Jack's 3rd Birthday PARTY

Today was Jack's 3rd Birthday Party
Who: Family, and Friends attended
When: August 24th
Where: Our backyard
What: Had a BLAST--made "piggy crowns" , played pin the door on the barn and colored on the paper table cloths! Mom even made her very first cake!!! It was a barn....with really cool animal cupcakes too! Jack got too many really great gifts...his favorite was his Thomas the Train set from our neighbors :) He also loved his tool set, his new trucks, his really noisy card, and his soft cuddly blanket! He was in heaven:)

Uff Da (said with a norwegian accent)

Uff Da (said with a Norwegian accent...as they do in Northern Minnesota) is all I can say today. It is just after 10:00 pm and my brain/body feel like it could be four in the morning. It was a VERY long day of starting a new position in a completely new school district....I have so many thoughts and feelings....

Excited: I love the new year and I love the return of students. The staff I will be working with seem to love teaching and love the district. I love teaching and am glad to be back in a classroom!

Challenged: new career, new content matter, two buildings, two staffs...etc.

Overwhelmed: lots of new everything to comprehend and figure out how it all fits with me

Stressed: see above

Grateful: I have a FANTASTIC husband who supports me every step of the way, got both boys to daycare today, picked them up when I ran late at school (surprise...), and had dinner on the table by 5:15! (Grilled Chicken and Wild Rice--YUM). I have two boys who had a great first day of daycare! Yay for Brenda--DC Mom! :) I have a phenomenal mentor who has already supported me in so many ways and I know she will continue!

Here's to starting the new school year!

Time

Never enough time in the day! I have a house to clean, laundry...lots of laundry to wash, dry and fold, a birthday party to prepare for, a grocery list to write, a brain to get ready for school and teaching, kids to play with, and I am sure more chores on top of all of that....but what I really want to do is drop everything and scrapbook.... perhaps another day.

off to clean....

Robinson Family Reunion

The first ever Robinson Family reunion was held the weekend of August 15th up at a great "campground" in TC! My mom's mom (my grandma) was a Robinson before marrying my grandpa. She has four sisters and a brother. Between the 6 of them, they planned a HUGE party that lasted Friday to Sunday. Day 1 was arrival and get to know each other. Day 2 (Saturday) was play in the sun ALL DAY and eneded with a pig roast. Day 3 should have been clean up and say good byes but our boys (and very tired us...) ended our weekend a bit early by leaving Saturday night after the pig roast....the boys did not sleep that great Friday night and therefore we did not sleep either. We were so tired :) Jack was out within ten minutes of our drive home...and of course Lukie screamed for 1 1/2 hours! Oh Lukie!


Highlights of the Weekend:
--swimming in a crystal clear, warm lake
--watching Jack actually enjoy above mentioned activity
--seeing Luke try to walk all over the park
--interacting with all of my wonderful and crazy relatives (they are both...not either/or)
--taking Jack and Luke on their first canoe rides...and attempted paddle boat rides
--laughing when Ben (nephew) decided he did NOT want to be in the paddle boat with Aunt Teresa and sat on the paddles...prohibited me from actually paddling....had to jump out (yes we were near shore) and pull boat back in
--watching Jack and Luke get more comfortable with members of our family and not screaming when mom/dad "dissappear" for a bit
--eating...need I say more
--listening to Jack as he actually
--being outside at the campfire as the gorgeous (almost) full moon rose! cried because we were leaving! He had a FANTASTIC time!
--visiting my grandma and pa in their camper and watching Jack interact with my grandpa :) Those two make quite the pair
--spending time with Mom, Dad, Ben, Tom Lynda and John




Overall we had a great time...sleeping not so much but still it was good :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Jack!
We celebrated the day with lots and lots of fun :) It started with a birthday breakfast (including chocolate chip pancakes with candles) at home with Grandpa and Grandma Tractor. We then traveled to Traverse City for a weekend long family reunion on Grandma Woo Woo's side. Jack got so much attention and thoroughly enjoyed the day! He loved the tractors daddy picked out for him, and the fishing pole too. He will have a party next weekend with all of the family and our neighbors!

Little Artists

How can you not just fall in love with my two cuties? :) They were sharing so nice (only time today) at the chalkboard easel ...which at the moment is stored in the garage! The chalkboard also has a whiteboard on the other side and can fold up for easy storage...another great flea market find! :)

mental exhuastion

i am mentally exhausted today. it has been 6 years since i have started a new job and met this many new people. jackie took me on a tour of the middle school and high school today, introduced me to countless of new people, tried to find me a workspace/hs classroom to use, helped me gather supplies, and helped me feel at ease, all with luke and her daughter. i had flashbacks today of starting in goodhue and felt very 'green'/new. i feel like i have no clue where anything is (of course i don't). i also don't know who anyone is and the duties they complete. the beginning of the school year is bound to be stressful.

Oh and Lynda Joined Us

Oh and Lynda joined us :) We had nice family bonding time as well! :)

Weekend Update

So today is back to Monday....I had a GREAT weekend with Tracy and Angie who came to visit me from Minnesota (well technically WI and MN...but that is another story) :) They are the best friends a gal could ask for...so easy to have at the house and so wonderful to be able to catch up! I took them to Lake MI--they had never been there! We also caught some GREAT sidewalk sales in Holland! It was such a great time!

Johnny 5--You stink!

I am so angry at my computer right now--Still not connecting well and Josh has been so busy...no time to look at it!!! Oh it just stinks!

Johnny 5 and I are back together

Johnny 5 and I are back together, at least for now. It has been a few hours without my internet being interrupted (which is significantly longer than before) so I think we might be on the up swing.

On a side note, check out the Chicken Shrimp Carbonera at Olive Garden--SUPER tasty!

Irritation

My Laptop has caused me significant irritation for the past few days.....wireless would sporadically NOT work and anything I was trying to do would cease to work! After a few days of cursing my formerly beloved computer, I uninstalled what I think might have been the irritant and hope that I can come to terms with Johnny 5 again (yeah he has a name....dorky but you have to remember I am married to Josh) :) Only time will tell if Johnny 5 and I are united once again!

Ode to Monday

Meijer run for birthday party favors
Obstinate Children with chocolate faces
New teeth for young Luke
Dark clouds and rain drops
A family dinner
Young at Heart: Ham Bone

**Ham Bone is a game we created so Jack would eat more ham at snack time (needed protein)....very similar to Go Fish but with a match, has to have a bite of ham :) and there are no real rules....