I know it has been forever since I posted. Not much has happened in our lives. We are now home from our week in Wisconsin for Christmas. We loved seeing our family and friends. I will fill in the gaps - later. Right now we are going to put our things away from our trip (we were packed into the van like sardines)..... as well as organize the basement.
I want to enjoy the last 3 days off, but I do need to complete report cards.
Happy last day of 2006, I hope 2007 is the best yet.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Nebraska State Fair
Yesterday, Saturday, August 26 we traveled to Lincoln for the Nebraska State Fair. It was a smaller venue than Wisconsin and Minnesota....but it was still very nice. We visited with some of Jeff's friends from ConAgra. They were in the Bar-B-Que contest. We were able to taste some of their entries....ribs, pork, lobster pizza. It was DELICIOUS!!!! We didn't eat a lot, so we could eat our way through the fair. We did it all....lunch, snack, supper. Some of the highlights were: pizza on a stick, kettle corn, ice cream made by the food science students at UNL, and cotton candy.
We looked at the animals. The steers were a favorite stop by Jeff and Jackson. Jenna liked the goats. Joe couldn't wait to see the model train set up. He even video taped it.
It was a full day. Everyone was exhausted by the time we got home.
Today, Jeff worked in the basement. The bathroom is pretty much done, except for the door. Jeff and the boys started framing half of the basement. The part they are doing will be my work area. The walls are studded, and one piece of sheetrock is up.
I worked on cleaning and organizing the upstairs. The bathrooms are clean and the boys rooms are organized and clean. Tomorrow I will work on Jenna's room. That little girl sure has a way of tossing every toy she owns in the middle (and sides) of the room.
School is going well for everyone. Jackson did super on his first spelling test. Since he struggles a bit with reading, writing, and spelling....we were delighted he only got one wrong (eyelid) out of 10 words.
I love my job more and more everyday. I think I'm over the hump of the trying to figure things out. There is still a lot to learn, but my staff is very helpful. My co-worker, Kelly (the other new hire), and I are becoming good friends. She has the same amount of experience as I do....we really understand each other and we support each other as we get used to this new school. She is also new to Omaha. She is from Kansas City originally and has a little girl (18 months old).
This week Jeff's parents are coming for a visit. We hope to take them to the "Old Market" area of Omaha (near the ConAgra campus), the gardens, see my school, and perhaps a trip to the state park.
We have a few meetings this week. Curriculum Night for Jackson and Jenna (Joe's was last week). I also have to present Curriculum Night for my parents.
We looked at the animals. The steers were a favorite stop by Jeff and Jackson. Jenna liked the goats. Joe couldn't wait to see the model train set up. He even video taped it.
It was a full day. Everyone was exhausted by the time we got home.
Today, Jeff worked in the basement. The bathroom is pretty much done, except for the door. Jeff and the boys started framing half of the basement. The part they are doing will be my work area. The walls are studded, and one piece of sheetrock is up.
I worked on cleaning and organizing the upstairs. The bathrooms are clean and the boys rooms are organized and clean. Tomorrow I will work on Jenna's room. That little girl sure has a way of tossing every toy she owns in the middle (and sides) of the room.
School is going well for everyone. Jackson did super on his first spelling test. Since he struggles a bit with reading, writing, and spelling....we were delighted he only got one wrong (eyelid) out of 10 words.
I love my job more and more everyday. I think I'm over the hump of the trying to figure things out. There is still a lot to learn, but my staff is very helpful. My co-worker, Kelly (the other new hire), and I are becoming good friends. She has the same amount of experience as I do....we really understand each other and we support each other as we get used to this new school. She is also new to Omaha. She is from Kansas City originally and has a little girl (18 months old).
This week Jeff's parents are coming for a visit. We hope to take them to the "Old Market" area of Omaha (near the ConAgra campus), the gardens, see my school, and perhaps a trip to the state park.
We have a few meetings this week. Curriculum Night for Jackson and Jenna (Joe's was last week). I also have to present Curriculum Night for my parents.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Day 2
Well, today was so much better than yesterday. I must say....I LOVE Air Conditioning. Adams School (in Janesville) didn't/doesn't have it. It truely makes a world of difference. My students could stay on task all day. It wasn't an oven in my room. It was the perfect learning environment! Today my students shared their 'brown bags' with the class. They had to select 10 items that have significance to things about them. One interesting item: One child in my class has the future plan of being a priest, another has a future plan of working at Kohls!
Jeff left for New Jersey today. He'll be gone until Friday. Jackson is really missing him!
Monday, August 14, 2006
First Day of School
Today was the first day of school for the Grubers. We all woke up early and had a nice breakfast. Grandma and Grandpa Primmer were here, as well as my Uncle Adrian and Aunt Linda. (They are on their way to Branson). We took pictures of the kids by the front door and I had to get to my school. Jeff took Joe to school first, because he had safety patrol. Joe was so proud of his work. Jeff returned to school to drop Jenna and Jackson off. He was surprised by the terrible traffic flow. I guess if you have 750 students - you may end up having 500 parents/cars. Jeff reported that it took over 20 minutes to get out of the drop off lane and get back home. Jenna didn't want to give a kiss to dear old dad. She also didn't want anyone carrying her (heavy) backpack for her. She kept on telling Jeff "I got it covered!".
I asked my principal if I could get out of school early (our school ends at 3:05 - the kids' school ends at 3:35) so I could get my kids on their first day of school. Joe had patrol duty until 3:45. I picked up the excited kids and we met our neighbors (Charlotte and Kellen) at DQ for a first day of school treat. After that I went to get Jack some new shoes (yes, his feet are growing). We all came home and pretty much 'vegged'. We are all exhausted from our day.
My day went well. I messed up taking attendance. We have to do it 'on line'. I guess I clicked on the PM attendance instead of the AM attendance......I also survived recess duty. My 4th grade team has lunch/recess duty for two straight weeks. We still get our 30 minutes of duty free lunch, but then we need to go outside to supervise for about 10 minutes. My class seems very nice. A few chatty ones, some need to work on listening, but all seem like nice kids! The principal even came in for a visit (observation) the first day. He stayed about 5 minutes while my students were telling me interesting things about themselves.
I did some major shopping (at my new favorite store: CJ Banks) this weekend and came home with 7 nice and new outfits. 6 were skirts, one pants outfit. I had many compliments on the fringie skirt I wore today. I wore some nice jewlry that my Adams School friend Mandy had made for me. Yes, I was a bit homesick for Adams - especially for my unit, friends, principal, students, and parents I know.....but, I'm sure - in time - things will feel like home here, too.
I did have a nice chat with my friend Beth Clarke this evening. She was at Adams, her kids were with mine at Jacque's house....it was so nice to get caught up. She left me a message on my cell at school, too.
So, having survived my first day at the new school, I guess it's time to go rest my head.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
It's back to school time
I've started my back to school / New teacher orientation training last week. 2 full days of curricular talk, computer training, networking, etc. My brain is full! I continue with more meetings all next week. Kids did well at my neighbor (Charlotte's) house. She is going to provide child care for me during my work days as well as before and after school care for the kids.
Jeff took the kids mini golfing on Friday. Jack's first swing of the golf club ended at Jenna's eye. She has a big black eye now....just in time for school. It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't missing her two bottom teeth. She reminds me of a hockey player, now!
Jeff is busy drywalling the basement bathroom. Yesterday he went to a golf tourney with Charlotte's husband, Scott. I took Charlotte, Kellen, and the kids to the outlet mall (Oshkosh B'gosh) .....had to get some new school clothes.
Today I may head into school to get some work done - without the kids.
Jeff took the kids mini golfing on Friday. Jack's first swing of the golf club ended at Jenna's eye. She has a big black eye now....just in time for school. It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't missing her two bottom teeth. She reminds me of a hockey player, now!
Jeff is busy drywalling the basement bathroom. Yesterday he went to a golf tourney with Charlotte's husband, Scott. I took Charlotte, Kellen, and the kids to the outlet mall (Oshkosh B'gosh) .....had to get some new school clothes.
Today I may head into school to get some work done - without the kids.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
LouAnn eloped
My dear cousin, LouAnn got married last Monday. She is more than a cousin to me she is the sister I never had, the maid of honor at our wedding, and Joe's Godmother. She left me a message on Friday that she won't be stopping by Omaha during their planned trip to Texas.....because they flew instead of drove. At the end of the message she said "Oh, yah, by the way, Roberto and I got married on Monday...bye."
I called her and spoke briefly to her (she was driving to Waco) and am waiting for more details soon.
Jeff has the basement bathroom plumbed and has now bought sheet rock. He'll have the basement bathroom all finished very soon!
We all went to a state park today and swam. The kids are such excellent swimmers!
Tonight at supper Jenna lost another tooth. Yes, she was eating corn on the cob. It was exactly two weeks ago tonight when she bit into some corn and lost her first tooth. Now she doesn't look like a hillbilly..... she looks like a kindergartener!
I called her and spoke briefly to her (she was driving to Waco) and am waiting for more details soon.
Jeff has the basement bathroom plumbed and has now bought sheet rock. He'll have the basement bathroom all finished very soon!
We all went to a state park today and swam. The kids are such excellent swimmers!
Tonight at supper Jenna lost another tooth. Yes, she was eating corn on the cob. It was exactly two weeks ago tonight when she bit into some corn and lost her first tooth. Now she doesn't look like a hillbilly..... she looks like a kindergartener!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Jackson's class and misc
Today is Jackson's last day of his reading class. It has been a great success! He enjoys reading now and will read to me at bedtime! He still is a bit below grade level, but I hope he'll catch up soon. His positive attitude is payment enough. Today we will head to the public library to return some books and get more.
Last night, after bath time, Jenna thought she would investigate what Jeff does when he shaves. She helped herself to our bathroom when no one was around and created a shaving cream mess all over our bathroom. She was curious enough to actaully pick up his razor and start moving it across her face. Yes, she cut herself on the cheek. It's a very small cut and is healing nicely, but what a lesson learned! I think she scared herself enough that - messing around in the bathroom won't happen in a LONG time.
Joe is begging for Legos. He wants a job so he can buy more legos. I'm not sure how long his love of legos will last, but I'm sure they won't be around in Middle School.
I worked in my classroom yesterday. Things are looking ready for the first day of school. One week from today I start my New Teacher Orientation. Tomorrow I'm going to a brunch at a 5th grade teacher's house. I'll be able to meet some more staff members there! My mentor helped a little bit in my room yesterday. She'll be a big help.
Jeff has the basement bathroom studded, shower is in, light/fan and electrical plugs are installed and in working order. Next step is to call the plumber.
Our nephew (and Godson), Mac, completed (and won first place) in a Special Olympics fundraiser "duathlon" last weekend. He is only 4 years old and completed a 75 yard run, 300 yard bike, and a second 75 yard run. Here is the recap from his parents: Before the air horn sounded, all 10 lanes were filled up with fired-up munchkins. Mac came out of the gates like a thoroughbred and soon ran passed the "pace-setter" who was supposed to show the racers where to go on the course. Being first to reach the bikes, Mac had no obstacles while riding, except for his feverish speed, which caused his crowd-gasping crash; but without flinching, Mac popped back onto his bike and took-off, never losing his lead. By the time he ran through the finish line (after the second phase of running), the next closest competitor had not yet got off of his bike to even start running. The contrast between Mac's big-person determination and his little-person helmet and legs, made the crowd really roar when he came into the home stretch for the victory. In no less of a dramatic fashion, at the award ceremony, with the kids up on Olympic type podiums, the MC declared " History was made today at our Inaugural Duathlon... Mac Strand becomes our first ever Gold Medal Champion!". His mother was nearly brought to tears, and his father wished some of the "men" he coached had half of Mac's fortitude...
So, that's the latest in our lives. Tomorrow I want to take the kids to see the movie "The Ant Bully" - I should get the book from the library and read it to them first!
Last night, after bath time, Jenna thought she would investigate what Jeff does when he shaves. She helped herself to our bathroom when no one was around and created a shaving cream mess all over our bathroom. She was curious enough to actaully pick up his razor and start moving it across her face. Yes, she cut herself on the cheek. It's a very small cut and is healing nicely, but what a lesson learned! I think she scared herself enough that - messing around in the bathroom won't happen in a LONG time.
Joe is begging for Legos. He wants a job so he can buy more legos. I'm not sure how long his love of legos will last, but I'm sure they won't be around in Middle School.
I worked in my classroom yesterday. Things are looking ready for the first day of school. One week from today I start my New Teacher Orientation. Tomorrow I'm going to a brunch at a 5th grade teacher's house. I'll be able to meet some more staff members there! My mentor helped a little bit in my room yesterday. She'll be a big help.
Jeff has the basement bathroom studded, shower is in, light/fan and electrical plugs are installed and in working order. Next step is to call the plumber.
Our nephew (and Godson), Mac, completed (and won first place) in a Special Olympics fundraiser "duathlon" last weekend. He is only 4 years old and completed a 75 yard run, 300 yard bike, and a second 75 yard run. Here is the recap from his parents: Before the air horn sounded, all 10 lanes were filled up with fired-up munchkins. Mac came out of the gates like a thoroughbred and soon ran passed the "pace-setter" who was supposed to show the racers where to go on the course. Being first to reach the bikes, Mac had no obstacles while riding, except for his feverish speed, which caused his crowd-gasping crash; but without flinching, Mac popped back onto his bike and took-off, never losing his lead. By the time he ran through the finish line (after the second phase of running), the next closest competitor had not yet got off of his bike to even start running. The contrast between Mac's big-person determination and his little-person helmet and legs, made the crowd really roar when he came into the home stretch for the victory. In no less of a dramatic fashion, at the award ceremony, with the kids up on Olympic type podiums, the MC declared " History was made today at our Inaugural Duathlon... Mac Strand becomes our first ever Gold Medal Champion!". His mother was nearly brought to tears, and his father wished some of the "men" he coached had half of Mac's fortitude...
So, that's the latest in our lives. Tomorrow I want to take the kids to see the movie "The Ant Bully" - I should get the book from the library and read it to them first!
Friday, July 21, 2006
The Living Room is painted
Starla and I started painting the living room on Wednesday. We painted one wall "umber". It is a very dark brown. We also painted one of the walls "Macadamia". Jeff and I finished the other two "Macadamia" walls on Thursday night. I must say, it looks GREAT. Jeff isn't too sure he likes the lone "umber" wall, but it is a nice accent.
I'm eager to paint more now. I like the look color adds to the warmth of the house.
I'm eager to paint more now. I like the look color adds to the warmth of the house.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
A visit from Starla
My dear friend, Starla, has been visiting since Saturday. She lives in River Falls, Wisconsin. Joining her during her visit are her children, Rayna (5) and Dane (2). Jenna has been so happy to have Rayna here to play dress-up, Polly Pockets, and everyother girl thing.
We have kept busy. Sunday we all went to church and then did a little shopping. I bought a small blow up pool (for only $8) and the kids have used it everyday since. We had a little pool party with a new neighbor Kelly and her daughter Katelyn. The kids ran back and forth from their yard to our yard. Sunday evening Starla, my neighbor Charlotte, and I went to the Melting Pot for a special birthday dinner for Starla. It was an awesome time! Jeff was a great babysitter and chef to all 5 kids! He seemed to love spending time with Dane! He has been busy working on the basement getting the bathroom going.
Monday went to the Omaha Zoo. The kids did great in the 90 degree heat. We stayed cool in the buildings. After the zoo we all took a nap.....We had more pool time with a different neighbor (also named Kelli) and her daughter Drew. Kelli is also a teacher.
Tuesday Charlotte and Kellen came over for an early morning playdate. Jackson had school. After I picked Jack up from school we got ready to go on our daily adventure. We visited the Mormon Trail Pioneer Museum. It was a small museum, but the perfect size for our tired kids. After the museum we drove to see Cunningham Lake. We were surprised that this lake no longer exists. It is all dried up. After our disappointing visit to the lake we drove past my school. We did another detour to Cold Stone Creamery to get a birthday cake for Starla. By the time we got home everyone was ready for a little rest time. For supper we went (with Charlotte and Kellen) to "The Amazing Pizza Machine". It was a pizza buffet with a salad, taco, pasta, baked potato, and dessert bar. We also did some games. I won all of the kids a stuffed animal from the claw machine (my dad would be so proud!!!). Kids had a great time. We ended the night with a swim in .....the POOL! Joe had filled the pool up in the morning, so that water was the perfect temperature by 7:45 PM! Kids swam for an hour. Now it is time for bed! I'm sure they will have a good night's sleep. Joe didn't wake up this morning until 9:00. (HUMMMM, he must get that from me!) Tomorrow we may actually PAINT the living room! I'm thinking of a nice creamy dark brown for one wall and another lighter brown for the other 3 walls. Starla and family will have to leave on Thursday. I sure will miss my time with them! We've gotten a lot of chatting in!
We have kept busy. Sunday we all went to church and then did a little shopping. I bought a small blow up pool (for only $8) and the kids have used it everyday since. We had a little pool party with a new neighbor Kelly and her daughter Katelyn. The kids ran back and forth from their yard to our yard. Sunday evening Starla, my neighbor Charlotte, and I went to the Melting Pot for a special birthday dinner for Starla. It was an awesome time! Jeff was a great babysitter and chef to all 5 kids! He seemed to love spending time with Dane! He has been busy working on the basement getting the bathroom going.
Monday went to the Omaha Zoo. The kids did great in the 90 degree heat. We stayed cool in the buildings. After the zoo we all took a nap.....We had more pool time with a different neighbor (also named Kelli) and her daughter Drew. Kelli is also a teacher.
Tuesday Charlotte and Kellen came over for an early morning playdate. Jackson had school. After I picked Jack up from school we got ready to go on our daily adventure. We visited the Mormon Trail Pioneer Museum. It was a small museum, but the perfect size for our tired kids. After the museum we drove to see Cunningham Lake. We were surprised that this lake no longer exists. It is all dried up. After our disappointing visit to the lake we drove past my school. We did another detour to Cold Stone Creamery to get a birthday cake for Starla. By the time we got home everyone was ready for a little rest time. For supper we went (with Charlotte and Kellen) to "The Amazing Pizza Machine". It was a pizza buffet with a salad, taco, pasta, baked potato, and dessert bar. We also did some games. I won all of the kids a stuffed animal from the claw machine (my dad would be so proud!!!). Kids had a great time. We ended the night with a swim in .....the POOL! Joe had filled the pool up in the morning, so that water was the perfect temperature by 7:45 PM! Kids swam for an hour. Now it is time for bed! I'm sure they will have a good night's sleep. Joe didn't wake up this morning until 9:00. (HUMMMM, he must get that from me!) Tomorrow we may actually PAINT the living room! I'm thinking of a nice creamy dark brown for one wall and another lighter brown for the other 3 walls. Starla and family will have to leave on Thursday. I sure will miss my time with them! We've gotten a lot of chatting in!
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Jenna lost a tooth
Jenna bit into some sweet corn for supper on Sunday, July16 and said "My tooth is about to fall out!" After looking at it in the mirror (and taking a picture of her hanging tooth) she continued on with her supper. After her second bite of corn she exclaimed "MY TOOTH DID JUST FALL OUT!!!" Now she looks a little bit like a hill-billy! So, she put the tooth under her pillow and the toothfairy took her tooth and left an Angelina Ballerina book and some money! Wow! Is our little girl growing up!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Time to finish the basement
We have spent some time lately thinking about finishing the basement.
We had a plumber out here to give us an estimate on putting the water softener in. That will probably get finished tomorrow. We also had Buck from Hearthstone Homes (our builder) talk us through what we need to do to first finish the basement bathroom and then the rest of the basement. We are now HOT to get it done! The bathroom shower will need to be our major decission. It will have to fit in a certain space with the drain in the correct location. After that the rest of the bathroom should fall into place. We will hire the plumbing out to someone else. I wouldn't be surprised if Jeff showed up tonight with lumber and a shower! I've done some school supply shopping. Walmart has SALES!!! 10 cents for note books and 20 cents for crayons (24 count). The kids and I had fun looking for deals. I may take a trip to my school today to drop off some things I purchased for organization in my room. Joe had the stomach flu yesterday, but seems better today. Jenna is crabby and just woke up (it's 1:15) from an hour long (and much needed) nap. Jackson (AKA "The Professor" - because of the summer school classes he is taking) has been working hard at his reading/writing class. I've seen some good improvement!
Now we are gearing up for a visit from Starla and kids. I can't wait to take them to the zoo and a pool. It's suppose to be hot, so we might just stay in and stay cool!
We had a plumber out here to give us an estimate on putting the water softener in. That will probably get finished tomorrow. We also had Buck from Hearthstone Homes (our builder) talk us through what we need to do to first finish the basement bathroom and then the rest of the basement. We are now HOT to get it done! The bathroom shower will need to be our major decission. It will have to fit in a certain space with the drain in the correct location. After that the rest of the bathroom should fall into place. We will hire the plumbing out to someone else. I wouldn't be surprised if Jeff showed up tonight with lumber and a shower! I've done some school supply shopping. Walmart has SALES!!! 10 cents for note books and 20 cents for crayons (24 count). The kids and I had fun looking for deals. I may take a trip to my school today to drop off some things I purchased for organization in my room. Joe had the stomach flu yesterday, but seems better today. Jenna is crabby and just woke up (it's 1:15) from an hour long (and much needed) nap. Jackson (AKA "The Professor" - because of the summer school classes he is taking) has been working hard at his reading/writing class. I've seen some good improvement!
Now we are gearing up for a visit from Starla and kids. I can't wait to take them to the zoo and a pool. It's suppose to be hot, so we might just stay in and stay cool!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Busy Busy Busy
Well, I thought I had better update our blog before I forget all of the exciting things we have been busy doing.
My parents visited with Rusty and Shadow (their Golden Retrievers). They arrived on Friday, June 23 and left Thursday, June 29. While here they were able to see the ConAgra campus as well as the company store, see the kids' school, take Jack to his reading class, help with some projects around the house, and just hang out. After they left, we decided to head to Wisconsin for the 4th of July weekend.
We left Omaha on Friday, June 30. The morning was very frustrating because I got my oil changed in the van and the workers knocked a wire that caused my engine light to turn on. It took over an hour to fix the problem! This caused me to be delayed on our departure time. So, Jeff had to come back home to help load the van - we got off our departure time by about 1 1/2 hours. We arrived in Ellsworth friday night - slept at Frank and Margaret's - and left Saturday for Minog. Jeff drove Frank's truck (with Frank and Jack) towing the boat. Margaret traveled with Joe, Jenna, and me in the van. We had a blast at Sue and Steve's cabin (Jeff's sister and brother - in - law). Sarah, Andy, and kids (Jeff's other sister and brother - in - law) were there too. We pitched out tents (one for the boys and the other for Jeff, Jenna, and me).
Sunday, July 2 we spent the day on the water of Lake St. Croix. We visited with some friends of the family. While on the lake, Jenna rode a jet ski, Jack rode in a tube behind a boat, and both boys rode in on a sting ray (that can hold 3 people). Jeff tried the jet ski, but didn't much care for it. I just enjoyed the sun and worked on my tan!!!
Monday we went to the public beach on Lake St. Croix. Kids were getting tired and crabby! We left that afternoon to head back to Ellsworth for an overnight (and a shower!).
July 4th we drove back to Omaha. We were eager to get home (and clean the van). That night we walked to the park (4 houses away) and set up chairs to see the fireworks of the city. It was an amazing site!
Jeff had to work on Wednesday and I did laundry. Jackson attended his reading class.
Thursday I had a meeting with the principal of my new school and our friends from Janesville (Glenn and Linda McWilliams) arrived with their camper. Jackson wasn't feeling very well - and ended up throwing up a few times. I picked them up at the campground and they came back for supper.
Friday was a rainy day so we didn't go to the zoo as planned. Jackson was still sick and Glenn was having camper problems..... So, we just hanged out. When Jeff came home Linda and I went to do some shopping. I found some great deals at my new favorite store CJ Banks. I ended up with 4 new outfits.
Saturday was filled with fun. We started our day with breakfast at the camper. Bacon, Texas French Toast, and pancakes. Interesting fact: Texas Toast in Wisconsin is BIGGER than Texas Toast in Nebraska.
After breakfast we headed to downtown Omaha. We drove around the ConAgra Campus and parked to walk around the 'Old Market' area. After a couple of hours we went to the Botanical Gardens. The Gardens will have to be a stopping point for all future visitors. It was amazing. There is a picture at the top of this blog of one of the gardens (Glenn took it) to show how great it is.
After the Botanical Gardens we headed to Lincoln. We had a nice drive. Linda and I took a power nap while the kids watch "Chicken Little". Once we got to Lincoln we first went to a licorice store. All they sold there was licorice and licorice flavored items. Apparently, it is the only store like it. Here is the web address: www.licoriceinternational.com
We got a few items there and then went to the next store. That souviener store had wine tasting going on. Every other Saturday they have wine tasting of Nebraska Vinyards. I purchased two different bottles and look forward to tasting them soon. We ended our long day with an early supper at a brew pub. The food was excellent - and we are eager for the newest restaurant to open a few blocks from our home.
On our drive home we drove past the Cornhusker Football Stadium. "Go Big Red!"
Sunday we spent the morning at home. We went to church, ate breakfast, then went out to the campground. We decided to spend the afternoon by the pool. Since check out was earlier - it was as if we had the pool to ourselves. The kids all had a great time. (So did the adults).
Brats at our house for supper.
Monday our plans to go to the zoo were spoiled by the rain. Instead we had a nice visit from the Mike Tollefson family (Jaci's cousin). Jenna had a wonderful time playing with her second cousin, Anna. Both of the girls are 5 and will be in kindergarten next year. I hope they will be able to spend more time together as other family events. Mike's wife, Mary, is from Omaha and they were here visiting her parents.
That afternoon we toured my school and went to the movie CARS!!! It was a great movie. I would recommend it to all!
Monday night was sad....not only because I wasn't beating Glenn in gin, but because we had to say goodbye! Glenn and Linda headed back to Janesville on Tuesday morning.
I was a wonderful visit with super memories!
Monday, June 26, 2006
I got the job!
It is now 1:12 and I just got off the phone with the principal from Grace Abbott. He called at 1:06 PM and offered me the job of 4th grade teacher. I, of course, accepted. After I feed the kids (fish sticks) I will head over to the school and tour my room and get the curriculum and books. Big celebration will be happening in Omaha tonight!!!!!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Busy Friday
It was an amazing Friday. I started my day by dropping Jackson and Jenna off for their last day of summer school. After I dropped them off, I headed to my 9:00 AM interview. The positions are for 2- 4th grade classrooms. I think things went very well. The principal, in fact, called me at 1:30 to let me know I am their #1 pick after the day's interviews. However, he did make it known that he had 4 more interviews on Monday. He wanted to know if I had any other job prospects. I had told him earlier that I interviewed at another elementary school in the district, but that I hadn't heard from them yet, which makes me think I'm not in the running. The principal then informed me that the 8:00 AM interview candidate cancelled his/her interview because they accepted the position at the other elementary school. The principal also mentioned that he called and talked to Kitty Grant (my Adams principal) and Rod Montanye (science curriculum coordinator). He tried to call Karen Beige, but only got her classroom voice mail - so I gave him her home number. I also called Karen and told her some areas I didn't get to mention during my interview - she called the principal - and then called me back. She got a very positive feeling. So, I'll keep everyone posted.
After the interview I was able to pick up my antique bed frame. I had it refinished (sand blasted and painted). It looks great in Jenna's room, except the new box spring and mattress don't fit in it.
I then picked up the kids from summer school and took them to Burger King for a special lunch and play time. We were helping another family out by taking their daughter (Madison) to and from summer school. She gets along great with all 3 kids. She will be in 3rd grade next year.
We got home around 1:30 - Jeff got home from work shortly after (early summer hours) - the mom came to get Madison and then the principal called. It was a crazy time here!
After Madison left, Jeff took Jackson and Jenna to the Gretna swimming pool. Joe wanted some mom time, so we played Monolopy.
When Jeff and the kids got home we ate a quick supper of sandwiches before we had to head to the last night of Vacation Bible School. It was a very long day for Jenna. She didn't feel very good during VBS and by the time we got home she vomited in the car! We got her cleaned up and the car cleaned up.....she go tucked in her bed (with a bucket).....and were ready to relax infront of the TV watching "Ocean's 12". All of a sudden at about 11:30 PM there was a knock on our door. It was my PARENTS!! For some reason, I thought they were going to be here on Saturday (today). My house wasn't quite set for their visit ..... but then again, is it every ready. We got the dogs walked, everyone settled, and we went to bed. I should know about the job on Monday or Tuesday..... so I will keep you posted!
After the interview I was able to pick up my antique bed frame. I had it refinished (sand blasted and painted). It looks great in Jenna's room, except the new box spring and mattress don't fit in it.
I then picked up the kids from summer school and took them to Burger King for a special lunch and play time. We were helping another family out by taking their daughter (Madison) to and from summer school. She gets along great with all 3 kids. She will be in 3rd grade next year.
We got home around 1:30 - Jeff got home from work shortly after (early summer hours) - the mom came to get Madison and then the principal called. It was a crazy time here!
After Madison left, Jeff took Jackson and Jenna to the Gretna swimming pool. Joe wanted some mom time, so we played Monolopy.
When Jeff and the kids got home we ate a quick supper of sandwiches before we had to head to the last night of Vacation Bible School. It was a very long day for Jenna. She didn't feel very good during VBS and by the time we got home she vomited in the car! We got her cleaned up and the car cleaned up.....she go tucked in her bed (with a bucket).....and were ready to relax infront of the TV watching "Ocean's 12". All of a sudden at about 11:30 PM there was a knock on our door. It was my PARENTS!! For some reason, I thought they were going to be here on Saturday (today). My house wasn't quite set for their visit ..... but then again, is it every ready. We got the dogs walked, everyone settled, and we went to bed. I should know about the job on Monday or Tuesday..... so I will keep you posted!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Vacation Bible School
This week is VBS (Vacation Bible School). Everyone in the family is involved in this wonderful activity. I'm part of the 'light blue' crew. I'm a co-leader for a group of 8 preschoolers. Jenna is also in my crew. Jeff has helped in registration and in the snack area. He has mentioned how well organized VBS is. He was never able to see what it was all about because VBS was during the day in Janesville. Joe is in the white crew(grades 4-6). Yesterday he read the bible 'treasure verse' in front of everyone. He did an excellent job. I'm surprised he volunteered to do something like that (especially since he is the one who didn't really want to do VBS.....I forced him to do it!) Jackson is in the dark blue crew (grades 1-3). We are collecting items for people who don't have the basics for life...yesterday we collected toothpaste. Today is shampoo. Tomorrow and Friday are underwear and socks. Sunday at 10:30 church the VBS participants will sing some songs and show all that we did! Perhaps I'll work on posting some pics from vacation today! Ma and Pa Primmer may come for a visit tomorrow. They will bring Rusty and Shadow with them! Jeff is taking the ConAgra Jet to Orlando for IFT (convention) on Sunday. It's a one day trip. Very cool that he'll be on the corporate jet!!
Monday, June 19, 2006
Monday, June 19
YEAH for Monday. Jackson and Jenna are in their final week of Summer School. The boys have doctor appointments today. We will all be at VBS (Vacation Bible School) this week from 5:30 to 8:30. I'm a crew leader for the preschoolers (Jenna is in my class). Jeff will work the registration table. The kids will attend.
We had a nice weekend. We were sad the Jeff's dad wasn't feeling well and they had to postpond their trip down here to see us. We look forward to showing them around!
Friday my neighbor Charlotte and I went to a music bar in Omaha to hear the music of Vicky Emerson. Check out her music at www.vickyemerson.com. She is an old UWRF gal. We have mutual friends, but this was the first time we had met. Char and I stayed for the first set, but it was late so we left as she was about to start the second set. Before the concert we tried out a new restaurant called the Mongolian Hut. You get a bowl and add meat, then noodles, than veggies, and at least 5 sauces and they grill it on a HUGE round grill. It cooks down nicely and serve it with rice. It's suppose to be an all you can eat, but after one helping - I was stuffed! I can see it as an adult only place. I'm not sure my kids would appreciate it! After some great conversations we got home about 11:00PM. I stayed up with Jeff as he finished watching the movie Contact.
Saturday was a day at home. We did the usual household chores.
Sunday we Celebrated Father's Day. We had a light breakfast, let Jeff open his gifts, and went to church. After church we headed to "Up Stream Brewery" for brunch! Again, I can see this as more of an adult restaurant. The kids weren't that used to waiting for food. However, the food was great! We all enjoyed tasting the home 'root beer' brew. After brunch we headed home to get our swimming suits on. We decided to check out the Platte River and walk on the sand bars and swim in the river. The kids had a blast! I got my flipflops caught under some sand and needed help to dig it out! After our first river stop we decided to go to a State Park and swim. Once we got there we realized we didn't have enough money to pay at the pool (we had a state park sticker to get in, but needed $14.50 for the pool and we only had $9.00). So, we went to a different part of the Platte River. This part was deeper and the river was flowing faster. At one time Jackson and Jenna put their faces underwater and I couldn't see them. This FREAKED me out (you have to imagine a fast current and kids who don't swim). So, I pulled the plug on the fun and said it was time to go! The kids were disappointed, but better safe than sorry.
We arrived home. Kids watched "Hoodwinked" and Jeff and I layed in the sun in the back yard. We all cleaned up and got the river smell off of us and grilled out. Kids went to bed early, and so did we! It was a great day!
We had a nice weekend. We were sad the Jeff's dad wasn't feeling well and they had to postpond their trip down here to see us. We look forward to showing them around!
Friday my neighbor Charlotte and I went to a music bar in Omaha to hear the music of Vicky Emerson. Check out her music at www.vickyemerson.com. She is an old UWRF gal. We have mutual friends, but this was the first time we had met. Char and I stayed for the first set, but it was late so we left as she was about to start the second set. Before the concert we tried out a new restaurant called the Mongolian Hut. You get a bowl and add meat, then noodles, than veggies, and at least 5 sauces and they grill it on a HUGE round grill. It cooks down nicely and serve it with rice. It's suppose to be an all you can eat, but after one helping - I was stuffed! I can see it as an adult only place. I'm not sure my kids would appreciate it! After some great conversations we got home about 11:00PM. I stayed up with Jeff as he finished watching the movie Contact.
Saturday was a day at home. We did the usual household chores.
Sunday we Celebrated Father's Day. We had a light breakfast, let Jeff open his gifts, and went to church. After church we headed to "Up Stream Brewery" for brunch! Again, I can see this as more of an adult restaurant. The kids weren't that used to waiting for food. However, the food was great! We all enjoyed tasting the home 'root beer' brew. After brunch we headed home to get our swimming suits on. We decided to check out the Platte River and walk on the sand bars and swim in the river. The kids had a blast! I got my flipflops caught under some sand and needed help to dig it out! After our first river stop we decided to go to a State Park and swim. Once we got there we realized we didn't have enough money to pay at the pool (we had a state park sticker to get in, but needed $14.50 for the pool and we only had $9.00). So, we went to a different part of the Platte River. This part was deeper and the river was flowing faster. At one time Jackson and Jenna put their faces underwater and I couldn't see them. This FREAKED me out (you have to imagine a fast current and kids who don't swim). So, I pulled the plug on the fun and said it was time to go! The kids were disappointed, but better safe than sorry.
We arrived home. Kids watched "Hoodwinked" and Jeff and I layed in the sun in the back yard. We all cleaned up and got the river smell off of us and grilled out. Kids went to bed early, and so did we! It was a great day!
Friday, June 16, 2006
Job Interviews
I had another job interview today. 5th grade at a school 5 minutes from home. I thought it went very well, but since I have no previous experience teaching 5th grade...who knows what the outcome will be.
I have a job interview next week friday for a 4th and 5th grade position. This school is a bit farther away.
I'll keep you posted on the outcomes!
I have a job interview next week friday for a 4th and 5th grade position. This school is a bit farther away.
I'll keep you posted on the outcomes!
Vacation - Part 3: Clintonville and camping
Sunday we arrived in Clintonville. The kids must have played hard with their cousins, because they were quiet on the ride there. The trip from Lake Mills to Clintonville was also the shortest trip during our vacation.
The week was filled with Joe attending "Nature Quest". "Nature Quest" is the week long camping class that my parents teach for summer school. My Uncle Loren, Aunt Jenese, and Aunt Jean were all there, too. "Rebecca / Becky / Beck" (from Viroqua) was there too. She is an Americorp member with my Aunt Jean. The Aunties kept the "home base" in running order and kept their eyes on Jackson and Jenna. I helped out at camp.
Joe had a blast learning how to make a fire from one match (He is a member of the one match club), cooking over the campfire, canoeing, fishing and fish identification, as well as tent setting up (and taking down). There were 30 campers all together and they were such a nice group of kids. Many of them are children of kids I went to school with.
Tuesday was a rainy day, so we held the camping class inside the Clintonville Middle School. Beck and I were in charge of 'fish painting'. We had to apply paint to these rubber fish (that were rather authentic looking) and have the campers place a kitchen towel (the flour sack kind) over the painted fish. This, of course, left a fish imprint. The towels turned out very colorful! It was a full day process and I can't imagine doing it outside at the 'land' without a sink!!!
Wednesday of the camping week Jack, Jenna, the Aunties, and I headed to Appleton for a morning trip. Everything was fine at the camping class and I wasn't needed. While in Appleton we shopped at JanSport. Jenna and Jackson got new sweatshirts, I got a backpack and a few things for Jeff. After shopping we went out to lunch. We selected a Baker's Square. It has been a very long time since I was at a Baker's Square. We had a nice lunch and just had to try the pie!!!
Thursday and Friday were about the same. Kids were 'testing out' of their canoe requirements, building fires, playing camp games (fisbee golf), and doing a compass course. Thursday lunch was so awesome because the campers got to choose from making an omlett in a ziplock bag in boiling water, hot dogs over the camp fire, or a 'foil' meal. Jackson and I choose the foil meal. We put burger, potatoes, onions, carrots, butter, and about 2 tablespoons of water in a double layer of alum. foil. These foil meals were then placed in the coals of the big campfire and set to cook for about 35 minutes. I tried to change Joe's mind about the hot dog he choose, but he wouldn't do it. Luckily (for him) I shared my meal and got him hooked on the love of the 'foil' meal.
Friday was the big sleepover night. Chili was served (my kids are a little picky, so when I went to town to pick up Jenna and Aunt Jean, I ran through the McDonald's drive through. Jackson, however, loved the chili and ate 3 bowls full. We had fun singing around the campfire and finally I tucked the kiddos in bed in the pop-up camper my parents have out at the land. Everyone slept hard. Joe had promised a few campers that he would be their alarm clock. He was the LAST KID AWAKE!!! Some alarm clock he turned out to be!!!
We broke camp and went back to the house in town. I took a hot tub to massage my back. The kids all hung out in front of the TV. Finally we packed up the van for the start of our long return home. I was going to break it up into 2 days so I wouldn't have to drive 10 hours in one day. We left Clintonville about 3PM. We stopped by in Boyd,WI to see Jeff's Uncle Martin. Stopped in Cadot for our supper break and arrived inEllsworth about 8PM. Kids took some quick baths and went right to sleep. Margaret and talked for a little bit before we both hit the hay (around 9:15!) I was very tired and slept so well!
Sunday we got loaded quickly and headed for Omaha. The drive took 7 hours. I still took some breaks, but they weren't as long. Joe did a great job of keeping me entertained in the front seat. Kids were rather well behaved! We couldn't wait to see Jeff! We missed him so much! He had a very lovely meal waiting planned for our arrival. The best part was the chalk sign he made on the drive way. It read "Welcome Home Family" in the middle of a heart. Around the heart he wrote "Jaci, Joe, Jackson, Jenna, and Van".
The interesting thing to note here is that as I was driving I couldn't help but think of our wonderful family and my very best friends that I was able to see during my trip. I was thinking that I may never have as good of friends as these wonderful women! About 20 minutes after I got home my neighbor Charlotte called. She said, "I know you just go home and I'm not going to come over, but you may NOT go on vacation for that long again! We missed you!" Now, if that isn't a sign from God that I will have dear friends here, I'm not sure what is!!!!! I'm lucky to have her as a neighbor!
The week was filled with Joe attending "Nature Quest". "Nature Quest" is the week long camping class that my parents teach for summer school. My Uncle Loren, Aunt Jenese, and Aunt Jean were all there, too. "Rebecca / Becky / Beck" (from Viroqua) was there too. She is an Americorp member with my Aunt Jean. The Aunties kept the "home base" in running order and kept their eyes on Jackson and Jenna. I helped out at camp.
Joe had a blast learning how to make a fire from one match (He is a member of the one match club), cooking over the campfire, canoeing, fishing and fish identification, as well as tent setting up (and taking down). There were 30 campers all together and they were such a nice group of kids. Many of them are children of kids I went to school with.
Tuesday was a rainy day, so we held the camping class inside the Clintonville Middle School. Beck and I were in charge of 'fish painting'. We had to apply paint to these rubber fish (that were rather authentic looking) and have the campers place a kitchen towel (the flour sack kind) over the painted fish. This, of course, left a fish imprint. The towels turned out very colorful! It was a full day process and I can't imagine doing it outside at the 'land' without a sink!!!
Wednesday of the camping week Jack, Jenna, the Aunties, and I headed to Appleton for a morning trip. Everything was fine at the camping class and I wasn't needed. While in Appleton we shopped at JanSport. Jenna and Jackson got new sweatshirts, I got a backpack and a few things for Jeff. After shopping we went out to lunch. We selected a Baker's Square. It has been a very long time since I was at a Baker's Square. We had a nice lunch and just had to try the pie!!!
Thursday and Friday were about the same. Kids were 'testing out' of their canoe requirements, building fires, playing camp games (fisbee golf), and doing a compass course. Thursday lunch was so awesome because the campers got to choose from making an omlett in a ziplock bag in boiling water, hot dogs over the camp fire, or a 'foil' meal. Jackson and I choose the foil meal. We put burger, potatoes, onions, carrots, butter, and about 2 tablespoons of water in a double layer of alum. foil. These foil meals were then placed in the coals of the big campfire and set to cook for about 35 minutes. I tried to change Joe's mind about the hot dog he choose, but he wouldn't do it. Luckily (for him) I shared my meal and got him hooked on the love of the 'foil' meal.
Friday was the big sleepover night. Chili was served (my kids are a little picky, so when I went to town to pick up Jenna and Aunt Jean, I ran through the McDonald's drive through. Jackson, however, loved the chili and ate 3 bowls full. We had fun singing around the campfire and finally I tucked the kiddos in bed in the pop-up camper my parents have out at the land. Everyone slept hard. Joe had promised a few campers that he would be their alarm clock. He was the LAST KID AWAKE!!! Some alarm clock he turned out to be!!!
We broke camp and went back to the house in town. I took a hot tub to massage my back. The kids all hung out in front of the TV. Finally we packed up the van for the start of our long return home. I was going to break it up into 2 days so I wouldn't have to drive 10 hours in one day. We left Clintonville about 3PM. We stopped by in Boyd,WI to see Jeff's Uncle Martin. Stopped in Cadot for our supper break and arrived inEllsworth about 8PM. Kids took some quick baths and went right to sleep. Margaret and talked for a little bit before we both hit the hay (around 9:15!) I was very tired and slept so well!
Sunday we got loaded quickly and headed for Omaha. The drive took 7 hours. I still took some breaks, but they weren't as long. Joe did a great job of keeping me entertained in the front seat. Kids were rather well behaved! We couldn't wait to see Jeff! We missed him so much! He had a very lovely meal waiting planned for our arrival. The best part was the chalk sign he made on the drive way. It read "Welcome Home Family" in the middle of a heart. Around the heart he wrote "Jaci, Joe, Jackson, Jenna, and Van".
The interesting thing to note here is that as I was driving I couldn't help but think of our wonderful family and my very best friends that I was able to see during my trip. I was thinking that I may never have as good of friends as these wonderful women! About 20 minutes after I got home my neighbor Charlotte called. She said, "I know you just go home and I'm not going to come over, but you may NOT go on vacation for that long again! We missed you!" Now, if that isn't a sign from God that I will have dear friends here, I'm not sure what is!!!!! I'm lucky to have her as a neighbor!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Vacation - part 2: Janesvlle / Lake Mills
We arrived in Janesville about 2:45 PM. The kindergarteners were getting of the bus from the farm field trip. We couldn't wait to get hugs from Miss Dhom and Miss Gogul. Once we walked into school Mrs. Biege's class grabbed us. They were at the school store in the auditorium. The class was so amazed at how much Joe had grown. I was shocked to see how they all grew this year. We checked in at the office. Mrs. Grant was busy with a parent.....so we headed up to the 4th grade classrooms. Joe loved seeing his buddies. We headed to 3rd grade to see Mrs. Borchardt. Joe is almost as tall as her. I think we shocked her. She wasn't used to seeing us just show up! Jackson needed a trip to 1st grade to see his buddy Kayley. We did some more walking around and got to see the 5th graders (my last class) as they were leaving for the end of the day. They, too, have grown.
We got to see Mrs.Grant and everyone one else!
Time to head over to they Kelley home and meet baby TJ.
We stayed a short while. The kids had fun playing with Kayley. I had fun holding the baby. TJ is so adorable.
We headed out about 6:00 - we had promised to get KFC for supper at Don and Rachel's. We arrived at the Primmers about 3 minutes before Don arrived with some of the kids (Rachel and Kate had book club). I guess I picked up too much chicken, because it took forever to finish!
Friday we headed to Janesville for a visit with Jacque Derhammer (our former babysitter), lunch at subway, another visit with Julie Buckman and kids, a short visit at the Kelley home. We finished our big visit day with a trip to Grandma Linda's. We stayed long enough to get a visit in, but when Linda and I get together....there is never enough time! We could talk FOREVER! I enjoyed a glass of wine (Thanks Glenn!!!) and got to see the beautiful redecorating job in the living room.
By the end of the day we were ready for bed!!!
Saturday was Jaci out by herself day. Rachel agreed to watch the kids (on top of her 4 - Don had to work in Illinois). I started out my day with brunch at newly remodled home of Kitty and Mike Hinaus. I started tearing up as soon as I walked in. There they were....my teaching buddies from Adams School. Karla Vriezen, Tiana Borchardt, Laura Loizzo, Linda McWilliams, Teresa Ludeking, Carol Tyriver, Bonnie Schauder, Diane Murphy, Dottie May, (Kitty Grant left before I got there) all looked so wonderful. The brunch and converstation (and laughs) were exactly what I needed.
After the brunch I headed to the home of Terri Kislia for the baby shower for Stacy and TJ Kelley. It was a great gathering of friends - I loved seeing everyone. Attending were: Julie and Carson Buckman, Stephanie Gogul, Amy Dhom, Jodi Adler, Melissa Griffin, Liza Witt, Kitty Grant, Bonnie Schauder, Deb Somerville, Mandy Zdrale, Sarah Rao, and Terri and Sam Kislia. Stacy received some very nice gifts. I think TJ will be the best dressed baby in Janesville. I was doing rather well (emotionally) until Amy wanted a hug and told me she missed me. I just lost it - and had a difficult time recovering from my 'cry fest'. I think I realized that the distance is long, that these women are amazing, and that I miss being a part of their daily lives. I tried to leave when Kitty and Mandy left - which was rather abruptly, but I couldn't imagin getting my composure back while still seeing my friends and missing them. I headed to school to talk to Mandy. Her grandmother just passed away and I wanted to make sure she was ok. I then called Linda and we worked in Karen's room trying to pack it up. Karen had a medical issue with Justin and missed the brunch and shower. She accepted a Library Media Specialist job at Lincoln Elementary School and needed to pack up her room. Linda and I worked about 2 hours trying to sort things and box things up. Linda and I went to supper together (Glenn was in Conn.) and continued our visiting. Then I said good-bye to Janesville and headed to Don and Rachel's. Linda was going to head back to school with Karen and finish up her room.
Sunday we packed up and ended the second part of our vacation. We loaded the van and headed to Clintonville.
We got to see Mrs.Grant and everyone one else!
Time to head over to they Kelley home and meet baby TJ.
We stayed a short while. The kids had fun playing with Kayley. I had fun holding the baby. TJ is so adorable.
We headed out about 6:00 - we had promised to get KFC for supper at Don and Rachel's. We arrived at the Primmers about 3 minutes before Don arrived with some of the kids (Rachel and Kate had book club). I guess I picked up too much chicken, because it took forever to finish!
Friday we headed to Janesville for a visit with Jacque Derhammer (our former babysitter), lunch at subway, another visit with Julie Buckman and kids, a short visit at the Kelley home. We finished our big visit day with a trip to Grandma Linda's. We stayed long enough to get a visit in, but when Linda and I get together....there is never enough time! We could talk FOREVER! I enjoyed a glass of wine (Thanks Glenn!!!) and got to see the beautiful redecorating job in the living room.
By the end of the day we were ready for bed!!!
Saturday was Jaci out by herself day. Rachel agreed to watch the kids (on top of her 4 - Don had to work in Illinois). I started out my day with brunch at newly remodled home of Kitty and Mike Hinaus. I started tearing up as soon as I walked in. There they were....my teaching buddies from Adams School. Karla Vriezen, Tiana Borchardt, Laura Loizzo, Linda McWilliams, Teresa Ludeking, Carol Tyriver, Bonnie Schauder, Diane Murphy, Dottie May, (Kitty Grant left before I got there) all looked so wonderful. The brunch and converstation (and laughs) were exactly what I needed.
After the brunch I headed to the home of Terri Kislia for the baby shower for Stacy and TJ Kelley. It was a great gathering of friends - I loved seeing everyone. Attending were: Julie and Carson Buckman, Stephanie Gogul, Amy Dhom, Jodi Adler, Melissa Griffin, Liza Witt, Kitty Grant, Bonnie Schauder, Deb Somerville, Mandy Zdrale, Sarah Rao, and Terri and Sam Kislia. Stacy received some very nice gifts. I think TJ will be the best dressed baby in Janesville. I was doing rather well (emotionally) until Amy wanted a hug and told me she missed me. I just lost it - and had a difficult time recovering from my 'cry fest'. I think I realized that the distance is long, that these women are amazing, and that I miss being a part of their daily lives. I tried to leave when Kitty and Mandy left - which was rather abruptly, but I couldn't imagin getting my composure back while still seeing my friends and missing them. I headed to school to talk to Mandy. Her grandmother just passed away and I wanted to make sure she was ok. I then called Linda and we worked in Karen's room trying to pack it up. Karen had a medical issue with Justin and missed the brunch and shower. She accepted a Library Media Specialist job at Lincoln Elementary School and needed to pack up her room. Linda and I worked about 2 hours trying to sort things and box things up. Linda and I went to supper together (Glenn was in Conn.) and continued our visiting. Then I said good-bye to Janesville and headed to Don and Rachel's. Linda was going to head back to school with Karen and finish up her room.
Sunday we packed up and ended the second part of our vacation. We loaded the van and headed to Clintonville.
Vacation - part 1: Ellsworth
Vacation started on Tuesday, May 30. We left Nebraska and started our drive to Ellsworth, WI. It took us 8 hours. I got some new DVDs to keep the kids entertained in the car. They are into the Nickelodeon show "Avatar". I got 3 hours of Avatar on DVD. We took some time to have a long lunch (Culvers!!!) and a few rest breaks. Finally, we got to Grandma and Grandpa Gruber's house. Jackson had fun helping Grandpa in his garden. I used our new camera and video taped Grandma Gruber showing us her flowers and garden.
Wednesday we helped Grandma Gruber in the garden. I even got the rotatiller going. Kids had fun outside watering eachother - oops I mean watering the flowers. My friend Starla came over for a nice visit. Her daughter, Rayna, and Jenna had a fun time in the dress-ups. Little man, Dane, wanted to be with the boys and the cars. That evening we went to River Falls to visit with the Dzubay family and see their new puppy 'Spud'. He is so cute! It was a wonderful visit. When we got home I heard from Jeff to call my friend Stacy. Stacy was in the hospital - getting ready to have her baby. Little TJ wanted to come early - he wasn't due until June 20. Our plan was to be at Adams School in Janesville on Thursday for the school shower for Stacy. TJ wanted to change that plan. I went to bed wondering if my phone would ring in the middle of th night.....
Thursday, we got ready to head to Janesville. No call during the middle of the night. I had to find the news, so I called my friend, Jodi Adler. She gave me the news that Theodore John Kelley was born on May 31. He was 7 pounds, 7 oz. 21 inches long. Interesting, Theodore's big sister, Kayley, was born May 1 and Stacy and Monty's anniversary is May 21!
Part 2 will start in Janesville.....stay tuned!
Wednesday we helped Grandma Gruber in the garden. I even got the rotatiller going. Kids had fun outside watering eachother - oops I mean watering the flowers. My friend Starla came over for a nice visit. Her daughter, Rayna, and Jenna had a fun time in the dress-ups. Little man, Dane, wanted to be with the boys and the cars. That evening we went to River Falls to visit with the Dzubay family and see their new puppy 'Spud'. He is so cute! It was a wonderful visit. When we got home I heard from Jeff to call my friend Stacy. Stacy was in the hospital - getting ready to have her baby. Little TJ wanted to come early - he wasn't due until June 20. Our plan was to be at Adams School in Janesville on Thursday for the school shower for Stacy. TJ wanted to change that plan. I went to bed wondering if my phone would ring in the middle of th night.....
Thursday, we got ready to head to Janesville. No call during the middle of the night. I had to find the news, so I called my friend, Jodi Adler. She gave me the news that Theodore John Kelley was born on May 31. He was 7 pounds, 7 oz. 21 inches long. Interesting, Theodore's big sister, Kayley, was born May 1 and Stacy and Monty's anniversary is May 21!
Part 2 will start in Janesville.....stay tuned!
Home from Vacation
We are home from our WI vacation. I will update the blog when I have time. Needless to say it was a great week full of babies being born (2), an engagement, laughter and tears. The kids had a great time and we all survived 2 weeks without Jeff. We are glad to be home.
I have another job interview tomorrow. 5th grade for Wheeler Elementary here in the Millard School District.
Will update soon.
I have another job interview tomorrow. 5th grade for Wheeler Elementary here in the Millard School District.
Will update soon.
Friday, May 26, 2006
job
I didn't get the 4th grade job in Bennington. Since I thought things went very well I'm crushed by the news.
The worse part is I finally had enough waiting and called the superintendent's secretary. (One email went unanswered earlier this week).
She told me I should have received a letter...but the job has been filled.
(Why didn't they contact me personally?????)
Today is the last day of school for the boys, too. I feel so weird not going through my own 'last day' activities.
The worse part is I finally had enough waiting and called the superintendent's secretary. (One email went unanswered earlier this week).
She told me I should have received a letter...but the job has been filled.
(Why didn't they contact me personally?????)
Today is the last day of school for the boys, too. I feel so weird not going through my own 'last day' activities.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Weekly Update
Well, It's Sunday, May 21, 2006. Jeff is out fishing with Jack and Jenna. Joe is off riding his bike with the neighbor boy, Alec. I finally have time to get caught up on my blog. Since my last post I was called for an interview to teach 4th grade in the Bennington School District. My interview was a week ago - Saturday. I was told that I would hear the end of last week or the first part of this week. Let me tell you, I FREAK out everytime the phone rings! I feel like the interview went extreamly well...but I hate waiting!
I had a wonderful Mother's Day. The kids made me some wonderful gifts - painted flower pots and coupon books! We had a great brunch at IHOP and went to the movie "RV".
The rest of the week had me keeping busy getting the house put away. Not only was I nervous about hearing about the job interview, but Jeff was gone to New Jersey all week and made it a rough week for the kids. Jackson was really missing his dad. Friday afternoon Jeff pulled into the driveway about 3 minutes before the boys got off the bus. You should have heard their voices when they saw Jeff in the driveway. "Dad! Dad!" was YELLED as they ran the 1/2 block from the bus stop to home.
Saturday we did another quick trip to the Company Store. The kids get a little crazy when we go there, so they might have to stay home until they can learn to calm down.
Our biggest event of the week was our first visitors came to see us!! The Dave and Sue Swanson Family from Minnesota were on their way through to Utah for vacation. Dave and Sue are parents of Kristopher who was in my YMCA preschool class this past year. He and Jenna were very good friends! It was Jack, however, that had the most fun with Kristofer! (At bedtime Jackson said "Kristofer wasn't as small as I thought he would be!") We visited and grilled out brats and burgers. Then we showed them where the nearby KOA campground was. We finished our quick visit at the camp site and headed home. It was a lot of fun to entertain in our new home! We hope to get more visitors! (hint hint).
Today is Stacy and Monty Kelley's first wedding anniversary! It was such a great celebration last year as they became husband and wife! Now they are expecting a little baby next month! We can't wait to get to Janesville in 1 1/2 weeks to shower Stacy with some baby gifts!!!!
I will make a post here as soon as I hear about the job. I'm sure if it doesn't turn out how I want (and think) it will...I'll be a mess! Friday the boys will be done with school. There is a little excitement here because of that!!!!
Have a good week!
I had a wonderful Mother's Day. The kids made me some wonderful gifts - painted flower pots and coupon books! We had a great brunch at IHOP and went to the movie "RV".
The rest of the week had me keeping busy getting the house put away. Not only was I nervous about hearing about the job interview, but Jeff was gone to New Jersey all week and made it a rough week for the kids. Jackson was really missing his dad. Friday afternoon Jeff pulled into the driveway about 3 minutes before the boys got off the bus. You should have heard their voices when they saw Jeff in the driveway. "Dad! Dad!" was YELLED as they ran the 1/2 block from the bus stop to home.
Saturday we did another quick trip to the Company Store. The kids get a little crazy when we go there, so they might have to stay home until they can learn to calm down.
Our biggest event of the week was our first visitors came to see us!! The Dave and Sue Swanson Family from Minnesota were on their way through to Utah for vacation. Dave and Sue are parents of Kristopher who was in my YMCA preschool class this past year. He and Jenna were very good friends! It was Jack, however, that had the most fun with Kristofer! (At bedtime Jackson said "Kristofer wasn't as small as I thought he would be!") We visited and grilled out brats and burgers. Then we showed them where the nearby KOA campground was. We finished our quick visit at the camp site and headed home. It was a lot of fun to entertain in our new home! We hope to get more visitors! (hint hint).
Today is Stacy and Monty Kelley's first wedding anniversary! It was such a great celebration last year as they became husband and wife! Now they are expecting a little baby next month! We can't wait to get to Janesville in 1 1/2 weeks to shower Stacy with some baby gifts!!!!
I will make a post here as soon as I hear about the job. I'm sure if it doesn't turn out how I want (and think) it will...I'll be a mess! Friday the boys will be done with school. There is a little excitement here because of that!!!!
Have a good week!
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
A week in review
It has been a packed week. Friday, May 5 the kids and I met Jeff after work at the zoo. I saw that there was a NASCAR IMAX movie in 3D starting at 5:00. Jeff thought it would be cool to see too, so he joined us. It was a very good film and the 3D effects were great! Afterwards we went home to enjoy a pizza from Papa Murphy's.
Saturday we started our day at the ConAgra Company Store. It's a small store located in Council Bluffs, Iowa (just over the river from Omaha). It has just a few freezers and a set of shelves. We loaded up on some popcorn, katchup, beans, frozen dinners (for me at lunch....I'm getting tired of sandwiches!), and beef jerky. Since we were in Iowa, we decided to swing by a casino and make a few bets on the Kentucky Derby. We didn't pick a winner. In the afternoon Jeff and Jackson went to Elkhorn to get the lawn mower blade sharpened. They decided to get me my Mother's Day gift early. A new video camera!!! It is small and compact. The best part is it takes digital pictures and everything is stored on a disc that is smaller than a CD, but can be played in a DVD player! Later, we all went for a drive to pick up the lawnmower blade and found some more flowers to add to our house. As we continued on our drive we found a state forest (Schram Park) and the Platte River. We also drove past an Outlet Mall (more on that later...) It's been fun finding all of these neat places.
Sunday morning we went to church and came home to a big brunch. Kids did their homework right away, so we could have some fun in the afternoon. Jeff and Jackson decided they wanted to check out a new State Park and do a little fishing. I took Joe and Jenna to the AWESOME zoo here in Omaha. We spent two hours there, and only saw about 1/2 of the exhibits. Everyone was tired out so we went to bed early.
Monday I ran errands. I found the public library and made some copies of my teaching application materials. I found a job posting for a 4th grade teacher in Bennington. It is about 14 miles away and a very small school district. Their mascot is the Badger. Looks just like Bucky the UW mascot...only this one is blue and white! I worked most of the day on the 6 page application.
Tuesday I hand delivered my application materials to Bennington then drove to Gretna to drop off some more application materials. Gretna doesn't have any posting right now, but I'll be ready for when they do! While in Gretna Jenna and I stopped by the Outlet Mall I mentioned earlier......I was so excited when I saw Oshkosh B'Gosh. I just had to stop in. Big sales going on! Jenna got an outfit for fall (for kindergarten) and 3 new sundresses. Joe made off with 2 new shirts for school for the fall and a t-shirt. We continued on our running around. I went to the Millard School District Administration Center to drop off a copy of my Nebraska license for my file and to signed Jackson and Jenna up for Summer School. Joe is happy that his class was full. He'd rather hang out at home with his dear old mom! Jenna had Hannah over to play. They made a bit of a mess in the sink...washing their Polly Pockets, but had a blast!
Today....Wednesday. Jenna had hearing and vision screening today. She has 20/20 vision in her right eye and 20/25 vision in her left eye *(With Glasses)*. She has perfect hearing...so she should be able to hear me when I tell her to pick up her room! After the screening we did some grocery shopping. Hy-Vee had 4 pounds of strawberries on sale for only $4.99. I had to get some! I made strawberry shortcake (angel food cake) for dessert tonight. After loading up on groceries, my neighbor, Charlotte and son, Kelen, headed back to the Outlet Mall. It was a quick trip just to show her where it was...but I had some fun getting a few more things for gifts!
Early Release was today, so the boys were home by 2:30. They had most of the kids in the neighborhood over. I've counted up the kids on our street. Between 14 houses (6 on each side of the street and the 2 houses at the end of the street) there are 21 kids! They are ages 10 (Joe is the oldest) to 1 month old (across the street is a new little boy - Jack Joseph). It's a great place for the kids! I just hope the people without kids are tolerant to the noises that come up and down the street! I can tell our kids are going to have a great summer!
Brats on the grill, homemade potato salad, beans, and chips ended our great day. Joe finished his homework, Jackson studied his spelling words, and we enjoyed watching "The Amazing Race"!
Looking forward to the weekend and Mother's Day!!!
Saturday we started our day at the ConAgra Company Store. It's a small store located in Council Bluffs, Iowa (just over the river from Omaha). It has just a few freezers and a set of shelves. We loaded up on some popcorn, katchup, beans, frozen dinners (for me at lunch....I'm getting tired of sandwiches!), and beef jerky. Since we were in Iowa, we decided to swing by a casino and make a few bets on the Kentucky Derby. We didn't pick a winner. In the afternoon Jeff and Jackson went to Elkhorn to get the lawn mower blade sharpened. They decided to get me my Mother's Day gift early. A new video camera!!! It is small and compact. The best part is it takes digital pictures and everything is stored on a disc that is smaller than a CD, but can be played in a DVD player! Later, we all went for a drive to pick up the lawnmower blade and found some more flowers to add to our house. As we continued on our drive we found a state forest (Schram Park) and the Platte River. We also drove past an Outlet Mall (more on that later...) It's been fun finding all of these neat places.
Sunday morning we went to church and came home to a big brunch. Kids did their homework right away, so we could have some fun in the afternoon. Jeff and Jackson decided they wanted to check out a new State Park and do a little fishing. I took Joe and Jenna to the AWESOME zoo here in Omaha. We spent two hours there, and only saw about 1/2 of the exhibits. Everyone was tired out so we went to bed early.
Monday I ran errands. I found the public library and made some copies of my teaching application materials. I found a job posting for a 4th grade teacher in Bennington. It is about 14 miles away and a very small school district. Their mascot is the Badger. Looks just like Bucky the UW mascot...only this one is blue and white! I worked most of the day on the 6 page application.
Tuesday I hand delivered my application materials to Bennington then drove to Gretna to drop off some more application materials. Gretna doesn't have any posting right now, but I'll be ready for when they do! While in Gretna Jenna and I stopped by the Outlet Mall I mentioned earlier......I was so excited when I saw Oshkosh B'Gosh. I just had to stop in. Big sales going on! Jenna got an outfit for fall (for kindergarten) and 3 new sundresses. Joe made off with 2 new shirts for school for the fall and a t-shirt. We continued on our running around. I went to the Millard School District Administration Center to drop off a copy of my Nebraska license for my file and to signed Jackson and Jenna up for Summer School. Joe is happy that his class was full. He'd rather hang out at home with his dear old mom! Jenna had Hannah over to play. They made a bit of a mess in the sink...washing their Polly Pockets, but had a blast!
Today....Wednesday. Jenna had hearing and vision screening today. She has 20/20 vision in her right eye and 20/25 vision in her left eye *(With Glasses)*. She has perfect hearing...so she should be able to hear me when I tell her to pick up her room! After the screening we did some grocery shopping. Hy-Vee had 4 pounds of strawberries on sale for only $4.99. I had to get some! I made strawberry shortcake (angel food cake) for dessert tonight. After loading up on groceries, my neighbor, Charlotte and son, Kelen, headed back to the Outlet Mall. It was a quick trip just to show her where it was...but I had some fun getting a few more things for gifts!
Early Release was today, so the boys were home by 2:30. They had most of the kids in the neighborhood over. I've counted up the kids on our street. Between 14 houses (6 on each side of the street and the 2 houses at the end of the street) there are 21 kids! They are ages 10 (Joe is the oldest) to 1 month old (across the street is a new little boy - Jack Joseph). It's a great place for the kids! I just hope the people without kids are tolerant to the noises that come up and down the street! I can tell our kids are going to have a great summer!
Brats on the grill, homemade potato salad, beans, and chips ended our great day. Joe finished his homework, Jackson studied his spelling words, and we enjoyed watching "The Amazing Race"!
Looking forward to the weekend and Mother's Day!!!
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Happy Birthday to Grandma Gruber!
Time to catch everyone up on our travels. Friday Jenna had Kindergarten Round Up at Reeder Elementary. Since there was a parent meeting earlier in the spring I was just suppose to drop her off for 2 hours. I wasn't sure what to do with myself, so I went for a drive to Gretna to try to find their elementary schools. I had turned my application in to that district, too.
Friday afternoon Jeff came home early to pick up his new eye glasses. He hates to admit that he is getting older...but he has been squinting in order to read. He now has a very sharp looking pair of reading glasses.
After the boys got home, we got into our loaded van and did the drive to Wisconsin. It rained the whole way there. Jeff drove the first 1/2 and I drove the second 1/2. We arrived in Ellsworth about 11:00 PM.
Saturday was a rainy day with brat making, my parents arriving, greenhouse visiting, and (of course) Jenna's dance recital. Jenna was so excited and looked so cute in her yellow costume. Besides Jeff, Joe, Jackson, Grandma and Grandpa Primmer, Grandma and Grandpa Gruber, and me we had Auntie Sue and Cousin Ella join us! The show lasted 2 hours (Jenna was on stage for about 4 minutes). Afterwards we went out to a Chinese Buffet in Hudson. We decided to pool our lucky numbers from our fortune cookies and play the Lotto. (Sunday we realized we didn't win.) We said goodbye to my parents, had a little visit with the Dzubays, and headed home. Kids were tired and went to bed.....Grandma Gruber and I were tired and went to bed!
Sunday we had a great breakfast, loaded the van, stopped by IKEA (to get the missing knobs for Jackson's dresser and a few other small items), and headed home. It rained the whole weekend and the whole drive home. Jeff did the whole drive. We got home about 7PM. Had a little frozen pizza for supper, Joe finished his home work, and we gave Mr. Whiskers a lot of love and attention.
So, the last two days have been busy with the regular household chores. I did take the recycling to the recycling center. That helped clean up the garage. Jenna and I took our neighbors Charlotte and Kelen to the greenhouse yesterday. I found some english ivy to add to my window box. I also planted some other cute flowers (I can't remember the name of them right now) in a few containers. I still haven't found my digital camera...so you'll have to wait to see any pictures.
I haven't heard from any principal of any interviews. I did email the principal at the boys school my resume and expressed my interest in the positions at Reeder (2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade).
Today I get to go to Jackson's class for Parent's day. I think we get to play math games with our child. Since I will be at school until 2:00, I will get the boys after school (It's an early release day) and pick up Jenna from the neighbors and perhaps go to a movie.
Jenna loves riding her new bike and even crosses the street to go to the park - all by herself (we need to work on her telling me first!) It is nice that she has a friend,Hannah, down the street. Infact, our neighborhood is filled with kids! Joe has a friend, Jimmy (who rides the bus and is in 4th grade) and Jackson plays with Alec, Max, and Cameron.
Hope you have a great day!
Time to catch everyone up on our travels. Friday Jenna had Kindergarten Round Up at Reeder Elementary. Since there was a parent meeting earlier in the spring I was just suppose to drop her off for 2 hours. I wasn't sure what to do with myself, so I went for a drive to Gretna to try to find their elementary schools. I had turned my application in to that district, too.
Friday afternoon Jeff came home early to pick up his new eye glasses. He hates to admit that he is getting older...but he has been squinting in order to read. He now has a very sharp looking pair of reading glasses.
After the boys got home, we got into our loaded van and did the drive to Wisconsin. It rained the whole way there. Jeff drove the first 1/2 and I drove the second 1/2. We arrived in Ellsworth about 11:00 PM.
Saturday was a rainy day with brat making, my parents arriving, greenhouse visiting, and (of course) Jenna's dance recital. Jenna was so excited and looked so cute in her yellow costume. Besides Jeff, Joe, Jackson, Grandma and Grandpa Primmer, Grandma and Grandpa Gruber, and me we had Auntie Sue and Cousin Ella join us! The show lasted 2 hours (Jenna was on stage for about 4 minutes). Afterwards we went out to a Chinese Buffet in Hudson. We decided to pool our lucky numbers from our fortune cookies and play the Lotto. (Sunday we realized we didn't win.) We said goodbye to my parents, had a little visit with the Dzubays, and headed home. Kids were tired and went to bed.....Grandma Gruber and I were tired and went to bed!
Sunday we had a great breakfast, loaded the van, stopped by IKEA (to get the missing knobs for Jackson's dresser and a few other small items), and headed home. It rained the whole weekend and the whole drive home. Jeff did the whole drive. We got home about 7PM. Had a little frozen pizza for supper, Joe finished his home work, and we gave Mr. Whiskers a lot of love and attention.
So, the last two days have been busy with the regular household chores. I did take the recycling to the recycling center. That helped clean up the garage. Jenna and I took our neighbors Charlotte and Kelen to the greenhouse yesterday. I found some english ivy to add to my window box. I also planted some other cute flowers (I can't remember the name of them right now) in a few containers. I still haven't found my digital camera...so you'll have to wait to see any pictures.
I haven't heard from any principal of any interviews. I did email the principal at the boys school my resume and expressed my interest in the positions at Reeder (2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade).
Today I get to go to Jackson's class for Parent's day. I think we get to play math games with our child. Since I will be at school until 2:00, I will get the boys after school (It's an early release day) and pick up Jenna from the neighbors and perhaps go to a movie.
Jenna loves riding her new bike and even crosses the street to go to the park - all by herself (we need to work on her telling me first!) It is nice that she has a friend,Hannah, down the street. Infact, our neighborhood is filled with kids! Joe has a friend, Jimmy (who rides the bus and is in 4th grade) and Jackson plays with Alec, Max, and Cameron.
Hope you have a great day!
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Wednesday and Thursday of this week
Yesterday the boys had Early Release from school. Every Wednesday school is out at 2:00 PM. They get off the bus at about 2:20 PM. We had tacos for supper. Enjoying them made us think of our friend (and Jackson's kindergarten teacher) Miss Dhom. She would often join us in Janesville for supper - especially Taco night! After supper the kid watched "The Amazing Race" while Jeff and I had a visit from Pastor Terry for "Living Faith UMC". It was an informative visit. We will be taking some small bible study classes before we 'officially' join the church. Later that evening I submitted my teacher application to the Gretna School District. It is a smaller district than Millard (where we live and the boys go to), but it is close by and looks like a good 'fit' for me.
Today Jenna and I found the DMV. What a process....first we had to get a vehicle inspection from the Sheriff's department. After that we had to bring our paper work to the Treasurer's office and pay WAY TOO MUCH to register the van (over $400). Next I had to fill out driver's license paperwork and get back in the DMV line to get my picture taken. I love the picture on my MN license....too bad I didn't get to keep it. My picture today was Ok...(about as good as a DMV photo can be). Now here's something interesting. When were lived in Wisconsin my van had the license plate RUAMOM2. I was able to get that same RUAMOM2 when we lived in Minnesota. Now I've found out that RUAMOM2 is also available in Nebraska. So, I'll be sending in my paperwork to get that on my license plate. It is my goal to collect as many RUAMOM2 from as many states as possible!
I now also have my official Nebraska "Standard Teaching Certificate". It arrived in the mail this week. It is good for teaching Kindergarten - grade 6 and expires on 08/31/2013! (Prior to this I was given a one year Conditional Teaching Permit.)
Tomorrow Jenna has kindergarten round up! She is so excited! She's been wearing her backpack around the house the last few day!
Tomorrow afternoon we drive to Ellsworth and Saturday Jenna has her dance recital! I can't wait to see my parents and my in-laws!
Have a good week and weekend!
Today Jenna and I found the DMV. What a process....first we had to get a vehicle inspection from the Sheriff's department. After that we had to bring our paper work to the Treasurer's office and pay WAY TOO MUCH to register the van (over $400). Next I had to fill out driver's license paperwork and get back in the DMV line to get my picture taken. I love the picture on my MN license....too bad I didn't get to keep it. My picture today was Ok...(about as good as a DMV photo can be). Now here's something interesting. When were lived in Wisconsin my van had the license plate RUAMOM2. I was able to get that same RUAMOM2 when we lived in Minnesota. Now I've found out that RUAMOM2 is also available in Nebraska. So, I'll be sending in my paperwork to get that on my license plate. It is my goal to collect as many RUAMOM2 from as many states as possible!
I now also have my official Nebraska "Standard Teaching Certificate". It arrived in the mail this week. It is good for teaching Kindergarten - grade 6 and expires on 08/31/2013! (Prior to this I was given a one year Conditional Teaching Permit.)
Tomorrow Jenna has kindergarten round up! She is so excited! She's been wearing her backpack around the house the last few day!
Tomorrow afternoon we drive to Ellsworth and Saturday Jenna has her dance recital! I can't wait to see my parents and my in-laws!
Have a good week and weekend!
Jackson's 1st Grade Program
It has been a very nice week. Tuesday night we went to Reeder Elementary to see Jackson and his first grade classmates in "The Missing Tarts". Here is the program from that show:
Reeder Elementary School Presents…
“The Missing Tarts”
A Book By: B. G. Hennessy
Adapted for musical production by:
Kelly Brinkman and Karen Benson
Tuesday, April 25th, 2006
WELCOME, WELCOME to our program!!! We have created so much of this production including, everything spoken by our characters and our readers. We hope you enjoy the show!
The Queen of Hearts Arr. DeLelles and Kriske
Special Movers – Camryn Steckelberg, Emily Christensen, Preston Lau, and Tyler Hahn
(Movement created by these students)
In this song, listen for how the instrument players can keep a steady beat. Some of our students are also playing their instrument only on the rhyming words. Our movers are listening very closely to the high and low sounds of the instruments. When the instruments play high, only the soloists moves. When the instruments play low, everyone else gets to move.
Jack and Jill Arr. DeLelles
For this piece, we get to use both our speaking and singing voice. Our instrument players are doing a great job of playing a steady beat while some of our instrument players only play when we say “water” and “after.”
Old King Cole Arr. DeLelles and Kriske
Rhythm Readers – Ethan Dougherty, Kirkland Jens, Nathan Nevarez, Emily Brandt, Rebekah Younts, Sara Miller, Lois Corey, and Dana Clements
(Rhythms created by these students)
During this nursery rhyme, we get to use our speaking voice! Listen to the rhythm that we play on our laps while we say the poem. It does not always match the rhythm we are saying! We have also been working on reading musical rhythms and creating our own. We hope you enjoy them!
Old Mother Hubbard Arr. DeLelles and Kriske
Poem Readers – Justin Xiong, Luke Parks, Mary Parr, Eric Meiser, Madelyn Biniamow, Colton Sliva, Alexis Novacek, and Saeda Aman
(Poems created by Mrs. Holstein’s Class)
We worked so hard to come up with the rest of this nursery rhyme! All of the first grades discussed things Old Mother Hubbard could buy and what we could rhyme those words with. We hope like our funny ideas! Listen to how we can keep a steady beat on our lap and with our hands.
Jack Sprat Arr. Karen Benson
Middle Text: Kelly Brinkman
Wow! There are a lot of tough things we had to learn for this nursery rhyme. Listen to those instrument players! They have three different parts going on at the time same! When we get to the middle of the song, we all have to do three parts at the same time. This teaches us to listen carefully and not get distracted while someone else is doing something else!
Little Jack Horner Arr. Karen Benson
Middle Text: Kelly Brinkman
The instrument players have to do a special beat pattern on this song. They have to put a rest after every beat! Listen to all of the great pies we came up with in class. Our classes decided that chocolate pie was the best!!! Listen to how we can pat a rhythm in 6/8 time!
Little Bo-Peep Arr. DeLelles and Kriske
Instrument players – Dillion Murman, Nathan Phipps, Brooke Artz, Ashley Wagner, Destiny Dickerman, and Kylie Wrage
We worked very hard to play the rhythms in this poem. Listen to all the different instruments we chose to play. The rhythms we play on the instruments match the rhythm of the poem. We get to use our magic lips on this poem. This is where we have to say the words but no sound can come out of our mouth.
Little Boy Blue Arr. W. J.
This was our toughest song even though it is not very long. First of all, we have to sing up in our really high voices and the melody is very different from our other songs. Then, the instrument players have to play a special beat pattern that we normally learn in 2nd Grade!!! Listen for the part of the song that we sing the whole thing on one note!
The Man in the Moon Arr. DeLelles
Instrument players – Lois Corey, Dana Clements, Sara Miller, and Rebekah Younts
This was one of our favorite songs! We get to use both our singing voice and our speaking voice. Look at our great actions for this song…guess what? We made them up! The beat pattern for this song is very slow. It was a little tricky for us to play a beat so slow because we all like to go really fast!
Star Light, Star Bright Arr. Kelly Brinkman
Instrument players – Lois Corey, Dana Clements, Sara Miller, and Rebekah Younts
Soloists – Megan Schmidt, Kylie Zeschmann, Joey Nelson, Paige Clark, Alyssa Pitzer, Brooke Staashelm, Danielle Tyler, and Hayley Addison
Wow! We are done already! We hope you like this last song. We all got to try out the solos and figure out what we would wish for if we had a wishing star. The three notes we sing for our solos are three very important notes. We need to know those three notes very well before we go into 2nd Grade!
Readers
Stacy Scissom Tyler Hahn Justin Xiong Brianna Sis
Kirkland Jens Emily Brandt Alex Haynes Hannah Sage
Cassidy Bruns Nick Nguyen
Characters
Queen of Hearts ~ Azaria Ahl King of Hearts ~ Avery Owen
Jack ~ Matthew Battaglia Jill ~ Amber George
Old King Cole ~ Colin Hansen Servant with Pipe ~ Sam Harter
Servant with Bowl ~ Jonathan Engelbart Fiddler #1 ~ Antonia Giebler
Fiddler #2 ~ Rachel Baker Fiddler #3 ~ Maddison Marnin
Old Mother Hubbard ~ Sierra Eastridge Dog ~ Will Schertz
Jack Sprat ~ Joel Meyer Wife ~ Lauren Marcuzzo
Little Jack Horner ~ Brandon Batchelor Little Bo Peep ~ Alex Vondra
Little Boy Blue ~ Spencer Hogancamp Man in the Moon ~ Brandon McClintock
Wishing Star ~ Jennifer Love
A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Suzanne Hinman, Mr. Trevor Templar, Mrs. Heather Mead, Mr. Brad Ketelsen, and all of the Reeder Staff for all of your time and support! Another HUGE thank you to all of our first grade students and parents for all of your support for music here at Reeder! Parents, your students are SO amazing!
Reeder Elementary School Presents…
“The Missing Tarts”
A Book By: B. G. Hennessy
Adapted for musical production by:
Kelly Brinkman and Karen Benson
Tuesday, April 25th, 2006
WELCOME, WELCOME to our program!!! We have created so much of this production including, everything spoken by our characters and our readers. We hope you enjoy the show!
The Queen of Hearts Arr. DeLelles and Kriske
Special Movers – Camryn Steckelberg, Emily Christensen, Preston Lau, and Tyler Hahn
(Movement created by these students)
In this song, listen for how the instrument players can keep a steady beat. Some of our students are also playing their instrument only on the rhyming words. Our movers are listening very closely to the high and low sounds of the instruments. When the instruments play high, only the soloists moves. When the instruments play low, everyone else gets to move.
Jack and Jill Arr. DeLelles
For this piece, we get to use both our speaking and singing voice. Our instrument players are doing a great job of playing a steady beat while some of our instrument players only play when we say “water” and “after.”
Old King Cole Arr. DeLelles and Kriske
Rhythm Readers – Ethan Dougherty, Kirkland Jens, Nathan Nevarez, Emily Brandt, Rebekah Younts, Sara Miller, Lois Corey, and Dana Clements
(Rhythms created by these students)
During this nursery rhyme, we get to use our speaking voice! Listen to the rhythm that we play on our laps while we say the poem. It does not always match the rhythm we are saying! We have also been working on reading musical rhythms and creating our own. We hope you enjoy them!
Old Mother Hubbard Arr. DeLelles and Kriske
Poem Readers – Justin Xiong, Luke Parks, Mary Parr, Eric Meiser, Madelyn Biniamow, Colton Sliva, Alexis Novacek, and Saeda Aman
(Poems created by Mrs. Holstein’s Class)
We worked so hard to come up with the rest of this nursery rhyme! All of the first grades discussed things Old Mother Hubbard could buy and what we could rhyme those words with. We hope like our funny ideas! Listen to how we can keep a steady beat on our lap and with our hands.
Jack Sprat Arr. Karen Benson
Middle Text: Kelly Brinkman
Wow! There are a lot of tough things we had to learn for this nursery rhyme. Listen to those instrument players! They have three different parts going on at the time same! When we get to the middle of the song, we all have to do three parts at the same time. This teaches us to listen carefully and not get distracted while someone else is doing something else!
Little Jack Horner Arr. Karen Benson
Middle Text: Kelly Brinkman
The instrument players have to do a special beat pattern on this song. They have to put a rest after every beat! Listen to all of the great pies we came up with in class. Our classes decided that chocolate pie was the best!!! Listen to how we can pat a rhythm in 6/8 time!
Little Bo-Peep Arr. DeLelles and Kriske
Instrument players – Dillion Murman, Nathan Phipps, Brooke Artz, Ashley Wagner, Destiny Dickerman, and Kylie Wrage
We worked very hard to play the rhythms in this poem. Listen to all the different instruments we chose to play. The rhythms we play on the instruments match the rhythm of the poem. We get to use our magic lips on this poem. This is where we have to say the words but no sound can come out of our mouth.
Little Boy Blue Arr. W. J.
This was our toughest song even though it is not very long. First of all, we have to sing up in our really high voices and the melody is very different from our other songs. Then, the instrument players have to play a special beat pattern that we normally learn in 2nd Grade!!! Listen for the part of the song that we sing the whole thing on one note!
The Man in the Moon Arr. DeLelles
Instrument players – Lois Corey, Dana Clements, Sara Miller, and Rebekah Younts
This was one of our favorite songs! We get to use both our singing voice and our speaking voice. Look at our great actions for this song…guess what? We made them up! The beat pattern for this song is very slow. It was a little tricky for us to play a beat so slow because we all like to go really fast!
Star Light, Star Bright Arr. Kelly Brinkman
Instrument players – Lois Corey, Dana Clements, Sara Miller, and Rebekah Younts
Soloists – Megan Schmidt, Kylie Zeschmann, Joey Nelson, Paige Clark, Alyssa Pitzer, Brooke Staashelm, Danielle Tyler, and Hayley Addison
Wow! We are done already! We hope you like this last song. We all got to try out the solos and figure out what we would wish for if we had a wishing star. The three notes we sing for our solos are three very important notes. We need to know those three notes very well before we go into 2nd Grade!
Readers
Stacy Scissom Tyler Hahn Justin Xiong Brianna Sis
Kirkland Jens Emily Brandt Alex Haynes Hannah Sage
Cassidy Bruns Nick Nguyen
Characters
Queen of Hearts ~ Azaria Ahl King of Hearts ~ Avery Owen
Jack ~ Matthew Battaglia Jill ~ Amber George
Old King Cole ~ Colin Hansen Servant with Pipe ~ Sam Harter
Servant with Bowl ~ Jonathan Engelbart Fiddler #1 ~ Antonia Giebler
Fiddler #2 ~ Rachel Baker Fiddler #3 ~ Maddison Marnin
Old Mother Hubbard ~ Sierra Eastridge Dog ~ Will Schertz
Jack Sprat ~ Joel Meyer Wife ~ Lauren Marcuzzo
Little Jack Horner ~ Brandon Batchelor Little Bo Peep ~ Alex Vondra
Little Boy Blue ~ Spencer Hogancamp Man in the Moon ~ Brandon McClintock
Wishing Star ~ Jennifer Love
A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Suzanne Hinman, Mr. Trevor Templar, Mrs. Heather Mead, Mr. Brad Ketelsen, and all of the Reeder Staff for all of your time and support! Another HUGE thank you to all of our first grade students and parents for all of your support for music here at Reeder! Parents, your students are SO amazing!
Monday, April 24, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
We had a wonderful weekend! On Friday we attended at Cub Scout meeting at Reeder. After the informational meeting we tried out a suggested Chineese restuarant.....it was ok food, tasted better the next day.
Saturday we did work around the house. Jeff and Jackson put in a flower garden. Now the question is - what do we do with our sod???? The weather was beautiful and I got a little sunburned! I also had a nice talk with "Grandma Linda".
Linda and her husband Glenn are very dear friends from Janesville. Linda has a special place in my heart. Not only does she remind me of my wonderful Aunt Jean......but she was there to take me to the hospital when Jenna was born. Jeff had just started a new position in Racine and was over an hour away. I didn't want to wait that long, so I called school and asked for "Grandma Linda." Without hesitation, she was there for me - as she always had been and countinues to be.
We put up Joe's curtain rod and hung a few more things on the wall. Leftovers for supper. We enjoyed watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Jeff and Joe had not seen it, but I took Jackson and Jenna with my niece Ella and nephew Isaac earlier this fall. Of course, we had to have popcorn to go with the movie!
Sunday we went to "Living Faith UMC" again. Jenna and Jackson had fun at Sunday School. We had a special donut treat afterwards. After lunch and a few more tasks around the house we decided to go for a bike ride. Here is the trail we went on: http://trekomaha.com/page.cfm?PageID=209 It was about 8 miles long. It was so much fun, but a bit rough on my out of shape body. I realized I need a gel seat and a new pair of knees. After the ride we had a great supper of burgers on the grill and then a great game of 'spoons'.
Everyone was exhausted, so it was early to bed for all!
Saturday we did work around the house. Jeff and Jackson put in a flower garden. Now the question is - what do we do with our sod???? The weather was beautiful and I got a little sunburned! I also had a nice talk with "Grandma Linda".
Linda and her husband Glenn are very dear friends from Janesville. Linda has a special place in my heart. Not only does she remind me of my wonderful Aunt Jean......but she was there to take me to the hospital when Jenna was born. Jeff had just started a new position in Racine and was over an hour away. I didn't want to wait that long, so I called school and asked for "Grandma Linda." Without hesitation, she was there for me - as she always had been and countinues to be.
We put up Joe's curtain rod and hung a few more things on the wall. Leftovers for supper. We enjoyed watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Jeff and Joe had not seen it, but I took Jackson and Jenna with my niece Ella and nephew Isaac earlier this fall. Of course, we had to have popcorn to go with the movie!
Sunday we went to "Living Faith UMC" again. Jenna and Jackson had fun at Sunday School. We had a special donut treat afterwards. After lunch and a few more tasks around the house we decided to go for a bike ride. Here is the trail we went on: http://trekomaha.com/page.cfm?PageID=209 It was about 8 miles long. It was so much fun, but a bit rough on my out of shape body. I realized I need a gel seat and a new pair of knees. After the ride we had a great supper of burgers on the grill and then a great game of 'spoons'.
Everyone was exhausted, so it was early to bed for all!
Friday, April 21, 2006
A surprise in the mailbox
I just have to tell you how excited I am about a surprise I received in the mailbox yesterday. During my time at the YMCA, I was fortunate to have a volunteer from the College of St. Thomas help in my classroom. Megan is a cousin of my friend Jen. (Jen and I taught together in Janesville and she now lives and teaches in the Twin Cities.) Megan had to complete a project during her time at the YMCA Pre-school. She chose to do a quilt. We traced the children's handprints on fabric squares and they were able to color it in and write his/her name. Megan told me she was going to donate it to a charity......Happily, this storyline was just a cover up. She intended to give it to me all along.....
Well, it arrived in the mail and it is BEAUTIFUL. As soon as I locate my digital camera....I will take a picture of it and post it here. The front has the handprint squares alternating with a bright aqua blue butterfly pattern. Those 5 blocks by 5 blocks is framed by a two tone orange striped pattern. Finally, a deep red material is framing that. It is binded by the same orange striped pattern. The neat part is the quilting - itself. On the quilt (except for the special handprint squares) is a multicolored tread sewn randomly (on the butterfly squares) and red thread sewn randomly on the red material.
I can't wait to show it to my mom and mother-in-law. They are both quilters and sewers and will love to see it! I might need to have my dad make me a wooden quilt holder that hangs on the wall.
Today was a beautiful day. Not so windy and nice and sunny. Jenna loved riding her bike up and down the street. I appreciate having a sidewalk here and a flat street! I put most of the winter gear away in the basement and organized our front closet. Laundry got folded and brownies were made for an after school treat.
The boys brought their weekly newsletter home today. I found out that their last day of school will be Friday, May 26. The district over plans for possible snow days and they didn't use all that they planned for. I'm so excited the boys will be done before Memorial Day. Perhaps the early start in August is a good thing? We will start making our summer plans for a big trip to WI, now!
We are going to locate a Chinese restaurant for supper tonight....I hope we find some good sesame Chicken!
Have a great weekend!
Well, it arrived in the mail and it is BEAUTIFUL. As soon as I locate my digital camera....I will take a picture of it and post it here. The front has the handprint squares alternating with a bright aqua blue butterfly pattern. Those 5 blocks by 5 blocks is framed by a two tone orange striped pattern. Finally, a deep red material is framing that. It is binded by the same orange striped pattern. The neat part is the quilting - itself. On the quilt (except for the special handprint squares) is a multicolored tread sewn randomly (on the butterfly squares) and red thread sewn randomly on the red material.
I can't wait to show it to my mom and mother-in-law. They are both quilters and sewers and will love to see it! I might need to have my dad make me a wooden quilt holder that hangs on the wall.
Today was a beautiful day. Not so windy and nice and sunny. Jenna loved riding her bike up and down the street. I appreciate having a sidewalk here and a flat street! I put most of the winter gear away in the basement and organized our front closet. Laundry got folded and brownies were made for an after school treat.
The boys brought their weekly newsletter home today. I found out that their last day of school will be Friday, May 26. The district over plans for possible snow days and they didn't use all that they planned for. I'm so excited the boys will be done before Memorial Day. Perhaps the early start in August is a good thing? We will start making our summer plans for a big trip to WI, now!
We are going to locate a Chinese restaurant for supper tonight....I hope we find some good sesame Chicken!
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Good Morning! I want to first of all thank my brother, Don, and my sorority sis, Rae, for writing a comment on the blog - glad to know someone is reading!
It made me think back to our days at UWRF, when Rae won a trip to NYC for Winter Carnival. She had no one else available to take - so she was going to go with Don.....how crazy is that???? However, as it turned out she and Don didn't go together. She allowed Don to go with Rachel (girl friend at the time - now wife). Interesting enough....earlier in our UWRF days the Student activities office gave away a trip to Hollywood and Don's roommate won that trip....later in my college years Student Activities gave away at trip to New Orleans and I won that trip and took Jeff.
Now on to our Omaha Happenings.....Jeff left Monday for the Twin Cities. He came back home last night and boy did we miss him! Jenna went to the dentist on Wednesday and had a cavity filled. It was just the start of one, so she didn't need any shots. Our dentist office is cool - it is for children only. TV screens on the ceiling, a train running around the ceiling, video games in the waiting room as well as a train table. Kids love it!
After the dentist I ran to target....much to the dismay of my husband. I needed to find a curtain rod for Joe's room. He has shades, but no curtains. Luckily, the curtains from our Janesville house are a perfect size!!!! They have a planet design on them and Grandma Gruber made them. While at Target I was able to find a few other necessities! I found a great table runner with lots of interesting colors and patterns in it. I also used 2 place mats and made a small curtain for my kitchen window - using a tension rod and some clips (Got the idea from Starla).
I'm still in need of curtains for our room and living room. I have to find the sheer fabric for our family room - I packed it, but can't find it yet. In fact, there are a lot of things I can't find - digital camera, the base for one of our phones. I've already lost our new zoo membership card. I called today and had to pay $5.00 for a replacement. Watch...it will turn up in a week!
I was feeling a bit 'homesick' this week. I tried to cure myself by walking in Shopko...it helped! I called my friend Karen in Janesville (to have her read some questions from her reading book - because Joe forgot his reading book at school and we had the same book). She was getting ready for the Spring trip to the JSOL (Janesville School's Outdoor laboratory). I loved going out to the school forest.....made me miss Adams School.
This morning some concrete guy is fixing part of our driveway. There was a crack in it and now he's digging it up!
Jenna practiced her dance recital dances. I joined in on 'Buttercup'....it was a lot of fun. She has 9 days until her show!
Now that Jeff is home, I hope to get some bigger jobs done around the house. We now have the hardware from IKEA for Jackson's dresser - so that can be put together! Joe's curtain rod needs to be put up, I have a shelf in my room I want put up, and I bought an organizer for my ironing board and iron. On top of that we want to get a flower garden planted. It will be a busy weekend!!!!
Have a good day!
It made me think back to our days at UWRF, when Rae won a trip to NYC for Winter Carnival. She had no one else available to take - so she was going to go with Don.....how crazy is that???? However, as it turned out she and Don didn't go together. She allowed Don to go with Rachel (girl friend at the time - now wife). Interesting enough....earlier in our UWRF days the Student activities office gave away a trip to Hollywood and Don's roommate won that trip....later in my college years Student Activities gave away at trip to New Orleans and I won that trip and took Jeff.
Now on to our Omaha Happenings.....Jeff left Monday for the Twin Cities. He came back home last night and boy did we miss him! Jenna went to the dentist on Wednesday and had a cavity filled. It was just the start of one, so she didn't need any shots. Our dentist office is cool - it is for children only. TV screens on the ceiling, a train running around the ceiling, video games in the waiting room as well as a train table. Kids love it!
After the dentist I ran to target....much to the dismay of my husband. I needed to find a curtain rod for Joe's room. He has shades, but no curtains. Luckily, the curtains from our Janesville house are a perfect size!!!! They have a planet design on them and Grandma Gruber made them. While at Target I was able to find a few other necessities! I found a great table runner with lots of interesting colors and patterns in it. I also used 2 place mats and made a small curtain for my kitchen window - using a tension rod and some clips (Got the idea from Starla).
I'm still in need of curtains for our room and living room. I have to find the sheer fabric for our family room - I packed it, but can't find it yet. In fact, there are a lot of things I can't find - digital camera, the base for one of our phones. I've already lost our new zoo membership card. I called today and had to pay $5.00 for a replacement. Watch...it will turn up in a week!
I was feeling a bit 'homesick' this week. I tried to cure myself by walking in Shopko...it helped! I called my friend Karen in Janesville (to have her read some questions from her reading book - because Joe forgot his reading book at school and we had the same book). She was getting ready for the Spring trip to the JSOL (Janesville School's Outdoor laboratory). I loved going out to the school forest.....made me miss Adams School.
This morning some concrete guy is fixing part of our driveway. There was a crack in it and now he's digging it up!
Jenna practiced her dance recital dances. I joined in on 'Buttercup'....it was a lot of fun. She has 9 days until her show!
Now that Jeff is home, I hope to get some bigger jobs done around the house. We now have the hardware from IKEA for Jackson's dresser - so that can be put together! Joe's curtain rod needs to be put up, I have a shelf in my room I want put up, and I bought an organizer for my ironing board and iron. On top of that we want to get a flower garden planted. It will be a busy weekend!!!!
Have a good day!
Monday, April 17, 2006
Easter Weekend
We have survived the drive to Wisconsin for Easter. The drive was well worth it, but it was a very long trip home! After school on Thursday, April 13 the kids and I went to get Jeff at his work. I should know better than to drive how I think we've gone there before (watching Jeff do it) - as I got lost. I didn't get a little lost....I got lost BIG TIME! We ended up in a very scary part of Omaha. Good thing I had Joe with me. He called Jeff on the cell phone and we eventually figured out our way out of the tough neighborhood. Jeff did the rest of the drive to Wisconsin. We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Gruber's about 11:30 PM. We all went right to sleep.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Happy 7th Birthday, Jackson!
We celebrated with a trip to MOA (Mall of America). The kids went on rides with their cousins - Mac, Erin, and Eden. Auntie Sarah and Auntie Beth joined in on the fun! They rode the Pepsi Ripsaw, the Log/Water ride, the Frog Jumper, and Jaci took Joe and Jack on the Timberland Twister (which is like a Tilt-a-whirl on a roller coaster!) Even Auntie Sarah went on the water ride!
We enjoyed the rest of the day with an awesome fish fry at Grandma and Grandpa's house followed up by DQ ice cream cake!
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Easter Egg Hunt today in Ellsworth for Jackson, Jenna, Erin, Eden, Cade, Mac, and Anna. It was a good thing we brought cousin Ella along to help watch all of the kids! Joe went to Big River with Grandpa Gruber and the Dzubay family. He loved riding the 4 wheeler. Jeff had to run into work in Edina so Jaci and the kids went with Uncle Nate and Uncle Andy and their kids to Big River. We collected some rocks, walked on trails, rode 4 wheelers and walked in the river. Kids had a great time! It was a beautiful sunny day. That night we had another fantastic meal followed by coloring of the Easter Eggs. Imagine 8 kids dipping their eggs into cups full of colored dye. It was crazy...but fun! The eggs turned out beautiful! I went to visit with Starla that evening in River Falls - it was great to see her and the kids. Made me realize how far away we really are!
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Happy Easter!
We made it to church - early - all 16 of us!!! All of the kids were so very well behaved and adorable with their Easter clothes on! I loved watching how nice Jenna and Eden, Jackson and Erin got along. Joe was adorable when he would hold his little cousin Anna. She loved to touch and feel his hair. The kids found their Easter baskets. Joe's was very difficult - way on top of the kitchen cabinets. He need assistance from Uncle Nate and a broom handle to get it down.
The rest of the cousins came over for Easter dinner. Can you see all 12 cousins....running around looking for their Easter eggs? The meal was delicious. The sad part was knowing we had to leave it all. I had a hard time with the good byes! Luckily I know we will be back in 2 weeks for Jenna's dance recital. That time my parents will join us!
Our drive home went fine. We devoured 23 buns - most filled with ham, some not. (Thanks Frank for the ham!!!) Kids stayed awake until we got to Jeff's work to pick up his truck (about 8:45 PM). As soon as we left ConAgra - everyone was sound a sleep. We got home shortly after 9PM. Tucked the kids in bed and poor Jeff had to pack up for a flight - where to.....The Twin Cities!!!!
It was a fun packed Easter Weekend!
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Jaci's interview
I got the call from the principal I interviewed with - they went with another candidate. I look forward to more interviews this spring and summer.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Neighbors
It is so fortunate that everyone in our neighborhood is new. We have met so many wonderful people. Allow me to describe them to you. Charlotte and her husband Scott just moved from Chicago. They live right next door to us. They are originally from CA. They have 3 year old Kelen. I've really enjoyed getting to know Charlotte (who is now a stay at home mom). Down from Charlotte and Scott is Prem. She has lived in Omaha for about 2 1/2 years but in the neighborhood since December. She moved here from India. Both her and her husband are computer programers. She has promised Charlotte and me an Indian meal. We both are looking forward to that. Next to Perm is Chris and her husband Chad. Chad is a cop on the OPD. Chris stays home with their 3 girls. Morgan and Sarah are 9 and in the 4th grade (twins). Hannah is 4 and Jenna's new buddy. Across the street is Matt and Sasha. They just had a baby on Saturday. They named him Jack. They also have 2 dogs and one is named Jackson. I hope when I call for my son, Jack - that the dog doesn't come a running! Matt and Sasha are originally from Omaha, but just moved back from West St. Paul. I brought over some of my choc. chip/butterscotch chip cookies from a welcome home baby gift.
Finally, at the other end of the street is Ingrid and her two sons, Alec and Max. Alec is in 2nd grade and Max will be in kindergarten next year.
It was a beautiful day here in Omaha. I have been told, however, that the wind doesn't stop blowing. I'm sure I'll get used to it....but I think I'll need to start wearing a ponytail from now on. I'm getting tired of that 'wind whipped' feel.
Finally, at the other end of the street is Ingrid and her two sons, Alec and Max. Alec is in 2nd grade and Max will be in kindergarten next year.
It was a beautiful day here in Omaha. I have been told, however, that the wind doesn't stop blowing. I'm sure I'll get used to it....but I think I'll need to start wearing a ponytail from now on. I'm getting tired of that 'wind whipped' feel.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Today is Tuesday, April 11, 2006. The boys got on the school bus just fine today. Jackson was smiling at me out the window as the bus went off to school. I think I'm going to enjoy not having to do the drive - especially the crazy pick up! Jenna and I did a little shopping today. We checked our a new store called Gordmans. It seems to be like a TJ Maxx. We found some cute decor to add to Jackson's hunting/fishing/ cabin room. Then we went to a cute toy store and purchased a lot of birthday presents. We have Jackson's birthday on Friday, Cousin Anna and Cade will turn 2 at the end of April, Cousin Claire will be 9 at the beginning of May, and our friend Dane will also turn 2 on the same day at Cade. Our good friend Kayley will have a birthday soon to - on May 1st. We aren't sure what to get her, yet. I thought Jackson would like to be with when we go to get it. Finally, we went to Bakers grocery store. I love that place. It is like Logli's in Janesville. Great deli and bakery!
Jenna and I came home to grilled cheese sandwiches and left over lasagna. I've been working on finding a Pediatric ophthalmologist for Jenna. Luckily, Dr. Struck (our doctor from Wisconsin) has suggested some doctors. I've notice that Jenna's eye is going crossed more often and I'm not confident with what the MN doctor had done with Jenna (using bi-focals).
I've been trying to get a hold of my Aunt Jean. I want to get a pork chop receipe from her that uses stuffing and apple pie filling. She isn't home right now. I'll have to keep trying.
Jenna and I came home to grilled cheese sandwiches and left over lasagna. I've been working on finding a Pediatric ophthalmologist for Jenna. Luckily, Dr. Struck (our doctor from Wisconsin) has suggested some doctors. I've notice that Jenna's eye is going crossed more often and I'm not confident with what the MN doctor had done with Jenna (using bi-focals).
I've been trying to get a hold of my Aunt Jean. I want to get a pork chop receipe from her that uses stuffing and apple pie filling. She isn't home right now. I'll have to keep trying.
Monday, April 10, 2006
First Day of School
Monday, April 10, 2006 - 17 years ago today Jeff and I met and had our first date!
The boys had a happy and successful first day of school. They were both full of smiles and good news. I'm so happy for them. Tomorrow they will start taking the bus to and from school. Jenna had Hannah from down the street over to play - then went to her house to play for a while. Kids had fun with the garden hose tonight. They were to water the sod, but I think they got watered more than the ground. No news on the interview, yet.
The boys had a happy and successful first day of school. They were both full of smiles and good news. I'm so happy for them. Tomorrow they will start taking the bus to and from school. Jenna had Hannah from down the street over to play - then went to her house to play for a while. Kids had fun with the garden hose tonight. They were to water the sod, but I think they got watered more than the ground. No news on the interview, yet.
First week
Well, the boys are home with Jenna and me. They had spring break for their MN school the last week of March and for their new NE school the first week of April.
Monday (4-3-06) the kids accompanied me to a meeting with the recruiter for Millard Public Schools. I will have my name submitted for teachers interested in a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade position for the 2006-2007 school year. The unpacking continues.
Tuesday (4-4-06) Jenna decided to give herself a 'big girl' hair cut. She found a pair of school scissors and snuck off to the basement to give herself a bang trim. Unfortunatly, the 1x1 inch chunk of hair didn't go un-noticed. Jeff saw it at supper time and boy was Jenna mad at dad for brining it to mom's attention! Needless to say....mom was mad!
Wednesday (4-5-06) We took a trip to "Pony Tails and Buzz Cuts" to get Jenna's hair fixed and for Joe to get a trim. Jenna looks much better and Joe smells better since he got some new hair gel that smells like grape jelly. Joe spent some of his birthday money / Christmas gift cards at Target and got a new LEGO airplane. He spent the rest of his day playing LEGOs in his room. I got a call for an interview for a 3rd or 5th grade teaching position. Interview will be on Friday.
Thursday (4-6-06) Hummmm, boxes boxes are my life. Joe was a great chef tonight and made supper. His pick: lasagna. It was delicious.
Friday (4-7-06) I had my interview today. Jeff spent the morning with the kids so I could get to the interview. It went so/so. I think I answered the questions well, but it appeared to me that the other candidates were known to the interview team. I guess it is wait and see. YEAH the weekend is here! More boxes to undo. We ate our last package of Alaskan Halibit from my folks.
Saturday (4-8-06) What a big day. We started out by going to the ConAgra company store. We stocked up on a few items. Manwich, popcorn, pudding. After that we went to Menards to return a window blind. We wanted white - it was ivory with a red tone. Menards didn't have any more white. We headed to Lowes to get a blind there - they, too, only have ivory. Yes, we are crazy and bought it....we thought "perhaps, since the blinds are fabric, they can't be 'true white'. Jeff put the blind up with assistance from Joe and it is great!
Sunday (4-9-06) We attended church again at "Living Faith UMC". This time Jenna and Jackson attended Sunday School. Afterwards we did more jobs around the house. We decided it was about time to get out of the house and do one fun thing for spring break, so we went to the movie "Ice Age 2". Kids loved it. Before the movie Jeff went to "Sportsmen Haircut" and got a cut. It was like walking into Cabella's. ESPN on the flat screen TVs at each chair.... he loved it.
After the cut we all went to Scheels All Sport to get an "Alley Cat" bike attachment for Jenna to ride on the back of my bike. We used it and it works great! Joe played chef again and made supper for the kids. He got a Chef-Boy-R-Dee Pizza from the ConAgra Company Store and did a great job at reading and following the directions. The kids loved the pizza and ate the entire thing. Meanwhile, Jaci created a delicious deep dish pizza for the adults. After a little Extream Make Over - Home Edition, it was bed time for the kids. The boys had school in the morning!
Monday (4-3-06) the kids accompanied me to a meeting with the recruiter for Millard Public Schools. I will have my name submitted for teachers interested in a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade position for the 2006-2007 school year. The unpacking continues.
Tuesday (4-4-06) Jenna decided to give herself a 'big girl' hair cut. She found a pair of school scissors and snuck off to the basement to give herself a bang trim. Unfortunatly, the 1x1 inch chunk of hair didn't go un-noticed. Jeff saw it at supper time and boy was Jenna mad at dad for brining it to mom's attention! Needless to say....mom was mad!
Wednesday (4-5-06) We took a trip to "Pony Tails and Buzz Cuts" to get Jenna's hair fixed and for Joe to get a trim. Jenna looks much better and Joe smells better since he got some new hair gel that smells like grape jelly. Joe spent some of his birthday money / Christmas gift cards at Target and got a new LEGO airplane. He spent the rest of his day playing LEGOs in his room. I got a call for an interview for a 3rd or 5th grade teaching position. Interview will be on Friday.
Thursday (4-6-06) Hummmm, boxes boxes are my life. Joe was a great chef tonight and made supper. His pick: lasagna. It was delicious.
Friday (4-7-06) I had my interview today. Jeff spent the morning with the kids so I could get to the interview. It went so/so. I think I answered the questions well, but it appeared to me that the other candidates were known to the interview team. I guess it is wait and see. YEAH the weekend is here! More boxes to undo. We ate our last package of Alaskan Halibit from my folks.
Saturday (4-8-06) What a big day. We started out by going to the ConAgra company store. We stocked up on a few items. Manwich, popcorn, pudding. After that we went to Menards to return a window blind. We wanted white - it was ivory with a red tone. Menards didn't have any more white. We headed to Lowes to get a blind there - they, too, only have ivory. Yes, we are crazy and bought it....we thought "perhaps, since the blinds are fabric, they can't be 'true white'. Jeff put the blind up with assistance from Joe and it is great!
Sunday (4-9-06) We attended church again at "Living Faith UMC". This time Jenna and Jackson attended Sunday School. Afterwards we did more jobs around the house. We decided it was about time to get out of the house and do one fun thing for spring break, so we went to the movie "Ice Age 2". Kids loved it. Before the movie Jeff went to "Sportsmen Haircut" and got a cut. It was like walking into Cabella's. ESPN on the flat screen TVs at each chair.... he loved it.
After the cut we all went to Scheels All Sport to get an "Alley Cat" bike attachment for Jenna to ride on the back of my bike. We used it and it works great! Joe played chef again and made supper for the kids. He got a Chef-Boy-R-Dee Pizza from the ConAgra Company Store and did a great job at reading and following the directions. The kids loved the pizza and ate the entire thing. Meanwhile, Jaci created a delicious deep dish pizza for the adults. After a little Extream Make Over - Home Edition, it was bed time for the kids. The boys had school in the morning!
Our first NE weekend
Saturday, April 1, 2006
It was a busy day with everyone continuing to put their things away. Jeff put Joe's IKEA dresser together and started to do Jackson's when he realized there was no hardwear to go with it. We will have to make a trip to IKEA when we are home for Easter to get the missing parts.
We decided that after a busy day of unpacking - no one wanted to cook supper. We decided to celebrate Jenna's 5th birthday (one day early) with a trip to Famous Daves. We had a great time. Joe decided to be like Uncle Andy and order the XXXL rib dinner. 12 ribs in all. Do you think he could finish it.....NOT. Jackson, Jeff, and Jaci decided to lend a hand and try to help, but there were still about 3 ribs that got put in a 'to go' box. Unfortunatly, the 'to go' box got left on the table.
Sunday, April 2, 2006
Happy 5th Birthday to Miss Jenna Lee!!!!! We decided to go and check out the local United Methodist Church. It was a great experience. Jenna loved Sunday School and the boys were well behaved in church with us. We wanted to get a nice bite to eat so we drove for 30+ minutes to find a Perkins! The brunch was well worth the drive (although Joe was still full from his big rib dinner the night before). Our next stop was to Wal-Mart. Jenna's gift was to be a bike. She had picked out a pink Barbie bike with training wheels and a pink princess helmet. She can really cruise now!!! Dinner time was complete with a delicious cake from Bakers. It was chocolate and white cake with a raspberry filling inbetween the layers. Tomorrow is Jeff's first day the ConAgra home headquarters.
It was a busy day with everyone continuing to put their things away. Jeff put Joe's IKEA dresser together and started to do Jackson's when he realized there was no hardwear to go with it. We will have to make a trip to IKEA when we are home for Easter to get the missing parts.
We decided that after a busy day of unpacking - no one wanted to cook supper. We decided to celebrate Jenna's 5th birthday (one day early) with a trip to Famous Daves. We had a great time. Joe decided to be like Uncle Andy and order the XXXL rib dinner. 12 ribs in all. Do you think he could finish it.....NOT. Jackson, Jeff, and Jaci decided to lend a hand and try to help, but there were still about 3 ribs that got put in a 'to go' box. Unfortunatly, the 'to go' box got left on the table.
Sunday, April 2, 2006
Happy 5th Birthday to Miss Jenna Lee!!!!! We decided to go and check out the local United Methodist Church. It was a great experience. Jenna loved Sunday School and the boys were well behaved in church with us. We wanted to get a nice bite to eat so we drove for 30+ minutes to find a Perkins! The brunch was well worth the drive (although Joe was still full from his big rib dinner the night before). Our next stop was to Wal-Mart. Jenna's gift was to be a bike. She had picked out a pink Barbie bike with training wheels and a pink princess helmet. She can really cruise now!!! Dinner time was complete with a delicious cake from Bakers. It was chocolate and white cake with a raspberry filling inbetween the layers. Tomorrow is Jeff's first day the ConAgra home headquarters.
The last week in MN - first weekend in NE
Our last week in MN consisted of the mover coming to pack our things on Monday, March 27 and Tuesday, March 28. He came back with reinforcements on Wednesday, March 29 to load the moving van. After all of the boxes were loaded we finished cleaning out the house and started our drive to Nebraksa. We decided to only drive 4 hours to Des Moines, Iowa. Jeff took Jackson in the truck with the boat while Jaci hauled Joe, Jenna, and Mr. Whiskers. We were exhausted by the time we arrived at the hotel. We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant and went right to bed. We had to wake up early to get on the road. Our closing was scheduled for 10 AM in Omaha. After driving through one bad storm, we arrived in time. The closing went quickly and smoothly and we were eager to get to our new house.
Later that day the frig, washer, and dryer were delivered by Lowes. We also took care of assorted jobs like: picking up the mailbox key, grocery shopping, and putting up blinds. At the grocery store Jaci was informed that there was a tornado watch going on. Later that afternoon the watch turned into a warning and there we all were in the basement sitting on a carpet square listening to our hand crank radio for weather details. (Love that radio, Don and Rachel!)
We all settled into bed in our own bedrooms, but the kids didn't want to sleep alone and all ended up dragging their sleeping bags in Jackson's room for the night.
Friday, March 31, 2006 found the Moving Van arriving at 7:45 AM. As crazy as things seem - our new neighbors were also moving in this same day. Imagine two semis parked on the street next to each other. Since this whole neighborhood is new, everyone has boxes in their garage and is used to unpacking.
We got everything unloaded in 3 1/2 hours. Later that day the cable/phone/high speed internet guy arrived. We spent the rest of the day unpacking and having fun in our new house.
Later that day the frig, washer, and dryer were delivered by Lowes. We also took care of assorted jobs like: picking up the mailbox key, grocery shopping, and putting up blinds. At the grocery store Jaci was informed that there was a tornado watch going on. Later that afternoon the watch turned into a warning and there we all were in the basement sitting on a carpet square listening to our hand crank radio for weather details. (Love that radio, Don and Rachel!)
We all settled into bed in our own bedrooms, but the kids didn't want to sleep alone and all ended up dragging their sleeping bags in Jackson's room for the night.
Friday, March 31, 2006 found the Moving Van arriving at 7:45 AM. As crazy as things seem - our new neighbors were also moving in this same day. Imagine two semis parked on the street next to each other. Since this whole neighborhood is new, everyone has boxes in their garage and is used to unpacking.
We got everything unloaded in 3 1/2 hours. Later that day the cable/phone/high speed internet guy arrived. We spent the rest of the day unpacking and having fun in our new house.
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