Practicum...

I have now done two practicum days. These are days where I go and work IN the classroom, directly with the children. I have been very lucky to have a wonderful teacher, who is a great leader, and example. She is just the best. Bethanie had her in Kindergarten last year, and we just love her! The kids have really taken to me, especially one little boy. When we are in the halls, or lined up or coming in from recess, he will come up and just grab my had to hold it. How sweet is that??? Mrs. Brewer (the teacher I am working with) told me today that she is going to have me do things that are literally directing (or teaching) the children. This is exciting to me because we really are there just to observe or help in any little way possible, so yay! I get to do some actual student teaching! That usually doesn't come until later in the college career, but I am only getting my Associate in Elem. Ed so I wont transfer to any other college. Once I get my 64 hours or so, I will have my Associates Degree and so then I can just be a substitute teacher. That is as far as I want to take it, because I still want to be a stay at home mom. But one day, little Miss Madison will be in Kindergarten and I will want to have something to do from time to time, and I can do what I love, or work at Walmart (not that that is bad, but I would rather do what I love-teaching!). So, anyway. School is going well, but it is exhausting trying to keep up with the bustling demands of my family, doing homework and maintaining my house. My sweet husband is working hard too and he is helping me as much as he can. **sigh** I am so thankful for that!

YAY ME!!!

I got my first test grade back! I was SHOCKED to say the least! This is my General Psychology test that I had on Wednesday. I figured I passed, but sheesh! This makes me feel so relieved to see that the first one is done and over with.

Wanna see a close up of it? LOL! OK, so I am excited. I cant help it!

Miss Madison...

Broke her grandmother's toe today.

Exciting Times!!!

Tomorrow will be an interesting day at school. I have two quizzes...one in Psychology (which I am really enjoying studying about different sleep processes and sleep problems, dreams and so forth). The other quiz will be in my Intro to Education. So, music I have a paper due on Friday and for Literature, I have a worksheet, article due tomorrow, and it is all finished. So, after all that....*phew*, I start my Practicum at the Elementary school with the Kindergarten teacher that Bethanie had last year. I am so excited about that. It will be two hours on Wednesdays and 2 hours on Fridays.

In other news, I did Matthew's IEP today after school. It was pretty basic from the years before. He is adjusting well to fourth grade and his teacher is really great with him. Bethanie loves first grade, more than she thought. She finally lost her other front tooth the other day at my parents house. Talk about throwing a fit! She wasn't ready for it to go, but it got stuck in ham. :O) Jeff also started his classes last week too. SO BUSY!! I think I will go mad before it is all over with. ;OP

I will update in a day or so when I know about my quizzes.

OY! What did I do??

OK, so I am swamped with homework. I have two quizzes on Wednesday this week. I am nervous and excited all at once. My biggest fear is that I will have forgotten to do some of my homework, or forget to turn stuff in. Will I survive this? What did I do? I feel like I bit off more than I can chew. I cant even start on homework until kids are in bed, so after 9 p.m. until like MIDNIGHT. Oh dear.

An Education Plan...

So, on Wednesday, I started college. I am going full time, taking a full load of day classes. My first class is at 9 am....Intro to Literature. Folks, I see that a lot has changed in the past 17 years since I was last in school. My mind has forgotten a lot! OY! My next class is General Psychology. My advisor teaches this class, and so far, I think it is extremely interesting. My third class is at 11:00 a.m. and it is Music Appreciation....OK, I think of all my classes, this is the one that I will struggle with the most, plus we are supposed to take in 5 concerts before the end of the semester. My last class is at 12:00 noon. It is my Intro to Education. I know the instructor well because up until the end of last year, she was the PE Teacher at the kids school. It was a fun class and I look forward to it. It also has a practicum so I have to go and teach the in a classroom for 45 hours this semester. So, I have to hurry and stuff my face, get ready to go for my second day of college! I am nervous and much to old to be doing this. ;O)

The little kids...

It never ceases to surprises me how big the kids are getting. Sometimes I look at them, and when I hold them they seem so tiny still....even Matthew, in all his 9 1/2 years. But tonight at supper, I was looking at Bethanie sitting there eating her meatballs, and she just looked like she is growing up so fast...she just looked so big! So, after supper, the kids all went outside to play, and the 7 year old twin boys from across the street came over to play. One stayed up front and played with Matthew and the other was in back on the swing set with Bethanie and Madison. Bethanie is infatuated with with the twins, so she enjoyed the time on the swing with "Bo". Madison really enjoyed the swing too, because she has to do everything like her sister, so she now swings (high, too) alone with no help. It makes me happy to see them growing up so healthy and happy, but it makes me sad too, to see how time carries on and will one day carry them off to their own lives. ****sigh****

Happy Retirement!!!

We had a small retirement party for my parents this evening in the town they live in. They were pleasantly surprised. I provided the meal and dessert, and we all were a part of the gift...Since they are FINALLY home permanently, we wanted to give them a gift that they can only enjoy at home....about 40 lbs of enjoyment! It is a limestone with their names (obviously) engraved on it. We joked with them that since it was their retirement, it was actually their tombstone and we were going to put it under the tree in the back yard. They thought it was funny. :O) Sick. LOL!

My little sweet hearts are off to school...

Here they are, on their first day of school! I cant believe summer is really over now. I am really looking forward to a real schedule in our lives, and for the house to stay a bit more clean, but I sure will miss them while they are at school!

Here is Bethie! She is going into FIRST grade! She is really nervous, but excited at the same time. This child is so shy, I can only imagine how hard it is for her to go, and try NOT to communicate with people that will make you anyway. :O)




My main man, Matthew is now the big FOURTH grader! Next year is ***GASP*** Middle School! He is the real communicator. He loves being around people, lets hope he has a successful year! I know he will be in his own element with learning, he loves to learn!


They were so excited/nervous this morning!

After we went to drop off the kids in their rooms, we went to the college and I picked up MY school books. I am taking a full load this semester, working towards my degree. I am planning on getting my emergency teaching certificate.

Make Over Time...

Bethie-Beth gave my mom a make over yesterday, complete with nail polish, and make up. She even did her hair! Isn't Grammy BEAUTIFUL??? My dad snuck into the picture as it clicked. My camera is soooooooooo slow.





Here is Bethanie and Grammy after the make over. They had fun, and she does nice work!

17 years ago today...

It was a very hot 106 degree day. After our wedding, it rained, and made it very sultry! Today was very comparable temperature wise (without the rain this evening). Yuck! The heat is ridiculous!

But my sweet husband of now 17 years took me to Salina to my favorite restaurant. It was fun, just the two of us. It was a nice break, but it is always good to get back home to our precious children.

School will start soon, in a week and a half. Then it will be too quiet! :O) It has been a very long and busy summer. I am looking forward to things settling down some, such as it will be with Jeff still taking his business classes this fall and working, me in school full time and being busy with the kids.

The day was a sweet day. 17 years ago today changed my life. Father in Heaven gave me a wonderful man, and blessed us with a wonderful group of children. :O)

It's AUGUST!!!

Looking back over this year, I cant imagine how fast things have flown by! Yesterday we took the kids and left town. We had a fun trip to Omaha Nebraska planned. We have not gone ANYWHERE fun for I dont know how long. So, what we did was load the kids up, load up Jeff's parents and high-tailed it out of town. We were looking to do something inside because of the summer heat, and the girls are very fair skinned so we didn't want to spend much time outside (don't need any burned babies!!!). So we went to

CoCo Key Water Resort

( http://cocokeywaterresort.com/Locations/omaha/play/indoor-waterpark/index.aspx# ).

It is just a water park inside the hotel. The kids LOVE spending the night in hotels, so we got adjoining rooms with grandma and grandpa. These trips are always hard with the kids, especially because Matthew's intensity level becomes overwhelming. But we had a lot of fun.

I got such a kick out of this picture! Bethanie is such a diva (at six!!!) and every picture I take of her is such a pose! I tried and tried to get us all together for a picture of all 5 of us, but that proved impossible, so I figured I would get one of the tree kids together......didn't happen either. LOL!

Here is Bethanie, mothering Madison. She is sooooooooo good with the baby. I just love how she nurtures her baby sister. Matthew is the blue fish swimming to the left of the girls. This was the little guppies area with a no level water entry for the babies.

Here is Miss Madison and me floating down the lazy river. It was an enjoyable ride with my sweet baby. She had a grate time!

This is a big deal here. Bethanie was allowing water to splash in her face, and she was fearless with this water park! It was amazing to see her have so much fun, without all the caution.

This is a picture of the fun this water park had to offer. There was a huge bucket that would fill with water and then dump down.

Matthew is wrestling a huge water snake! He is so cute!




Matthew is in the back ground crossing over the Lily pads that would move around on him. he did a great job! They were rather wiggly!

This great big ladder area was a lot of fun. You carry your inner tubes up to the top (single tubes or double ones) and then you get on at the top and have a choice of three tubes to go down. Jeff and I went down one together, and he was a little nervous but liked it. Then Bethie-Beth went down it with me TWICE (another HUGE event for her, I am so proud!!!) and there was one up there that I went down without a tube and it was totally dark, and had a lot of water in it (so therefore, lots of water in my nose) and you cant see where the twists and turns are, and then suddenly you are down at the bottom in the pool. I only went on that once...it was enough. :O)

Just another over view of the park.

Here Bethanie is again, going off this slide by herself and allowing herself to fall into the pool (which was not very deep, but still, getting it in her face!!!).

Miss Madison enjoyed the kiddy section. She loved sitting in the water, walking around it. It was hard spending time with each child like I wanted because they all had their own favorite areas to play. It isn't something two people can do with three kids of these varying ages!!!

Here is Jeff. His pants are all wet. :O)

My Cabana girl.

Here is Matthew coming down the lazy river! He LOVED the lazy river! I think he would have went on it several more rounds if we had time!