Back in the Saddle Again

Hey there blogging world. It has been six months since my last post and I am pretty sure every one has given up on the ol' Davis Rodeo. However, I am still going to act like I have been blogging everyday like in the past and not dwell on the "what should have beens". So here I go:

This past weekend was awesome. We had a wonderful Easter with family. I tried to keep everything traditional as in the past. However, it really did not seem like Easter weekend. Maybe cause it came early this year. Who knows. Anyway, we had fun Easter parties at the school with an early release day to start off the weekend. I was really bummed, though, because I missed Leslie's party with her class. I have managed to make all of the others, but this one was different because I really had to be with my own class with the way it was set up. I wanted to cry looking at the pictures that Les took of her hunting the eggs. This was the very first event of the kids' that I have missed and I did not like it one bit.

On Friday we played with chicks all day. Yes, chickens. Les bought 6 baby chicks to raise for eggs. The kids loved them, but knew to wash their hands afterwards for safety. Well, the chicks survived their first night at our house, but not so much the second night. We think a fox pushed in the cage door and got 3 of them and injured one. The next night, the fox came back and ate two more! Les was so mad! The only one left was the chick with a gash on its neck. Leslie and I thought we would go out and keep him company on Saturday. He was so lonely. He was eating, drinking and chirping just fine. So, we knew he was going to be okay. As I stuck my hands through the cage, the poor chick would sit on my hands. I instantly fell for the bird. Yep, I pulled him/her out of the cage and playing with it all day. I kept telling the kids that we should not get too attached because she may not live. We should definitely not name her! As the day went by the cage moved to the garage and we made plans to put her in the garage for safety. We did end up naming her Dora because she out smarted the fox (Swiper). Yep, Momma fell hard for this poor chick. Later that evening while we were eating, Les went to check on Dora and the dumb dogs had gotten out of their gates and into hers. I was so upset I wanted to cry! Anyways here she is. We no longer have baby chicks after 3 nights. Sad I know.




On Saturday we dyed eggs and the kids loved it. We used traditional dye and then tie dyed them with baggies. They turned out really cool! Check them out!

Sunday was an even better day. We made it to church on time with no big fusses like we usually encounter. The kids looked so cute in their Easter "dresses". Here is a family photo we took by the timer on the camera. Not to bad, eh?

Right after church I managed to snap a few photos of the kids. Man they have grown up so fast! I cry just thinking about it. I think working full time makes time go by even faster!

Leslie's leg was hiked up in the back, she looks like she only has one leg!

My mom, dad, brother and family came for lunch and an egg hunt to our house. We probably had over 200 eggs for the three children to hunt. Sad and selfish.........I know. They actually got a bit tired hunting the eggs because there were so many! There were eggs all over our yard.

After all of the hunting and eating we were all ready for an afternoon nap. Man I wish we did not have school or work tomorrow. Whatever happened to the good old days when we were off on Friday and Monday?

Hello Again Blogging World!

Wow, I did not realize that it has been SIX weeks since I last posted! Well I had the feeling that I was not going to have the time to blog near as much since taking on the full time job. Let me tell you, IT IS DEFINITELY A FULL TIME JOB! I feel like I work ALL OF THE TIME. Actually, if you ask Les and kids they will say that I do work all of the time. We have survived the first six weeks of school, though. I try to not stay at the school past 5 o'clock each day, but sometimes it is 6 o'clock before I get home. I feel like I can stay at the school all night and not run out of things to do. I love being back in the classroom teaching students, but I forgot all of the extra work that goes along with it. So many emails to read, papers to file, documenting of students, lessons to prepare, papers to run off, papers to print, and finally, PLANNING! Whew! Have I worn you out yet just reading this?

Well this post is going to be long, so prepare yourself. I made the time this Saturday morning to sit down and blog! So, get prepared because I am in for the long haul. There has been a few interesting things happen. Yes, just a few, because now that we are all in school not much happens anymore.

Ok, here are some pictures of my classroom that I took almost a month ago. A few of the bulletin boards have now moved, but for the most part it still looks the same. Here is my home away from home. Aww, I just realized I forgot to take a picture of my cute red door with the curtains I made myself and my sign that says Mrs. Davis hanging on it. Maybe I will remember to take a picture when I go up this weekend. Yes, I go up there at least one day a weekend for a couple of hours to prepare for the next week. Sigh. Ok ok here they are:

This is my reading loft. I have the library underneath and pillows for the kids to read on at the top. This is my favorite part of the room. It is so nice and cozy. I stapled twinkle lights underneath and it gives a nice little glow. Oh, this reminds me a couple of weeks ago, I was eating my lunch in another teacher's room when someone rushed in and said, "Mrs. Davis, Leslie just threw up and she is outside of Mrs. "P"'s room!" I immediately rushed out of the room to locate her. There are 3 "Mrs. P"'s in our school so I was running all over the grounds. Suddenly someone stopped me and said, "Nolan is at the front of the school!" I got really confused and then I saw Nolan sitting on a chair waiting for me. He was the one that threw up at lunch time. I took him in my room, turned off the lights and laid him under the loft with the twinkle lights on. At that moment, I was so glad that I made the decision to go back to work. I was already up at the school with my children and able to comfort right away. He laid there with a blanket waiting for Papa to come pick him up. Of all times, Les was out of town!

This is our Martian Math wall with the calendar.

This is my reading system wall where the kids read a certain number of minutes and travel through the planets to receive a certificate and prize. The paper dolls hanging are called "Me Dolls" the students made on the first week of school.

This board is for outstanding work. Oh, and the Lysol made the picture. Whew, we cannot live without that stuff!

This is my desk area with the Star Student board behind it.

Obviously this is my word wall where all of the sight words that the students should know are added each week. We now have many more words than the picture shows!

This is the view from front of the classroom when you first walk in the door.

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Several weeks ago Leslie and NOlan were in their bathroom with lotion, measuring cups and spoons. They were really quiet and involved in what they were doing. Les peaked in at them and they were pretending to be scientists and conducting experiments. Les thought that was really neat and asked me to pick up a science kit the next time I was out grocery shopping, which happens to be almost every weekend. Yuck! Anyhoo, I picked up a really cool one with real glass beakers and test tubes! Les was just as excited as the kids and that day they conducted several "real" experiments. Here they were boiling coffee and collecting the condensation in another tube. The only bad thing about this science kit is that we cannot let them conduct by themselves. Oh well, this will give us quality time together!

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During the day Les gets a lot of work done without us in the house bothering him. He gets his normal work done, mowing, landscaping, and yes, hunting! He has been able to do a lot of fishing and hunting (well, getting ready for hunting). One day as he and his brother were out setting the deer feeders and camera, he rubbed his eyes as something flew in them. He forgot that there was an abundance of poison ivy and poison oak all around him. Les has always been one of those that does not have to be very far from poison ivy to get it all over him. It is like the stuff just reaches out and gets him. Well, as he rubbed his eyes he thought nothing more until one day later he awoke to severe itching in the middle of the night. He got up that next morning and his eyes were about swollen shut. As the hours passed, his eyes got bigger and bigger. He truly and sadly looked like a monster! He decided to go to the doctor to get a shot and apparently (I was not able to see him at that time since I had to go to work) his eyes got so huge the receptionist at the office said she could not even look at him! Poor thing. Once he got the shot, the swelling made its way down. I sure hope he remembers this as he is out bow hunting this morning! Here he is before I went to work. Yes, I got even worse!

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Ok, that is all for now. I will try to blog more often, but I am not making any promises. I will try!

First Day of School

Ok I couldn't hold back any longer. I had to come an blog tonight about our first day of school. So much has changed in the Davis Rodeo! I have gone back to teaching for the first time in seven years. I am beginning to learn how to juggle being a good mommy and good 2nd grade teacher. Wow, it is a lot of work, but so far I have been successful. We got to school early this morning because I wanted to make sure I was able to walk with Les and the kids to each of their classrooms. I wanted to still be able to get pictures of them outside their classrooms and with their teachers and just experience our normal first day jitters. Luckily, I was able to! Nolan started 2nd grade and is right next door to me. It was really nice to see him throughout the day. He can't sneak anything by me now! His teacher is super awesome and we have become good friends and colleagues.

Leslie started Pre-K today and I was most nervous about her. However, I worried over nothing. She ran to her classroom and stormed on in. She was excited (just a little reluctant) to be her teacher's helper since she got there a little early. Thank you Ms. W and Mrs. C for letting us come early!!

Do you notice Leslie twisting her hair? Yep, she was a little nervous.

Now as far as my own class....it was like I was walking into the twilight zone this morning. Seriously, I walked in at one point after putting supplies away in the hallway and the students were sitting quiet as can be. They sat in their desks just coloring and gazing at the decorated walls. However, once they got used to each other in the afternoon they became more chatty. I was blessed with wonderful children of my own and an awesome class. I will try to post pictures of my classroom some time this week. Now it is time to go lesson plan!!

Hello everyone! I am actually sitting in a workshop learning how to blog. How funny is that?! I am so ready to start school and get the ball rolling. I will be posting pictures of my classroom in the next couple of days. Meet the teacher night is tomorrow night and I am extremely excited to meet everyone!

I think instead of reviewing all of this I am going to try to make a classroom blog now. I will post the name once I am finished.

A Road to a Friend's House

You know that ol' saying:
"A road to a friend's house is never too long."

Well it is so very true. Les, the kids, and I packed up on Friday and drove the short drive to my best friend's house to spend the weekend. I have already posted the history of Cheri and me months ago and I sure wish I knew how to highlight it so that you can just click a word and read it again. So, I will just tell you again. Cheri and I have a long long history that not many people can compete with. We met each other in the third grade and have been the best of friends since then. Yes, we are 32 years old and still friends. We survived:

*many childhood fights (you know the ones that you have with your friend and two seconds later everything is fine again?) hee hee

*Many long road trips together

*Long distance relationship (Cheri moved away when we were in the 8th grade. It was one of the hardest things I had to deal with as a kid.)

*Living together for one year (it was the best of times)

*Working together while living together (that was the most trying!)

*Getting engaged together (well around the same time)

*Planning weddings

*Graduating UT together

*having children 1 year apart

*And now another long distance relationship (I moved away from her 3 years ago)

Of course there is so much more, but this is it in a nutshell. We are sisters by heart. We help get each other through the hard times even if it is over the phone. I truly don't know what I would do without Cheri in my life. Ok ok, enough sappy stuff.

We had a fabulous time at her house. You know, the positive thing about moving away is that now we get to go to her house and spend the night. We ALL love that. Our kids never tire of each other and play until they just can't hold their eyes open. Cheri and I talk and reminisce until we can't hold our eyes open. It was a needed weekend of good food, relaxation, and shopping. Thanks Cheri and Ken for having us!

I hope you will call your best friend and tell them how much you love them after you finish reading this!

3rd Generation Skier!

We have had a monumental weekend! We started the weekend off dog sitting the cutest little pup in the world. My brother-in-law, Matt, took his wife, Mindy to Fredricksburg for a late anniversary getaway and had us watch their sweet new shih tzu. He was such a good little dog with the exception of a few accidents on the carpet. The kids and I really feel in love with him.

Once they got back they invited us to the lake for some boating action. The four of us (Les, Matt, Mindy and I) grew up going to the lake every weekend. We would pack food for the day and be out till sun down. Les and I want our kids to have the same experience so we took them up on the offer. Mindy's parents rented a couple of condos that sat right on the water, so we could watch everyone out in the boat. We did not stay the night, though. We drove back and forth both days.

Ok, are you ready for the big news? We had the kids practice getting up on a pair of Jr. skies. Nolan was super pumped because he had already tried on a pair of adult skies a few weeks back. He has been wanting to try again. I actually found a pair of kid skies at a garage sale last week for $2! However, my sister-in-law's dad bought a really cool pair for them to use as well.

The first day all of the kids tried to get up except Leslie. They all did great and actually got on top of the water, but did not stand up. Finally the next day Les told them just stand up as soon as the boat takes off and you will get it. Sure enough, they did and each skied about 100-150 yards before losing their balance. Their faces were so cute when they stood up. They were all shocked and super excited to be on the water! Check it out. Here is Nolan's still frame movie shots, hee hee.

Here he is getting the boots on, which is quite a work out in itself!

He is ready..........Go! (sorry it is so far away! I need a zoom lens!)

This is all he did not the first day. We would tell him just stand up! Well he finally did!

Yes! He thinks he is a pro now!

How awesome is that? I would have videoed him but I had to hold the other end of the rope. You see, the kids' ski rope does not attach to the boat so that you do not drag them under the water. Sometimes their feet don't come out of the skies and sometimes they don't let go of the rope! So, I held the other end and luckily Mindy took some great pictures with my camera. Here is her daughter getting up.

STAND UP!

She's got it!

Yes! Way to go girl!

Here are the other kids waiting in the boat. Kelby and Lily, Mindy and Matt's other kids tried too, but sadly I did not get any pictures of them. I am so sorry.

Les took this picture from the boat to show the condo we stayed at during the day. It was awesome to be able to watch everyone from there!

As I was sitting there talking to Mindy's parents, I heard her dad say, "Look there, Honey, we have a third generation skiing." I thought to myself, how neat is that?

Dollie Day

Leslie and I had a grand ol' dollie day! We visited the American Girl Doll store in Dallas with my sister-in-law and two nieces. We had been planning this trip for months now. Grandma and Grandpa gave my nieces a doll for Christmas and Leslie was super excited that she now had girls to play American dolls with. You see, as I have stated on this blog before, these are not just ordinary dolls, they are companions and best friends. It is not just playing "dollies". So we finally got to go on our trip we had been expecting. Mindy drove in Dallas for the first time in eight years and did fantastic! It was a straight shot there with a little traffic. Once we arrived the girls were in awe.

It is a bit over whelming stepping into the huge place. There are dolls and displays EVERYWHERE! We browsed around and decided to eat lunch in their bistro. Each of the girls got a special chair (in which we ended up purchasing one!) for their dolls to sit at the table with us. They even got their own menu, but sadly only had to share the food with the girls. I thought it would have been neat for the dolls to get a fake meal for them to eat, but nope! Goodness knows the company makes enough money for that, but nope! Anyhoo, they still enjoyed the delicious, overly priced food.

After we finished Leslie mentioned that she wanted a chocolate shake. She had caught eye of one while we were waiting to be seated and was sure to eat a lot of her lunch. So I gave in and let her order a shake. However, she did not want to drink it at the table, she got down out of her chair and got up at the stylish bar stool. She wanted to experience the entire feeling of drinking a shake at a dessert bar. It was so funny watching her lick the whipped cream off the top and dangling the cherry in her mouth. I promise you that it was the best shake she had ever eaten in her life with the way she sat there by herself indulging in it.

The other two were too full and anxious to shop. Afterwards it was time for serious shopping. All of the girls had a hard time making up their minds on what to buy. They all wanted so much, but it is extremely expensive! They did well on their choices and no fits were thrown, thank goodness! However, we almost made it to the cashier when Leslie spotted the salon. Yes there were people working there doing nothing but fix dolls' hair! There were cute salon chairs for the dolls to sit in and capes for them to wear. Leslie and I bargained a few items so that she could get her doll's hair fixed; even though I could have styled the hair any way she chose FOR FREE! Once again, it was the experience she wanted.

Leslie was super excited and watched Kirsten's hair get brushed by a professional. Emily, my niece decided to get her doll's hair styled as well.

The girls had a fabulous time and I know will never forget this monumental day. Now I am off to get Leslie at their house. They all wanted to play style show with their new clothes this evening!