The one that was almost a keeper

Ethan caught this great bass on Tippy the other day. It was about 13 1/2 inches long, just about half an inch shy of being a keeper. It was tough to throw it back!

More lake fun

Kylin, Nathan, Wesley, and Ethan horsin' around on the tube.



Payton having fun!

Wesley

Witty

super silly

a reader and a writer
Lego lover

a super snuggler

wiggleworm

loves dessert
I love Wesley Wednesdays!
unbelievable auditory memory
Harry Potter fan
contemplative
compassionate toward others
good friend
wonderful son

A little bit of love

Ethan made me breakfast this morning. The eggs were carefully pan scrambled with a dash of seasoned salt and topped off with some cheese. They were delicious! Do I have a great son or what?! I love you, Ethan!  Thanks for thinking of me and making my morning extra special.

Out on Webster Lake

Nathan, Alicia, and the fam came up to spend the week on the lake.  We went over to the cottage for dinner and took a leisurely evening cruise around the lake.

Captain Wesley

Kylin and Papa

Captain Ethan 

Ethan and Rich

Ashlynn and Alicia

Captain Kylin

Captain Payton and First Mate Nate

Where the wild things are

We just saw this baby groundhog coming across the field.  When it got up to the edge of the road where we were sitting in our car it stopped because it didn't want to get run over by the car.  Isn't it cute???

I heard a noise moving through the bushes.  Then I ran down to see what it was.  I saw the snake!  Pulling the bushes apart I saw the snake.  I missed it the first time but the second time I pinned it by the tail.  It was a garter snake.   Snakes are stinky!  I let it go back in the bushes by its hole.

We saw the craziest thing a few nights ago!  While we were eating dinner, mom saw a raccoon climbing a tree in our front yard!  It climbed up really high and laid down across a branch.  In the morning it was gone.

Ethan

The BIG UGLY!!!!!!!

The reason why we call the sawzall the big ugly is because the blade is so destructive, like muskie teeth.  I cut off a bunch of trees and cut up a few lawn chairs that were broken.  I feel destructive like I could take down the biggest redwood in the world!

Ethan

With the sawzall I love cutting up chairs because I feel like I could cut the world in two!

Wesley

They DO grow up

Ethan rode his bike down to the boat launch to fish at the tubes today. It is something he has been doing lately, but today it really struck me as I stopped to watch him for a few minutes. He is one of the big kids. He's doing more and more of those independent activities on his own. I eavesdropped on his conversations with others as they were all lined up along the shore. They were talking about what bait and tackle they were using, why they were using it, and how it was working for them. Of course, there were even a few fish stories. It's an interesting experience to see your kids functioning completely without you in the world. Like baby wood ducks jumping out of the nest and learning to fly for the first time. You hope you have taught them enough to make it on their own.
He told me I could stay for awhile, but I sorta felt like I was intruding on some sacred "guy" ritual, so I left him to fish with the others. Sometimes a mom just has to let her son hang with the guys - on his own.

Finishing up the year...

     Wesley and Ethan both had great experiences at school this year.  They also won some fun awards!  Ethan received 2 reading certification awards, a math award, the class social studies award, and an outstanding attendance award!  Here he is with his awesome teacher, Mrs. Miller.

     Wesley received the award in his class for knowing the most about LOTS of things.  Here he is with his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Overman.

     I gave out lots of awards to students in my class too!  It was quite an afternoon of teary goodbyes, one I will not soon forget.  Thanks to all the kids who made this past academic year fun and unforgettable.
     I am looking forward to teaching full time in my own classroom next year.  I will greatly miss sharing the room with my wonderful partner of the last four years, Donna.  In fact, the room already seems empty without her.  Thank goodness she is only a few doors down!

     Anyone ready for summer?  Anyone?????? :)

Julie

The Trip to the Zoo

We went to school and got in groups of three. Then we got on the bus to the zoo. When we got there we ate lunch and then played on the playground a little bit and then went into the zoo. My favorite part was the rainforest. I liked how they made it feel like it was an actual rainforest. They had cool animals like the tiger and the monkeys. We rode the log ride and then got ice cream. We looked at some more animals and then went home. There were peacocks, alligators, ducks, kangaroos, penguins, sea lions, river otters, bats, sharks, striped opossums, and snakes. We even saw a peacock that was all white!

by WH

Wesley's book about Seattle

Wesley wrote and published a book about our annual trip to Seattle to visit Rich's side of the family.  His teacher, Mrs. Overman, posted it on the class blog.  We are so proud of his hard work!  Click on the link below to enjoy it!

http://wearesuperkiddos.blogspot.com/2011/05/wesleys-trip-to-seattle.html

Poppies, poppies...

I chose poppies for the background of my blog because I absolutely adore them. They are a throwback to my childhood. My grandparents lived on a farm and if you walked through the orchard to the far side of their house you could find them hiding there. They were nestled in a corner between the house and the fence, bursting out in a huge bunch. I always loved the bold red-orange color, yet thought they looked quite delicate at the same time. I even have some in bloom along the walkway as we speak.