Report from Spokane

Noah's friend, Kaleb, came over to Hoopfest a day early with us and stayed at Loon Lake at Forrest's mom's house. The neighbors tore apart their old dock releasing millions of styrofoam pellets into the lake. Forrest and the boys took part in the clean up with pool nets. The neighbor paid the boys $10 each for their labors. Money they quickly spent when we went to the movie, Transformers 2 in Spokane. A very long, loud movie
filled with lots of explosions and chase scenes.

Hanging out at the hotel.

Bradey, Noah, and Kaleb. Ty hadn't arrived yet. They lost their first game wearing the shirts Forrest picked out for them. The boys then decided to go "skins" for the rest of the weekend.

They won their second and third games shirtless before losing Sunday morning and being eliminated.

Boy Alyssa and I look small next to Forrest and Noah.

Alyssa got to spend some time with some of her girl cousins, 2 year old Savannah, 16 year old Nicole, and 14 year old Mikala.

Alyssa and I also stopped in Wilbur to see my grandma. We came home before the boys so Alyssa could be at work today. Forrest and Noah are staying at Loon Lake for a couple of more days to visit with other members of his family.

Gardening

From the looks of the fields around here there will be great crops of corn, hay, peas, pumpkins, etc. The wet spring plus two weeks of 80-90 degree temperatures to start the month got everything off to a great start. Local strawberries are ready. We can eat a half flat in two days easily. Raspberries are the family favorites so we're anxiously awaiting their arrival. We're also looking forward to local sweet corn arriving in August.

The family gardening projects look promising too. A photo of Forrest's tomato bucket has been requested so I will finally get around to posting that. For comparison sake I'll post a photo of the tomato plant I put into a raised bed (not quite a fair comparison since I planted two weeks before Forrest). Our walnut tree has put on lots of nuts this year. Last year we only got a handful. This year we'll have a large bowlful. The blueberry plants are growing slowly. I think I'll only get one or two handfuls of berries. The birds usually nab them right before they're ripe enough for me.

Noah has basketball camp this week so I'll be driving him to the high school Monday through Thursday. Wednesday nights his football team is meeting for informal games of Flash ( a type of free-for-all game where the boys can pass anywhere on the field). On Thursday we'll head east to spend Thursday night at Forrest's mom's house before we check into the hotel Friday afternoon for Hoopfest. Alyssa and I will come home Sunday night because she has to work. Noah and Forrest will stay for a couple of more days to see his sister, Jeweli, who will be in town from Albuquerque. One of Alyssa's co-workers is pregnant and due very soon so Alyssa needs to be ready to take on more hours to help cover her place.

Staffing

I get to stay at fourth grade in my current building.  I will be joined by a former 4th grade teacher who left 4th to teach kindergarten two years ago, another former 4th grade teacher who left fourth grade 8 years ago to be a remedial reading specialist, and a third grade teacher who is probably going to loop up with her current class.  As you might remember from previous posts two of my 4th grade colleagues were laid off.  Today I found out that my remaining teammate is going to be transferred to a school that laid off their whole 4th grade team so they need someone with experience.  We will now have just one elementary counselor to service all 5 buildings instead of just sharing a counselor with one building.  One of our first grade teachers is being moved to special ed. against her wishes because she has a Sp. Ed. endorsement that she has never used. There is a very weird vibe in the halls today. Relief for most of us, but agony for others.  I can't wait for today to be over.

Odds and Ends

We're trying to find a new home for our young dog, Cowboy. He is an escape artist. We just can't keep him in the yard unless he's tied up. He either needs a large acreage where he can have the run of the place or a kennel with a cement floor and a roof so he can't dig or climb out. I'll hate to see him go, he's a sweet dog, but I worry about him getting hit by a car when he's out.

Alyssa and I got to see a great Mariner game last Sunday. The M's won 4-2. Our second row seats were excellent. Forrest has been to two games and hasn't gotten to see a win yet. Alyssa and I must be lucky.

The fourth grade classes have been incubating chicken and duck eggs. So far none of my eggs have hatched. They've all been duds so I've been babysitting some chicks for one of the other teachers. Alyssa snapped the funny picture of Forrest posing with a chick named Caramel.

Noah's baseball season is almost over. His team scored a tremendous come from behind win last week scoring 7 unanswered runs to win a tournament game in extra innings. There is a great article with photos in the Arlington Times. Google the paper and check out the article in the sports section about the Stilly Valley Blackjacks.

Work is still very stressful. The lay-offs are set, but the staffing for next year is still in the works. I could be transferred to another building and/or be moved to a new grade level. The adminstrators were hoping to have news for us tomorrow, but it's not going to happen. I might not know anything till August. We can't make classlists or a master schedule for next year yet. Usually those things are done and ready for the fall by mid-May. Everything feels incredibly disjointed and everyone is out of sorts and jumpy.