Moments...

It is amazing how quickly sweet moments with my grandchildren seem to fly by.  Now that Seth is older, we don't see him nearly as often as we used to.  I knew that time would come and am so thankful that I took advantage of having him come visit whenever the opportunity was available.  I can't wait for summer to get here.  I have a few projects in mind that I think Seth will really enjoy. In the meantime, I am taking advantage of every moment I can to spend time with Sophie and Maggie. Because, the time will also come much too quickly when they will grow and be too busy to spend time at Mimi and Poppy's house.  

Here is just a sampling of some of the moments we have spent together recently.

During Spring Break, Ron and I worked on repairing some of the damage the drought caused in the yard.  Toward the end of the week, Leslie and Gerson decided to take a trip to Marble Falls and Inks Lake.  They invited us to tag along.

Here are some pictures taken in Marble Falls...

Sophie was a little grumpy about having an empty berry box.
She didn't have the patience to fill it herself so let Poppy and I
take it off her hands.

Maggie enjoyed the berry picking much more than Sophie.
She was so eager to pick, it didn't matter what size or
color her berries were!

Poppy and I grabbed our sweet grand babies for
a photo moment in front of the barn.

Sophie was fascinated with the horns on the goats at the
petting park.  She was also a little worried about the goat's
neck getting stuck in the fence.

Maggie loved the drooping ears on the little goats.  She remembered
visiting our friend Mary Garcia, and her wonderful farm.
Maggie wants to go back and see the spring animals.

Poppy helped the girls get into the cars on the tractor train.
Sophie wasn't too wild about going alone.  Gerson had gone
back to the car and we were a little worried about Poppy
trying to get into the cart with her!

Luckily, Gerson got back in time to climb aboard with the
girls and go along for the ride.

A new attraction that was a big hit for the girls was a jump park.
I don't know exactly how this thing worked, but they loved it!

All I could think of while they were jumping was, isn't this where the
blackberries are supposed to be?!??!?

Recently, soccer season has started up again.  Maggie was actually too old for the indoor age group; but because Gerson agreed to coach again, they let him have Maggie on his team.  I never thought I would say, "Maggie is the biggest kid on her team!"

Here is a picture taken at her first game.

Her optic yellow shirt actually looks great with her dark skin.

I love baking cinnamon rolls!  Conference weekend is the perfect time to make them.  We don't have to be at church early because general conference is on the BYU channel.  We invited Leslie and her little family up for brunch.  We had scrambled eggs, fruit salad, biscuits, gravy, and these delicious rolls.  Everything tasted yummy!

Maggie said they are even better than Ikea's...

After eating, we watched the first Sunday session together.

Gerson was a little too excited...

Sophie made herself comfortable in my recliner... sipping orange juice
(a benefit of being potty trained is NOT getting a horrible rash from
orange juice anymore), and playing with stickers.

Leslie had Maggie all prepared with her conference packet (Bingo, color the apostle's tie,
match the picture with the speaker, etc.).

Soon, summer will be here (less than 45 school days left) and I hope to have even more precious moments with the most important people in my life.

Pretty girls...

During lunch duty on Thursday, one of the fourth grade students looked up at me while I was opening her cup of fruit and said, "Mrs. Searls, you're beautiful."  I was slightly taken aback, but managed to thank her as graciously as I could, and thought to myself, "I wonder what she wants."  Accepting compliments on my looks has always felt uncomfortable because I have never, ever, EVER considered myself to be a pretty person.  I have always thought my nose was way too big, my teeth have too many gaps, my eyelashes are short and thin, oh the list could go on and on.  However, I do think I made pretty girls.  My daughters are beautiful and my granddaughters are breathtaking.

Here's the proof:

Rebecca Diane... 

Rebecca Diane...

Becca and Leslie turn another year prettier...

My beautiful daughters...

Even when they act silly they manage to look great...

Sisters... forever friends

Leslie Dawn..

Leslie Dawn...

My favorite baby picture of Maggie Lyn...

My favorite baby picture of Sophie Lyn...

Maggie Lyn...

Sophie Lyn...

Maggie Lyn and Sophie Lyn off to the Daddy Daughter Dance...

 Aren't they all gorgeous? 

Pinterest is alive and well in the classroom...

I love Pinterest!  It is an unbelievable  website filled with digital bulletin boards for every topic imaginable.  Teachers from all around the United States freely share their wonderfully creative lessons and activities on the site.  Pinning the things I find on boards can be a bit addictive, but actually tweaking them to meet the needs of my students has been such a blast!  Below are a few things that my little friends have been working on lately.
The Water Cycle:
I found a really cool stop motion video made with claymation on Pinterest.  I used the video as part of one of my lessons, and afterwards the students were assigned cooperative group projects.  First, the students had to create a story board describing each step in the cycle.  These were some of my favorites:

After the story boards were finished, each group got to select one step in the water cycle process and create a backdrop using markers, crayons, and Playdough. I figured if I bought enough Playdough to create our own stop motion video would wipe out my bank account! So, to compromise we will put together a slide show.

The clouds, grass, and lake are covered with tiny pieces of clay...

More clouds, swirls of water vapor, the sun, and plants made from clay...

The yellow streaks had me confused.  Christopher informed me that they are  flashes of lightening surrounded by precipitation.

Playdough was used for the mountain and river flowing down the side...

And finally, a river and lake beside a hill - all made from Playdough.

Hopefully, next week we will be able to put the background together in a slide show with typed descriptions of each portion of the cycle.
Phonics/Grammar:
The second thing I found on Pinterest that I thought was pretty cool was an activity to illustrate, write, and use in sentences antonyms, synonyms, and homonyms.  Here is what my friends came up with. It is a little messier and more crowded than the one I saw on Pinterest.

My Ideas:
The best thing about using Pinterest, is the way it stimulates my own creative juices.  We started our novel study recently and I wanted to find some ways to improve last year's activities.  I like to use a reflective journal, but I didn't want it to be too structured.  I also didn't want it to be the only thing the students did to respond to the different chapters we would be reading.  So, here is a picture of the journal we created and one of the reader's response activities.
I had the students make the cover of their journal so that it looked like the barn that Wilbur and Charlotte live in.  It even has a barn door that opens to show Wilbur, and is complete with hay hanging out of an open hayloft door.

 In the reflective journal, the students had to write about the differences in Wilbur and Charlotte's diets.  They were so fascinated with all the gross things that Charlotte ate, that I couldn't resist having them create "dinner plates" for both characters.

Hopefully, the things that are going on in our classroom will continue to be the results of inspiration shared by wonderful teachers on the AWESOME website, Pinterest!

People I admire...

This will be a feeble attempt to pay tribute to some of the women that I admire and respect.  When I feel discouraged or sad, their examples lift my spirits.

Shirley (Mom) Porter - my anchor, one of my best friends.  She is one of the people I trust most. Fear of disappointing her drives me to be a better person.
Granny Molly - my great-grandmother.  I vividly remember many things about her, and the stories of her life humble me when I complain and grumble.
Elizabeth (the mother of John the Baptist) - she didn't let old age get her down! Her relationship with the Holy Ghost inspires me.
Barbara Becker - fearlessly faces that heartless beast, ovarian cancer.  She never ceases to amaze me with her constant courage and determination.
Erika Mendenhall - spiritual, loving, kind, generous, and ALWAYS happy.  Her lovely smile lights up an entire room.
Marilyn Stoner - always positive, overflowing with words of wisdom, quiet and calm.  When I feel discouraged, she is a soothing and healing presence in my life.
Paula Boales - amazing leader, brilliant CIS, supportive. Dependable to a fault; even when her own health suffers.
My second grade team (Kelli Pepper, Alana Gibbs, Sue Henderson, Diana Davidson, and Krystan Hunt) - women who love children, work together with a common goal of making sure our students receive the best we have to offer, and support one another in any way necessary.
Army wives - at times, they pay the ultimate price.  Yet, they continue to hold the home together and raise children, all the while worrying about the safety of their husbands.


Thank you for inspiring me.

Kansas Wedding Road Trip

During our Christmas break, Ron, Rebecca, Seth, Leslie, Maggie, Sophie and I took off for Kansas.  My nephew Cory was marrying his high school sweetheart, Amanda.  We took off early in the morning the day after Christmas.  Rebecca drove her van with Leslie and all of the kids.  Ron & I traveled in his truck.  There were some periods of tears, whining, arguments and short tempers, but for the most part it was a very enjoyable trip.

Our first stop was just outside of the TX/OK border for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. That didn't quite work out.  They were packed and the waiting list was a minimum of 30 minutes; so, we packed up and went to the other side of the interstate to an I-Hop.  The kids were still in their pajamas, but that didn't matter to them.

Sophie had a chocolate funny face pancake...

Leslie and Maggie...

Maggie and Mimi...

The ride through Oklahoma was uneventful, but once we got into Kansas, finding a restroom was almost impossible.  We followed the GPS directions and ended up taking a lonely country highway.  There were signs for towns, but we never saw anything other than farm houses.  Just when I was ready to start looking for a secluded ditch to pee in, we found a Pizza Hut in the middle of nowhere.  Becca was so funny; after we had all rushed into the restaurant to use their restroom, she looked around and said, "I feel like we ought to buy something just for using their restroom."  I told her I figured this sort of thing happened all the time since it was the only sign of civilization for miles.

One of the things we used to bribe Seth & Maggie into going on the trip was to tell them there was snow in Kansas.  Unfortunately, most of the snow in Manhattan had melted.  But, they were thrilled with the snow that was hidden in the shadows of our hotel.

Seth and Maggie in "the snow"...

Seth had trouble making snow balls because it was
actually ice by the time we got there.

Sophie NEVER wanted to wear clothes, shoes, coats or
jackets the entire time we were there.  Her little
slippers got pretty cold in the snow.

After playing in the "snow" the kids unpacked and took the little ones for a swim in the pool.  When it got to be suppertime, we all met Cory, Amanda, and other members of the wedding party for dinner.  Ron & I ended up taking Miss Sophie back to the hotel because she was such a grouch.  That was fine with me because we were both ready to stretch out on the bed and get the kinks out of our backs.

The next morning, Becca and Leslie went to help decorate for the wedding while Ron and I kept the kids entertained.  Amanda is such a talented young woman.  She made EVERYTHING while finishing up her last semester of college, and working full time.  

The cupcake tower...

Her table centerpieces were made of different flavored suckers.

They provided the guests with a How Well do You Know the Couple word search
and a Mad Libs words of advice.  Very clever!

These were soooo cute!!

The wedding was a beautiful mixture of Amanda, Cory, and tradition.  Amanda chose a dress of gray and black.  Her rationale was to shorten the dress after the wedding so that she could use it as a cocktail dress. The portion that she will cut off is going to be used to make cushions for their home.  Cory and his groomsmen all wore game controllers that Amanda made out of a polymer clay instead of the traditional boutonnieres.  After the ceremony, they served a dinner of pork tenderloin or roasted chicken, steamed vegetables, twice baked potatoes, rolls, and salad.  Instead of having a traditional cake, they chose to have a cupcake tower.

The Texas delegation, Sophie, Seth, Becca & Leslie...

Ron and I...

The parents of the groom; John & Joni and Dave & Deb.

Amanda made these cute fortune teller programs for
the wedding.  It must have taken days!

Amanda's sister was her matron of honor, and our niece Kaylin was one of the bridesmaids.  Cory's brother, Kyle, was the best man.  During the ceremony, it was obvious that they were both very nervous.  But amid the tears and laughter, Cory and Amanda placed keepsakes inside a memory box, recited vows that they both wrote, and became husband and wife in a way that reflected their personalities.

The bride and groom saying their vows...

The memory box...

Mr. and Mrs. Cory Porter!

Getting to watch their wedding was just one of the reasons we went to Kansas.  We also got to see the newest addition to the Kansas Porter family, little Rylin.  She is so cute!  I still can't decide if she will have red hair or not.  Her mother, Kyle's fiance Jess, was very shy but seems so sweet.  

We also got to see David & Deb's home in Junction city.  They found an art deco style home, along the lines of a Frank Lloyd Wright style, and are restoring it.  I loved it!  

Then of course, we stopped at the Russell Stover's Candy outlet on the way out of Kansas, Sam Moon's in Ft. Worth, and made it home before dark on Thursday!

Little Rylan Porter...

Two handsome Porter men; Kyle and David...

Kaylin and Becca...

The outside of Dave & Deb's place...

Dave inside the entry way of their house, with the dogs...

CHOCOLATE!!!!!

It was a great trip, mild weather, pleasant driving and sweet reunions.  I can't wait to go back for another visit.