Mr. Paulson, you are a gifted teacher of little ninjas.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Nathan's Golden Birthday - He Turns 8
I can't believe my baby is 8 years old. Of course, all I have to do is look at David and I am reminded of how old I am. Gasp, I have a high school aged son!
When you first born turns 8 you are thinking of how nice it is to have them grow up. When you baby turns eight you look around for the pause button in life. Stop the world from turning! I need to savor some more!
When you first born turns 8 you are thinking of how nice it is to have them grow up. When you baby turns eight you look around for the pause button in life. Stop the world from turning! I need to savor some more!
Girls Weekend in the WI Dells
What spells trouble fun with 5 of your best friends? A 2200 Sq foot 3 bed 3 bath condo with 2 fireplaces and a whirlpool tub, that is what!
I will not elaborate at all. What happens in the Dells, stays in the Dells.
Serious fun was had by all. Let's make this an annual thing.
21st Anniversary
The fall colors are in full swing here in WI. I love this time of year. I am looking for any and every excuse to be outside. I don't think I have ever walked my dog this much. She is really loving this!
This time of year is always filled with great memories of our wedding day. It was such an unseasonably warm, full color,fall day. The warm breeze reminds me of arriving at the Rose Garden to begin our reception.
Looking back at our 21 years, I can honestly say that we have had more good times than bad. We are both very different people today, but for the better.
Today our society is so disposable in it's thinking. As a people we are distracted and self centered. Many parents don't even have time to really enjoy raising and mentoring their children.
As the years tick on, I am so grateful to have had many wonderful memories with my husband. We have traveled, started a ministry, raised 3 boys (still), and tried hard to be intentional about investing in each other.
It dawned on my that this year we have been married for exactly half of my life. That is just so weird because in my mind I am still 25.
This time of year is always filled with great memories of our wedding day. It was such an unseasonably warm, full color,fall day. The warm breeze reminds me of arriving at the Rose Garden to begin our reception.
Looking back at our 21 years, I can honestly say that we have had more good times than bad. We are both very different people today, but for the better.
Today our society is so disposable in it's thinking. As a people we are distracted and self centered. Many parents don't even have time to really enjoy raising and mentoring their children.
As the years tick on, I am so grateful to have had many wonderful memories with my husband. We have traveled, started a ministry, raised 3 boys (still), and tried hard to be intentional about investing in each other.
It dawned on my that this year we have been married for exactly half of my life. That is just so weird because in my mind I am still 25.
2015 - 2016 School Year Begins
The beginning of school always brings about much crazy in our household.
This year all 3 of my boys will be going to school on campus. That has NEVER happened before. I have always had at least 1 child homeschooling. Sometimes I have had all 3. Usually, it was a combination of public, virtual, and home school.
This year changed all of that. David is attending the local high school campus. Caleb is at the intermediate school campus, Nathan is at the elementary school, and I am working for JEDI.
With my work, I begin enrollment for my 4 districts the week before the boys go to school.
So the last week of summer break for them is the beginning of the busiest time of year for me. We have 400+ students to enroll in all classes and meetings with students and guardians back to back.
I agreed to take 30 students and manage the students who are on campus full time but are taking 1 course via JEDI. I felt a little bit like this when I discovered there were 85 of those single course students - help! :
This year all 3 of my boys will be going to school on campus. That has NEVER happened before. I have always had at least 1 child homeschooling. Sometimes I have had all 3. Usually, it was a combination of public, virtual, and home school.
This year changed all of that. David is attending the local high school campus. Caleb is at the intermediate school campus, Nathan is at the elementary school, and I am working for JEDI.
With my work, I begin enrollment for my 4 districts the week before the boys go to school.
So the last week of summer break for them is the beginning of the busiest time of year for me. We have 400+ students to enroll in all classes and meetings with students and guardians back to back.
I agreed to take 30 students and manage the students who are on campus full time but are taking 1 course via JEDI. I felt a little bit like this when I discovered there were 85 of those single course students - help! :
As the boys enjoyed the last few lazy days of summer, I worked like a crazy lady. But, I got them all enrolled and active. The first 2 weeks of every quarter are challenging, but the work is so rewarding.
More than half of my students are gifted and talented AP students. I have a handful of "average" students, and the remaining are special needs in some way. (I went back and got my Special Ed. License last school year,)
The boys all got the teachers we requested and we were thrilled! David's schedule was all that we asked for and we were excited to find that much of his AP English course was based on novels he had already read for entertainment. That will be an easy class for him.
Here are some pics:
Helicopter Rides and Sweet Corn - The Sweet Ending of Summer
The last event of summer was the Sun Prairie Sweet Corn Festival. YUM!
The sweet corn is so amazing, It is finger lickin', butter drippin' goodness. Pass the salt!
While we were enjoying our corn, we discovered that helicopter rides were available. Since Nathan has said for years that he wants to be a helicopter pilot, we decided this opportunity needed to be seized.
Here are some of my most favorite quotes:
Caleb: "That was the BEST part of summer!"
Nathan: "I am gonna be a helicopter pilot for SURE!"
Nathan: "I am gonna be a helicopter pilot for SURE!"
I think they liked the helicopter ride at the Sweet Corn Festival in Sun Prairie.
The corn was pretty amazing too.
The corn was pretty amazing too.
Kitchen Flooring is Done!
The house remodeling continues...
After 15 years of HATING the heat vent in our kitchen, it is finally moved.
The heat vent was right in front of the oven. With a golden retriever shedding, this was always unpleasant. As soon as I would start cooking, the AC or the heat would turn on. Then all her dog hair would blow right up into whatever I was cooking. Oh yes... that was infuriating!
So, I was crossing off major house projects on the list and I finally came to the kitchen flooring. I knew this was my chance to get that vent moved! I can't believe I am telling you this, but I happily paid $300 to move that vent less than 6 feet. It is now near the wall and out of the main walkway. It never blows dog hair into my cooking. In fact it does not interfere with our kitchen table or chairs either. Oh happy day!
Then the flooring went in. The flooring itself was easy. Moving that HUGE refrigerator was not so easy. You cannot move the fridge into another room without taking the doors off. It is so much bigger than the doorway on both sides. But after much outside of the box thinking, we discovered that it would be less risk and pain in the butt to take the washer and dryer out of the room and put the fridge in the laundry nook. Since the washer and dryer both fit thru the doorway and the shelving in there was easily removed, we took it all out and shoved the fridge in there for a day. It just BARELY fit.
The flooring got done and then I moved the fridge, washer, and dryer back in place. This was such a huge undertaking, but I am so glad it is done. Everything is reinstalled and clean. It all looks brand new!
Here is how it turned out:
After 15 years of HATING the heat vent in our kitchen, it is finally moved.
The heat vent was right in front of the oven. With a golden retriever shedding, this was always unpleasant. As soon as I would start cooking, the AC or the heat would turn on. Then all her dog hair would blow right up into whatever I was cooking. Oh yes... that was infuriating!
So, I was crossing off major house projects on the list and I finally came to the kitchen flooring. I knew this was my chance to get that vent moved! I can't believe I am telling you this, but I happily paid $300 to move that vent less than 6 feet. It is now near the wall and out of the main walkway. It never blows dog hair into my cooking. In fact it does not interfere with our kitchen table or chairs either. Oh happy day!
Then the flooring went in. The flooring itself was easy. Moving that HUGE refrigerator was not so easy. You cannot move the fridge into another room without taking the doors off. It is so much bigger than the doorway on both sides. But after much outside of the box thinking, we discovered that it would be less risk and pain in the butt to take the washer and dryer out of the room and put the fridge in the laundry nook. Since the washer and dryer both fit thru the doorway and the shelving in there was easily removed, we took it all out and shoved the fridge in there for a day. It just BARELY fit.
The flooring got done and then I moved the fridge, washer, and dryer back in place. This was such a huge undertaking, but I am so glad it is done. Everything is reinstalled and clean. It all looks brand new!
Here is how it turned out:
I am so happy with the results. The moving of the vent was the best $300 home improvement ever!
More House Remodeling - Upstairs Hallway/Closet
The house remodeling and updating continues. It has been more of a marathon than a sprint.
Our stairs have been refinished and our hallway carpeting was removed. Underneath the old carpet we found hardwood flooring that was painted fire engine red. Why would you ever do that?
Our stairs have been refinished and our hallway carpeting was removed. Underneath the old carpet we found hardwood flooring that was painted fire engine red. Why would you ever do that?
We had our handyman sand it all off and replace broken boards. We removed our banister and replaced broken stair nose flooring. Then I finished the staining and put carpeting in the walk in closet. After many years of wanting more wardrobe space, I built the second half of the closet storage. We now have an AWESOME walk in closet and storage space.
Now it looks like this:
I am elated. Time to go shopping for more clothes. Well, let's be honest....shoes.
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