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!