Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Wii got it!
December 28, 2008
Merry Christmas everyone!! We have had such a wonderful week! Who knew that this “relaxing” thing could be so fun!! It will be brutal when school starts again and I have to get up 6 hours earlier than I am now!!!
We had a fun week preparing for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we made tons of Christmas goodies and delivered plates to our friends and neighbors on the ice covered streets. (Apparently that warehouse that held all our city salt for the winter was destroyed during the summer floods, so we have a salt shortage.) We also got Alayna’s hair cut and it looks adorable. She says she looks like “Alice” from Twilight. (Don’t worry- she didn’t see the movie, but with Twilight fanatics around here, she was bound to learn about it.)
Christmas was such a beautiful day. Everything turned out just perfect. Thank you so much for all the wonderful gifts you all sent to make it such a great day. We had a relaxing day playing games, watching movies, and really enjoying time as a family.
The kids have been working since June to earn a Wii by doing chores, helping around the house, etc. They have worked very hard and finally reached their goal! We surprised them with the Wii for Christmas. I should have caught the reaction on videotape because it was absolutely priceless! Tyler had a blood-curdling scream which was appeared to be a mix of sheer terror and total joy. It was hilarious. Yesterday, Bob created brackets and we had a family Wii tournament all day. Apparently I don’t use my right arm very much because I can barely use it today. The kids love it and have each created some pretty funny mii’s.
One day Bob and the kids went out to play in the snow. They built forts (took 1 hour) and then proceeded to have a snowball fight (lasted 5 minutes). They all came in freezing and scarfed up some hot cocoa. The funny thing is the next day we had this HUGE thunderstorm that came through and melted all the snow. That night it totally froze into sheets of ice and then it dumped about 1-2 inches of snow. Always exciting weather here I tell ya!
I think that is a quick summation of our week. Hope you all had a wonderful and joyous Christmas and are having a relaxing vacation.
Merry Christmas everyone!! We have had such a wonderful week! Who knew that this “relaxing” thing could be so fun!! It will be brutal when school starts again and I have to get up 6 hours earlier than I am now!!!
We had a fun week preparing for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we made tons of Christmas goodies and delivered plates to our friends and neighbors on the ice covered streets. (Apparently that warehouse that held all our city salt for the winter was destroyed during the summer floods, so we have a salt shortage.) We also got Alayna’s hair cut and it looks adorable. She says she looks like “Alice” from Twilight. (Don’t worry- she didn’t see the movie, but with Twilight fanatics around here, she was bound to learn about it.)
Christmas was such a beautiful day. Everything turned out just perfect. Thank you so much for all the wonderful gifts you all sent to make it such a great day. We had a relaxing day playing games, watching movies, and really enjoying time as a family.
The kids have been working since June to earn a Wii by doing chores, helping around the house, etc. They have worked very hard and finally reached their goal! We surprised them with the Wii for Christmas. I should have caught the reaction on videotape because it was absolutely priceless! Tyler had a blood-curdling scream which was appeared to be a mix of sheer terror and total joy. It was hilarious. Yesterday, Bob created brackets and we had a family Wii tournament all day. Apparently I don’t use my right arm very much because I can barely use it today. The kids love it and have each created some pretty funny mii’s.
One day Bob and the kids went out to play in the snow. They built forts (took 1 hour) and then proceeded to have a snowball fight (lasted 5 minutes). They all came in freezing and scarfed up some hot cocoa. The funny thing is the next day we had this HUGE thunderstorm that came through and melted all the snow. That night it totally froze into sheets of ice and then it dumped about 1-2 inches of snow. Always exciting weather here I tell ya!
I think that is a quick summation of our week. Hope you all had a wonderful and joyous Christmas and are having a relaxing vacation.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Can you say "frigid"???
December 21, 2008
When we moved here 4 years ago, we quickly learned what it meant when the weather man said it was going to be “frigid”. We now know that “frigid” is when the wind-chill is -35, the car doors are frozen shut, your car will barely run once you actually get inside, you can see your breath in the car, and when you inhale the inside of your nose completely freezes creating tiny hair icicles in your nostrils. Bet you didn’t know that- you’re welcome!! It is -33 right now and they ended up having church today. That was an experience. It is nice to be home and warm now.
On Monday, I survived an observation by the principal. After long hours of great stress and about 12 hours of prep, it turned out to be a huge success. (2 down one more to go) That night it snowed hard (I think we got about 5 inches). They had school on Tuesday, which was surprising, but I stayed home with Tyler and Alayna who still had that horrible cold (and was able to escape the dreaded Reading Committee Meeting!) Alayna’s music concert and gymnastics were cancelled because of the weather. (insert jig of joy here)
On Wednesday, Kayla helped babysit for a woman in our ward who just found out she has breast cancer. Then Marisa and Kayla helped babysit kids at the church so parents could go shopping for Christmas.
We had a massive storm hit Thursday evening. Alayna’s concert was rescheduled for Thursday night and they still held it. She was so absolutely adorable-(you could almost believe the innocenceJ) She even had a speaking part and did a fantastic job! I hope Bob can post some of what he taped. It continued to snow and snow and snow. That afternoon I went to Walmart to get supplies to make ice cream cone trees in my classes. I was up all night wondering if our last day before break would be cancelled. By 5AM they posted that it was cancelled- I bet you could hear my “hallelujah” song all the way out there in Utah! I crawled back into bed and slept 6 more hours than I usually do. If I could give you a definition of “heaven”- that’s what it would be! We hung out and relaxed (after the weekend deep cleaning, my poor kids)
Saturday was spent doing some major shoveling, making Christmas gifts, and practicing for sharing time (at night Bob went to a friends house to watch “the game”. Not exactly sure what game that was but I guess it was an important one?) The kids shoveled for hours only to have the 40 mile an hour winds blow the snow right back on the driveway. They had the “winter-in-Iowa-really-sucks” look on their faces.
When we woke up this morning, we were shocked to death that we still had church. We are all sick except Bob I think. The kids (and Bob) did a fantastic sharing time. We did an adorable puppet show acting out the Christmas story called “The Last Straw”. It was a HUGE hit! Now the kids (and Bob) are practicing their “Sunday band” which includes Tyler on the trombone, Bob on the trumpet, Kayla on the clarinet, and Marisa on the violin. They have been practicing Christmas music lately and they sound great. Maybe I can secretly tape them and post it on the blog?
By the way, we will soon be posting our end of year picture slide show. I know some of you have been waiting patiently for that!
A special Happy Birthday to Grandpa Ribera tomorrow. We have a fun week of relaxation and several movie marathons planned (like the mummy). I have decided I will need someone to physically tie me to the couch so I can force out some relaxation. We also wish you all a very Merry Christmas!! We hope you have a warmer one than us!!
When we moved here 4 years ago, we quickly learned what it meant when the weather man said it was going to be “frigid”. We now know that “frigid” is when the wind-chill is -35, the car doors are frozen shut, your car will barely run once you actually get inside, you can see your breath in the car, and when you inhale the inside of your nose completely freezes creating tiny hair icicles in your nostrils. Bet you didn’t know that- you’re welcome!! It is -33 right now and they ended up having church today. That was an experience. It is nice to be home and warm now.
On Monday, I survived an observation by the principal. After long hours of great stress and about 12 hours of prep, it turned out to be a huge success. (2 down one more to go) That night it snowed hard (I think we got about 5 inches). They had school on Tuesday, which was surprising, but I stayed home with Tyler and Alayna who still had that horrible cold (and was able to escape the dreaded Reading Committee Meeting!) Alayna’s music concert and gymnastics were cancelled because of the weather. (insert jig of joy here)
On Wednesday, Kayla helped babysit for a woman in our ward who just found out she has breast cancer. Then Marisa and Kayla helped babysit kids at the church so parents could go shopping for Christmas.
We had a massive storm hit Thursday evening. Alayna’s concert was rescheduled for Thursday night and they still held it. She was so absolutely adorable-(you could almost believe the innocenceJ) She even had a speaking part and did a fantastic job! I hope Bob can post some of what he taped. It continued to snow and snow and snow. That afternoon I went to Walmart to get supplies to make ice cream cone trees in my classes. I was up all night wondering if our last day before break would be cancelled. By 5AM they posted that it was cancelled- I bet you could hear my “hallelujah” song all the way out there in Utah! I crawled back into bed and slept 6 more hours than I usually do. If I could give you a definition of “heaven”- that’s what it would be! We hung out and relaxed (after the weekend deep cleaning, my poor kids)
Saturday was spent doing some major shoveling, making Christmas gifts, and practicing for sharing time (at night Bob went to a friends house to watch “the game”. Not exactly sure what game that was but I guess it was an important one?) The kids shoveled for hours only to have the 40 mile an hour winds blow the snow right back on the driveway. They had the “winter-in-Iowa-really-sucks” look on their faces.
When we woke up this morning, we were shocked to death that we still had church. We are all sick except Bob I think. The kids (and Bob) did a fantastic sharing time. We did an adorable puppet show acting out the Christmas story called “The Last Straw”. It was a HUGE hit! Now the kids (and Bob) are practicing their “Sunday band” which includes Tyler on the trombone, Bob on the trumpet, Kayla on the clarinet, and Marisa on the violin. They have been practicing Christmas music lately and they sound great. Maybe I can secretly tape them and post it on the blog?
By the way, we will soon be posting our end of year picture slide show. I know some of you have been waiting patiently for that!
A special Happy Birthday to Grandpa Ribera tomorrow. We have a fun week of relaxation and several movie marathons planned (like the mummy). I have decided I will need someone to physically tie me to the couch so I can force out some relaxation. We also wish you all a very Merry Christmas!! We hope you have a warmer one than us!!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Concerts, colds, and a date night
December 14, 2008
Monday: Marisa had an orchestra concert and did a great job. I am always amazed at how wonderful the HS orchestra sounds.
Tuesday: School and other activities were canceled due to an ice storm. We were supposed to get 6 inches of snow on top of the ice but the snow didn’t come. The roads were very very slick! The kids made a gingerbread house (I won't tell you how we cheated)
Thursday: A day of pure insanity. I won’t list it all, but we did have two concerts that night. Alayna and I went to Tyler’s vocal concert where he had a solo. He has such an elegantly beautiful voice and I was so impressed. You have to be brave to do a solo in front of so many people! Then Bob, Tyler, and Kayla went to Marisa’s Chamber orchestra concert that had some pieces with the HS jazz band. I heard it was pretty awesome!!
Friday: Date night. We haven’t been on a date forever! Wait- I will tell you all about it. We went to Walmart!! (haha) We ate dinner at the Subway there, then shopped for Christmas presents for 4 hours, and then went to Culver’s for frozen custard before we went home. Although not exactly romantic, it was very productive and I now have almost all the Christmas shopping done!! Whoo-hoo!! (Did any of you receive our Christmas cards we sent out?)
Saturday: Tyler was up all night with an awful cold and ended up missing his all day Lego League competition. He was devastated! We spent the whole day trying frantically to catch up on life. Bob took the kids to the ward party while I stayed home with Tyler and folded laundry. Let me tell you how exciting that was! But I hear it was more exciting than the ward party, so that’s cool.
Sunday: Now Alayna was up last night and she is very sick. So, I stayed home with Tyler and Alayna who have gone through an entire box of Kleenex just this morning!
Coming up this week:
*Tonight- Giant Survivor Party…Go BOB!!!!!!!
*I will be observed by the principal tomorrow. (Talk about massive serious stress!!)
*Alayna has her school musical on Tuesday and she has a special speaking part. Maybe I can remember to record her speaking part and post it?
*Last week of school before break.
*Massive ice storm hitting tonight. With the windchill the temp will be -20!!!
Monday: Marisa had an orchestra concert and did a great job. I am always amazed at how wonderful the HS orchestra sounds.
Tuesday: School and other activities were canceled due to an ice storm. We were supposed to get 6 inches of snow on top of the ice but the snow didn’t come. The roads were very very slick! The kids made a gingerbread house (I won't tell you how we cheated)
Thursday: A day of pure insanity. I won’t list it all, but we did have two concerts that night. Alayna and I went to Tyler’s vocal concert where he had a solo. He has such an elegantly beautiful voice and I was so impressed. You have to be brave to do a solo in front of so many people! Then Bob, Tyler, and Kayla went to Marisa’s Chamber orchestra concert that had some pieces with the HS jazz band. I heard it was pretty awesome!!
Friday: Date night. We haven’t been on a date forever! Wait- I will tell you all about it. We went to Walmart!! (haha) We ate dinner at the Subway there, then shopped for Christmas presents for 4 hours, and then went to Culver’s for frozen custard before we went home. Although not exactly romantic, it was very productive and I now have almost all the Christmas shopping done!! Whoo-hoo!! (Did any of you receive our Christmas cards we sent out?)
Saturday: Tyler was up all night with an awful cold and ended up missing his all day Lego League competition. He was devastated! We spent the whole day trying frantically to catch up on life. Bob took the kids to the ward party while I stayed home with Tyler and folded laundry. Let me tell you how exciting that was! But I hear it was more exciting than the ward party, so that’s cool.
Sunday: Now Alayna was up last night and she is very sick. So, I stayed home with Tyler and Alayna who have gone through an entire box of Kleenex just this morning!
Coming up this week:
*Tonight- Giant Survivor Party…Go BOB!!!!!!!
*I will be observed by the principal tomorrow. (Talk about massive serious stress!!)
*Alayna has her school musical on Tuesday and she has a special speaking part. Maybe I can remember to record her speaking part and post it?
*Last week of school before break.
*Massive ice storm hitting tonight. With the windchill the temp will be -20!!!
Sunday, December 07, 2008
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!
December 7,2008
Monday: I had to work and Marisa had school, but the rest of the kids had the day off. Trimester grades were due and I was able to get them done pretty quickly. Then I was in meetings to differentiate instruction according to NWEA scores. When I got home, the younger kids had cleaned the house, made brownie cupcakes, and made jello-beans! I was so touched!!
Tuesday: The morning started out with a knock-out…literally. The kids were playing “Kung-Fu” after watching Kung Fu Panda. Kayla karate chopped and hit Alaynas mouth, partially knocking out her already very loose tooth. I was able to help it out the rest of the way.
Then Kayla, Tyler, and Alayna came and helped me get new bulletin boards up, reorganize my room, make a new check out table and outline a beehive. Well here is how the day went:
I woke up, Alayna got the tooth knocked out, we went to my classroom to work for over an hour, ran and got my eyebrows waxed, dropped Tyler off at Hunter’s for Lego League research (competition is in a few weeks), did the dishes while I ate my lunch, grabbed 30 minutes nap, picked up Tyler, took kids across town for flu shots, went to learning ladder for school stuff, came home and gave kids Tylenol. Ran Alayna to gymnastics, and then Bob and I finished all the food shopping. As you can imagine, I was out cold by bedtime!!
*I started this newsletter before Thanksgiving and never got it done! So, now I have to go by memory. Yikes!
Bob’s Birthday: Happy 40th to Bob!! We celebrated by dragging him to Twilight (which he liked!)and then went to Happy Joes (his traditional birthday dinner). Grandma Hart arrived in time to go see Twilight with us and Grandpa Hart was sweet and took Alayna to see “Bolt”.
Thanksgiving: Debbie and family arrived in the morning. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! In the afternoon, they even played a “turkey bowl” in the backyard.
I don’t remember much about the rest of the weekend. It was just an enjoyable relaxing weekend that I think we all needed! I also finished reading “Midnight Sun”. Now I am frantically reading through all the books for Battle of the Books!
Saturday: Bob and his dad decided they could fix the washing machine on their own. They ordered the part they needed and put in on Saturday. They actually seemed like they knew what they were doing. Now it works just like new.
This Week:
Kayla took home the “baby” for her Family and Consumer Science class. These babies are AMAZINGLY advanced compared to the silly egg I had to bring home!! She had a bracelet that had some kind of computer chip in it. It recorded every time she got near the baby. Sometimes when she went near it, it cooed. When it cried she had to try and change the baby (it had a sensor), try to feed it (lips and bottle have a sensor) or rock it (again could sense it). She had to try whatever she could do to make it stop crying and do it until the baby cooed. She had a VERY long night (She was up around 10 times). She was almost in tears by morning- brought back some sweet baby memories for me. Dang glad we have moved past that stage!
Monday night we had our annual put-up-the-Christmas-decorations- along-to-Christmas-music night. Our house is all decked up and ready to go. Now if Bob and I could get our act in gear and buy some presents, we may actually be ready for Christmas!!
Tyler had his first basketball game. He should hop on here and let you know how it went. He is excited to play basketball this year.
Alayna has been taking gymnastics and can do some really cool stuff. I took some pics I will include.
We finally got a quiet family night at home last night! We all worked real hard yesterday cleaning, grocery shopping, lesson plans, etc. Bob made this incredible pioneer bean/ham soup from scratch, honey wheat bread from scratch and some chocolate covered peanut butter balls (again from scratch) He and the kids rocked!!! Then we cozied up in pajamas and blankets, put the fire on, and watched “Prince Caspian”. I love quiet nights at home! They are my very favorite!!
Our first massive snow storm hit this past week and we have another one headed in tomorrow. Today it was 1 degree. Yep, you heard me right, 1 degree. The snow flakes were so huge you could see the individual design on each one. It was incredible! Not loving the slick roads with the ice, but I guess we have to hunker down and accept that winter has most definitely begun!!
Coming up this week:
Marisa’ orchestra concert
Tyler’s Lego League robotics competition
Tyler’s choir concert
Marisa’s chamber concert
Marisa’s bowling meet
The ward Christmas party.
Monday: I had to work and Marisa had school, but the rest of the kids had the day off. Trimester grades were due and I was able to get them done pretty quickly. Then I was in meetings to differentiate instruction according to NWEA scores. When I got home, the younger kids had cleaned the house, made brownie cupcakes, and made jello-beans! I was so touched!!
Tuesday: The morning started out with a knock-out…literally. The kids were playing “Kung-Fu” after watching Kung Fu Panda. Kayla karate chopped and hit Alaynas mouth, partially knocking out her already very loose tooth. I was able to help it out the rest of the way.
Then Kayla, Tyler, and Alayna came and helped me get new bulletin boards up, reorganize my room, make a new check out table and outline a beehive. Well here is how the day went:
I woke up, Alayna got the tooth knocked out, we went to my classroom to work for over an hour, ran and got my eyebrows waxed, dropped Tyler off at Hunter’s for Lego League research (competition is in a few weeks), did the dishes while I ate my lunch, grabbed 30 minutes nap, picked up Tyler, took kids across town for flu shots, went to learning ladder for school stuff, came home and gave kids Tylenol. Ran Alayna to gymnastics, and then Bob and I finished all the food shopping. As you can imagine, I was out cold by bedtime!!
*I started this newsletter before Thanksgiving and never got it done! So, now I have to go by memory. Yikes!
Bob’s Birthday: Happy 40th to Bob!! We celebrated by dragging him to Twilight (which he liked!)and then went to Happy Joes (his traditional birthday dinner). Grandma Hart arrived in time to go see Twilight with us and Grandpa Hart was sweet and took Alayna to see “Bolt”.
Thanksgiving: Debbie and family arrived in the morning. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! In the afternoon, they even played a “turkey bowl” in the backyard.
I don’t remember much about the rest of the weekend. It was just an enjoyable relaxing weekend that I think we all needed! I also finished reading “Midnight Sun”. Now I am frantically reading through all the books for Battle of the Books!
Saturday: Bob and his dad decided they could fix the washing machine on their own. They ordered the part they needed and put in on Saturday. They actually seemed like they knew what they were doing. Now it works just like new.
This Week:
Kayla took home the “baby” for her Family and Consumer Science class. These babies are AMAZINGLY advanced compared to the silly egg I had to bring home!! She had a bracelet that had some kind of computer chip in it. It recorded every time she got near the baby. Sometimes when she went near it, it cooed. When it cried she had to try and change the baby (it had a sensor), try to feed it (lips and bottle have a sensor) or rock it (again could sense it). She had to try whatever she could do to make it stop crying and do it until the baby cooed. She had a VERY long night (She was up around 10 times). She was almost in tears by morning- brought back some sweet baby memories for me. Dang glad we have moved past that stage!
Monday night we had our annual put-up-the-Christmas-decorations- along-to-Christmas-music night. Our house is all decked up and ready to go. Now if Bob and I could get our act in gear and buy some presents, we may actually be ready for Christmas!!
Tyler had his first basketball game. He should hop on here and let you know how it went. He is excited to play basketball this year.
Alayna has been taking gymnastics and can do some really cool stuff. I took some pics I will include.
We finally got a quiet family night at home last night! We all worked real hard yesterday cleaning, grocery shopping, lesson plans, etc. Bob made this incredible pioneer bean/ham soup from scratch, honey wheat bread from scratch and some chocolate covered peanut butter balls (again from scratch) He and the kids rocked!!! Then we cozied up in pajamas and blankets, put the fire on, and watched “Prince Caspian”. I love quiet nights at home! They are my very favorite!!
Our first massive snow storm hit this past week and we have another one headed in tomorrow. Today it was 1 degree. Yep, you heard me right, 1 degree. The snow flakes were so huge you could see the individual design on each one. It was incredible! Not loving the slick roads with the ice, but I guess we have to hunker down and accept that winter has most definitely begun!!
Coming up this week:
Marisa’ orchestra concert
Tyler’s Lego League robotics competition
Tyler’s choir concert
Marisa’s chamber concert
Marisa’s bowling meet
The ward Christmas party.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Concerts, Madagascar, concerts, and a broken appliance??
Concerts, Madagascar, concerts, and a broken appliance??
November 23, 2008
Last Saturday: My washing machine broke!! It’s not even that old. I had a load that washed for almost 2 hours before I realized that the knob wasn’t turning like it should be. Sears said they couldn’t come look at it til Thursday.
Monday: Kayla had her fall band concert. Bob took Tyler to the concert while I took Alayna with me to Marisa’s violin lessons. I think her concert went well.
Tuesday: After Alayna’s gymnastics class, we raced to Tyler’s 5th grade musical production. It was an incredible Veterans Day concert. They sang some beautiful pieces along with some incredible slideshows. They also posted all veterans from each kids family on a giant “brick” wall. Tyler and Alayna had Grandpa Cunningham, Grandpa Salinas, Great Grandpa Ribera, and Grandpa Ribera! It breaks my heart that I wasn’t able to get a picture of Tyler in front of it. We had to literally race out when the concert was over to get to his band concert over at the high school!! It was his very first band concert and it went great!
Wednesday: Tyler had scouts and the girls had a game night for YW.
Thursday: I had to get Tyler to the bus at school by 5:45 AM. Their rehearsals started early for OPUS and went all day in Ames. As soon as I finished teaching (Actually my students earned National Treasure, so we watched that this week), we raced off to Ames, Iowa (2 hours away). We arrived at the Iowa State University to attend the OPUS concert in the main concert hall. It was HUGE, even had 3 balconies! Tyler was in the 5th-6th grade group. Only 180 were chosen out of all the kids in Iowa, and Tyler was one of them!! When the concert began, we all sat in awe. It was one of the most beautiful children’s choirs I have ever heard (4 part harmony)! Tyler did such a fantastic job! We weren’t allowed to take a video camera or regular camera inside, so I don’t have anything to share from it.
We went to Carlos O Kelley’s for dinner while Tyler told us about his cool day. Then we had to drive to Ankeny to stay in a hotel (all hotels in Ames were full). We arrived to the hotel with perfect timing- just in time for Survivor!! Then Bob was sweet enough to go track down some ice cream for us.
PS- Oh, and Sears came by to let us know that the part we need for our washing machine to get fixed is almost the same as buying a new washer!!! SO, with company coming this week, I guess we will be hitting the Sears appliance section-major ugh!
Friday: Bob ran Marisa up to the ISU campus bright and early for her full day of rehearsals for Junior All-state. When he got back, he went with the rest of us up to the mall. I found a Hot Topics store and went CRAZY with all the new twilight stuff. I got the girls t-shirts (Team Edward of course!) and I should have gotten Team Jacob for me, that would have been funny for this coming Wednesday when we go see it! I did finally get a poster for my classroom and I am one of the coolest teachers in 6th grade because I have read the whole series! (I got a key chain too-hehe!)
The kids got to play at the arcade, we had lunch at a little pizza place, and then we got to play the coolest game!!! It was an entire miniature golf course all under black light! The kids LOVED it and we had the course all to ourselves so we got to go through twice. It was pretty funny watching Alayna’s 24 strokes be counted as “4”. She would drag it all the way and drop it in the hole. Hilarious!
Then we went to Hobby Lobby, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy. Bob dropped Tyler, Alayna, and me off at the Movie Theater. I took them to see Madagascar 2, which turned out to be pretty adorable. I was so glad we had the theater pretty much to ourselves and weren’t out in the long line waiting with the freezing twilighters! In the meantime, Bob and Kayla attended Marisa’s junior all-state concert. (We were only allowed 2 tickets so there is no way both Bob and I could attend) So, hopefully Marisa can tell you about her experience with that. Then we headed for home.
Other info:
*Marisa joined the bowling team at the high school. (insert giant chuckle here) She tried out and made the JV team. She really enjoys it!
*Tyler was asked to be one of 2 researchers on his lego league team. They have a competition coming up in December. They have been working with some guys from Rockwell to build and program a robot. I should get Tyler to hop onto our blog and tell you all about what he does and what he is researching.
Coming up this week:
*Twilight!! On Wednesday!! The count down begins. Anyone else want to go with me and a giant bunch of teenage girls?
*Bob’s 40th birthday celebration on Wednesday (yes, I am dragging him to Twilight!) and Hart Grandparents arrive.
*Debbie, Trent, and family arrive and we have Thanksgiving.
*Note to self: MUST start thinking about Christmas. Yikes!!
November 23, 2008
Last Saturday: My washing machine broke!! It’s not even that old. I had a load that washed for almost 2 hours before I realized that the knob wasn’t turning like it should be. Sears said they couldn’t come look at it til Thursday.
Monday: Kayla had her fall band concert. Bob took Tyler to the concert while I took Alayna with me to Marisa’s violin lessons. I think her concert went well.
Tuesday: After Alayna’s gymnastics class, we raced to Tyler’s 5th grade musical production. It was an incredible Veterans Day concert. They sang some beautiful pieces along with some incredible slideshows. They also posted all veterans from each kids family on a giant “brick” wall. Tyler and Alayna had Grandpa Cunningham, Grandpa Salinas, Great Grandpa Ribera, and Grandpa Ribera! It breaks my heart that I wasn’t able to get a picture of Tyler in front of it. We had to literally race out when the concert was over to get to his band concert over at the high school!! It was his very first band concert and it went great!
Wednesday: Tyler had scouts and the girls had a game night for YW.
Thursday: I had to get Tyler to the bus at school by 5:45 AM. Their rehearsals started early for OPUS and went all day in Ames. As soon as I finished teaching (Actually my students earned National Treasure, so we watched that this week), we raced off to Ames, Iowa (2 hours away). We arrived at the Iowa State University to attend the OPUS concert in the main concert hall. It was HUGE, even had 3 balconies! Tyler was in the 5th-6th grade group. Only 180 were chosen out of all the kids in Iowa, and Tyler was one of them!! When the concert began, we all sat in awe. It was one of the most beautiful children’s choirs I have ever heard (4 part harmony)! Tyler did such a fantastic job! We weren’t allowed to take a video camera or regular camera inside, so I don’t have anything to share from it.
We went to Carlos O Kelley’s for dinner while Tyler told us about his cool day. Then we had to drive to Ankeny to stay in a hotel (all hotels in Ames were full). We arrived to the hotel with perfect timing- just in time for Survivor!! Then Bob was sweet enough to go track down some ice cream for us.
PS- Oh, and Sears came by to let us know that the part we need for our washing machine to get fixed is almost the same as buying a new washer!!! SO, with company coming this week, I guess we will be hitting the Sears appliance section-major ugh!
Friday: Bob ran Marisa up to the ISU campus bright and early for her full day of rehearsals for Junior All-state. When he got back, he went with the rest of us up to the mall. I found a Hot Topics store and went CRAZY with all the new twilight stuff. I got the girls t-shirts (Team Edward of course!) and I should have gotten Team Jacob for me, that would have been funny for this coming Wednesday when we go see it! I did finally get a poster for my classroom and I am one of the coolest teachers in 6th grade because I have read the whole series! (I got a key chain too-hehe!)
The kids got to play at the arcade, we had lunch at a little pizza place, and then we got to play the coolest game!!! It was an entire miniature golf course all under black light! The kids LOVED it and we had the course all to ourselves so we got to go through twice. It was pretty funny watching Alayna’s 24 strokes be counted as “4”. She would drag it all the way and drop it in the hole. Hilarious!
Then we went to Hobby Lobby, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy. Bob dropped Tyler, Alayna, and me off at the Movie Theater. I took them to see Madagascar 2, which turned out to be pretty adorable. I was so glad we had the theater pretty much to ourselves and weren’t out in the long line waiting with the freezing twilighters! In the meantime, Bob and Kayla attended Marisa’s junior all-state concert. (We were only allowed 2 tickets so there is no way both Bob and I could attend) So, hopefully Marisa can tell you about her experience with that. Then we headed for home.
Other info:
*Marisa joined the bowling team at the high school. (insert giant chuckle here) She tried out and made the JV team. She really enjoys it!
*Tyler was asked to be one of 2 researchers on his lego league team. They have a competition coming up in December. They have been working with some guys from Rockwell to build and program a robot. I should get Tyler to hop onto our blog and tell you all about what he does and what he is researching.
Coming up this week:
*Twilight!! On Wednesday!! The count down begins. Anyone else want to go with me and a giant bunch of teenage girls?
*Bob’s 40th birthday celebration on Wednesday (yes, I am dragging him to Twilight!) and Hart Grandparents arrive.
*Debbie, Trent, and family arrive and we have Thanksgiving.
*Note to self: MUST start thinking about Christmas. Yikes!!
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Exploding grapes, witches brew, and too much candy!
November 2, 2008
Orchestra: Marisa had a concert this week and it was so wonderful!! She has gotten so good. I will have Bob post the video clips we took so you can see her in action. At the end, all the orchestras played the finale together (5th, 6th, and high school orchestras) and played Beethovens “Ode to Joy” – all 250 of them. It was incredible! She was also accepted into the Junior All State Orchestra!!! Isn’t that exciting? It is in Ames the day after Tyler’s OPUS concert, so I guess we will need to stay the night there since its such a far drive.
Trunk-or-treat: On Wednesday we had a bi-ward trunk-or-treat. The weather was so beautiful- almost 70 degrees! Alayna was a Princess, Tyler was a veterinarian, Kayla was Alice from “twilight”, and Marisa was bacon and her friend Jessica was an egg. We took some fun pictures which I will post.
Coe College Science Night: Coe College had an amazing night with cool science demonstrations. Bob, Corey and Hal, and the older 3 kids went. I am hoping one of the kids will step up and write out what they saw. It was some very cool stuff: exploding grapes, ice cream made using liquid nitrogen, fake snow, etc.
Halloween: Again, the weather was lovely. We had lots of friends over. Bob took the younger kids out to trick or treat while I gave out candy here at home. When they got back, Grandma and Grandpa Hart helped us make a witches brew which was a complete success! Then we played with dry ice for a couple of minutes. Marisa and Kayla had their friends over and they all went out trick or treating and hauled in quite a bit of candy! A couple of them stayed the night.
Saturday: We had a crazy busy day on Saturday. We all worked for hours on our sad and neglected yard. We packed up all the deck set, toys, etc. We mowed, Bob and Corey planted 45 tulip bulbs, they fixed our dining room chairs, we cut down all the bushes and shrubs, etc. Everything looks so much better and I think we may actually be ready for winter (not mentally, but you know what I mean)
Orchestra: Marisa had a concert this week and it was so wonderful!! She has gotten so good. I will have Bob post the video clips we took so you can see her in action. At the end, all the orchestras played the finale together (5th, 6th, and high school orchestras) and played Beethovens “Ode to Joy” – all 250 of them. It was incredible! She was also accepted into the Junior All State Orchestra!!! Isn’t that exciting? It is in Ames the day after Tyler’s OPUS concert, so I guess we will need to stay the night there since its such a far drive.
Trunk-or-treat: On Wednesday we had a bi-ward trunk-or-treat. The weather was so beautiful- almost 70 degrees! Alayna was a Princess, Tyler was a veterinarian, Kayla was Alice from “twilight”, and Marisa was bacon and her friend Jessica was an egg. We took some fun pictures which I will post.
Coe College Science Night: Coe College had an amazing night with cool science demonstrations. Bob, Corey and Hal, and the older 3 kids went. I am hoping one of the kids will step up and write out what they saw. It was some very cool stuff: exploding grapes, ice cream made using liquid nitrogen, fake snow, etc.
Halloween: Again, the weather was lovely. We had lots of friends over. Bob took the younger kids out to trick or treat while I gave out candy here at home. When they got back, Grandma and Grandpa Hart helped us make a witches brew which was a complete success! Then we played with dry ice for a couple of minutes. Marisa and Kayla had their friends over and they all went out trick or treating and hauled in quite a bit of candy! A couple of them stayed the night.
Saturday: We had a crazy busy day on Saturday. We all worked for hours on our sad and neglected yard. We packed up all the deck set, toys, etc. We mowed, Bob and Corey planted 45 tulip bulbs, they fixed our dining room chairs, we cut down all the bushes and shrubs, etc. Everything looks so much better and I think we may actually be ready for winter (not mentally, but you know what I mean)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
October 26, 2008 Update
It’s been a month since I wrote the last newsletter. I hardly know where to begin! I apologize if I repeat anything from last month.
Bob: Bob has jury duty in November. He gets to go in the newly renovated courthouse which had been completely wiped out by the flood. He has also started his own taxi service called “Where the heck are my kids going today?”
Kris: It is been horribly busy. I am on the secondary reading committee and we had a meeting this month. It is a lot more involved than anyone said it would be. I am also on the Battle of the Books team. The kids read all 20-something books and I help run the competitions. Kayla and her team just entered. The competitions start in February. The mentor program from new teachers here is very grueling. If I survive, it will be a miracle. I get observed this week again.
I have become a crazed “Twilight” fan. I absolutely LOVE the series and already have the date planned to go see the movie. With the amount of people planning to go with us, I assume we could fill a whole theater! Marisa and Kayla just started reading the series. Working hard trying to get Bob to start reading it before the movie. I figure he can start when he is on jury duty! I am so tempted to get that t-shirt that has the apple on it and says “Bite me”, but figured it may not go over well as a staff member- haha! But, I am definitely in the “cool” category at school for being a teacher that reads them. As they say, I “rock”.
I had parent conferences both for my own kids and then for my students at school. My kids are all doing great! I could go on for many paragraphs bragging, but I shall refrain.
However, I will say that Tyler, Alayna and Kayla have earned several Pride awards this month!!
The conferences for my students was another story. It is quite nerve-racking to be on the other side of the table. I had to do several hours of paperwork to prepare their folders, and then we were there for 2 nights, 5 hours each, doing conferences every 15 minutes. So grateful we only do that 2 times a year!!
I finally got to go see a chiropractor who confirmed my suspicions. I wont go in to detail here, but its nice to know it wasn’t all in my head. Stupid snow-tubing accident!!
Marisa: I think seminary is catching up to her. It is getting harder each morning for her to get up- especially when its cold and dark outside. She is busy with orchestra, YW, and her clubs. She is really enjoying high school.
Kayla: Volleyball season ended at the beginning of October. Basketball season starts up as soon as she gets back from Thanksgiving break and then she will be back to that tough practice schedule.
She is my official assistant at school. She is so awesome about doing piles of stuff for my classroom. I just couldn’t do it without her!
Tyler: He earned his Bear award at cub scouts and will get it at next months pack meeting.
Football season is over. A lot of it was rained out, both games and practices.
He also made OPUS (vocal competition). This is huge honor!!! Over 5,000 audition tapes were sent in. Less than 200 through the whole state of Iowa were chosen and Tyler was one of them. Isn’t that awesome? We will travel to the concert in Ames in November.
Alayna: Alayna got a horrible ear infection (of course the night I had conferences) so Bob took her to the doctor. It took them 2 ½ hours to drain her ear and clean it out. She is on anti-biotics and doing better.
Alayna lost a tooth at school! It was so exciting. She got a neat tooth necklace to bring it home in. She looks so much like I did when I was her age. I need to scan a picture to show you.
For school, She had to decorate a pumpkin. She glued jewels on it, drew on a face, and put it in a wig and tutu! Will post pics.
EVENTS:
October 4: Marisa was able to attend the University of Iowa all state clinic. It was a great experience for her.
October 11: The girls were able to participate in our new Stake Center open house. They tied baby blankets and colored ABC books while investigators were able to walk through and look around.
October 17: I had to make 100 cupcakes for a primary activity (don’t ask- it wasn’t my idea!) So, Marisa and Kayla’s friends were gracious enough to come help. Even Tyler and Alayna helped decorate. I bet you didn’t know that it takes 6 hours to make and decorate 100 cupcakes!!! I will post a picture so you can see how beautiful they turned out.
October 18: We had the huge Primary Quarterly Activity at the park. Kids played kickball, raced around the track, made hearts to “heart-attack” the bishops house, and we had a BBQ. It was a HUGE success and everyone had a great time.
That evening was the Stake Halloween Youth Dance in Manchester. Marisa went with our HUGE group of youth. She went as bacon and her friend went as an egg. The dance was outside and freezing, but they had a great time.
October 21: Marisa had her Chamber performance at Coe College. Afterwards, they had gourmet desserts at a fancy reception.
October 24: Marisa had an all-state dinner at her director’s home.
Tyler had a big slumber party with 3 of his friends to celebrate his 10th Birthday. Happy Birthday Tyler!!! He has entered double digits- whoo-hoo! They played games, we made a giant birthday cookie, and they watched “ratatouille”, but didn’t get to bed until 2AM. The girls had friends over too. It was like a zoo here!! The girls did “makeovers”- I will include the results. I am extremely grateful that I wasn’t blessed with 4 boys- it would have killed me!!
October 25: The girls went with the youth group to Nauvoo for a temple trip. Afterwards, they got to stop at the fudge shop for caramel apples. Then they came home and went for a movie night. We have some FANTASTIC strong youth in our ward!! I am so glad they are all friends.
Upcoming Events:
October 28: Marisa orchestra concert.
October 29: Trunk or Treat at the church
October 30: Exciting night at Coe College
October 31: Halloween party
Bob: Bob has jury duty in November. He gets to go in the newly renovated courthouse which had been completely wiped out by the flood. He has also started his own taxi service called “Where the heck are my kids going today?”
Kris: It is been horribly busy. I am on the secondary reading committee and we had a meeting this month. It is a lot more involved than anyone said it would be. I am also on the Battle of the Books team. The kids read all 20-something books and I help run the competitions. Kayla and her team just entered. The competitions start in February. The mentor program from new teachers here is very grueling. If I survive, it will be a miracle. I get observed this week again.
I have become a crazed “Twilight” fan. I absolutely LOVE the series and already have the date planned to go see the movie. With the amount of people planning to go with us, I assume we could fill a whole theater! Marisa and Kayla just started reading the series. Working hard trying to get Bob to start reading it before the movie. I figure he can start when he is on jury duty! I am so tempted to get that t-shirt that has the apple on it and says “Bite me”, but figured it may not go over well as a staff member- haha! But, I am definitely in the “cool” category at school for being a teacher that reads them. As they say, I “rock”.
I had parent conferences both for my own kids and then for my students at school. My kids are all doing great! I could go on for many paragraphs bragging, but I shall refrain.
However, I will say that Tyler, Alayna and Kayla have earned several Pride awards this month!!
The conferences for my students was another story. It is quite nerve-racking to be on the other side of the table. I had to do several hours of paperwork to prepare their folders, and then we were there for 2 nights, 5 hours each, doing conferences every 15 minutes. So grateful we only do that 2 times a year!!
I finally got to go see a chiropractor who confirmed my suspicions. I wont go in to detail here, but its nice to know it wasn’t all in my head. Stupid snow-tubing accident!!
Marisa: I think seminary is catching up to her. It is getting harder each morning for her to get up- especially when its cold and dark outside. She is busy with orchestra, YW, and her clubs. She is really enjoying high school.
Kayla: Volleyball season ended at the beginning of October. Basketball season starts up as soon as she gets back from Thanksgiving break and then she will be back to that tough practice schedule.
She is my official assistant at school. She is so awesome about doing piles of stuff for my classroom. I just couldn’t do it without her!
Tyler: He earned his Bear award at cub scouts and will get it at next months pack meeting.
Football season is over. A lot of it was rained out, both games and practices.
He also made OPUS (vocal competition). This is huge honor!!! Over 5,000 audition tapes were sent in. Less than 200 through the whole state of Iowa were chosen and Tyler was one of them. Isn’t that awesome? We will travel to the concert in Ames in November.
Alayna: Alayna got a horrible ear infection (of course the night I had conferences) so Bob took her to the doctor. It took them 2 ½ hours to drain her ear and clean it out. She is on anti-biotics and doing better.
Alayna lost a tooth at school! It was so exciting. She got a neat tooth necklace to bring it home in. She looks so much like I did when I was her age. I need to scan a picture to show you.
For school, She had to decorate a pumpkin. She glued jewels on it, drew on a face, and put it in a wig and tutu! Will post pics.
EVENTS:
October 4: Marisa was able to attend the University of Iowa all state clinic. It was a great experience for her.
October 11: The girls were able to participate in our new Stake Center open house. They tied baby blankets and colored ABC books while investigators were able to walk through and look around.
October 17: I had to make 100 cupcakes for a primary activity (don’t ask- it wasn’t my idea!) So, Marisa and Kayla’s friends were gracious enough to come help. Even Tyler and Alayna helped decorate. I bet you didn’t know that it takes 6 hours to make and decorate 100 cupcakes!!! I will post a picture so you can see how beautiful they turned out.
October 18: We had the huge Primary Quarterly Activity at the park. Kids played kickball, raced around the track, made hearts to “heart-attack” the bishops house, and we had a BBQ. It was a HUGE success and everyone had a great time.
That evening was the Stake Halloween Youth Dance in Manchester. Marisa went with our HUGE group of youth. She went as bacon and her friend went as an egg. The dance was outside and freezing, but they had a great time.
October 21: Marisa had her Chamber performance at Coe College. Afterwards, they had gourmet desserts at a fancy reception.
October 24: Marisa had an all-state dinner at her director’s home.
Tyler had a big slumber party with 3 of his friends to celebrate his 10th Birthday. Happy Birthday Tyler!!! He has entered double digits- whoo-hoo! They played games, we made a giant birthday cookie, and they watched “ratatouille”, but didn’t get to bed until 2AM. The girls had friends over too. It was like a zoo here!! The girls did “makeovers”- I will include the results. I am extremely grateful that I wasn’t blessed with 4 boys- it would have killed me!!
October 25: The girls went with the youth group to Nauvoo for a temple trip. Afterwards, they got to stop at the fudge shop for caramel apples. Then they came home and went for a movie night. We have some FANTASTIC strong youth in our ward!! I am so glad they are all friends.
Upcoming Events:
October 28: Marisa orchestra concert.
October 29: Trunk or Treat at the church
October 30: Exciting night at Coe College
October 31: Halloween party
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Do I LOOK that old?
September 28, 2008
This week, one of my students asked me if I had lived during the Revolutionary War and if so, what was it like for me? Boy did I laugh hard at that one! I would hate to think I look about 240 years old- yikes!! I also had another student this week- when asked what country he lives in, his reply was Iowa. A little hard to dispute that as I can see the logic in his answer! Needless to say, my job is very entertaining and I do enjoy it very much!
Kayla had a good game in volleyball. It was the last minute of the game, her team was losing and it was her turn to serve. She scored 6 points and won the game for her team! It was so exciting!
Tyler was accepted into Lego league. He can tell you more about it, but basically they work with some engineers from Rockwell and build robots. He has done well in his football games too. He is home sick today. I swear we have had every kind of yucky thing come here. I have been sick several times and I guarantee it has to do with my students. I need to walk around with a Lysol bubble around me! Alayna is home sick too. Sheesh!
We had an Open House at Linn Grove this week. We went for the family spaghetti dinner and to see the kids classrooms and what they have been working on. I took some pics of Alayna in her classroom and with her teacher. Tyler’s teacher wasn’t there because her daughter was in the hospital.
We have had several new families with teenagers move into the ward. Marisa has become friends with them and they have been hanging out. Marisa even went to the football game with them. This week we also had our annual Survivor kick-off party!
Well, I think that’s it for now...
This week, one of my students asked me if I had lived during the Revolutionary War and if so, what was it like for me? Boy did I laugh hard at that one! I would hate to think I look about 240 years old- yikes!! I also had another student this week- when asked what country he lives in, his reply was Iowa. A little hard to dispute that as I can see the logic in his answer! Needless to say, my job is very entertaining and I do enjoy it very much!
Kayla had a good game in volleyball. It was the last minute of the game, her team was losing and it was her turn to serve. She scored 6 points and won the game for her team! It was so exciting!
Tyler was accepted into Lego league. He can tell you more about it, but basically they work with some engineers from Rockwell and build robots. He has done well in his football games too. He is home sick today. I swear we have had every kind of yucky thing come here. I have been sick several times and I guarantee it has to do with my students. I need to walk around with a Lysol bubble around me! Alayna is home sick too. Sheesh!
We had an Open House at Linn Grove this week. We went for the family spaghetti dinner and to see the kids classrooms and what they have been working on. I took some pics of Alayna in her classroom and with her teacher. Tyler’s teacher wasn’t there because her daughter was in the hospital.
We have had several new families with teenagers move into the ward. Marisa has become friends with them and they have been hanging out. Marisa even went to the football game with them. This week we also had our annual Survivor kick-off party!
Well, I think that’s it for now...
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. (Kung Fu Panda)
September 14, 2008
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. (Kung Fu Panda)
Another week has gone swooshing by. It has been a flurry of activity. Yesterday, we spent several hours making all of our garden produce into 11 jars of homemade salsa and it tastes awesome!! I smelt like garlic all day and my wedding ring was covered in tomato junk, but it was worth it. Marisa was at a Stake Youth Activity from 2:30-9:00, which included a stake dance. She said she had a great time and she came home exhausted. Maybe I can talk her into writing about it?
Marisa: Marisa auditioned for all-state. Our school can only send 28 kids to audition for All-state and there are over 100 in orchestra. So they hold a special audition to see who will go. Rarely do freshmen make it and she is an alternate!!!! She is thrilled. So, she gets to participate in all the rehearsals and she is absolutely thrilled!
She also auditioned and actually made the chamber orchestra!!! VERY few freshmen ever make it. This year only six did and I am so excited for her. The chamber orchestra does all the music for the HS musicals. So, Marisa will be playing in the pit orchestra for Les Miserable’s! Isn’t that so awesome?
She is also LOVING seminary (but I think the seminary is killing me. Oh so early!) She is enjoying the school clubs, but has a heavy homework load.
Kayla: She had her first game this week. Her team won every game but one, but she wasn’t in the actual game for very long. She has another home game tomorrow.
On Wednesday, the girls had their YW in Excellence program. Marisa and Kayla did their display on France. They made a cute poster and we made French crepes that we stuffed in chocolate and vanilla pudding. During the program, we learned to salsa dance, and the girls were able to hit a giant piñata that they had made. It was a very fun and enjoyable evening.
Tyler: Tyler is one very busy guy this year! His vocal teacher called and asked for him to try out for OPUS (kind of like all-state for HS). So, he has been practicing for that every day after school. He sends his audition tape in on Friday.
His football practice and first football game were cancelled this week because of the constant rain. He has also been working very hard on his Bear book so he can complete it before he moves to WEBELOS next month.
He also got the exciting news that he got accepted into the Lego League! He is so excited. He told me that someday he will build me a robot that will cook all the family meals (not sure what that means: that he knows I stress about it? Or that I am such a bad cook that a robot would be a good alternative!) Anyway, he starts this week.
Alayna: Nothing new happened for Alayna this week. She is learning to deal with homework and trying to be responsible, which at 6 is a bit of a challenge. But we have noticed her trying to make a better effort in good eating habits!
I made it through another great week of teaching. I also had my first meeting with the principal and I think he went really well. Some days I feel overwhelmed, but I am doing my best and that’s what counts. I have to take Thursday off and attend a training conference in Tipton (an hour from here). I am not looking forward to that, but always happy to mark off the training I am required to do.
Enjoy your week!
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. (Kung Fu Panda)
Another week has gone swooshing by. It has been a flurry of activity. Yesterday, we spent several hours making all of our garden produce into 11 jars of homemade salsa and it tastes awesome!! I smelt like garlic all day and my wedding ring was covered in tomato junk, but it was worth it. Marisa was at a Stake Youth Activity from 2:30-9:00, which included a stake dance. She said she had a great time and she came home exhausted. Maybe I can talk her into writing about it?
Marisa: Marisa auditioned for all-state. Our school can only send 28 kids to audition for All-state and there are over 100 in orchestra. So they hold a special audition to see who will go. Rarely do freshmen make it and she is an alternate!!!! She is thrilled. So, she gets to participate in all the rehearsals and she is absolutely thrilled!
She also auditioned and actually made the chamber orchestra!!! VERY few freshmen ever make it. This year only six did and I am so excited for her. The chamber orchestra does all the music for the HS musicals. So, Marisa will be playing in the pit orchestra for Les Miserable’s! Isn’t that so awesome?
She is also LOVING seminary (but I think the seminary is killing me. Oh so early!) She is enjoying the school clubs, but has a heavy homework load.
Kayla: She had her first game this week. Her team won every game but one, but she wasn’t in the actual game for very long. She has another home game tomorrow.
On Wednesday, the girls had their YW in Excellence program. Marisa and Kayla did their display on France. They made a cute poster and we made French crepes that we stuffed in chocolate and vanilla pudding. During the program, we learned to salsa dance, and the girls were able to hit a giant piñata that they had made. It was a very fun and enjoyable evening.
Tyler: Tyler is one very busy guy this year! His vocal teacher called and asked for him to try out for OPUS (kind of like all-state for HS). So, he has been practicing for that every day after school. He sends his audition tape in on Friday.
His football practice and first football game were cancelled this week because of the constant rain. He has also been working very hard on his Bear book so he can complete it before he moves to WEBELOS next month.
He also got the exciting news that he got accepted into the Lego League! He is so excited. He told me that someday he will build me a robot that will cook all the family meals (not sure what that means: that he knows I stress about it? Or that I am such a bad cook that a robot would be a good alternative!) Anyway, he starts this week.
Alayna: Nothing new happened for Alayna this week. She is learning to deal with homework and trying to be responsible, which at 6 is a bit of a challenge. But we have noticed her trying to make a better effort in good eating habits!
I made it through another great week of teaching. I also had my first meeting with the principal and I think he went really well. Some days I feel overwhelmed, but I am doing my best and that’s what counts. I have to take Thursday off and attend a training conference in Tipton (an hour from here). I am not looking forward to that, but always happy to mark off the training I am required to do.
Enjoy your week!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Happiness is good health and a bad memory
September 7, 2008
Happiness is good health and a bad memory. -- Ingrid Bergman
Well, at least I had one of those this week. I guess with being around all those middle school students I was bound to catch something. I thought I had strep, but when I went to the walk-in clinic they said I had a severe sinus infection. I am on anti-biotics now and will hopefully be feeling better by the time I head back to work tomorrow.
Marisa: Marisa started seminary and actually really enjoys it. She has a fantastic teacher that makes every day quite interesting. I think there are about 30 kids that attend. She is playing in the HS orchestra and is taking private violin lessons. On Friday she tried out for all-state. It was some VERY difficult music. She also joined the FCS club (Family and community service club), SODA (students opposing drugs and alcohol), Key club, and French club. So, as you can imagine, she is staying very busy!
Kayla: Kayla is really enjoying 7th grade. She has some great teachers this year. She is also on the school volleyball team and she really enjoys playing, except for the very mean coaches. She still plays the clarinet in the school band. She loves being in the YW program and this will be her first YW in Excellence on Wednesday. She and Marisa are doing a display and presentation on France. (Will post pictures next week.)
Tyler- AKA- Mr. Busybody: Tyler loves his teachers for fifth grade. He has joined the track team which goes for 3 weeks. He is playing the trombone in the 5th grade band. He starts the school choir next week. (He is looking forward to show choir in middle school) He also just sent in his application for the Lego League team. They work with engineers to built robots. It will be so cool. We will let you know if he gets in. He is also on a football team and is first game is this coming Saturday.
Alayna: Alayna is now in the full swing of 1st grade and loving it. I see her becoming more responsible and mature (just a little bit) She started taking gymnastics and is enjoying that so far. We FINALLY celebrated her birthday yesterday! She wanted a fun bowling party. I let her pick out the decorations, cake, and even her present. She loved it! She called it the “Pink, Kung Fu Panda, Bowling Party”. And it was! It looked like our table threw up Pepto-Bismol! She invited some friends and we had a great time bowling. We will not mention scores here! I will post some pics.
Bob: The lease on our van ran out, so Bob and I went to the dodge dealership intending to buy the one we had. However, the guy there gave us an incredible deal (which was better than buying the old one) so we bought (no more leasing) a brand new 2008 Town and Country mini-van with dual DVD player, seat warmers (front and back), keystart engine, even the side windows roll down and when I go in reverse, a camera shows me what is behind me. It’s so awesome! It took almost 5 hours to decide on it and do the paperwork, but we are thrilled to have it.
Kris: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my job! I have great students this year, a great schedule, and I LOVE teaching social studies. I have a new laptop with a projector and have some amazing resources at my fingertips so I am able to show my students some really cool stuff! It is tough being a working mom, and I am trying to get a good schedule established. I am the official seminary pickup and the after school chauffer. We will be putting some miles on this new car.
Ok, I think that sums up what is been going on around here. The temperature is cooling off just as our school got air conditioning. We would love to hear back from everyone to know if you get our newsletters, if you liked our pics, and what is going on in your lives?
Happiness is good health and a bad memory. -- Ingrid Bergman
Well, at least I had one of those this week. I guess with being around all those middle school students I was bound to catch something. I thought I had strep, but when I went to the walk-in clinic they said I had a severe sinus infection. I am on anti-biotics now and will hopefully be feeling better by the time I head back to work tomorrow.
Marisa: Marisa started seminary and actually really enjoys it. She has a fantastic teacher that makes every day quite interesting. I think there are about 30 kids that attend. She is playing in the HS orchestra and is taking private violin lessons. On Friday she tried out for all-state. It was some VERY difficult music. She also joined the FCS club (Family and community service club), SODA (students opposing drugs and alcohol), Key club, and French club. So, as you can imagine, she is staying very busy!
Kayla: Kayla is really enjoying 7th grade. She has some great teachers this year. She is also on the school volleyball team and she really enjoys playing, except for the very mean coaches. She still plays the clarinet in the school band. She loves being in the YW program and this will be her first YW in Excellence on Wednesday. She and Marisa are doing a display and presentation on France. (Will post pictures next week.)
Tyler- AKA- Mr. Busybody: Tyler loves his teachers for fifth grade. He has joined the track team which goes for 3 weeks. He is playing the trombone in the 5th grade band. He starts the school choir next week. (He is looking forward to show choir in middle school) He also just sent in his application for the Lego League team. They work with engineers to built robots. It will be so cool. We will let you know if he gets in. He is also on a football team and is first game is this coming Saturday.
Alayna: Alayna is now in the full swing of 1st grade and loving it. I see her becoming more responsible and mature (just a little bit) She started taking gymnastics and is enjoying that so far. We FINALLY celebrated her birthday yesterday! She wanted a fun bowling party. I let her pick out the decorations, cake, and even her present. She loved it! She called it the “Pink, Kung Fu Panda, Bowling Party”. And it was! It looked like our table threw up Pepto-Bismol! She invited some friends and we had a great time bowling. We will not mention scores here! I will post some pics.
Bob: The lease on our van ran out, so Bob and I went to the dodge dealership intending to buy the one we had. However, the guy there gave us an incredible deal (which was better than buying the old one) so we bought (no more leasing) a brand new 2008 Town and Country mini-van with dual DVD player, seat warmers (front and back), keystart engine, even the side windows roll down and when I go in reverse, a camera shows me what is behind me. It’s so awesome! It took almost 5 hours to decide on it and do the paperwork, but we are thrilled to have it.
Kris: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my job! I have great students this year, a great schedule, and I LOVE teaching social studies. I have a new laptop with a projector and have some amazing resources at my fingertips so I am able to show my students some really cool stuff! It is tough being a working mom, and I am trying to get a good schedule established. I am the official seminary pickup and the after school chauffer. We will be putting some miles on this new car.
Ok, I think that sums up what is been going on around here. The temperature is cooling off just as our school got air conditioning. We would love to hear back from everyone to know if you get our newsletters, if you liked our pics, and what is going on in your lives?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana" (Groucho Marx)
Hanson's Treatment of Time:There are never enough hours in a day, but always too many days before Saturday.
I have been pondering how quickly time has been passing. We watched Jumper last night and I was thinking that would be so cool. But especially if I had the power to freeze time. Which I don't. And then I find I am just wasting my time by pondering on how cool it would be if I could stop time. I think its late.
Anyway, here is our fastest newsletter recap ever. Your welcome!
*I started school this week. LOVE my job and students, the two weeks of training before was hell.
*Kids had a FANTASTIC first week of school.
*Seminary starts in the morning, Kayla starts on the school volleyball team tomorrow, Alayna starts gymnastics this week, Tyler starts football, and we ALL have back to school parent nights.
*Oh, and Alayna turns 6 on Wednesday.
I have been pondering how quickly time has been passing. We watched Jumper last night and I was thinking that would be so cool. But especially if I had the power to freeze time. Which I don't. And then I find I am just wasting my time by pondering on how cool it would be if I could stop time. I think its late.
Anyway, here is our fastest newsletter recap ever. Your welcome!
*I started school this week. LOVE my job and students, the two weeks of training before was hell.
*Kids had a FANTASTIC first week of school.
*Seminary starts in the morning, Kayla starts on the school volleyball team tomorrow, Alayna starts gymnastics this week, Tyler starts football, and we ALL have back to school parent nights.
*Oh, and Alayna turns 6 on Wednesday.
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