heads {up}

ever feel like you've got your head in the sand?

just wonderin'.

Tales from...the 4th grade

what I've learned about teaching 4th grade so far...

1. If a shoe is unlaced, tie it. It's easier that way. It just is.
2. Band aids need a {home} out in the open.
3. 4th graders LOVE jokes - especially my Pink Panther one ;)
4. "Tales of the 4th Grade Nothing" by Judy Blume is a great way to kick off the year.
5. Don't write in cursive {yet} because it's about as legible as hieroglyphics.
6. There are two times when an administrator will come in your room - when the Internet is down and you're wingin' some math games or the first day you attempt reading 'stations'. sigh.
7. Having a "person of the day" is VERY important.
8. Super sentences are just that - super.
9. A jar of sharpened pencils kicks the pants off 30 kids sharpening all at the same time any.day.of.the.week ;)
10. I really CAN get 30 kids up and moving in an orderly fashion with {lots} and {lots} of practice.

...and most of all, I've learned that kids are kids and I teach kids...
4th grade isn't so scary after all.

It's a {brother} thang!

Papa Bob's Lake

Meet Papa Bob. That's what Ryan 'named' him. He's my dad's dad and he's GREAT. The first time JD met my grandpa, he had a snorkle in his mouth and was chest deep in Pend Oreille H2O fixing his dock. A short time later I thought he was going to pick me up and throw me into the air when I told him I was engaged. Needless to say, he liked the idea of another home-grown Sandpoint boy in the family. :)





In the eyes of my boys, Papa Bob lives at an amusement park. He 'ownes' an entire lake that was named after him, a jet ski or two, boats, a whole garage FULL of make-your-own bikes, endless Butter Brickle Ice Cream, he gets to sleep in a bed WITH his favorite dog, and spends all day long watching little kids kickin' it on his beach. He lives a pretty {great life} that Papa Bob and don't even doubt for a moment that a certain little Ryan hasn't picked up on it! Just ask him what he wants to be when he grows up and it's a toss up between a fighter jet pilot and Papa Bob!





It's no wonder I have to answer this question about a MILLION times per day "When can we go to Papa Bob's?" Especially after we've just spent a week camping in his front yard :)





Luckily for Papa Bob (and us), his pretty great sister lives just right next door. I was 20 when I learned that her name is Ethel, not really Sis. We've always called her Aunt Sis. She and my grandpa grew up on a farm in Sandpoint and I just love hearing about all the 'ol farm stories! Here she is holding Jaxson. She is SOOOO beautiful!!!




She too has experienced a full term pregnancy loss and so we've always been kindred spirits. We also have the same birthday :)



Aunt Sis and Papa Bob are such blessings to our family. They are both such giving people - not giving of 'things' -


They are giving of time. And energy. And ideas. And conversation. And advice. And love. And spirit. And patience. And support. They give, what I like to call, a legacy of love and I only hope I can be just like them.


This is just a lil collection of Papa Bob's Lake pics :)

I hope to one day create for my family a place they will flock to.

...a legacy that lives...

(3) hermanos

looking.up.randomly

things are definitely starting to look up. and this is just a list of random events. my apologies.

i took the science praxis this morning. i hate how standardized tests can make a person want to THROW up all over herself. 90 multiple choice questions. 3 essay questions. 120 minutes. earth science. physics. chem. biology. on your mark get set go. i know every.single question i got wrong because i googled them ALL when i got home. (i hate physics!!!) i just got this wild hair and wanted to do it. it was scary and expensive and now let's just pray i passed it so i don't have to do it all over again! lol.

jd and the boys went with me. we left at 5am!!! i can't even remember the last time i was up that early (well, up that early and outside). jd and i chitted and chatted the entire way, what with all my nervous energy and all. poor guy had to listen to me explain how hydraulics and meiosis work the whole way up. lol.

i felt like i was 20 again, hopping out of his truck with my two No.2 pencils heading for badgley hall. i threw up on my first day of animal behavior in badgley hall. i ate an ice cream cone for lunch and totally ralphed after roll call. it was SO embarassing. i dropped the class ;)

anyway, it's over. sigh. now i wait.

we stopped at the grande rhonde to let the boys throw rocks into the river on the way home and gage TOTALLY fell in!!! he tossed a doosy of a rock, lost his balance, and was soaked from the neck down. he landed on a rock and scraped his neck too- poor baby. has to happen at least once. thankfully though, jd was right there to nab him up :) (and the water was only, like, a foot or so deep).

it was neat checking out our old house in lagrande - and passing by all our old hang-outs. gosh, we sure felt old. jd even grabbed a real estate guide! he must miss lagrande :)

i'm just glad the whole testing bit is over.

can i get a "yee haw" for testing day being over???

YEE-HAW!!!!!!

Happiness IS

They say you're only as {happy} as your least {happy} child.

And as must as I'd love to be the one to tell go down on record saying my kids are super-ooper {happy} all the time, I'll have to pass.

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Happiness is a state. It's a temporary state of mind; of circumstance, perhaps. It can be heard in giggles, felt in excited touch, tasted, and yes, photographed for the mind to {see} and {remember}. Happiness is good. It's really, really good. It feels good. It tastes good. It sounds good and looks good. Maybe that's why we're all so obsessed with it!

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I hope with all my might, that I don't portray a false sense of {happiness}. I'd love to say that if you follow this one special formula, then your life will be peaches and cream. It won't. It's not.

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Life is hard.

Living your life with purpose, is hard.

Loving hard, is hard.

Falling hard, is hard too.

Screwing up and admitting it, that's super hard.

Being a Christian is hard.

Being a mom is hard.

Spend your time {deeper}. Share your life with a button that never stops recording. Post it. Talk about it. Struggle with it. Be transparent and allow yourself to make mistakes. Learn. Talk. Learn. Share. Be {real}.

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Practicing obedience - what does that LOOK like?

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Resisting temptation - how does that read on facebook?

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Struggling with a friendship - what is the back drop behind that photo?

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Being gracious - how does that taste?

A blog; unplugged. What do you think of that title??? :)