HOT,HOT, HOT

Wheeew! It's nearly 90 today. My students are too hot and ornery today. My classroom faces the south playground so it gets lot of heat radiating off the blacktop. Tomorrow the fourth grade classes are going to the beach to study marine ecosystems. Hopefully tomorrow will be cooler. I told all of the kids to lather up with sunscreen and bring extra water. I'll try to post photos from our trip tomorrow.

Four Generations Together in Wilbur

No trip to the in-laws would be complete without a stop in Wilbur to see my grandma, Beulah. My folks were there too for the holiday weekend so we took the opportunity to get a four generation photo. From left to right, my Dad Lloyd (71), son Noah (11), me (43), Grandma (97), and my daughter Alyssa (15). I think we look pretty terrific.

Forrest and I

We rarely appear in photos together since one of us is usually wielding the camera, so I thought I better post this one taken on the bank of the lake at Forrest's mom's house. As you can tell by the light we had beautiful weather Memorial Weekend 2007.

Alyssa in the rowboat

We decided that our rowboat should live at the lake. We rarely use it, so it might as well be available for the cousins who live in the area to use when we're not there. The kids used the boat more during Memorial Weekend than they have the whole three years we've owned it. Alyssa even caught a perch in the middle of the lake.

Noah fishing with cousins at Loon Lake

Noah and his cousins were fishing for bass, but all they caught were sunfish. This dock is on Loon Lake in eastern Washington at my mother-in-laws place.

New Toyota

With the rising cost of gas and the fact that we'll soon have a third driver in the family we bit the bullet and bought a third vehicle. The old Ford truck sits most of the time. We're keeping it around to haul things to the dump and to pull our tent trailer. Although the Highlander is an SUV it does get better gas mileage than the truck by 8-10 miles per gallon. We made the final payment on the trailer just one month before the first payment on the Toyota is due. Oh well, that's the American way isn't it? It's the smoothest ride I've ever had driving an SUV. I love it!

Alyssa in the Afternoon

Alyssa grudingly posed for this shot after spending the afternoon volunteering in a kindergarten class at the school where I work.

Noah at School

Noah and his buddies take a break from the puppet play they're writing.

Alyssa and Noah at the Alpaca Farm

I'm not sure who the cuter creatures are, the alpacas or my kids. What do you think?

A Typical Saturday

Today saw my family on the run. Forrest took Noah to the barbershop for a long overdue haircut on the way to a double header. The Rebels lost both of their games today, but they were close and exciting. Noah hit a beautiful double in the second game. The volleyball team Alyssa coaches lost today too, but they didn't give up and really showed some spirit in the third game. And tonight she's babysitting to save money for college. Noah brought a friend home to spend the night after his baseball game (a friend from an opposing team), so I know we won't get much sleep tonight. The fridge and freezer are looking bare so I fear Costco is on tap for tomorrow.

On a work note, I've learned that there are problems with having a student teacher. My student teacher is doing an excellent job and having him in control of my class this spring has left me free to work on several curriculum projects. The downside is that I'm available to be a substitute teacher when there isn't one available. I've covered for first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers. I was even Noah's teacher for a full day this week. He says he was quieter than usual because I was there.

Changes

Big changes are in store at my school. My closest colleague at 4th grade is moving down to teach kindergarten next year, and we'll likely be hiring two new fourth grade teachers for next year. The district has redrawn the boundaries to balance out the sizes of all the elementary schools. Our school will be losing some wonderful kids and their equally wonderful families. I'm sure we'll receive some great families too, but I haven't met any of them yet. The uncertainty is unsettling to this self described "Control Freak."

Change is the operative word for my home life too. My daughter is growing into a wonderfully bright and lovely young woman. She's talking about driving, jobs, and college. We've visited her top choice of college twice already. Alyssa volunteers in a kindergarten classroom twice a week and dreams of being a kindergarten teacher. So a school with an Early Childhood Education program is a must.

Noah has become a middle schooler overnight it seems. His attitude and swagger would fit in at any middle school in the country. Thankfully he still likes to spend time with his parents, especially his dad. They practice baseball and basketball skills regularly. My sweet little boy is becoming a man, his feet are already bigger than his 6'2" father's. At 5'4" and 120 pounds he'll soon pass his sister up in size.

Forrest and I have changed too. Now that we have a built in babysitter we're planning more date nights. Although sometimes our idea of a date is a trip to Costco without the kids. But those shopping trips do give us a chance to talk and get caught up with each other. We took a personal day together last week. Our first stop was
Starbucks. We sipped our coffee, read the paper, and talked for more than half an hour. I have visions of spending our retirement years like this, but that's too far in the future to contemplate.

Noah's up to bat.

Coach Alyssa

Mom of a Teen and a Tween

Life is never slow or boring with a teen who coaches volleyball, babysits every weekend, and earns straight A's. Since my daughter, Alyssa, can't drive yet she has to be driven to all of her commitments. While I look forward to her being able to drive to her jobs--I'm frightened by the possibility of having my baby on the road with some of the crazies I have to watch out for. Driver's ed is coming up way too soon.

My tweener, 11 year old Noah is all about sports. This year it was soccer, basketball, and baseball. The fall of 07 will see football taking the place of soccer. He'll start football practices the first of August and practice every day that month. All of his sport seasons overlap. The only break we'll get this year is the month of July.

The sports commitments don't end with the kids. My husband, Forrest, plays rec league softball in the spring and summer as well as helping coach Noah and his friends in three, 3 on 3 basketball tournaments during the summer. I do my part by keeping book and stats for Noah's teams as needed, especially during AAU basketball season.

Noah's sporting events allow us to travel all over the Northwest, and thankfully Alyssa doesn't mind hanging out with her brother and his friends. She's picked up lot of babysitting clients through the friendships we've developed with the other AAU families.

I guess that's enough of an introduction to what life is like in my family. I'll post more later with pictures. Warmbeachjo