALLELUIA  ♬♬

Spring Semester 2011

I have not updated my blog in a while. Work continues to overwhelm me, as does keeping up with the kid's activities.

Kate played basketball this season. Here are some pictures:

 

That's Kate #24 with the huge wingspan.

She has chosen not to play next year. I have mixed feelings about this. I love watching her play any sport but grades are most important and she wants to try track.

She also participated in the play and my mom, sister and brother-in-law came out for it.

They did Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Here are some pictures from that weekend.

Annie and Kate

Libby Grandma and Kate

Jack and two of his friends who were in the play.

Jake, Jack, David

More photos to come

Steve Hillenburg

 

Stephen Hillenburg: Successful Animator, Director, and Producer by Jack Murphy grade 8 Berlin Brothersvalley Middle School

            One of the most successful animation producers and directors is Stephen Hillenburg. Hillenburg, who created the hit television show, “Sponge-Bob Square Pants”, also owns his production company, “United Plankton Pictures”.

            Before he created Sponge Bob, Hillenburg was a marine biologist from 1984-87. He then decided to fulfill his dreams by pursuing a career in animation. He got a job for the television show, “Mother Goose and Grim” and directed “Rocko’s Modern Life”. While working on the show, Hillenburg became friends with many of the cast and writers who would later be on Sponge Bob.

            After “Rocko” ended in 1996, he wrote a comic called, “The Intertidal Zone”, which was about a bunch of undersea creatures. Hillenburg pitched the idea to Nickelodeon. He showed up wearing a Hawaiian shirt and brought an aquarium that had the characters in it. Some of the Nickelodeon executives left the room to stop themselves from bursting out laughing. They loved the idea but changed the main characters name from “Sponge Boy” to “Sponge Bob”. Finally the show premiered on May 1, 1999 and the first episode was called “Help Wanted”.

           

            On November 19, 2004, the Sponge Bob Squarepants movie was released. It was supposed to be the series finale and Stephen would resign. Instead, the show was renewed for a fourth season and Hillenburg became the show’s executive producer. “Sponge Bob Squarepants” has been on television for a decade and new episodes premiered in March.

            If you appreciate comedy and good animation, you should watch “Sponge Bob Squarepants” created by Stephen Hillenburg, former marine biologist.

Traveling with Captain Penguin

 

Jack Murphy

Vocabulary Chapter 7

Block II

Traveling with Captain Penguin

Captain Penguin looked down at his watch. It read 2:15. Hmm. Time to pick up my mom and dad at the zoo he thought. If you want to know what he was up to this time I’ll tell you. Since it was almost Thanksgiving vacation he was going to one of his holiday visits to his homeland Antarctica to see his relatives. Since his parents live in the New York City Zoo he had to pick them up to go to Antarctica.

“Jerkins grab the keys and let’s go!” he shouted.

His butler Jerkins replied “Can’t you drive? I thought you could?”

“Just drive the car and I’ll give you a Thanksgiving bonus.” Called back Captain Penguin.

Jerkins face lit up with glee. “OK!” He answered.

Then they got to the zoo to pick up the Captain’s mom and dad. All was quiet until Captain Penguin’s mom broke the silence. “Did you memorize the history of Thanksgiving to recite at Antarctica?”

Captain Penguin looked at Jerkins and handed him five bucks and Jerkins began the story.

“The Pilgrims left England to seek religious freedoms. They were lead by William Bradford. He was their leader and came with them on their ship the Mayflower. On their way a storm blew them off course and they landed in New England which was named by John Smith. New England is part of the United States the states.  Today it is made up of the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The Pilgrims then found a safe harbor named Cape Cod. Cape Cod is a peninsula in southwestern Massachusetts enclosing Cape Cod Bay. To get off the ship all the male Pilgrims had to sign the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact is an agreement in which Pilgrims decided to set up a government and make their own laws. But the problem was they couldn’t find good land to settle on so they sailed on. Finally they picked out a spot of good land that suited them on Massachusetts Bay for their colony. Massachusetts Bay is a bay off of Massachusetts. The Pilgrims named it Plymouth. Plymouth is located in southwestern Massachusetts were the Pilgrims settled in 1620.”

“The Pilgrims began to build longhouses. But over the winter many became sick and died. When spring came only half the pilgrims survived. One day an Indian walked into Plymouth and welcomed them and asked for a drink. His name was Samoset. He was taught English by some English fishermen. Next time he came he brought his chief, Chief  Massasoit. He was the chief of the Wampanoag Indians. The Pilgrims made a peace agreement that lasted for fifty years with the Indians.”

“Another Indian Samoset brought was named Squanto. Squanto was an Indian from another tribe who was captured, made a slave and sent to Spain and escaped. When he got back his whole tribe had died of a disease from European traders. Squanto showed the Pilgrims how to catch fish, hunt wild animals ect. The Pilgrims then got all the food they harvested and shared it with the Indians and had the first Thanksgiving.Well and you know the rest.” Finished Jerkins.

“I asked my son to tell it, not you.” Said Captain Penguin’s mom.

“He has Laryngitis.” Replied Jerkins.

Captain Penguin’s mom eyed Jerkins and Captain Penguin suspiciously. “But that son of mine was blabbing his mouth off about his pay for his job. And by the way Swimly you have to find a safer job than as a super hero. This  job is going to be the death of you.”

Captain Penguin turned bright red. Jerkins smiled and chuckled to himself “Swimly! Swimly! Your name is Swimly!”

“Oh look were here at the airport.” Said Captain Penguin trying as hard as he could to change subject.

It was true they were at the airport. After a couple minutes they were on their plane. The movie that was on the plan was Pocahontas. Captain Penguin who was bored out of his mind of the movie asked Jerkins,” Jerkins is this movie true?”

“Not all of it but most of the movie is true.”

“For krill’s sake just tell me the story Jerkins!” Panicked Captain Penguin.

“OK, OK I’ll tell you but it’s pretty long” and he did. The story went something like this.

“John Smith wanted to start a colony in America. Smith was the leader who started the first permanent settlement in America. He had help from some London merchants. They gave him supplies for the journey and if his colony did well the merchants made money which is called stock. Stock simply means share and ownership in a company. In December 1606, three ships were sent out with a hundred and forty four men. Five months later the ships reached Chesapeake Bay.”

“Chesapeake Bay is a long arm of the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Maryland and Virginia. The settlement they built was called Jamestown. Jamestown is located in southeastern Virginia and is the first permanent settlement in America. When they made it there the colonists were as dumb as posts. All they did was dig for gold and they didn’t plant any crops so must of them died of starvation. So Smith went out to trade for food from Indian tribes. On one of his trips he was captured by the Powhatan Indians. The Powhatan chief named Powhatan decided to kill Smith. Chief Powhatan lived near the English settlement at Jamestown. Then they put his head on a rock and were about to pound his brains out with a club. Then out of nowhere  an Indian girl came and tried to save Smith and she did. Her name was Pocahontas. Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan and saved John Smith and helped Jamestown to survive and later marries John Rolfe. John Rolfe was a Jamestown leader who developed a type of tobacco that sold for a high price in England.

“Then Smith took control of Jamestown and ran it like an army camp. In the fall of 1609, Smith was hurt in a gun powder explosion. To recover he was sent back to England. The people of Jamestown were glad to see him go. When Smith left the colony everyone began to starve to death. In order to survive the colonist were forced to eat dogs, cats, rats and mice. They even boiled their shoes and ate the leather. By the Spring only 60 of the 500 colonists were still alive.”

“By 1610, the King of England sent a governor to rule over Jamestown. John Smith thought this was unfair. In 1618 the colonists were given rights like those of people living in England. People in Jamestown elected their own representatives in 1619.  A representative is someone chosen by a group to speak and act for them. The representatives became known as the Virginia House of  Burgesses, the law making body established in Jamestown in 1619. Women were then sent to Jamestown to marry and have families. As Jamestown grew bigger, many settlers were too poor to pay their way across the ocean to they became indentured servants, a person who agreed to work for a period of time in American in exchange for ocean passage.

Jerkins took out a map and showed Captain Penguin where Jamestown was. “This is a historical map from the 1600’s. A historical map is map that shows something about the past or where past events took place.”

Captain Penguin pointed to a dot on the map that said Massachusetts Bay Colony and asked. “What group settled here?”

“I’ll tell you a story about that.” Said Jerkins.

“The Massachusetts Bay Colony was settled by a group of Puritans. They were seeking religious freedom like the Pilgrims. They were led by John Winthrop. They called their first settlement Boston. Today it is the capital and largest city in Massachusetts.”

Captain Penguin pointed to another dot that said New Netherland and asked what it was.

Jerkins continued, “New Netherland was settled by the Dutch from 1609 to 1664. It included parts of present day New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Dutch fur traders began a trading post and called it Fort Orange. It is in present day Albany. Later the Dutch built another trading post called New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island.”

“In 1646 Peter Stuyvesant became the governor of New Netherlands. During a battle with the Indians he lost his leg and used a wooden leg. He had silver bands decorated on the wooden leg and got the nickname, Old Silver Leg.”

“After awhile, Stuyvesant heard of some Swedish settlers building a colony called New Sweden, in present day New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. In 1643, Johan Printz became the leader of this colony. People said no one was as tall or weighed as much as him. The Indians called him Big Belly.”

When Stuyvesant heard that New Sweden was getting more fur trade with the Indians than his colonists, he attacked and defeated the Swedes. New Sweden became part of New Netherlands.” Finished Jerkins.

Pretty soon the airplane landed at an airport in Antarctica. Captain Penguin and his parents got off to meet their relatives. Then Jerkins went back to New York to spend the holiday with his parents.

Happy Thanksgiving!