Thankful: November 11

Today starts a series of posts to celebrate those things I am most thankful for in my life.

Jacob is one of those kids who has a personality larger than life; sometimes too large for my comfort level. :-)

I find that I enjoy him most when he an I can sneak away and spend some special time together, just the two of us. We usually try to catch a bite to eat and spend some time at one of our favorite places to shop like the Lego store or the book store.

I love that even at age 8, Jacob still wants to give me a hug and a kiss good bye on the playground every morning. He is always excited to see me on campus, especially when our two classes get together for buddy activities.

He has this creative side that every once in awhile reveals itself. Who knew that Storm Troopers love tortilla chips as much as Darth Vader.

Lost in Life but Still Here

It's been a long two months since my last post as I've adjusted to life working full time, teaching a new grade, and balancing it all with being a mom. Life could not be better....well, maybe some free time would be nice. It's been a lot easier to relax around here since the boys are able to play outside with out me hovering over them every minute. We're still loving our new neighborhood.

Kindergarten has been an awesome change. Even after the most frustrating of days, the kids come bouncing back in with smiles on their faces the next morning. Not a day goes by where I don't see growth and learning taking place....not as easily seen with the 6th graders. My grade level team of teachers is wonderful. Our lessons and activities are almost identical in all 6 classroom, yet there is lots of room for me to add my own ideas. My highest students are all well on their way to reading this month. Those that entered kindergarten knowing only a handful of letter sounds know sounds for almost all 26 letters. Today as we walked to lunch they were chanting the words to one of our sight word songs, "I like you, you like me, I spell like L I K E...."


Photos are on their way with the next post. :-)

Why Burney?

So here is they reason we head to Burney Falls each summer. Leslie & I started teaching together 8 or so years ago. Besides being my job share partner for many years, she has grown to become one of my best friends. She has all of those qualities I admire in a teacher and a friend; she's organized, hard working, conscientious, creative, honest, trustworthy...the list goes on and on. She's always there to lean on when the going gets tough, or when I'm feeling blue.

It's fun to spend time away from school with her, and to see her silly side come out: jumping into the lake after sundown, singing her campfire song, laughing just a little too loudly after "quiet hours" have started.

I have lost track of the number of years that Leslie has camped at Burney, but her husband, Bryan, is on year 30 I believe. Brayden has camped there every summer since he was born, so 6 years so far. We'll never catch up to with them, but plan to join them for many more summers to come.

Success

Another successful morning fishing at Burney. Each morning Tom wakes up early to head out for some fishing above the falls. The boys take turns getting up early to join him on the river. This year they came back to camp with smiles on their faces as well as several rainbow and brook trout.

Nature's Masterpiece

Burney Falls has to be one of Mother Nature's masterpieces. Each summer we make the trek up I-5 toward Mt. Lassen for several days of camping at McArthur Burney Falls. One of they boys' favorite activities is hiking down to the bottom of the falls and out to the swimming beach.

As we hiked, we joked about wanting the bottom of our swimming pool to be colored "Burney Blue". In all actuality, Tahoe Blue, our final selection, is quite close to the color of the water at the bottom of Burney Falls.

Not the best family photo, but what do you expect after 4 days of camping?

Happy Birthday Jaden

We celebrated Jaden's birthday with all the best; sushi, ice cream cake and an evening on the slip and slide. The boys had a blast with all the open grass area in the backyard. It was short lived, as less than a week after moving in, the excavation crew arrived to dig the pool.

Birthday?

Jaden's reading tutor just asked me whether we would be meeting on his birthday. His birthday??? A bit of panic set in as my mental calendar flashed before my eyes. 21st? When is the 21st? Is it really next week? Thankfully she reassured me that his birthday wasn't until the week after next.

For once I have not been obsessing about an upcoming birthday party. Usually by now I've coordinated goodie bags with a cake theme, sent out an evite or invitations, started making my shopping list for party food.....

With the move, our annual camping trip to Burney Falls, and the pool construction, I just have been telling myself that we'll celebrate Jaden's birthday in August after we're settled into the new house.

But then I got to thinking. Birthdays are so special for the little ones. We need to find a way to make the 21st special, even if it is something simple. So the date is set. I'm not sure exactly what we'll do, but he'll get a kick out of the cupcakes pictured above.