Strongs

My Best Books of 2011

2012-01-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

I love to read and write. If you told me I had to spend 48 hours in a room by myself, I wouldn't need much to keep me happy. A pile of books, a good pen and something to write on...maybe some food..a restroom...you get the idea. I read a lot before we had kids, but had trouble finding the time after, especially at the beginning. I first found time to start reading again after we had Shayne and he wouldn't fall asleep on his own very well (in fact, if I ever try to give you or anyone you know advice on how to help your kids become good, independent sleepers, please put a quick stop to it). If I left the room while he was still awake, he would just keep getting out of bed. I know I could have probably just kept carrying him to bed over and over for a few nights, but since I was teaching fourth grade full time then, there was never a night where I thought, "Tonight I don't really need much sleep". So I would just lay there in the dark with him, sometimes for an hour or more. This got me out of the habit of watching tv at night, because usually by the time he was asleep, I would be asleep also or would need to go to bed soon. A little after Shayne turned one, I got smart and got myself a book light. I would read while I was waiting for him to fall asleep and often would continue after. I was surprised at how much reading I was able to get done in just these hours that were previously spent laying in the dark. I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy that spring when Shayne was one, with one arm draped over him as he fell asleep and the other on my book with my new book light. I was hooked after that and continue to use that hour or two (most nights) after the kids go to bed but before I do to read. Sometimes in place of little things like cleaning the house or working out...Of course it is nice now that they are older when I can read on my bed instead of on the floor next to theirs...

Anyway, all the end-of-the-year lists you see in December and January made me want to make a "Best Books I Read in 2012" list. Here they are:

Fiction:

This book is really long (a little over 900 pages), but excellent. Here is the first sentence: Onthe afternoon of October 12, 1990, my twin brother Thomas entered the ThreeRivers, Connecticut Public Library, retreated to one of the rear study carrels,and prayed to God the sacrifice he was about to commit would be deemedacceptable. I Know This Much is True grabbed me from page one and didn't let go. It is about twin brothers, one of whom has schizophrenia. The twin who does not have it is the one telling most of the story, but it is also told in part by flashbacks to his grandfather's life story. It has some heavy and dark themes, and parts of it may be upsetting, but it is a moving and very well-written book. I was really impressed by this author and plan to read more by Wally Lamb.

I read the first book of this trilogy, The Hunger Games, in the summer on my sister's recommendation and it was great. I read book two, and it was so good that the day I finished it I went and bought the third book at Costco right away. I was reading the third book along with a sixth grade girl at school and it was fun to check in with her along the way about how awesome we both thought it was. This would be a great series for boys or girls as the main character is a girl, but it is action-packed. It is considered to be in the "young adult" genre. I wouldn't recommend it for under 6th grade, as it is quite graphically violent in parts. I don't even really want to tell you what it is about, as that might ruin it for you. If you can get through the first few pages of The Hunger Games and stop before you find out what The Games are, I would be really surprised!

I read this with a book group last spring. I usually steer clear of World World II and the era of the segregated south because those stories usually depress me. I couldn't pass up reading The Help with some of my friends from work though. Once I started this book I finished it in a few days because I needed to know what happened next. It is told from the points-of-view of a handful of the main characters and is generally about black housekeepers and the ladies they worked for in Jackson Mississippi in 1962. It has some sad parts for sure, but is generally uplifting and has some fantastic characters. Maybe you have seen the movie...I haven't yet, but plan to soon.

Non-Fiction/Memoirs:

The Book Whisperer is arguably the best book on teaching reading that I have ever read. It is by a lady who has taught older elementary and middle school kids and is an avid reader and lover of books. She has been able to pass on her love of books to her students, sometimes even her most reluctant readers. Her contention is that the most valuable thing we can do when teaching students to read is inspire a love for reading, help them choose books which interest them and allow them sizable chunks of time to independently read. A very important part of this process is allowing students a window into your own life as a reader. I couldn't agree more. This book completely inspired me as a teacher and as a librarian especially. She had some great concrete ideas for helping students foster a life-long love of reading. I think anyone who wants to instill a love of reading in students or in their own children would love this book. If you are a teacher (mom), I would consider it to be in the "must read" category.

Jon Krakauer is an author and an accomplished mountaineer. In 1996 he was sent on an expedition to climb Mt. Everest for Outdoor Magazine to write an article about it. The expedition turned tragic and the article turned into a book, Into Thin Air. When I got done with this book I felt like I had been on Mt. Everest with the expedition. I had no idea how risky high-altitude climbing is, even for those who have lots of experience and are in excellent shape. It was a great book by a great writer (read Into the Wild by him a few years ago...also good) made even better by the fact that it was a personal account of what happened.

Stephen King of course is most famous for his fiction, and I have read a handful of Stephen King books over the years and have generally really liked them. More than anything I am amazed at the volume of work that Stephen King has managed to publish over the years. According to Wikipedia he is 64 years old and has published 49 novels! Most of them are quite long too. I thought this book looked good and it was an interesting, fast-paced read. It is a memoir about how Stephen King started and continued his career as a writer, along with some "how to" advice for aspiring writers. I really enjoyed it.

My Favorite Book Shayne and I Read Together:

Shayne and I have been reading the Harry Potter series this fall/winter. We have both been getting really into it. I think we both agree that out of the three we have read so far, the third one, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is the one we like the best.

Favorite Books I Read with the Kids at School:

I have been working more in the library this year in addition to the computer lab so I often have opportunities to read to the K-4 kids. One of our library traditions is to read the books that have been nominated for the Grand Canyon Reader Award each year in the picture book category and then submit our votes for favorite. The Grand Canyon Reader Award is an award that is given to one book each year in each of 5 different categories. Arizona students get to vote for their favorites and that is how the award is given. One of the nominees that I have read to the kids so far that is super-cute is Big Chickens Fly the Coop. It is about four chickens that decide they want to see the farm house and all the roadblocks they come across along the way. It has very cute illustrations and uses colorful words with lots of alliteration (same sound repeating in a line..."Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" etc.) that make it fun to read aloud and to listen to.

I am also our school's Battle of the Books coach. Battle of the Books is an academic competition in which teams of three read 12 novels in the course of about 5 months and compete about their knowledge of the books like a quiz show. One of this year's books is Tale of Despereaux, which is quite a well-known book that I had never read until the fall. It won the Newberry Medal in 2004. Tale of Despereaux was fantastic! It is about a mouse who falls in love with a human princess and is then shunned by his own people (mice) as a result. It would be fun for anyone 4th on up and maybe read aloud as young as 3rd.

Please tell me what your favorite book of 2011 was! Ask your kids too, I always like to hear what kids recommend to each other and then pass along their recommendations in the library.

Fall in Mesa (in January)

2012-01-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

This past week has been the height of our roughly three week long, annual shedding and blossoming of the deciduous trees cycle. Usually around the first week of January, we have "Fall" when all the leaves change color and fall off, then by the first week in February the same trees are blossoming again. Half of you don't believe me, I'm sure, but it's true. It happens every year. I'll post photos of blossoms on these same trees before Valentine's Day. Here are some photos of Maya, Shayne and a few kids from the neighborhood enjoying this short window of time to play in the leaves.

Later we walked over to the store. Here is one of the trees that gets really pretty.

We also got some ice cream sandwiches to eat under the tree on the way home...

Happy Arizona Fall!

Tucson

2012-01-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

On my birthday Rick had the idea to go to Tucson so we did. Our kids love a trip, so they didn't need any convincing. On the way down there we went to the San Xavier Mission, which is the oldest in-tact European-built structure in Arizona. It was built in the 1700s. I know I have posted photos of it before, but here are a few more:

This side of it has been recently restored.

You can tell when you compare it to the other side, which is still being worked on.

We were there on December 30th, so the inside was still decorated for Christmas.

The very Southwestern looking Nativity Scene

Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus

The Three Wise Men

The kids' favorite part, climbing the rocks outside

Another thing we did was go to Saguaro National Park, which was beautiful.

Did you know the inside of a saguaro is made of wood like the trunk of a tree? It is designed kind of like an accordion so that it can expand and contract to hold tons, literally tons of water.

They had some very scenic hiking trails which allowed us to an up-close view of the desert.

Saguaros can weigh up to 16,000 pounds when they are full of water. I think this one was one of the biggest ones we have ever seen. At first Maya didn't want to be in the picture...

Then she did...

These two birds don't look it from the picture, but they were huge. It was a fun trip and we will definitely go back soon for some more desert hiking. We just barely scratched the surface when we were there. It was a great way to spend my birthday!

If you want to read more about saguaro cacti with your children, here are two very good books you probably have at your library:

Christmas Morning

2012-01-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

Our December Trip North

2012-01-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

The weekend before Christmas we went north to Flagstaff for the weekend. It was perfect because there was snow on the ground, and it even snowed a bit on the Sunday we were there, but the roads were fine the whole time. We got there on Friday afternoon. On Saturday we went to the Grand Canyon which is a little over an hour from Flagstaff. It was beautiful with all of the snow, but windy and cold.

Next to the Christmas tree at the main visitor's center

This is a campground right down the road from the entrance to the National Park that we have always thought was funny.

We woke up Sunday morning to a fresh layer of snow. This is Shayne's first experience scraping a windshield. Later we went sledding.

Great sledding hill by NAU (Northern Arizona University) Shayne and Maya are the ones in pink and grey about to go down the starting ramp

Their first time sledding was definitely a hit :)

Shayne Hits the Double Digits

2012-01-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Shayne turned ten on December 14th. Hard to believe our baby is in the double digits already. Time flies...

Still Catching Up: Halloween

2012-01-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

Maya really wanted to make "green slime" for Halloween. I think she had seen it on Sid the Science Kid. We already had cornstarch and water, which were the main ingredients. We only needed something to turn it green. We chose to use food coloring. That is generally thought to be safe, right?

Well, safe it is, washable it is not...her hands looked like this all night. They faded a bit after some scrubbing, but it took a few days for the "green slime" hands to be gone.

Shayne was a wizard...happy here...

More serious here...

Maya was Rapunzel

She loved the wig! We had a great time trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.

Still Catching Up: September Trip to St. George

2012-01-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

We took another trip to St. George in September, to say goodbye to Grandma here on Earth and to celebrate her life. It was just as she would have wanted it, everyone there together and happy to see each other. All of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were there along with many other family members and dear friends. Here are some photos we took the day of the service:

All of Grandma's great grandchildren except for Crystal

All of Grandma's grandchildren

My dad with grandkids Jack, Maya, Rayzel, Sydney, Melissa and Savannah

My Uncle Craig, Aunt Linda and cousins Spencer, Kim, Christy and Rebecca

Steve, Alison, Dale, Me, Tom, Mom, Dad

All Mom and Dad's grandkids and Wendy, who is Steve's wife holding Crystal

Our little family

Still Catching Up: August in St. George

2012-01-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

Still catching up here. My goal is to be to January by the time I go back to work in a few days..These are some photos of a trip we took to St. George in August when my Grandma was in the hospital. It was nice spending time with her. My parents and cousins Christy and Spencer and his wife Shannon were there also. One of the days we were there we spent the evening in Snow Canyon, which is very close to Grandma's house and one of our favorite places ever. We stayed to watch the sun go down.

They also have a fun splash park a few blocks from Grandma's house that the kids had fun playing at.

We are very grateful to have been able to make the trip and to have had a nice last visit with Gram in St. George, a place we have grown to love over the past 18 years or so of visiting her there.

We stopped off at the fairly new bridge that goes over the Hoover Dam now. It is dizzyingly high up and an has an amazing view that is well worth the stop. When you drive over it, you cannot see over the side. Unless you are paying close attention you wouldn't even realize you are going over a bridge at all. Before you go over it, there is an exit where you can park and walk up to the pedestrian part of the bridge, which is what we did.

Still Catching Up...The Beach

2011-12-18T20:20:00.002-07:00

I posted some photos of our annual trip to Maryland and North Carolina awhile back, but I wanted to post a few more before I started adding things that happened after that. Anyway, here they are:

In the water with cousins-Maya is in the middle

Shayne and Greg catching a wave

Maya making herself into a mermaid

Doing ballet at dusk

I know I have posted lighthouse pictures before, but I really like how the clouds look in this one.

What would the beach be without industrious castle building?

Jonathan

Greg, Drew and Jonathan

Alex

Here are some other pictures that I liked. Everyone is not represented here...just the folks that happened to be around when I had the camera out.

Shawn

Crystal

Tom and James

Alison and Matt

Steve

Crystal wearing Grandma's shoes

The boys playing some sort of sword game with driftwood

James

Crystal scooting backwards in her PJs right before our twilight ferry ride

Sydney and Maya

Needless to say, a great time was had by all :)

Our Boat Ride

2011-10-02T13:26:00.003-07:00

Our kids had never been on a boat before this summer. There is a ferry that runs between Hatteras Island and Okracoke Island (in North Carolina). We rode it once during the day and once with almost everyone else in the family at night when there was a full moon. Both times were beautiful and fun.

Summer Continued...

2011-09-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

This summer, Alison and I were both out to Maryland before our husbands. We made an ambitious list of things we wanted to do with the kids before we left for North Carolina, and we got about half way through it! One of the things we wanted to do was to go to one of the concerts on the National Mall. On the night we went, the U.S. Air Force band was playing. They played right at the bottom of the capital steps as dusk neared, and we watched the concert as the sun set in the background. The band was fantastic, and the kids loved having the chance to see all the instruments up close. Grandma and Grandpa met us down there toward the end and a fun time was had by all. If you ever find yourself in downtown Washington in the summer around sundown, see if there is a concert going on. They offer them to the public several times a week all summer long and it is definitely worth seeing.

Another thing we did was go to the zoo with Tom and Sarah and their kids.

Maya, Sydney and Rayzel taking a break

It was hot!!

We also went to Tom and Sarah's house and had girls day/boys day. The girls played Wii Dance and the boys went with Uncle Tom to see Transformers. We also went to some museums and spent some time at Dale and Tammy's house and picked delicious blueberries at a farm near their house. I didn't get any pictures of those things though...Soon after that it was off to the beach in North Carolina. Pictures of that to follow soon...

Updates from the Summer

2011-09-20T21:39:00.003-07:00

I am going to attempt to catch up on a few highlights from the summer. One thing we did when we were in Maryland, on the Fourth of July, was go swimming at the creek near my parents' house. We used to go swimming there with my Grandma and Grandpa when we were kids and always loved it. Dale, Alison and Steve were there with their kids also, along with my mom and dad. We all had a great time, and those in my generation appreciated seeing our children enjoying one of the things we liked most as kids.

Grandpa and Maya

Sydney, Maya and Melissa

Maya braving the rapids with big cousin Melissa

Shayne and David being carried by the current

What is it about kids and sticks?

Even baby Crystal got in on the stick thing

The Grand Canyon

2010-12-13T21:28:00.009-07:00

The first weekend in December, we took Thursday and Friday off and took a four day trip up to see my Grandma in St. George. The first day we went to the Grand Canyon. The kids had never been, so we thought now that they are six and eight and will probably remember it, this would be a good time to go. It was a great time to go, as it was not very crowded at all. There were people there, but considering it gets 4.5 million visitors (according to the Visitor's Center) a year, it was very quiet. By 4:00 or so, there were two stops where there was no one there but us. There was a light dusting of snow from earlier that week which made things even more beautiful and was a huge highlight for the kids. I will post about the rest of the trip soon. Here are some photos of the day at the Grand Canyon:

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T20:03:00.003-07:00

Played around a little with "focal black and white"...

Send Us Some Leaves!!

2010-10-19T21:58:00.002-07:00

Photo from Google Images

Maya's teacher is planning on doing some fall leaves activities with the kids in a few weeks. For the project, she would like them to collect colorful fall leaves from different parts of the country. If you have some fall leaves you would like to send to us, we would love it! They are light, so you should be able to just use a regular stamp. Any help with this will be appreciated!

Our Storm

2010-10-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

We had a huge storm here a little over a week ago. Maya was at school at the time, Rick had just arrived home from work and Shayne and I had just arrived home from running some errands (we were on fall break already). Sheets and sheets of rain fell and the trees were bending and blowing fiercely. Anyway, we the rain and wind subsided after about 10 or 15 minutes and we heard a knock at the door. It was one of our neighbors to tell us that a tree had fallen on Rick's car. This is the one he uses for work. A tree from someone's yard fell on the carport, which fell right onto the car. The pictures aren't great as they were taken with Rick's phone, and I can't seem to get them any bigger, but you get the idea.

Soon after we discovered the car, it was time to go pick up Maya about 2 miles south of our house. It took way longer than normal to get there due to many fallen trees, flooded streets and the traffic lights being out. When we finally got there, the normal 5 minute ride had taken about 20 minutes and poor Maya and her classmates were very anxious. Later we learned that the power had gone out in her classroom during the storm and a tree had fallen about 10 feet away from the room also. Her room has no windows, so it must have been pitch black and with all of the noises from outside, and considering most of these kids have sensory and anxiety issues anyway, it was quite a situation I'm sure. She was visibly upset when we picked her up but calmed quickly. We were grateful no one was hurt. Here are a few AZ Republic articles about our crazy weather if you are interested in reading more:

Wind, rain, hail clobber Valley

Arizona Weather Turns Wilder

Indoor Activities...

2010-10-15T11:20:00.004-07:00

One of our favorite places to go when it is hot outside, which it is at least 4 months of the year here, is the Mesa Southwest Museum. It is a 15 minute drive from home and has lots of great hands-on activities for the kids.

Digging for dinosaur bones

Doing a dinosaur rubbing

Playing dinosaurs

Drawing a T-Rex

Being on TV with the green screen

When wrapped in green, they just show up on the TV screen as a floating head

In the copper mine

Panning for gold

Maya's Birthday in the Forest

2010-08-21T08:53:00.009-07:00

I know I haven't posted for awhile, so we are going all the way back to May, when Maya had her birthday. She told us she wanted to have it "in the forest" so we went camping for the night up in Payson at our favorite spot. We had a great time and it was a scenic and relaxing place for a birthday celebration. Here are a few photos:

Maya likes the book and video, The Lorax. She got the bird character from it for her birthday and had a lot of fun with her.

She was really into space in the spring too, and wanted a rocket ship cake.

She also got a guitar that she was really excited about. This was taken in the morning, and yes, this is what her hair looks like every day before we brush it.

By the park we like to go to sometimes in town, there is a war memorial we had never gotten a good look at before.

The park is about 15 minutes away from the campground and is right in the town. It is beautiful there and a fun place to play and do skateboarding tricks.

For anyone who has never had a birthday in the forest, I highly recommend it!

Maya's Shopping List

2010-05-28T18:08:00.002-07:00

Really Clean Glass

2010-05-23T21:03:00.004-07:00

Here is the same image, not cropped. I liked Alison's guess that she wanted it as a pet though. That was close...we have a good-sized empty aquarium at home that we have been wanting to get fish or a lizard for. A few weeks ago, when we were talking about it, Maya told me she wanted a marine iguana to live in it. I thought, since we can barely handle caring for two cats, it might be a bit much to get a marine iguana shipped to us from the Galapagos Islands...Here is a four minute video about marine iguanas if you are curious. The photo below is from Google Images. For now, we will continue to see our huge reptiles at the zoo instead of the living room.

Guess How

2010-05-19T20:50:00.004-07:00

Guess how Maya is this close to a komodo dragon without anyone worrying about it...

One Reason We Are Tired...(as a profession)

2010-04-29T21:42:00.003-07:00

When you have a few minutes, watch this video. I am taking a history content class on Thursdays for the past few weeks (we have to have 180 professional development hours every seven years or our certificates expire... I guess they figure we don't have enough going against us). Anyway, my teacher showed us this video clip which I had seen on TV a long time ago...totally hilarious.

Obviously I am not on Spring Break anymore and haven't been updating much...I'll add more soon.

For the Star Wars Fans

2010-04-05T20:58:00.002-07:00

Pod Racing...

Stones Into Schools

2010-03-31T16:34:00.000-07:00

This is the sequel to the book I wrote a post about a little over a year ago, Three Cups of Tea. If anything, it is even better than the first book.

In Stones Into Schools, we continue where Greg Mortenson left off in the story of his life's work thusfar, to help build schools in the remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, for all children, but especially girls, as they have often been denied the right to go to school in those countries. This story continues in post 9/11 Pakistan and Afghanistan, with all the things Greg and his foundation, the Central Asia Institute, did to continue their work even with significantly more dangerous conditions. He tells first-hand accounts of the horrible impact of Taliban rule on the every day lives of Afghans and of the devastating earthquake in that region in 2005, but mostly it is an inspiring story of hope.

It is heartening to read about all of the wonderful people doing life-changing things in that part of the world who have struggled against radicalism for so long. We so often only hear the loudest and most extreme voices from that region so it is refreshing to hear a different perspective. I think what sets Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute apart from other charity organizations is that in Pakistan and Afghanistan, they operate with local people and have built relationships with all types of people from all walks of life. The schools are mostly funded through the institute, but part of the deal is that the village donates land and labor also. The local people are an integral part of the building, staffing and maintenance of the schools. Also, they travel and build in very remote parts of the region where few, if any foreigners dare to venture.

I thought that this book would take me a little while to get through, being about 400 pages, non-fiction and with tons of places and people in it. Nothing could have been further from the truth- I had trouble putting it down and was through it in three days and wanting more. The book included maps, an alphabetical directory of people and a glossary which made it even more clear. I highly recommend this book, especially if you read and enjoyed Three Cups of Tea.

If you have a minute, check out the Central Asia Institute website and read about some of the work that they do. They are an amazing group of people.

Mud, a Big Tree House and a Komodo Dragon

2010-03-25T14:21:00.001-07:00

Last week we went to the zoo. We hadn't been for at least 6 months, so it was really nice to go. They have a sting ray exhibit where the kids can pet the sting rays that is always fun. One thing that was new since last time we were there were 2 adult Komodo Dragons. They were really neat and we all liked seeing them. I didn't get a good picture because the one that was close enough was behind plexi-glass.

Maya and a bunch of other kids waded and played "mud" in the creek by the playground. Arizona kids don't get many opportunities to do this...

This is a really fun, huge tree house play area that all the kids love. It is right upstream from the mud. Try to find Shayne in the picture.

We had a lot of rain this winter so everything is very pretty and green (green for the desert anyway).

Maya really liked the Komodo Dragons. When we got home, we found a 15 minute video on the Internet about Komodo dragons. After she watched it she drew a picture of one and wanted to know how to spell it.Here is a family of Komodo Dragons

Spring Break

2010-03-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

We were on Spring Break last week. We had fun just hanging around home and doing a lot of things outside. One day we went over to a really fun park by our house. I love it because it is sort of small, fenced it, has swings and slides, has water and ducks, and we can sit at a picnic table in the shade and see the whole park. Also, it is in walking distance of our house and there are hardly ever many people there. One day last week we went there and Rick and I played Scrabble while the kids played by the water and on the play equipment. A few days later we brought a lunch and camped out for most of the afternoon.

Here they can stick their feet in the water and feed the ducks.

We brought paints to do some nature painting. We love that shady picnic table.

The second time we went, Rick had started work at 4am that day, so he took a little nap. No one called the police saying there was a vagrant in the park, so that was good. Anyway, we are enjoying it now, because in another few months it'll be too hot except at dawn and dusk.

As We Prepare to Paint Our House...

2010-03-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

Most of our house is painted the same color. Why? The same reason we haven't bothered to get new couches even though ours are looking pretty "tired". In another few years when the kids are a little older, we will think about new couches and maybe even a new color of paint. Right now, it's antique white. Antique white is one of the basic colors you can just go to Home Depot and ask for by name. "I need a gallon of antique white please." "We'll have that for you in five minutes."

As we were getting ready for the annual shoulder height to floor paint job, I took a few photos. You're probably saying to yourself, "I don't know why she lets her kids write on the walls..." and you are certainly entitled to your opinion. Your walls probably look nice. Well, I don't really "let" my kids write on the walls, but a year ago, Maya wasn't even really drawing much, let alone showing any interest in making letters. In the summer, she started drawing a lot more than she ever had, mostly water animals like fish, whales and octopuses. After her first few weeks in kindergarten she was starting to make the letters of her name, and soon, writing it on her own and then making all sorts of letters. Sometimes she would draw and write on paper and sometimes she would draw and write on the walls. She seemed to be celebrating each new letter she learned by making a string of them on the wall or on a door, both upper and lower case. We were so happy that she was learning to write so many letters that we encouraged her to write on paper, but did not get upset at the writing on the wall.

After awhile, we taped a big sheet of paper to the wall that she liked to write on, then we slowly got her to mainly draw on paper and since October or so she has stuck to paper. You would think we would have gotten around to painting sooner, but we haven't. All the walls don't look like this, just a few different places and these are the ones that wouldn't come off well with magic erasers. As we get ready to touch up the paint job, here are some "before" shots:

Here she was writing "Shayne"

At first she made her Es and Fs with way too many little arms. It was really cute. She makes them with the right number now.

She is starting to write words and ideas down with her drawings for the past month or so, which I am really excited about. I will post some of that soon too. Just have to get the ol' scanner going...

Shayne's New Skills

2010-03-21T10:25:00.004-07:00

I wrote a month or so ago about how Shayne took a 7 week Introduction to Skateboarding class at the skate park near our house. Since then, he really likes skating a lot and Rick takes him down to the skate park to practice a few times a week. Here are some short video clips of Shayne that Rick took recently:

Apparently These Things Happen...

2010-03-17T10:48:00.006-07:00

The other day we were cooking hamburgers outside on the grill and cooking some french fries in the oven. I had mainly been outside, but happened to be getting some cheese out of the fridge when I heard a loud electrical buzzing coming from our electric range, accompanied by a glowing, white light on the inside of the oven. I immediately ran for the breaker box and killed the power and screamed up the stairs for Rick. He came down and got the fire extinguisher out. It was on fire, but we ended up not spraying it, but keeping the oven door closed until it burnt out on its own less than a minute later. Oddly, the fries were perfectly done. The range itself is connected directly to the wall so it cannot be unplugged easily, but fortunately, it is on its own circuit, so we were able to keep the power off for it, but on for everything else. Anyway, we are shopping for a new one, because that one will never see power again if I can help it. What surprised me most is that the range itself was in great shape and had never given us any problems. Also, from reading on the Internet, this kind of thing is more common that you would think. Here is one link I looked at, but there are many others for all kinds of brands. Ours looks like the one in the picture (maybe not quite as clean...) Do I think the house would have burnt down if we didn't notice it right away? I'm not sure, but it certainly would have been possible. Scary!

March: Home Improvement

2010-03-16T10:29:00.004-07:00

I decided to make March my "home improvement" month because we have spring break this week and next week, so I thought I would be more likely to get things around the house done this month rather than a month where I am working the whole time. All of us are happier when the house is in good shape, that is why I chose this for one of my Happiness Project Twelve. This being said, I love spring break mainly because here in Arizona, it is a great time to be outside. So, even though there are a myriad of possibilities for home improvement projects, I am narrowing it down to a small, doable list of things, so I can us most of my time taking it easy and hanging out with the family. I also chose projects that would be free or very inexpensive. In March I would like to:

Plant cucumbers (they grow in pots in Arizona)
Paint most of the walls that are off-white (downstairs, our room, stairway)
Fix and paint over 2 small holes in the upstairs bathroom wall
Spot paint outside patio wall where paint has chipped
Put outside storage closet door back on (it fell off and is just leaning against the wall right now)
Clean carpets

This will keep us busy! Mostly I think I will work on these next week because Maya goes back to school next week and we don't till the following week (she has one week and we have 2, but then she gets out a week earlier for summer).

Running Club

2010-03-12T17:42:00.006-07:00

Our school district (Chandler) has a fun thing for the elementary kids called Running Club. They run around the field after school 2 days a week and see how many laps they can get. With every quarter of a mile lap, they get a tally mark on their hands in marker, which is a source of much pride after each practice, as they each run around showing each other how many laps they did. They have 3 races late January-February with about 5 schools together (it isn't very cold here in the afternoons that time of year). Shayne had his last Running Club race 2 weeks ago. (I'm a little behind on blog posts-no more parenthesis, I promise!) He had a lot of fun running with many of his friends during the Running Club season and plans to be part of it again next year. We had over 100 kids participate in our school of about 490.

Happy Belated Pancake Day

2010-02-25T20:56:00.010-07:00

On Tuesday Rick called me at work and said he had heard on the radio that it was National Pancake Day. We decided to have pancakes, bacon and eggs for dinner. Who doesn't like that, right? Later, we decided to turn it into a little celebration. The kids drew pancake pictures for decorations, we read the book by Eric Carle, Pancakes, Pancakes! and we found two good Pancake poems. It was a lot of fun.

The Pancake Collector

by Jack Prelutsky

Come visit my pancake collection
It’s unique in the civilized world
I have pancakes in every description,
Pancakes flaky and fluffy and curled

I have pancakes of various sizes
Pancakes regular, heavy and light
Underdone pancakes and overdone pancakes
And pancakes so perfectly right

I have pancakes locked up in the closets
have pancakes on hangers and hooks
There are bags in boxes and bureaus
And pressed in the pages of books

There are pretty ones sewn to the cushions
And tastefully pinned to the drapes.
The ceilings are coated with pancakes
And pressed in the pages with crepes.

I have pancakes in most of my pockets
And concealed in the lining of suites
There are tiny ones stuffed in my mittens
And large one packed in my boots

I have extra of most of my pancakes,
I maintain them in rows on these shelves
And if you say nice things about them
You may take a few home for yourself

I see that you’ve got to be going
Won’t you let yourselves out by the door?
It is time that I pour out the batter
And bake up a few hundred more

Pancake Poem

Shel Silverstein

Who wants a pancake,
Sweet and piping hot?
Good little Grace looks up and says,
"I'll take the one on top."
Who else wants a pancake,
Fresh off the griddle?
Terrible Teresa smiles and says,
"I'll take the one in the middle."

Another great book about pancakes is Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Pig a Pancake.

Skateboarding Class

2010-02-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

Shayne has always liked the idea of skateboarding. Last summer we got him a skateboard and he has been practicing on it. The city of Chandler, which is south of Mesa, and where I work, offers a lot of fun, interesting, fairly inexpensive activities for people of all ages through their parks and recreation program. Anyway, they have an Introduction to Skateboarding class for 7-12 year olds that takes place once a week at a skate park in Chandler. Shayne was really excited to sign up for it, so we did. He has been going for 6 weeks now and has gotten a lot better. One of the things I really like about it is that the instructor, who is young enough that I could almost be his mother, covers skills and safety about equally. Rick has been taking him down there to practice a few times a week lately too, which he loves. Anyway, here are some photos:

Better Late Than Never-February: The Month of Stellar Parenting

2010-02-21T09:26:00.003-07:00

I want to get this posted before the month is over! Last month, health and nutrition month, went fairly well. I think I dropped a few pounds, am in slightly better shape, feeling more energy most days and am eating healthier, especially at lunch. I have been trying to continue all that I started in January. In February I have been focusing on doing things for Shayne and Maya. I definitely feel happier when they are happy. Here are a few things I have been doing or plan to do:

Play something with each of them at least once a day, separately or together (kick the ball around, light saber fight, play cards, etc.)
Make a calendar for Maya each week so she can see what is coming up. Let her decide one fun thing to do on the weekend
Use picture magnets for Maya to learn new words
Read at least one good parenting or autism book each month
Wake up with plenty of time to get to school in the mornings peacefully and have everything laid out the night before (we have been doing well with this and it really helps)
Get bedtime routine started early enough that we have plenty of time for both kids to read to me and to get read to without having to rush
Use the "snack bowl" for healthy snacks after school and other times (the snack bowl is just a bowl in the refrigerator with healthy snacks ready to eat in it) Both kids seem to really like this

Of course, being a teacher, I have some specific, measurable academic goals, but I won't bore you with those :)

Happy Fall!

2010-02-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

Here in the Valley of the Sun, we have what is traditionally considered to be "fall", the falling of the leaves from deciduous trees, in January. The leaves usually fall for about a week and a half to two weeks during the beginning part of January, then, amazingly, the trees blossom by the end of the of the month. So the whole process, from the first leaves falling to the blossoms making their first appearance happens in about three weeks. The first photo was taken during the first few days of January and the second one was taken a few days ago. Considering the new leaves, this post could be more appropriately named "Happy Spring".

The Barber Shop

2010-02-08T20:54:00.007-07:00

I was sitting at the computer one night a few weeks ago enjoying some much needed quiet time. "What's wrong with that?" you're wondering. "You work hard. You deserve it." You're totally right. I do work hard. I do deserve it. Something was wrong though...it was quiet...too quiet. You know the feeling, you're sitting there, kind of spaced out, enjoying the quiet when you suddenly realize that it has been too quiet for too long. So when I came out of my daze, I decided to investigate. I walked into the bathroom and literally shrieked as I saw Maya standing, looking in the mirror, the sharp scissors in her hand, a pile of her hair on the floor. She really thought she had done a good job, and it was pretty good, considering it was a first attempt. I tried not to totally freak out so she wouldn't get upset, but I did explain that we don't cut our own hair. The next day, I took her to a hair cutting place down the street and asked the lady to do what she could to minimize the damage. It is pretty short, but not boy-short and she didn't even really have to cut the bangs. She said Maya had cut them quite evenly herself. So here are some pictures of Maya's new haircut, which is actually growing on me:

Rick's First Week on Days

2010-02-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

Rick and I have worked opposite schedules since before Shayne was born. The biggest reason for this was so one of us could be home with the kids all the time, which has thankfully happened for the past 8 years. In the summer Maya started all-day kindergarten, so no one really needs to be home all day anymore.

Last Monday Rick switched to working days instead of nights and we are all happy to be living with a more "normal" family schedule in which everyone is at home at night. Although we had time to do things each week as a family before, it is nice to have a lot more time now. In order to make this work, Rick has to get up at 3:45am most days to be out the door by about 4:00. That way I get the kids off to school in the morning and he picks them up. We are all home by 4:00pm or shortly after. So this week we enjoyed having dinner together every night and having Rick with us at Shayne's Running Club race and skateboarding class (more on that later...) So we are all very grateful to have had the flexibility in work schedules to be able to be with our kids a lot during their baby and pre-school years and we are very happy now to be seeing more of each other now.

Goodbye El Torito

2010-01-28T16:48:00.006-07:00

Last Sunday, the restaurant that I worked at for almost 7 years from 1995-2001 closed it's doors for good. Some of us who worked there for a long time (several still were working there until Sunday) got together to have a last meal before it closed. I worked most of my way through college there and still worked Friday nights for the first 3 years that I taught. I have lots of fun memories of that place and met some wonderful people there who I still keep in touch with. It is a beautiful building and I am sad to say that they are planning to tear it down to build something else. Anyway, here are some pictures I took on Sunday.

How to Fail a Test with Dignity

2010-01-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

A friend forwarded me some of these in an email. You should be able to click on them to enlarge them if they are hard to read.

Ringing in the New Year EST

2010-01-21T16:32:00.001-07:00

I know this is a little late, but I just uploaded the pictures...

A friend of mine has had a New Year's Eve party for the past few years that is very kid-friendly and a lot of fun. We played games and made smores in the backyard (it was probably about 60 degrees outside that night) and had a great time together. Then, at 10:00 Arizona time, we watched the ball dropping in New York and celebrated the new year 2 hours early. We popped crackers and had sparkling grape juice and made it home in time for everyone to get enough sleep and before most of the crazy people were back on the roads. Rick always works on New Year's Eve because in his line of work it is one of their busiest nights of the year, but the kids and I had a blast.

Rope Yourself Into a Healthy Habit

2010-01-19T21:42:00.003-07:00

My January goal is health and nutrition. One thing I have been very good at so far this month is eating a healthy lunch. Why that? I thought about it and realized that I chat away with coworkers pretty much the whole time I am eating anyway, and I hardly notice what I am eating. Also, whatever I bring is what I am stuck with. I can go out and get something if I really want to, but I don't if I bring a lunch because I don't want to waste it. What a great opportunity to eat better! So I have been preparing healthy lunches the night before and taking them to work with me, and that has been going great. I can actually feel more sustained energy through the afternoons and I know it is partially because I am eating better and drinking more water.

Health and Nutrition: The Specifics

2010-01-11T21:32:00.001-07:00

Well, my big umbrella goal for January is Health and Nutrition. Why does this make me happy? Being in good shape and eating well makes me feel good for many reasons. Among them are, feeling more energetic, looking better and feeling more healthy. I also think it is important to set a good example for the kids that we take care one of our greatest gifts, our bodies. Here are a few specific steps toward making this happiness happen:

Walk and/or run 5 days a week. Work up to a 5 mile long-run once a week and 2-3 mile short runs the other 4 days (I was up to 6 miles at this time last year, but then got shin splints and had to stop for awhile)
Stretch a lot to feel better and avoid injury

Get out of school by 3:40 as often as possible so I can get in a 45 minute work out and be home by 4:50

Have workout clothes, water and lunch ready the night before-set up for success!

Drink more water throughout the day

Take vitamins

Eat a healthy breakfast at least most days

Plan better, more healthy meals, lunches and snacks for all of us

Eat at least 5 fruits/vegetables a day-work toward ensuring that for kids also

So far this is going very well. I have realized that in order to make it really happen, the key is to be ready the night before. This takes a lot more preparation than just eating whatever is available and not working out, but it is well worth it, as I already feel more energy throughout the day.

My Twelve

2010-01-05T21:48:00.001-07:00

I was recently inspired by Petra's and Denise's Happiness Project posts. I always have lots of ideas for New Year's resolutions, and really liked the idea of focusing on one area per month, with the overall theme of working on things that will make me happy. I think it is so easy to get buried in all of the other "work" of life that people forget to work toward being happy. There aren't many better goals than to live a happy life, and one of the best ways to commit to a goal is to tell people about it!

For those of you unfamiliar with The Happiness Project, the idea is that you choose a big area each month that will make you happier and work on it for the month, for a total of 12 in 2010. Here are my twelve:

January-Health and nutrition
February-Parenting
March-Home improvement/organization (I have 2 weeks off in March)
April-Documenting
May-Writing
June-Doing things and going places (at least 3 of us will be free most of June)
July-Keeping in touch with friends and family
August-Quick and easy ways to relax each day (this is the month school starts for us :)
September-Cooking
October-Photography
November-Being thankful and showing thanks
December-Family traditions-old and new

Another thing that makes me very happy is reading, but I already do that a lot. I was thinking I would just incorporate any books that seem to be good fits with what I am doing each month.

If you would like to join us, post your own 12 and follow up with specifics on how you plan to work on your January goal. We would love to hear from you!

Just Like Mary and Joseph

2009-12-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Planning for the Holiday Meal

2009-12-20T18:16:00.000-07:00

The Polar Express

2009-12-18T17:41:00.001-07:00

On Monday night (Shayne's Birthday) we went up to Williams, AZ to stay the night and to ride the Polar Express Train. We had a great time. We left school about a half hour early and left for the North. Shayne got to open his birthday presents in the car on the ride up there. As we climbed elevation toward Flagstaff, we started to see snow on the ground. The hotel we stayed at is less than a block away from the train station. When we got to the hotel we settled in, layered up in our warm clothes and headed to the train. By the time we got to the platform at about 7:45, it was 9 degrees. Our train boarded at 8:00and the ride to the North Pole and back took about an hour and twenty minutes. On the way out, they read the story of The Polar Express and pass out cookies and hot chocolate. Then, when we arrived at the North Pole, Santa boarded the train and came through each car to say hello to everyone. On the way back everyone sang Christmas carols. We had a great time and the kids really loved the ride and seeing Santa and all of the Christmas decorations. We walked back to the hotel and had birthday cake and went to bed.

Shayne and Rick posing for goofy pictures on the way back

Maya pretending to sleep at the hotel room

The next day we took a swim in the hotel's indoor pool, which was a lot of fun. After that we played in the snow, which the kids have only done one other time, and went to a cool sword store that was across the street.

On the way back, a little south of Flagstaff, we stopped at a rest area that overlooked a beautiful scene

It was a great trip!

The Night Before Christmas: A New Twist on an Old Favorite

2009-12-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

Do you like the story of The Night Before Christmas? When I taught fourth grade we used to read several versions of the story out loud and compare setting, plot, characters, etc. You and your kids may enjoy any of the following twists on the original by Clement C. Moore, available at most libraries:

Trying to Update Two Blogs Again!

2009-12-16T17:10:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months, I have had all kinds of things in the back of my mind to post about on my other blog. Until this week, my last post was in August, so I'm sure those of you that were reading it gave up, but I have renewed my commitment to keeping it updated and have written a few new posts if you are interested.

Happy Birthday Shayne!

2009-12-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

The boy is 8 years old today. I was looking at pictures and videos from when he was a lot younger and of course cannot believe how the time has flown by. Here is a video of him at 6 months and one at 11 months.

Twelve Days of Christmas

2009-12-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

My Grandma sent me this many years ago and I keep it with the Christmas stuff and read it each year and get a good laugh. It reads:

If your "true love" didn't remember you in the traditional "twelve days of Christmas" style, consider this:

December 14

My Darling John,

I answered the door today and to my delightful surprise the postman handed me a partridge in a pear tree. What a marvelous gift. I just couldn't have been more surprised and pleased.

With deepest love and affection, Your only true love,

Agnes

December 15

Dearest John,

Again today the postman brought me a beautiful gift from you. Just imagine- two turtle doves. I'm so delighted. Your gift is so thoughtful. They're absolutely adorable.

All my love,

Agnes

December 16

My Dear Dear John,

Aren't you the extravagant one. Now I really must protest. I don't deserve such generosity. Three French Hens. They're darling. But I must insist you've been far too kind.

Lovingly,

Agnes

December 17

My Dear Sweetheart,

Today again the postman knocked on my door and this time he delivered four calling birds. Now really, John. They're beautiful, but don't you think enough is enough? You're being just too romantic.

Affectionately,

Agnes

December 18

My Dear Sweet John,

What an absolutely wonderful surprise. Today the postman brought me five golden rings. One for each finger. You're just impossible, but I love it. Frankly, all those birds are beginning to get on my nerves.

With love,

Agnes

December 19

Dear John,

When I opened my door this morning there were six geese-a-laying on my front steps. So you're back to the birds again. John, they're huge. Where in the world will I keep them, or what will I do with all those eggs they're-a-laying? The neighbors are complaining about the noise and the smell and I can't sleep a wink. Please, please stop.

Cordially,

Agnes

December 20

Dear John,

What's with you and all these blasted birds? Now it's seven swans-a-swimming. What kind of lousy joke is this? Bird droppings all over the house. My fingers are raw to the bone from building all these birdcages. I can't sleep. It's not funny any longer so stop it immeadiately.

Sincerely,

Agnes

December 21

OK Buster. What in the world is going on? What in Sam Hill am I going to do with eight maids a-milking? I prefer the birds. It's not enough with all those birds and maids, they had to bring all their cows with them. The lawn is a mess. You have to be careful where you step, and the house smells awful. I'm warning you-lay off.

Agnes

December 22

Hey, Jerk, what are you, some kind of weirdo Today there's nine pipers piping. All they do is chase the maids. The cows are giving too much milk. The neighbors refuse to buy the milk. The birds are all screeching because of the playing pipers and the maids refuse to eat goose eggs. What am I supposed to do? The neighbors have started eviction proceedings against me. I'll get you.

Agnes

December 23

You rotten knucklehead. Now there's ten ladies dancing. All they do is dance all night long. I don't have enough food storage to last many more days. They're eating me out of house and home. All the cows are getting sick, all the milk is going sour and the board of health is threatening to condemn the place. I've had it, you stupid blockhead. I'm calling the police.

One who means it--------Agnes

December 24

Listen you goon. What's with eleven lords a-leaping? All those maids and ladies and pipers are driving me nuts. All 23 of the birds have been trampled to death. I hope you're satisfied.

Your sworn enemy,

Agnes

December 25

Dear Sir: This is to acknowledge your latest gift of twelve drummers drumming which you have seen fit to inflict on my client. Miss Agnes McFurry's destruction was of course, total, and she is now at Happydale Sanitarium where attendants have instructions to shoot you on sight. Enclosed please find a bill for all damages and a warrant for your arrest.

Yours truly,

O.F. Baily
Attorney at Law

16 Years

2009-12-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today is our 16th anniversary! This photo was taken at some point in those first few years in front of my Grandma's house in St. George. Don't ask me to explain the facial hair...

Whirlybird Wednesday

2009-12-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today we had Fox 10 News visit our school for Whirlybird Wednesday! It is a live segment that they do each Wednesday to highlight an Arizona school. They bring in the helicopter and land it right on the field in front of the kids! There are two separate clips.

The "News Club" he referred to at the beginning is a club I run with two other teachers. We have about 35 fifth and sixth graders who meet each Tuesday and plan, tape and produce an 8-10 minute newscast that the kids in the school watch each Friday. It is usually my most stressful hour of the week because it is a lot to plan and coordinate after an already full work day. It is also a lot of fun. Anyway, some of the News Club kids got to take pictures of and videotape the event and a few others got to interview the anchor (Cory), the cameraman and the helicopter pilot. They were in heaven with all of the interaction with actual news people. It was really a fun experience. It was fun for me to watch later because now that I teach in the lab I know all the kids! Shayne had a blast too.

A Slippery Slope

2009-12-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

I have to be careful to not be inflammatory here, as I am an employee of a school district who is doing this, so I will actually be asking more questions than sharing my own opinions, although I'm sure it will not be hard for most of you to guess how I feel about this.

We have all been involved in the H1N1 hubbub in the past few months whether we wanted to be or not. Recently it has become popular for schools to schedule the vaccinations of the school children on-site, at the school, with parent permission.

Looking deeper than the convenience of not having to go to the doctor's office, what do you think of this? Am I the only one around who worries about the long-term implications of the blurring of the line between education and health care? It just seems a little too Orwellian to me that we are lining up our children to be inoculated at the public schools. I think school should be school and that families still need to take their children to the doctor's office for health care issues that need more than a band aid or an ice pack. Also, by giving the vaccinations at school, are we unofficially endorsing them as a good idea? I could go on and on, but as this is on the Internet, and I am a teacher, I won't. Am I being paranoid here or does this rub anyone else the wrong way?

PS- This is also my hundredth post :)

Christmas in the Air

2009-12-06T21:57:00.000-07:00

I love December! Christmas is great on its own, but in our family we also have our anniversary (the 11th), Shayne's birthday (the 14th) and my birthday (the 30th). It is always a lot of fun to pull out the Christmas boxes and start doing things that get us in the Christmas mood. Here are a few of my favorite Christmas things to take out each year:

This is one of our favorite Chrismas movies to watch. I really like the older animated version a lot better than the full-length movie that came out a few years ago.

It is also one of the best read-alouds of all time. I'm pretty sure I have the whole thing memorized.

Handel's Messiah is one of my favorite Christmas CDs. When I was a kid, my Grandma took us to the Naval Academy to see it performed live and it was absolutely amazing. I will never forget the feeling of seeing that beautiful music being made right in front of me.

A Christmas CD on the lighter side, John Denver and the Muppets' A Christmas Together is a good one. My favorite song is their rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas.

This one is another good one. It reminds me a lot of when I was a kid because it was one of the ones we listened to every year. The version of O Holy Night on this CD is maybe my favorite one ever.

This is a hilarious adaptation of the Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol. Can you tell we like the muppets?

This is a very well-done version of A Christmas Carol also, and it was a family tradition to watch it in our home when I was growing up. I make sure to watch it at least once every December.

The book is great too! It isn't very long and the words and story are beautiful. I reread it in December most years. There are a few good abridged versions out there for younger readers also.

These are some of the things that get us into a festive mood around our house. What are some of your favorites?

Halloween Party...Good Times

2009-10-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood had a Halloween Party last night. Rick was at work, but the kids and I went and had a great time. They bounced in the bouncy house, got a balloon giraffe and sword, made ghost bead necklaces and got a Halloween cupcake to eat at the end. Maya did a great job being patient in line and coming out of the bouncy house when her turn was over, so that helped a lot (Shayne did too, but he usually does). Here are some pictures of Buzz Lightyear and Batman.

The Lone Wolf

2009-10-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

We have lived in our home for the past 8 years almost to the day. During this time we have seen many plants come and go. I have never claimed to have a green thumb, but in spite of that, we have a very sturdy vine (not sure what kind) and two oleander bushes that have survived the long haul, up to and including going without water for 2-3 weeks when we are in Maryland each summer and the average high temperature is over 110. So after all these years, about a week ago, the vine grew one flower. It has never flowered before and it may never flower again, so I thought it was worth celebrating.

Can You Read This?

2009-10-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

I got this in a forwarded email. Maybe you have seen something like it before. Kind of crazy...

Cna yuo raed tihs? i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Another Recommendation...

2009-10-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I keep writing about books I think everyone should read, but here is one more! I started reading it yesterday evening and couldn't put it down until I had read the last page. Rules is a kid's book that won the Newberry Honor in 2007. The book is written from the perspective of a 12 year old girl who has a brother four years younger than her who has autism. The title comes from a theme that is weaved throughout the book, that the main character, Catherine, makes up rules for her little brother to help him understand the world. It is a touching account of this very likable character's attempt to balance her loyalty to her family and fierce protection of her brother, with what she wants for herself.

It is wonderfully written, and like I wrote, I couldn't put it down. It is true that the subject matter is deeply personal to me, so you may only cry a few times while you read it while I only stopped crying a few times. It is moving more than sad, so don't let the crying scare you off! I think this would be a great read for school-aged kids, probably from 4th on up (5th or 6th on up if reading independently). Even though it is written for kids, I would highly recommend it for anyone. It gives invaluable insight into the lives of families with children who have disabilities that would be hard to find anywhere except for personal experience. Hearing the story from the perspective of the sister/daughter makes it even more interesting. Anyway, it is well worth the time, just have a box of tissues handy!

"Muffin Man Shayne"

2009-10-21T19:09:00.001-07:00

Maya really only started drawing things that were representations of other things (people, animals, etc.) in the past 6 months. She wasn't really very interested in cutting or gluing until this past summer either. I was pretty impressed the other day when she used paper, markers, a muffin paper, scissors and a glue stick to make this all by herself. I didn't even realize she was doing it until she was done. A few weeks ago they made "muffin men" at school, so I asked her what this was and she said "Muffin Man Shayne".

His Mother's Son

2009-10-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight:

Shayne: Mom, is the government watching everything we do?
Me: Not everything...

A Few of the Mamas I Know

2009-10-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

Speaking to the moms now...I know sometimes when we are the ones taking the pictures, we don't always have good photos of ourselves with our kids. I am lucky that Rick takes nice photos of me with the kids a lot (and so do a lot of the other husbands!) but as I was looking through some photos, I found a few of my sister and sisters-in-law with their kid(s) that I really like that I don't think they have seen before.

Alison and Matthew 7/09

Tammy and Greg 7/08

Sarah and James 7/09

Tammy and Greg 7/09

Tammy and Melissa 7/08

Wendy, I am going to get a great photo of you and your little one next summer!

Not to harp on books I have been reading, but...

2009-10-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

...if you feel like this economy has treated you badly, that you aren't living as comfortably as you used to, like many of us do right now, give The Grapes of Wrath a read (or a re-read). Called by some the greatest American novel, I would have said that it was one of the best books that I ever read, except I am still trying to wrap my head around the ending, which I am not sure I like. Apart from that, it is a phenomenal book and well worth the time.

It is about one family that leaves the mid-west during the Great Depression when that part of the country was referred to as "The Dust Bowl". They were kicked off of their land and decided to relocate to California to look for work. They encounter pretty much every imaginable adversity along the way and upon arrival, but manage to keep moving forward from day to day in spite of it all.

I'm sure some of you have already read it-it was on a huge list of books that I have always wanted to read, but haven't yet. Since reading it I feel great to have food on the table at every meal, clothes to wear and a roof over our heads, not that I didn't appreciate it before. It really made me think about what it would be like to slowly loose necessities like food, shelter and clothing in spite of a willingness to work hard, and to realize that so many of the things we worry about loosing are not necessities, but things we could do without if we had to. If you are looking for something interesting to read, I highly recommend it.

Our Goal

2009-10-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

Shayne and I like Dr. Seuss books. Not just the ones like Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham, but some of the lesser-known books like I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew and The Butter Battle Book. Some of them are wonderful and they are even more fun when read aloud. There are 50+ Dr. Seuss books. A misconception is that they are only for very young children, in fact there are many that are written for all ages. Our goal is to read all of them in the next few months. We have read 23 of them so far. I have read a few more than that from teaching 4th grade for so long, but we have read 23 together. Most recently we read If I Ran the Zoo, If I Ran the Circus, The Sleep Book and The Lorax. We are adding to our list as we find new titles at the library. I'm sure at some point we will hit a wall and not be able to find copies of the last few, but I guess we'll tackle that issue when we get there. For now, we are having fun discovering new Dr. Seuss books!

The Answer (or The Story of Rex)

2009-10-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, let me start off by writing that I am no Mother Teresa. Shocking news to all of you, I'm sure, but I did start reading her book, pictured in the last post, a little over a week ago after checking it out from the library, and I really like it so far. As I'm sure you know, Mother Teresa is renowned for loving people in the world who are lonely, poor, misshappen, diseased, etc., the least "lovable" from a conventional standpoint, which is something that I have always admired.

Anyway about 3 weeks ago, this hideous, dishevaled and clearly homeless cat decided to camp in our front patio and looked like it already had one foot in the grave and/or was ready to have kittens. We didn't know which. In fact, we didn't even know if it was male or female, and quite frankly, we didn't care to investigate. What we did know was that it was filthy, stout (which is why we thought it may have been expecting kittens), had clumps of matted together fur on its back, the biggest clump being at least the size of a golf ball, and that it looked to be in poor health. My initial thought was that it chose our patio as a sort of shelter in which to pass on to the next world in peace.

Shayne really liked it right away and built it a shelter with a towel (which will never be used again) and one of our patio chairs. At that time it was still pretty hot out, so he gave it some water. The next morning it was still there. We had been talking about maybe getting a kitten and Shayne would say things like, "Why can't we keep it? It's so cute. We wanted to get another cat and this cat needs a home. Let's give it some food. It's hungry." Again, I am no Mother Teresa, which would have been abundantly clear to anyone who could have read my thoughts about the cat at that time, but I was conflicted. The cat certainly was not cute- I don't think that was a matter of opinion. More than that, it looked deseased and dirty. But, we didn't want to teach Shayne that we don't help living things that clearly are soliciting our help just because they are extremely unattractive. So, Rick and I told him that it could be our patio cat, and we gave it some food and some more water. Every morning I was expecting to come out to find the cat dead, gone or with a litter of kittens. None of those things happened, but every day Shayne spent lots of time with it, and made sure its shelter was in good repair and that it had food and water. They were bonding.

After a week of being our patio cat, the kids and I were leaving for school, and the cat came up to the door and tried to get in. This was no surprise, as it had tried to get in several times over the previous few days, getting bolder with each attempt. But this time it was insistant. It faked left, and then right, and then made a run for it. More than anything I was surprised at how quickly it moved. Sick? Maybe it wasn't going to die after all... Anyway, we couldn't find it and we were going to be late so we had to leave it in the house while we were gone that day. It basically refused to leave after that with an iron will I have never seen in a cat and have rarely seen in a person. It simply would not be denied.

So after resigning to the idea that it was going to be staying in the house, I decided to attempt to clean it. I put it in the bathtub and tried to wash out the clumps of fur. Whatever it was that was matted in the fur was not water-soluble, so I didn't get very far. Even when it was in the bathtub and clearly distressed, it did not try to bite or scratch. I took it out, dried it off and tried combing through its fur. 50 minutes later, I had it all combed out, and had only had to cut out the very last of the biggest clump. The cat was very patient and docile during the whole ordeal, considering the discomfort of having all that sticky stuff combed out of its fur. It actually has cleaned itself with no problem since then, which has been a relief.

The next step was to give it a name. We let Shayne name it since it was basically his cat. He decided to call it "Rex". We shortly realized that Rex is a lady cat, but that's ok, Rex seems to fit. She has been with us for almost 2 weeks and has taken every liberty in the house, fully making herself at home. Hoser treated us like we were all traitors for a few days, but has gotten over it. We had our neighbor, who is a veterinary assistant, take a look at her and she said she looks healthy, and maybe three or four years old. She also said Rex is fat with poofy fur, and not pregnant. So I doubt she was homeless very long since she appears to have not missed many meals. The photo was taken after she was cleaned up and she doesn't look too bad. I really should have taken a "before" photo so you could have appreciated the transformation. Hoser isn't much of a mentor, but he tolerates her now at least.

Anyway, we felt good about taking her in and fixing her fur and all, taking a page from Mother Teresa's playbook and trying to love the least-lovable so to speak. Hopefully she will have a long, happy and healthy life with us.

So Mom and Dad were probably the closest, but to be fair to the rest of you, they had a little more information. And Dad, I'm sure "public ridicule" is just over the horizon, but we're used to it. Remember what our last cat looked like (may he rest in peace)...Thanks for all of your guesses.

Any Guesses?

2009-10-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a long time, and I plan to post something more informational soon, but in the meantime...

A, How do you think these 2 images are realated? and B, How do they apply to me this week?

The Showman

2009-08-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

A Few More Beach Pictures...

2009-08-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

Back to School

2009-08-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

After today, Shayne, Maya and I are all officially back to school. I have been back for three weeks, and Shayne has been back for two, which I know seems crazy to most of you, but you won't laugh as hard when October and March roll around and it is 73 degrees out and we have two weeks off...Anyway, today was Maya's first day of Kindergarten, a day we have looked forward to with anxiety and apprehension for the past two years or so, as we were quite concerned with how it would all play out. Shayne was very sweet, telling her this morning, "I was nervous on my first day of kindergarten too, but once I got there, it was fun." She was actually excited about it, and was very happy about her new shark backpack that Grandma sent out. She is in a special kindergarten program that my school doesn't offer, so she is going to our home school in Mesa, at least for this year. The fact that I was not going to be right down the hall with her like I am with Shayne was quite upsetting at first, but we think this program will be really good for her. Rick, Shayne and I were with her this morning to see her off at the bus stop. She got on the bus with no problem, and the bus driver couldn't have been nicer, which was a huge relief. It was as if we were living in a parallel universe...totally unreal. She got upset periodically throughout the rest of the day, and I was so anxious I felt nauseated all day long at work, but overall, things went quite well I think. I was in contact with her teacher by email several times throughout the day like a hugely over-protective mother hen, but I couldn't stand not knowing how things were going (I think her teacher understands). To have this day behind us feels like a ton of bricks off of my chest. I am not naive enough to think we are out of the woods as far as big life transitions are concerned, but she really did well with this one, and it was the one we have been most concerned about since she started preschool.

Shayne has adjusted well to his new second grade class also, which we figured he would. He is enjoying reading and writing a lot this year, which we are happy about. I like having him in the computer lab with his class. He is always good and calls me "Mrs. Strong" at school, which always sounds funny. We are very proud of both of them!

Shayne's first day, before school in the computer lab, which is my classroom

Meeting up with a few friends on the playground the first morning back

Waiting for the bus...

After Many, Many Years

2009-08-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

After many years of living in the West, 16 this month actually, my brother Dale and his family came for a visit! They are taking a cross country trip and we were one of their stops. They got here last Thursday morning and stayed the night before heading out to the Grand Canyon and then to Grandma Kelley's house in St. George. The kids were so excited waiting for their cousins to get here that they were about to explode. They thought it was great having their cousins here in Arizona this time. They got a good taste of the desert summer too. I think it got to 113 the day they were here, so after playing in the house for awhile, we went to an afternoon movie. After that, when the sun was a little lower in the sky, we went to our pool for awhile. The rate at which one dries in the desert after getting out of the pool is fairly amazing to people who are used to more humidity. We BBQed back at our house and then, perhaps the biggest highlight for our kids- Greg, David and Melissa slept in their room with them. I didn't think to take pictures until it was almost bedtime, so there aren't many and the quality isn't great. We had a great time and are so glad that they made it out our way!

Maya's feet, David and Greg

Maya in the foreground, Melissa in the background. Shayne was up in the top bunk

One of My Favorite Things

2009-08-12T21:02:00.001-07:00

One of the things that makes me feel more relaxed than almost anything on Earth, is walking on the beach. Rick, the kids and I went on a nice, long walk one night and a few shorter ones throughout our week in North Carolina. It was absolutely beautiful and a great opportunity to feel happy and at peace.

The Beach

2009-08-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

I am getting caught up, slowly but surely! After spending a week in Maryland, we headed down south to North Carolina's Outter Banks. We spent a wonderful week enjoying the beach with our immeadiate family and our extended family. Here is what we did most days:

The Water

Rick, Shayne, Tammy and Maya

Rick in a wave

Shayne and Rick

The Sand:

Greg, Maya and Jack

Shayne, Maya and Greg

Tammy's "Baby Garden": Melissa, Greg, Drew, David, Shawn and Maya

The National Zoo

2009-08-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Every year when we are back in Maryland, we go to the zoo. This year we went with my Mom, and Alison and her kids. We had a great day!

Playing in the mister

Kandula, the elephant that is the same age as Shayne, playing in the water

Shayne's Trampoline Tricks

2009-08-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about Grandma and Grandpa's house is that they have a trampoline in their yard. Shayne actually started doing flips the first day! We made this video of some of his tricks.

Downtown D.C.

2009-08-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of catching up to do. I am going to stick to posting chronologically… so this was actually from a few weeks ago…

When we were in Maryland, the weather was better than it ever has been on a summer visit. It felt like spring most of the time instead of the normal heat and humidity. One day we went downtown to see some sights. We actually covered a lot of ground. We started off with the goal of going to the Art Museum. So we rode the subway down to the Archives stop, walked over to the National Gallery and stayed as long as the kids could handle having good Art Gallery behavior, which ended up being about 45 minutes. We saw some old favorites as well as a visiting exhibit called "The Art of Power" which had all kinds of armor, weapons, paintings, etc. from around the 1500s. Shayne thought it was great.

Then, we went to the fountain in between the Art Gallery and the Natural History Museum where we relaxed for a little while. After that, we decided to go to the Natural History Museum. We had been there a few days earlier, but hadn't seen all of the exhibits. We went there for about 45 minutes, saw a lot of the things we missed as well as revisiting Maya's favorite part,the ocean room, then decided to keep walking down the Mall. We went to the Washington Monument, where we debated what to do next. We wondered if we should go on to the Lincoln Memorial or head back to the metro stop. The weather was great and morale was slightly above average, so we decided to continue.

We walked through the World War II Memorial, then moved on to the Lincoln Memorial. Shayne learned about many of these sights in first grade last year, and it had been a few years since we had seen them, so he really liked it. It was about this time that Maya started insisting on being carried most of the time. That was fine...she had already walked quite a long way.

On the way back from the Lincoln Memorial we walked through the Vietnam Memorial, which Rick had never been to. We got a good view of the White House from Constitution Avenue. When we were about half way back to the metro stop, we stopped and got some popsicles, which gave the kids the last puff of energy they would need to make it back to the Archives stop. We must have covered 5 or 6 miles, and we heard no complaining from Shayne. Maya had nothing to complain about, as she got carried on shoulders or backs about the last third of the way. I never thought we would see so many interesting things in one day, but we wouldn't have made it half as far if the weather wasn't so great.

The kid's area of the Natural History Museum

The dress-up area

Yes, this is the dinosaur skeleton from Night at the Museum

Looking up the side of the Washington Monument

WW II Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

Fourth of July

2009-08-02T14:34:00.001-07:00

Yes, these pictures are almost a month old :)

On July third, we spent the night at Dale and Tammy's house. We all had a great time. Here are some of us in the pool.

The next day, we had the traditional BBQ at my parent's house. The weather was great and it was fun seeing everyone.

The boys with their tinker toy weapons

After that we went to see fire works at the University of Maryland. We always tell the kids, "Don't worry, it looks like they are coming right toward you, but they are actually far away." Well, this year, they were coming right for us. By the end, debris was raining from the sky. I think only about 10-15% of our group actually got anything in their eyes, so we did alright.

Baltimore

2009-07-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

While we were in Maryland, we went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. We had a great time. All of us enjoyed seeing the animals, but Maya, as a lover of all things aquatic, was in heaven. Some highlights were the huge sea turtle, the big sting rays, the sharks, the jellyfish, the rainforest area and the dolphin show. We met my brother Tom and his family there also, and it was nice to spend some time with them. Here are some pictures.

The Flight to Maryland

2009-07-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

We made it to Maryland safe and sound on the night of July 1st. The flight went well. Both of the kids love the airport and we had Rick with us on the flight so both of those things helped. Here are a few pictures:

Maya was sure to seatbelt her Barbies and Kermit also.

Shayne spent a few hours of the flight building with his legos.

This was taken by my Mom when we arrived at Baltimore. We don't look too worn out, do we?

Shayne's Scooter Tricks

2009-06-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Shayne likes to do tricks and stunts a lot. He and I made this video together of some of the tricks he can do on his scooter.

Our Adventure in Payson

2009-06-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

So a little over a week ago we went camping for the night up in Payson, which only takes about an hour to drive to from our house. It was beautiful and we had a great time. The second day we went for a nice hike up to the top of a big hill, which was pretty. We got all loaded up to head back home around noon, and the car wouldn't start. It has never really given us any trouble, so we were surprised. We asked the ranger if he could give us a jump, and he tried, but that didn't work either. To make a long story short, 6 hours later, after we had tried several things, we had the car towed into a garage in Payson, right about closing time. The wife of the owner drove us to a little motel a little way up the road, where we stayed the night. The next day it was fixed by noon, so we left at that time. It was quite an adventure!

The bottom of the agave plant.

This is a blooming agave plant

This is an alligator juniper tree

Here is the same tree from further back. It is one of my favorites and is in the campsite we stayed at.

Starting with Biomedical Interventions

2009-06-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

We took Maya to a great doctor on Monday. He is an integrative pediatrician who uses a lot of natural treatments for a variety of childhood illnesses, but one of his specialties is the biomedical treatment of autism. Very luckily for us, his office is only about a 15 minute drive from our house.

From everything I have read, there are a lot of varying theories about autism, how it is caused, how it can be treated, etc. There seem to be two basic schools of thought (from what I have read so far, maybe I am wrong...) One, that autism is primarily caused by genetics, and can best be treated through therapies such as speech, OT and ABA. The other camp believes that people have genetically predisposed vulnerabilities that can be "triggered" by toxins in the environment. I think a quote from the article, What Your Family Needs To Know About Autism Spectrum Disorders, sums it up well:

"While genetics play a role, our research and experience indicate that a web of interwoven variables-including environmental insults, gastrointestinal disorders, biochemical, metabolic and neurochemical factors, and/or immune system abnormalities--contribute to the development of autism in a genetically vulnerable child."

This is believed by many to be true of many other childhood illnesses that have reached epidemic numbers such as ADHD, asthma and food allergies. A great book on the topic is Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies by Dr. Kenneth Bock. It is a fascinating book and well worth the time, especially if one of your loved ones has any of those health issues. It is also important to note that doctors and parents who believe that biomedical interventions work (I do), do not discount the value of other therapies such as speech, OT and ABA, rather, they think that when children are physically healthy, they are much more receptive to therapies. This rings true to all parents and teachers, I'm sure. Another important clarification is that DAN doctors and integrative pediatricians like our doctor, do not oppose the use of pharmaceuticals, they just tend to use them as a last resort as opposed to a starting point. I have always thought that if any problem with the body can be approached naturally first, that is the best bet.

Anyway, I could go on and on, but I will save that for the other blog...to make a long story short, we are beginning biomedical interventions with Maya, and we just got started Monday with our new DAN doctor , Dr. Barral. We had an intake appointment, where he saw us for about an hour, and we mainly discussed Maya's medical history, starting with the pregnancy. He asked what I think to be all the relevant questions. He seems wonderful, and Maya really likes him, in fact, she sat in his office for an hour with no resistance at all...virtually unheard of for us! He wants us to start 3 things, which based on what I have read, I think are great starting points.

1. A gluten and casein free diet (mainly no wheat, oats, barley, dairy or anything made with those ingredients).

2. A fairly potent multi-vitamin and mineral powder, formulated specifically for children on the autism spectrum.

3. Vitamin B-12 shots.

If you are interested, I will post more information on these three interventions as well as information on how it is going with the GFCF diet on the other blog.

School is Out for Summer!!

2009-06-07T11:41:00.000-07:00

Friday was the official starting day of summer vacation! I am off work until July 21st!! My principal showed us this video clip on the last day. It's cute...

Ready for Camping!

2009-05-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

Now that the summer is here, we are getting excited for our first camping trip, which we will probably take in the next two weeks. On the weekend Maya asked me for glue. This is what she made. You may not be able to tell what it is, but it is a paper towel, glued into a ball on the end of a stick to look like a marshmallow. She pretended to roast it over the BBQ (which was not lit at the time). She will be happy with the real thing soon :)

I'm Torn

2009-05-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

Summer vacation is fast approaching, and as a teacher, that is always a time I look forward to, however, since we have had kids it has been a little different. I am happy about the upcoming time off, and look forward to being at home more, but at the same time, feel anxious about time passing by so quickly. Once this school year is over (8 more days, but who's counting?), Shayne will be done with first grade. Maya had her last day of preschool on Thursday and it was so sad. It was even more sad for us because she has had the same wonderful teacher and classroom aids for 2 years and they have helped her make so much progress. These last 8 days will go by in a whirlwind of activity, and when it is over, I will be off work for 7 weeks, but the kids will be moving on too...bittersweet.

And One More!

2009-05-26T02:22:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law Sarah has one too that she actually started before Alison and Wendy, but I just saw it now...This is the Life.

Two Blogs to Check Out

2009-05-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

My sister Alison started a blog called Fun with the Watsons and my sister-in-law, Wendy (Steve's wife) started one called Little Wendy's Words. Check them out! Welcome to blogging you two!

My New Blog

2009-05-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

"What? A new one? We hardly read the one you have now." I know, I know. I debated whether or not to make a whole new blog for this ongoing topic but in the end decided that I wanted it to have it's own links, lists, etc. and to be fairly detailed about the topic it covers, so I thought separate would be better. Anyway, we'll see how it goes...check it out: On the Road

Egg Drop

2009-05-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

One of the traditions at our school is the annual first grade egg drop. The first graders study the life cycle of chickens and hatch live chicks in their classrooms each spring. They also do a family project where the object is to design a protective case for an egg that will help it to withstand being hurled down from the school roof by our principal. We tested a few designs at home that were not successful, but the one that eventually worked at home worked at school also. It was a lot of fun for everyone and we were very relieved to find that our egg survived the drop!

Happy Birthday Maya!

2009-05-04T02:07:00.001-07:00

Well, my baby is five today. I can't believe it has gone by so quickly! The last 3 photos are from today :)

The Swine Flu: What Are Your Thoughts?

2009-05-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

Generally, it is my habit to shrug off public health scares as "not as big of a deal as they are making it out to be." Remember the bird flu? SARS? Ebola? Not a whole lot really came of those. E coli at the peanut factory, in the spinach...I tend to think that I am far more likely to be killed in a car accident on the way to work than I am to contract any of these illnesses. I remember that many governments like to keep their people at least a little bit fearful so that they are more easily controlled (that sounds paranoid until you start thinking about it a little bit...)

Then on Thursday we found out that two of the schools in our (me and Shayne's) school district were going to be closed for a week because of two cases of swine flu. "I am in the computer lab this year..." I began to think it over..."All 600 of them come through here every seven days..." hmm...."and touch their germ-ridden hands all over the keyboards and mice..." So I started disinfecting a little more frequently.

Then the more rational side reminds me that 36,000 Americans die of the flu every year. As terrible as that is, it is a fact. Is this going to be so much worse than a normal flu running it's course? What do you guys think? Are you changing anything in your lives as a result of this? Don't forget to answer the 2 poll questions :)

Only Jesus Can Do That

2009-04-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

I got this in an email today from a lady who does small reading groups with second graders:

In reading group I had written a sentence on the board:

I can skate on the lake.

One of the kids said "Mrs. Groth that is impossible; only Jesus can do that!"

Asleep

2009-04-29T23:10:00.001-07:00

I just came in from looking at my kids asleep. They always look so peaceful and content that way. Here are a few of my favorite sleeping pictures over the years.

Desert in Bloom

2009-04-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

We have had an unseasonably long spring this year, as far as weather goes anyway. It is usually blazing hot by now, but most days have been in the 70s and 80s for all of March and April. It won't be long until it is 110 out, so we are enjoying it. Flowers aren't the first thing most people think of when they think of the desert, but actually, they are absolutely beautiful when they bloom. I took these pictures today at the zoo. Most of these are native plants, but a few are not.

Spring Training: Another Good Reason to Visit Us

2009-04-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

Another fun thing to do in Arizona in the spring, is go to Cactus League baseball games (Spring Training). These were taken at 2 different games. The ones with Maya were taken in the "lawn" section of the Tempe stadium, which is perfect for us, because the kids can move around a bit and not be in anyone's way, but we could still see the action fairly well. Lots of fun :)

Body Art

2009-03-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Shayne is very dramatic. He loves anything that involves pretending and getting "in character". Maya likes to paint on anything and everything, especially herself. I'm glad that at least for the time being it is the washable stuff... Here are a few pictures. The one with the red paint is the oldest one and was taken when Maya was three. She was red down to her knees. Anyone else's kids like to draw or paint on themselves or is it just mine?

Spring Break...Love It!

2009-03-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

We are having a great spring break so far...nothing fancy, just a lot of time outside and the weather has been perfect! It has been in the 70s every day this week. If that makes you feel bad about the climate where you live, don't worry, it'll be 110 around here soon enough. For now, we are enjoying it while it lasts :)

At Least One Reason to Wear Shoes in Arizona

2009-03-10T17:42:00.001-07:00

One minute later...

Spring Break!!!

2009-03-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday at 2:40, I am officially on Spring Break for 16 days!! I am so excited to have some time off, and March is my favorite month in Arizona. The weather is perfect and the air smells like orange trees. We just plan on spending a lot of time outside and taking it easy.

What's the Story?

2009-03-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

I took this picture on Sunday near our house on March 1st. Do you think they were trying to break a record or something? What do you think the story behind this is?

Zoo Pictures

2009-03-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures we took at the zoo last weekend.