Technology Quiz -- How well can you score?

At our recent Administrator's conference in Portland, OR we were told that many of the things we assume are "technology" in the classroom, really aren't. If you can find a non-tech way to do something, it is not really 'technology' in 2009. So, here is the quiz I will be giving to my staff to see if they really know what is technology (which, incidentally, our 'technology' teacher doesn't actually teach 'technology' under these new standards.... interesting...) So, how well could YOU do on this quiz?

1. What is TokBox?

2. What is Skype?

3. What is a Wiki?

4. What is a blog?

5. What is a netbook? What does it feature? How much does it cost?

6. What is a podcast?

7. What is U-Stream?

8. What is YouTube?

9. What is School Town?

10. What is a GoogleDoc?

11. What is SketchUp?

12. How do you log in to an interactive calendar? Which websites offer them (name at least 2)?

13. How is typing different from handwriting and how is it similar?

14. How is powerpoint another form of making a presentation? Can the information on a powerpoint be done with magazines, poster board, etc?

15. How is internet research similar to research in a book and/or encyclopedia? How is it different?

16. Is a Smartboard any different that using a whiteboard?

17. Which class is the easiest to integrate technology into? Which class is the most difficult?

Every Scar Tells a Story

Today I did the children's message at my church. I decided to do something a little different for me. I had the kids sit on the steps and I stood with my back to the congregation. I think I was less nervous, or less distracted, that way and it went well.

My message was based on the Gospel lesson. Jesus visited the disciples in order to prove that he was raised from the dead and that he was truly alive and not some 'spirit' or 'ghost'. I took Kathleen's little pink glasses and put them on (which was comical since I have such a fat head) and asked, "Even if I wear these, can you still tell it's me?" (Obviously, they could). Then I put them on Kathleen and said, "If she wears these, can you still tell it's her?" (Same response). I told that Jesus appeared to his disciples to show that even if his appearance changes, he still is Jesus.

Then I showed them various scars on my arm. "This one is from when my cat scratched me in 10th grade...this one is from when I accidentally set a hot pan on my arm while a cook at camp... this one is from when I had chickenpox..." I pointed out about 6 or 7 total little scars from over the years. I asked if they had any scars. They all nodded and I said, "I bet you could tell me a story of how you got each scar too. Jesus had scars too. " Then I asked where his scars were and how he got them. I said, "Jesus was just like us, human. His disciples couldn't believe what they were seeing. They wondered if he was a ghost or spirit." Then I asked what he did to prove he wasn't one and they remembered that he ate a piece of fish (the Gospel lesson had just been read ). I said, "Would you believe that I brought each of you a piece of fish to eat too?!" Of course, all the adults giggled at this thought. Then I said, "No, just kidding. I did bring you something to eat but it's not fish." Then I handed out dum-dum lollipops and led a prayer.

I'd love to hear the stories that your scars tell -- and invite you to think of Jesus every time you tell someone about your own scar.

Bob the Bunny

A couple of days ago, K kept bringing me her stuffed bunny and saying, "Bob....bob... bob..." I think she was trying to say "Hop" or maybe even "bop" but I thought it was so cute, I have now named her bunny "Bob the bunny" (nevermind the pink bow)...

Here is Bob:

Bob lives in K's bedroom. Since before she was born, actually, he has lived in a four pocket wall-hanging thing. In her bedroom in Wisconsin, it was hanging on the wall. In her bedroom here, it is tied to the end of her toddler bed. Bob lives with his best friends (all of whom are nameless but we're taking suggestions)... Teddy bear (again, dressed in pink, but I may call him "Freddy Teddy"), a "duckie" (we may name him/her "Kiel" after our buddies Jim & Monica, who gave duckie to K), and a "baby". These are all too cute because they have little 'slippers' on their feet! I tried to call the "baby" either "Sophie" or "Ari" after our newest little cousins but K gave me a look of slight disgust that her baby would be named after those newcomers. We're working on that... :)

Here is Bob's home.


Here is Bob & his pals being carried around by K:

Here is Bob being snatched out of his home (poor Bob, never a moment's peace):


We hope that someday you'll all come and visit Bob (and the rest of us too) here! It's never a dull moment! :)

Welcome to Hope Lutheran!

Yes, I should've done this post MONTHS ago! So sorry... but I think it's time to take you on a short, "virtual" tour of our home-away-from home... This is the vinyl sticker sign on the wall outside my office door. Isn't it great? I got it on clearance at Kohl's! I've had a lot of people comment on how neat that is...

Here is my office... yes, it's not clean and organized but that's because I spent a couple hours last night moving my computer and reorganizing things... It'll get there! And, yes, the joke about it being "Kathleen's office" is more and more true everyday! (You can't see the toys in the corner...) Here she is in her usual pose -- with a pen/pencil and 'writing'...

This is our lovely 1980 gym/lunchroom. Enough said. This is the 3rd grade classroom that I teach in from 12:30-3 in the afternoons. Yes, every.single.thing is yellow in there. Here is the door to my office with my schedule. Yes, there is a money dropbox so parents and students can bribe me! Ha - just kidding. This room used to be the OFFICE and they can't switch out the doors. So every Monday the secretary or bookkeeper has to come in and check to see if anyone has left checks there. And I put any cash that parents hand me for hot lunch payments, etc in there so that it's secure. I bought the blue "HOPE" sign for $1 at Michael's and put little $.25 wooden things like a pencil, "Welcome", Schoolhouse, etc on it. Cute, right?

This is another view of our playground/soccer fields. The brown buildings are the 'modulars' -- the one closest to the gym door is for PS/PreK (middle photo). The right photo is actually the end of the PreK modular, looking out towards the Kindergarten modular. So much for "temporary", they've been here for years. Beyond the K modular, they've just finished paving that road (yea! Except it cost us $60K!) so we can dream of putting a more permanent building and getting rid of the modulars...

This is the classroom building. It sits between the gym (middle photo) and the church (see photos below). The red doors were just replace (to the tune of $10,500!... which was a memorial for someone) -- I suggested that they be painted RED so that parents/kids know to use those doors to enter the building. The gym doors (around the corner, by the modulars) will also be painted that color.... And, are you feeling sleepy? This is a lavendar bush, we have several around our building!

This is the main entrance to church, it is connected to the other side of school. I don't know that anyone actually USES this entrance. There is a parking lot to the left and most people enter through the side/office doors. Behind the tree (middle photo) are some bricks. They have our church/school sign. Do you see it? Yeah, neither do passing motorists!! That is on my 'list' of things that I'd love for them to change!!!! Here is Kathleen running from the gym to the front of the church. Funny girl.

Welcome to the church... It's sorta a "theater in the round" look... Looking up at the church balcony, you can (almost) see that this area houses the school library! The last photo is the church narthex that no one uses because, well, the coffee/cookies are in front of the side entrance by the school, so I didn't even know we had mailboxes or a guest book until -- last week, I think!

Thanks for coming on this 'tour'... ;)

SNOW way!

Oh yes, that's right!

There has been SNOW here this weekend! It started as the heavy, wet stuff on Saturday afternoon when we left the office at school...it melted right away so it wasn't too bad. We woke up this morning and the ground was COVERED. ACK! It's OCTOBER!!! But the parking lots are wet and it is supposed to be in the mid-50s by Thurs, so this won't last. Still, it's a shock to the system to see it this early in the year. Then again, when you live 5000 ft above sea-level, what do you expect, right? Did I mention that Kathleen managed to find EVERY puddle in the parking lot? Espeecially since she doesn't have boots yet? But she looks pretty adorable with her new outfit from grandma Barb and her blonde hair in curly pigtails.

Photo Captions: Kathleen outside with the snow/puddles; the school playground/soccer fields; K hamming it up in the hallway/entry to the offices.

This isn't a good sign....

Well, I know it's probably been a month since my last blog. The fact that I couldn't remember my password right away to log in can't be a good sign. Yikes.

It's hard to believe where the past month has gone. In that time, we found a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment about 2 miles from daycare (or less) and about 2 miles from church/school. Perfect.

I lead my first (and second) staff meetings/in-service. It was more of a "tell me what to expect" than a "here's what to expect" and "here's the plan for this year". But my staff is terrific. They are all different but their overall strengths make the school better than if they were all so similar that no one had anything unique to offer.

The first day of school was Monday, August 25. It was SO early -- what kid (or parent - ha!) is ready for school before Labor day?? The good thing was that the 4th-6th graders got to go on a field trip to Salmon, ID which is where Lewis & Clark crossed through Idaho. The museum there is only open between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so I guess the pre-Labor day start of school worked out well this year. I have decided that if the public schools all start before Labor Day next year, we will start on the Wednesday instead of a Friday. It's too hard on everyone to shift from summer to a full week of school right away. We could work up to it with 3-day, 4-day then 5-day week. Live and learn.

Bring principal means you're gonna have some drama, right? Other than delinquent accounts and parents that may/may not reenroll at the last minute. We had a kinder who cried the entire first day so her parents pulled her out. Then demanded a full refund. We don't do refunds. So there was a lot of venting (on their part) and frustration (on my part). Eventually they came and vented to the school board and (I think) because they go to a huge church, we agreed to refund tuition (not registration) so that they wouldn't bad-mouth our school. Maybe they still will, but I hope not.

In addition to all my administration duties, I teach spelling, social studies and English to the 3rd grade. Yikes. This group could almost make me want to retire from teaching forever. 4 girls -- they're fine. 6 boys -- only 1 or 2 of them are on task most of the time. Yikes. It's exhausting to just work with them for 1-2 hours sometimes! But all the kids here are great and they love the "Silent" traveling trophy (we hand each week at chapel for the quietest kids in the hall) and the "Principal's award" for students who help each other - i.e. "Catch 'em being good" award. The trophy winners get mini Hershey's bars and the award winners get entered into a drawing for a prize at the end of the quarter. They are LOVING it.

In addition to administration and teaching, I also lead chapel for PreK twice on Wednesday. I was kind of dreading it because this isn't my age group. But I love it now. They are so excited to sing just about anything and love any Bible story you tell them. I had one little boy seranade us all with a solo of "Jesus Loves Me" because he decided not to wait for the rest of us to join in. Too cute. And I subbed in the morning class yesterday. We did an art project with Zaccheus and sang the song 3 or 4 times. One little boy said, "Teacher, what was wrong with the tree?" I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "You know, the sick-more tree..." BWAH HA HA HA.... I love 4 year olds. They are so hilarious.

Our house still hasn't sold and the interest has been sparse lately. The biggest complaint is a lack of yard and we really can't do much about that. So we keep hoping and waiting. It's getting easier and harder to be a 'single' parent now. Easier because our daily routine is getting faster and better each week. Harder because she is still going through times where she won't sleep at night and I'm just exhausted. We both just miss Todd really badly and would feel more at home with him -- and our furniture!!-- here. I did buy Kathleen a toddler bed frame and we've borrowed a crib mattress. She thinks she is SO smart whenever she gets out of bed by herself. It's pretty funny to watch.

She is talking more and more. Random things like "puppy" and "yes". She went into our pantry and grabbed a plastic container (the individual size ones) of applesauce yesterday and said, "Here". Ha ha ha -- guess she wanted some applesauce! The other night she said, "Mom bath now". Ummmmm, what?! Her new obsession is the foam alphabet that sticks to the walls in the tub (I even bought a second set on clearance at Target so we can spell her name). She wants to stand up in the tub (which I don't allow) and "teach" with the letters. I also bought magnetic ABCs for her to play with in my office. There's a whole wall of file cabinets, so she's got lots of space to 'teach'.

My mom and stepfather came out for a visit last weekend. That was so nice. I could run errands by myself. Yeah! Kathleen went sight-seeing with them last Friday (which she loved) and we had a nice visit. It's hard to imagine life here until you visit so I'm glad that at least someone from our family has been here. If the house doesn't sell anytime soon, I'm hoping Todd will be able to come out for the week of Thanksgiving. That would be so nice.

I *heart* Craigslist. I found K's jogging stroller here on there for only $70. It is awesome! How did we live without one for so long?! I also have washer/dryer hookups in my apartment and after a few weeks of trying to take 3-4 loads of laundry...and a toddler... across two parking lots to the club house to do laundry (our apartment doesn't have a central laundry room in our building) OR to try and get her to not run out the door at a busy (or not so busy) laundromat is next to impossible. I found used washer/dryer for $200 (total!) on Craigslist. The girl selling it was moving to L.A. for grad school. Her friends from church were storing it. They brought it over AND brought it up the flight of stairs AND hooked up the washer for me. The dryer needed a different plug, so my stepfather changed that when they were here. It is SO nice to be able to do laundry right away and not worry about quarters or hauling clothes (and toddler) to/from the CRV. Yea!

I have a new LG Rumor phone so I can text and read emails/Facebook from it. I can't see attachments and if you forward something with a million other addresses listed, I just close that one because it takes too long to get to the actual message. Then I forget (or run out of time) to look it up again at work. So if I don't reply -- or if I reply with no caps (or all caps! Doh!) it's probably because my phone is my main link for email now. But it is a nice phone and I've been really happy with it.

Keep us in your prayers. Todd found out he's in the candidate pool for a job at ISU (Idaho State Univ) -- their main campus is in Pocatello but the job is actually just across town here at the Idaho Falls site. It would be a slight pay raise (instead of a bigger pay cut) and it would be in town. If Todd were to get the job, he could move here right away. So, I'm praying for that! If it doesn't work out, we're just still praying for the house to sell SOON.

Well, this should be long enough to keep you all updated. I'll try to be better at updating, it's so hard without internet at home. On the bright side, I bought one of the digital converter boxes for our little tv here and now we get 8 channels instead of just 2, so that's a bonus! :)

Check out our dropshots account for some new photos.

- Tanya

A new home (part I)

Todd found an apartment online a month or so ago. It looked nice -- way bigger than the apartments I'd found and not much more money than the other ones. The only problem was that they were booked full. At first they told me there were a 'few' available on August 5th. When I called back the next day to make a deposit, the "few" was just "one" and it had been taken already. Ummmm, yeah. OK.

I decided that I would just look around once I got here. What I found were a lot of section 8/subsidized housing or BEAUTIFUL brand new Senior/Assisted living apartments. One of the teachers told me that the apartment complex I'd thought about checking out was OK but the windows and doors weren't that great so she wouldn't recommend them. Back to square one.

I drove around today around 11 a.m. just looking for some apartments in an area close to K's daycare and not far from my work. I passed by two duplexes (I think one was technically a townhome) with "For Rent" signs in front. I called both of the numbers and the townhome person said it was $1000/month. Forget it. The duplex person it would be $900-950, depending if we wanted to sign a year lease or not. They sounded nice enough but said it wouldn't be ready until at least 9/1. Forget it.

So I thought about the apartments Todd had originally found online. I used Mapquest, Yahoo Maps and even Google Maps (from the apartment's website) and got THREE different ways to get there! It's in such a new area that none of the ways were very accurate and, of course, I got totally turned around. I FINALLY happened across it. They didn't have a 2 bed/1 bath available (naturally) but they had ONE 2 bed/2 bath available. I toured the model (2 bed/1 bath) and it was fine -- pretty spacious for an apartment and it is in a nice area -- SUPER close to her daycare and not far from my school either. I'll be able to make a big 'loop' in the mornings -- go one block to the main street, make three turns to get to daycare, then come back to the main street and continue across to school. Total trip is about 5-6 miles. A daily total of 12 miles is a LOT better than the 110+ I used to drive to/from St. Paul's!

The apartments are SO nice. More expensive than I wanted -- but once the house sells, that will help a lot. And we could sign a 9, 10 or 12 month lease for the same price so I signed a 10 month lease -- that should get us through the school year and then we can decide if we want to keep renting or if we are ready to buy or whatever.

Here is the link: www.eagleslandingapartmentcommunity.com

AND -- the very funny/odd part is that when I was chatting with the lady who gave me a tour today, I found out that her younger brother went to Grace Lutheran in Pocatello and that SHE is thinking of putting her daughter in a Lutheran school, but didn't really realize that there was one so close by in Idaho Falls! Every the "salesperson" that a Luth. school principal has to be, I told her that there is a waiting list, but if she calls soon the school board may be able to split the class into two groups and her daughter could get in...and if she doesn't get in, she could definitely think about bringing her for 1st grade.

THEN I went over later, after picking up K from daycare, and dropped off our brochure, welcome letter and other information! You just never know...

K had an AWFUL day at daycare today. I knew it would be. She was wide awake from 3:30 - 5 a.m. Her nose was so snotty, I'm surprised she could breathe. She did finally go back to sleep until about 8 a.m. but was just "off". I should've given her some tylenol or motrin this morning. I'll know better next week if she's still like this. She was horsing around at lunchtime because she wasn't hungry and fell off her chair, bumped her cheek and got a small bruise. Then she refused to eat, refused to nap... finally fell asleep as everyone else was waking up and then ate all her lunch -- at around 3:30 p.m! She didn't really enjoy "water" day outside (I thought for sure she'd love it... guess it wasn't fun enough just playing with the water tables)... I know she'll enjoy two days at home with me, but I also know it's important for her to go there and be around everyone everyday. Despite everything, they said they really DO think she's getting better overall. I'm hoping by the end of next week she'll really start to open up. We move next Wednesday (not that we have any furniture, really) but I am borrowing a crib/mattress from one of the teachers and I hope that will help her feel more at 'home'. Once I get all her toys/books, etc there, I think that will help too. Although people either smile or get a good laugh out of the fact that I have her little Sing N Play chair and a bunch of her toys out in my office. I think I should keep a few things in case Esther has to babysit her during my meetings and in case I have a shy Preschooler come for a tour. Kids love books and stuffed animals, etc.

That's all for now. I still can't get the wireless network to work with my laptop at school yet. So no pictures yet. Soon, I hope!

-Tanya

A Different Perspective

Things are busy as usual here. K is slowly adjusting to daycare...as in, today was a little better than yesterday. I think the biggest hurdle is just how tired she is. She napped a little longer today (almost an hour) but she had been up since 6:30 and didn't nap until 12:30! Yikes! They said it took a little while to get her to finally fall asleep. I know sooner or later it will be routine. I pray for sooner.

I brought lemonade and cookies to her teachers this afternoon when I picked her up. Not just because I feel bad that she's having such a hard time and they have to listen to it all -- but because I know what it's like when a new child comes into a room (since there were a few of them like that in my 3 years in the Infant Room at CrossView). I wanted them to feel appreciated so that they'd continue to remain positive about her. I just want them to see the happy, bubbly, outgoing side of her. I'm bringing donuts and juice for her morning teachers because they REALLY have to listen to her wail when she gets dropped off. Sometimes I wish they had a webcam in the room just for my own sanity. I don't have any doubts about the quality of care she's getting -- I just want to reassure myself she's NOT crying. I do call and check on her, but I limit it to once a day. So, we'll see. Perhaps, if all goes alright for the rest of the school year, she will have to go to daycare once or twice a week during the summer so she's not completely OUT of the routine. They do have a 'drop in' program where you can pay by the hour if you call and reserve a spot in advance. I love that. I hope that they don't do away with that!

As we were getting ready this a.m. and I was feeding her breakfast and getting our lunches made, I had Good Morning America turned on and they were promoting an interview with Steven Curtis Chapman. I've always loved his music -- for years and years and have seen him in concert a couple of times. I know I'd read about the tragic accident where his 5 year old daughter was killed but I didn't get to see the interview because we had to leave.

I looked up the interview online. Here is the link. Warning, though, I bawled my eyes out. It definitely gives you a different perspective about life and what a gift children are. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Story?id=5519704&page=1

That's all I have for now. Must go work on some more scheduling issues. I love being principal. No, seriously, I love it. I could do this type of thing all day. Most of the teachers have been very positive about my suggestions. We'll see how long it lasts, but I'm grateful they're willing to make some small changes. Yea!

We're still alive...and super busy...

Well, I realize it's been almost a week since I wrote any updates -- it's been absolutely CRAZY! Kathleen & I arrived in Idaho Falls on Thursday afternoon. We stopped by the school/church to pick up my keys. We ran into Cherie (Sha-ree) Phelan and the 2 younger daughters, Maddie and Marie. They were paying tuition. Kathleen went RIGHT OVER to Cherie and gave her a hug! I was stunned since, well, she just doesn't do that. To anybody!!

We ran a few errands around town and then arrived at the Phelan house. Man, it is so nice here. Not just a nice home but a great family. Michael is going to be a senior in hs, Megan will be a sophomore in hs, Maddie will be in 6th grade at my school and Marie is the mighty 2nd grader whose energy does.not.stop! She, in particular, has had a GREAT time 'smothering' K with lots and lots and lots of love and attention!!!

One of the errands I ran that day was to purchase a jogging stroller that I found listed on craigslist. I *heart* it! The wheels need a little air and it's a little different to turn than a 'regular' stroller, but it moves well and it's great. The girls have had a great time pushing K around in it already!

We spent the weekend enjoying time with the Phelans and doing things around church/school. I met with the 3rd grade teacher so we could split up teaching duties for next year. I called families to let them know I'd be team-teaching 3rd grade (which was met with enthusiasm, from what I hear). I attended pastor's farwell worship service and potluck lunch on Sunday. Hope is a wonderful church -- but Kathleen definitely 'stands out' as one of the very few toddlers in the group! I never realized how much little 'noise' and 'chatter' by babies/toddlers went on at Good Shepherd. A little distracting, ok, but not attention grabbing! Fortunately, though, a cute little 15 month old girl was sitting in the pew behind us so we were the only ones distracting others during the service.

Later in the evening I went to Jim and Betty Oloff's house for supper. They have what has to be one of the neatest, most unique homes...well, locations anyway! It is right on the Snake River and right next to a lumberyard. That's it. You turn on the dirt road in an industrialized area and there is the house. However, they have the gorgeous view of the river, and they've got a small creek/bridge in front of their front yard, lots of plants, animals, etc. It was really neat. The house itself reminds me of an old farmhouse and it's just a neat place to visit. The meal was really wonderful -- until K took her bbq sauce/baked bean sauce-covered hands and put them on my white capris and white shirt sleeve. GREAT. I've tried washing/soaking several times already. ARGH.

Monday I was busy working in my office and then ended up giving a tour to a very, eh, 'eccentric' woman and her neighbor. She's from Montreal (I think) but has lived all over the world. She goes by the nickname "Mitch" (no kidding) and is a church-hopper who found out about our school in the longest, round-about way possible. Her Methodist minister in AZ told her that his 4 kids go to the local LCMS school and they love it there. He looked up Idaho Falls and found our address for her. That is simply remarkable to me! I don't know if she'll end of enrolling her son or not -- but it sure made for an interesting hour or two of my day as both she and her neighbor wanted to discuss theology (He is a former LDS -- ie "Mormon" and she may have been at one time too) and politics, etc. Yowza! I did get to go to lunch with the grade 4/Spanish/Music teacher, her daughter (who will be in 3rd grade and is SO excited I'll be teaching!) and the 1st grade teacher. Yummy Mexican food and a nice chance to get to know them better.

Last night the Oloffs had their daughter Esther (in high school?) and Lydia (who is 4)...and son Daniel (5th grade) come over to school to babysit Kathleen during out board meeting. She wasn't a happy camper at first but by the time the meeting was done, she was laughing and playing. What troopers they are!! Only son Noah (high school -- jr or sr?) was off the hook and got to stay home last night!!

Yesterday was also Kathleen's first day of daycare. I love her center. The center itself is in a brandnew area and it is just a great facility. The people are great and her toddler 'teachers' are SOOOO patient! Of course she toddled into the room and bumped her head on the way into the room yesterday so she was in tears when I left. So heartbreaking! But she was sitting with the rest of the kids in a circle for story time when I picked her up at 3 p.m. -- so adorable! What a big girl! Today the dropoff was a little rough, but I knew it would be. It wasn't an easy morning, either, from what I'm told, but better than yesterday. She was practically asleep on the floor when I got there today. Actually, she had to take a nap shortly after we got home yesterday because she only naps for about 30-35 mins there! Too much to 'miss', I'm sure! She was asleep by 6 p.m. MDT tonight. Poor girl. It's so good for her though. I'm hoping by next week she'll be more into the routine and she'll begin enjoying it. I can hope. It is fun to pack her lunch each morning though. I found a pink camo lunchbag for her -- it is too cute for words.

As for Todd, Bucky and our house... THEY are super busy too! Bucky will be moving in with the Hansons -- what a great situation. Someone we know and they have a lot of land AND other dogs. I hope and pray he behaves well and gets along with the other dogs and daycare kids there!! Todd has been working non-stop on all kinds of 'little' (and not so little) tasks around the house. The realtor is hosting an "Open House" on Sunday, so we're hoping and praying it leads to a buyer. We did have someone walk through the house already last week. They really liked the house, but the husband is 6'4" and felt the upstairs was too short and narrow for him. Darn you giants! Ha ha ha... but two more people walked through the house today. No feedback yet, but someone took a packet of information, so that could be a good sign. You just never know. We're so anxious to have Todd out here!!! The weather has been great -- 80s and low 90s but NO humidity... there 'might' be a t-storm this weekend, but might not. They've only had 4 inches of rain here all year so far. How crazy is that?

I am going to be looking for an apartment on Thursday or Friday this week. We love the Phelans but don't want to be in the way either. They just left for a week long trip to Washington, DC. It's really lonely without them around. K walked all throughout the house last night saying, "Hi! Hi!" and waiting for someone to respond. Poor baby misses her girls already!!! It will be nice, though, to have our own place and unpack our stuff and start to feel just a little more 'settled'. So I'll be busy with all of that too.

That's really all I have to update you all on right now. Well, this is a novel already! Mental note *Must be better about daily blogging*!! I can't get my laptop to work with the wireless router at school yet (I don't think the signal reaches all the way over to my office) so I can't share more pictures yet -- but I'm working on it.

-- Tanya