We survived Halloween! My class proved themselves nutty - as expected, but we managed to have a great day. We have a 5th grade tradition where we dress up as witches and do all these fun matter experiments (the science you wish you had time for on a normal day). It's a lot of work, but it shuts them up for 2 1/2 hours and they actually learn on a holiday!!

Art and I spent the evening hiding in the basement - not that our doorbell rang!

Saturday we got up and got right to work (after watching This Old House for inspiration). We started laying the tile in the bathroom shower. We did the hardest wall first, but were really happy about how it turned out. We would have finished but we had to go to St. George to see our nephew Connor get blessed today (long drive - short trip; but Art did get Bratho de Gitano and In & Out).

So alas, it is Sunday night and we are quickly winding down. The puppies are exhausted from their sleepover at Grandpas, and frankly we're all quite ready for bed.

I'm Tired...

I just got home from work, like 20 minutes ago. I just had a 16 hour day. And tomorrow is Halloween - which should be called "Torture the Teacher" day. If I never update again, you'll know I didn't make it.

Oh the woes....

I'm not sure the antics of turning 175 elementary kids into the 100 person cast of a musical production is the kind of thing you all want to read about, but it's what plagues my thoughts these days. Today we finished our dance auditions with 5th and 6th grades. Friday are the soloist auditions where all kids sing their 30 seconds as they compete for the top seat. After watching each of them dance, smile, sing, and shine - I'm stuck. My school seems to be overflowing with talent and somehow I have to eliminate. The other terrible thing is that I now know so many of the kids, either having taught them or a sibling, or having had them in a play before; and so the prospect of cutting every child is heart breaking. Despite all of that I am beginning to see my leads take shape. I think I could pick the big ones right now, if I had to, except the ever-important role of Annie - I just haven't found her yet. I'm hoping that Friday my thoughts will become actualities and I will find my shining star.

And now a note to the parents that read this...

One of my major woes over the last month has been teaching the election. Not because I don't love politics or I dread the discussion; in fact, I love teaching 5th grade because it is all about the evolution of our countries government. In my class we do an extensive unit where the kids parallel the real election with our class elections. We hold primaries, have debates, make posters, campaign, and the whole nine yards. It's a blast and we have so much fun! Until...we have to talk actual politics. You see one of the rules of my class is that you can have any opinion you want, as long as you support it with evidence. When it comes to our discussions of the the candidates that is where the evidence is consistently "Because my Mom and Dad are voting for him". I have so many kids who are staunch Republicans, and Democrats, solely and entirely because their parents are. When I ask them why? I get answers like "Because we're Mormon", or "Because we're conservative." And when I ask for more justification, I get blank stares. I am so happy that there are parents who talk politics with kids, and I think you should, but please - don't impose your views on your child. Teach your child how to come up with their own opinions. Let them know it's ok to think something different - because - guess what? - It is!! I'm never going to tell you who to vote for(ok, I will if you really want me to), but I am going to tell you to be an educated voter. But also be the educator of a future voter. They might be 10 now, but one day they'll be the President and when you ask them "Why are you a Republican?" I sure hope they don't say, "Because my mom said so."

Good Intentions...

I thought with a 4 day weekend I would get my papers graded...
I thought I would get my planning done for this month...
I thought I would get my laundry caught up...
I thought I would finish the Hardi-backer in the bathroom...
I thought I would walk the dogs every day...
I thought I would get my audition dance choreographed...
I thought I would write interesting and amusing blogs every day...
I thought wrong.

It's Sunday night and my adorable husband wants "lovies" (I shouldn't complain), I have a stack of spelling and math tests to be graded, Hard Knock Life is playing in the background, the bathroom is half done, and I'm finally getting in a blog entry(not the interesting and amusing kind). And it's not that I was lazy this weekend, I did A LOT of laundry (how 2 people create that much laundry I don't know!).

Thursday was chores day, I cleaned the house, wiped the baseboards, and dusted deep corners ,etc. (exciting huh?)

Friday I woke up to a double batch of peanut butter cookies for the wedding (Wendy on Saturday). Then Heidi and I went to Kassies for a play date. We went to visit Kyle for his 40th birthday and took him a pie. We took a trip to Thrift Town for some bargains and went back to visit and eat lunch at Kassies. Oh yeah, and the kids played.

Saturday was a working day with a lot of cutting and screwing and only 2 trips to Home Depot!!
My day ended with some sad news as Anna called to tell me that one of our close friends had died on Saturday morning. He was a great kid with a big heart. He and I loved to laugh together because we were the 'shy ones'. Jepson was the kind of friend who listened more than he spoke and was always full of smiles. He will be missed, but I think he was needed elsewhere right now. We will miss you Jepson.

Thank heavens for Sundays - a little catch-up, a little relaxation, a little family, and a little more time before we have to go back. Now, I think I'll go to bed.

Top 5 Cousin Memories

*Thanks Belinda for starting the fun...I hope all participate, we don't want any party-poopers in the family....

Well, I am a young cousin so my memories are a little different than you big kids, but we definitely did learn some things from you. (pic; EVERYONE has always had a turn blowing out the candles)

1. Jamie and I were professionals at asking for sleepovers or extended play time. I would ask nicely in my cutest voice, and if that didn't work, Jamie could cry on cue. They could never say no to her tears.

2. Kick-the-can with the 'big kids', I'm sure I thought I was really playing, actually I was usually being carried around by someone bigger than me. I remember hiding with Lisa near the wood pile (ick! spiders), and Kyle running across the field with me in his arms using my feet as a bat to hit the can.

3. Backpacks - especially sitting around the campfire hearing stories, or when you all got to sit around the campfire while my mother made me take a kettle bath, in the rain, and lightning, with everyone a tarp away!!!!! (scarred for life)

4. Christmas's at Grandpa's....it was always packed with people! I remember when Libbi had my name one year and gave me a stuffed moose with big floppy legs, I loved that thing forever!

5. Getting to stay over at Penny's (after Heidi and Belinda had worked their charm and then I got to tag along because I was young and cute, and also a good crier). We got to pick jammies from Belinda's big cupboard at the end of the hall - it was the mecca of clothing.... Then we got a glass of milk (ick) and a ding dong before bed, we got to lay on the floor and watch MTV, in the morning there were SO many choices for cereal! If we were lucky our day might include walking to Millies for Donuts and the place on the corner for lunch....playing at Pennies was like a luxury vacation in my eyes.

(pic; Emily and I in our earliest years...)

...I too could go on and on...I'm glad we have ladies lunches so the memories can continue...

William Penn proudly presents...

I've finally made the decision for this years play, "Annie". Yup, a repeat. I realized that this will be my 12th full school production. 12!! Where has the time gone! And that isn't counting the plays I've written for graduation, end-of-year, and other festivities....

Anyhow, I am quite excited, and a little hesistant as it is always difficult to reproduce, but I think it will be good. I'm going to audition in a week and a half so I am beginning to spend my evenings dancing around the house coming up with choreography (Em, I do miss your skills!), and preparing for the big day where I watch 250 kids sing and dance their hearts out for a chance to be the star.

The funniest thing is the questions I get every day from kids all over the school. I'll go to my door at recess and there will be a collection of 2nd graders waiting with their big question, "Do you have to be a red head to be Annie?", or the 6th grade boys, "Are there any guys in this play?" Ahh the fun!

And the best part, I've already got "Hardknock Life" stuck in my head, where it will remain for the next 4 months!

Here we go again!........

A Fall Outing

With a rainy conference weekend drawing us into the comforts of home we were relieved and excited to see the first waves of sunlight on Sunday morning. As the sun peaked from behind the ominous clouds we packed our snacks, rounded up our leashes and loaded the car for a drive to Logan.
We had a calming drive up listening to conference, until the last few minutes which were lost in the fuzz of radio. As we cruised the canyon we were wishing we would have been there one week prior, as the leaves faded to a dusty gray. Still, we found a spot amidst the oaks to let the dogs run and enjoy a little of the fall colors. The dogs were SO happy to be out, they ran so fast and thought we should climb the whole mountain. Lulu ran, Rudy chased, Max sniffed and straggled behind. They do love the trail, and it reminds me of how much I miss my life as it used to be, when there were no responsibilities of home ownership, and Emily and I could take off at a whim to head for the hills. We spent many fall weekends driving through the colorful Henry's or squeezing in one more narrows hike. We often took off on Friday night to a place we'd never been and woke up in the light of an entirely new world. Those were the good ol' days, and we enjoyed them while we could. Now, a Sunday drive to get away is a real luxury, and a pleasant escape.
We drove into Logan to look at a few houses, drive through some neighborhoods, and enjoy a little fall in the small town. On our way back we stopped at Grandma's to catch the end of conference and ended up staying for dinner.
When we finally loaded up to drive home the dogs were pooped. (Rudy always comes home exhausted from a play with Maybelle!) And so our week ended and we begin another, and if I got one message from conference it was the idea that we have to be optimistic, despite what is going on around us. With chores, work, distractions and the like it is easy to get caught up and pulled down. I often look back at 'the good ol' days' and miss backpacking and trips, but then I look forward to watching puppies grow, and creating new adventures. We can't get hung up on things, we have to move on with a smile. We have to learn to find joy in the little things, like dogs that wrestle, husbands that want "lovies", and fall Sunday drives.