Carter's Crew

July Fun in Nebraska

2010-07-04T16:13:00.015-05:00

I took the boys to Nebraska for their annual summer outing in Nebraska with Grandma and Grandpa. We stopped in Lincoln and picked up Madison on Friday so that the boys could hang out with their cousin for a night. We'd picked up fireworks on our way to Schuyler, so, as you can see, they had a blast!

On Saturday, the Broekers met us in Omaha for a visit to the Omaha zoo. As busy as the parking lot appeared, the zoo itself wasn't too bad for the Saturday before the 4th.

Clockwise: Madison, Tyler, Evan, Dylan and Grant (in the stroller)

Dylan and Madison, trying to figure out where to go next

Dylan, Grandpa and Madison: They were ahead of Evan and me on the sky lifts. This was our first time on the lifts, and it was pretty amazing. I'm just glad I didn't lose a shoe or drop my camera above the rhinos!

Evan next to me on the sky lift

Amy said this exhibit is Tyler's favorite, so we had to go check it out. Dylan found a bird to feed, which was pretty rare because Tyler (our zoo expert) told us it wasn't feeding time and it was mating time. (Yes, Amy, that is what your son told me. Apparently his volunteer time at the Lincoln zoo is paying off.)

Hmmm...since I visited a zoo, perhaps I should include at least ONE picture of some animals. It looks like the flamingos are posed just for me!

Awarding not very rewarding

2010-06-27T19:44:00.004-05:00

Hickman Mills High School no longer exists. I may have shed a tear or two over this closing, but I get to be part of its history. I was awarded the "2009 Teacher of the Year" for Hickman Mills High School, the last one. (It sounds like a great trivia question, don't you think? --Who was the last Teacher of the Year of Hickman Mills High School?)

I got a letter in the mail this week from the district. It said, "Congratuations on being named the Teacher of the Year for your school building! Now that you have been awarded this honor, you also have the chance to become the Hickman Mills District Teacher of the Year! Enclosed you will find the application."

An application? For an award? Okay, so I read on...

The District Teacher of the Year Award Application Cover Sheet reads:

1. Basic School/Personal Information

2. Please attach the following:

a. Professional Biography: What were the factors that influenced you to become a teacher? (one page)

b. Community Involvement: Describe your commitment to your community through service-oriented activities such as volunteer work, civic activities, etc

c. Philosophy of Teaching: Describe your personal feelings and beliefs about teaching, including your own ideas of what makes you an outstanding teacher. Describe the rewards you find in teaching. How are your beliefs about teaching demonstrated in your personal teaching style? (one page)

d. Education Issues and Trends: What do you consider to be the major public education issues today? Address one, outlining possible causes, effects and resolutions. (one page)

e. Letters of Support: Attach three letters of support from any of the following: administrator, fellow educator, student/former student, parent or civic leader

This is all due within two weeks from receiving the letter. Anyone crazy enough to get all this done in two weeks deserves District Teacher of the Year. I promise you, it won't be me.

T-Bones Baseball

2010-06-14T23:33:00.002-05:00

The boys and I went to see a T-Bones baseball game for the first time. Tonight's game was Teacher Appreciation Night so we had discounted tickets. Plus, it as Kids Eat Free night, so the boys each received a free hot dog, chips and drink. I was a little nervous for the weather, but it turned out to be a great night for the game. Dylan brought his baseball glove, prepared to catch a ball. He didn't get the chance to catch one, but a nice guy sitting a few seats away rescued a foul ball from the vistor's dugout (next to our seats) and gave Dylan the ball. He was on cloud nine!

Powell Gardens: Bugs and Real Bugs

2010-06-13T20:00:00.010-05:00

The boys and I went to Powell Gardens today to check out their new Big Bugs Exhibit. While the flowers were as beautiful as ever, the bug exhibit wasn't quite up to par. I think there were maybe five statues this year, versus previous exhibits that littered the garden. We still had a good time, and some of the flowers and statues are below.

This wasn't one of the statues, but rather one of the more exciting things we saw today. We came out to Powell Gardens after a heavy rain this morning, so I think some of the little critters were out to get dried out. This one in particular was quite entertaining!

This was my favorite of the giant bug exhibits. I think this was number three of five or six that were out this year.

This is the best I could do with my bee pictures. Dylan and Evan helped me spot them in the flowers so I could get a good picture of one.

Giant Ants: There were three of them on top of the hill.

You can still see the rain on the flowers from this morning.

1st Grade Love

2010-05-10T19:53:00.003-05:00

So, I found this note on the hallway floor tonight. Dylan was pretty anxious to get it out of my hands. It reads, "I relly relly like you. If you want to sit by me it is ok. Your friend Dylan. Can you write a leter back plase." He even did some self correcting with sat vs. sit and wert vs. write.

What's particularly funny about this note, addressed on the other side to "JW" is that Evan has been telling me that this girl "Jordan" is in love with Dylan. He made sure I was clear that it was JORDAN in love with Dylan, not the other way around. Well, now, I think this note suggests love is a two way street between these two. Maybe not "love" but "relly relly like".

Busy May Weekend

2010-05-10T19:25:00.006-05:00

The weekend of May 6 (Thurs) - May 9 (Sun) was a busy one for the Carter household. Grandma and Grandpa Vest came for a visit so they could see Dylan's 1st grade program and visit the boys on VIP at Meadowmere. Grandma did a much better job at taking pictures of all the events, and, unfortunately, I didn't have electronic copies to publish here, so these few will just have to make do.

Let's see...Thursday (Grandma and Grandpa arrived; Dylan's program; out to Applebee's for my birthday), Friday (VIP day at Meadowmere; the boys and I went to T-Rex Restaurant at the Legends for my birthday), Saturday (My birthday), Sunday (Mother's Day)
Dylan is hiding behind the mask (wearing the blue shirt). This is a rare picture, though, because Dylan broke his mask before the program began. It was nice, though, because we got to see his face and facial expressions throughout the program.

T-Rex Restaurant: I didn't want to take too many pictures at this place because the flash is so obvious in a dark restaurant. However, this was the view above our heads.

Evan wanted me to take his picture while he was coloring. He look so serious!

Dylan stuck his head inside one of the dino's. Do you have any wonder who chose this restaurant, the boys or me?

April Photo Contest

2010-05-01T11:29:00.020-05:00

April 2010 Photo Contest - Photo Hunt Challenges Different Point of View: Kansas City, Missouri (the zoo) So, I'm wondering what this chimp is thinking?

Perspective Shot: Kansas City, Missouri (the zoo) I'm not sure if the boys are entertained by the gator or if the gator is "entertained" by the boys.

Touch: Evan at the Legends (Kansas City, Kansas)

Taste: Dylan eating Chipotle

Sight: A book

Sound: The Kansas City zoo (We were able to hear his roar from quite a distance!)

Smell: I've spent the last eight Saturdays at The View in Grandview, Missouri. There's nothing quite like spending two hours in an indoor swimming pool for swim lessons. The smell of Chlorine is so strong that I leave with burning eyes, and I'm not the one taking swim lessons!

Sign of Spring: Bike trail in Grandview, Missouri

Flowers: Kansas City, Kansas (The Legends)

Letter in Nature: Kansas City, Missouri (Kansas City Zoo) Do you know how hard it is to get two hippos to pose for a "V"? :)

Trio: Cabella's in Kansas City, Kansas

Fish: Cabella's in Kansas City, Kansas

Skyward: Kansas City, Missouri

Mother Earth: Kansas City, Missouri (Kansas City Zoo) I'm an English teacher, and when I teach American Literature we always read Native American Creation Stories. "The World on the Turtle's Back" was the first thing that came to mind for me when I thought "Mother Earth".

Something Rare: My kids vacuuming? Yeah. That's rare. Very rare!

Something Healthy: Can I put a plug in for Chipotle? It's my FAVORITE "fast food". I think you could eat this stuff every day and not gain weight. (Okay, you might have to avoid the chips, the sour cream, the taco shells, etc. to "not gain weight", but the burrito bowl above is healthy!)

Something Colorful: Kansas City Zoo (I never knew there were BLUE frogs. It looks fake, but I promise it's real!)

Something Spicy: Indian Food

Something Triangular: Overland Park, Kansas

We Love April Weather

2010-04-12T21:25:00.004-05:00

Oh, wow! It seems like we've been waiting years for this kind of weather! Please point out any whining I do this summer, if I dare say anything like...It's too hot outside!

The above picture was taken when we went on a bike ride on Sunday. I have no idea how far we rode, but I had a sore butt and Evan was pooped when we were done! It was a great ride!

A little late, but finally blogging

2010-03-28T18:51:00.007-05:00

I know I said in my last blog that I would be posting pictures from last weekend, but time just got away from me, so here they are. I've also added pictures from this weekend's zoo outing, too.
Last Thursday during Spring Break, Louann and I met at the zoo. It'd been about a year since the boys and I had been there, as we didn't renew our membership last year. (The season pass to Worlds of Fun seemed to be the only season pass we needed last year.) Anyway, the above picture is of the boys with Louann's grandkids. It was a great day to be at the zoo!

Kelly Pittard's wedding was on Saturday. Here's a picture of the ol' team, minus Louann. I haven't seen Heather and Christy in quite some time, so it was nice to catch up with them.

These pictures are from this weekend. The boys and I went out on Saturday when the weather was about 50 degrees. It rained off and on all day, so there were hardly any people there. However, it was a great day for the animals to be out and moving about, so it was a good day to visit the zoo. (And we managed to be there during the two hours when it DIDN'T rain, so all was good.)

“Stay-cations” Sound Pretty Fun to Me

2010-03-18T18:49:00.001-05:00

This week is Spring Break for both the boys and me. After trying to make plans this week with ideas from everything like a day trip to the Omaha zoo to a day trip to Branson, we decided to stay home. However, staying “home” didn’t mean we have to STAY home. Even though the sun didn’t cooperate a lot this week, here are some pictures of the activities we did do while on break. (Today’s KC zoo outing will be my next blog with pictures.)

Dylan got a new bike this week. His little “training” bike from last year just wasn’t getting the job done anymore. Despite the chilly weather, we took our first bike ride of the season on Tuesday. Dylan picked out this particular bike because his favorite color is blue, which was also the color of my hands when we were finished with this ride.

Yesterday we went to CoCo Key. The boys had a blast at this water resort, although we weren’t the only one’s with this “great” idea. We spent a few hours there, but it got to the point of being just too busy. It’s a great little water park, although it doesn’t compare to the Great Wolf Lodge. CoCo Key does day passes, though, while the Great Wolf Lodge requires a room rental.

Today we went to the KC zoo, but I haven’t downloaded pictures yet. They’re on my camera while the above pictures are from my phone. I’ll post the zoo pictures with Kelly Pittard’s wedding, once I get those pictures taken on Saturday.

Happy Spring Break!

Dylan's Birthday Weekend

2010-02-20T21:32:00.008-06:00

This weekend we celebrated Dylan's 7th birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Vest visited us, despite the horrible road conditions. Grandma said, "Dylan owes us BIG TIME", as they traveled 35 miles down the interstate in sleet, snow, slush...you name it! Fortunately, they made it to Grandview safely!

Dylan chose the restaurant to eat at Friday night, and it certainly seemed like a repeat of last year's birthday. We ate at Bob Evan's, the same place as last year. We were even seated at the EXACT same table as last year. I told Grandma that she didn't really need to take pictures; she could just recycle the ones from his 6th birthday.

We even sat in the exact same chairs, too!

And after the meal at Bob Evan's, we stopped by Dairy Queen to pick up a birthday cake. Hmmm, that certainly rings a bell from last year, too! Happy Birthday, Dylan!

Since the weather conditions were so horrible, Grandma and Grandpa left early Saturday morning so they could get back to Nebraska before the next batch of bad weather came through. So, Saturday was spent with Mom, Dylan, Evan and Dylan's friend, Simon. We picked Simon up and took him to Crown Center to eat at Fritz's. Then, the boys created some fun art projects at Hallmark's Kaleidescope. They really had a good time!

This picture is out of order, but here are the boys at Crown Center.

This picture is one of my favorites from the outing. Dylan and Simon are waiting for their artwork to come out of the dryer (water paintings). It was very cute to see two 1st graders arm-and-arm throughout the day. Again, happy birthday to Dylan!

Fee Fi Fo Fum

2010-02-06T13:58:00.001-06:00

The boys and I went to Crown Center today to eat at Fritz’s Restaurant and see the Fairy Tale Village, which is a free exhibit going on through April 25th.

Here are the boys sporting the train hats they wear while at the restaurant. It’s a great place to go for kids because little mini trains deliver your food to your table. (Amy, Grant would LOVE this place!)

Here are a few pictures from the exhibit. I had every intention of using my good camera to take these pictures, but when I arrived and tried to take my first picture, I realized my camera was broken. Boo Hizzle! I took these pictures with my camera phone, which are not great pictures, but it’s what I’ll have to use until I get the camera fixed or buy a new one.

Stuck in "Groundhog Day"

2010-01-06T14:26:00.003-06:00

It's snowing again. As much as I love "snow days", I could do without so much snow. The temp's have been so cold here that I haven't let the boys go outside and play in it...until today. I think we hit a balmy 20 degrees today, and there isn't any wind yet, so they were anxious to get outside in it.

Two Week Vacation

2010-01-02T19:03:00.001-06:00

One of the great advantages of being a teacher is vacation time. (Snow days are the other great advantage, but that topic is for another post.) Semester break usually gives us a two-week vacation, as it did this year. I had great plans to accomplish all sorts of things (as I do every semester break). Here are my Top 5 Big Accomplishments and my Top 5 Should’ve-Gotten-Done.

Top Five Accomplishments

5. Two trips to Nebraska. (This was quite an accomplishment, thanks to the fantastic weather. The blizzard wasn’t as much fun as it would be if you’re stuck in your own home.)

4. Semester Finals. (I graded all my Senior finals and hope to finish grading the 10th grade finals tonight and tomorrow. We still have our teacher workday on Monday, but it’s always filled with meetings and training, and I really need to do some serious planning.)

3. Reading. (I got to read two books and start a third. It’s really hard to find reading time for pleasure. However, I had a little bit of extra time…see #5 on list as to why.)

2. Holiday Decorating. (I got the tree up. This is something I dread every year, but I know it’s something the boys would really miss if we didn’t put it up. I even got a few other things put out this year, including a wreath on my front door!)

1. Cleaning. (This is on both lists because I got more done than I normally would while working, but I didn’t get as much done as I’d like to have accomplished. It sure helped that Mom and Dad got me a new vacuum for Christmas. Thanks!)

Top 5 Should’ve-Gotten-Done

5. Cleaning. (I might as well start with this one since I’ve already mentioned it. As much as I feel a sense of accomplishment with SOME of the cleaning, I still look around to a messy house which needs some deep cleaning.)

4. Taking Down Holiday Decorations. (Yep. They’re still up, and they’re probably going to remain up until March. The tree is especially difficult to take down, as it’s too heavy, and it’s hard to find a good storage place for it.)

3. Planning for School. (I just dread this. I should’ve taken care of planning for the first part of second semester while on break, but I just couldn’t get myself to do it. I have a teacher workday on Monday, but I know it’s not going to be enough time. Planning for the seniors is especially challenging, mainly because there aren’t any resources for them.)

2. Laundry. (It’s so cold right now and I don’t want to go into the even colder garage. My laundry room is in my garage, so if I want to get this accomplished, I have to be willing to go in and out of the garage. I’ll do what I can tomorrow, but it’s just too COLD.)

1. Sleep. (Breaks are for sleeping in and taking naps. I don’t feel very rested. Due to travelling, boys getting up early, me staying up late, watching scary movies…etc, etc…I’m feeling a little sleep deprived right now. Maybe I can get more sleep when I’m back to work, getting up at 4:45 a.m.)

One Frozen Bunny

2009-12-31T18:32:00.004-06:00

I traveled to Nebraska on Wednesday to pick the boys up from Grandma and Grandpa's house. They stayed a couple of days so Mom could get a few things done without them hanging around. While driving to Schuyler, I snapped this picture of the sunset. I was at a stop sign, so it was easy to take this picture, but what I really wanted was pictures of the giant snow drifts. Unfortunately, every place that had the giant drifts also had no place to pull over and take pictures. So, I decided this picture would be my one and only for the trip back to Schuyler.

While we were leaving, Grandpa noticed something strange at the bottom of the steps. As you can see from the pictures, a bunny tried to climb its way into the bottom of the panneling. Poor bunny. It didn't make it.

I sure hope that wasn't the Easter bunny!

When You’re Snowed In…

2009-12-29T10:54:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple of pictures from our snowed-in days at the Broekers’ house.

Evan decided he’d like to learn Origami while at Amy’s house. We actually made it out to the public library one night and this is an origami dog. With Madison’s help, Evan made this origami dog for Mom.

I think this picture speaks for itself. Hmmmm…I know a few boys who need to get out of the house!

A Very Snowy Christmas

2009-12-28T12:38:00.012-06:00

Happy Snowy Christmas! Wow! Christmas 2009 is one to remember! The boys and I went to Lincoln, Nebraska to spend Christmas with the family. We left a couple of days early because of all the projected bad weather. Well, this was one winter storm that the weathermen didn't exaggerate. The Blizzard of 2009 (as I'm sure it'll be remembered) kept us stranded at Amy's house for a couple of extra days. After the roads opened up a bit, the boys went to visit with Grandma and Grandpa while I came back to KC for some kid-free time. The above picture is what I came home to. More snow. Hrrummph!

I thought this was a cute picture of Xander with the presents. The bow on top of his head makes him all the more adorable!

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Dad's prime rib. It was yummy. And despite the near-coronary attack I give Dad every year, I still put ketchup on it.

Santa brought Dylan a Nintendo DS Bakugan game. (Evan got the same. Santa sure knows how to avoid brotherly fighting in my house!)

Grant was very good at helping everyone open presents this year. :)

Despite the yucky weather, we went to the Broekers' church for Christmas Eve. These family pictures were taken after church services at St. Mark's. (The Broekers - Grant, Andy, Madison, Tyler and Amy)

The Carters (Evan, Jill, and Dylan)

The Vests (Xander, Sarah, and Todd)

The Vests (Betty and Doug)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Harvesters

2009-12-09T12:10:00.010-06:00

Recently, a group of students approached me with the idea for starting a book club. As an English teacher, I was so excited to get this started. (Who wouldn't want to work with a bunch of motivated teenagers?) Anyway, the group (23 students) decided to read one book a month, but they wanted to do more than just reading; when the opportunity is there, they also want to give back to our community. So, our book club is also about volunteering and contributions. Our first book Pay It Forward was donated by the Pay It Forward Foundation; they sent us signed copies of the book. It was a very fitting book to get us started, as we decided to start our community contributions right away, too.

My group, along with the Read 180 and ELL classes, went to Harvesters last week to take a tour and volunteer our time. Our group spent the day sorting donated goods. They had a lot of fun in the process, and they definitely want to go back.

I'm very fortunate to work with such a great group of teenagers! (The pictures aren't great because I took them with my camera. By the way, I don't think BlackBerrys have very good camera phones.)

A Winter Program

2009-12-09T11:53:00.007-06:00

These last few weeks sure have been busy ones! I'm glad we're home today (snow day) so I can catch up on a few things. While I have a minute, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures from Evan's winter program last night.

"Christmas at the Okay Corral" was last night, despite the incoming yucky weather. They still had a good turnout for the program. Evan's favorite song was "Sticky Situation" because of the "sticky strings" they attached to their pockets and pulled on during the program. (Amy - That reminds me of the kid I had in class a few years ago who sang 'Sticky Notes' all throughout my class.)

Anyway, it was very cute! They all had a great time.

Shhh! Don't Tell!

2009-11-14T13:31:00.002-06:00

Okay, so there are a few things I lie to my kids about. My longest lasting "lie" is about Chuck E. Cheese. My boys (ages 6 and 8) think you can ONLY go to Chuck E. Cheese if its someone's birthday. I'm going to keep that lie going as long as possible, as I think the food there is awful.

Speaking of food...I'm all about the lies for healthy choices. Thanks to Hungry Girl (the book and the website), I've found recipes that allow me to substitute items for high calorie ones. For example, the boys never knew the French fries I made were actually butternut squash. (They noticed something was different, but couldn't really tell.) I also switched to turkey burgers without them batting an eye. Lying about what they are eating has been something I've done more than just a few times. It's how I got them to eat shrimp and seafood. ("Mom, what is this?" "Chicken." That is the standard answer at my house.)

Well, here's a picture of my favorite, most delicious switch of all. Hungry Girl's daily email sent this one to me. It's cake. Chocolate cake! Yum! It's what's in it, though, that might surprise you. This cake was made with only two ingredients...Chocolate Cake Mix and PUMPKIN. Yes, pumpkin. Mix the cake mix and one can of pumpkin together, and you've got a low-calorie cake. One slice of cake is only 170 calories vs. 300+ with all the egg and oil mixed in. The pumpkin works like the oil and the egg, but it cuts out all those calories and fats. I promise you, if you make this, you will not taste the pumpkin. I made my first "pumpkin" chocolate cake the other day, and the boys finished it off by the end of the night. I made my second one today, at the request of my kids. Dylan couldn't wait for it to come out of the oven. And, yes, they have no idea that pumpkin is hiding inside it!

Family Literacy Night

2009-11-14T13:27:00.002-06:00

On Thursday, November 11th, the boys and I attended Meadowmere Elementary's Family Literacy Night. We've participated in this fun evening each year, but during the last couple of years I've had "writers" reading their original stories. Last year, Evan and Dylan wrote a story together; it was about being brothers. This year, Dylan (1st Grade) read his Scarecrow story.

Here's his story:

"His name is Darth Dyl. He has a pumpkin face and a light blue shirt. I like him because he has a red hat and green pants. His hed is orange and black. He has a star on his light blue shirt. I like my scarecrow." -Dylan

October Photo Hunt Challenge

2009-10-31T22:09:00.024-05:00

This photo hunt was a little harder for me than the last one, but here they are...

1. A Fall Activity: High School Football (Hickman Mills vs. Center)

2. A Fall Treat: Pumpkin Bars (My favorite dessert - and low calorie, too!)

3. A Harvest: My boys buying a pumpkin

4. Leaves

5. Fall Colors

6. Something Orange: Fountain in front of Grandview's Court House

7. Something Spooky: Kansas City, Worlds of Fun

8. A Cemetery: Kansas City, Worlds of Fun

9. A Costume: Center's Band celebrating Halloween in costume

10. A Black and White Photo: My friends, Jill and Cristin (Thanks for the photo idea, Cristin!)

11. A Critter: A jellyfish

12. Symmetry: My boys

13. Contrast: The View in Grandview, Missouri

14. Texture: The blanket that kept me warm at the football game

15. A Logo/A Mascot: Hickman Mills High School's Cougar

16. Something Neon: Kansas City, Worlds of Fun

17. Something Inspiring: Women's Health Magazine

18. Something Entertaining: Kansas City, Worlds of Fun

19. Something Fast: KCTV 5's Helicopter

20. Something Slow: The clock in my classroom (It goes so slow on Fridays!)

Just Say Cheese!

2009-10-31T21:54:00.005-05:00

The boys and I took a little road trip to Osceola, Missouri today. I made the short drive with the intention of stopping along the way to take pictures for this month's photo contest. Well, with a destination in mind, we went to the Osceola Cheese store. This store has over 80 different types of cheeses. (They have items beyond cheese, but cheese is definitely the featured item.) The boys enjoyed sampling the various cheeses, but when it came down to it, they still liked their favorite kind of cheese the most...string cheese. The below items are what we purchased while there. Dylan fell in love with the beef sticks, and as he was eating them tonight, he asked if we could go back and buy some more when we run out. Well, Dylan, we're not going back tomorrow, but the next time we do go, we'll be sure to stock up on beef sticks and string cheese!

Top Five Reasons Why It's Rough to Lose Your Power On A Sunday Morning

2009-10-25T13:45:00.002-05:00

For the last two Sundays in a row, I've lost my power around 7:30 a.m. I'd like to be able to tell you why or how, but all I know is that I hear a really loud *POP* and then everything turns off. Transmitter? Downed power lines? God's personal alarm clock for Jill Carter?

Whatever it was...last Sunday's power came back on around 9 a.m. Today's power...I got a little worried...It eventually made it back on at 10:30 a.m. Normally, a weekend morning wouldn't be that big of a deal if you don't have power, but it's just at the time when I'm trying to get ready for church.

So, here is my top FIVE list why it's rough to lose your power on a Sunday morning...

5. The boys can't turn on tv, which means that they're fighting downstairs while I'm still trying to sleep.

4. Taking a shower can be tough. Even though it's a great thing that you can't see very well while you're in the shower, it becomes problematic when you accidently mix up the shampoo bottle and body soap.

3. The blow dryer. It doesn't work without power. 'nough Said.

2. When the power has been out for over two hours, THAT's the exact time both boys want to get multiple items out of the fridge. Without knowing how long the power will be out, I had to veto the opening of the fridge several times.

1. Electric garage door opener. Homebound it is!

Pokemon It Is

2009-10-25T13:38:00.002-05:00

The boys' elementary school has a pumpkin coloring contest every fall. The contest allows one entry per family, so it seemed rather fitting when Evan and Dylan decided to create a Poke' Ball for their pumpkin. It was a great choice, as it was very easy for both of them to color and work together.

Thanks to the rain, we had to color the pumpkin inside, but, as you can see from the picture, they did a pretty good job.

The Haunting at Worlds of Fun

2009-10-03T21:15:00.007-05:00

The boys and I went to Worlds of Fun tonight. There aren't too many days left for this season, so we have to make the most of our season passes. The weekends are open, and the Worlds of Fun Halloween activities are going on right now. We got there early enough that the sun still allowed for daytime activties, but as soon as it got dark, the haunting began. We didn't go into any "scary" parts, but it still scared Evan and Dylan, at times. Dylan thought it was entertaining, and Evan left saying, "Mom, today is the scariest day of my life." I think he was being a bit dramatic, and, even though he was scared, everyone had fun!

Evan's expression here says about all. This was how Evan felt through most of the evening.

Dylan jumped in front of one of the "creatures". I didn't have my camera facing the right direction, as I cut the head off. Dylan thought this thing was great, but Evan wouldn't stand in front of it.

Plaza Art Fair

2009-09-26T13:55:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite activities to kick off the fall is the Plaza Art Fair. It's always fun to look at the art, and it's a great "people watching" activity too. While we were there today, the Kemper Art Museum had activities for kids. Evan and Dylan got to create their own bag. Dylan's bag had a shark eating a car, and Evan stuck with an "under the sea" theme. They were pretty cute!

August Photo Contest

2009-08-30T13:20:00.006-05:00

Here they are...
My photos for the August Photo Hunt Challenge

1. A Fountain (Overland Park, KS)

2. A Road or Pathway (Leavenworth, KS - Missouri River)

3. A Fence (Leavenworth, KS - U.S. Penitentiary)

4. A symbol (Lee's Summit, MO)

5. A Black and White Photo (Leavenworth, KS - US Penitentiary)

6. A Clunker Car (Independence, MO)

7. A Cool Car

8. A Portrait (Bethany - English Teacher)

9. Amusement (Kansas City, MO - Worlds of Fun)

10. Back to School (Kansas City, MO - Hickman Mills High School Freshmen Orientation)

11. Urban/City (Leavenworth, KS)

12. Suburban (Grandview, MO)

13. Country/Rural (Schuyler, NE)

14. Something Domestic (Johnson County, KS - Deanna Rose Farmstead)

15. Something Wild (Omaha, Ne - Zoo)

16. Something Silver

17. Something Gold (Grandview, MO - My backyard)

18. Something Shiny (Independence, MO)

19. Something Miniature (Johnson County, KS - Deanna Rose Farmstead)

20. Something Delicious (Kansas City, MO - Worlds of Fun)

Here's Wishing

2009-08-23T15:10:00.002-05:00

The boys and I went to Deanna Rose Farmstead today to finish my pictures for the August photo contest. I won't post yet because Amy cheats. :-)

Here's wishing that the pictures turned out okay. And here's wishing that my cold will go away. I hate being sick!

First Day Back

2009-08-18T19:22:00.003-05:00

While I've been back to school for awhile now, the boys just started on Thursday. (Thursday was the same day my Hickman students started, too.) Evan's in the 3rd grade, and he loves his teacher. I'm very happy about that! Dylan started the 1st grade. He's especially excited to have his friend Simon in his class this year. I met both teachers at Sneak-a-Peak last week, and it looks like the boys will have a good year ahead of them!

Back to school is in full-swing now. Tonight I had "Meet the Squad" for the cheerleaders, and the boys have their curriculum night on Thursday. Friday is the first football game, too. It seems like this is all starting so quickly this year.

I'm about a 100 steps behind where I need to be right now, but I'm getting there. One day at a time, right? My goal is to be in bed by 10pm tonight. We'll see!

The above picture is from the boys' first day of school last week.

What I'll Miss About Summer (Thanks, Amy!)

2009-08-13T20:40:00.003-05:00

The first day of school is over, and how many to go? This year I have three Senior English classes and two Sophomore Honors English classes. There's a nice balance to it.

I thought I was ready for school to start again, but after this week, I'm wishing for another week of summer vacation. What am I going to miss about the summer?

1. Sleeping in. I now get up at 4:45 am. It's pretty depressing when the alarm goes off and it still looks like it's midnight.

2. My official babysitters (Grandma and Grandpa). While they could spend a week with the grandparents in the summer, it's not so easy during the school year.

3. Lunches last longer than 15 minutes. (Additionally, it was nice meeting Lee for lunch, too.)

4. The long walks/jogs in the park. I know I can still do this, but my time is limited. (Oh, and don't let the "jogs" throw you off. It's more...long walks/short jogs in the park.)

5. Windows. My classroom has none. Enough said. (Someone needs to text me or email me if there's a thunderstorm, tornado, monsoon, etc outside.)

6. Using the bathroom when I need to use the bathroom. I think only other teachers can truly appreciate this one! I need to get my bladder back in practice.

7. My cell phone. I lock this bad boy up in my closet during the school day, and only on rare occasions do I actually check it.

8. Computer time. Facebook. Twitter. Blogging. Ahhh....those are the days when I can sit at a computer and not worry about blocked sites.

9. Soaking up the sun. I wish I'd done more of this during the summer, but my pasty white look will soon haunt me once again.

10. Control of the building temperature. My classroom was a balmy 55 degrees today.

Back to School, Already?

2009-08-12T18:03:00.002-05:00

Today we had our Freshman Orientation day. Incoming 9th graders had an opportunity to meet teachers, visit with upperclassmen, get a tour of the building and basic preparation for the transition to high school. Teachers greeted students in the gym, as they began with a greeting from Dr. Scully and staff. The above picture was taken as teachers were getting ready for students to walk through "the tunnel." Please note Mr. Pearson's face. I think his face says it all.

Photo Hunt

2009-08-08T21:07:00.006-05:00

Amy and Sarah participate in a photo contest via their blogs. It looks like a lot of fun, so I've decided to give it a try this month.

Lee helped me come up with ideas for the photos, and on Thursday we drove around Leavenworth to get some pictures. He had some great ideas, one of them being the penetentary for the "fence". We drove to the prison to take some pictures. I got a couple good shots of the prison fence (which I won't publish until the contest). The above picture is of the penetentary, but it didn't quite feature the fence so I'm not using it for the contest. However, I really like this photo.

The month of August has us on the hunt for the following items:

1. A fountain

2. A road or pathway

3. A fence

4. A symbol

5. A black and white photo

6. A clunker car

7. A cool car

8. A portrait

9. Amusement

10.Back to school

11.Urban/City

12.Suburban

13.Country/Rural

14.Something Domestic

15.Something Wild

16.Something Silver

17.Something Gold

18.Something Shiny

19.Something miniature

20.Something delicious

Publicly Announcing "A Failure"

2009-08-04T21:17:00.002-05:00

Okay, so the 365 days of pictures is NOT going to happen. What was I thinking? Once the school year is back in business, I know I'm not going to have so much time to Twitter, Blog and Facebook. :-) Well, I'll still have a lot of time for Facebook. Really, this is just my way of saying, "I quit." I made it through 5 days; that's something, right?

This picture is an old one, and a little staged, but it fits the title.

Aug 2 - Day 5

2009-08-02T16:35:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I was stopped at a red light to take this picture, but guess what the boys are doing? Yes, it's Pokemon. If it's not Pokemon cards, it's Pokemon the video game. Both boys have Nintendo DS's, and they're playing a game where they can "talk" to each other through their DS's.

Aug 1 - Day 4

2009-08-01T17:34:00.004-05:00

Another day of biking ... this time we went on a shorter path, mainly because my rear still hurts from the last one. The path we took today leads to the boys' elementary school. Meadowmere Elementary is featured in this picture. Note: Evan rode through a few puddles of water from last night's rain. His back displays this nicely!

July 31 - Day 3

2009-07-31T13:48:00.003-05:00

What a beautiful day in Kansas City! I woke up to temp's in the 50's, and I just now turned on the air conditioner. I could've left it off a little longer, but I have company today, so I didn't want them to be uncomfortable. Today, Evan and Dylan's friends (Ayla and Kylie) came over while their parents were working. Actually, their little brother was supposed to come over, too, but he'd pulled a muscle, and ended up going to the doctor's office this morning instead. So, it's been my boys and the girls today. This picture is pretty accurate of what they did most of the day; it was either Wii, Gamecube or Nintendo DS...or all three at once.

July 30 - Day 2

2009-07-30T16:07:00.002-05:00

This product from Oroweat is one worthy of a day in my 365 days. I'm always on the search for good, quality, low-calorie food. This "flat" bun was recommended by Hungry Girl, and when HG recommends something, it's usually worthy of the time to check it out. I was a little apprehensive on this one, as breads are a weakness of mine, but they're awesome! I even called my mom to recommend this product.

Can I Pull It Off? July 29 - Day 1

2009-07-29T20:46:00.001-05:00

So, my sister's picture challenge is a picture a day...can I do the same? I don't know if I'm that organized to do so, but I'll try. Today's picture is perfect to begin the challenge. It includes my two kids, but it really is a picture representing what was most important this summer. Dylan and Evan both learned to ride bikes this summer, something they now love to do. It's also one more way for me to keep fit, so I can't complain when the boys want to go biking. (They'd go every day if I let them!) This is a new location for our biking; it's a bike path on its way to Longview Lake. It's a pretty path, and it's really quiet. We even saw deer on this adventure today!

Atlanta Convention

2009-07-24T18:27:00.003-05:00

Summer was a busy month, but one of the exciting weeks was when I was attending a convention. During the week of July 6 - 11th, I went to a High School's That Work convention in Atlanta, Georgia. I spent two days working on curriculum before the actual convention began, then a follow-up day after the convention to finish up the curriculum units. It was a lot of work, but I left with a bunch of great ideas.

I attended the convention with several folks from my district, but specifically Dr. Scully (my principal), Emily Stout (band teacher) and Richard Belotti (math teacher). During that week, I was able to visit a few places of interest: CNN, the Coca-Cola Headquarters and the Georgia Aquarium. The picture attached is of CNN. They don't allow cameras during the tour, so this is the best I could do. I have to say, though, that CNN had the tightest security of all, including the airports. The globe in this picture has the world's longest free-standing escalator attached. It took 2 minutes to get to the top, which is where the tour begins.

Home Alone

2009-06-21T13:35:00.000-05:00

This summer, the Grandview School District decided to cancel their summer enrichment program (summer school), so the boys didn't have anywhere to go while I'm working summer school. Due to summer school enrollment numbers at Hickman, I was scheduled to teach only the last two weeks of the program. So, Mom and Dad graciously volunteered to take the boys for two weeks while I'm teaching.

The boys have been in Nebraska for a week, and they're returning home on Friday. In the meantime, I've noticed a few phenomenons going on in Kansas City.

1. The house is alarmingly quiet without the boys and the dog.
2. If I put something down, it's in the exact same spot when I return to it.
3. Cooking for one isn't as fun.
4. I can sleep an extra 30 minutes in the morning because I don't have to nag the boys about getting ready, and I don't have to make a stop at the daycare.
5. I find myself flipping to Cartoon Network, just to see what's on.
6. I haven't used the words "fighting", "arguing" and "quit" in the same sentence in over a week.
7. I can shop in less time at stores like Target and Walmart, and I can actually go into women's clothing stores without hearing little boy groans.
8. I don't have to watch the clock after school to see if it's time to pick the boys up from the bus.
9. Worlds of Fun hasn't seen the Carter Crew in over a week.
10. Cheerleading practice doesn't seem quite the same without the boys playing basketball in the corner/battling with Pokemon.