Lake Tahoe with Stephen and Noemia

Lake Tahoe was beautiful in October, and nobody better to spend it with than Stephen and Noemia! Welcome back to the States!

Democratic National Convention

This past week has been crazy here in Denver with the DNC here in town. I work in the same building where Obama was staying which made for a long week of being searched coming into the parking garage every morning, street closures, and crowds of protestors. Despite the hassles, I enjoyed the hype and even got to rub elbows with some famous people.

Even though I'm not a Democrat, I was thrilled to partake in the various festivities around town.
Right outside my office, I saw Hillary Clinton come out of her hotel and shake hands with the mob on the street. I strolled on out and shook the crazy ladies hand and enjoyed every second of it.

I also got to sit at a table and each lunch right next to Mike and Kitty Dukakis, with Walter Mondale straight across from me. We were all at a luncheon tribute to George McGovern. Other notable people present were Tom Daschle, Gary Hart, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and Tom Brokaw. It was fun!

Finally, while I was walking down the street with a friend of mine, I asked him if he'd seen anyone famous yet. He replied, "No, but that Michelle Obama right there!" I looked over, and there she was about 10 feet away from us, sitting in the back of a black SUV stopped in traffic. She heard him say that and looked at us to see if we were a threat. Instead of expressing my political views in an inappropriate way, I smiled and continued down the sidewalk. We had a pretty good laugh about it as we went on our way.

New Home!

It was a long 3 months without a place to call home, but we feel very blessed with our new house! We moved in at the beginning of March and, as expected, we have been very slow to unpack boxes and start the decorating process. But things are moving along and we are so happy to get such a great deal on this foreclosure - and from some really great Christian people that took care of it well. Now we just need to figure out what to put on those bare walls!

We really want to thank our parents for letting us stay with them and being patient with us as we waited for the perfect opportunity. It was fun living at home again and being spoiled by you guys!

Come and visit us! We have a bunch of rooms and no one to fill them!

Spring Break!

I was blessed to be able to go to Scotland over my Spring Break last week. My sweet parents made it possible for me to go over one more time to spend time with Holly, Luke, and little Isaiah. Thank you so much, Mom and Dad!

The trip started a little rocky-- after arriving in Edinburgh to find that our luggage was still in Denver, scraping the rental car, and someone (who will remain nameless :) ) filled the regular gas tank with diesel fuel, we were anxious to get into St. Andrews and get settled. Once we finally got into St. Andrews, everything was wonderful. We stayed in a cute little flat that is a 5 minute walk from my sister's flat. We had a wonderful time playing with Isaiah, eating scones, playing with Isaiah, walking around the quaint little town, playing with Isaiah, having High Tea at the Old Course Hotel, and playing with Isaiah! I love my little nephew! He is at such a fun age, and you can see the wheels constantly turning in his mind. It's also really fun to see my sister and brother-in-law be parents. They are doing such a great job and are training up a sweet little boy. Here are some pics from the trip:

Cute "wee" little nephew!

We were visiting an old cathedral, and Isaiah found little statues just his size!

Isaiah LOVES Spot the Dog! When the grandparents saw a window full of Spots, they couldn't resist! As you can see, Isaiah is one happy boy!

My class is doing Flat Stanley right now. We had fun showing mine around Scotland.

My mom took Holly and I for high tea at the Old Course Hotel.

Isaiah's first Easter-egg hunt. :)

Kids Say the Silliest Things!

One reason I love my job is that the kids keep me laughing every day. Sometimes I have to turn around and face the whiteboard to not show them that I am holding back the giggles. This year I am trying to write down some of the funny things they say and do because I always forget! I hope you get a laugh out of them, too!

1. David came into visit my class for the first time. I asked the kids if he looked like they thought he would. The students all said, "No". I asked, "What did you think he'd look like?" One of the students replied, "I thought he'd look rich!"

2. When trying to drag the truth out of a student, I was asking him if something that another student did to him could have possibly been an accident. He finally replied, "I remember! It was half on accident and half on purpose, and they morphed together!"

3. When discussing what heirlooms our great-grandparents passed onto us before they passed away, one student said, "It was from my grandma. She passed out too."

4. After watching an introduction video on magnets, one of my very enthusiastic students was truly crying with excitement about magnets when I turned the lights back on.

5. Student: What is the name of this state?
Me: Pennsylvania
Student: Oh, that's where they make pencils!

6. Try to decode this phrase that a student wrote: akshiwol vertion of phonix

7. As a student was reading the lunch choices for the day, he said, "Oh, I always thought that sandwich was girl cheese".

There's never a dull moment as a teacher!

Remember this funny stuff from P-dine?!?! I just found this on my computer and am loving it all over again!