monster truck show.

It was Boy's Day Out a couple weekends ago. 

One of Corey's friends even had pit passes that let them get back and actually see the trucks.  

These ear muffs are his new favorite thing. He wore them for days afterwards. (and took them with him to Grandpa's clinic today. "Sometimes Grandpa's cows are really loud.")

Enjoying a $10 snowcone...

My two favorite guys...

whales.

A friend sent me an email last year, addressed to "All my whale friends."

I agree. 

Mermaid shmermaid. 

I want to be a whale. 

Recently, in a large city, a poster featuring a young, thin, tan woman appeared in the window of a gym.  It said, "This summer, do you want to  be a mermaid or a whale?" 

A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym. 

To Whom It May Concern:  
Whales are always surrounded by friends  (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, get pregnant  and have adorable baby whales.  They have a wonderful time with dolphins and with stuffing themselves with shrimp.  They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea, and the coral  reefs of Polynesia.  Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans.  They are loved, protected, and admired by almost everyone in  the world. 

Mermaids don't exist.  If they did exist, they would be lining up  outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis.  Fish or human?  They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them.  Not to mention, how could they have sex?  Just look at them. Therefore, they don't have kids either.  Not to also mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store? 

The choice is perfectly clear to me:  I want to be a whale.  


P.S. We are  in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people  are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of chocolate with my  friends. 

With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out  to the rest of our bodies.  So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated, and happy.  Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, ¨Good grief, look how smart I am!¨ 

baby calves.

The newest members of Corey's little cattle family... 

Meet Ariel...

 Sophie was debating between Jasmine and Ariel... the red hair was the deciding factor. :)

This is Lacey...

She's a little older than Ariel. (Lacey is also Lawson's favorite dancer on "Dancing With the Stars.")

Corey had another baby calf born on one of those cold, cold nights we had awhile back. She didn't make it through the night. His brother got her and took her to the house, but it was just too, too cold. Poor thing.

When Lawson wanted to go play in the snow the other day, I told him it would depend on what the temperature was. "It might be too cold." He rolled his eyes at me and said, "I'm not a baby calf, mom. I'll be okay out in the cold. I'm not gonna die in the snow."   :)

snow day #4.

That title is just unbelievable to me. Really. 

In the 12 years I've been teaching here, we've only had 2 other snow days. 

Those were in 2005 when we had the horrible ice storm and half the town was without power. 

But we're sure enjoying these days!  

Gretchen loves to plop herself in Sophie's bean bag. It's been around forever, but since Sophie dragged it downstairs last week, Gretchie has been loving it. (She's in it right now with a doll, her purse and 2 blankets.)

Sophie created a store in the toy room...

Miss Witzy (her special blanket) cost $1000, which I thought was a little steep... even with pretend money. So I bought the little cat. He was only $4.

Gretchie loved him... 

Lawson made a restaurant in the breakfast nook. We had name cards, lots of silverware and fancy glasses. All you drink at this restaurant is Cherry 7up. And you eat dessert first. It's a pretty classy place.

Here was the menu... 

The kids went out to play for awhile (and then each napped for an hour! May have been my favorite part of the whole day!)

I told myself I would be really productive today... but I wasn't really. 

I did bake cookies. (When the kids were outside playing... I wasn't feeling up to helpers.) 

I blogged a little... washed a bunch of dishes... watched some things on the DVR... and did a lot of snuggling with a super cute baby. 

We all spent a few hours with Corey when he got off work... then he headed back out into this mess. He'll probably be gone all night... helping clear streets and parking lots. Gotta love that guy. 

more snow!

It snowed all day yesterday. Big, pretty snowflakes. 

Some schools around us let out early, but we were there all day. 

The kids and I left right after school and I had my fingers crossed that we might be getting a phone call that evening. The phone rang about 4:15. Woo-hoo! 

Lawson went out with Corey to help shovel the driveway...

He may not have worked the entire time... 

What 5 year old could resist these huge snowdrifts?!

You've gotta love neighbors who come out to help you shovel. Thank you, Carlos!

 

Miss Marley was having a great time...

Corey's chin looked the same when he came inside... full of icicles!

It was like a mini-block party! I was bummed that I missed getting a picture of Russ pulling Amy on the sled! :)

An hour later, you couldn't even tell that Corey and Carlos had shoveled the drive! Reports this morning said we had 17 inches of snow! (And later this afternoon I heard some noise outside and saw Miss Amy in our drive with their snowblower! We have the best neighbors ever!!)

ccira.

Colorado was amazing. Cold and snowy (just like Kansas), but so much fun. 

The conference was so good.  (Colorado Council International Reading Association.)

My favorite backseat travel buddies... 

When you're this cozy in a van for 7-8 hours... it's good to like the people you're riding with. Dave and Jody were the best backseat buddies. 

The whole way to Denver we were covered in blankets, wishing we had extra socks... our feet frozen solid. On the way home... we had the air on for awhile. Only in Kansas. 

They mixed up a couple rooms, so Jody and I had one bed, but it was huge. If she hadn't been talking/yelling/scolding children in her sleep, I never would have known she was there. ("It is 10 after 10! Emma... I need to you stop doing that. That is really gross.") I forgot to get a picture, but we could see mountains outside our window. Our bed was so comfy and cozy (and clean!)  

Thursday night we were in our pjs... cozy in bed with a stack of magazines... watching Grey's Anatomy... painting our nails... with no children and no responsibilities. It. was. awesome. If I had been able to take a shower and have my laptop, it would have been the perfect evening. (No free internet. Boo. And no hot water. Seriously. Luckily they had the boilers fixed by Friday morning.)

We were pretty bummed when we realized we had a morning session at 7:30. Our first sessions were at 9:15 and we were thinking we would get to sleep in every day. Having to set our alarm for 6:30 was disappointing, but at least we each didn't have 3 children to get ready each day. (And the morning speakers were all 3 fabulous.)

All but 3 of my sessions were really, really good. We came home with so many ideas to use in our classrooms. I LOVE that! Two of my sessions were okay. One was pretty unbelievable. I learned some classroom management techniques to NEVER use. Sadly, that wasn't the point of the presentation. ("You get right in their face and count. And you really have to be right in their face.") Yep. Seriously. But we'll focus on the good stuff. Fun, creative, great ideas that I am going to start using on Monday! 

I walked into a bathroom one day and had a little moment of panic. But these smart convention people knew there would be more women at a teacher's conference. So they changed some of the restroom signs. Pretty clever, huh?

I caught a glimpse of Curious George strolling through the atrium one day...

We came home with a ton of new books to add to our "Must Read" lists. Several were only appropriate for older kids, but I want to read them! (Not these books... these wall hangings were just happy and fun.)

Going out to eat... no looking at a kid's menu... no worrying about how people at my table were behaving... no cutting up food or feeding someone... so, so nice. (Although the $7 margarita was a little ridiculous. Delicious, but way too pricey.) This appetizer at a local pub had me a bit freaked out, though...

But Derrick really liked them! He said they tasted just like Jimmy Dean sausage. I just took his word for it.

I love trips like this. There were 14 of us that went. We had 8 in our van and there were 6 in the other. (We really can do math and divide equally, but it just worked out that way.) Two of the teachers in our van I had never met or spoken to before. Three of them I knew, but not very well. Dave and Jody and I probably know each other a little too well. :)  But I love that by the second night, we were passing our bowls around the table at Noodles and co. (yum!) and letting people try sips of our drinks.  

We talked.

We relaxed. 

We laughed. (a lot) 

We ate. 

We walked. (and some of us fell on the ice... Dave) 

We shared. 

We told stories. (and laughed even more)

We learned. 

We discussed. (we are all teachers, after all)

We had so. much. fun. 

snow day #2.

Kansas weather likes to tease us. 

3 days ago it was nearly 70*. 

Today is blizzard-like conditions. Really. 

But oh... how I love getting that phone call saying that school is cancelled! 

We all slept late. (Thank you, God, for giving me late sleeping children!) 

We crafted with pipe cleaners.. 

Tried to continue our random acts of kindness (I need to think of someone besides the mailman, though)...

Rolled up a towel to stick at the bottom of our storm door. Snow drifts had blown in and all this frost was on the inside of the door. Gotta love these drafty old houses.

See all this frost on our door handle? Cold, cold, cold.

My Colorado trip is still on. I was loving the extra time with my kids today. This little miss is making it really hard for Mommy to want to leave. So sweet, and snuggly and silly. Almost positive I will be crying when I drop her off at daycare tomorrow. 

Poor, sad dog. She loves to play in the snow. I let her out in it... no idea why she looks so sad.

Did a little painting... 

 Race tracks for Zhu Zhu pets...

Unbelievably, we got a phone call during supper saying that school is cancelled again tomorrow!!
But my trip is still on.
We leave at 11:00 am.
So I get a couple extra hours with my wee ones.
The last minute packing will be much less stressful when I don't have to do it at 6:00 am.
Thankful for those extra hours tomorrow morning.
Thankful that I had already done my 3 days of sub plans.
Thankful for 4 wheel drive trucks (so I could run up to school and get my few last minute things around for my sub)
Thankful for neighbor girls who are going to come stay with the big kids when I leave.
Thankful for a grandma who is coming to stay and help.
Thankful that this little one adores her grandma...

It will make it a little easier on this momma tomorrow morning.