Oh Summer!

Oh how wonderful summer has been. I have now been home for a couple weeks now, 5 ish. It has been really nice. We finally got our house sold (90% ish) which is really wonderful. We showed it many many times. But it was all worth it!! Now we just have to pack up the rest of the house... bleh. I have greatly enjoyed being home though. I sleep in, play with my family, read books outside, take naps... it's a good time. I figure I'm almost done with school and probably will not get another chance like this... to be a bum... :) So I'm trying to soak it all up. Here are some pictures of our summer so far. We went to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Bloomington for a few days. It was great to play with the little kids. We have been showing our house a lot, as I said, and we have been forced out of the house at these times. During these times, we usually go to the park. One time, we took Perko and played with him, however, we could not get him to go down the slide. We've also just been hanging around - good stuff.

A picture of my new nephew - Baby Sethy!!! SO CUTE

Playing outside with David, Laura, and Baby Sethy. David is wiping chalk on my jacket :)

Matt ... being... dramatic?

We convinced puppy to climb through the tunnel. So brave

Yes - My little sister is taller than me - stink!

Long time no post

Well it has been almost 3 months since I did my last post. Life has been crazy, but great. I just finished my month in fourth grade and I absolutley loved it. This has been one of the busiest semesters, but also a good one. I can't believe how fast it went by. I am headed home to Indiana in a week and a half. While there, I will help my family get ready to move. They are headed to Peru this summer and will be there for a couple years. I am excited to spend a little more time with them before they leave. They are just the best.

While in fourth grade, we had one lesson where we talked about some of our favorite things (yes, from sound of music, or PSYCH). I decided that writing out some of my favorite things would be a great post. I am currently at number 104 on my list. I have just chosen some of my top, top favorite things to write about here.

1.The smell of a freshly mowed lawn (yes, gasoline, too)
2. Puddles of rain
3. Perky, my puppy!
4. laughing until you cry
5. Surprise packages in the mail - thanks mom!
6. Talking to my niece and nephew on the phone
7. My family - talking with them and being with them
8. Eating food out of the carton
9. Sleeping in - I am really good at this one
10. Reading Harry Potter (again)
11. Having Funny dreams and then sharing them
12. The smell of a rain storm
13. laying out in the sun with a good book - even in AZ when it is 119 degrees
14.Playing Yahtzee with Tara - YAHTZEE - uh Em, that's a four!!!
15.Giggling
16.Being with my sister Jen
17.NEW SOCKS!!!
18. Watching a thunderstorm from the front porch of my house with my family
19. Listening to a new song over and over until I have it memorized (i.e. David Archuleta, Taylor Swift, Hollywood's not America...)
20. Getting sucked into a book - feeling like I am in the book.
21. Seeing my family after being a way for a long time (ten days!!!)
22. Sharing Smallville talks with Tom
23. Writing Poems with Matt
24. Jim Brickman - or any piano music
25. Playing Harry Potter with Laura under the stairs, then playing Star Wards with David

These are just a few of my favorite things. I will try to write a little more often!!

Slip and Slide Video

2008 was a great year!!

Wow - 2008 has come to a close. It seems as if it has come incredibly quickly. There was so much about this year that I loved and enjoyed. I thought I would say one of my most favorite activities from each month of the year.

January: Beginning of 2008. I started my major of Elementary Education!! AND... loved it. This was my most favorite semester. Jen and I had no class Fridays and we had a great class load. I made new years resolutions that I somewhat kept... half and half... which inspires me to do better this next year.

February: I met my dad and Tom in Arizona for the weekend. We had a great weekend together. My dad and Tom went to a Law Conference. I got to go to school with Jen and see her classroom. The best part was being all together.

March: Man of La Mancha!! I got to come home and see my brother perform in his school musical! He did such a great job.

April: My last month with my wonderful roommates... well all of us together. Tara, Shu, Laura, and Jen. You guys are so wonderful and wee had some good times together. I miss you all a lot.

May: Moving in with my sister, Jen! I absolutely loved everything about living with my sister. She is truly an amazing person. We get along so well, probably becuase we are so similar... "Are those dishes in the dishwasher clean or dirty?" Together with an English Accent: "Dirty". I can't wait until I can live near her again.

June: In June, my parents and younger siblings came out to visit us in Arizona. We all decided to go tubing down the salt river. It was CRAZY hot, but so wonderful.

July: Going home to Indiana with my whole family. While we were all home, we made a our own slip and slide. It started at the top of the driveway and went down our front yard. We had a great time!

August: I spent my last few weeks living with my sister in Arizona. Again, we have the best time when we are together.

September: Moving back in with Tara!! I sure missed her all through the summer. Another great part of September was going out with Russell. I had a great time with him.

October: Knee surgery!! Even though this was a rough month, I am sure it will be worth it when I can run and have a good knee again. It has been almost seven years since I have had knee problems. It will be nice when I am completely healed.

November: Being able to spend a month in first grade. I loved first grade and all of my students. It was a great opportunity and I learned so much that will help me in my teaching career.

December: Not Christmas, end of finals, coming home, talking to Jen over webcam, talking to Tara on the phone, spending Christmas with my entire family, etc. December was such a wonderful month.

What a great year!! I hope next year is even better!

last for class

answers for class:
Having a blog helped me let people know what was going on in my life. I was able to put up what I thought was interesting and fun. I didn't really like posting about my homework as much as I liked writing about life. However, it was still helpful. I think I will use it in my classroom.

almost done

School is winding down and winding down quickly. I think being out of class and in first grade for a month makes the rest of the semester speed up a bit. What an interesting semester it has been. I iwll have to write about it a little later.

Answers to internet questions: Here are a few of the sights that I went to...
Webcast 1: Privacy and the Internet Webcast 3: Intellectual Property
Webcast 6: Social Issues
http://www.internetsafetypodcast.com/ - safety podcast


It was interesting to read and watch some of the articles. It was a good reminder about how easy it is for kids to plagiarism. It is important for them to realize what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. These videos gave helpful ideas and tips on how to avoid getting into trouble. It is important for students to learn this. As a teacher, I can help.
Another issue they talked about were social issues and how easy it is to get in trouble on the internet. It is important for students to be aware of the dangers, but also be aware of the safety precautions they can take. For children in Elementary school, internet access is always available. If I can explain the warnings and the precautions, I can be a good influence for them.
All of these videos were helpful. Hopefully I can share these videos and advice with my students.

Thoughts on our choices

This week for IP&T, we were asked to read articles that talked about the different aspects of media and internet. For my fourth article, I chose to read the article entitle, "Leave it Alone" by H. Burke Peterson. I learned a lot from this article. IT is so important for us to work towards our goal of becoming like God. We need to get rid of those things that are holding us back. Even though it may be hard, it will strengthen us spiritually. I hope that as a teacher and a parent I can be an example for my children. I thought about some of the TV shows that I watch and I asked myself if I would be comfortable watching those with my children. My answer was sometimes yes, sometimes no. I realized that I would like this to be a definite answer. If I can do this, then I can be an example to more than just my kids one day. The readings we read were all very supportive and positive towards making changes in our lives that will lead us on the correct path. I want to incorporate these and try to be better.