Sunday, September 23, 2012

Grandpa Al & Sara's visit-July 2012

We were so excited to welcome Grandpa Al and Sara to the Motherlode this summer for the first time!  They rode the Amtrak train into Modesto where we picked them up--the kids loved it... except for the hour or so delay on their arrival.
 Once here, we enjoyed lots of eating, playing, and relaxing.  We walked down to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning and got lots of fresh fruit.  On the way home, we stopped in for an early frozen yo-go yogurt treat which we enjoyed eating outside at Courtyard Park in downtown Sonora.  The afternoon was for resting and relaxing, and Brian came home from his backpacking trip just after dinner.  It was great to have him home and to enjoy the rest of Grandpa and Sara's visit with us.  Sunday, we all went to church and out to the casino for a yummy all you can eat brunch--we knew we had to take Grandpa there!!!  Then in the afternoon, we tooled around Columbia State Park to see some of the gold rush town-stuff and be outside.
One of the highlights for me and the kids was Grandpa teaching my kids the Nut Game.  I was able to video the instruction for future reference :).  The kids loved it of course... but we have to find the good walnuts (we could only find shelled peanuts... what kind of small town do I live in, anyway?).
 
We took them back down to the train on Monday.  We loved the time with them and were so glad they were able to come up and see our neck of the woods. :)

Saturday, September 1, 2012

One Words for Fall

Each year now (the last 2 anyway, and I plan to continue), I choose a 'one word' for the year (idea from Ali Edwards)--this year, it's PRIORITIES.  I love it so much that I challenge my Guidance students choose a 'one word' for themselves for the semester as one of their first assignments.  I love to see how their one word plays itself out during the semester and how, even when almost everyone chooses a different word, they end up weaving in and around almost everything we do in class. 

For the past few semesters, I've created a word art picture with their words in photoshop (read: time consuming!) because there is just something cool about seeing all their words together and in print.  This time around, I have been introduced to wordle.net.  What a fabulous and fun tool... and perfect for my project!!!  Check out the results (after about 10 minutes of messing around--saved me hours!!!)