It Has Been Too Long!!!

I have been a VERY bad blogger this year, and for that I apologize. I have been overwhelmed with taking over a class in the middle of the year and over-extending myself with extra curriculars at work. We are now on summer vacation and time is on my side!!! Woo-Hoo! As you can see from this pic of our side yard, all the leaves are back on the trees and Indy is just as lovely as ever. We have had several thunderstorms, tornado watches and 90 degree days. The weather here is NEVER uneventful I must say... This is the time of year where we sleep most of the day and become "Night Owls." The temps are enjoyable and being outside is a MUST!!!Bon fires, fireflies, grilling out, corn-hole....ahhhhh Summertime ROCKS!!!!Ryan is playing softball two nights a week. He is playing Friday nights with the guys in our neighborhood and Monday nights on a team with our friend, Chris. Judging from the raspberry on his leg, you can see that Ryan still thinks he is 15 and can slide like he used to...Don't worry, he is all healed up now!In early May, we flew out to San Diego for my best friend Erin's wedding! Erin and I have been best friends since we were 10 years old. You may recall that we flew to California in September for her sister, Kellie's wedding. Lots of "Marital Bliss" going on in that family!!! Here are Erin and her beau, Dave. Her wedding was at the San Diego Hilton. It was gorgeous!!!Cheers to a lifetime of happiness!!! Me and my Kellie Wellie!!!! Gosh I miss Erin and Kel so much. There is NOTHING like your childhood friends. They know you inside and out and love and accept you for who you are. I wish I could have the best of both worlds and move them here...Ryan and the BEAUTIFUL bride!!!Dress rehearsal time. I got to walk with Dave's friend, Drew (in white shirt)...Practice makes perfect...Erin on her wedding day! WOW- she was an absolutely STUNNING bride!!!!My nephew Dylan and Erin's youngest son, Brenden...My brother and sister...Erin's oldest son Ethan, walking Erin's mom (Joy) down the aisle...The 4 amigas...Jay, Sarah, me and Kellie!Steve (Erin's dad) giving Erin away... The LOVELY couple. Congrats Erin!!!! I am sooooooo happy for you!!!! Dave is a wonderful guy and you deserve nothing more than the best!!!! xoThis May, I also had the joy of turning 31!!!! I know I can't believe it...time is going by sooooo quickly!!! I decided to embrace what is left of my youth and throw myself a "21st + 10" Birthday Party!!!! I invited our neighbors and a few of my co-workers. We grilled out. It was a lot of fun. We have really met some awesome people these last 3 years...My darling hubby "manned" the grill...Some of my fabulous neighbors!!!! We are so lucky. I love how everyone knows everyone and looks out for each other...As the day turned into night, some of us changed, put on our dancing shoes and headed out to Broad Ripple for a "Wild" girls night out!!!! Here are Sabrina, Liz, Tiffany, me, Carrie and Julie...Me and Tiff....Alissa and Kate...Amanda and Liz...WOO-HOO!!!!! Girls just wanna have fun!Thank you to all my friends for making my 31st birthday one I will always remember!Last week Papa and Tutu flew out here from Hawaii to watch the Indy 500. After the race, they came and stayed with us a few days. I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to have my grandparents here!!!Ryan and I LOVED having them here!!! We are flying out to Las Vegas this July to celebrate my Grandpa's 80th Birthday!!! It was Tutu's 70th birthday. We threw her a mini-party. We got her a cake and invited my friends over to meet them and sing to her. Happy Birthday, Tutu!!! We LOVE you!!!! xoMake a wish...It was so great to spend quality time with my grandparents. I love them sooooo much and although we only see each other about once a year, I have VERY fond memories with them!!!On the last day of school, I hosted a "Learning Celebration" for my students and their families. One half of the room displayed their Music project, the other half showed off their Realistic Fiction books they created...My school district is very big on project-based learning. One of the steps in project is the research phase. These are books the students used and notes and sketches displaying their findings... Another phase is the creation of representations. Below is a representation of an Electric Guitar and Amplifier. Students build representations of their new learning out of simple items such as cardboard, string, buttons, etc....

This is one student's representation of an Acoustic Guitar... Simple Representations, Memory drawings/writings and Anchor Charts of student learning...

Student stories along with mentor text...I was VERY fortunate to take over a class this year. I missed having my own class these past couple of years. I am soooooo looking forward to meeting my new 3rd grade class in the fall and beginning my administrator's program in July.I will try to post more blogs now that I have some time off!!! Until next time...xo