Thursday, November 30, 2006

Another question.

So where's the snow?? Were we teased again? I haven't been out yet, but it looks like just rain. Cold and rainy. Oh well...I really didn't want to lose a snow day in the spring. But a late start to the school day would have been nice.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Question.

So here's what I'm asking myself today...just how much Christmas decorating do I really want to do?? Sad to say, I'm not really in the mood. The tree was brought down from the attic on Sunday and Bob put it together with the white lights. Now it just sits, like a lonely soul in the corner of the living room, beckoning me as I walk by, "please put something on me, I'm bare." But, alas, my schedule is so busy this week, I really don't have time for it.

I really do need to get some Christmas spirit. Any suggestions?

Sunday, November 26, 2006

A Break from Tradition

After 14 or 15 years in a row (I have forgotten the actual number), our family did not celebrate Thanksgiving with our longtime friends, the Riskeys. This year the Riskeys decided to take advantage of the week off and go on a family vacation to California. Donna and Dan were feeling that the opportunities for vacations together with their children may be fleeting. So off they went. And from what I heard from them when they returned, it was a most enjoyable time.

Thanksgiving dinner, well the bulk of it anyway, was left in my hands this year. We didn't have Donna's famous red jello or her yummy mashed potatoes, but we had most everything else we've had all these past Thanksgiving dinners. I did have to call my mom and get her recipes for the stuffing and gravy. And I have to say, Grandma Blanda's stuffing recipe was a hit. Steve already told me that I have to make the stuffing every year. I wasn't able to get my usual Butterball turkey in time, but the Honeysuckle White was fine. And even though "Uncle Mike" was not here to share the cranberry sauce with me, I found some others who enjoy it as well...Michelle and her dad.

We had nine around the table this year...Bob and I, Steve and Michelle, Pam and John, Becca and Marj and Michael Parenteau, Mish's parents. It was a very nice relaxing, family time. We ate alot, watched the Cowboys beat up on Tampa Bay, and played some games. We also watched lots and lots of "The Office", season 2 plus deleted scenes! Not exactly a Christmas movie, but it made us laugh. Meaghan, Mish's sister and her fiance, Jay (Steve's best man at his wedding!), came over later to play games. Steve and Mish introduced us to a new card game called Dutch Blitz. It's fast and furious. Meaghan,Becca and Bob are all really good at it. Oh, and I have to add that if there was ever a "Friends Trivia" game on TV for money...well, Becca would be rich. I think out of about 50 or more trivia questions, she only missed a handful. She didn't even have to think about most of the questions. Unbelievable.

The Friday after Thanksgiving has always been the day that Donna and I went out shopping, without children in tow, at the wee hours of the morning, only to return at 10:00 at night, exhausted, with Christmas shopping finished... or close anyway. But since she wasn't around this year, I decided to take the break and not deal with the crowds going after the not-so-real-sales. Instead I took the girls, Pam, Becca and Mish, and we left just before lunch and did some shopping for them and significant others. Vista Ridge Mall was our destination, as we tried to stay close, and surprisingly, it was not overly crowded. We took a break and had a nice lunch at La Madeleine's. That's where the most crowds were. Eating out. We got some fun "girl" time in together before we headed home to meet up with the "men folk." They had just returned from an excursion to Rei and Cabela's. Yeah, that's the guys' idea of shopping.

On Saturday, Pam and John headed back down to Austin, and Becca headed back up to Arkansas. Steve and Mish headed back down the street. The house is alot quieter. I miss them. I am so very thankful for my family.

Looking back, I always enjoy Thanksgiving because of the time we get to spend with our families and friends. We are very thankful that we had been able to keep our Thanksgiving tradition with the Riskeys going for these many years. We treasure the great memories that we have made. When can traditions start? Any time. Maybe it's time to make some new ones. The young couples will start their own. I just pray that I can still be part of theirs. Maybe as long as I keep the stuffing recipe under wraps...

Friday, November 10, 2006

Back from camp

A week at Camp Classen...
great hiking weather, beautiful fall foliage, 100 excited kids and...skunks. Yes, it was a wonderful week at fifth-grade camp. We hiked Turner Falls and roasted hotdogs and marshmellows on fires we made there on the top of the mountain...in the dark. Very fun. The next three days were filled with hiking trails, archery, boating, orienteering, challenge courses, and field games. I was on the "lake trail" for the week, an almost 2-mile hike around Lake Classen. We stopped along the way to teach such things as the water cycle, erosion, water purification and biodiversity. Later in the week, I took a group hiking to a waterfall near the lake. The kids loved climbing on the rocks, and of course, many came back pretty wet. Inevitably one or two students fall in the water. We boated on the lake in rowboats and canoes. A few times I was just the passenger in the middle, trying to keep the canoe from overturning! Most of the time I just got splashed by the inexperienced paddlers. We did have a moment when some dads had to go out and rescue some boaters. It was windy on the lake and the girls weren't strong enough to compensate. Their rowboats ended up clear across the other side of the lake in the marshy grasses. The snake man, Mr. Martz from Briarhill Middle School, was there again with his collection of BIG snakes. I still didn't touch one. But it was alot of fun to see the fearless kids with the snakes. One night was Bingo and lanyard-making. There really was not much "down" time at all. We went from breakfast to hiking, from lunch to activities, from dinner to more activities. This year, again, I was responsible for dispensing the medications. Every morning and every night. I have to say that I'm feeling very good that I now know the names of all the fifth-graders, save two or three girls that I'm still not completely sure of their names. For the most part, it was a good group of kids and parents. We did alot of hiking that required the help of some of the dads. Some slick, vertical, rock-climbing where we needed strong, steady hands. We had one student in a wheel-chair and another severely-disabled. It was great to see their attempt at participating in all the activities, but better yet, to see the support they got from their classmates. The teachers at camp were the same from last March, with the exception of our assistant principal who came this time. But this week was even better. The teachers seemed closer, and we had more fun as a group. We stayed up way too late talking after bed checks. By Friday morning, I had to drag myself out of bed at 6:30. Sleep was not something we got much of this week. But it was a great experience. Oh, but did I mention skunks? Yeah, the camp had alot of critters coming out at night. I got harassed most of the week because I didn't want to get sprayed by the skunks. Imagine that. I really did run in the opposite direction. It made cabin checks at night very interesting. We had 15 cabins to check, spread out all over the camp. Skunk-sightings were numerous. Despite that excitement, it was a week of wonderful memories. I loved on some kids, and they loved on me. I was in my element. Being outside, campfires, s'mores, camp songs, canoeing on a lake, stars at night... and kids having alot of fun. And the school district is ending this opportunity. The teachers were sad. The parents were sad. But most of all, the kids were sad. Future fifth-graders are being cheated out of a tremendously fun opportunity to see science in nature. Oh how I want to scream "Are you kidding me? Can you not see how great this is? Do you even know what this is all about??"So this is the last fifth-grade class to make these camp memories. Well...we'll just have to think up another way.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Off to Camp...Again...Last Time

Tomorrow I leave for Camp Classen with the fifth graders. This will be bittersweet for the teachers and some parents. It's the last year for overnight camping in this district. Too bad. It really is a great week for the kids. I guess the opinions of the students, parents and teachers didn't make a difference in the decision made by the school board. I have a teacher friend who has gone to camp the last 10 years. She attended the committee meetings and voiced her opinion. The majority were in favor of camp. But it really didn't matter. The decision was made. Can you tell I'm a little bitter?
But I will look forward to this week. Though it may be rainy and muddy, we'll have a good time. Though my sciatic nerve flared up on me Monday and I'm on a steroid pack for inflammation, I'll have a good time. (Gotta be able to hike those trails!) It's all about the kids and making memories. So off to camp I go again. Pray for good weather. Pray for painless hiking (for me!). I hope I have lots of fun stories to blog about when I get back.