STAR STUDENT

I know she is only in first grade, but she is doing so well. She has received her first progress report that has actual letter grades so I wanted to report her success!

Religion- All areas had a check plus (which is the highest non-grade mark)
Reading - 100% A+ "Great" comment from teacher and all sub-areas have a check plus
Language Arts - 100% A+ "Great" comment and all sub-areas have a check plus
Math - 98% A "Great" comment from teach and all sub-areas have a check plus
Social Studies - A and all sub-areas have a check plus
Science - A and ya the same as above
Art - all check plus
Gym - A
Music - A
Computers -A

The overall comment from her teacher was "Savannah is a very smart, well behaved girl. A pleasure to have in class!"

I am so proud of her! She loves to learn and I hope she keeps it up. Keep this email and ten years from now when she is in high school...I hope I can say the same.

Feast of the Hunter's Moon

On Saturday we took an adventure and traveled down to Lafayette to partake in the Feast of the Hunter's Moon. The feast is a portrayal of events that likely took place at a French outpost on the Wabash river. There were Indians, pioneers, and British soldiers everywhere. There were reenactments of dances, battles, games, and the making of tools and supplies. The food was interesting. Everything was done over a real fire just like they would have back in the 1700's. Buffalo burgers, buffalo or rabbit stews, catfish, ham and beans stew with corn bread (which looked like little pancakes) were just some of the things to eat. The giant pork chops Savannah and I had were fantastic! Merchants sold real pottery, tools, jewelry, perfumes, clothes, toys...and you could watch them make the stuff. The people also had tents set up that they actual slept in so it was neat to see how they "lived". Savannah was able to make her own necklace, she made a real sheet of paper, her own candle, got her own poppet (doll), played an old time game (something like catch but with sticks and a round thingy), got to pet a miniature pony, and just took in all of the sights and sounds. She learned a lot and she asked a lot of questions. She was really interested in the every day things they used like plates and spoons and even soap. They had different varieties and they didn't look like soap; she thought it was neat but smelled funny. It was really cool so make sure you check out the pictures below! It was a lot bigger than I thought it was gonna be...it was HUGE! They even had a pub/beer garden! I loved it and look forward to going again next year especially since I know what to expect. I know we didn't get to see and do everything that was there. When we came home, we could smell the fire smoke all over us! All in all it was a great day. It didn't take that long to get there and it was definitely worth the trip.

Proud, Proud, Proud!

Well, being the proud mom that I am I have to brag about the Buddha when ever I can. Being the amazed coach, I MUST brag about Savannah's form! I have been working with her since she could say volleyball and she has been improving a lot! She knows how to hold her arm up and to follow through on a serve, she knows how to hold her fingers for a set (but is not very good yet), and she knows how to pass the ball with fantastic form! For those of you who are not up on the proper form of passing in volleyball, this picture shows it really well! She has one foot slightly in front of the other, her knees are slightly bent, her hands are together properly giving her arms that needed flat surface, and her eyes are on the ball! She can pass the ball to herself about 4 or 5 times in a row and she was the only girl to get it over the net in gym class. She has been wanting to play almost everyday because she wants to improve! She has a raw talent here and she loves to play! I coached right up to two weeks before she was born (so it is in her blood) and I would bring her to the gym when I coached and she would help out. Needless to say she has been around volleyball all her life! I hope she continues to love the sport and does well at it. She continues to amaze me over and over again! She is just so fun to watch grow up.

This Hurricane has Kicked me in the ...

Well this time last year I was getting ready and very excited about my upcoming Disney vacation (memory to the left there). Right now I am not as excited nor am I looking forward to much! I feel like I have been kicked in the arse! Water has drowned out A LOT of people, in turn making me feel terribly guilty and bad for them. Guilty because I was lucky not to have any water or damage yet other people have...Sarah you know how I am about guilt...I constantly feel like I need to be guilty about something. Guilty because I had two days off from school, due to weather and yet when I looked outside I saw sun and dry land! Now for the real "kicker"! Grammy was suppose to be here for a visit this week and because Arkansas is next to Texas, they were hit pretty hard! The have been declared a disaster area by the governor and they haven't had power for three days! All of her phones were out so I had no idea until this evening! No major damage was done to their home, but her nephew had a tree fall on top of his house. Needless to say, she is not coming. I always look forward to her visits as does Savannah. NOW, I have been informed that the rest of the week of school has been reorganized. We were supposed to have our ISTEP testing and I have planned out the rest of my classes very carefully. The class schedule changes and I don't see all of the classes the same amount. I am very particular when it comes to my due dates and such....BUT NOW that has all been blown to hell! Not sure what I am going to do since we are moving ISTEPS to next week. It is as though I am losing a week of my classes. I don't even know why this is bothering me so much. I can adjust, wing it, change things...12 years of teaching I am sure I can figure it out! But for some reason I am way bummed and pissed about it! DAMN HURRICANES!!! My whole aura is off and it is *ucking things up! I even had to turn the computer BACK on just so I could vent...GUILT right here...OK why vent it could be worse! I could be swimming in my living room right now instead of sitting here...OK...I'll shut up now!

Hurricanes...in Indiana?

Well we have felt the wrath of Hurricane Ike! In some areas 9-10 inches of rain have fallen closing roads, expressways, and flooding sub-divisions all over. Some of my friends are stranded in their own towns with no way out. Most of the schools in the area have closed, including my own! Savannah is glad we all have a day off. I have been rather sick with a bad cough and so I welcome the rest. My friend Rhonda moved here from Florida because she was sick of the disruption it had on her life...it followed her up here! I can only image what the people of got the brunt of went through! At least it wasn't snow...I hate snow!

Another One Bite the Dust

Well the party animal seen above lost another tooth! The tooth fairy came and kissed her on the forehead leaving her mark of glitter :) and money under the pillow! The holiday weekend was fun. Toni, my sister, and the girls came over for a cookout and we tormented the neighbor across the street with fireworks...she hates them and apparently us too! We had a blast eating, drinking, and dancing in the driveway! Now it is back to school :( The picture is from when we were in Orlando.