Field Trip to El Dorado Park

Since I am unable to post the cute photos of my kiddos, I will share with you some of the beauty that we experienced.

While we were at the park we were able to do a few experiments including searching for items in the lake and surface tension. This penny has, according to the junior scientist, 24 drops of water on it. So lucky we were to be able to go on this trip, especially in a day of budget cuts. Fundraising is now my second job!

The only way that we are able to do any of the field trips that we are going on this year is from fundraising and my feeble attempts to write grants. Last year I recieved a grant for our trip to Knott's. Not so lucky this year. But we fundraised and the kiddos had an amazing physics learning experience.

I even wrote a grant to be able to purchase digital cameras to teach the kiddos a bit about photography for their project entitled "A day In The Life Of...". But I was unable to secure that grant either. So, they are having to use their own cameras and a few tidbits of information that I gave them.

Our next adventure is to discover more about physics at Disneyland! We still need to raise about $300 for the bus, so we are having a bake sale at Open House. Fun stuff!

School is no longer just about reading, writing, and arithmatic. Fundraising is now an integral part of the experience. I am not too sure of how I feel about having to find my own money, but it sure teaches the kiddos lessons about supply and demand, politics, and math, to name a few.

She did it!

My friend Jen Peacock, now Jen Pace, got married on March 15. It was truly a pleasure to be there and witness her special day! The weather was wonderful, until later in the evening when it began to snow. Luckily for her, the day was a beautiful one.

Congratulations Jen and Garrett!!!

Photo Walk

Well, I have decided that it was time to find out more about this camera and the programs that I have so that I can publish my own pictures onto the blog.So, I jumped in on Karen's lesson, (Thanks Karen!!!), and off we went!

Karen chose to go to Ports O'Call for her photo walk/assignment. I tried to incorporate the ideas of leading lines, framing, and all the other ideas that we were being taught into a few photos. So, here they are, my first assignment!

A to Z of me!!

Now here is the idea, copy/paste the a to z and then let us all know the a to z of you!

A- Attached or single: Defiantly Attached!

B- Best Friend: Gailon Tucker, of course!!

C-Cake or Pie: I love Gailon’s chocolate cake!

D- Day of Choice: Thursday, date night. Or Friday, Nocella night.

E- Essential Item(s): Bubble bath, candles, and happiness

F- Favorite Color: varying shades of blue

G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Gummi Anything!!

H- Hometown: Redondo Beach and Long Beach

I- Indulgence(s): Ben and Jerry’s, crafty things, seasonal décor, candles…

J- January or July: January! I love the winter time!

K-Kids: None yet, still working on it…

L-Life is incomplete without: my family, friends and the Gospel

M- Marriage Date: April 12, 2003

N- Number of Siblings: 3 total - 2 Brothers and 1 sister

O- Oranges or Apples: Pink Lady Apples

P- Phobias or Fears: I am not sure

Q- Quote(s): “Be still and know that I am God”

Reason To Smile: beautiful scenery, baby giggles, looking into my sweeties eyes

S- Season: Spring, things are starting to turn green, and Winter, I love getting bundled up!

T- Tag Six: if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged

U- Unknown Fact About Me: If I told you then it would no longer be unknown, now would it!!

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Well, I was mostly vegetarian until I met Gailon, and now I eat a bit of meat…

W- Worst Habit: Letting what others say or do influence me negatively, cracking my knuckles, and biting my nails

X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds, just had one today!

Y- Your Favorite Food: Depends on who is cooking…

Z: Zodiac: Aquarius

Photographic Knowledge

On Wednesday evening, Gailon and I went to the most amazing lighting class. We were able to sit at the feet of one of the leading photographers, with over 35 years of experience and he has pioneered some amazing techniques. One of the things that I thought was interesting is that I knew more and understood more than I thought that I would about techniques and methods for great picture taking. We were also able to pick up some information for a few printing and album manufacturers. Great stuff! We really wanted to grab our friends and have them listen too, but alas...

What a sweetie!

Gailon is such a sweetie! He sent me the most beautiful boquet of gerber daisys and roses. Of course, whenever he sends flowers, the ladies in the office comment that their husbands have never sent them flowers, how did i get so lucky? I love this man so much!! Ok, moosh is over!

It was my turn to plan the day, but since he wasn't feeling well, we spent the evening with my mom. It was nice to be able to do this, because she was a bit down. It is become a hard day for her since Papa passed. I tried to help by surprising her with flowers, but the surprise was on me. I got to her house and realized I didn't have a house key!! So I left them on the porch. Not what I wanted, but the effect was the same. She was happy that she recieved her flowers from Papa.

So many of the people I encountered yesterday kept talking about how much they hate Valentine's Day. Not me! I think it is so fun to watch the kiddos with their valentine treats and cards. Several of my colleagues refuse to allow parties or any activities that are remotely related to the day, pass out valentine cards at recess and that is it! Not in my room! The whole day is related to hearts and all the fun stuff. The kiddos used conversation hearts to discuss probabilities, science was about the heart and how it works, language arts was a piece of functional text detailing how to make a certain kind of valentine heart. So much fun!!

Yeah A Holiday Is Upon Us!

One of the few perks of being a teacher is the lovely sprinkling of holidays! We have two such lovely holidays coming up. What to do? What to do? I know! Clean my office. That doesn't sound like too much fun, but I need to get a bit of organization going on here. For my birthday, Gailon presented me with a Cricut Expression machine. I am going to have some serious fun with this machine. Between my stamps and the Cricut, I may actually get some projects completed that I have been working on for the past little bit.

So many interesting things have occured in the past few weeks, that I must take a moment to pause and reflect on them. I have truly learned much about myself, my goals and aspirations, and a bit about those around me. I truly must say that there is nothing more enlightening than a trip to make things clearer.

My dear husband is still working on his classes and certifications. He should be done around March! I can't wait!