Halloween

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Glog

Everyone has heard of a blog, but have you heard of a Glog. My first assignment for one of my classes was to learn to use a new web tool and create an outline for an online class I have to design this semester.

This is seriously a fun program and could be used for so many things. My kids have asked if they can play with it next. It will be fun to see what they create!

For now this is what I created based on the assignment specifications.

http://jbwood12.edu.glogster.com/beginningacct/

Saturday, August 28, 2010

First Day of School

Avalee and Lincoln had a great first day of school. Avalee has some friends in her class from last year so that made her happy. Lincoln does not know anyone out of 100 Kindergartners. So he is working on friends but he told me he is not worried. Lincoln also earned the blue card for the day. Every student starts out on green. One warning and you get moved to yellow. Two warnings and you get moved to red and your parents get called. After that you visit the principal. Blue is a new card this year. It is for the student that has been the best during the day. Lincoln earned it on the first day. I do not understand how he can hold still for a teacher for 8 1/2 hours but can't seem to sit long enough at our house to eat dinner.

Pictures in random order.

Lincoln would not stand by Avalee so he was dancing by the door inside the house. Avalee choose her cutest outfit for the first day of school.
Lincoln at his desk trying very hard to color in the lines. This was the activity when he first sat down. He excused me to go home after sitting at his desk for two minutes.
Lincoln eating breakfast. I have to tell you it scares me to death to think about Lincoln and Avalee in the lunch room. There is 600 kids between K-5. I didn't even grow up with 600 people in my town. So many kids but they all do a good job of waiting in the line, getting their food, and dumping their trays. It is amazing.
Lincoln still loves his thumb and his blanket. But he will not suck his thumb or use his blanket when other kids are around him. I caught this moment before school. It was as if he knew that in the next 20 minutes he would be forced to leave his comfort zone and grow up.
Finally got a picture of the kids together.

I got out of the school and in the car and then I cried. My baby has grown up. Now I come home to a quiet house and have to figure out how to do homework in silence for 8 1/2 hours. It was very hard because I am used to Lincoln sitting by me imaging and making sounds effects.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Poison Control

Have you ever called Poison Control? Last night was my first time.

Yesterday was a little crazy. I have to get the kids to all the right places, make sure they know where to go after school, and keep up with housework and school work. So I got up yesterday morning, stripped the beds, washed all the bedding, and had it dried and upstairs by 9 a.m. Then I never went back into the bedrooms until 8:oo p.m. last night and forgot I needed to put the sheets back on the bed.

Throughout the day, I went to class, helped with homework, fixed dinner, had 10 kids at my house from around 6:00 to 8:20 p.m., and Nathan was gone all day and had meetings at night for church (this is normal). During this time, I watched all the kids play in the backyard and worked on cleaning out under my sink in preparation for the new dishwasher to be installed. As I was doing this I found an almost empty bottle of Draino. At 8 p.m. I poured some of the Draino in our bathtub and some of it in the kid's sink. At 8:20 p.m. all the kids left so I got my kids in the shower. I then turned on the kid's sink with hot water and left the bathroom. Lincoln got out of the shower, got dressed, and was helping me get the sheets on his bed and pick up his room. I sent him to the bathroom to hang up his towel.

He came back and said, "Mom, I helped you by doing a fast teeth brushing job with the bubbles in the sink." It took me a minute and I realized those bubbles were Draino. So I ran out to the garbage, which was by the curb, and read the back of the Draino bottle. It said to give them milk and call poison control. Lincoln drank milk while I called. Poison control was not worried because they said people that drink Draino immediately fell their mouth burn and will start complaining. Lincoln never complained but I scared him. So we went upstairs and finished making his bed and let him go to sleep. I still had Avalee's room and my room left but Avalee helped and it went fast and both kids were asleep by 9 p.m. So much for an 8 p.m. bedtime in preparation for a 7:20 a.m. bus.

Lincoln is fine this morning.

I just got a call from Poison Control checking back on Lincoln. I am very impressed with Poison Control and would suggest calling them anytime BUT I hope you never have to call.

Two weeks in Provo

We spent two weeks in Provo this summer with family. I didn't get a lot of pictures but I did get some at Cowabunga, which I encourage everyone to go visit. These pictures are backwards. Lincoln is dancing to the music as we leave. I was the only one who got to watch.

About every 10 minutes are so a huge bucket of water dumps. I could never get a picture of Lincoln because he would come down and go right back up to find another water slide. Nathan and I also went under the bucket quiet a few times to stay cool.

Avalee and Lincoln going down the slide. This was one of the smallest slides but there was never a line so they went down it a lot.
Nathan and I spent an entire week by ourselves in celebration of our 10th anniversary. We to Park City, Salt Lake, and places around Provo. We were very lucky to stay in a family home by yourselves so ate out, stayed up late, and watched lots of movies. I think that week with help us get through 10 more years of marriage before we need a long vacation again.

This picture is from top of the conference center. It was fun to take a tour. I had been in it once for the General YW meeting about three years ago but you could not take a tour. It was Nathan's first time in the building.

Family pictures/reunion

We attended the Hall family reunion this year. It was a lot of fun. A photographer had been hired to take pictures throughout the night.

The kids are starting to play the water balloon toss game.
Then the water guns come out.
Avalee admiring the activities.
Then a huge, adult-staged water fight happens. Big sponges full of water, water balloons, water guns, etc. Nobody on that side of the yard stayed dry.
This picture is my favorite because is shows the kid's personality. It totally captures Lincoln being funny and Avalee looking at him like he is weird.
The next are pictures that were taken before the water came out.


Thursday, August 26, 2010

Random pictures the kids took

This is my cousin's daughter in a cute tutu her grandma bought for her. Avalee was the photographer.
Flower arrangements the kids picked out of the yard and created.

Avalee has amazing eyes and does this all the time. No idea who took this picture.

T-ball

Avalee and Lincoln played T-ball in May and June. It was intense but they had awesome coaches and their team was the best. We didn't keep score but we always had the most outs in each inning.

Avalee made it to third base and must have been excited.
Avalee can hit the same both right and left handed so she would bat based on what she choose. She usually hit the ball but it looks like she might have had to try again.
Lincoln running to third.
Lincoln hitting the ball.

My favorite moment of the season was when Lincoln was playing 3rd base. A grounder was hit to him and bases were loaded. He stopped the ball and touched his base and got the runner out. He was so excited he could barely talk or move for about five minutes. He had two more short grounders hit to him that inning. He stopped both of the balls but the foot race between him and the runner always turned out to be a tie.

Avalee was good on the pitchers mound and if anyone has watched T-ball you know that the pitcher sees alot of action.

Fun experience...we will see if they get to play next year or if school has overtaken my life.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Arizona

I lost the pictures of our trip to Arizona on my computer but finally found them today. It was fun to visit my sister and see where they live. I did enjoy coming back to the grass in Idaho.

The kids had a great time playing in the sand at Lake Powell. I think they had more fun in the sand than they did in the water. They made their own hot tubs.

The kids spent a lot of time hauling water and make sure their walls were intact.
The boy cousins.
The cousins.
The Grand Canyon.

Monday, August 09, 2010

Lincoln says....

Today I bought a $5 cupboard that will be a nice addition to our office. The only problem was it was located in the outskirts of Nyssa, Oregon about 25 miles from here. So we went on an adventure and the GPS had the street numbers wrong so we ended up in the middle of nowhere in a corn field. I finally found the place and got my cupboard.

After leaving the house, we located the town of Nyssa. The kids were hungry so we finally saw a store. I pulled into the parking lot and Lincoln said, "I can't believe they put a store in the middle of nowhere."

Then we head back home and Avalee made up a game. She asked Lincoln if he ever thought he would get married. He was quiet for a minute and then responded "no." Avalee asked him why not. Lincoln's response, "I plan to suck my thumb until I am 100. Nobody will want to marry me and that is ok."

Lincoln did a good job making me laugh today!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

This week

I will get pictures of July's happening posted soon. For now my garden is overgrown, laundry needs to be done, my kids have watched way too much TV, and I am leaving again for five days....

BUT I am finished with three more credits and should get an A in the class. This is what I have created in the last 3 and 1/2 days. For any of you who know code you understand how much time this has taken me.

http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/woodjb/502/webquest/start.html


http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/woodjb/502/virtualtour/start.html

Now it is time to take my kids to the fair so they can see their 4-H projects! And I have a three week break from homework!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Summer Classes

I decided to only take six credits this summer and spend some time with the kids and be able to travel. I hope I don't pay for it in the fall as I am enrolled for 16 credits.

I have finished three credits and the other three credits is an online class that will be done in August. I have to write all of the webpages in Dreamweaver and XHTML code. You can follow my progress at this website.

http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/woodjb/502/502.html

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Port-a-potty and a Lizard

Normal story...

I caught a lizard today. It was climbing in a bucket and I tipped it over just right and kept moving the bucket until I got the kids. Then my sister's brother-in-law took it out of the bucket. My nephew, Cooper, that is three thought it was so cool and started it playing with it. After a while, the lizard bit him. It left quite a mark. After Cooper settled down, he said quite seriously, "We are going to eat that lizard for dinner."

Now for the gross story...

Tonight we were at the park and Lincoln had to go to the bathroom. There was a port-a-potty behind a locked gate that the kids could fit through put I couldn't. Lincoln went in and did number two and started yelling for me. I told him to wipe his bum and come out. He kept yelling and yelling about needing helps and flies. I didn't want to climb the fence and jump because I only had my flip flops on and I worry about my foot in this situation. So it took me about five minutes to figure out how to get through the fence. When I opened the door, Lincoln said, "There is no toilet paper so I tried." He had tried to wipe his bum with his hands. Yes, very gross!!! So my sister ran to the van and got some wet wipes and I spent quite a long time cleaning up Lincoln. I don't think I will forget that port-a-potty experience.

Thank goodness the day also included a fun trip to Lake Powell to even out our bad experiences

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Small Miracle

Today was the last day of swimming lessons.

Avalee passed and is on her way to swimming. This is a first because she has always been scared to death of the water and has been in the same class for four years.

Lincoln did not pass BUT he will put his nose and his mouth under the water AND he earned a yellow ribbon. This means he can float on his back by himself and stand up when he is done. With a yellow ribbon, he can go down the slide by himself. He went down the slide seven times before I forced him out of the pool.

It is a happy day because I don't have to go down the slide anymore, too many times makes me dizzy, and the kids can be in the water by themselves.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Camera Dump!

In our house you often hear, "Lincoln get off your sister". Lincoln is a typical boy and instead of saying "Avalee play with me". He gets her attention by laying or wrestling with her. I don't know how they ended up in this position but it looks like Avalee has given up.


Lincoln during his preschool graduation. I was only able to attend for 20 minutes because I had a test so I didn't get an good group shots.

Avalee's 1st grade class!
Avalee's teacher who she will miss dearly. Avalee is still not ok that she doesn't get to go to school on Tuesday.
Avalee made this "thank you" for her teacher. Mrs. Gipson was constantly surrounded by kids hugging her and crying.
Amazing face painting that Avalee got at the Ward Pancake breakfast.
Avalee got the "Academic Award" this year. Although she tells everyone she got the "Automatic Award". This is what her teacher said about the award.

Avalee is truly an amazing student. She reads 172 words a minute and always tries her hardest. She has turned in her homework each day and has perfect scores on all her exams. She never stops learning or trying. If she doesn't understand something, she is quick to ask questions. She kept me on my toes all year. She is a superstar!
Walking across the stage to receive her award.
Avalee finished all 26 turtles so I made her a turtle cake. I am not a cake decorator but this didn't turn out too bad.
It is still raining and cold this year and tomorrow is June 1st. This picture was taken in April when the kids where excited for summer to come and where checking out their nerf glasses for sunglasses. We are still waiting for warm weather for shorts.
It was about 60 degrees the middle of April when I turned the sprinklers on to see how they survived the winter. This sprinkler had a problem and the kids played in it for about 10 minutes before they went in and took a warm shower. I have only had the sprinklers on for that hour of testing the entire year. It has rained so much here we don't need sprinklers. It has also rained so much that my tomatoes are turning yellow!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Good School or Bad Parents?

Today was the last day of school. Please rain and cold go away so we can play outside.

The school was an emotional mess today. I think they should consider exit counseling next year. Kids of all grades where walking out with their parents crying. The kids, especially the boys, in Avalee's class where crying and could not let go of their teacher. Avalee actually cried herself to sleep two nights ago.

I remember being so glad that school was over and enjoying summer break. So my question is....Are we bad parents or does Avalee just go to a good school?

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

The Vending Machine

Yesterday I got my allergy shot. I normally go by myself but yesterday I had the kids with me. After the shot, I have to wait for 15 minutes so we sat down by the vending machine. Two funny things happened.

First, Lincoln looked at me and asked "Do you have a dollar and a string?" I asked "Why do you want a string?" Lincoln said, "I can tie the string to the dollar and then get all the candy out of the machine?" I asked "Where did you see that". Lincoln replied "Spongebob did it and got all the candy." Avalee said "Lincoln everything you see on Spongebob isn't real." We then had a conversation about what is real on Spongebob and what isn't. Then we talked about stealing.

Second, Avalee created a game. She would pick two items in the machine and Lincoln would have to tell her how much he would need for both items. Lincoln would take about five second look up in his head and say $1.45 and such. This went on for about five minutes then Lincoln told Avalee it was his turn. Lincoln choose a soda that was $0.60 and a candy bar that was $0.60. Avalee looked at her fingers, looked at Lincoln, and looked at me and said, "I don't know the answer. I think Lincoln might be smarter than me."

Overall, it was the most entertainment I have had in a while at the allergy shot clinic and the fifteen minutes went quickly.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

$40

I love Albertson's. This is what I bought tonight for $40, and I only had one coupon. I did have to go through the check out four times, and it did take a while because the college kids where buying lots of alcohol, but it was worth it.

60 boxes of cereal
4 boxes of Chicken n' Biscuit
4 12-packs of soda
6 yogurts
2 frying chickens
1 bunch of bananas
1 gallon of milk

Can I just say that is amazing! Oh and we won't be buying cereal for another year.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Turtle #25

Avalee has reached the last set of turtle words. We have gone through 25 sets of words since the start of 1st grade. I have decided Turtle #25 is meant to take the students that reach it weeks to understand. So if anyone wants to call Avalee on the phone and give her a vocabulary lesson, this would be the week she needs help.

Here are the words that are on #25.

continent
ridiculous
awesome
alphabetical
published
photography
pandemonium
outlandish
formidable*
journalism
commendation
aristocrat
paleontology
paraprofessional
parochial**
parenthesize
repressive
reverberation*
sentimentalize
treasonable

* Had to look the word up in the dictionary to give Avalee a good definition.
** Looked the word up and still don't know how to pronounce it.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Olympics

Four years ago, I hardly watched a moment of the 2006 Winter Olympics. During that time, Lincoln got very sick and ended up in the hospital and created a lot of laundry. We were making our move to Idaho and I don't think I slept for a week trying to keep up. I remember being sad that I didn't get to see the Olympics.

So this year I have made up for the 2006 Winter Olympics, and I have watched way TOO much of the 2010 Winter Olympics. I am thankful though that I scheduled my surgery during the Olympics so I had something to watch since we don't have cable. I have cried with the athletes, explained the events to Lincoln, and caught most all of the Olympic moments that were on NBC.

Tonight the Olympics are over. And with the Olympic end, there is few shows left to watch on TV so tomorrow I am going to get up and regain my energy and fight back to where I was 10 days ago. My nose is still in a small amount of pain but I feel better tonite that I have since the surgery. So here I come tomorrow to get back into a routine again and try to help Nathan around the house. I am sure I will be in bed early due to exhaustion tomorrow.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Recovery

For those that don't know, I had my sinus and septum fixed on Friday. After spending a miserable weekend with stints up my nose, I can breathe out of the right side of my nose. The pressure from my head that I have had for years has also left. Now I am just left to gain my energy back and to get the last of the stints out on Monday.

I can tell you that getting the first splints out on Monday was the most intense pain I have ever had in 15 seconds. They pulled out the stitch and then immediately pulled out the stints. I seriously lost every nose hair I had. Then I cried. It took a two hour nap to sleep off the nose violation. I pray I never have this experience again.

Nathan has done a great job keeping the house in order and the kids happy. Tomorrow is the first day that I will be on my own. I am thinking Lincoln and I will be playing a lot of board games.

Bob sledding

Each night at our house the kids get "robot rides" from our bed where prayers are said to their bed. Robot rides come in all shapes and forms. This week's robot ride has been bob sledding. Nathan holds them in a sitting position in his arms and runs them down the hall and back to their bed. The kids love it. Tonight Avalee wrapped herself in her blanket and said "I have my uniform on now you can go." I wish I would have had a camera.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Ricky ?

Who is Ricky? That is the question around here. For the last two weeks, we get phone calls for Ricky. Friday night we got two phone calls for Ricky around 2:30 a.m. and then again at 2:45 a.m. I am sure the person was drunk but I don't know how to get them to understand that Ricky doesn't live here.

After the first phone call, I would have just turned the phone off but Lincoln was sleeping at a friend's house and I wanted the phone on. I am so glad that we only got two calls and they didn't keep calling.

Needless to say, the phone ringing at 2:30 a.m. woke me up and it was at least an hour before I went back to sleep. And then I had stayed up to 1 a.m. during homework. I was tired on Saturday and my volleyball skills showed it. Sorry ladies!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The GMAT

The GMAT is a frustrating test. I got the exact same score on the practice test that I got on the actual test. The frustrating part is I studied hard for a month between the practice test and the actual test.

Now to make things even worse, I am not consistent.

I am well above average on Analytical Writing.
I am average on the Verbal (English, Reading).
I am below average on the Quantitative (Math).

Where does that leave me? I don't know. I guess only the Master's review committee can determine if they want me or not.

To make matters even worse, I will be qualified to teach Math by the end of the summer. Obviously, I am not good at Math and maybe I should have choose to teach English or Writing. But at this moment, all of my Wood relatives that just read this sentence are laughing at me teaching English.

What to do in life? I am 33 and still don't know the answer to this question.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The X Game

Today Lincoln wanted to help me with my Calculus homework. So I gave him the problem, he said that is too hard. So I tired the easy part of the problem, and said "If 3 + x = 5, what is x? "

Lincoln looked at me and said "2".

I went harder with addition and subtraction. He got them all right. So then I sent him to Nathan for more questions. Lincoln played this game for at least an hour. Then he came back tonite and asked to play the "x game".

What do you do with a preschooler that is very smart in Math but if you asked him to write the answer it becomes the painful experience of the day?

Saturday, January 23, 2010

In the Middle

The other night Lincoln said in a teasing voice "Avalee is a loser".

Nathan replied, "Lincoln, that is not nice to say."

Lincoln said in a teasing voice, "Avalee is in the middle."

Nathan and I just looked at each other and smiled. Where do you really go from there?

Friday, January 08, 2010

2010 Goals

I want to put my 2010 goals in writing so everyone knows them.

  • Pass the GMAT. I am studying hard but I am scared to death.
  • Finish 22 credits with at least a B in each class.
  • Go to bed with my sink cleaned every night.
  • Lose at least 10 pounds.
  • Participate in a trialthon.
  • Run at least three 5k races.
  • Be brave enough to get my sinuses fixed.
  • Enjoy the summer with my kids.

As the year goes on, I am might come up with more but for now this is enough.

Wish me luck!