Disneyland in the Spring

It was such a beautiful day and I have a sunburn to prove it....Rebekah and I went to Disneyland with my sister Amanda and her family. It was so much fun that we were able to ride a lot of rides and of course eat A LOT!

Rebekah and Ashley were ready to go this morning for a fun filled day at DISNEYLAND! Notice the smile Rebekah has and later you'll see the end result after 8 hours at Disneyland.

We started the day with hearty breakfast with who better than the Aladdin Genie.


Alice came by to visit during breakfast.

Kim and Rebekah in Mickey's House.

Ashley and Amanda in Mickey's House.

Rebekah at the end of the day, ready to go home and sleep.........she didn't even wait until we got home, she slept most of the way home.

Although Jacob did not join us in Disneyland, he LOVED the Mickey Hands that Rebekah could not resist getting him.

I Survived....

I knew that getting that degree to teach science would pay off sooner or later....Because I am one of a very few "highly qualified" as President Bush would put it for No Child Left Behind, I was spared a pink slip for the upcoming school year. Unfortunately many of my friends were not so lucky. I hope that something transpires with the state budget soon, and allows the district to keep all those wonderful teachers....

....PINK is the word......

Well this is the week, let's keep our fingers crossed that I am one of the lucky few that do not receive a pink slip. The latest word is that there will be nearly 1,200 teachers cut. I will know by Saturday whether or not I am guaranteed a position next year. Let's hope all goes well......Thanks for the support.

A Political Rant..........

I do not usually get to emotional about politics but this is my plug for public education funding........As you all know I am completing my 7th year of teaching, gone by fast huh! Well I have taught math, science, history and this year an elective course. My passion is for science and when I was approached last year to teach a class that combines science and math in such a way that the students are applying the skills that they are learning, rather than saying "why do I have to know this" I jumped at the opportunity. This year I have had 4 regular science classes and 1 class of what is called MESA (Math Engineering Science Academics). This MESA class is a class of about 25 students, that have worked day and night to complete projects such as researching, designing, and building a trebuchet (catapult). They took their completed design to a competition and won! My students also have successfully competed in math competitions, egg-drop design competitions and on top of all the hard work they have multiple opportunities to talk to scientists, business men/women, and entrepreneurs to discuss careers. They have toured college campuses, shadowed college students to experience real college classes. Let's just say they have experienced things that most middle school students do not have the opportunity to do. My rant begins because as most of you know I teach in an area of San Diego that has a high poverty rate and my students, as with many others do not have the luxury of having things handed to them. Well this evening I learned that this class will most likely be eliminated for next year. I am extremely upset over this because education in this country continues to take the backseat when it comes to funding. Not only will my class be eliminated but my site will probably be losing many highly qualified, energetic teachers. Our students need us and need our support. So THANK YOU TO GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER for your fantastic decision to cut education to the bare minimum, just remember that is really tough to raise test scores without materials or large class sizes. So again.......THANK YOU TO GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER!

Rainy Day Dance

Here we are in San Diego and we love our beautiful weather. Sunny everyday (almost), play time outside for the kids and the dog. It is those days that completely spoil us and when we get those massive rain storms (okay so it's only an inch or two) we find ourselves having to be creative with our time. So please enjoy the following clip of Jacob and our Rainy Day Dance.....Pardon the poor quality at spots, apparently we are having issues with our battery connection on our camera.

At the Zoo

A trip to the zoo is always a great way to spend a Sunday morning. As we have annual passes we spend many weekends roaming around the zoo, enjoying that beautiful San Diego Sunshine in February. Rebekah and Jacob guide our trip through the zoo, and not a trip goes by that we do not visit the crocodiles.


And of course we cannot miss out on the petting zoo! Here is Rebekah showing Jacob how to feed the goats (I think it's just an excuse to feed the animals herself).


So after Rebekah's wonderful lesson in goat feeding, Jacob is ready to try himself. He did a really good job, you notice Rebekah is still "helping".

Now if you know me at all you know that my number one fear is snakes! I don't like them, they're, as Jacob would say, ICKY! So it is just natural that both my kids cannot go to the zoo without visiting the reptile house. This is one exhibit that if I never had to see it again I would not shed any tears. So begrudgingly I entered the reptile house, and documented my sons amazement at these slithery creatures.


Isn't just great how he sticks his face right up there to get a closer look (you got that sarcasm, right?) PS - notice the Seahawk logo on his hat :)



Jacob doing his best to imitate how snakes hiss with their tongues.


More snakes.........

So that is our visit to the zoo........every time we go Jacob is enthralled with all the animals and loves imitating their every move!

Camp.....A little late, but as I promised

Amidst the soccer tournaments, illnesses, soccer tournaments, conferences, and did I mention the soccer tournaments? I find myself falling behind in not only posting but with everything else. Although I am sure that many of my students are happy to delay their final grades of the semester I decided that I needed to get caught up on all my projects that I have been putting off. So I decided to start with the most enjoyable :)

Well Rebekah did go to 6th grade camp and she had a ball! It was so cold and snowed almost all week. Check out the pictures:


Rebekah arriving at camp, notice the heavy jacket and two layers of shirts, it's not like it was cold or anything.

As the week went on the camp looked more and more like a winter wonderland:



Rebekah hanging out in the cabin during free time: