Much to be Thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Though I have been listening to Christmas carols for the past week or so, I was still able to enjoy the holiday. We had a wonderful day with the grandparents. Spencer and Sarah are still in Canada, Les is hunting, and Wendy and Michelle were somewhere else, but the rest of us chowed down.

It was special to have Lucas with us, finally, and to enjoy time with the grandparents. I am so thankful to have them with us here!

Otherwise mom, Lucas, and I have lazed around-not doing much of anything! Can't beat that? I hope you all had an equally as enjoyable holiday! Be sure to check the web album for more pics!

http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23

A jaunt through the woods

Last week Mrs. Cairo and I took our kiddos to the forest for a hike. It was the end of our unit on forestry and turned out to be a great day. We took 60 kids and only one fell-much to the surprise of my sister Cheryl and Lucas who were betting on 10 kids down! Ha-take that! There was minimal whining and the weather even cooperated! It was a great day and Tonya and I always have fun when we can get out and about!

Otherwise things have been going along just great. Tonya and I had our big veteran's event on the 6th. The kids did a wonderful job and the turn out was outstanding. Mom and Les came down and they brought grandpa too. In the end we had about 250 veteran's and their families for the dinner. It was a lot of people! Grandpa said he had a very nice time but next year he wants to help! :) Of course!

Lucas has been busy working and moved into a place of his own. We are headed to P-town for Thanksgiving this week, a small crew made up mostly of grandparents, so it should be a nice day.

Hope you all have a great week and wonderful holiday!

Alive...

Greetings to you all. I am sorry to say that it has taken me this long to get on my computer and blog...but lets just put it this way. Today, I pulled my blinds for the first time in three weeks, because it was the first time I was here in the day light in three weeks...I wanted to blog about our great weekend visiting Spencer and Sarah in Bamfield (that was two weeks ago) then I wanted to blog about the Greek fest (that was last weekend) and now here I am...and all I have to blog about is weekends. Bamfield was amazing. We spent the weekend hiking around and cooking. We even got to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving...that was great! We saw three bears, a bunch of eagles and lots of great starfish.

Last weekend, we had the Greek fest which was a blast and went super well. Other then that I have mainly just gone to meetings. Oh, well last night was the school carnival and I did make over 200 snow cones which was very fun! Needless to say it has just been busy. I keep praying it will slow down so I have big hopes. My greetings to you all especially Chrissy who I was supposed to call back a week ago, Sarah Glathar who I was supposed to email three weeks ago, my mother who I wanted to go see two weeks ago, my brother who I havn't talked to in days, Kendra who lives 10 minutes away and I haven't seen in weeks, Melinda who is back from her honeymoon, Jess who's blog I haven't even been able to check, Megan who I haven't called back all week...hmmm should I go on...Oh you too Kels...congrats on graduating...hope to talk to you all soon...or at least in April when I am not president anymore! :) Be sure to check out our Bamfield pics on the web album http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23

A Great Weekend!

We had a great weekend. As you can see above, one part of the weekend was a trip to the waterpark with Sam. Corvallis's water park has an end of the season dog party before draining their pools. Lucas and I were a little hesitant, not knowing what it would be like, but it was a blast! Sam about freaked out when he saw ALL of the dogs and WATER! Oh my gosh, what else is there, except maybe a pool full of food! :) Anyway, the whole thing was an absolute riot, unfortunately the pics aren't very good because he never stayed in one place long to take a picture. There was way too many friends and too much to do to waste time on a photo-op. This event will now be a permanent on our event calendar, as I am sure it is on Sam's too!

We also went to a wedding. My very good friend Melinda and Jeff were married this weekend and it was great! We had a wonderful time dancing with lots of old friends and catching up on all the news!

Now, we are getting ready to head up to Canada on Friday to see Spencer. With Spencer and Sarah preparing to move around Christmastime we want to get up to Bamfield one more time!

Hope you are having a great week so far! Be sure to look on the web album at the swim party pics! http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23

Time with the Fam

We had a great Saturday up in Portland. Spencer and Sarah were down to celebrate Chris's wedding (Sarah's brother) so we were actually able to celebrate Spencer's birthday! That was a special treat as I have not seen Spencer around his birthday in years!

With grandpa and grandma we cooked out and hung around for a great Saturday. What is even crazier is that after our trip up to Bamfield next month I will have seen Spencer in August, September and October...that is crazy! :)

Otherwise everything else is status quo. It has been a busy week and I am looking forward to a somewhat unplanned weekend...that will be a treat!

The picture above is one I will cherish forever...I am grateful for every moment I get to spend with my grandparents and feel so blessed to still have them in my life. (See the web album for the rest of the pics)

Have a good one.

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, it is two weeks in and I think I can come up for air for a little bit! The beginning of the school year is always so insane, I can hardly believe all that has to happen each day. I do have a pretty great class...so far. I have enjoyed the first couple of weeks and what we call the "honeymoon period." This is the time when they still walk in a nice quiet line because they are a little bit afraid and not sure what might happen. :) I like this time of year!

However, I am pretty grateful for the weekend. After a week of meetings and late, late nights, I am looking forward to some R and R. I am also very excited because Lucas and I are headed to the parents tomorrow to see Spencer and Sarah for Spence's birthday. They are in town for the weekend and that is pretty exciting!

The pic above is my room this year. Mom took this the day she came and helped me organize all of my cabinets; something I am so grateful for!

Hope your September is going great! Miss Wood

One Last Hooray!

Well, sadly, summer has concluded in the life of us. Lucas has started his new job at Corvallis Clinic (which he loves!) And I return to work Monday. This is a sad day, truly. Before giving into the daily demands of life back at work Kendra and I spent some time in Bamfield with my brother (but no Sarah, we missed you Sarah!). After a very uneventful trip up to Bamfield we spent time boating, hiking around, and spying on neighboring boaters. The weather was outstanding, though the wildlife count was not so much. We left with a measly count of: 1 Heron, a few eagles, propoises, and two elk. Yes, those are all beautiful animals, and each was enjoyable to look at but we were in it for the gold-whale and bear. We saw no sign of whale at all and A LOT of bear poo. Sadly the poo never took us anywhere, though every pile was always fresh...sad day.

After chilling in Bamfield we started our trek out...leaving at 5 am in order to be in Victoria in time for our 10:30 am ferry. Unfortunately, we didn't quite make that ferry. The bottom line is this: lost on endless logging roads with no gas and no map....oops.

Five hours later we popped out on some road and alas we made it to Victoria in time for the 3 pm ferry. Yikes! :)

However, fun was had by all and it of course makes a good story! Now, I am sadly back to work. Yesterday mom came down and helped me organize cabinets so I at least feel better going Monday. Who doesn't feel good when their cabinets are organized...right Jess? :)

Hope ya'll are doing great!

p.s. Bamfield pics are posted on the web album!

Where were you at 24?

We celebrated Kendra's 24th birthday this weekend which brought up the question: where were you when you were 24? For some of us that wasn't too long ago and for others it was a bit ago...
If you want to see our pictures from our great birthday extravaganza be sure to check out the album! http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23.

A summer adventure!

Yes, I do still know how to post on my blog! I am sure no one actually checks it anymore because I havn't posted in so long, I will have to send out an email telling people to look again! :)
Well, as many of you know Lucas and I have finally arrived back here in Oregon. I spent two weeks in Virginia with him, helping him to pack and leave. Then we left Richmond for a trek across country. We stayed a night in the Appalachians right on the border of West Virginia and stopped to see some family of his. It was a gorgeous spot, just buggy!
Next we drove to Monticello, IL to see my family. We spent a couple of days there visiting and eating! :) It was wonderful!
From there we drove across Iowa and up to South Dakota. We camped in Canton and enjoyed a pretty great lightning storm. We drove across South Dakota making many stops (see photos) and enjoyed the high speed limit!
Next we stopped in Wyoming to camp and then headed on for Montana, after staying one night there we finished off the drive to Albany; stopping twice to eat with Mom and Les who were making the same drive (Lunch in Spokana, dinner in Clackamas!)
We had a wonderful trip and are now getting settled back in to normal life. If you would like to see pictures from our trip please look at my album posted on http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23.
Ta-Ta

A white spring break?

"I'm dreaming of a white spring break?" That is certainly not how I remember the song going.
Tonya and I took the twins to Lincoln City Thursday and Friday. Thursday was beautiful but verrrrryyy cold day. We looked like we were at Mt. Hood and definitly a stark contrast to the two teenaged boys who were wake boarding in their shorts...real smart!
None the less, we had a lovely day Thursday playing and hanging around. Friday, however, was a much different story. We woke up to find an inch of snow on our car and drove through blizzardy snow all the way back to Siletz...unbelievable. Not only that but spent yesterday in the snow as well here in ALBANY! Just crazy!
As you will see below, spending most of break gone gave the dogs the wrong impression about the use of my bed. Needless to say we have re-established who the bed is for!!!
Today was spent freezing as I cleaned stalls and put the horses out. They don't seem to mind as much with their big fur coats. Liam is acting exceptionally bossy as he is the only one without a blanket. I think he believes he is much tougher than the other boys with their blankets on.
Hope you are all staying warm in your winter wonderlands!

When the Cat's away the mice will play

Spring Break

Well, after much concern I am finally putting up a post. As noted earlier I was quite sick, however recently I have been more occupied with parent conferences, report cards, and field trips. Thankfully, it is now spring break. I have spent the first part of break visiting the family up north. Although not the family waaaayyy up north (although I did talk to Spencer and Sarah, so that gets partial credit!) Anyway, I spent the weekend with Mom and Les, Cheryl, and Grandpa. Doing various exciting things like shopping, doctor visits and daily walks with Sam. Other then a somewhat unfortunate event with a sidewalk curb it was a lovely weekend. As always I am grateful not to have my alarm go off at 5:30 am and for the slower pace (even time for an afternoon nap!)
After surviving TWO field trips in the past couple of weeks I am now trying to get ready for the next. In May the kids and I are headed to the horse ranch in Sisters for a long eventful day! Still havn't decided what to do with my banister sliding student (aka the student who slid down the banisters in the state capital buildling) and whether he will be attending the horse ranch...hmmm any safety concerns here?
I should be spending this break with Lucas, as many of you know, but unfortunately with his dad in the hospital he was unable to travel. I thought about visiting him in Virginia but with my resistance to selling my kidney to buy the $1000 plane ticket we are spending break like we do every other day: on the phone.
I havn't planned tomorrow's activities (one of the joys of spring break) but I do think it might mean a drive to Eugene to visit Megan.
Hope you are enjoying your week, break or not, and stay warm! Snow anyone?

The Flu

If you have been wondering why there have not been any posts since last week, then look no further the answer is here. I have no pictures, no interesting stories, not even a good joke to share. I have unfortunately spent the last long, torturous days being over run by the flu. I can really only report to you who is doing well on Jeopardy or what Mike Rowe has done on Dirty Jobs for the last 5 days. I will spare you the updates on both and I hope to have more to report soon.

President's Day

What a beautiful day to have off! It was a gorgeous 57 degrees here in Albany. Tonya and I had lots of fun toting the babes around Albany. After a messy lunch at Costco we took Colton and Caitlyn to the park to feed the ducks. It was a mostly tramatizing experience because the seagulls were attacking the ducks and stealing all of the bread.
Then we got to take Colton to get his FIRST HAIRCUT! He was soooo good; he sat very patiently and even got a sucker when he was done!
We had a great day!
Yesterday, I was able to attend a wedding. My friends Chris and Laura were married at Columbia Edgewater. It was a very fun wedding and a great time connecting with old friends! Spent some time at home with Mom and Les and then headed back here to Albany! I hope you have been able to enjoy the beautiful day! My flowers are blooming!

President's Day

Friday...finally!

I can gladly state I have lived through another fifth grade Valentines Day!
Highlights: A sweet purple bear from one of my favorite fifth grade boys, an entire bag of chalk, I mean candy, hearts, and last but not least a gorgeous display of purple roses! You may not realize this but truly Valentines week has to be the worst for behavior. Last year I had to write 11 referals in one day during Valentines Day week. This year wasn't as back, it was only 5 or 6. I am glad the weekend is here and I can recover.
I hope you had a great week and a nice Valentines Day (which happens to also be Oregon day by the way! )

Tuesday Update

Hello to all! I have not updated since last week, obviously. I feel like there is little to share, but I know mom is anxiously checking so I will see what I can come up with.
Last week was mostly filled with the preparations and aftermath of the march as well as the state superintendent visiting the school. Susan Castillo came and interviewed kids at the school; pretty exciting.
Also in last weeks news, Liam was striking a pose in the arena fully saddled up. I, of course, thought of taking a picture after I was there and had no camera-I will try to get better about that. Nonetheless, he looked dashing and was mostly cooperative. I even pushed him around some by jumping on the stirrups and lying across the saddle. At a few points he looked at me as if to say "don't you know how to just get up in the saddle?" With any luck that will be soon, we are waiting on the go ahead from the vet and it will be time!
The weekend left nothing to report other then 30 midterms and a big headache. However, today we took a small field trip to a nursing home up the road. The students made Valentine's Day placemats that we delivered to the residents. We were greeted by endless smiles and tears from our new friends!
Beyond that all I can report is that my daphne is starting to bloom and that always makes me delighted. I hope you are enjoying your week thus far!

March for Shoes

Today was the second annual March for Shoes at school. The whole school marches down fifth street in Lebanon to honor civil rights people from our past. Last year Kendra and I wrote a grant for the event and we studied Martin Luther King Jr. This year's theme was "Heroes." All of the kids learned about different heroes from our history. The march went great and we brought in $919 for shoes this year!