First Communion

Reagan 2010

Grace 2009

Taryn 2006

All three of my beautiful daughters have now received their First Communion. I bought a dress for Taryn 5 years ago, thinking at the time, it would be the first of 3 dresses I would buy. It worked out that all my girls were able to wear it. I loved that. I am a ~touch~ sentimental. The pictures of all three girls in the same dress melts my heart.

I'm counting my blessings now, as I'm guessing, that won't fly when it comes to the wedding gown(s).

PS- I know I was overzealous with a post a day... I've already posted more this month than the entire year. Summer will get me caught up, right?

Pendleton Easter

For the three of us at home Easter was a bit more traditional.

We had a sleepover at the Nelson's so we could enjoy an early morning egg hunt. Yes, those are our winter coats. There wasn't snow on the ground, but it fell in the mountains that night and it was FREEZING. That was another point to our sleepover. Our heat pump went out and the cold weather wasn't finished. We were snug as bugs in their wonderful house.

Then the girls had to get dressed and pose for our annual Easter pictures. Unfortunately, because of the very early Easter and crazy cold weather, there were no flowers to provide a pretty setting. Again, the girls were sport, it was freezing.

Church services were beautiful as the Children's Choir sang from the balcony. We recently remodeled the church and added a high alter to restore the original look of the church. Eventually there will be a mural above the alter. I can't wait to see it finished.

It was a blustery afternoon, but the girls ran around looking for the elusive GOLDEN egg.

As a side note: the days before Easter I spent HOURS looking for eggs. Not the type of eggs you EVER want to be looking for... in your child's hair.

We were struck with head lice for the first time.

I found a bug while brushing Reagan's hair and upon a closer look found nearly 200 nits.

It took me 3 movies and an extraordinary amount of patience on both our parts to de-lice my little lady.

There are some experiences of elementary school I would be happy to live without experiencing. We were very thorough and avoided anyone else in the house getting them. I was also successful in getting them out in one go-around (a 10 day process). I now am left wondering, how long before I can scratch an itch on my head without worrying about head lice?

Click, Clack, Moo....

For Christmas my parents bought us tickets to the Children's Theater in Portland, Oregon. So in February, over a long weekend, we went and saw Click, Clack, Moo, a story of barnyard antics while the farmer is away on vacation. It was a musical and delighted all the girls. (I'm pretty sure Marc fell asleep somewhere in the middle, but he said he thought it was 'nice'.)

In the theater there was a huge chair and all the girls wanted their pictures taken in the big seat.

Taryn 12.5

Grace 9.5

Reagan 8.0

The actors all came out to the lobby to sign autographs after the show, but there were too many eager fans pushing and shoving their way to the front I needed to step aside before I started talking about how rude it is to cut in front of people. The lecture is always very fresh in my mind, as I present it about 4 times a week to my first graders. I'm guessing that the pushy adults would not have appreciated the 'lesson'.

We settled for a picture with the cardboard cow. Each of the girls had favorite farm animals. It was funny because if I was casting my girls for parts, each would have ended up playing their favorite animal. Something about the characters 'spoke' to my girls and 'fit' their unique personalities.

Taryn liked the cow who was a bit of a goody-two-shoes. The cow was cautious, but still ended up getting into trouble with the rest of the animals. Grace liked the duck who was all about having a good time and was usually the instigator in all the troubles. Reagan loved the prissy chicken. She danced and giggled and stole the spotlight more than once.

Being bitten by the theater bug we already have our tickets for our next show. - We've stepped it up a notch from the $15 Children's Theater matinee tickets however. Next up?

This will be a night to remember I am sure. I can't wait. We bit the bullet and bought orchestra seats. Spendy, but I know it is going to be worth it.

The Girl Scouts

In order to suck every last ounce out of Christmas vacation this lot of girls hit the mountains with moms and dads in tow. Tony delighted us with hot cocoa and lemon bars. Yum. Before heading down the hill toward home we visited the little girls room at the lodge. As we were wrapping up a lady came in to use the facilities and said, "Oh, you must be a group of girls scouts or something."

It made me giggle. Nope just God's way to keep Marc and Tony in touch with their sensitive
side.

This picture of Kyndra was so fun to play with in Picassa because there were so many bright contrasting colors.


First graders be kind to teacher tomorrow, it will be the earliest that she has gotten out of bed in two weeks.

A Special Gift...

I left home one day shortly before Christmas to go run errands... I barely was a mile away when the girls called me. There was crying in the background. Not-there's something terrible wrong- crying... more-uh-oh, we're in trouble now- crying.

I have a very small (3) collection of Christmas snow globes. I haven't actively tried to collect them, but the few I have are very special to me.

The first snow globe is a Peanut's snow globe I got from Larry and Sally Blanc. They are Godparents to my girls. Sally was one of my first friends when I moved to Pendleton. We only worked together for a year or so, but the trauma of that job (ok, it wasn't really that bad) bonded us tight. She and her family are very special to us and I think of them every year I take it out.

The second snow globe I got from my mom. It is shiny, elegant, and grand. The music box base is silver. Inside is a vintage looking glass Santa. I put it in the center of my Santa display.

My third snow globe I got at a Christmas exchange. It has a wooden base and holds a Nativity scene. It clearly was the least expensive of the bunch... but it held an important place on my Nativity table for Christmas.

You can imagine that the snow globes are very enticing to little girls. I don't hover around my decorations telling them to keep their hands off ~ but they have been reminded numerous times that many of them are fragile.

On this day... Jesus, Mary & Joseph came crashing down onto the hard wood floor. Shattered. There are conflicting alibi's regarding the location of each child at the time of the accident. I did a lot of 'self talk' on the way home. I knew from the crying on the phone that they already felt bad... I figured my remaining two snow globes would lead safe lives. The consequences of a dropped snow globe would be etched in their minds for a long time.

Imagine my delight when I unwrapped this globe for Christmas. Girls, I love you and we all must remember that 'things' can always be replaced.

Random Christmas Photos

Eager anticipation!

Round one of opening presents was in Klamath Falls at my families house.
Nice hair Marc.

The girls and I got lots of paper so we can start creating fun things on my Cricut*
*My get up at 3:30 am the day after Thanksgiving best buy!

Mom opening her water bottle.
(Note to mom: There were other photos worse that this one)
(Remember when you told me not look at pictures of myself until
5 years later...
and then I would love them all because I would look younger?)

Dad loves his Girls Scout chocolates...
Gotta love when the store bag is pretty enough to be the gift bag too...

Uncle Jason always spoils the girls ~ translation ~
He sends me a generous check and I pick out wonderful
goodies for my girls. He feels a little out of touch with what
their interests might be.

We got him a really cool OSU sweatshirt.
Same as last year.
I'm kinda out of touch with what to get him too.
Maybe I should just send a check?
Naw, I think I am safe with OSU gear.

The Christmas Card

Taryn - 12.5

Grace 9.5

Reagan

7.9260273
(She turns 8 on Jan. 23rd)

Let's see... about 20 people actually received their Christmas card from us this year. It looked like this...


Wait... no it wasn't this one - the one I copied had all girls looking good. This must be the one where I used Photo Shop to copy Taryn's head from this photo onto this photo:


Yep...this is the picture I used...except with Taryn's head from the first photo. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? -She usually is so good when we take pictures. -There were about 5 other shots that looked just like this one and I never noticed. -She felt really, really, really bad when I freaked out. -She apologized a lot. -I could have felt equally bad and just sent out the cards without editing. -We would have laughed later. -It would have made her sad.

Now all this was really just a distraction... I did do Christmas cards. I will send them out. I didn't write a letter. So now when you get a card it will be just to let you know that you are 'worth' a Forever Stamp to me. You've already seen the picture, there is no letter...and nope I haven't and won't hand write any special sentiments to you either. And if you don't get one, maybe I don't have your address or maybe I just got lazy... but just so you know... you are still worth a Forever Stamp to me.

None the less... Here's hoping you had a very Merry Christmas and that the New Year will be blessed with Goodness!

Feasting this Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we feasted on:

Bacon wrapped turkey
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Homemade butter
Green beans
Bread
Pears
Chocolate Pie
Pumpkin Pie

But what I am most thankful for on this Thanksgiving:

• A loving husband that is willing and able to make our house a home. His handyman skills are too numerous to count. He also manages to keep his sanity living in this estrogen rich environment. His laid back nature helps him not to lose his mind with all the mood swings and chaos that a wife and three daughters can create.

• Three loving daughters that each have their own unique personalities. Where one has weakness the others have strengths. When they are not busy tormenting each other, they design playhouses, produce plays, protect and help each other. Though each of them is unique they are all loving and compassionate towards others. I hope that this goodness of heart will guide them as they grow their own wings and wander about in their lives.

• I am thankful for a job that allows me to help children learn both classroom skills as well as life skills. I work in a school where we strive to give all students fairness, equality, courage and a safe haven to learn. Teaching lets me have a career and lots of time to be a wife and mother. My job provides me with a comfortable salary, wonderful benefits and the opportunity to help contribute to my community.

• I am thankful to live somewhere that is small enough that many friends feel like family. We can get across town in 6 minutes unless there is a train. You can count on seeing people you know no matter where you are in town. The gas station attendants, the coffee barista and grocery checkers know you by name.

• I am thankful for my health. I am thankful that I can make mistakes and my friends and family forgive me, give me a second chance and let it go. I am thankful for my friends - all of them - some I see and talk to daily - some I've never met in real life - some I haven't seen in 25+ years - and all are ready and able to lend a hand, or an ear, when I come calling. I would be lost without the mosaic of friends in my life.

~-~

The five of us spent this week at home, together. There were no travel plans to see extended family. The rest and relaxation was well appreciated. Our busy life is not going to change. We will again load up and travel over the river and through the woods to visit our families. But this 2009 Thanksgiving was just us and it was just perfect.

New Addition...

We volunteered to host a potluck at our house for the Knights of Columbus and others in the church who volunteered at the booths during Round Up. Wouldn't you know it, we had our first really good fall rainstorm that day!

Marc had just finished transporting our new playhouse to the concrete pad he put down this summer. The house is a hand-me-down. Ashley, the past owner, is a sophomore in college now. Her dad built it for her...which totally got Marc off the hook. He has been promising a playhouse for a few years. The girls are looking forward to spring coming so they can paint and redecorate the inside.

The house was a welcomed shelter for about 15 little kids that day.

The adults & big kids all ate on tables in the garage. (Marc worked wonders in the garage to make space to feed all the people. An added a perk for me, there in now space for me to actually park my car.)

Eventually the rain slowed down and everyone could warm up and dry off by Marc's fire.

Everyone enjoyed the fellowship, despite the damp weather!

A Round Up of Pink

Thursday was Tough Enough to Wear Pink day at the Pendleton Round Up. It seems like a perfect day to take my girls. This year we met up with other girls and enjoyed the entire rodeo...and all the junk food that comes with it.

Miley Rocks!

If you look *really* close - in front and just below the front tire - you can see a person with their arm up in the air. That is me! That is me rocking to Miley Cyrus in Portland with my girls. It was a wonderful night.

After the concert we stayed in the same motel that Miley had stayed at the night before...The Hotel Monaco. The funniest part of the night was when we pulled into the parking garage. The Honda doors slid open revealing our disaster of a mess. I told the girls to gather their things and we would go to our room. Reagan said, "Well lets just roll up a luggage cart, load her up and go to our room." Our valet commented that she must have done that before. Hmm...not so much. We are not regulars at hotels where Valet is the only parking option.

It was a memorable evening for mom, girls and friends!

Photo: http://justjaredjr.buzznet.com/

9-9-09

As a 10 year veteran, but first year, first-grade teacher I was DELIGHTED a week ago to see this date on my plan book. It meant that for an entire day I could plan '9' activities. So we came up with 9 ways we played with 9's at the end of the day.

1. Sang 9 songs...
2. Stuck 9 stickers on a nine inch piece of paper...
3. Sat quiet for 9 seconds (and not one second longer)...
4. Wrote '9 or nine' for 9 minutes quietly (my favorite)...
5. Made 9 rhymes (they didn't get 'wine' but did get Frankenstein-wow)...
6. Fact families of 9...
7. Read Comet's Nine Lives by Jan Brett...
8. Read Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings by Deborah Hopkinson...
9. Had a 9 min. recess (oops...should have be 15, but I can't get my schedule down)

Another bit of interest for the day was the lead story in the EO, our local newspaper. Yep, that is yours truly. Now, in the honor of 9-9-09 may I share these thoughts:

1. Thank you for leaving out the nose picking boy.
2. Thank you for not mentioning the farting that was taking place.
3. Thank you for not showing my roots that got colored/covered today.
4. Thank you for taking time to show a bit of extra effort we all do in education.
5. Thank you for sharing that we do our best to be resourceful.
6. Thank you for an article not about a teacher having sex with her students.
7. Mental note: Starch is better than a quick iron job.
   
8. Next time, let's not take the picture at that angle, please.
9. Next time, could you leave out the 'vultures on roadkill' comment?

And my final, too good to leave out Reagan-ism, overheard by dad as she and Grace were circling the catalogs for Christmas, (yes, already.)

Grace: I want this.
Reagan: I want this.
Grace: I want this.
Reagan: I want this - oh and this too. Because you know Grace, when Taryn moves out we are going to have a lot more room, and then Mom and Dad can spend all their money on us!

Oh, so that's how that works!

Mark your calendars everyone...the next time we can have this much fun on a school day will be 11-11-11. I can hardly wait! (It is a Friday, BTW)

First Grade

I have spent countless hours the past few weeks getting ready for my new adventures in teaching first grade. Here is a glimpse inside my classroom.

We will start with a caterpillar/butterfly/Eric Carle unit

My boards are cute, but they don't hold a candle to Mrs. Z.
She's untouchable.

She painted her own paper and free-hand cuts her letters.



I love-love the sun!

This shiny, organized, *empty* classroom gives me peace just like when I look at a sleeping child.



Tranquil, sweet, perfect, full of hope!

The top posters were created by the talented Queen Renee. I was delighted when she offered her services. I hope she does not regret opening that can of worms. The best part of Renee coming wasn't the posters, even though they are fantastic. While we were chit-chatting I mentioned being from Klamath Falls. She smiled and told me she was born there. Then we started the 'where did your family live, how long were you there, what schools did you attend' routine, when she stated, "My mom went to school in Bonanza."

My grandma was the sixth grade teacher in Bonanza forever. She was *only* a sixth grade teacher too. She never got a wild hair and decided she needed a change. She was a smart cookie.

It only took a quick phone call for Renee to confirm that her mom was a student in my grandma's classroom. It warmed my heart. It was so unlikely, unexpected for my grandma to show up today. Just like always, she has a knack for knowing when I need a little nudge. I'm going to be just fine in my new grade. There will be bumps, but I'll just pull myself up, dust myself off and try again. I know she would be tickled to see me teach. She's been gone for five years. Missing her sneaks up on me...today was one of those days, but in a good way!


************

Some things should never come out of the closet.

I want to keep it real here. No false illusions. This is my closet, it houses all that are NOT right in the world. Yes, things fall on me when I open this closet. Yes, this was on the to-do list.
Someday! The closet is closely related to the area 'behind my counter'.
I did not get a shot of that, but you get the idea.

This is what I brought home with me. I have vowed to spend the day at home on Sunday. I will make good on that, however some time needs to be spent reading teachers guides or I may be in big trouble come about Wednesday.

First Grade : Learning : Growing : Changing

I can't wait!

THE BEACH!

8 Girls - 3 Moms - 3 Dads
Long Beach Peninsula, Washington

Face painting, the candy store, carnival rides, Dooger's Seafood & Grill

Beach combing



Whole Sand Dollars!

Cuddling in and watching Angels in the Outfield numerous times!

SAND!

This was our second trip to the Nelson's beach house. It was wonderful(again). An added perk to the trip was the 3 boys' success at salmon fishing. We each brought home fresh-clean-freezer ready-salmon. They filled their tags quickly...but not one of them had a camera...kudos to Jody for at least trying to find a camera at 4 am...and kudos to Tony for the furry cell phone pictures to prove you didn't purchase the fish...and kudos to Marc for catching a big one!