First Day of School

Last week we had our first day of school. I'm just a little slow at getting the picture put up here.

Joe is 13 and in 8th grade. Jackson is 10 and in 5th grade. Jenna is 8 and in 3rd grade.

RIP Rusty

Sad news...on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 Rusty had to be put to sleep. He was diagnosed with Leukemia about 1 1/2 weeks earlier. He just didn't get better on the meds that were prescribed. Of course, we miss him terribly. Jackson is just heart broken. He was such a good dog. We were able to baby sit him many times over the past 10 years....once for 3 1/2 weeks when my parents went to Alaska.

Here are some pictures of good old Rusty boy.

A wonderful visit with Jeff and Dianne

This past weekend we had the pleasure to have Jeff and Dianne Albarado visit us from Ellsworth, WI. Jeff and Jeff have been friends since Jr. High. Each was in eachother's weddings. Jeff is the Godfather to their son, Josh. This week they are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. The started out their celebration by coming to Omaha. We had such a great time hanging out and visiting. Saturday we toured Omaha. We did the ConAgra company store, Bass Pro Shop, Jeff's lab at ConAgra, and my school. Dianne and I did a little shopping...then we headed to the Old Market area. While in the Old Market area we started our 'double date' with some beer tasting at "UpStream Brewery".



12 different beers. Some good...some not so good.



They seemed to enjoy it. After the taste testing we ordered a wonderful meal. We ate so much we decided to go walk to the pedestrian bridge. Jeff claimed it was just 5 blocks....that became a running joke.....since it was far more than 5 blocks.







On Sunday we went to Mahoney State Park. We walked (about 5 blocks) to the top of the observation tower. Very cool view of the Platte River from there. We also enjoyed a picnic lunch. Jackson and Jenna enjoyed the paddle boats while we sat on the deck and enjoyed watching them.







We loved the visit and can't wait to see them again!

Back at it

I really would have liked to have pictures of the basement up by now...but the kids have made some amazing forts - and it doesn't look too clean down there...perhaps at the end of the week.

I've taken Joe and Jackson's computers because of fighting and poor behavior choices. It's going on 5 days now....it's amazing how much more creative the kids get when not stuck to a computer screen. When asked when they will get the computers back I reply...."when I think you can be nice and loving."

Today I was so very productive. Joe and I watch our neighbor girl (Drew) and today she arrived just after 7 AM. We are also taking care of the neighbor's dog this week while they are on vacation. I got up early and greeted Drew and together we went and took care of Trooper, the dog. By the time we got back - the kids were all up. I then headed out the door to get to the grocery store. Today is my friend's (who is also Drew's mom) birthday. We made a cake for her to help her celebrate. Jenna and Drew then did a few arts and craft projects. I cooked a lasagna for supper.....whew! I feel so productive. I also have plans to tackle the linen closet.

We had a great 4th of July weekend. It wasn't the warmest.....but today is making up for it. Friday we went to our friend's lake house. The kids went tubing and swimming. Jackson also went fishing. We had a fun time. We also celebrated a 1st birthday with our neighbor's the Speikers. Their little girl, Savanna, turned 1 on Friday.

Saturday was lots of fun with the neighborhood war zone....I mean fireworks. We grilled out burgers and brats. I made some potato salad and brownies. We were just missing the sweet corn.

Sunday we played at the state park. We went swimming and the kids had a blast jumping off diving board.

In the evening I joined my friends / neighbors for a birthday celebration at "The Melting Pot". It's a great fondu joint. We just enjoyed a cheese and dessert meal....but it was all good. Great conversation all evening long.

Jeff leaves for New Jersey tomorrow for a few days.....I'm taking the kids to see the Jonas Brothers in concert tomorrow. I just told Jenna about it and she is now watching the Jonas Brothers Concert/Movie on DVD. She's going to have a blast. I hope the boys like it.....Jeff won't be home - so they must come with me. More on our big night out later this week.

Bay Beach with the Strands

We had a blast hanging with Auntie Sarah and cousins Mac and Anna. Bay Beach is such a great place to go to. Here are some pictures of our day.

HS get together

I got together with some of my High School friends while I was in Clintonville. Lori has been my friend since I was two. She lives one street over from my parents. Nancy and I have been friends she she moved to Clintonville our sophomore year in High School. Nancy lives just out the back door from my parents. Kiki and I never really hung out in HS, but we've been in band together since 7th grade. Kiki came all the way from Appleton to spend time with us. Another dear friend - Jolene - joined us for a bit with her 3 boys, but had to leave prior to our picture being taken. It was a great visit with everyone. These women are amazing ladies. It was so amazing to share life's perspectives and stories. We sure have change in the past 'ahem' few (20 +) years.





I can't believe we talked for over 3 hours and closed Pizza Hut down!!!! Can't wait to do this again!

My mom is retired

We had a great time helping my mom celebrate her retirement from teaching. Here are a few pictures!

basement work

Well, the basement is nearly back to normal. We had some drywall company here to fix up the parts that were cut out. Jeff and I repainted the walls (same color...but what a difference a coat of fresh paint makes!) Jeff put the wooden floor back in place (with Jackson's assistance) and Jeff and I painted two walls in the wood room a nice brown color (called "ice tea"). Today Jeff and Jackson tore out the carpet on the stairs then continued to put the wood trim around the perimeter of the basement while Joe and I tore out way too many staples from the stairs that were left from the carpet. We moved our stuff back to the wood room so it would be out of the way for the new carpet on Wednesday. I'm ready to have our extra space back. The kids are in need of a place to go to get away from each other. I'll get pictures up when it's all finished.

Summer has arrived

Well, our basement has dried out. There is about 2 feet of dry wall cut out all around. We have a date set to get that replaced, repaired, taped and finished. 2 weeks from now. Jeff and I will have to repaint the walls. We will then get to order carpet. They dry wall guy said that the basement will never be the same. I'm a bit bummed by that...but I will be eager to get our basement back in order and cleaned up.

School has ended. It was a great last week with my wonderful class. I was able to do some 'sentimental' ceremony things as well as my funny "Candy Bar" Awards. I've moved into my new 3rd grade room. It was a full weekend affair! I love my new room. I'm so glad I'll be ready for school in August and I won't need to spend much time in my room prior to our first days back (August 6).

Jeff has been off this week. I've love him being home and getting to spend more time with him. We joined a special bowling program. www.kidsbowlfree.com

We get 2 free games of bowling everyday - Jeff and I also get 2 games. The family pass was just under $25.00. We are all enjoying our time together!

Friday we will head to Wisconsin for a week....then it's back home for the summer.

Kids have done well this year at school and I can't believe we will have an 8th grader, 5th grader, and a 3rd grader.

Water Damage

A hole in the pipe that leads to the outside of the house has popped.


























There was no shut off valve.....we made a few holes in the ceiling before we realized that.













Finally Jeff and his dad put one in.

















The drywall is wet and had to be removed.


















The carpet is gone as well.















Thanks to our awesome friends/neighbors who helped haul everything up the stairs.


















A lot of it has been given to Good Will. Thanks to my friend, Starla, who was here for the weekend - who totally helped us clean and organize. We had a great time together!



Talk about some FFF! It was great to see our kids being so helpful in taking care of our house and being willing to part with some of their childhood toys! We hope they bless another child's home/life. We are thankful we had a house full of family/friends so we realized the mess - otherwise we probably wouldn't have been in the basement until after some mold had started to grow.

FFF (Forced Family Fun)

Today the most amazing thing happened. My darling husband actually said "You do a great job at making sure we do things together as a family." I about fell over. Yesterday we had FFF time. I joking call this our Forced Family Fun - but for yesterday's activity it wasn't forced AND it was very enjoyable. We went to the movies. Jeff took the boys to see Wolverine (not appropriate for Jenna) - and Jenna and I went to see see Hannah Montana. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a great movie with a very nice lesson/moral. Jenna had seen it before - but loves Hannah, so I had no problem convincing her. The movie selection for her is limited - it was either Hannah, Earth, or Monsters vs. Aliens.

After our movie got over (and we had to wait for the guys) we went and did a little shopping. We love to go to Bath and Body Works. We stocked up on some new soap for the bathrooms.

It was great family bonding.

Another great bonding tool has been the basketball hoop. Both boys are always out there shooting around. It has become a neighborhood hot spot for fun and games. I prefer the kids to have their friends here - I can keep my eye on them.

So, it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I've made some Amish Friendship Bread, Jeff and I looked at an AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL home (so out of our price range) - and have decided our home just just right and perfect for us!

Life is good! God is good!

Monday Monday

I am reflective on a few things and thought I'd put them down "on paper".

Jeff is traveling for work tonight. I'm use to him doing this. When we were first married I missed him terribly and couldn't (wouldn't) get to bed at a decent time....it felt like something was missing.

Then we had kids. One time Jeff was traveling for 2 full weeks to Malaysia. Joe was 4 and Jack was just over a year. We started traveling through WI - visiting family and friends. It is a tradition that continues with the kids and me still today. So, when Jeff would travel I'd be so exhausted from being up early with the kids that I'd go to bed easily! The mornings were always the roughest. Get the 3 kids up, dressed, fed (sometimes even nursed or bottle) - get myself dressed and off to day care / school. I was often late. (Ok, I was always late).

Now that the kids are older - they set alarms, get themselves up (except for Jenna), showered, dressed, and fed. I can get up a bit earlier to get Jenna up and going....but still have time to pull myself together. I can take the kids to school (Jeff usually does this when he's home) - and still get to work - only NOW I'm on time.

I like the change that has happened with how easy it is to take care of the kids (now that they can take care of themselves)....however, I'm still having difficulty in arranging all of our after school events with pick ups etc. For example: after school today I had to pick the kids up from school and return them to my school. We had a school event and I had to be there. The kids were able to be fed - and space and time was set for doing homework. (They chose to have fun and walk around) - so after the event was over - I had to return home and assist with homework - do tuck ins - and 'relax'. It is now 10:30 PM and I'm ready to head to bed. Thursday isn't much better. Track meet for Joe, Night class for Jeff, Jackson has a program at 7 PM and my students have their program at 6:30 (different schools). Makes me wonder if it would be a good idea to have my kids come to my school next year.

Monday Monday......

Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day today. I had a great moment with my 4th graders today. During our planned science class I decided to do a contest. I had two large paper bags and told the class I had a contest and needed two teams. I said the boys would be one team and the girls would be the other. Since I only have 9 girls and 11 boys I said I would be on the girls team. Well, the contest was to collect the most garbage from around our school (today is Earth Day, after all). Well, all of the kids were so excited - especially about competing with each other. So after 15 minutes we were about 1/2 way done walking around the school grounds. Lunch recess was going on, so we couldn't even go near that area. I asked them if they wanted to be done and go back to our air conditioned classroom (it was about 77 degrees today)....or did they want to continue. They all wanted to keep picking up garbage. They were delighted with all of the weird items they picked up - some money, pokemon cards, misc junk. So we finished up with in 10 minutes and walked back to our room.

I asked the principal to come and see all of the JUNK we picked up and he stopped by and complemented my class on their great work.

So, who was the winner????? Our school was. It lucked out to get all of the junk picked up. So, to reward my class for their 20 minutes of garbage duty I allowed them 20 minutes of an extra recess.

It was a great learning moment. They felt good about what they did - helped their school - worked as a team - and enjoyed a fun recess. The interesting thing was that when we were coming back in from recess (on the playground that we missed cleaning) - that the kids had a few pieces of trash they picked up to throw away!

It really was a beautiful day!

Jackson turned DOUBLE DIGITS on April 14th.

Spring Break - making cookies at Grandma and Grandpa Primmer's new house. (FFF - Forced Family Fun)


(Easter Sunday - Jackson and Jenna looked so cute!)


Jackson and his very large marble cake


Jackson got his lap top for his birthday! Yes, it is very small!!!!


I can't believe Jackson is now 10. It's such a big step when you hit 'DOUBLE DIGITS'! We had a belated celebration with some friends from church. We took them to "The Amazing Pizza Machine". (It really is AMAZING!) Fun was had by ALL! (Even Jeff!)


Jackson and Jenna participated in the church's Easter Contata. Joe got slimed during the church Easter Egg Hunt. He was a good sport.



We are starting the countdown until Summer Vacation! We are wishing for some more Nebraska sun - looks like it will be here at the end of the week. We have just 26 school days left. There are lots of meetings, fieldtrips, programs, assignments. It is always a stressful time of year. Jeff is doing a lot of traveling for work during the next 3 weeks. It's a lot to stress for him, too. he's still taking classes - but I think he sees the light at the end of the tunnel with all of his hard work. He should have his MBA by December of THIS YEAR!!!!!

Wednesday

It has been a crazy busy week. Jeff was gone to New Jersey and I had lots of school commitments. Luckily I arrived on time for all of them. Monday I had a district meeting. I enjoyed hearing what some teachers were doing with literacy work stations, and I loved being able to share my ideas. I had to leave early to get Joe from track - then drop him at home before getting Jackson and Jenna. I took Jack and Jenna to my school for our science open house. It was just one hour from leaving my meeting to walking into my school with a pizza prior to our open house.

Tuesday was much the same. Picked up Jack and Jenna for piano. Jeff was home from New Jersey, so he picked up Joe.....run run run.

Tonight - got Joe from track, got the kids, fed them and rushed them to church. I went to the grocery store to get things for Jenna's birthday.....made 6 dozen cookies and a cake. Tomorrow my baby turns 8.

I'm excited for my parents to come out here. I miss them and wish they lived closer. They wanted to be here for Jenna's birthday, Joe's track meet, and Jackson's concert for the school district. Jeff has class tomorrow when all of these events happen. I'm glad my parents will be able to see them. They will stay through the weekend so we can celebrate Jenna's birthday, have our Easter dinner, and see Jackson and Jenna's Easter show at church.

Next week is spring break. We will follow my parents back to Wisconsin. I can't wait to have a week away from school work.

I've had a lot of compliments on my hair. It's hard to hear people to on and on about how different I look with it. I just say thanks and tell them that I was able to donate it to Locks of Love. I'm amazed that I actually did it! So many times I thought - "Just get it cut"....but I accomplished one goal I set my mind to.

Jeff works so hard on his classwork. I hope he is able to enjoy the peace and quiet while we are gone to Wisconsin next week. We'll be back on Good Friday, but Jeff will be on his way to Ellsworth. WI to see his family. The kids and I have commitments with church that we need to be here for. I wonder what I should do for an Easter Dinner on Easter...perhaps we will go out!!!!

Life is good!

Locks of Love

Yesterday - Friday, March 27 I donated over 10 inches of my hair to Locks of Love. I did this in HONOR of my mom. As a cancer surviver she went through treatment that caused hair loss. I was so young (5) that I don't remember this part of my life. However, we do have a picture of my mom in a wig that she wore.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


THE NEXT DAY:

My current book

Right now I'm reading a faith based book "The Power of a Positive Woman"by Karol Ladd. I've enjoyed the first two chapters, so far. Some things that make me think:

"We don't have to be perfect, because we have a perfect GOD who can use even our imperfections in an eternal, powerful, and positive way."

"Is GOD my stronghold, or am I depending on my own strength and power to live my life?"

"If I want to be a positive woman, I must look DAILY to my Heavenly Father for strength, support, and direction.

Psalm 27:14 says "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Sometimes I don't feel like waiting...I think that if I get busy on a goal that it will occur on my time. I need to remember that it's on God time. Sometimes waiting on the LORD can be the hardest thing to do!

I'm working though some negative vibes at work. Too many negative people surround me. I'm hoping I'll have some helpful ways to deal with this negativity and not allow it to bring me down. My good friend Starla was in my corner today when I called her needing a pep talk. She was reaffirming for me. I love her dearly for all of her wonderful skills. I will use her hint of just saying "GOD Bless, __________" (insert negative person's name) when I'm feeling suffocated by the negativity.

A few more prayers....former co-worker, Marsha, still sleeping though her last few days. Mr. Jay Sharp - on of my favorite Jr. High science teachers passed away last Friday. He always showed respect to his students by calling us Miss (last name) or Mr. (last name). He had a great smile, laugh, and really knew his science! Maren Mapp - a 4-H friend from childhood - and a teacher who also taught in the Janesville School District - has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is my age. Finally, Zack Zdrale - brother of a dear friend - had a tumor removed recently. He is an amazing artist. Look him up. Prayers for all, their families, and loved ones!

Praise the LORD -

Jenna's lazy eye is improving. Still need to patch, but no surgery!
Jackson's doing great with his night-time issues.
Joe has started track. I'm glad to see him have an interest in this area.
Jeff is doing well with his school work.
I love my class of 4th grader. I really love going to work EVERY day!
We have dear friends and family.
My parents will be coming out next week for our crazy events on Thursday....Jenna's birthday, Joe's track meet, and Jack's special school district choir concert. They will be able to see Jack and Jenna's Easter Program at church - and we'll be able to caravan back to WI for spring break! YEAH

Great Friend, Dani and hubby Dan, had a baby boy today - Ezra! He is also welcomed by big sister Eden!

So many things to be thankful for! I appreciate my wonderful MOM in law for reminding me of the many blessings I have in my life! I appreciate her kind words. (But don't know where her post ended up?!?!?!)

Be Positive!

Interestingly enough

I am not so good about blogging. I don't know if it's because our life is simple - but busy. We are rather routine in our daily lives. Wake up - get the kids up - breakfast and out the door at 7 AM. Jeff takes Jack and Jenna to school (before/after care) - Joe takes the bus to Middle School. When they leave I'm usually finishing getting ready for my day. I get to school and do my thing....after school is meetings, piano lessons, singing groups, Jeff's night class, correcting.....each week is the same. I feel as if we don't lead exciting "blog worthy" lives. I'm ok with that. Who needs trama. I was reminded tonight by a dear friend that there are a lot of other people in my life who are dealing with big issues. I should be glad it's not me!

Our biggest issue the past few weeks has been to work on the behavior of our kids lately. Our teen was getting a bit mouthy and lazy with his saxophone practice. It's amazing what positive attitude you can get by taking away a computer. This evening as I was tucking Jack into bed - Joe came and told Jack what a great brother he was. Jack and were both happily shocked by Joe's affection.

Later, as I was tucking Joe in, I asked Joe about it. He said it was his new thing....tell something nice if someone says something unkind to you. I asked what unkind thing Jack had said...Joe replied "Oh, nothing, I just wanted to try it out."

Just this past week at church we were learning about those random acts of kindness. I try to teach that to my kids - no road rage - paying for a pie for guys from our church who were having bible study at a local restaurant we go to (when Jeff is at night class) - putting money in the salvation army kettle. What other things can be done? How else can you show your kids random acts of kindness.

I like how the parents on "Jon and Kate Plus 8" (tv show) take time to have one day with a child - just the parents and child....doing something the child wants to do. I know I do that with Jenna - but what about the boys? Lots to think about.

In closing, I'm praying for my friend and former co-worker at Adams School in Janesville, WI. She is battling the last few days of colon cancer. She will soon be welcomed by Jesus into heaven. My prayers are with her family. Godspeed, Marsha!