"It's better to look up"

I've been really enjoying listening to the Conference talks today.  Carl B. Cook of the Seventy's talk was my favorite; it's one of those talks that really spoke to my heart. As they've been broadcast live on the Internet we were able to get a huge amount of chores done that have been neglected all week: loads of laundry, dishes, and general organization (it's crazy how much paper we accumulate in one week from junk mail and the kids school work/doodlings). I am so thankful to live in such a technologically advanced time- we have such easy access to so many good things through the internet (of course, there is bad, but lots of good too). I've been so thankful for Facebook this week as I've grieved the loss of a friend I've known since I was eleven. Even though she wasn't actually on Facebook, many of my other friends from that same time are and we've been able to communicate with each other and keep in touch more lately than we had since high school. It's really pretty amazing. 

These two cuties have both had birthdays that I will try to blog about soon.

I've been insanely busy lately but I'm loving my life right now (on most days). I am teaching fifth grade at a school in Glendale where my brother-in-law, Austin, is the principal. I must admit that I was a little bit nervous about mixing business with family but so far it has been totally awesome. I really get along well with Austin and we have a mutual fondness and respect for each other that has made for an awesome work environment. I'm also really getting along well with my fifth grade team of teachers, as well as all of the other teachers I deal with on a regular basis. And I adore my class! The kids are so great (don't get me wrong, there are definitely plenty of special needs among the group that make things challenging)- it is a super rewarding challenge and as we finish up the first quarter I'm starting to feel like I've finally hit my stride. I've got all the procedures/routines/rules in place, feel like I have a solid grasp of how to incorporate the reading/writing and math curriculum, and I've figured out how to get all my copying and grading done. I am still working out kinks with Science and Social Studies (I want to do more with centers because we don't have a lot of time allotted for those subjects and likewise I need to figure out how to implement this new Acuity program that will help prepare students for AIMS- these will be things I work on during fall break). 

 Our field trip to the Pueblo Grande Museum- I know it may look like we're just standing in front of a landfill but it's actually the prehistoric ruins of a Hohokam platform mound :)

We had our first field trip last week- not the first one I've ever taken a class on before but the first one that I had planned completely- and it went amazingly well. I was so nervous about...well...everything, but it couldn't have gone more perfect. I had a great chaperon turnout (8 parents!) no one forgot their lunch (so the extra granola bars, fruit leathers, and waters in my purse were unnecessary), the bus was on time picking us up, dropping us off and then picking us up and dropping us off again, there were no accidents (only one kid needed her inhaler so most of the first aid and medications went unused), and we didn't leave anyone behind. Phew!! Plus the kids loved it and learned a lot about the Hohokam culture.

Yesterday I finally saw the fruits of a lot of hounding and planning pay off with our new Reading Buddies program that I initiated to get the fifth grade classes teamed up with kindergarten classes once a week. It's surprising how such a seemingly simple thing can take so much time to get going. But now it's started and it was fantastic so it'll be great the rest of the year :)

Yesterday we also did our first Book Celebration. My students were given the assignment to read a realistic fiction book for September and then write a summary and make a shoe box diorama of a scene from the book. I had never done this with a class before so I wasn't sure how it would turn out but they did a beautiful job with it and so far have done a great job presenting. Yay! I love it when things come together.

Now, for what you all really care about- my family.

This picture is just to wet your whistle for a future post about the boys' trip to the Pima Air and Space Museum last month ;)

The kids are doing awesome!
The boys have really stepped it up and become more responsible- they're the last ones to leave in the morning and the first ones to get home in the afternoon so they've been responsible for locking up and bringing in the trash/recycle bins and now Shazer is even picking up Sally from aftercare (her school is right next to the boys').

Shule's eighth grade pic.

Shule is having a difficult time with mustering any desire to do his schoolwork so we're struggling with that but we're working with his teachers and trying out different strategies so we're hopeful. His pacing has become a little bit more intense lately- I'm not sure if it's because we (his parents and teachers) allow it or if it's because he's needing to soothe himself more. But he is still doing well with his social issues so that is comforting. Even though he's not doing most of his work he is still able to pass his quizzes and tests so the information is getting into that big brain of his. He's such a special case- it makes it really hard to know how to parent him but for now, we're trying to encourage him without pressuring him too much because he does also have mood issues. He is becoming a great and witty cartoonist- maybe that will be his future work.

Shazer's sixth grade pic.

Shazer is doing awesome! Aside from his preteen attitude that shows it's ugly head every so often. He's playing the oboe in the band, and keeping up with a ton of work from all of his advanced classes- he's extraordinarily self motivated- I think he takes after his dad in that way. He's still a super great big brother and so helpful with the girls. And he's still loving planes and drawing. He is currently (as in, at this very moment) working on a stop animation film involving some pretty awesome planes he made out of cardboard and a green sheet acting as a "green screen."

Sally is LOVING kindergarten and the aftercare program- she is as happy as a clam and learning all kinds of cool stuff. I'm so glad we didn't have to deal with any of that normal kindergarten tears/fears/nervousness about school stuff. She was super happy the first day and has been great ever since.

This girl is such a crack up! She is always making us laugh :)

Sophie is doing great with her babysitter. She has asked a couple of times to go to school with me instead but as soon as I remind her that I just teach a bunch of big kids and they have to work all day long then she quickly changes her mind and wants to go play at Kristie's.

Jon is super busy trying to juggle his full time engineering job with Honeywell, his three graduate courses at ASU, his family, and his calling in scouts. He just had his first test of the semester last week and was not feeling too good about it but we still don't know the results yet and he typically doesn't feel good about tests- even after he's received an A on a test he'll still fret over the couple problems that kept him from getting a 100%. He'll say I'm exaggerating, but I'm really not. It is a lot that we've undertaken this year and we're still not totally sure that we'll be able to manage this for the next 8 months but we've already got about 2 months down so I'm hopeful :)

Things we're looking forward to: a trip to San Diego with my parents over fall break to go to Sea World (the girls have never been before) and the Zoo (none of us have ever been- I can't wait to see the PANDAS!!), a trip with just me and Jon for a romantic weekend in Seattle to do some touristy stuff and see PORTISHEAD!!- (can you tell I'm excited?!), and then next summer we will all be flying to Alaska for Jon's sister, Julie's wedding. That last one is a little too far away to be super excited yet but we get excited about thinking how excited we'll be as it gets closer ;) Oh, and of course, it's October!! So Jon will let me decorate for Halloween now and we will have the pumpkin patching, costuming, and trick-or-treating.

This year is free choice for my kids as far as costumes go- we're not doing a family theme and I'm really trying to avoid making any costumes, although the Shazer is sounding like he may have lofty ideas of creating his own- which will probably require some assistance. As it stands today, Sally will be Ariel, the Little Mermaid (she'd said she wanted to be Rapunzel but we hadn't bought the costume yet and she just hung out with her cousin, Maddy, who said she will be the Little Mermaid and we already have the costume for that so Sally decided she wanted to be the same as her cousin which I encouraged and sealed the deal by telling her we could spray her hair bright red like Ariel's). Sophie is saying she wants to be Princess Peach- which might be tricky finding the exact costume for but I'm sure we could work it out. She does have great hair for it. Shazer is saying he wants to be some kind of warrior robot or something that sounds really tricky and Shule isn't convinced that he'll even dress up. I'm encouraging him to think of something though, even if he just wants to stay home and pass out candy.

Some Shannon Hale books

Austenland by Shannon Hale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I thought this was a really cute fun read. Super quick read- I read it in a few hours. Extremely predictable but satisfying- the equivalence of a chick flick. Especially fun for those of us who are Jane Austin lovers- although probably not serious enough for the hardcore fans. I've been reading a lot of Hale's books lately- I've almost read them all. I like her writing style for the most part and enjoy not having to worry about there being any language or overly sexual content. I'll totally recommend this book to my mom and sister- both huge Colin Firth/Mr.Darcy fans ;)


The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm actually surprised that I liked this as much as I did. I wasn't terribly intrigued with the premise of the book but I've really been liking the author so I thought I'd give it a shot. It was fairly engaging right from the start but I felt like I didn't like where she was going with the story- in fact, I felt that way through most of the book- it felt very uncomfortable but I couldn't help wondering where it really would go (kind of like looking at the wreckage of a car accident while driving slowly by) so I stuck with it. I ended up staying up way too late last night completely engrossed and bawling my eyes out three fourths of the way through. I could relate to the main character's life way too much and her interactions with her family and her way of thinking was just way too real. The author did an excellent job of taking my initial gut feelings and bending them and almost completely turning them around to see things as the main character does only to end things the way I'd initially wanted. It was brilliant! But definitely not for everyone. If you're a Mormon housewife I definitely think you'd find it interesting.

I've been slacking...and Shule is 13!!

I've been totally procrastinating updating the blog because I'm so far behind. I've also been getting ready to start teaching in just a few weeks so I really need to get caught up on the blog so I can get behind again when school starts. It never ends.

As I've been looking at photos of the past year my heart has felt a little bit heavy because of the realization of how fast my children are growing up and I am getting older (OK, it may also have something to do with it being my 35th birthday tomorrow). Time is really going by more and more quickly the longer I live. So strange how our brains work that way. High school seemed like such a significant amount of time in my life and now four years is practically nothing. Of course, a lot can still happen in four years, it just seems to go much faster.

It also definitely has to do with the fact that this boy/man just turned 13 yesterday!

Shule has been making amazing strides this past year. His social skills have improved immensely thanks to the help of some wonderful teachers, an amazing scout/youth leader, and some super patient and understanding boys in his deacons quorum. He's made a best friend in a boy from church named Tyler LaDuc and has actually gone to his house to play video games and had Tyler over to our house to play (AWESOME)!! Tyler even cut his family vacation time short in California so he could attend scout camp with Shule. It warms my heart for Shule to have a good friend and it's a total bonus that he's a member of the church.

Shule continues to love drawing- he's developed a very characteristic style- and he has a great imagination, as seen in all the little characters he comes up with. He continues to enjoy being the clown but he's learned a better sense of when it's appropriate and inappropriate. He has a great memory for jokes he's read/heard and he really does have good comedic timing which seems to be a peculiar thing because most kids with Aspergers lack a sense of humor. He loves to watch the Marx brothers (actually all of the kids do) which Jon and I both appreciate. I love watching him, Shazer, and Sally cracking up together.

He is my reading buddy. He's always willing to read books I suggest and we have a good time discussing books together. One of his birthday gifts (and mine) was going to see the newest and last Harry Potter movie. I had made seeing the last two movies conditional for the boys, requiring that they read the 7th book before they see the movies because they had always seen the movies first and this was their last chance to read the book first. Shule took me up on the challenge right away and was able to see the first part of the last movie in the theater. Shazer just could not get into the book (even when I tried reading aloud with him) so I felt bad but he still hasn't seen either movie. It's not because Shazer isn't a good reader either. He's our GATE student and he'll be in advanced placement for math and language arts in middle school this year. He's just having a hard time getting interested in it. Oh well. Sorry for the tangent- this is about Shule :) I love talking to Shule about books and getting a better sense of the way he thinks about the world.

He's also made me really proud this past year at how well he's taken on his new responsibilities as a deacon. He is the secretary in the presidency and has to go a half an hour early every Sunday for meetings and to prepare the sacrament. He and the other deacons gather all the trash after church because our ward is the last that meets in the building. He has volunteered at many service projects this year: helping people move, cleaning yards, and babysitting. He's participated in all the scout and youth activities without grumbling (much) even though they really take him way out of his comfort zone.He's also become a helper around the house by entertaining the girls. Sally especially adores her oldest brother and is interested in almost everything Shule is and repeats a lot of his phrases. He's also learned to cook a little bit and I'm working on teaching him things like ironing his shirt and cleaning more to my satisfaction ;)

His favorite color is still green but he's recently gotten over the insistence that everything be green (like his clothes or the car that he's riding in on the roller coaster at California Adventure). He will also wear jeans now and seems to be less tactile sensitive. He still loves mac n cheese and all things pasta related and while he still doesn't appreciate a casserole or fish he will sometimes try it. He loves our music, especially Ben Folds, Weezer, the Cure, the Killers, Muse, Radiohead, Cake, and TMBG. He is physically growing like a weed and looks less like a middle schooler and more like a high schooler with his height, deep voice, and his slight mustache and goatee made up of just a few freakishly long hairs that he refuses to shave (we're working on that). He's learned to ride a bike this year and to tie his shoes (which we honestly didn't know if he would ever learn to do either one and it would have been OK with us). He continually surprises and pleases us and we're so thankful for having a Shule in our lives! Happy Birthday kiddo!! 

I lied...

I said I'd ease up on the book reviews but I'm sorry, I can't help myself. I've been so busy for months that I hadn't been able to read for pleasure as much as I'd like and now I'm completely binging on books. I'm sure it will have to come to an end soon but so far I've managed to keep my house relatively clean and kids relatively happy and I have three more books from the library just sitting there waiting for me :)

The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is Phillip's second book- the first was written in the same style following a present day historian and a past mystery. Ever since I'd read her first I've been anxious to read her next one. I had to wait a few years (mostly because I was waiting for the library to pick it up and then I got distracted and forgot I was waiting for it)but it was well worth the wait! I just finished reading this book in two days. It was written for adults (a deviation from my recent youth genre focus) so the vocabulary was a little more challenging but not at all intimidating- actually quite refreshing. It was so fantastic I did not want to put it down! An intricately woven plot, deep colorful characters reminiscent of Dickens', two intriguing murder mysteries going on at the same time- one in the present and one in the past, as well as two romances. It drove me a little crazy how the author would switch from the story of the present to the past and then back again just when things were getting super interesting or thrilling- I almost wanted to skip ahead a number of times- but it totally made the stories all the more engaging. I was worried in about the last 100 pages or so that the author was taking the story to a conclusion I didn't want- but it was just a trick- so I was very pleased. This could be an excellent movie! I also appreciated the author's note at the end clarifying what details in the book were based on historical fact and what was not- her list of research references was quite impressive. Now I'm anxious to read her next book which is planned to be set in France! Yay!


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Forest Born by Shannon Hale

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun, quick read in the same fashion as the other Bayern books. I enjoyed it but it was a little slow going at first and the surprises were not all that surprising. I do like how Hale has taken sub characters from the original book and turned them into the main characters of subsequent books. I can think of lots of books that I'd like to see that done with. Wouldn't it be fun to read a book that's a continuation of the Harry Potter series but all from Hermione Granger's perspective? Brilliant!

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Ode to Fablehaven

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..."
Just kidding, but I seriously am a HUGE fan of Fablehaven now. We're talking as big a fan as I am of the Harry Potter books! The last time I wrote about it was a little more than a year ago (4-22-10). I had just begun the first book and it was promising but not super fantastic yet. Well, honestly, the first two books are just OK. But they lay the foundation for the series so don't skip them. The third book is my favorite but the fourth and fifth books were super excellent too! There were fantastic twists and unexpected turns. I get frustrated with a lot of books because I feel like they are so predictable but these books totally caught me off guard and completely surprised me again and again. But the surprises made perfect sense so they felt right and I was left wondering why I hadn't thought of that. Totally loved them!


Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good introduction to an awesome series. A lot of fun fantasy, a little adventure, and some mystery. I read this book to my fourth grade class and they loved it!

Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was another pretty quick read with some more development of characters and lots of intrigue and surprises. 

Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The third book is my favorite because of the sweet, sweet, sweet love story. It was so perfect and the ending was exactly fitting. There are more fantastical creatures and objects introduced and this one is the first in the series that is a bit longer and really gets more intense, keeping me from wanting to put it down. 

Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Really exciting story with an unexpected twist that COMPLETELY caught me off guard! So fantastic!

Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! It was just the right amount of thrilling adventure and mystery. By this book I was beginning to feel so paranoid for Kendra; Who could she trust? A lot more surprises and a fantastic ending! Definitely felt satisfied but would still love to read more. Brandon Mull said that he may come back to the Fablehaven series in the future when he's finished with Beyonders and some other ideas for books. I'll be crossing my fingers :)

Brandon Mull is really tall- he's actually bending his knees in this picture to get down closer to my height. I'm thinking he's around 6'6. He was very friendly and his presentation to the kids was excellent; he was very funny and silly but also had a really good message about the importance of turning off the television/computer/video games and taking time to daydream and use your imagination. 

I had an amazing experience student teaching this past spring which I'll write more about soon. One of the things I loved was reading the first Fablehaven book to my class when they came in from lunch everyday. We all looked forward to the Read Aloud time and it was so much fun to see them get so excited about the series and hear their predictions about what might happen next. Many of them bought or checked out their own copies so they could follow along with me and then moved on to the other books on their own. At the end of my student teaching in April I gave all of my students a Fablehaven bookmark and a set of all the books in the series to my cooperating teacher. It worked out perfectly that the librarian (the mother of one of my favorite students) was able to schedule a visit from Brandon Mull at the school on my very last day of student teaching. I was able to meet him and get all of my Fablehaven books and the first Beyonders book signed. It couldn't have ended more perfectly!


A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very imaginative beginning to a very promising three book series. The main character gets into these crazy predicaments again and again that seem impossible to get out of but the author pulls him out brilliantly every time and it makes for a very exciting read. It was a bit slow going in the beginning but by the time I read about the "displacer" -a person who can remove his body parts (like his head)without dieing- I was hooked. There is a HUGE surprise near the end followed by a big cliff hanger. Can't wait to read the next one.


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A few more book reviews...

I've been neglecting my Goodreads reviews lately and I've been feeling like catching up now that I have a little more free time to read fun stuff. I've also had some nice encouragement from my good friend, Lyz Dorathy, to make me feel like my opinions are appreciated- which is always nice. I'm still working on a Fablehaven post and then I'll start catching up on family stuff. So bear with me.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this right before Eclipse came out in theaters last summer and it was so cool to have that extra insight/alternative perspective of the minor character, Bree, when I went to see the movie. I think it made the movie much more enjoyable. (By the way, I enjoyed Eclipse the movie way more than Eclipse the book. I think Bella's indecisiveness became way too tiresome in the pages of the book- but the movie could cover it in less time. I was also completely sick of the ever lurking threat of Victoria. I thought the Eclipse movie was done way better than the first Twilight movie). While I was reading the book I actually had to go back and read parts of Eclipse because I couldn't remember those parts very well where the two books overlap. Even though I knew the ending already, the author kept me interested in the other side to the story and made me hope for a different ending but then at the last minute feel OK about Bree's tragic demise. I think it speaks volumes to Stephenie Meyer's artistry and strengths as a writer.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was disappointed in this book. I was SO excited to read it- I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the first two books- and the second book ended with such a huge cliff hanger. I did a special pre-order at my favorite local bookstore, Changing Hands, and they included a little bundle of goodies like the gifts from sponsors in the book (granola bar, fruit leather, band aid, etc- wrapped in a little silver cloth like a parachute- it was really cute). I picked it up the day it came out and started reading it immediately. And it was really good... It was a little more violent but I got into it and then it just went haywire at the end. I felt like the author completely dropped the ball. It felt like she was trying to wrap it up quickly to meet a deadline and it completely fell apart. And it wasn't because I didn't like the outcome. I don't want to give anything away because I still feel like it's worth reading to have the closure for the series, but Katniss ended up with who I'd wanted her to, it just didn't feel right. There was too much senseless violence and the scene near the end with her sister just felt completely random and uncalled for. When I finished it I felt completely unsatisfied. It was a similar feeling that I had at the end of the last Gregor the Overlander book. I'm still looking forward to Suzanne Collins' future endeavors... I'm just hoping she will get better at wrapping up her books. I hear that they are making the Hunger Games movie. I wonder if they'll combine all the books into one or put them out separately. I kind of think they could successfully pull off just one. I worry about how violent it will be. Maybe they could make the ending more satisfying in a movie format. I guess we'll have to wait and see. 

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The little silver parachute bundle with gifts from sponsors to aid in the arduous task of reading Mockinjay.

A few book reviews

Last week Jon went on a trip with his dad and brothers to the San Fransisco area to attend The Maker Fair. While he was gone I used the time to catch up on some reading I'd been wanting to do. I read five books in less than a week so it gives you an idea of how quick and easy the books were. They were all young adult books (I've explained my reasons for liking that genre in a past post). Most of these books had heroines instead of heroes, which is somewhat refreshing. They all had some good mystery, some fantasy, and some romance. My favorite things :) If you'd like a summary of any book, just click on the image and it will take you to the book's Goodreads page.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really liked this book and would have given it more stars if it weren't for the little bit of immorality in the story. There was a lot of violence in the book but it didn't bother me too much because the theme of the book was about the heroine figuring out that she didn't have to be violent just because her king orders her to- that she could choose to follow his commands or not. The moral issue I had a problem with was how she comes to the conclusion that she never wants to get married but that sex outside of marriage is a perfectly viable option. This author is sending a WAY WRONG message to her young adult (mostly female) audience. It's too bad because up to that point I was totally thinking of some teens that I would have recommended it to because it was so well written. But, of course, I won't.


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Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the heroine coming from such humble beginnings and overcoming the odds in a very strict caste system. I appreciated the poetic justice that befalls Lady Saren's father after he traps her in a tower for seven years because she refuses to marry an evil man that he has chosen for her. I enjoyed the tender/sweet relationship that Dashti forms with the love interest. It was a little bit predictable but in a satisfying way. I will definitely recommend it to my 14 year old niece.  


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Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really good, fast read of another spin on the classic The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I liked how she gave more of the story through the hero's perspective. Kind of like if Sleeping Beauty was told by Prince Phillip. Very entertaining and clever. I liked the inclusion of the knitting patterns at the end and how they were "woven" into the plot. 

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The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I actually listened to this book on CD last summer when I drove the 14 hours to Denver with my mom and a van full of kids. There were long periods of quiet when everyone was asleep so I was surprisingly able to focus on it pretty well. I had heard good things about this book and wasn't disappointed. I like the main character, Isi. It's a coming of age story of self discovery involving very unique talents.  

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Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a kind of follow up book to Goose Girl, based on a minor character. I liked this book for the most part. I didn't feel as strong a connection with Enna as I did with Isi and I felt like overall it was a darker book. There is something really much more violent to me about death by fire than sword/weapon. It had some clever twists. The truth about her captor caught me by surprise but was neatly set up in the previous book. I was pleased with the ending but felt it a little bit lacking. 

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River Secrets by Shannon Hale

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this one a little bit more than the second one. I liked the main character, Razo, and how he figures out what his special talents are, and especially that they are not supernatural kind of talents like his friends'. It continued to have the death by fire thing that was in the second book which I didn't like. But I was intrigued by the mystery and the telling of the story. 

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It's been a while...

I've been super busy this past semester with student teaching and finishing up my big master's degree project. We've had a great year so far and have had a lot of fun family time in between all the work that I'd like to document so I'll be playing catch up with the next posts.

It was really sweet to see how supportive and excited Jon's family was- everyone was there for his graduation- Kelby drove in from LA and Julie even flew in from Alaska!

Biggest news lately is that Jon has graduated summa cum laude with his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering! He's accepted a job with Honeywell working in their aerospace program with fiber-optic gyroscopes. He starts tomorrow. We're not exactly sure how things will play out for the next year. He was accepted last year into ASU's 4+1 program which allowed him to take four classes this past year that not only counted towards his undergraduate degree but also doubled up to count towards a masters degree. But in order to take advantage of the credits he'd have to continue full time at ASU this year in their master's program. All he needs is two semesters worth and he'd have his masters by this time next May. I feel like he should go for it. He's hesitant because he's accepted a really good job and would hate to give it up. He's also pretty worn out with school- he had some serious senior-itis this past semester (although he still managed to pull off straight A's without studying as much and missing some classes). As of now, he's registered for classes in the fall and we'll see how he feels at the end of the summer. We'll see how he likes Honeywell and if the break from school for a couple of months is enough to give him the extra push he needs to do school for another year. He says he doesn't feel the need to get a masters but he can definitely see the benefits and we'd hate to have all those free credits go to waste. He might kick himself in the future for not taking advantage of the opportunity. Plus, he's really proven to be such a good student- I know he can totally do it without much difficulty.

No matter if Jon goes to school next year or not I've decided to teach next year. It was a struggle to make the decision. I finished my student teaching in the beginning of April and immediately fell into a funk. I really enjoyed the routine and challenges/triumphs of teaching and being at home full time again was just not the same. I completely adore my girls and totally want what's best for them. Sally will be in all day kindergarten this coming fall and Sophie will miss her like crazy. I feel that Sophie is ready for preschool/daycare. But she may just go twice a week if Jon decides to go to school because he'll be able to watch her the three days he doesn't have classes. We'll see how it goes. The economy is not making it very easy to find a teaching position at the district that I'd like to work in (our neighborhood Kyrene district). But my brother-in-law has offered me a position at the charter school where he's become principal so I want to take advantage of that opportunity and get at least a year's experience there. It'll be a bit of a commute but I'm thinking the quiet time will probably be enjoyable- I really don't mind driving- I just hope I can avoid the rush hour traffic most days.

May has been amazing here in the weather department- which is really nice because I felt like we'd been cheated of some cooler weather last fall because it was still pretty darn hot all the way until November. We've been taking advantage by being outdoors as much as we can by going camping, riding bikes, hiking, going to the zoo, the park, on walks, and just playing/working in the backyard. All of those things that we'll have to avoid doing in the middle of the day in the hot Arizona summer sun. We have lots of fun planned for this summer but no more trips for a while because we'll be saving up all our vacation funds for a family trip to Alaska next summer when Julie gets married. We're very excited for her (and for us because we will finally be able to visit her and have some cool experiences in the Anchorage area)!

The kids are finishing their last week of school this week. Shule will be moving on to eighth grade in the fall (one more year till high school: YIKES!), Shazer is promoting to middle school, and Sally is graduating from Happy Apple Preschool. There will be lots going on so I may not be able to get to catching up the blog until later but here are some posts to look forward to: Christmas 2010, student teaching, Easter, Disneyland, and lots of other fun family stuff!