Spelling Bee- Take Two

Today was Hunter's second opportunity to participate in the Dulles Elementary Annual Spelling Bee. Last year, in first grade was his first time. After competing in his individual classroom, he and four other students competed against the top five students from all the second grade classes. We were given a list of 200 words to study. We worked on 20 a day to prepare for the big event. He made it through the first 9 rounds...no problem. Then by the 10th round they started having to spell words they had not seen on the study list....competition was tough! Some of the words were: December, birthdays, thought, and scene...but the word that got him out... that he will probably never forget was .... canoe! He spelled it canue...can you blame him? It was phonetically correct at least.
If there had been a trophy for fifth place, he would have won it. Pretty good out of over 60 second graders to begin with!
We were so proud of the effort Hunter put forth to prepare, study, and get up on stage in front of his classmates and parents...he did an awesome job. He sure does well under pressure! He must have got that from his dad.
Way to go Hunter!

Field Trip

I had the privilege of joining Hunter's second grade class on the field trip to the Natural History Museum on Tuesday. Off we roared on the bus with approximately 70 kids. Leading a small group of six kids, we ventured through dinosaur, mammal, and Native American exhibits. We zipped through the entire museum in 2 hours. We enjoyed a picnic style lunch out on the grass in front of the Los Angeles Colliseum. What a sight!
And here is the only documentation of my day with my handsome, well-groomed, 7 year old boy! Now that is a face only a mother could love. UGH!!
Switching subjects... a recent shot of Avery with a garden creeper she proudly brought to show me. Notice her tugging at her collar? She is secretly getting in a scratch anytime she can these days. The once poison oak- poison ivy- allergy- scabies- heat rash- has now been identified as ECZEMA!!! She has such a blown up case of it that I will warmly welcome any advice ANYONE can offer. I see many people stopping by my blog and not leaving a comment. So now is your chance- HELP!!! Home remedies, magic potions, secret solutions-any advice you can give I would appreciate! The $200 steroid creme is just not helping.
And lastly, it was spirit week at school last week. And yes, I did adourn this lovely Marge Simpson wig on "blue day". And I wonder why my students don't take me seriously at times ?!?!?!
Have a happy "its almost summer" weekend!

Making a Splash!

We had such a good time this weekend, with the weather in the high 90's, cooling off at our new neighborhood waterpark... Bucaneer Bay. The park was open to passholders only which made it not so crowded.

It is a little scary to add up the amount of time we put in going down slides, tubing around the lazy river, and just enjoying the cool atmosphere. I think it adds up to a little over 9 hours! Thank goodness for sunscreen!
Here are some highlights from the days:
Avery really built up her confidence trying to swim, and here she is jumpin' in. "Look mom, no hands!"
Hunter had a blast going down the big slides over and over again. His energy is amazing.

With a little encouraging from some of his baseball buddies, Davin learned to love the big slides.

And Woooo Woooo, who's this guy??? Dusan got to make his waterpark debut for a little bit Saturday afternoon. The kids were so excited to show him all their new tricks. We can't wait to go back. This will probably be our home away from home this summer.

Two Babes

For Social Studies, Hunter had to research a famous American. Naturally, he chose Babe Ruth. After reading a book about Babe Ruth, he had to write a book report, design a poster, and then give an oral presentation. It makes a big difference to do all that research about someone you are actually interested in. Here is the poster he designed and typed all by himself.
My favorite part is where he compared himself to Babe Ruth and cleverly titled it "Babe Ruth vs. Hunter Ancich and put their action pictures side by side... Did you know that both Hunter and Babe were serious about sports?????

On This 9th Day of May, 2008

There was no doubt in my mind about walking in this graduation ceremony. I had been looking forward to it for 22 months. It turned out to be such an exciting evening at the University of California, Irvine Bren Events Center. The Concordia University banner proudly hangs in the background. 33 years old, 3 kids, one hot husband, two dogs, full time teacher.... and a Masters Degree...

Wooo Hoooo!!!!!

Most of my classmates from my 10 classes walked in the ceremony as well. This was my partner for our Final Action Research Project, Kelley Aguiar. We teamed up for most of the projects and presentations over the course of this entire program. I couldn't have picked a more perfect partner. I was blessed to get to know Kelley over the course of the past two years.
My supportive family after the ceremony. I hope this degree will benefit us for many years to come. Don't be fooled by Davin's expression...inside he was doing kartwheels!
My Mom, sister Lisa, and Dad...the supporters from the early days of my education to now.
Gram... one proud Gram, I should say, had so many reasons to be excited. She worked at Concordia for 8 blessed years, as she would say. I have to admit I was most excited for her to see me cross the stage punching my fists in the air.After the ceremony we headed to the Daily Grille in Irvine for a classy, delicious dinner where my newly found freedom was rolled out to my surprise. Yep, its a daisy yellow beach cruiser, with a basket (not pictured). I jumped on it in the middle of the restaurant...such an awesome surprise! As well as an IPOD and a Costco membership...Can't wait to use it all!

A good week

In celebration of my new "homeworkless" life. I played around with my camera this week- ALOT...
Below are a few fun shots I took in the afternoon/ evenings this week...

Isn't it amazing how after being sick you are almost on a high??? I wasn't even the one with the poison ivy, but just the tension over worrying about her induced my heavy heart all week. This is Avery's version of "cleaning the bath... Feeling and almost looking better....Taco... in a really good mood. But then again, when isn't she??
Hunter, sweaty from a one on one game of backyard basketball with Davin....
Davin after scoring the winning point against Hunter (34-33). His very first win over his big brother! Ahhhh the smell of success!
I have GOT to scrap this one...I just love it! Have a great weekend! We will be planting...stay tuned for some flowery pics soon.
XO, Sara