Early Learning Center Open House

Tonight was a the culmination of the week of Open Houses in Tecumseh. North and South Early Centers opened their doors for learners and families to get acquainted with their learning spaces and the special people who will help facilitate their learning. I saw a lot of very excited little people and was delighted to see so many familiar faces. I'm looking forward to my role in helping shape their educational experience and ultimately, their futures! 

Compass Open House

Benny and Maelle had their Open House at the new Compass Learning Center tonight. I worked the PTO table (and the kids helped), and Chris arrived around 6:15 so we could check out the kids' learning spaces. They both have familiar teachers, and we know it's going to be a great year for both of them. I'm so excited to see how far they can go this year with their learning. It's going to be awesome! 

Opening Day 2017-18

What a fantastic Opening Day we had as a Tecumseh Public Schools staff! I am so excited for all the changes we are making regarding how we are educating our learners. It is so exciting to be part of TPS and implementing the things we know will allow each learner to reach and exceed his or her potential. I feel so blessed to be a staff member and a parent during this exciting educational shift. Way to go, TPS!

Pirates

Recently we started letting the kids watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. They have been all about pirates ever since. Today they made pirate ships out of the couches in the basement. They were having such a grand adventure, I hated to put an end to it. But we needed to head out to do our back-to-school shopping. Both kids got new shoes and a few new outfits. They both needed new socks too. We didn't have too many school supplies to get. I think we are ready to rock the new school year! 

Home Again

We woke up at the cottage and had our delicious cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We packed up the car and said our goodbyes to Grandma and Grandpa. Then Maelle, Winston, and I headed for home. We arrived around 2:00. After that, the kids had a great time filming their version of The Sword in the Stone. It was fun to catch glimpses of them tromping around in their costumes. I love when they are outside being creative together. It's the best!

More Up North Fun

We had such a fun day! After a delicious and huge breakfast, the kids all paddled their kayaks and surf skis around the entire lake. It took about and hour and forty-five minutes. Then Benny and Maelle went fishing with our neighbor, Bob, and caught nearly a dozen fish. After church, the girls and Benny left for home. Maelle and I returned to the cottage and later went down to Ken's cottage to learn his secret cinnamon roll recipe. Our cinnamon rolls are rising in the fridge right now! This will be our last weekend up north this year, and it has been so much fun. We are already looking forward to next summer at the lake.  

Up North

The other Instructional Coaches and I finished the two-day DII Training with the new teachers in the district today. It was such a great two days! We have some amazing new teachers joining our team. I am so excited to continue working with them. After training today, Winston and I got in the car and headed up to the cottage. We arrived just before 9:00. I got to see the kids for a few minutes and then visited with Marcella, Michayla, Gloria, and Clive. Winston was so glad to see the girls and be lavished with love. 

Live Music

The kids drove up north today with Marcella and Michayla so Chris and I went out to supper. We decided on Tecumseh Brewing Company. It was delicious. As a bonus there was a live singer/songwriter performing. Her name is Amy Grace. We picked up her LP and played it in the car while we drove around a little bit. It was a nice evening for the two of us. 

Violin Lesson

Tonight after a family game of Quirkle, Michayla and I were sitting in the living room and I asked her if I could try her violin. She said I could and I promptly butchered "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." I played it a few times and actually got a little better. Then I got out my guitar and started playing. I told Michayla that there is a violin part in "Good Riddance" by Green Day, and we found the music online. After a short time she had figured it out and it sounded great. We just need to work on the timing between the guitar and violin. Then we'll be a regular duo! 

Certified Breeders

A few weeks ago we applied to be certified Idaho Pasture Pig breeders. Yesterday we received our certification in the mail. We are now one of only two certified IPP breeder farms in Michigan. It was a very exciting day for us. We have two pregnant sows who are due in about a month. One is Miss Piggy and the other is Audrey (who is not an IPP). We are hoping for lots of healthy piglets. We also have another full IPP breeding pair who are still a little young for breeding. We are thinking they will have piglets in the spring. 

Solar Eclipse

Today's eclipse was an historic event. While we were not in the path of totality, we got about 80% coverage. We made pinhole boxes so we could view the eclipse safely. It took a little convincing that you can't look directly at the eclipse, but the kids did a good job staying safe. We weren't sure how dark it would get, and it didn't really get all that dark here. If you didn't know the eclipse was happening, you probably wouldn't have known by the looks of things. While the kids enjoyed the event, they weren't overly impressed. Thankfully in about seven years we will have another eclipse, during which we will be in 98% coverage. I'm predicting that will be more impressive. 

Bees and Puppets

Today Michayla and I did some light beekeeping. We checked all of the hives, and they are looking good. We should have quite a bit of honey to extract in a few weeks. We were even lucky enough to glimpse the queen in one of the hives. Do you see her? This afternoon while I was getting started on supper, I was delighted as I listened to Benny and Maelle playing puppets. They were having a great time! 

Cross Country, Soccer, and a Wedding

Our day started with a Cross Country meet for Benny. He ran pretty well and finished strong. When we got home from the meet, the kids and Michayla drove to Perrysburg to watch Harry play soccer and have lunch with Aunt Jayne and Uncle Mike. Chris and I got ready to go to a wedding for the daughter of a friend Chris used to work with. When we got home we all watched (my favorite movie) Pirates of the Caribbean. I think we all had a very fun day!

Friday

I love that Chris doesn't have to work on Fridays in the summer! Today he was home after a quick trip to Lowe's and he worked to sure up the barn so we can put several hundred more bales of hay up in the hay loft. I got to help him hold 2x12x14 boards 20 feet off the ground so he could screw them up to the rafters. It was awesome. Benny went to a friend's house for the afternoon to play, so Maelle had to make her own fun. She chose to fly her kite. Unfortunately it got stuck on the roof twice. Later, Michayla came back from cross country camp and we had a delicious supper of copycat Chick-fil-a nuggets and sweet potatoes. So good! 

Jalapeños

Chris loves hot foods, especially jalapeños. We had tacos for supper tonight and Chris stopped to take a break. I noticed how much he was sweating. Those jalapeños were hot! I don't know why he keeps doing that to himself, but he loves them!

Caprese Stuffed Balsamic Chicken

Tonight I made a delicious supper. It was Caprese Stuffed Balsamic Chicken. Chicken stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Chris and I thought it was really good. The kids, not so much. Hopefully their tastes will continue to expand and develop as we continue to try new and different recipes. 

Friends

It was another beautiful day on the lake, and it's always nice to have extra friends over to play. Benny made friends with two little boys down the way, and Maelle made friends with the three little girls visiting next door. They all played so nicely together. Benny and the boys played a long game of "get on and off and on and off the pontoon boat" while the girls paddled out to the diving platform. Eventually they all ended up out on the platform. Due to all this extra fun, we left for home a little later than I was planning, but it was worth it, and we still made it home in time to eat supper with Chris. 

Homecoming

We were all so excited to welcome Grandpa home from his 20 day ride through the North and Northwest. Grandma Gloria was so happy to see him! The kids and I were too. It was fun to see all the pictures of our beautiful country that he shared throughout his trip. We got to hear about some of the places he visited along the way. It's good to have him back from his adventure, safe and sound, and I'm sure he's already planning his next ride! 

On the Lake

Today was one of those delicious summer days that just keeps going, in the best way possible. It started with a ride around the lake in the pontoon boat. Then we had lunch and Chris left for home. We spent the afternoon outside in the water and reading. I took a short nap in the hammock. The kids went tubing and played in the sand with some friends down the way. After supper we played a fun game of Scattergories. I'm ready for another wonderful summers day at the lake tomorrow. 

Parade

Hillman, Michigan is one of only two communities, along with the state of New Hampshire, who celebrate VJ Day. Today we went downtown to the VJ Day parade. Later we went next door for a bonfire and S'mores. We ended the night by sitting in the dock looking up at the beautiful sky for a meteor shower. We ended up seeing around ten shooting stars. Then it started getting too cold and we had to come in. 

Night Riders

When we arrived at the lake everyone was out on the pontoon boat for a night ride around the lake. Benny picked up the lanterns and started directing them in. Not long after we got in it got dark. It was great to see everyone, and it will be so nice to wake up here in the morning. 

Benny and Me

I got to spend some time hanging out with Benny this afternoon. He has been at Battlebots camp this week. I was able to see his robot today. Later, we got ribs from Rib Fest, which he has been begging for. Then, after Cross Country practice I surprised him by taking him out for ice cream. It was fun getting some one-on-one time with him today!

Michayla Day!

Today was the day that our niece Michayla moved in. We were all really excited. When I went in to wake Maelle up this morning the first thing she said was, "Yay! It's Michayla Day!" She will be with us until Christmas break. We were very excited that she brought her violin, and we already roped her into teaching us how to play. We still have a lot to learn, but we enjoyed it immensely. We are really looking forward to our time with Michayla! 

Swing Set Trick

Sometimes you have to make your kids go outside and play. I know. It's weird. Even on a beautiful summers day. Actually, as the kids were clearing the table after supper, I suggested they go outside and play. They were happy to, so no cajoling needed this time. Winston, of course, ran right outside with them. They were playing on the swing set, and Winston was joining in. A couple of weeks ago, they taught him how to climb up into the playhouse. Imagine Chris's surprise over the weekend when he noticed him up there by himself! That was funny! They all seemed to have a good time playing together. It's always nice when they are getting along so well. Outside. On a beautiful summers day. 

18 Years and Counting

Eighteen years seems like a long time! How has it gone by so fast? I have loved every day being married to Chris Francis! He is my very best friend. Just being with him makes me so happy.  Living our dream together is more than I could have ever imagined. Having two beautiful kids is just icing on the cake. Being there to support each other through it all is what love is all about. Happy 18th anniversary to the love of my life! 

Room Ready

I started clearing out Michayla's room/guest room at the end of June. I went through and threw away a lot of stuff. I am happy to say that the room is ready! We are really looking forward to Michayla's arrival later this week. I just have to clean bathrooms and floors and everything will be ready! It's only taken all summer, but it's been worth it to clear out some of the excess clutter in this house. (I included the "before" picture from June 30th when I started clearing out the old scrapbook room. What a difference! I'm not quite ready to post an "after" of the new scrapbook room yet.)

Turkeys

We did not get a lot accomplished today. One thing we did get done was getting the turkeys moved outside. They still have space in the barn, but thanks to some electo-net fencing they are able to spend time outside now. 

Fire Pit

Cheryl and Mark just put in a new fire pit at their house and invited people over to hang out. We drove up and had dinner with them. The kids had a great time playing and enjoyed S'mores. We hung out for a little while and then had to leave so we could get home and go to bed. The cool weather was actually perfect (minus the wind) for an August bon fire, and I'm sure Cheryl and Mark will get a lot of use out of their fire pit. 

Movie Night

We have all been wanting to go see Spider-Man Homecoming since it came out. Tonight we finally went. It was the first non-cartoon movie we have gone to see as a family. Everyone really liked it. Marvel does a nice job. 

Quilt

Maelle has been dying to learn how to sew. We tried one other time to sew something, but found that my sewing machine was not working. Thanks to my wonderful mom who took it somewhere to have it fixed, it is running great! Last night I suggested we work on sewing a quilt. Maelle was ecstatic. We found some fat quarters that I've probably had for over 15 years. She picked out some that she liked and we cut them into 5" squares. We laid them out in a "random" pattern and I showed her how to use the sewing machine. What she really learned is that sewing involves A LOT of problem solving. Thankfully we didn't make any mistakes that we couldn't fix. We finished the top of the quilt this evening and hope to finish the rest of the quilt soon.