Growth and Learning

The weekend:
Curt and I spent another weekend at the lake last weekend. It is nice to have that time to spend with family. I wish my side lived closer to be able to do much of the same with them. I got to meet and get to know a few more people from Curt's side, which was a lot of fun. Mike and Nora Popplewell and Linda and Melvin Miers are cousins and a lot of fun.

Flooding update:
We still have a lot of flooding around us. The Tarkio River in Fairfax crested and spilled water near 59, but is now well flood stage again. No closure is expected there for now. I have heard that there is flooding to our south that gives potential for more closures south on I-29 sooner than we expected. If you are interested in photos, there are a tons of places to look. On FB follow Atchison County 911/Emergency Management. There are also tons of Flood of 2011 Missouri River pictures on the web, take a look.

GED Teaching:
I changed my dates for Laser Hair Removal so that there is no longer any conflicting times with my GED classes. I have one conflict with an away game for Cheerleading, but I will have to see what I can do for that. I'm not sure how to handle it at this time. I go to training July 20-21st, both in St. Joe. This could be problematic if the flooding continues. I will have to be very creative in order to get to the training since I-29 is likely to be closed.

New Project:
I am working to create a new district page for Tarkio R-1 School District. I plan to get it up and running before our PA trip. I really like this part of my job. I have never been able to do anything like this before and it feels great to be able to do it with VERY minimal help from Curtis. Sometimes,  I ask him questions that even HE can't answer. I like that. :)

PA TRIP Updates:

• Booked all of the hotels. 
• We will stay in Des Moines, Chicago, and Sandusky, Oh (Cedar Point tickets purchased)
• We are having breakfast with a Jamie Reinhardt in Des Moines!
• We will head to Chicago and go to the Sears Tower (Willis Tower), but the rest of the time is doing whatever we want.
• We will tour the campus of Notre Dame for Curt.
• We will go to Lake Michigan and Lake Erie for a picnic and maybe swimming
• We will go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• We will go to Presque Isle.
• Curt will go on his first train ride with the OC&T railroad.
• WE WILL MISS OUR PUPPERS, they are staying with Grandma and Grandpa.

 I am very much looking forward to spending a good deal of time with my family. I think they all work while I'm there, but Curt and I will still have a ton of fun.

Being a teacher is amazing. I love being home when Curt comes home for lunch. I love being able to keep the house clean and take the pups for walks. I love sleeping in and working at my leisure. I love the hum of a fan that keeps the street noises at bay while I work or play. I love cuddling with my pups all day. However, most of all, I love having the time to work on and anticipate my next years' curriculum. Looking over lessons from this year, changing what needs to be changed and constantly improving my teaching. It feels like such an accomplishment to create a lesson that takes all the good things from a previous year and incorporates all the new things I have learned. It's exciting! During the school year, you really just do not have time for this kind of reflection. It's a blessing.