Halloween fun

A lunchtime prayer

So...what is a teacher to do on a Tuesday (my most unfavorite day of the week) with a new student...brand new today at 9:00 a.m.-- a student with behavior 'issues'?! I am sitting at my desk looking out the window at a beautiful fall day-- eating a DELICIOUS apple-- you know the ones I'm talking about crisp, a little tart but still plenty sweet--- and finishing my big cup of coffee. I am enjoying 10 minutes of silence...trying to refocus and praying that there were not any problems at recess. I will also be grateful after recess because I know the day is more than 1/2 over.

Fall weekend

We had a fun but busy weekend! We went to Paris, IL (about 6 hours south of Milwaukee) to see Jeff, Angela and Oliver. Angela's parents have a pumpkin farm- called Pumpkin Works. www.pumpkinworks.com
We spent the weekend at Pumpkin Works...getting the VIP treatment because we were with Angela:) We went on mazes, took hayrides, picked pumpkins and enjoyed being outside.
On our way home on Sunday, we stopped in Elmhurst to see Emmett's football game. His team won...I think the score was like 47 to 16!!! Then to Jeff and Maureen's for a little visit..... We'll carve pumpkins tonight with Grandma June and Grandpa Buck!!

A great place to give

I posted a project on www.donorschoose.org for cooking tools (blender, griddle, plates, silverware, etc.) for my class. It was fully funded today and we will be getting the tools we requested soon!! If you are looking for a place to donate (it's tax deductible) there are a lot of great projects on the site so take a look around!!!

What a weekend...

What a fabulous fall weekend!!! Went to the Bong (state recreation area) the name kills me!!!---- camping!!!!!
We found a bunch of these signs around the campground.
The beginning of October--- who would have thought you could go shoeless and shirtless?!
The fire man....

Updates

This picture shows when crashed his airplane.
Sam as Humpty Dumpty in the play at grandparents day.
At school on Granparents Day!!!

Introducing....

Today Sam got his first pets.... Batman and Robin!!! He says "They are good and they eat their supper. They swim around and they are bored. They need something to look at."

Uncle Jimmy

Uncle Jimmy came to visit for a few days. The boys had a GREAT time with him!!! The top picture is at the Harley Davidson museum...they said it was pretty cool.

Catch Up!!!

Happy 8th Birthday to Ben on Sunday (9/7)!!!

Last weekend we went to Cave of the Mounds and then to Governor Dodge State park for a night of camping with the family!! Uncle Robbie, Aunt Lynnette, Becca, R.G., Grandma Jan, Grandpa Ger, and Aunt Josey all joined us! Everyone had a good time bonding:)

First Day of School!!!!

Ben's first day of 2nd grade-- on Tuesday 9/2/08

The boys walking toward school on Sam's first day Wednesday 9/3/08.

The big kindergartner!!!!

For Grandma Jan!!

To celebrate our last day of summer (Mom is going to work tomorrow without us) we went to the zoo. We know that Grandma Jan likes elephants...so here we are with them!!!

Vacation Pictures!!!!

Here are the pictures from our time up north...in the land of flannel.
Sunday-- long drive to Mellen and set up camp
Monday- went to the visitors center in Ashland (a favorite of mine!! it was AMAZING!!) then to Madeline Island (on the ferry) and exploring up there
Tuesay- to Hayward and fishing on the pontoon boat-- a very nice boat and a LOT of boat!!
Wednesday- back to the visitors center, to the casino (where Jason won!!) then to Ashland for a night at the water park
Thursday- back to Mellen, cleaned up camp and on a hike to Copper Falls...then headed home!!!

Monday, Monday

Fishing with 'Uncle' Kyle

Look who caught a fish!!!!
We had fun fishing!!!
We had a busy day--- we took things to my new classroom, went to IKEA (to get more things for my class) went to Red Robin for supper, and then the boys went fishing at the park!!!! What a fun day:)

Rest of the weekend....

Saturday- Jenna, Michelle (and I) went to Chicago to see Wicked. We rode the train in--- what a fun experience!!! Wicked was AWESOME!!!!
Sunday- on our way back to Milwaukee- we went to 'the swimming party' with our South Beloit family. The kids all had a GREAT time!!!!

In Illinois

Tuesday night out

Ben painting a bench.

Sam painting a bench.

Sam on stage with the Figureheads!!!

Tonight we went to Humboldt Park for the family night. It was a lot of fun!!!
The boys helped to paint benches and Sam was on stage- dancing.
http://www.figureheadsinc.org/ I love the Figureheads--- they are hip hop music but it's written for kids- and has a really positive message.
My favorite songs today:
More to the Story
Misconceptions
Hop to it

Neighborhood

There are times that I lOVE our neighborhood...and it feels more like a community within the city. One of those times is Halloween...the other is the annual corn roast...which was today!!! The kids had a GREAT time getting squirted by the fire trucks and everyone enjoyed the corn!

Catching up with friends!!!

This afternoon we met Beth, Rob ("The Lobsterman") and Aelia at a park in Waukesha. It was so good to see them--they live in Maine and were here visiting family. Ben had fun investigating the surrounding area and Sam and Aelia had fun playing together!!!!

Characters!!

This bird (named Pecky- by the boys) has landed on our window and been pecking on our window. I'm not real sure what he wants.
This is Sam in one of his costumes....he is CRAZY!!!!

4th of July