Summer Vacation is officially here!

We traditionally end the school year by getting together as a staff for lunch. This year was no different. We met at the home of one of our teachers, and had a great time enjoying each other's company. This year we had a group of staff that decided they needed to form a Barry Manillow fan club complete with T-Shirts. They even coerced Fr. Jarrett to join in, the poor soul. Of course, many of us "younger" folks decided that we could not just stand by and watch. We ended up with a Journey group, complete with our own T-Shirts with "Just Say No to Barry Manillow" on the back. It was a fun way to end the school year, and next time we'll make sure to snag Father before they do. Oh yeah...and we had a bigger group!





Today was my first official day of summer vacation. And you'll never guess what I spent my first day doing....CLEANING!!! LOL! Oh well, I felt like I got a lot accomplished.

Medieval Festival

Well the weeks and weeks of planning and organizing paid off! It went off with out a hitch. Well, there were a couple of small snafus, but nothing that wasn't expected. The 6th graders had a great time, and those that visited did as well. I think everyone really enjoyed the hands-on aspect that was offered. It sure makes the whole thing more meaningful for those that attend. Here are just a few pictures. I had 15 different stations in all, and over 250 students that attended the stations.




The groups were:
Medieval Food
Siege Weapons
Small Weaponry
Castles
Medieval Clothing
Shakespeare
Knights
Feudalism
Medieval Games
Maypoles
Medieval Art
Famous Medieval People
Medieval Music
Medieval Myths & Creatures
Medieval Church

Mother's Day Weekend

Well, it's Saturday and early this morning I got a delivery! Aren't they pretty? The flowers are from Kerry and the balloons, bear, and chocolate are from the kids.

I've been working on my mom's "card" for a while now. I finished up putting in the ribbon on all the little cards today. It's an altered box that has 20 cards inside. On the cards are things that I love about her. I think it came out really cool. I hope she likes it!

Lenae had a friend over last night. Aside from playing around at home we went to the carnival, watched our fireworks display for our city "All School's Day celebration, went to the carnival again and finished up by playing in the sprinkler. I think we'll be taking her home soon, both girls are getting tired. I know I am!

That I know of, we don't have any BIG plans for Mother's Day. Maybe I can convince him to take us out to eat. It won't be too hard to do. Otherwise I've got to get a good night's rest so I'll be ready the "Medieval Festival" on Monday with my 6th graders. I'll try to take some pictures and share them with you. Until then...

24 hours to post huh?

Well here I sit. Updating for a challenge on scrapdawgs.com. It's 10:49 pm, I should be in bed, but I am waiting for clothes to get done in the washer so I can put them in the dryer. Ryan is still up and screaming his head off at the moment. He wanted a chocolate egg...needless to say, he didn't get one. You'd have thought his world was ending. I guess to a 2 year old "No" is the end of their world. LOL! Right now he's yelling "MOMMY HELP" between the tears. Oh, what fun! On a much lighter note, we only have 6 days of school left! 4 of those are with my sixth graders. I have to say that although I am looking forward to summer, I will miss my group of kids that I have this year. Of course there have been many challenges, but as individuals, they really have a lot to offer. I've enjoyed watching them grow and contribute to our classroom. It will be sad to see them leave for the last time this coming Wednesday. I hope I've made a difference to them in this small part of their lives.

Well, the tears have ended, along with the cries for help. My washer just buzzed that it was done. I guess I ought to go move the laundry and head to bed.

Oh...one more thing...I weighed in at school today (we are doing our own weight loss club there) and I was down 4 lbs! SHOCK! My total lost is 18.5 pounds! Wish me luck that it keeps dropping off. :)

Snow day? No! FLOOD day!

What a weekend! From Friday through Sunday we dodged tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. We also got TONS of rain. We did find out that Ryan does not like our tornado shelter! We had to take cover on Sunday, and it took him a good 15 min. to settle down and get used to the small, dark little room. Today we woke up and got ready for school as usual. Lenae and I headed off like normal and on our drive we heard on the radio that school was cancelled for the day. Of course we were almost there by then so we went ahead and went. I got four hours of uninterrruped work done! The pictures are of two of the local "flood" spots here in McPherson.

Altered boxes

I made these for our school secretaries for "Secretaries Week". I filled them with Hershey kisses, and I also made a set of note cards for them as well. I hope they enjoy the gifties! I had fun making them.

Wish us luck

Lenae is supposed to go for allergy testing on Wednesday. This will be our second attempt. Last time on the final day without her Zyrtec, she started getting hives all across her back. We were doing cold packs to help with the itching while crossing our fingers that they'd leave. Then they started errupting on her face, I decided to give her what she needed to get rid of them, Zyrtec. So I called to cancel her apt. Now, with all this wind, I'm worried that we'll have another repeat. So, cross your fingers for us! This will be the 3rd time she's had testing done. Hopefully we'll see some of the outdoor triggers that she the testing didn't show a couple years ago. I also just want to get it over with!

Only 4 more weekends!

Or if you prefer days....25! I can't believe that it is getting so close to the end of the school year. Yesterday all I did was prepare for the Medieval Festival that we will begin preparing on Wednesday (or maybe Tuesday if I can be real convincing to another teacher). I thought for sure the kids would get a full 4 weeks to work on it, but it looks like they'll have just a little over 3. I think it will all work out just fine. They always seem to impress me with big projects.

Today was "catch up on laundry" day. I still have a load drying and one waiting to be dried. It's been a pretty good day though. I tried out the trampoline in the back yard. That was fun! LOL! Once I got the hang of it, I don't think I did too bad. Lenae and Ryan sure enjoyed my "tricks". HA HA HA! Lenae had half the neighborhood (or I should say all the neighborhood) for playmates most of the afternoon. I think we had a total of 7 other kids over today. At least it was nice enough for them to be outside, and stay outside!

Oh...the pictures....Friday it was only 39 (or so) degrees, and we were supposed to get about 7 inches of snow. I took this picture at the start of the snow storm. However we really didn't get much. Maybe a couple of inches. Then Saturday it warmed up to over 60, so everything melted. Today we were in the 60s again. Typical weather for this place. If you don't like it, wait 5 minutes and it'll change!

Alleluia! He is Risen!

Happy Easter everyone! We had a great day. We started out by going to Mass in Lindsborg. When we got home I began cooking up a storm. My parents, my brother, and Kerry's parents joined us for dinner. It was pretty good too! After we ate, the kids opened up their Easter baskets, and of course we had our annual egg hunt in the back yard. They kiddos had a great time finding the eggs! And this year, Ryan knew what to do with them. Last year he would pick them up and throw them back down. LOL!

Around Town Challenge

Here it is...a little late, you know what they say! Anyway, this is a picture of a statue that is near our courthouse. It is of General McPherson. He was a Civil War general that was killed in Atlanta, GA on July 22, 1864. He is the namesake of our town. I also have a photo of the back side of our courthouse (because I couldn't get a decent shot of the front from where I was at...) that shows the clock tower.

Happy Birthday Lenae!

She's 7! Wow, I can't believe how fast those years have gone by. I think she enjoyed her "family party" today. She picked out her cake, and also decided she wanted cupcakes. So when we came home, I made those. Kerry put together her new trampoline! She was quite shocked to see it. Of course, with the snow on the ground, and our wintry temperatures it made jumping just a bit cold, but she braved it anyway. Ryan joined her as well. She ended the night by falling asleep in Uncle Rick's arms. What a day!

It's time for PRETTY TOES!

I just LOVE spring! I love watching everything turn green outside, and seeing the flowers bloom. I love the balmy weather, and being able to open up the windows. I love being able to wear just about any kind of shirt - long sleeves or short, and feeling comfortable in either. I also love breaking out my sandals! So...this weekend I put on a fresh coat of toe-nail polish. Of course Ryan was intently watching and he wanted some to. I started with just his big toes hoping that would satisfy the need, but alas, he wanted them all done, just like mine. LOL! So here's the result. Kerry wasn't too thrilled, but he'll live.

Lenae's Spring Picture

Here it is! She looks so grown up already. Hard to believe she'll be turning seven in 6 more days.

I'm surviving, but I miss sleeping in.

Well...two days down and three to go until the weekend. These early mornings are kicking my butt. However, maybe if I would go to bed earlier it wouldn't be so bad. LOL! Monday was madness. I ran around constantly, and at the end of the day I felt like I hadn't gotten anything done. I did however spend 45 min. after school cleaning up my classroom. We are making bean mosaics for our study of Ancient Rome in 6th grade social studies, and I had dried beans EVERYWHERE! I'll have to take some pictures of the finished product and post them when I get a chance. They always come out so cool! Tomorrow is a easy day with the 5th grade social studies classes, we are watching a video on the Declaration of Independence. 3 classes of that...hopefully I can get some other stuff caught up while they are watching. Oh, I did have an AWESOME lunch today. The Spanish teacher takes the 6th grade classes on a field trip to a local Mexican restaurant where they have to speak in Spanish to the wait staff. So, I had a GREAT meal, and didn't have to pay for it either! WaHoo! It was just the two of us, and my 18 cherubs. They were pretty well behaved too. Too bad we can't do that more often. :) Lenae got her casual spring pictures...I'll scan one and post it later. They came out awesome! Until next time......

It's Sunday!

What a beautiful day too! Not much going on today, although I did add a few more pictures to my slide show. I had done some more pages, but hadn't taken pictures of them until last night. I'd like to go through all of my albums and get photos of them. That sounds like a good summer project. I'd scan them...but lately my scanner doesn't like all the lumpy stuff, and it scans wierd. Well, I'm being called to get juice for my boy. Until next time.......

An old one of Lenae

She was 2 years and 9 months in this video.

Spring break is almost over

I knew the end would come quick. It's not that I dread going back to work, it is that this is the time of the year that gets VERY STRESSFUL! Crunch Time...The time to FREAK out that we only have 38 days of school left (as of Monday)!!!! I've got so much to get done! Not only is our music teacher and I putting on a big performance with our 119 5th & 6th graders, I have also decided to have a Renaissance Festival with my 6th graders this year, instead of the traditional "Medieval Museum". And of course the culminating events of both the musical and the festival happen about a week apart. Someone's gonna have to put me in a padded room come May! Oh yes, and I was also told that I have to give the social studies state pilot assessment as well. When the heck am I gonna get all this done? Oh well...I'll survive as always. And when May 18th comes, you can come find me - I'll be running for the hills.

Questionaire from the Dawgs

Q: What is your favorite activity and why?
A: Scrapbooking...I love to be creative

Q: What is your favorite style of Scrapbooking?
A: Simple...but I am trying to branch out

Q: Do you prefer candid pics or staged?
A: Mostly candids, but I do like staged every now and then

Q: Do you take your camera everywhere with you?
A: No, but I should

Q: Do you have a certain thing that you prefer to get shots of?
A: My kids

Q: Do you have a specific comfort meal?
A: Dessert!

Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: Still teaching, maybe living in a different town.

Q: What are the steps you will take to get to where you want to be in five years?
A: Just keep doing what I'm doing...oh and putting our house on the market.

Q: Do you collect anything?
A: Cows (and dust!)

Q: Post a picture of yourself
A: I already did. :)

Q: FINAL QUESTION: Who is a "Scrapbooking Celeb" that you try to lift?
What is it that you love about their work? Post an example of their work.
Hmmmm....Not sure on this one. I really like Becky Higgins' sketches though.

Ryan is counting in Spanish

My first digital scrapbook page! I used our family Christmas photo.