Schools out for summer!

It's always a bitter sweet day... I am excitedly awaiting the break, but then I always get emotional while saying goodbye because I know I'll never have these kids again.  It's amazing how fast a year goes by.  I really do have the best job in the world.

This cute little girl wrote a poem about the year and framed it for me.

The hardest part for me is saying goodbye to the little ones that I just want to take home with me because I know that their home life is so hard and who knows how they are going to end up.  There was one little girl like that today... and even though she has driven me crazy all year I was sad to see her go because I am afraid of what life is going to bring for her.

But until next year...

Schools out for summer!

13 hours and 58 minutes...

I hope everyone is noticing my countdown on the left...

That's right...

13 hours 58 minutes and 12 seconds to sleeping in and doing whatever I please!!

I love camping!

We went camping over the Memorial Day weekend.  I love camping.  I have been wanting to go since last summer so I was eager to get out there.  We also went as a farewell to my brother Kyle and his wife Stacey.  They are moving to Arizona.  Not only am I jealous, I am going to miss them as well.  So this was our last major hurrah before they left.  Here are a bunch of pictures from the weekend.

I can't even tell you how freakin' busy it was.  We just went up American Fork canyon and it was so crowded.  We were actually on our way back to camp in Mason's parents backyard when we found this perfect little spot right next to the river.  So we slept to the sound of the roaring river next to us.  But it was perfect.  So much fun!

This was the next morning.  It rained during the night and our tent leaked.  It was actually leaking so bad that we thought we were going to have to leave.  So we said, "If it doesn't stop before we finish this game (we were playing cards) then we are going home..."  Mason said a quick prayer and right before the game ended it stopped raining and we didn't get washed away.  I was happy.  I didn't want to pack up... 1-because it was cold, 2-because it was midnight, and 3-because I LOVE CAMPING!  The picture above is of my soaking wet shirt that we stuffed in the crack to absorb the water.  

My cute little chef.  I have to point out that we made a bet during the game that night... whoever lost had to make breakfast - and he's doing such a good job at it.

He made me a Smokey the Bear pancake.  He really is talented in this area of pancake art.

Kyle being a nerd and Stacey just waking up!

Then the next morning we went on a hike up to Stewart Falls.  It's a two-tiered waterfall that is absolutely beautiful.  It was a fun hike.

This is the bottom half of the waterfall...

Kyle and Stacey in front of the top half...

You can see the top half of the waterfall and kinda see the second half in between us.  I didn't get a good shot of the two parts put together.

This is my camera's hobby - to make me always have to remind those taking my our picture that you have to push the shutter open with your finger... You'd think I'd get a new camera?  Maybe someday...

We had a great weekend!

Happy Memorial Day

The color of butterfly wings....

This is one of my favorite times of the school year.  I order caterpillars and we watch them take the amazing transformation into butterflies.  It truly is a magical thing.  It amazes me each year.  I order two cups with 5 caterpillars each.  They start off tiny and grow and grow and then finally go into their chrysalis.  This picture below is one just beginning to hang and transform.  You can see the others in the background already inside their chrysalis.

I have the kids keep a journal of the changes and then once they all hatch we take them outside and release them.  It's always so much fun because the butterflies don't always fly away at once.  They spread their wings in the sunshine and sit on the flowers.  This year was fun because it seemed like they didn't want to leave so the kids got to take turns passing around the flower and holding it.  I love how enchanted they all get by them.

We had one little guy whose bottom half of his wing didn't form all the way so he couldn't fly.  So I took him home and let him go in our garden.  He got to be the center of my attention for a while there.

For all of you mothers out there... this really is an amazing thing to do with your kids.  Every year I have mom's ask me where I got the net and everything.  It's also relatively inexpensive.  I ordered the net and cups at www.insectlore.com and got the whole thing for less than 30 dollars...  I ordered it two year ago and that's what I paid for it then...  I wouldn't imagine the prices have changed that much.

Confessions of a tired teacher...

Wanna make a bet...?

I'll bet my pile of laundry is higher than yours...

At least my pile is clean.  I'm just too tired to put it away - so there.

And I bet your thinking... well why don't you just put it away??  Why are you wasting your time taking pictures and blogging about it??

Because I want to - that's why.

Grow where you are planted (please)

Our landlords have built some boxes for their gardening and they said that we could have one box.  I have never had a garden before - seeming as plants don't seem to want to grow in the barren Arizonan wastelands.  So I was extremely excited to be given this plot of land to attempt some form of life.  Mason comes from the all-knowing background of how to do these things.  Every year his parents and grandmother have this lucious garden filled with all kinds of things.  So I feel blessed to have him helping with our first garden.  So here's what we planted:

Two cherry tomato plants, two Big-Boy (as they are called) tomato plants...

...I am the most excited about these 6 strawberry plants...

...and then we have two rows of Romaine lettuce, a row of peas, a row of beans...

(while we were planting my brain was fried from trying to get the kids under control at school so I kept calling them beas and peans.... that's what we refer to them as now... our beas and peans)  and then lastly we have 3 rows of corn.

I'm super excited.  I hope they grow.  I also hope that the Bambi (deers) that walk around don't eat their little heads off... our landlords are going to put up a fence.  I have also started growing different herbs: Basil, Mint, and Cilantro in a pot outside our door.  

Look at me... I'm all domesticated... or trying to be... maybe this summer I will learn how to sew.

Captivated...

I don't know if any of you have been watching American Idol this season, but the boy never ceases to amaze me.  So what if he has a colorful background...  My jaw drops every time I hear him sing.

My new hobby...

I'll bet you didn't know I played the drums.  I look pretty hot don't I.  

This is what the PTA did for the teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week.  I happen to teach one of the president's kids so I made it on the drumset.  I'm honored.