Recent Happenings

I am going to have to go with just captions for this post because I am so behind! Luckily, it is because I have been having too much fun. 

Before you get worried, this is a nice police officer that came for our Great American Teach In day mid November. He was telling the students about his career and just to demonstrate he picked me out of the kids and HANDCUFFED ME and put me in the back of the police car. The students' response was cheering and, "Who's gonna teach us now?" We also got to tour a $600,000 RV with heated floors, we had a boom operator from the Air Force, and a lawyer who taught them about the government. 

All of 2nd grade has a Thanksgiving feast together in the cafeteria. Our class's assignment was stuffing. Yes, we made stuffing for 150 2nd graders! It was fun and the students loved helping, especially with my cuisenart chopper! It only made me slightly depressed when during the feast I realized the person I asked to take the stuffing out of the oven forgot, and so the first 4 classes were done eating and didn't get any of it! Bummer.

My mom and dad came to visit for Thanksgiving and decided to join me at school for a day. You better believe I put them to work! They both helped with the Thanksgiving projects we made.

Here I am trying to make sure all my students get to help with the stuffing equally!

The fruits of our labors. We wove placemats, made potato turkeys, and a flower decoration on which they wrote things they were thankful for. 

I put my dad's storytelling skills to use by making him tell my all time favorite story, Rindercella. If you haven't heard it...you have to! My students LOVED it!

Thanksgiving day. Here is my table all set for dinner. My mom made the flower centerpiece which was beautiful! 

Chris and I decided that Thanksgiving is just more fun with a lot of people, so we invited our friends, the Alvarez family and our buddy Craig.

Too busy cooking to do my hair! Oh well. Here we are happy and full.

Believe it or not we ate after dinner! Who can say no to See's chocolates and Craig's homemade salsa and guacamole?

On Saturday we went to Orlando and went to the temple. It was nice to be in the beautiful building and have some quiet time.

After the temple and some shopping we went to Downtown Disney and walked around the fun shops. We had to stop at the most crowded place there too...the Ghirardelli ice cream shop. Mmmm! We should have gotten a picture of that!

On Sunday my mom helped me decorate my Christmas tree. Too bad we had to struggle with the million plugs to get it lit! Oh, it only took 2 hours! You would think the things would be labeled, but no. Before that thing goes down, you better believe I am labeling those suckers! My tree has no star because it snapped! I have to get out the glue gun. Thanks to mom and dad for already bringing presents! It helps my house look so Christmasy.