Sunday, April 20, 2008
Germs, earthquakes, and baby chicks
April 20, 2008
Well, we got all the kids better, but I was very sick all week. Plus, I was on a long term sub and couldn’t get a sub. So, it ended up being a terribly long week!! I am feeling much better and its finally 70 degrees here! I just hope Bob doesn’t catch this. He is the only one that hasn’t been sick yet.
Odd news of the week: We actually had an earthquake this week. Who knew we lived on a fault line? We were asleep and didn’t feel it, but I had many students at school that did.
On Monday, I went with Kayla’s team up to Camp Courageous (as a teacher, not a parent chaperone) The kids are divided into teams and do all sorts of team building activities. I went with Kayla’s group. First they did the Burma bridge: it was a challenging cable bridge suspended 25 feet above a ravine that they crossed while securely fastened to a safety rope. Then they went to the Centipede (The centipede offers a very challenging climb up separate sections of wood. The climber then walks across a large utility pole approximately 30 feet off the ground. Climbers descend by way of a cable ladder that moves with you.) Then they did a group obstacle course, where they had to cooperate with each other to complete each stage. Then we had lunch, made a fire, and cooked smores. It was a fun day but a little chilly for my taste (32 degrees when we arrived). I will get some pictures up about it today.
Marisa had the Excelsior Orchestra Invitational yesterday. They competed with another school and had judges evaluate each performance. Then they topped it off with dinner and a few hours at Superskate. Marisa actually tried skating!! She even has lots of bruises to prove it. But she had a great time and their orchestra received high praise. She has also had a couple of tennis meets. She is doing really well.
Tyler had “Wild West day” at school on Friday. They made butter, made dream catchers, had a “saloon”, etc. He dressed up and said it was his best day at school all year!
Alayna’s class is hatching baby chicks. The eggs have been under an incubator for a couple of weeks. They just hatched on Friday. Our friends, who own a farm, are coming to pick up the chicks this week and take them to live at the farm. I will try and get some pictures of the new babies this week.
By the way, we got Marisa an early birthday present. We got her a cell phone!! She is pretty excited. I cant believe she starts driving next year!!
This week Bob and I celebrate our 15th anniversary (even though we already went to Florida for it). We have lots of other fun activities this week including Family Fun night at the school. Until next week…
Well, we got all the kids better, but I was very sick all week. Plus, I was on a long term sub and couldn’t get a sub. So, it ended up being a terribly long week!! I am feeling much better and its finally 70 degrees here! I just hope Bob doesn’t catch this. He is the only one that hasn’t been sick yet.
Odd news of the week: We actually had an earthquake this week. Who knew we lived on a fault line? We were asleep and didn’t feel it, but I had many students at school that did.
On Monday, I went with Kayla’s team up to Camp Courageous (as a teacher, not a parent chaperone) The kids are divided into teams and do all sorts of team building activities. I went with Kayla’s group. First they did the Burma bridge: it was a challenging cable bridge suspended 25 feet above a ravine that they crossed while securely fastened to a safety rope. Then they went to the Centipede (The centipede offers a very challenging climb up separate sections of wood. The climber then walks across a large utility pole approximately 30 feet off the ground. Climbers descend by way of a cable ladder that moves with you.) Then they did a group obstacle course, where they had to cooperate with each other to complete each stage. Then we had lunch, made a fire, and cooked smores. It was a fun day but a little chilly for my taste (32 degrees when we arrived). I will get some pictures up about it today.
Marisa had the Excelsior Orchestra Invitational yesterday. They competed with another school and had judges evaluate each performance. Then they topped it off with dinner and a few hours at Superskate. Marisa actually tried skating!! She even has lots of bruises to prove it. But she had a great time and their orchestra received high praise. She has also had a couple of tennis meets. She is doing really well.
Tyler had “Wild West day” at school on Friday. They made butter, made dream catchers, had a “saloon”, etc. He dressed up and said it was his best day at school all year!
Alayna’s class is hatching baby chicks. The eggs have been under an incubator for a couple of weeks. They just hatched on Friday. Our friends, who own a farm, are coming to pick up the chicks this week and take them to live at the farm. I will try and get some pictures of the new babies this week.
By the way, we got Marisa an early birthday present. We got her a cell phone!! She is pretty excited. I cant believe she starts driving next year!!
This week Bob and I celebrate our 15th anniversary (even though we already went to Florida for it). We have lots of other fun activities this week including Family Fun night at the school. Until next week…
Sunday, April 13, 2008
I spoke too soon
April 13, 2008
The other day I was in a presidency meeting and they were all talking about how sick their kids were. I said, “We are so lucky, none of us have been sick for a long time!” The minute it came out, I knew I had jinxed us. Bob thinks I am crazy, but it’s true. We had 3 different types of sicknesses slam into us the past 2 weeks. We have had a stomach virus, severe cold, and the flu. Note to self: buy stock in Lysol! Marisa, Kayla, and Tyler all missed 3 days of school this week. Marisa had to miss the orchestra trip to Linn Grove and the 8th grade job shadowing day. I had the stomach virus last week and now have the cold.
I would love to give a report on what has been going on around here, but since we have all been so sick, there is little to report. We did, however, get a fun visit from Jonathan and his new wife, Kristi. It was so great to meet her and have them come visit here in Iowa. It even snowed while they were here so we could give them a taste of Iowa!
Marisa started tennis, but we have had almost constant rain so I think she has only had 2 practices. Yesterday she took the ACT again. Last week she went to a murder mystery overnighter with her friends from school. She had a blast, but she didn’t get much sleep. (We will post her picture) Alayna’s class is hatching baby chicks, they will hatch this week. Tyler got the solo for the 4th grade choir concert!! We are so proud of him! Kayla is extra lucky because I am subbing her math class for 2 weeks! I am subbing for her teacher who went in for surgery this week. Tomorrow we have a field trip to Camp Courageous ( with all the 6th graders) It should be 54 and sunny- good thing since we are outside all day. I have been subbing every single day, which is great. Still no job openings. Sounds like there probably won’t be this year.
Ok, I guess that’s my quick update. Hopefully we will all start feeling better and have a good week. We would sure love to hear from everyone- hint, hint!
The other day I was in a presidency meeting and they were all talking about how sick their kids were. I said, “We are so lucky, none of us have been sick for a long time!” The minute it came out, I knew I had jinxed us. Bob thinks I am crazy, but it’s true. We had 3 different types of sicknesses slam into us the past 2 weeks. We have had a stomach virus, severe cold, and the flu. Note to self: buy stock in Lysol! Marisa, Kayla, and Tyler all missed 3 days of school this week. Marisa had to miss the orchestra trip to Linn Grove and the 8th grade job shadowing day. I had the stomach virus last week and now have the cold.
I would love to give a report on what has been going on around here, but since we have all been so sick, there is little to report. We did, however, get a fun visit from Jonathan and his new wife, Kristi. It was so great to meet her and have them come visit here in Iowa. It even snowed while they were here so we could give them a taste of Iowa!
Marisa started tennis, but we have had almost constant rain so I think she has only had 2 practices. Yesterday she took the ACT again. Last week she went to a murder mystery overnighter with her friends from school. She had a blast, but she didn’t get much sleep. (We will post her picture) Alayna’s class is hatching baby chicks, they will hatch this week. Tyler got the solo for the 4th grade choir concert!! We are so proud of him! Kayla is extra lucky because I am subbing her math class for 2 weeks! I am subbing for her teacher who went in for surgery this week. Tomorrow we have a field trip to Camp Courageous ( with all the 6th graders) It should be 54 and sunny- good thing since we are outside all day. I have been subbing every single day, which is great. Still no job openings. Sounds like there probably won’t be this year.
Ok, I guess that’s my quick update. Hopefully we will all start feeling better and have a good week. We would sure love to hear from everyone- hint, hint!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Harry Potter and BBQing in the snow
March 30, 2008
Marisa and Kayla were invited to an all night Harry Potter party this weekend. They stayed up all night watching all 5 movies in a row and playing guitar hero in between movies. They had so much fun, but were dead tired when they came home. This coming weekend, Marisa has been invited to a Mystery over-nighter at a friends house from school. She is pretty excited about that as well.
Marisa got her braces off this week (yea- freedom!!) And she got her new retainer. She can barely speak with it, but happy to have the braces off. She started tennis team this week. They cancelled practice on Monday because of snow and ice on the courts, but it was melted enough to start practice on Tuesday. She is starting out ranked 5th place over all the 7th and 8th grade girls in both middle schools. That is quite an accomplishment!!
Kayla had her birthday this week and turned the terrific age of 12! Today is her first day in YW. She requested steak for her birthday dinner. So, we ended up BBQing steak in a huge freak snow storm that hit. I’ll post some pictures. Anyway, her Battle of the Books team had their last competition on Wednesday and they won!!! They beat every team in the whole school and are the first 6th grade team to have ever won!! Pretty cool! Kayla also had her culture fair for her world languages class. She did hers on Italy. They had to make a big display board and then bring authentic food for people to try. We stayed up the night before making Italian butter cookies which were a huge hit. As you can see, Kayla has had a very busy week.
Tyler and Alayna had a sock hop at school on Friday to celebrate reading week. They also had a “read and feed” day, “drop and feed” day, etc. They had a very fun week. Alayna has become a reading fiend and begs us to read to her or listen to her read all the time. She especially likes to read with her daddy.
I have had an incredibly busy week as well. I was called in early to sub Tuesday morning. When I got there they also asked me to sub for a teacher (Mrs Alexander) for the next week. I said sure. Mrs. Alexander’s daughter was in a severe car accident over spring break and part of the car rammed into her upper thigh and broke her leg. They had to take her in for surgery to put a rod in her thigh and do a muscle and skin graft. To top it off, she is 8 months pregnant, so they are doing everything they can to keep the baby inside and safe. But that means her daughter has to go with very little pain medication. Anyway, I am subbing her class 3 days this week, then Tylers the last 2. Then next week I sub for Kayla’s math teacher for 2 weeks who is going for surgery. The school also said Mrs Alexander is considering taking the remainder of the year off and asked if she did, would I be willing to take over for the remainder of the year. I said “of course”. So, we should find out in the next week if I will be doing that. Bob has also had a busy week since his work has now asked them to start working overtime until October with no pay. That makes me so mad. That is one of the main reasons we left LA. Bob is very frustrated by it as well.
Tonight we sign up Marisa for seminary and youth conference and both girls for girls camp. This coming summer is going to be crazy busy. I was down with a migraine and sick tummy over the weekend. I just hope I feel better by tomorrow because I cant miss school. A special CONGRATULATIONS to Missy and Clark on their new gorgeous baby girl!! Ribera’s- we hope all went well with the performances of the Messiah and look forward to hearing all about them. Well, I guess that sums up our week, we look forward to hearing from you!
Marisa and Kayla were invited to an all night Harry Potter party this weekend. They stayed up all night watching all 5 movies in a row and playing guitar hero in between movies. They had so much fun, but were dead tired when they came home. This coming weekend, Marisa has been invited to a Mystery over-nighter at a friends house from school. She is pretty excited about that as well.
Marisa got her braces off this week (yea- freedom!!) And she got her new retainer. She can barely speak with it, but happy to have the braces off. She started tennis team this week. They cancelled practice on Monday because of snow and ice on the courts, but it was melted enough to start practice on Tuesday. She is starting out ranked 5th place over all the 7th and 8th grade girls in both middle schools. That is quite an accomplishment!!
Kayla had her birthday this week and turned the terrific age of 12! Today is her first day in YW. She requested steak for her birthday dinner. So, we ended up BBQing steak in a huge freak snow storm that hit. I’ll post some pictures. Anyway, her Battle of the Books team had their last competition on Wednesday and they won!!! They beat every team in the whole school and are the first 6th grade team to have ever won!! Pretty cool! Kayla also had her culture fair for her world languages class. She did hers on Italy. They had to make a big display board and then bring authentic food for people to try. We stayed up the night before making Italian butter cookies which were a huge hit. As you can see, Kayla has had a very busy week.
Tyler and Alayna had a sock hop at school on Friday to celebrate reading week. They also had a “read and feed” day, “drop and feed” day, etc. They had a very fun week. Alayna has become a reading fiend and begs us to read to her or listen to her read all the time. She especially likes to read with her daddy.
I have had an incredibly busy week as well. I was called in early to sub Tuesday morning. When I got there they also asked me to sub for a teacher (Mrs Alexander) for the next week. I said sure. Mrs. Alexander’s daughter was in a severe car accident over spring break and part of the car rammed into her upper thigh and broke her leg. They had to take her in for surgery to put a rod in her thigh and do a muscle and skin graft. To top it off, she is 8 months pregnant, so they are doing everything they can to keep the baby inside and safe. But that means her daughter has to go with very little pain medication. Anyway, I am subbing her class 3 days this week, then Tylers the last 2. Then next week I sub for Kayla’s math teacher for 2 weeks who is going for surgery. The school also said Mrs Alexander is considering taking the remainder of the year off and asked if she did, would I be willing to take over for the remainder of the year. I said “of course”. So, we should find out in the next week if I will be doing that. Bob has also had a busy week since his work has now asked them to start working overtime until October with no pay. That makes me so mad. That is one of the main reasons we left LA. Bob is very frustrated by it as well.
Tonight we sign up Marisa for seminary and youth conference and both girls for girls camp. This coming summer is going to be crazy busy. I was down with a migraine and sick tummy over the weekend. I just hope I feel better by tomorrow because I cant miss school. A special CONGRATULATIONS to Missy and Clark on their new gorgeous baby girl!! Ribera’s- we hope all went well with the performances of the Messiah and look forward to hearing all about them. Well, I guess that sums up our week, we look forward to hearing from you!
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