The Ugly Duckling

In my attempt to be a good mom, I am now trying to wade through the 9,000+ pages that the kids brought home from school yesterday. I keep the usual stuff any good mom would--awards, certificates, artwork, journals, etc. And since I can only fit so much stuff in my favorite paper storage containers that I use for school moments, regular homework papers usually end up getting tossed in the trash. Good thing I took the time to read this worksheet of Tehani's... Hans Christian Anderson would be so proud :)

Make Believe Message: Pretend that you can send a letter to your favorite fairy tale character

Dear Ugly Duckling,
I do not think you are that ugly.
You are just different from your friends and family.
Not every duck hates you. Your mother loves you.
Love, Tehani

Deep Thoughts

Just in case anyone is keep track, I am back from Austin. It was a good trip and I really had intended to post more (It's not like I was on vacation or anything like that, but I guess I just expected to have more free time :) Anyway, here are some random thoughts for your Monday:

• It's the end of May and it was full-on SNOWING this morning!! And I'm not talking about some little wimpy flakes that melt when the hit the ground. This stuff was sticking. I would've taken pics on the way to school but we were in a hurry for...
• Pet Day. I'm pretty sure this event is so much more fun for the kids now that they have a pet to bring along. I was much smarter this year and did not get dressed for work before taking our little scaredy cat to school (I'd be scared too with a room full of 3rd graders all coming over to pet me with their dirty little hands :) How a cat can shed so much after being brushed, I don't know.
• I've started packing the kids for their cross-country roadtrip. Leave it Grandma (the lady who flies for free) to decide that she would like to drive across the country. The grandma caravan will be stopping in Yellowstone, visiting Mt Rushmore, and any other scenic/touristy places that they can find between Utah and Chicago. If you have any ideas/suggestions of other sites to see *along the way, let me know.

*"Along the way" is a relative term. I found out the other day that my mother is also taking the kids to Hawaii...on their way back to Utah. Apparently, once you are in the car--or on the plane--along the way refers to anyplace in the world:)

Deep in the heart of Texas

So I am in Texas for work. I've been here less than 24 hours but I can already tell that Austin is a very happening place. My workshop didn't start until 1pm so I took some time this morning to walk around the town (ok, it's really because I was too cheap to pay to use the gym at the hotel that I had to walk to get my exercising in) Observations so far are:

1. You cannot live in Austin unless you own a dog. EVERY person I passed was walking--or carrying--a canine (except for the 3 different people that I passed that were being walked by gigundo great danes:)



2. You cannot live in Austin unless you are fit. Joggers and cyclists were all out in full force this morning. If they weren't jogging or cycling, they were walking a dog.



3. I've decided that Austinites must need to walk so much to burn off all of the calories they consume at restaurants. There must be thousands of restaurants here (I'm and not exaggerating)

Anyway, I promised the kids I'd post (and sorry Tehani but I haven't taken any pictures yet) so here you go. I'll be sure to post another travel update as soon as I can.

Note to kids: I am still waiting for the two of you to post. What else will I read while I am gone?!?

There's a new blog in town!

Technically, there are two blogs. I'm happy to report that Kobe and Tehani are now official members of the blogging world! I have to admit I was pretty surprised when Tehani asked the other day if she could start a blog. I tried to dissuade her and even offered to let her "guest post" on mine. Luckily for the kids, my sister got wind of the request and has been extolling the benefits of "kiddie blogging" ever since...

"Letting your kiddies have their own blogs would be an amazing teaching opportunity for you and an amazing learning opportunity for them.

Since it is their own blog, they will take ownership over their writing and they are writing for a real life situation to a real life audience (as opposed to an imaginary situation constructed by their teacher with a one-person audience).

They will want to write more because they will be writing about what is important to them when it is important to them. Their blog can act as their journal as well, and you can print it off so that they have a "published" book that they can keep forever.

You can help them improve their writing by giving suggestions along the way as they are writing. That way, you are correcting mistakes that they made (or suggesting ways to make their writing stronger) rather than them practicing for mistakes they might make, like they often do in school.

They will see the real, life application and will be more likely to remember the correction/suggestion in the future. You can also give them suggestions of what to write about, thereby broadening their writing experiences.

The best way to improve their writing is by having them write as much as possible, and a personal blog will help them to do that."

Who knew blogging was so edumacational? Does this mean that I will get better grades in my EMBA class since I have a personal blog? And yes, the above text is from an actual email my sister sent to me. (Cynthia was an English teacher, remember? :)

Anyway, if you are interested in what goes on in the mind of an eight or ten year old, just let me know and I can send you an invite (Due to the fact we don't want to be friends with ALL of the crazies on the web, Kobe's and Tehani's blogs are private:) Happy reading!

Happy Mother's Day...

...to the best mommy in the whole world!

Love,

Your Favortie Daughter Laura :)

Flashback Friday

Here's hoping your have an INCREDIBLE Friday!!
(Pic is from Dec 2004--Kobe's 4th Birthday--Papeete, Tahiti)

Hope of America

Kobe likes scouts--but he's definitely not a fan of singing. So the thought of having to go with his fellow cubs to sing is not really his idea of fun. This year, our troop decided to participate in the Hope of America event that was at the Marriott Center tonight. I don't think Kobe realized how big of an event this was going to be... Don't ask me which blue dot he is. I'm pretty sure that he still hates singing (though he did at least say that the whole thing was pretty cool :) Two thumbs up to our little songbird Kobe!!

Smile

The kids just brought home their school photos on Friday... ...and good school pics are always a reason to smile!!