Cousin Julie's ceremony

The main reason that we headed to Boise this past weekend was to be at my cousin Julie's recommitment ceremony. She and her husband Jerry were married last May. They wanted to share their marriage with their families so decided to have this ceremony. It could not have been more beautiful outside...especially for a sun deprived person like me. I loved sitting in the sun, taking it all in.

The pictures that you see are of the ceremony. It was located at the Boise Train Depot in the garden area. It was very simple with cake following. Jerry's daughter, Tricia, and son, Joseph, were at the ceremony. They are the ones holding Amanda in the first picture. Amanda is one month old and a very pretty baby. She is very mellow, hardly stirring the entire time she was passed around. We had to fight Grandpa Duane for the opportunity to hold Amanda but I sure can see why!

Boise Visit

There's nothing like a quick drive to Boise for the weekend. Wow! It was great to see Grandma and Grandpa Greene again. Grandma looks so much better than the last time I saw her in March. The twinkle is back in her eyes. Luke gave her and Grandpa lots of hugs and made them drawings. Seeing Grandma healthier and getting to meet Amanda was worth the long drive!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Unbelievably, Ryan is already 7 years old! Where does the time go?

Ryan wanted to celebrate his party at Chuck E. Cheese's with some of his good buddies. So on Sunday he had a great time playing games, eating pizza, climbing the gym with his friends and dancing with Chuck E. and the animated posse. Matt and I thought we were trapped in some sort of parent nightmare in the middle of 10 boys running every direction :-) It was all worth it when after 2 hours they all left with big smiles on their faces. Ryan said he had "The BEST time ever." That is what it's all about.

Now Luke loved everything but the run in with the wandering giant Chuck E. Mouse. He is my kid who is afraid of nothing, but he was in tears and wanted to go sit in the car until CHUCK left. If Chuck E. moved one direction, Luke went the other. His wide eyes were glued to the mouse until he left. We will definitely not be doing a repeat for his birthday party.

Today I was able to visit Ryan's classroom as a part of celebrating his birthday. I brought pictures of Ryan as a baby to share with his class. He then shared a birthday snack with the group. His teacher, Ms. Olson, then had each classmate make Ryan a picture for his special day after they sang to him. I stayed for lunch and became a witness to the social interaction between eight 7 year old boys. It was quite amusing to hear how they decide who is "IT" during the upcoming tag game at recess. We ended the day at Grandma and Boppa's house for dinner and more presents. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN...WE LOVE YOU!!

Check out the chicks!

My 4th grade class has been taking care of chick eggs for the last 24 days. The hard work paid off and on Thursday we had 8 chicks hatch. It was very exciting to watch. They are very cute. It is hard to not hold them all of the time. I brought them home for the weekend. Ryan and Luke are enjoying them...not so sure the chicks are enjoying Ryan and Luke. Luke tried to shoot one through the basketball hoop. Let's just say he is on supervised visitation only. The chicks will head out to their new farm home on Tuesday evening. Enjoy the pictures. The little guy by himself is named "Junior." He had the smallest egg and is by far the smallest chick. He is the only one we can tell apart. The rest all look pretty much the same.

We wish you were here, Avery and Andrew, to see the chicks. But we will see you in just about 2 months!!!

Spring has arrived!

Today was an amazing day in Portland. It was around 80 degrees and beautiful!!! Oh, how the sun does wonders for a soul. I got more accomplished in one day than I have in some of the past weeks! We got up bright and early for Ryan's first baseball game. His team, "The Mariners", looked pretty good on their first outing. Ryan was excited to get out there. He hit the ball three different times. This year the coach pitches to each kid 5 times. If they don't hit it, then the kid gets to hit the ball off of the tee. Ryan was pretty excited he didn' have to use a tee at all today. I have to say, he looks pretty cute in all of his gear. Luke watched from the sidelines. He has been practicing with the Mariners so was a bit confused as to why he was not getting to play in the game. He finally found someone to throw the ball with for the duration of the game....Boppa.

Other updates from the week:

> Ryan had his music program on Wednesday. It was quite a show. The kindergarten and first graders sang several spring themed songs, including Ryan's favorite...Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Ryan had been practicing for the past few weeks at home so I knew all of the songs, too. Lately, he has even taken to singing the songs in the shower. I have to say the most entertaining part of the evening was when the classes came filing in, I swear there was a stampede of parents with cameras to the front. I think no less than 75-100 parents swarmed the front before the program had even started. It was something to see.

>My Grandma Greene has made a comeback. When I wrote my last blog, i was pretty sure that she wouldn't be with us more than 2-3 days longer. Well, it has been 2 weeks since I was there to see her and she is getting stronger every day. She is living at home with regular hospice visits. She is happy to be at home and recovering with Grandpa in her sights. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go to Boise to see her and hug her. She is one special lady and I am thankful that I had the chance to tell her so! Ryan and Luke are looking forward to seeing her in May.

Until next time...Love to all-

Grandma Greene

Tonight I have a few minutes alone and I feel like writing about my Grandma. This week has been the beginning of the end for her. Her pace maker surgery on Friday did not turn out like we hoped. It was just too much for her body to handle. She is a fighter but I think that she has just gotten tired of fighting. My mom is with her and they hope to get her home tomorrow and set up with hospice so she can live the rest of her days where she feels comfortable. Karlynn and I are flying over tomorrow evening so that we can say our last goodbye and to tell her all that she has meant to us. Here are 10 things I know about my Grandma Greene.
1. She made unbelievable chocolate chip cookies. No matter how many times I've tried...they just don't turn out the same.
2. She hardly has a gray hair amongst her beautiful red hair. At 93, that is unheard of!
3. Mr. Clean should have my grandm'a picture on his bottle. No one keeps her house as clean as my grandma did.
4. I love the way she smells.
5. My grandma never forgot anyone's birthday or anniversary. Not only did she not forget, there was often a card in the mailbox several days early with a handwritten note inside.
6. She loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I loved listening to her sing and cuddle with Ryan and Luke when they were babies.
7. Grandma loved to read. She read every night before bed. I picked up a love for books from her.
8. She was a woman with unwavering faith. Her religious strength was an inspiriation. I know if we ever needed prayers, Grandma was our prayer warrior.
9. She loved to watch basketball. She especially loved to watch March Madness if Duke was playing.
10. A big whole will be left in the hearts of her family. We will miss her terribly.

Special Spring Break Outing

One reason I love being a teacher is the chance I have to connect with kids. Last year I had a couple of boys, Jose and Even, who were pretty special. My favorite memory of last year is when we went to Bonneville Dam. As we came across the salmon and sturgeon I thought Jose and Even were going to fall in to the water with amazement. They were so excited and appreciative of the experience. It was then that I realized that these boys had not had many experiences far from home and it didn't take much to make them happy. Since both boys had some struggles with behavior choices, I became part of a mentoring program that our school started this year. Every morning these two boys "check in" with me and set goals for the day. At the end of the day I meet them at the bus for a quick review of the day. Often times, the first thing they say to me is..."How are you doing today?" I think they realize that I need the "check in", too.

Anyway, I challenged these boys in September to have a great year, with few behavior issues. They have accomplished that so far and are doing well. To celebrate, Matt, Ryan, Luke and I took them to a Blazer game tonight. Matt even found a great deal on seats that were 13 rows behind the Blazer bench!!! We picked them up and headed to Taco Bell. When we got to the Rose Garden they were both so excited. Even had been to one game earlier in the year with another teacher. Jose had never been there before. His eyes were popping out of his head. He was wearing an older Sebastian Telfair Blazer jersey that he had found at Goodwill and had bought just for this game. Well, we decided to buy both boys a new jersey so they picked out Brandon Roy's jersey. After all the excitement we settled in our seats and enjoyed a great game. I think both boys asked a hundred questions and cheered louder than anyone else in the section! The Blazers won and even helped us end the night perfectly with Chalupas. Jose thought they were going to have a real, hot Chalupa waiting for everyone at the exit. I had to explain that they actually gave each of us a coupon to get one free at Taco Bell. He replied, " Wheewww, I didn't know how they were going to be able to make that many Chalupas so fast!"

We just had a great time...especially Matt and I. It was fun to watch the Blazer game from these boys' perspective. It reminds us to appreciate things we might take for granted!