Labor Day Holiday

BBQ, picnics, family fun. That's what comes to mind when I think of labor day. This year I was woken up by a sick Maddy girl, so we are spending the day snuggling in bed instead. I suppose this still counts as family time....



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Location:Home

A New School Year

As we start the new school year, I'm very thankful for a fun, relaxing summer. Both kids went to Jacob's Camp, and I went back to the Olympic Peninsula (Forks, Washington area) with my friends Meagen & Andrea. Kevin.....well, Kevin worked.

This year Garrett is in 5th grade. Not sure yet how I feel about him being in my grade level, but quite certain he is growing too fast! Maddy is in 3rd grade and is quite the social butterfly. I am teaching 5th grade ELA and SS. I got this iPad as part of a technology grant, and I'm hoping it will make updating my personal blog more convenient.









Oh yeah.... Garrett and Maddy are having fun with the iPad too!





















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Junior Deputy Graduation

Garrett decided to join Junior Deputies this year. He went through an eight Saturday course on hunter safety, emergency response teams, animal control, and may other topics that were right up my little man's ally. It is an amazing program that encourages students to stay in school and remain drug and alcohol free. Garrett thoroughly enjoyed it and looked forward to his meetings every Saturday. It is something that he will definitely do again next year. Here are some pictures from his J.D. Graduation.

Here we go again...for reals this time!

Well, I haven't done such a great job with my "new beginning", have I? LOL Life - how it gets in the way. Garrett and Maddy had a great time at camp. While they were gone, I went on two amazing trips. The first was to Georgia and North Carolina with two of my best friends, Andrea and Meagen. We had a blast!

The second trip was a work trip to Colorado. However, not only was the work trip itself fun, but I got see Meagen again. While in Denver, Eclipse came out in theatres and I went to the midnight premier with Meagen and her friends.

Maddy came home from camp inbetween my two trips and we picked Garrett up just a few days after my return from Denver. Once everyone was home, the Desadier family took our first family vacation. We went to South Padre, TX. Everyone made it except for Mindy and her SO, Adel. They missed a relaxing weekend!

By the time we got home from S. Padre, we were in full "back to school" mode. This school year has been great so far for both kiddos. I have a great class...but it's huge. I'm up to 30 in two classes and 28 in another. It keeps life fun. ;)

As a family, we've had a wonderful fall. Maddy had a fun 7th birthday at the Children's Museum. She and her friends had a blast.
Halloween was fun. Kevin carved jack-o-lanterns with the kiddos and we went trick-or-treating with with Kayla and her girls. Mom came along for the ride.

I am going to aim for updating once a month from now on. If you are a subscriber to my blog, you should get an e-mail notifying you of my udpates. So...if you don't get an e-mail once a month, send me an e-mail and kick my hiney for not updating! This is something I really want to do, but I need a push to keep it up! :)

Camper Happenings

Garrett and Maddy have been having a wonderful time at camp. Their letters are lacking. I guess we'll have to work on letter writing skills this year and set up some expectations before camp next year. :) To see some of my favorite pictures of Garrett and Maddy at camp, check out this link to Bunk1, where the camp photographer uploads pictures every night. Bunk1: My Favorites


While Garrett is still at camp and enjoying his final weeks there, Maddy came home last Thursday. She was so excited when Kevin and I picked her up. She seemed so tall and tanned, but she jumped right into my arms. At first she said that, although she had a great time, she did not want to go back to camp next year because it was too long and she missed me. However, after watching the Olim slide show and saying good-bye to her friends, she decided that she will return to camp next year after all.

The Drop Off

Yesterday Mom and I dropped Garrett and Madyson off at camp. As always, it was such an amazing experience. We were in line on the road by 11:00 (gates opened at noon, and the line extended far in front of us and soon far behind us). Like last year, the camp experience started in that line. Campers piled out of their cars to meet up with friends they hadn't seen in a year. Children and parents alike walked up and down the road visiting and reminenscing. Counselors walked the roads with HSJ paper fans, and passed out cups of ice cold water to help us beat the Mississippi heat. Garrett and Maddy were beside themselves with excitement.

Mom and Garrett were the first to get out of the car once we entered the camp gates. They were successful in claiming a top bunk. (Whew!) While Mom unpacked, Garrett was busy talking with old friends and making new friends.

Maddy and I continued around the lake to her cabin where I helped her claim her top bunk. Maddy helped me make her bed and unpack her things. Soon she had made several new friends and had told her counselors her life story. (That's my girl, lol.)

Both kiddos were soon anxious for Mom and I to leave. After only an hour of getting them settled, Maddy had given me a few last kisses and said her good byes. She kicked me out so she could change into her swimsuit and get ready for lunch with her cabin. Garrett was running to the dining hall to eat lunch with his cabin with barely a good bye for me. It was very hard for me to leave with both of my babies there, but there were glowing with excitement and floating on cloud nine. It was a very good feeling to know that they were about to experience one of the summers of their lives. Now I'm following JC (the camp director) on Twitter and Facebook and checking the blog often for new pictures, looking for my smiling faces. (Can I get a *woop woop* for the wonders of technology?) Part of me is jealous because I know from experience what an amazing time they are having. I am so grateful that my children are able to go to camp. I know that in regards to their Jewish education and in helping them to grow into independent, strong, well-rounded children, the HSJ experience is one of the best things I can give them.

Let the Fun Begin!

We're off and running! We've now had two weeks of summer, and they have been full. From playing with friends to relaxing at home, we have enjoyed every minute. We started the summer with Garrett in a full arm cast. He fell off of a swing (the chain broke as he was on an up swing) during the last week of school and broke his elbow. He had to sit out of baseball and was in a cast for 3 weeks. Today he got is final release, just in time for camp on Sunday! *whew* Close call!

Garrett and Maddy have taken swimming lessons four days a week. It has been an amazing experience. They both went from being scared of the deep end to jumping off the diving board and swimming to the shallow end.

We have also been getting ready for camp. It is 12:16AM, and we are leaving tomorrow morning. We will spend the night outside of Utica to make the drive to line up outside of the camp gates shorter. I am finished packing (except for Maddy's sheets that Jasper decided to mark for her, which are currently in the dryer). We will be loading up the car in the morning. I have butterflies in my stomach already! I know they will have a great time, but this is such a bittersweet feeling for me. I am the first of my camp friends to have camp-age children. It is an awesome feeling to be able to share and compare camp experiences with Garrett and Maddy. I will miss them so much, but I can't wait to hear about all of the fun they are having.