IB, I get it now.

So, I spent 4 hours today writing curriculum for my IB course this fall. It wasn't the most exciting thing to do this Sunday, unless you are a geek like me and ENJOY reading and organizing historical topics! I now get why all of our IB teachers look like zombies from time to time!

Last School Day!

The kids' last day of school as 2nd graders and 6th graders!

Grandpa Chuck's Bday!

Happy Birthday to my dad on Friday! Thanks for celebrating with us!

Learning to ride a bike!

Riggs got a bike for his bday. He's really anxious to learn how to ride it, but needs some help with balance and pedaling! Can't say I'm much of an inspiration since I didn't learn how to ride until 2009!

Lego Ninjago!

Love playing Lego Ninjago with Riggen!

Kids

I took random shots of my kids today because they were making me smile. Riggen with his constantly messy face and Kate was her constant talking! LOve 'em!

WWI Museum Tour

This is the 5th year I have taken my APUSH students on the trip to KC. We visit the Truman Museum and National WWI Museum and it is always a great day!

Maybe I don't have a black thumb?

I spent a lot of time on Saturday planting some flowers and container veggies and I'm bound and determined to have them survive! Here are pics so far--after day 5--they are still alive and my tomatoes even have 5 fruits on them! yay!

Mother's Day

So, Sunday was Mother's Day. Mathew made our family and my parents a wonderful breakfast of cinnamon bread french toast, bacon and tea. It was great! I always think food tastes better when someone else cooks it and I'm right! We spent Mother's Day being busy. We went to soccer games and then tooled around 2 Sprint stores and a Verizon store to get me an iPhone. Mathew insisted on it and well, it sounded nice to me! So, I'm finally in the 21st century with a new iPhone but what I really appreciate is my family telling me "thank you!"

Last Class!

Matt celebrated his last class in the states on Saturday! He was genuinely happy and relaxed! Aaron and Dave came over to help celebrate (and of course, Dave cooked). It was a great day! Later on we played "poles" in the front yard until dark! I think Dave broke the record of being able to catch the can!

Celebrations!

Here we are celebrating Riggen's EIGHTH birthday on Monday, May 7! I got to eat lunch with him at school and set up for his birthday party! He had a great day!

And yet another celebration this week for our family...Matt's graduation from the University of Iowa a second time, this time with an MBA! Hooray! As we have been reminiscing this week we realized that Mathew or I have been in school for 7 years straight--since Riggen was 1. I guess we won't know what to do with ourselves this summer and fall when pricey textbooks won't dominate our landscape. SO very proud of Mathew and his great accomplishment today!

Pure. Love.

So, I'm not sure how I feel about posting this picture.  I was awe struck by my dad's love for his father and how he showed that love. I have a song that states "love is watching someone die." I think it might be true. My dad showed me pure love taking care of my grandfather. He walked away from the gravesite at this moment to collect himself and my mom followed. I don't ever remember seeing my dad cry but this day he did. I thought that it might be inappropriate to take this picture when I did, shortly after the military gun salute for my grandfather, but again, I was so humbled by the amount of love my parents showed each other at this moment, I wanted to capture it. So I hope it is a bit of inspiration for us all that pure love exists in every day life.

Peace.

These pictures depict a very long day, but some welcome sights. The top picture is of the moon on Friday while my kids and their cousins were swimming in an indoor/outdoor pool. I don't remember them ever swimming outside in May. The scene was quite peaceful and I had some time to sit and chat with my sister, Chantel. The bottom picture is where my family ate after the visitation. It closed at 9 and we entered at 8:45 starving and tired from the long day. The hosts and waitresses were so kind and gracious to our sad, tired and hungry families. The food hit the spot along with the good stories we told.

Joe Bonamassa

Joe Bonamassa concert at Civic Center. He's 35 and a great bluesy/rock player! A much needed and enjoyable evening with the hubby!

May Day!

Riggs was very excited to pass out May Day treats! Mathew was gracious to pick up the stuff...I think we ended up with a dozen cups on our doorstep; however, they were readily enjoyed by the kids!

State History Day

Ok, after a week off and recovery from my grandpa's funeral, I'm back at posting again. I'll do a little "catch up" here. These pictures are from senior state history day at the historical building. It's quite an honor to go and I had students in every category! The students with the red medals are alternates to nationals! Everyone proudly represented Central Academy!