Matthew's Bee - Day 274

Matthew is pretty good at getting bees in action. As you can imagine, there were a few bees at the gardens on Saturday.

Tonight was my school's Open House. It was exhausting, even though it was short. Funny how the one set of parents who wore me out belong to the one student who wears me out on a daily basis...

Nick's View - Day 273

Nicholas doesn't take that many photos, but when he does, he has some neat ideas. This was at Butchart Gardens in a place I didn't see. He took the camera and came back a few minutes later. I love how he framed the photo on the left.

Tonight was Nicholas's Open House at school. I enjoyed meeting his teachers and it seems like he has a great bunch of them. He likes all of his teachers but doesn't care for the way his English class is going due to an obnoxious bunch of kids.

The Bug Zoo - Day 272

Sunday morning we started our day at the restaurant at our hotel. Nicholas was playing with his food...
Then we were off to the Victoria Bug Zoo. It was very small, but the tour guide was so full of information. I had a great time...not too sure about the rest of our group! This is me holding a giant grasshopper.
I wasn't brave enough to hold the tarantula (no one in our family was), but I DID hold the scorpion. Mike (the tour guide) told us the sting is somewhat like a bee sting, but it was very calm in my hand so I wasn't worried.
Then Matthew held this bug. I forgot all the information about it (I guess I can't listen and hold a camera at the same time!), but it was really cute in a bug sort of way.
I also held a Madagascar hissing cockroach, which felt like plastic...
...a millipede (this isn't my hand, but I held it)...it's feet feel like a brush...
...and a leaf insect. I wish they'd build a bug zoo down here!
And here's Owen on the way home on a beautiful sunny Sunday!

Victoria Attractions - Day 271

Butchart Gardens was our first stop for the day. Matthew and Nicholas both got some interesting photos here.
Luckily Matthew's photography class assignment on "Nature". We have so many good photos, I could post one each day for at least a month!
Next, we stopped at the Butterfly Gardens which is on the same road as Butchart. I had a great time in here watching all the different kinds of butterflies fluttering and zooming (yes, some were zooming...must have been the ADHD butterflies). This guy emerged just this morning and is an Atlas Moth. They live for 3-5 days and are as big as my hand span.
Our last stop of the day was at Craigdarroch Castle. I loved seeing this huge, old home and all the wood used inside as well as the old furniture. The castle was also used as a college and as a war hospital in its years. I just loved this place!

On Our Way to Victoria - Day 270

We left today for a weekend in Victoria, B.C. We had reservations on the ferry and everything went as planned.

We got up there, found our hotel, and enjoyed our room. We went out to dinner at Ming's, a Chinese restaurant a few blocks away.

Books! - Day 269

I got these books in the mail yesterday and today. I get so excited to get new (well, previously read) books that I just want to start them and read, read, read! I'm already in the middle of a few books, one on CD, one hardback library book (which is hard to take places) and one paperback that I'm almost finished with. Squeezing in the time to actually read is another story (ha, ha).

Bunco!!! - Day 268

Bunco was at my house today. We had a lot of subs for our first game of the year. Matthew got to sub at the last minute and he ended up getting 2nd place and $20! He was great at helping me clean the house (Owen and Nicholas helped, too) and set up all the food and drinks. He even made brownies. We have a real fun (and LOUD) group to play with and now I know he enjoyed himself since his wallet is now thicker!

Open House - Day 267

Matthew's Open House was tonight and it was great meeting all of his teachers. They really range in personalities (which is good) and I think most of his classes are pretty fun, although challenging. It was also interesting hearing the mom of a student sort of brag about how loud and talkative her son is (we also heard this last year during Open House), but when their math teacher started talking about how unfair it was for 2 kids to disrupt a class of 28 (which is actually 32 for 4th period), she (the mom) looked a bit sheepish. Score for the math teacher! As always, it was interesting to see how few parents attended and his English teacher commented on how all the students of ours that were there were student who really participated in her class and took it seriously...is there a correlation there?? My Open House is next week and like always, I'll find the same thing there.

History of Tacoma - Day 266

Nicholas made this great timeline tonight for his History class. I love the projects they put together!

Monster Cat - Day 265

Snickers has grown! He's bigger than Owen!



If you're interested in reading more about the pig roast I posted about last month, click here.

Birthdays in Lewis County - Day 264

The first birthday celebration today was for Owen's dad who turned 82 today. We had a great lunch from Quizno's and some delicious pie afterward.
Then we were off to Jeff's 50th birthday bash. Jeff is on the left. These guys started their band while in high school and got together last year to play for their class reunion. We got to hear them again at New Year's and today.

The Voetberg Family was also there and played a few songs. Jeff has a recording studio and has recorded their CDs. We had a fun afternoon in Lewis County, even though it was kind of chilly outside.

A Nice Letter - Day 263

Matthew got a very nice letter in the mail today with his WASL scores. Nicholas passed all of his sections, too, (some last spring and some when he was a 9th grader), but didn't get a letter with his scores (I suppose it's possible he got it in the spring with the first set of results, but I don't remember that far back). Matthew's all ready to celebrate his success as Ms. Christine told him to do. Although I have mixed feelings about the WASL, I'm proud of both boys for always doing so well on it.

Close Up - Day 262

As you can probably tell by the sky in the background, this picture wasn't taken today. It's another archive day, this one from Sunday. I like how Matthew got the paw nice and close and everything else kind of blurs out. It's one of those photos that really looks much better when blown up, so click away!

Meg - Day 261

This is Meg. I think Matthew woke her when he took this picture. She looks tired and worn out, just how I feel today.

Just Imagine - Day 260

Just imagine that there are not power lines or signs blocking the view in this photo...just imagine you were here 30 seconds ago when the sun was actually above the trees on the horizon...you would've seen the most spectacular, fuchsia colored, humongous sun that you have ever seen. Sorry we missed it, but your imagination is good, isn't it?

Another Nest - Day 259

This nest is under our eaves with a different type of bee. Matthew is just fearless!

There's a Mummy in the Bushes - Day 258

When I first looked at this photo, I thought it looked like a mummy face. It's a bee (hornet?) nest built in my parents' rhododendron plant. I've never seen a nest built in a bush like this. They really didn't like Matthew hanging around taking pictures, either.

The Big Frisbee - Day 257

Snickers enjoys being under things. Matthew and I were throwing around this Monster Frisbee and Snickers was reaching out to grab it. Once it got on the ground close to him, he scooted underneath.

About 10 minutes later, when Kitsel was here exchanging books, we noticed Snickers still under the frisbee. I guess it made some nice shade for him!

Salmon and Beans - Day 256

Some of these pictures are starting to look the same...we have salmon quite often, thanks to Costco. Today we had Grillin' Beans with them (actually Matthew and Owen had the beans, Nicholas and I don't like them).

Allergies - Day 255

I had allergy testing today. I had planned on taking a picture of the equipment they use, but in the 2 hours I was in the office, it totally slipped my mind. I remembered as I was getting into my car. So although this picture is rather unattractive, this is what I did today! Both arms look like this, I see that I will have some stain removing to do on my shirt, and now I know that I am allergic to most everything but mostly dust, dust mites, molds, grass, and cats. (Don't worry, I'm not allergic to Snickers. He has great fur that most people don't have trouble with, plus, he takes showers.) I am going to try allergy shots to see if that doesn't help me feel better and avoid all the sinus infections I tend to get. Shots are weekly for 6 months to 1 1/2 years, depending...quite a committment. It's worth a try, though, if it will help me feel better.

Nice Night for a Walk - Day 254

Matthew and I went for a walk tonight(he went for a scooter ride).

The sunset was beautiful. We left a bit late and it was dark by the time we were done...but it was only 8:10. I guess fall is coming closer!

Room for a Car - Day 253

We have (actually Owen has) made room in the garage for one car! Snickers really enjoys having an enclosed, warm cleaning area. He stayed out here for quite a while sitting on the warm engine hood.

Late Back-to-School Photo - Day 252

For some reason, I didn't get to take a picture of the boys on their first day of school...or their 2nd, 3rd or 4th...so I took one this morning. So I guess it's the "first day of the first full week" photo.


They've both changed some since last year...this is from 2007.

Mmmmm...Apple Pie - Day 251

We had a great dinner at my parents' house. My dad made yummy bbq spareribs and his famous hashbrowns. For dessert we had the choice of homemade applesauce (made by Dad), fresh peaches over ice cream, or homemade apple pie (made by Mom). A couple of us had small samplings of all 3 desserts...very delicious!

Dinner with Friends - Day 250

Carol and Jeff met us for dinner tonight at Chevy's. Carol and I have been friends since the 6th grade when she moved to our school. We usually get together once a year for a gift exchange with other girls that we went to school with (we're a little older than "girls" now), but it's great to get together midyear. We had a great time...need to do this more often!

Grand Re-Opening - Day 249

Nicholas's Safeway is having their Grand Re-Opening so it was quite busy today. I dropped him off at work because when I drove by on my way home, I could see that the parking lot was almost totally packed! I guess they had some great deals between 4 and 8pm. It looks very nice and updated inside.

Wishing - Day 248

I wish we were back here...on Kauai...not working...not that today was TOO bad, just very frustrating...when the "extra help" adult is more work than the kids and not helping the kids, that's frustrating! (Beth, I need you at my school!)

Finally Red - Day 247

My tomato is finally red! It's done a good job of growing this summer. Now it just needs to tell its buddies that it's time to be ripe!

By the way, the first day for my students went well, most were on their very best behavior, most were VERY sweet. I think I'll keep my job. :)

No More Spiders - Day 246

Instead of another spider picture, I give you another flower picture...this was taken at Pt. Defiance Zoo by Matthew the photographer (who got into his photography class but Nicholas's Mechanical Drawing got cancelled...bummer). Like usual, I have no idea what kind it is but it seems very peaceful...just what I need before facing a class of 29 3rd graders (yes, I got my 29th this afternoon). We're going to be packed in like sardines (how did they do it when WE were kids in classes of 32 or more? I have an answer for that that involves a lot of parenting and social issues that would take much too long to get into...plus, this is a PEACEFUL post, supposed to be RELAXING and put me in a state of CALMNESS in order to confront 29 squirrelly little...oh ya, I looked at my list and there are a few real sweethearts there, which will really be helpful.) So enough rambling and time to go to bed to get a good night of sleep. Wish me luck!

The Night Before School Starts - Day 245

Tomorrow the boys start school. My students don't start until Wednesday, but I still have to work tomorrow...staff meetings and a tiny bit of time to work in our rooms...back to the grindstone!