Catching Up...

March - Retirement Announcement

Well, we have had quite an eventful spring, and I have NOT been blogging on this site, although I've tried to keep up my school site.  Too much going on!  Actually, the cause of a lot of my stress this spring is this picture right here...

 I decided to retire!

Yes, after 41 years of teaching first graders, I decided in March to hang it up at the end of the school year.  I  told my principal., sent the official letter to the superintendent, and ordered a great big cake for the staff.

 Everyone gathered in the lounge in the morning, and no one had trouble eating chocolate cake at 7:45 am.  Look at all those smiles!

 Here's my first grade team - Carissa, me, Maureen, and Sue.  I have always been lucky to work with really great teams, and the current one has been together for three years.  Maureen and I, however,  have been together for a really long time! It was a very tough decision to hang it up, but after weighing all the pros and cons, I decided to go for it.  The last three months of school were certainly bittersweet as I started to clean out files, go through cupboards, and think about doing everything for the last time. 

April - Charlie Eats a Cookie

 One night in April, I went to do a little babysitting for Charlie, and I brought along the cutest frog cookie from the Cannon Falls Bakery.  He thought it was great!

 He started out very carefully, taking little nibbles.

 Mmmmm - it's good!

 Then, he shoved his whole face into the frosting - so nummy!

April - Easter

 Somehow, I only got pictures of the kids this year at our Easter celebration.  Since it was cold and windy outside, the egg hunt had to be inside, but that didn't seem to bother Charlie and Maddox!

 Oh, there's an adult (sort of).  Happy Easter!

April - Charlie Eats an Ice Cream Cone

 I found myself going to Jenna's quite frequently this spring, either to babysit, or just hang out and give her a hand with Charlie, since her due date was fast approaching in May.  One night, we headed to the local DQ for a treat.  Of course, my camera is always with me, and I can't resist a picture of a messy kid.  Charlie certainly qualified for that one!

CHARLIE!  What a mess!  It's the dot on the nose that looks really gross to me!  He cleaned up well, though, and we even let him back in the car. :-)

May and June to follow soon!

Jenna's Birthday

This is a bit late, but oh well...... 

 Way back in March, we celebrated Jenna's 29th birthday at Buffalo Wild Wings, and then had Dairy Queen cake (of course) back at Jenna and Andy's house.  Since we were in the middle of a very strange heat wave, we were all dressed in summer clothes, very unusual since Jenna was born in a snowstorm way back in 1983.

 Looks like Charlie is thinking about his own birthday, coming up in May!

Good job on the candles, Jenna!  

For some reason, I didn't take very many pictures, which actually makes the blogging a lot easier - fewer shots to choose from and less time to upload.  :-)

Happy Birthday, Jenna!  We'll really have a party next year when you turn...30!!!

We love you - you're a great daughter, and a great mom!

Teddy's 10th (X 4) Birthday

My brother's son, Ted, was born on February 29, 1972 - a Leap Year baby! - so he just celebrated his 10th birthday (actually 40th) on February 29, 2012. What a great reason for a party! The whole family (well, most of us), plus friends, gathered at the party room at his apartment complex to help him celebrate. His wife, Angie, and son, Matthew, were great hosts!

Looking pretty mature for a 10-year old!

The cake was awesome!

Chuck and the crew.

Since we were all hanging out, I took the opportunity to shoot a few family pictures.

Me and my three.

Charlie was like a little bird with the cake.

Maddox and Matthew were either running around or playing electronic games.

Corey had me snap a few of him and Maddox. They turned out great, except for Maddox's red mustache!

Matthew helped with the gifts.

Great garage sign!!

Happy Birthday, Teddy! We probably won't all be around to help you celebrate when you turn 20. :-)

Florida Spring Break

We actually had a Spring Break this year! Since it was right after President's Day, I guess it was really a late winter break, but I'll take it whenever it comes. I took advantage of the time off by using some frequent flyer miles and going down to Florida for the last part of my break, first to visit the Dawson's in Ft. Myers, and then to see Phebe in West Palm Beach.

John and Kathy bought a boat after my visit last winter, so a boat ride was on our list of things to do (along with playng tennis, swimming, playing duets, and relaxing).

"Happy Ours" is docked at a marina on the river in downtown Ft. Myers.

It's quite a process getting a 42' boat out of a small marina slip.

Kathy and son, Ryan (former 1st grader of mine, a few years back)

John at the helm

Jane, Kathy, and Heather, Ryan's girlfriend.

Ryan and Heather were also visiting from Minnesota.

I left Friday afternoon and drove straight across the whole state of Florida to West Palm Beach, where Phebe lives. Dawson's let me use their car for the weekend, and since it's only a little over a 2-hour drive, I got there in time for dinner with Phebe.

It was SO good to see her again!

The weather was a little cool, but that didn't stop Phebe from using the hotel pool. I think she went swimming at least 4 times from Friday night to Sunday morning

Jump, Phebe!

I brought along her Valentine's present from Kyle, a new outfit for her American Girl doll

Phebe and her doll look amazingly alike!

We decided to go to the W. Palm Beach Science Museum on Saturday morning.

Yikes!

Phebe made a pretty cute paleontologist!

After touring the museum, we went to a local shopping mall to a Build-a-Bear Workshop

After much debating, Phebe decided on an off-white bear,

and she made some good wishes for it before she added the heart.

There, ready for the final stitching.

Isn't she cute?

Now to name it, register it,

pick out an outfit, and get her dressed.

All decked out and ready for a party!

Next on our list was some shoe shopping.

The bear got new shoes, and so did Phebe!

Then, it was back to the hotel, out for dinner, and a little swimming (again).

Our weekend time went by so fast! On Sunday morning, Phebe went for another swim (it was very cool and windy, but that didn't stop her), worked out a bit, and then, after we checked out from the hotel, we drove to the coast to check out the local beaches. Phebe really wanted to make a sand castle, but it wasn't really beach-going weather.

We walked along the shore (on the sidewalk - no sandy shoes in my borrowed car!).

The waves were really crashing in!

Wild hair!!!

After a little shopping in some of the designer shops and lunch at Starbuck's, we went to a movie and then it was time for me to go. It was really hard to leave our little Phebe once again, but I'm so glad I had the chance to see her. She is growing into such a beautiful young lady! We love you, Phebe!

I drove back to Ft. Myers Sunday night and then spent Monday hanging out with Kathy before catching a 5:45 flight back to Minnesota. It was after midnight when I finally got home, and I'm afraid Tuesday morning and school came WAY too fast!