School Days

In anticipation of Laina's first day of pre-school on Tuesday, Bridget gave this book to Laina.

Hot Wheels

Laina was determined to learn to ride her new bike without training wheels but after an afternoon of grandma running behind her hanging on (and all the while thinking how much harder it was now than when my own kids were young) Laina decided it was more fun to ride with four wheels. Maybe next summer she'll try it again.

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

Last Friday we went to Wilson's apple orchard to pick our own apples. It was a bit wet and muddy so Laina wanted a piggy back.

Picking apples.

A whole basket of apples.

Bagging up the goods.

Afterwards we went to Terri's house and made a triple batch of applesauce. This handy apple peeler made the job a lot easier.

The nifty apple peeler we bought at Wilson's.

Hackles Up

My hackles are up over the situation in a certain Iowa City neighborhood where my daugher happens to teach first grade. A pipe bomb exploded on the playground, a pizza delivery man was mugged, gunshots were fired in the neighborhood, a self proclaimed teenage gang roams the streets not letting cars pass, and parents and their kids are rioting. It's no surprise that this particular school does not produce the highest test scores in the Iowa City School District. The NCLB (No Child Left Behind) policy has labeled this particular school a SINA(school in need of assistance), because of the school's low test scores. Letters have gone out to parents letting them know that they can choose a different school for their child and the district will provide transportation. NCLB assumes that the reason for these low test scores is that the teachers are not doing their job. The solution that they came up with for this problem? Teachers at this low income school will leave their classrooms to go 'observe and learn' from teachers at schools that are not labeled a SINA. These schools, are of course, in higher income areas. If test scores at my daughter's school do not improve the teaching staff could be replaced and the school could be shut down. NCLB assumes that low test scores must mean there is a problem with the teaching staff or the school building. How RIDICULOUS! The staff at my daughter's school is a dedicated staff, that goes above and beyond, to do their best to teach this challenging group of students. The government should be honoring this group of teachers, not punishing and threatening them!




Bridget's 'little sister' Destiny and Laina entertaining themselves in Bridget's classroom while Terri and I help prepare for the first day of school.

Laina wanted to take a picture of me but cut part of my head off.
Then Destiny wanted to take a picture of Laina and I.

Destiny and Laina sharpened all these pencils with the electric pencil sharpener.

Laina in action with the pencil sharpener.

The reading area.

Growing Machine

Saturday afternoon Laina declared that she wanted to make a growing machine. Hmmm. I was a bit baffled and questioned her about where the idea originated. Turns out she has a book about a tiger that is small and wants to make a growing maching. Luckily Bridget walked in about this time and agreed to help Laina with the growing machine. Here are two pictures of the finished product with the roof on and the roof off. Later Laina wanted to bring the growing machine to El Dorado, a restaurant in Coralville, where we met with the rest of the family for dinner. Everyone was duly impressed!

Little Fish

Laina warming up by lying on the warm deck after her swimming escapades.

I say tomato-----you say tomahto!

Sunday afternoon I decided to make homemade tomato soup with our over abundance of tomatoes for my lunch at work. First I heated the tomatoes in water until the skins split. Then I peeled them.

I added the peeled tomatoes to green peppers, onion, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.

At the last minute I decided to add a summer squash. Here are all the ingredients cooking....

and cooking some more.

After cooking, I put the soup in the blender in batches.

And here is the finished product ready for the refrigerator and freezer. If you see me eating lunch tomorrow--I will be eating THIS!

Sioux Falls Here I Come

I'm headed to Sioux Falls to my Aunt's funeral. The only good thing about the trip is my new car WITH air conditioning. I have been driving around in my old car with no AC for over a month. I suddenly realized I'm 49 years old and have never gone this far by myself before. Also I am a bit challenged when it comes to directions and maps. I hope I don't end up in Siberia. Barry has been instructed to keep his cell phone on him at all times. It would be a miracle if I make it there and back without getting lost as I have been known to get lost in Iowa City! Wish me luck.

Froggy Weather

This huge cloud hung in the sky over Riverside on Sunday night as a storm blew in. After the storm this frog was plastered to our front door.

A Shout Out to Aunt Bridget

Bridget is out of town so Laina wanted to shout out a hi to her in Denver.

You Just Had To Be There

I'm assuming you just had to be there to 'get' this picture. I have no idea what is going on but thought it was an interesting picture!

And this one I just thought was pretty darn cute!

Cakes Alive!

We just got all the pictures from the photographer so I thought I would post a few more wedding photo's the next few posts. These are the beautiful cakes that Sarah made for Terri's wedding. I thought she did a great job. They looked wonderful and were luscious too!

Double Dog

Laina tried to imitate the way Elsa was lying on our patio.

She also made Elsa wear a head band and a hair clip.