Last Day Photo

This is a photo of "my kids" on the last day of school. Only 16 of them showed up.

It was very difficult to say "goodbye".

The trophy with the star on top is the Class of the Week award.

We earned this the week prior for having the best behavior in the building.

No write ups or suspensions for a whole week!

Congrats and best wishes to all !

Soccer

Another winning season!

Second year in a row ....

Conference Champs!

We Moved!

I don't have a photo of this....

We started at 6 in the morning on June 5th and finished at 2 the next morning.

The movers arrived at 8 a.m. Jake and Kyle moved most of the furniture on their own so that I wouldn't have to pay movers to do it. Actually the movers only had the washer/ dryer, big screen tv, beds and maybe one or two other things to do.

It is all a blur. I had to be up at six the next morning as I could only get one day off of work to move. I don't remember that Friday. My classroom was probably a zoo.

Arrival at the new place was a fiasco..........

Surprise , surprise.

Jake's Home

Jake (and Hannah) returned from West Virginia - finishing their Freshman year of college.

This is Jake lighting up what was to be the last Bonfire at our home.

...a little newspaper

...and a busload of gasoline!

Typical Jake.

We'll all miss this firepit - many memories and good times here...

...Starting with the day that I first saw Jake and Kyle walking past my window with shovels in their hands. I knew they were up to something.

It was kind of nice that Kyle was over for the "last" fire.

Mommy's 70th Birthday

My Mom turned the big 7 - 0 in late May.

Seems like yesterday I was attending her big 40th party in Aunt Lynne's apartment

on Morris Street. Time flies.

Culver's Turtle Ice Cream cake - yummy!
Mom with her cake - we didn't light up seventy candles.
We gave her a break with only 3.

Even Cokie came over to wish her a Happy Birthday.

A bouquet of cookies from Aunt Candy and Uncle Jack.

Mom and Dad

A bouquet of Flowers from all of her sisters.

With 2 of the grandkids....

... and 2 of the kids.

(Candy came down the day before, but my family all had to work -

so Mommy had two days of celebration)

That's it. No wild shindig. Just a quiet celebration with the fam.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY !

Where Do I Begin???

Okay Melissa......you motivated me. I was actually going to get an update posted BEFORE you, but where do I begin???

I haven't really posted since MAY !!!

WOW

Let's see here.....what has happened? Hmmmm... go back to May and start with......

....Mommy turned 70
....Bub and Hannah came home from West Virginia
....We moved
....Soccer ended
....School ended and Amanda got another 4.0
....I said a tearful good -bye to my little darlings in 4th grade
....We moved again - cleared out 1/2 house for new carpeting
.....We moved again - cleared out other half for new carpeting
....Both kids got a summer job working for their Dad
....Attended the Volmar family picnic
....Celebrated the 4th of July in Wausau
....Went back to work at school - writing cirriculum
....Visited with my Stepdad, Bob
....Visited with cousin Kaitlin
....Had a rummage sale
....Continued digging out from the "moving" mess
....Went to Madison 5 times looking for an apartment for Jake
....Found one !
....Worked a few times for the catering and photographed a wedding
....Got to see little cousin Braden twice in one week!
Oh, and he brought his Mom and Dad along.
....Went up north to visit Sherry and family
.... what else???

I'm getting there. Actually, I think that's all. Whew!

On with the postings!

"Junk" e-mail Worth Sharing

From my Mommy for teachers:

After being interviewed by the school administration, the prospective teacher said:

'Let me see if I've got this right.'

You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.

'You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

'You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job.

'You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams.

'You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or any other language, by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

'You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard,a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.

'You want me to do all this and then you tell me. . . I CAN'T PRAY??