Let's Get Physical...Physical

Finish the Sentence Friday! How I wish I could consistently participate! Anyway, here I am for this week's topic:

My favorite way to exercise is...

Carol, Kris and Me
Horsetooth Falls in Fort Collins

Kris trying to find her old stomping grounds
 in Fort Collins from Arthur's Rock

Boulder

Molly and me at Needle Rock

Cassie, Carol, Kris and me in Boulder

Have you figured out what it is yet? Hiking. I very much enjoy going for a hike with friends and with my sister. I often find out VERY quickly how out of shape I really am, but enjoy every second of it. I even like when my feet come out looking like this...

Hiking in Chacos after hiking Arthur's Rock near Fort Collins

All is worth it when you get to look at a view like this...

Need Rock, Crawford, Colorado
Looking out over the North Fork Valley

What is your favorite way to exercise?

I played along this week with the folks over at Finding Ninee, check out the others and their favorite way to build blood vessels and lung capacity!

May Sweet Summer Fling Update

Is it really the end of May already? Geesh, what a month. Anyway, since I have free wi-fi at the moment I thought I would update my Sweet Summer Fling Challenge (although I am not sure if anyone really cares, but too bad, you're getting it!) I joined it the fun over at Bookish.

My goal is to read forty books off of my shelves at home. It is preposterous the amount of books that I have at home that haven't been read. So far I am liking the goal itself, but am freaking out about making it. When I set the goal of forty it was based on about how many books I read each year. Well, I didn't take into account the amount of kids books for school and book club books I read each year. When it comes to books in general, I am right on track with 21 books, but for my Sweet Summer Fling, 12.

I am behind. I should be at about 20 books now. Should I be freaking out? No, probably not, but I am weird like that. It won't matter on Dec. 31st if I met this goal or not.

I think that with this summer I might be able to make up some ground. Here is what is coming up.

All three books by Sarah Sundid. I have three sets of trilogies on my list and have decided to read them all one right after another. I just finished the Post Cards from Pullman trilogy this morning.

Well, I feel better now after sharing this all with you. Now, I better pick up my next book and get busy!

What are you reading?

Keep Your Fork

I don't know where this came from, but I first heard about it from Marilyn after Wally died. Someone had given her a plant with a fork in it. When I asked why, she told me the story. So thankful and comforted that she knew there was still the best to come.

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things "in order", she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. The woman also requested to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

"There's one more thing," she said excitedly.

"What's that?" came the pastor's reply.

"This is very important," the woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."

The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say. "That surprises you, doesn't it?" the woman asked. "Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor. The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork'.

It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance! So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?'. Then I want you to tell them: "Keep your fork....the best is yet to come".

The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman goodbye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She KNEW that something better as coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question "What's with the fork?" And over and over he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.

So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so gently, that the best is yet to come…

Tea Monkey

Sandwiches tend to taste better when someone else makes them for you. Would you agree? I feel the same thing about a cup of tea. My OMM would make me a cup, I would enjoy it then go buy the EXACT same tea and I wouldn't like it. Same thing happened with Jane. Then I realized why it was this way. Friendship.

Sharing the cup of tea with a friend made it taste better than alone.

The other night I shared this cup of tea with Cassie and Jordan. Since I was the special guest, Jordan let me use his special tea monkey tea bag holder. It was divine.

Are you a tea drinker? Do you agree with me?

Frozen...Check

It is official, I am no longer the only person on the planet who hasn't seen Frozen yet. I no longer have to feel like this:

 You can put a nice check next to that on my bucket list.

Last Sunday our little town celebrated the class on 2014 with speeches, food, drink and fun. I went to seven parties with my friend Erin and her three girls. We only spent about fifteen to twenty minutes at each party before we headed to the next one. By the last party everyone was drained, tired, hot and thirsty, so what better way to end the night with a movie about ice!

The best part about the whole movie was when Haedynn curled up with me to watch. She was trying so hard to not sing along and quote every line. I totally understood how hard that was for her!

I wanted to take our picture but there wasn't a way to take a good one, so here is an alternative one!

Thank you Erin, Taelynn, Haedynn and Maesynn for helping me check off my first item off of my list this summer! Any others you want to help with?

Ideas Needed

Ok fellow crafters, I need your ideas. I have these...

glass "stones" that I had in a vase as a centerpiece. I no longer want them as a centerpiece, but my desire to be on the show Hoarders is too strong to just toss them. I can't think of anything to do with them, so I thought I would ask for your help.

Summer 2014 Bucket List

source

That's right folks, I am on summer vacation and there will be several days that I may not know what day it is. Ok the truth is, I don't always know what day it is during the school year. If you ask me on a week where we have Monday off, I will not succeed in giving you a correct answer.

Anyway, one thing I fancy about summer break is the chance to do whatever I want. This is the response I tell people when they ask me what I am going to do this summer. One problem with this attitude is that summer just seems to slip away if you don't have some sort of plan. Last year I had a bucket list and it went so well that I am doing it again!

Summer 2014 Bucket List (subject to change at any moment. Another great perk of summer!)

Hiking

• Fountain Valley Trail....Check
• Swallow & Coyote Song Loop
• Narrow Gauge & North Fork View

Watch Movies

• Frozen (I know! I think I am the only one on the planet!)...Check
• The Book Thief...Check
• Catching Fire

Items for School

• "I'm Finished" jar
• "Write On" jar
• Curtains
• Oil drip pan

Food/Drink

• Make a meatloaf...Check
• Snickerdoodle waffles
• Harry Potter Butter beer

Crafty Projects

• Finish quilt started years ago
• Pillow cases
• Pop bottle painting

Misc.

• Finish the AAA list of coffee shops with Molly (I think this one carries over from last summer)
• Put together my Muppets Puzzle...Check (no blog post for this one)
• Order and put up my chiming clock

I hope that most of these are done with family or friends. If you would like to help me check something off this list, let's do it! Adventures are more fun with someone!

Do you have summers off? Either way, do you have a bucket list and if so, what is on it?

Last Day of School Letter

Dear Fourth Grade Class of 2013-2014,

Well, we made it. No one died. I didn't lose anyone, well for very long. We laughed. We cried. We all learned at least something. It was a crazy ride and now it is over.

Some of my favorite memories are:

• Literacy lunch- thanks for making that successful 
• Watching you problem solve
• Snow shoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park
• Trying out a new writing program with you
• Reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane to you and seeing your reaction and passion for the story
• Introducing you to Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann
• The challenge that you gave me each and every day
• Teaching you the "old way" of doing multiplication and division
• Getting letters from you each month
• The first ever Slice of Life Challenge

I am excited to see what life has for you all. I hope to see several of you on the stage, court and field. You have so much potential, each and everyone of you. Thank you for allowing me to have a small hand in this.

Love,

Ms. Wilson

Success

I did it! I delivered my speech to the graduating fifth grade class! I think it went delightfully well I must say so myself! The kids laughed and I was told that a few even almost cried! Nailed it!

I also reached 10,000 page views today on my blog! On the 30th of April I celebrated my blogiversary, but was so wrapped up in life that I didn't get a blog post up. I did have a little private celebration while waiting for Kris to show up and devour some breakfast burritos with me!

I tried to find a cupcake, but it turns out that you can't buy just a single cupcake. Maybe next year. Anyway, happy one year *heart flutters*

On Friday, I will have successfully completed my eighth year of teaching. It is hard to believe that I have been at it that long. I have truly enjoyed the ride and tonight was a great reason why. It was such an honor to speak at the continuation and see such a great group of students. Before I know it, they will be walking across the high school graduation stage.

What have been some of your successes lately?

Snow, Coffee and Encouragement

One week of school left. Five days, well four now as I write this. I think everyone is ready.

This is what we woke up to this morning. Heavy, wet snow covered just about everything. No Chacos for this girl today. I am once again house sitting and Ted had to sit out all night. We aren't used to having to clean him off in the mornings. Crazy Colorado weather!

With staying in the big city of Fort Morgan, I was able to swing by and pick up some of these for my team teacher and myself. Liquid heaven.

And now I have finished putting the finishing touches on my speech for tomorrow night while listening to Jason Mraz instructing us to "live in the moment." Not a bad day.

Wish me luck for tomorrow and check back for a copy of my two cents I dispensed to the adventurous fifth graders.

2014 Ms. Wilson Award

Every year I have a Newbery contest in my classroom. Students read Newbery books all year long and get credit for them. The student who reads the most wins at the end of the year. They did recognized at the end of the year awards ceremony and their name goes up in the hall of fame. You can read about last years winners here.

The other day we were sitting around (what else do you do with eight days of school left?) talking about books and a few students thought that we should start our own list of "award" books. The books in the running would be the books that I read to them out loud during read aloud. Ok I am game!

Today was the day we voted. Oh how they whined when I told them they had to pick just one!

We had five to choose from:

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Dog's Don't Tell Jokes by Louis Sachar
Soup on Ice by Robert Newton Peck
Where the Red Fern Grows by  Wilson Rawls
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

I wanted them to pick a book and then give me three reasons why they wanted that book to win. It took them about five minutes and the votes were in.

The winner is....... click here to find out!

Have you read any of these books? Which one would you have picked to win the award?

We Pick YOU Ms. Wilson!

Well hello! It has been almost a month since I last posted and I have had a few requests to post. I have often had plans the last month to sit down and write, but something always came up. So now here I am.

I am in the middle of a *heart flutter* as we speak (or is it write/read?) It is raining, I have the window open and have a cup of chai tea sitting next to me. *sigh* This feels good!

School is coming to a close and everyone knows it and is counting down. With school ending I am thinking about next year. Sounds weird right? We haven't even finished this one and summer is coming, why would I think about next year? I guess this is kind of normal. What really is happening is looking back at this year and reflecting on what went well and what didn't. What I want to do next year and what I know I don't want to do. So I am not really thinking about next year, but kind of am.

Anyway, with school ending, we have some pretty excited fifth graders that will be leaving our building this year and traveling to the middle school and they are going to have a continuation ceremony complete with a speaker! They voted me to be that speaker. GULP. I have to give a motivational speech!

I am thankful for the honor, but also a little nervous and worried. The last time I was supposed to give a speech, I didn't do a fantastic job. This is my chance to redeem myself!

Once I am finished with this blog post, I am going to reach into the depths of my memory and think of things that happened last school year to pull from. Also some wisdom is hopefully in there somewhere. Wish me luck!

Do you have any advice for soon to be middle schoolers?