Greetings!

Oh my goodness it has been busy around here. I officially started student teaching this week and it has been quite an adjustment for all of us.

This past weekend Mike decided to take the kids and I to our very first puppet show. It was great fun for all! We saw The Little Red Hen. Here are some pictures that we took. The kids got to look at tons of puppets, watch the show, then make their very own puppet! Fun Fun Fun! Here are some of the picts:

Happy Birthday DARCIE and BRIAN

Happy Birthday to my baby sister, Darcie, and my future brother-in-law, Brian!!

We love you guys SO much and we are really looking forward to your birthday dinner tomorrow:)

Thanks for everything you guys do for us, we are SO blessed to have you both!

Happy Birthday to two of the best people I know!

LOVE YOU

Zack's First Day!

Our Zacky (aka: Tooter, Tootery, Toots, Toot-Toot, Tugs, Tugboat, Tuggy McTuggerson, Mr., Mr. Sirs, Nah-Nah, Nons, NuNu, Nunny, Wacky-Wacky-Yay, Bub, Bubs, Bubby, etc.) started pre-school today! Between Kaelyn and I, "Mr." has TONS of nicknames that I felt the need to share with you!! I am sure he will continue to acquire more through the years!!

Zack has been excited all week long about going back to school and seeing his friends. I don't know why but I think it is SO darn cute when he calls his little 3-year old friends by their first and last name!

Today when I went to pick up Zack from school I walked into the room and was able to watch him interacting with his friends for several minutes before he noticed that I was there. As soon as he saw me he burst into tears and started running towards me. Naturally I assumed he missed me terribly ... what mother wouldn't?? As he ran towards me I squatted down to his level so that he could run into my arms, but I was not greeted with a hug. In fact, I was greeted with a swift shove toward the door!! THEN the Little Stinker started telling me to go back to school because he wanted to stay longer!!! Can you believe it??? My little "Mama's Boy" totally betrayed me today... boo hoo! Sniff Sniff, I am over it now:-)

Cabinet Fun!

One of Zack and Kaelyn's favorite things to do is visit Mike at work. What kid wouldn't love going to a huge warehouse of empty cabinets?? All those secret hiding places and cubby holes!! We took some pictures of them today hiding in the cabinets.

Student Teaching

I finally found out that I will be student teaching at Sky View Elementary, in a 4th grade classroom! The wait is finally over! Here's the school's website:

http://portal.peoriaud.k12.az.us/sites/SkyViewEL/default.aspx

My mentor teacher is a guy, I'm not sure if that will be a good thing or a bad thing, I'm believing GOOD!! At least the wait is over!! I was a little nervous after watching that show on T.V., Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader! As soon as ASU called me today I ran to the computer to research the school. While I was checking on the school I came across a quiz titled "Are you Smarter than a 4th Grader". I am VERY pleased to say ... drum roll please ... I passed the test! I feel much better now! No but seriously, it is crazy how much we forget in our old age. These little guys have to learn A LOT and I hope that I can make that process fun for them!!

Bye - eeee!

Twins

Kaelyn and her best friend, Jenna, decided to wear matching outfits to school today. Jenna showed Kaelyn the green shirt about a month ago. Kaelyn LOVED the shirt and wanted one SO BADLY. When we finally got around to going school clothes shopping Kaelyn hunted down the shirt at Target; she was SO proud of herself for finding the it.

The girls both agreed several weeks ago that they would wear matching outfits on the 2nd day of school. Ohhhh, to be a 1st grader again!!

Back to School

Kaelyn went back to school today. Here are some pictures that we took this morning.

Swimming

Here are some pictures of Kaelyn and Zack swimming over at Aunt Polly & Uncle Marlon's house. Marlon picked them up the other day for a day of fun.

Today is Jill's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Jill!

I am so excited that you are finally a real woman .. ha ha ha! I always thought that once you hit 30 you would start feeling like a real woman, funny thing ... I still feel the same!! How about you?

I love you, you are an AWESOME sister! I hope you have an excellent day! You are beautiful in every way, inside and out, and I am so proud to be your sister!

Meet the Teacher continued ...

Meet the Teacher Day

We just got home from meeting Kaelyn's new 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Sherwood. Kaelyn was very excited all day about meeting her new teacher. Here are some pictures that captured the special event! (Zacky was not too happy about getting his picture taken with his sister!)

Notice how Kaelyn's personality seemed to change a bit after we got to her classroom. She got sad because she is not in kindergarten anymore. We did stop by her old classroom to see her old kindergarten teacher.

Random Pictures

Here are some random pictures that I took over the last few days....

The first few are of Zack (who is still in the process of learning to pose for pictures). When I tell him to smile for a picture, his shoulders seem to automatically go up! Oh well, it makes for a pretty funny picture in my opinion. Check out those cheeks and those chins!!

The next picture is Mike and Zack working on their bikes in the living room. If you are wondering why they are working in the living room instead of the garage .. well, don't forget .. we live in AZ and it's 500 degrees outside! P-l-e-a-s-e with this heat!!

The last is a picture that Kaelyn INSISTED that I post. She got a mani and pedi last weekend with Aunt Polly and they made her fingers and toes look like watermelons. So, the painted her nails red with a green strip at the tip and black dots for the seeds. They were very cute (even tho they are kinda chipped in this picture).

Count Down to School

We are all counting down the days until everyone goes back to school!! Kaelyn will start 1st grade on August 11th (only 5 more days!) , I go back to school on the 18th but don't start student teaching until the 25th (still waiting to find out where I will be student teaching - hopefully 2nd grade), and Zacky will start pre-school on the 19th. It is a very exciting time around here .. ha ha ha!

Not only I am counting down the days until I start school, I am also counting down the days until GRADUATION! Hopefully I am not making anyone gag:-) ... but there are only 125 days until I will at last complete my degree. Considering I graduated back in good 'ol 1995, it has only taken me a mere 13 years (watch out everyone!) Yippee!! I will be sure to keep you posted on that graduation count down .. ha ha ha! I have always been a counter downer .. is there anything wrong with that (other than being kinda weird)??

No pictures to post today! I have not been taking many pictures lately. Rest assured, there will be plenty of pictures coming up with school starting. We "Meet the Teacher" tomorrow at Kaelyn's school. That will definitely be an occasion to bust out the camera. By the way, I can't believe that I have a 1st grader!! Where did the time go? It is absolutely crazy how fast time flies by!

Talk to you guys tomorrow!