What Are You Afraid Of?

Alex: "Hey Mom! I know what you're afraid of."

Me: "Ya? What?"

Alex: "Obama, Osama, and Yo' Mama!"

I thought it was pretty funny. Alex is so animated and charismatic- it made it even funnier. I love it when they figure out how to tell a joke. He definitely has some charm. Heaven help the ladies in about 5 years!

George Lucas- My Hero!

So he came through.

Rather, his secretary came through. Get real. That's who runs the show anyway.

So while George Lucas is cool and all, Anne Merrifield is the true hero in my book.

Anyway, Alex got his letter and a complimentary Star Wars magazine. Which I thought was just perfect!

And in case you're wondering, "Mr. Lucas has indicated that he will not make Episodes 7, 8, and 9 because he feels the story has a good ending when Darth Vader is redeemed in Episode 6."

Oh- and she signed it "May the Force be With You!" Alex thought that was way cool.

George Lucas- you are the Man!

Dear Mr. Lucas,

Enclosed is a letter from my 7 year old son, Alex. He ordered “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” from his book order at school which he received today. As he sat down to start reading the book, he exclaimed, “I’m going to write a letter to Mr. George Lucas because I’m his biggest fan!”

He hand-wrote the letter (enclosed) and I re-typed it to make it easier for you. I had him add a paragraph to the typed version. I told him that he should ask you a question that you could answer if you wrote him back. I explained to him that you are very busy and he may not hear back from you.

When I asked him if he would be okay if you never replied back, he bit his lip, sighed, and nodded- which is his way of trying to be brave.

Thanks in advance and thanks for making great movies that entertain my husband and 3 boys. This way I can get more than a moments peace- 2 hours at least!

Very Sincerely,

Amy Huhtala


Alex's letter to Mr. Lucas:

November 5, 2008

Dear George Lucas,

Me and my Dad are your biggest fans of your books and movies. The book I’m reading right now is “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”. I’ve seen the cartoon and I’m reading the book so I can see if the book is the same as the movie.

I’ve seen all the Star Wars movies except for “Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith”. I haven’t seen this one because it’s rated PG-13 and my parents will not let me watch it. My Dad says you are going to make 3 more Star Wars movies and I was wondering if this was true. If it is, what will you call the movies?

From,

Your biggest fan ever,

Alex Emil Huhtala

P.S. You rock! And I love your last name. I’m 7 and my Dad is 36.
And… You’re Awesome!

We just sent this envelope off late last week and Alex started asking yesterday if he could check the mail. He also asked me this morning at 7 a.m. I'm hoping that it doesn't take forever and they actually write him back- he is so excited. If I don't hear back in a few weeks, I'll have to take matters into my own hands!

Soccer Team Group Picture

We just got this in the mail and I wanted to post the team picture.

It will go up in Andrew's room and who knows where it will end up from there.

BTW... I'm not getting rid of my title as soon as I thought.... A.L & Alex are on the same basketball team and I'm going to give it a shot! No pun intended.

School Daze

5th Grade, 4th Grade, 2nd Grade, 1st Grade!

This summer went by so fast! It is already time for school to start- I can't believe it. Before school we went to breakfast. It was fun to sit and talk to the kids without the distractions of being at home. They each are so excited for the new school year.

Hannah is such a great student and so self-motivated. Her favorite subjects are writing and math. This year she has the opportunity to win the Golden Explorer Award. It is something they do in 5th Grade. There are about 30 things they must do- some of them are very challenging. Mrs. Davies said last year she only had 2 students win the award. At first, Hannah wasn't going to try it because she said it stressed her out. But after her 2nd day of school and listening to Mrs. Davies explain the specifics, she came home ready to go!

Haylee has Mr. Bradford this year. He is the famous 4th grade teacher at Spanish Oaks. He has a way of motivating the kids to learn and holding them accountable for their own work and behavior. Haylee is a great student. I was so impressed with her hard work last year. Her 3rd grade teacher told me she wanted to challenge Haylee and give her harder spelling words. My reaction was, "But she studies all week just to get the basic words down." She said that Haylee always scored 100% so she wanted to push her a little. Haylee did not back down from the challenge and kept scoring 100% even with the advanced words. I know this perseverance will pay off as she goes through school.

Alex is a natural. At everything. I never worry about him and academics at school. He is very smart. He loves to read and enjoys learning about things even at home in his free time. (For Christmas, we got him "The Dangerous Book for Boys". It is the best book ever! If you have boys, check it out!) He is motivated to do well and wants to please his teachers and his parents. His teacher Mrs. Sanders will spend some time on values and choices this year. This will be good for Alex. (I'm hoping the 2 instances of cheating last year were isolated incidents). Sports continues to be a main thread in Alex's life. He is in soccer right now and can't wait until next year when he can start playing football.

Andrew (some of you know him by Logan) is at school all day. Heaven help us! He is my only child that is not self-motivated to do well in school. In fact, he could care less about learning. He has done a good job of keeping his reading skills up this summer so I hope he will continue to improve. He has a very tender heart and I'm sure has already fallen in love with his teacher. He exercised his independence by choosing to be called "Andrew" this year. Even though he is totally a Logan and I would like to refuse to let him go by Andrew, I am proud that he cares enough about something to stick to it. I am desperately trying to call him Andrew at home so that he does not develop 2 personalities. Although if it means he is motivated and excels in school, a split personality may not be a bad thing.

Now we're down to one at home. I quit my job so me and 2 year old are spending our days together. I'm trying to enjoy it, especially since he will be a kindergartner in 2011. Sobering thought.