Voting for Noah

Posted on August 30, 2006 by Laura

I realize that there are very few readers of my blog (since I have very few readers anyway!) who don’t read Meggan’s blog but if you don’t and this is a new posting to you, please go here and give Noah’s very adorable picture 5 stars!  Meggan wants to win the competition!  Vote today (there’s only a day left in the competition.)

Posted in family | 3 Comments

At the risk of using an old, sad cliche (that my kids certainly wouldn’t understand)

Posted on August 29, 2006 by Laura

I hope I’m not beating a dead horse when I say that,

“I LOVE MY AIR CONDITIONING!”
Posted in school | 1 Comment

The Beach

Posted on August 27, 2006 by Laura

Here’s a few pictures from our trip to Assateague Island National Seashore a week ago Friday (the 18th):

Here’s proof that ponies really do live on the island! (In my opinion, one of the coolest things about going to Assateague Island.  Remember Misty of Chincoteague?)

Katie, Ira, and I were escaping from the sun while Holly, David, Cathedra, Ann, and her kids were playing down in the water.  (You can see that I am reading appropriately light beach literature!)

Posted in holidays, travel | 3 Comments

Noah…

Posted on August 26, 2006 by Laura

…has informed me that he no longer plays Super Mario Brothers Star Catcher that much anymore.  Instead, he prefers space alien shooting games because he likes space better.  Meggan – what kind of good pacifist Mennonite child are you raising?  Or perhaps the Mennonites think war is OK as long as you’re killing space aliens?

Posted in family | 2 Comments

My phone and school and a movie

Posted on August 26, 2006 by Laura

My cell phone is back (actually they sent me a new one) and my life is
way easier.  It’s nice not to be totally isolated in my [AIR
CONDITIONED] room.

My classroom is at least 16 million times better than last year.
Air conditioning being the biggest reason but also because my view is
now huge gorgeous trees instead of a bright white cafeteria roof, I
have a practically new computer with good speakers so I can listen to music
at school, I have a cute old teacher desk, I have TWO closets (instead
of one), I only had to decorate four bulletin boards (my old room had
6), and did I mention the air conditioning?  If you made it to the
end of this really long sentence, you probably realize that my life at
school has improved immensely and I’m not dreading going in on Monday
(at least not dreading it too much).  I met a few students today
during 6th grade orientation and I realized that I’d forgotten how
little English they know when they come to America.  It’s pretty
scary the thought of having to teach them.

Tonight, Nik and I along with Brody and Dans F and G (of Alaska trip fame) went to see Little Miss Sunshine.  Not a movie to take your kids to but HILARIOUS!

Posted in friends, school | 3 Comments

Imminent Doom

Posted on August 20, 2006 by Laura

T-minus 8 1/2 hours and counting.  Boo hoo hoo.  (In general, however, I’m having a great time in the rest of my life so school starting isn’t all that bad! )

Posted in school | 1 Comment

Anniversary

Posted on August 17, 2006 by Laura

Today is my four year anniversary of moving to Baltimore. That is a long time.

Posted in reflecting | 3 Comments

Uncle Ken

Posted on August 17, 2006 by Laura
On the night that I left Alaska, our Uncle Ken and Aunt Sharon came over to visit.  Ken is not our real uncle but he and my dad have been very good friends for a long time.  Uncle Ken always teased us to no end!  Anyway, here’s a few fun pictures from that evening:
Reading to Jonas with our protector dragon at our side before he rides off to save the world on his trusty steed:
          


Some of the wonderful food of the evening:  rhubarb crisp that I
made (with Ken’s rhubarb), black currant jam from Ken, and yummy bread
from Meggan.  Meggan also made fabulous halibut wrapped in prosciutto, which we sadly have no pictures of.


A little bit of family love (one sweet, one more vampire-esque)


And Uncle Ken himself:

Posted in Alaska, family | 2 Comments

A New Method for Recovering From Jet Lag

Posted on August 17, 2006 by Laura

“If you can’t beat it, join it” – this method works particularly well when you’re traveling west to east.

This is how it works – just pretend that you’re still in the time zone that you came from (for example Pacific time).  Then just stay up until 2:00 am or later every night once you get home.  That way, you’re really going to bed around 11:00ish Oregon time, a reasonable
bed time.  Then sleep in until 10:00 or 11:00 and you get all the joys of living on the East Coast without ever have to lose West Coast time.  It works great!

(The only potentially fatal flaw to this plan is if you live in a city neighborhood in which parking is ridiculously hard, if not impossible, to find at 2:00 in the morning.  In that case, you’ll probably have to park in a metered spot, which means you’ll have to get up at 7:45 to go move your car to avoid getting a ticket.  When that happens, get up, move your car, eat breakfast, do some stuff, and then take a three-hour nap.  It works almost as well.)

One final piece of advice: this method will fall apart when school starts.

Posted in just for fun | 1 Comment

Hiking with Rachel and Leah

Posted on August 16, 2006 by Laura

Posted in Alaska, family | 2 Comments