what happened to august?

My sister-in-law and my mom and I went to see Amy Grant in concert. It was our Mother's Day present to my mom. Both of my sisters were supposed to go with us, but it didn't work out. It was a great concert....we were about 11 rows from the stage.

Ryan learned how to ride a two-wheeler in about five minutes....

I painted the laundry room [finally...I've had the paint for a year!] with a little help from my buddy, Ryan.

The treehouse progressed with three little helpers.

Ryan making lunch for the work crew....

Apparently he wins the "Big Helper" award this month!

We ran and biked and swam, and ran and biked and swam some more.

Then, came the sneak-a-peeks for the big 2nd grader and big kindergartner. I love this photo - great shot, Mark! Yes, Mark took the boys because Mommy, the teacher, unfortunately can't be in two places at once.

They even got to ride the bus for a trial run.

Hope your August was filled with lots of fun, too!

scrappy share

Supplies: Rust cardstock, Wasau Paper Co.; Green patterned

paper, Cosmo Cricket; Lined paper, Making Memories;

Red letter stickers, Cloud 9 Designs;Apple diecut, Target;

Red "D" diecut, K & Co.; Yellow thickers, American Crafts;

Small white letter stickers, Making Memories.

I made this layout a while ago, but I thought it was very appropriate since we are quickly approaching the first day of school for 3/5 of us starting Monday! I will be back in my position as a 3rd and 4th grade reading specialist, Evan will be starting 2nd(!) grade, and my Ryan will be a kindergartner(!).

I look at these photos of Evan's first day of kindergarten and it seems like it was yesterday. And it was two years ago!!!!!

So much has changed since then...

And, yes, that is a photo of Mark in the boys' wagon ~ hahaha!

wordless wednesday

silly bandz

I love them.

Not because they are pure genius and someone is making their millions on pieces of shaped plastic.

Not because they can occupy my children in restaurants.

Not because they can be traded.

I love silly bandz because today they worked splendidly as the "proverbial carrot."

No, I am not above bribery.

Yes, I held these out in front of my boys' noses as incentive for helping mommy clean up the house today. I made a list of jobs they could pick from, their job had to be inspected by mommy, and then I put their initial next to the job. Then, came the payout. Evan got 7, Ryan got 5, Nathan got 3 - just noticing now that this is the same as their ages! LOL!

Now, I can make dinner in peace while they admire their new bracelets and trade with one another.

Go, me!

skippyjon jones

I apologize for the delay in posts.

I had the opportunity to be a part of the Millersville Writing Institute this week - one week, every day from 8 am to 4 pm for 3 credits. Every morning was spent with a nationally acclaimed author of teacher resource material and today was a children's book author and illustrator.

You may of heard of her...Judy Schachner!

Yes, Skippyjon Jones' "Mama Junebug" entertained us for several hours this morning with her humorous stories, photos, and readings from her books and others. I could have listened to her for hours! So many things she spoke about I could completely relate to...I wanted to sit with her and pick her brain. But I settled for a photo instead :)

Our afternoons were spent in grade-like groups writing and conferencing with one another.

I think I discovered my inner-writer and I don't want to lose her again!

I have stories that need to be told! :)

I can't wait to tell you more after I've had time to decompress...

quote of the week

From Nathan to me:

Oh, Babe. Mommy, you are my girlfriend.