Back to school!

 

I started my final year of school on August 11th.  The first week is the time when kids come in for individual testing with the teacher.  The actual first day with all of the kids there was August 22nd.  We were pretty stressed about a couple of autistic boys that are assigned to our class.  They were pretty all around the room/loud when they came for testing.  (You really feel for parents of these very challenging kids.) But one ended up transferring to another class and the other one will spend most of his time in the SPED room and come in sometimes with a full time aid to help him.  It will still be a challenge, but not as much as we thought.  We have two others that are super challenging, (they both probably have something going on, but don't have IEPs yet) but they are learning how to get along and follow the rules when they aren't shouting, "It's not fair" or having a melt down about something else.  Lynne is a master at finding anything and everything positive to praise them about, and it's helping them a lot.  

I don't take (never post on social media) pictures of the kids in the class, but these two little girls begged me to take a picture of their button creation.  We have new math centers this year where the kids get a box of things (rocks, shells, shapes, etc.) and can use them to create whatever they come up with.  These two made a fountain (the pink buttons in the middle) with water around it (the blue buttons) and the brown buttons are pennies to throw into it and etc.  So creative and cute.  They were having such a good time.  Some other kids just sit and can't think of anything to do and say they are bored.  Hopefully they'll get over that and start to find their creative powers.  

I can see that it's probably time for me to retire in some ways, but in others I know I will so miss the opportunity to help out with these littles.  Some of the first kids I worked with are now late teen/early twenties and I even got a wedding invitation from one the other day.  Some have been on missions and some were in our YSA ward when we served there.  It's been a long and everchanging adventure.  So much has changed since I first started working.  Last year was a great change - we went to all day kindergarten.  Over the years the curriculum and expectations for these kids have gone up so much that we were down to just pushing learning so hard/testing constantly and trying to teach a full day's curriculum in a half day, that going to a full day and having some time for some of the fun learning things was such a great blessing.  Last year we also had "the perfect" class with so many kids from families with older siblings we had taught all of and great, supportive parents, etc.  It was the perfect way to start in with the all-day scene. 

Lynne (Ms. Godfrey) is an amazing, always looking for ways to improve teacher.  She is a master at classroom management.  The kids love her even when she's making them follow the rules! She says this is her last year, so it's going to be my last year.  I've always worked with her and can't see myself working for anyone else.  Too old to learn a new gig I guess!  Happy last year to me!!!

This year we have Sara.  We had her cute, smart, fun brother last year.  Sara is even cuter, smarter and more fun.  She is so curious...and smart.  She's always asking why this and why that.  She's also a bit mischievous.  She has cut her hair twice this year, at home, so it's very short now with a cute little cut with what's left of it.  Besides being super smart, she's a little athlete.  She can do the most beautiful cartwheels ever and is even working on doing one's that land on one hand. She's pretty amazing in most every way.  She's pretty much my favorite even if she sometimes pushes the limits a bit.  

August Birthdays!

It's too bad this cutie (Clara Lenae) doesn't live closer so we could do more than just send her a present and talk to her on the phone for her birthday (#6).  Here she is in her birthday finery and with her beautiful cake.  She got a subscription to Ranger Rick Jr. from us.  Not much fun to open on her birthday, but it will be fun to get in the mail for the next year hopefully!  Happy Birthday Clara!  Love you!

We had a fun evening celebrating with Bean for #34!  We went mini-golfing and he played the best game ever and beat both of us.  Then we went out for dinner at Panda Garden.  Yummy!  Then later on we enjoyed homemade cookies/ice cream - Bean's choice of bday cake - and opened presents.  It was low key, but very enjoyable.  Happy Birthday Bean!  We love you!

Tavin had to get his birthday present via the postman since he's going to school at BYU right now.  Happy #21Tavin!  Love you lots!  

Torin's birthday is the day after Tavin's!  We celebrated both of them late/together.  It was great to have Tavin come down from school.  Seemed like forever since we'd seen him.  (The first picture is from his bday up at school when he opened his card...and before he was so happy to have Ferf give him a haircut!)  So Happy to be able to celebrate with both of them.  Tavin #21, Torin #8!!! Love them both so much! 

Since Torin's magazine isn't going to show up for a while we told him we'd take him out for ice cream. Their lobby was closed, so we went to a nearby park and had some fun climbing around in the rocks with him.  He needs a bit more attention at this point in his life.  The divorce that's going on in his life is pretty hard for him.  Lots of angst with his dad trying to drag it out and cause contention however he can for these poor kids to deal with.  Wish he'd just let is be done and get on with life instead of trying to cause as much hurt as he possibly can for everyone involved.  It was nice to be able to just spend a little one-on-one with him.  He's a sweet little kid.  

Escalante - One more campout before school starts!

Paul and I planned to do a last of summer vacation campout the Mon-Wed. before I went back to school.  We were having a terrible time deciding where because wherever we checked around us the weather forecast was for rain.  We talked about Cedar Mountain, Beaver mountains and about over by Escalante.  In the end, the weather that looked the most promising was by Escalante, so we went over there and had a wonderful campout.  We were going to do a dispersed camp, but found that the Blue Spruce Campground (one of our favorites) was empty and we ended up having the whole place to ourselves with the bonuses of a bathroom and water.  

We started off our trip by driving over Cedar Mountain and stopping by a funny little café where Juge told us has great fries...and they were!  Then for lunch we stopped over by Bryce at the Johnson's family campsite to check out their new kitchen.  We had a nice picnic in their covered picnic area.  Then we decided to check out a road over by Pine Lake and John's Valley campgrounds near Bryce.  It ended up being a beautiful drive to an awesome overlook near Powell Point.  There were bristle cone pines/limber pines at the overlook.  Such a beautiful drive!  Then we had to get going to our campsite...another beautiful drive.  We had an easy dinner and then enjoyed an evening hike up the stream.  It was perfect cool/cloudy weather.  

The next day we drove over the mountain, stopping to enjoy Hell's Backbone and then drove down and hiked to Escalante Natural Bridge/some ruins and petroglyphs.  It was an amazing little hike with perfect weather. We hiked quite a bit of it in the Escalante River on the way back.  Then we drove over to Boulder and ate our lunch at the church's outdoor picnic area there.  Next we drove the Burr Trail to the Singing Canyon.  What awesome scenery that was and the canyon was really cool!  Then it was time to head back over the mountain to our camp to make a delicious beef stew/biscuits dinner.  

That night the rain finally came.  We had to zip up the tent in the middle of the night.  It was great to be safe and dry in the tent with the thunder and lightening and rain going pretty good outside.  Luckily I made my bathroom trip just before the storm started!  The next morning everything was so fresh and clean and beautiful.  We ate an easy breakfast and packed up and took some backroads home.  It was such a great, relaxing little vacation!  And we did it in our new truck which was so nice and comfortable!  

Kennis flies the coop...to college!

 Kennis and Ferf flew back on Saturday, August, 13th, to get Kennis to the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, Missouri.  Ferf flew back late Sunday evening.  Kennis got a scholarship there for academics/wrestling.  She wanted to go away to school and she wanted to wrestle, so this is where is happens to be!  Wish she wasn't so far away, but hope it turns out to be just what she wants.  She was a little shocked when the welcome package they gave her included a condom.  We had a little popsicle/good bye party the Sunday before that some of the family was able to come to to wish her well.  

Pine Valley hike...in the rain!

We went up to Pine Valley for a little hike/picnic last Saturday and it was so wonderful after some much needed and long prayed for rain had been happening for a few days before.  We just hiked up a wilderness trail that seems to be getting lost in the foliage.  We went as far as we could and then crossed the river to come back a little different way after we ate our yummy lunch.  During lunch we could see the clouds moving in and soon after we started hiking back it started raining lightly.  It felt so good to have that coming down on us.  It's been SO LONG since this poor area has had rain.  Everything was looking revived and beautiful!  It was very reviving to us...but didn't make us beautiful! We are so blessed to have Pine Valley Mountain so nearby to revive us from the desert's heat.  

Notes for this picture:  I had never seen the little pink things that are on that log before.  After posting it on Facebook, someone wondered what they were and someone else told us.  They are Wolf's Milk Mushrooms - non-edible.  The picture of the 3 trees is trying to show, but is hard to see, that the 2 trees have actually grown together.  It was so crazy to see it.  

July Birthdays - Beacher, Tahlia, Jem & Supe!

It was so nice that we needed to got up north for some stone just in time to stop by and be there for Tahlia's #10 birthday!  We got there in time for dinner and festivities and spent the night.  Moss and Christie and kids arrived that night also to go with them to Lagoon the next day for a fun get together.  It was a fun little family get together with Brynn's folks dropping by too!  Tahlia seemed please with all of her plunder and felt well loved by all!  Brynn made a delicious cake and homemade ice cream to go with!

                                                                    Tahlia - Happy #10!

I wish these weren't blurry, but they are what I have for Beacher, Jem and Supe's birthdays!  We went over in between all of their actual birthdays because that when it could work.  This is # 32 for Beacher, #2 for Jem and #36 for Supe!  Jem is such an amazing little guy - so athletic!  He was jumping pretty much the whole time we were there until he just wore out and got tired!  He shot baskets, played balloon volleyball and jumped and climbed on all over the place.  He's sweet too...gave us all hugs when we left.  This is a cute little family who have done what it takes to make kind of crazy work schedules work for taking care of Jem.  He's one lucky and loved little guy!  Happy birthday to all!  

Ellie's birthday got caught in the final prep for Family Camp.  We couldn't go up, and it's good because she had a fun little friend party for her #16 and we would have been it the way of the fun I think.  And then it was time for Family Camp...and I just ended up giving her her present in their trailer house without any fanfare or songs because she didn't want them.  But here she is having fun at Family Camp.  Ellie is a sweet 16 girl and we love her and are so proud of her!