Book baskets you might want to strangle me with, but only if you had to work with me.

Remember last week when I did this....

(Okay, this is the after picture, but stay with me.)

....and then, this happened....

....and then I did this, again?

Well, it gets better. Shane built shelves in my closet, something I wanted to do at the end of last school year, but didn't because, well, school got out and I went on vacation. Oh vacation, I really loved you. With all of my teacher books tucked away, this shelf opened up.

Those are chapter books A-P.

And then I found some cute baskets at Freddy's that were 50% off.

Picture books A-Z

Chapter books P-Z

Nonfiction/Reference

Shane gave me more shelves (book sets).

And, I organized my inside recess games.

Happy September to me!

This kind of organization makes me so happy, but soon the school year will be in full swing and I'll have a different focus. Amber, one of my teaching partners has endured my giddiness over my books and baskets for a week now. This morning, when Suzy, my principal, came around to say, "Good Morning" and "Welcome Back", she turned and looked at my baskets and said, "Those are cute baskets."

And I'm all (shrugging), "Thanks. 50% off at Fred Meyer."

And from across the hall Amber yells, "OH, DON'T ACT ALL CASUAL ABOUT YOUR BASKETS! (to Suzy) SHE LOVES HER BASKETS!!" And that's when I started dancing.

Incidentally, Amber is probably still at school prepping for our staff training tomorrow, as she's a trainer. And since it's time to get focused, I'll be a devoted trainee.

Bend After Blue River

This post is about a month late, but after our trip to Blue River we headed to Bend, something we haven't done as much this summer. Duck Football is coming though, which means family comes this way.....

Peyton considers the sprinkler.

Libby tackles it head on.

Flatbread Pizza in The Old Mill District. Kids order ingredients and get to make their own pizza.

Fun after dinner with the boys.

Libby and Jayden got into a water fight.

Jayden gets wet....

....and decides he's had enough. Then he told Libby to look right into the hose to see why the water had stopped. She did....

....and I almost got the shot.

Peyton stayed outta the way.

Playing at a newly redone park downtown.

Dude!

I made guacamole today for lunch. Libby said, "Dude! Mom, I want you to make this for my birthday because it's super good!"

Dude. My kid's droppin' "dudes". One. Proud. Momma.

Pool Time

We have a pool near our house that we've grown to LOVE these past few weeks. Sadly, it closed for the season today. It's basically a large wading pool. But, it's chlorinated, clean, has two lifeguards on duty at all times, it's fenced and it's free. At it's deepest, the water probably comes to Peyton's belly button. I wish they'd keep it open for another month. I'd even pay to see that happen, and I bet others would too.

See the posse on the island? The ringleader is Libby. She basically goes around asking girls if they want to play with her. Then she leads them in a "follow the leader" type game around the pool starting with the words, "Okay, guys. Here's what we're gonna do......." and twice this week they followed. She got them to circle up, sit down, march around, jump off the edge and then change directions and do it again. As she saw new girls enter the pool she got them to join. I watched a few of the other moms watching their kids follow and worried that my kid is that bossy kid. But all the players seemed happy, so I kept my mouth shut. Afterward, I asked Libby if she knew any of her friends names, to which she replied, "no." It seems actually knowing them is secondary to them to follow her orders, and I'm happy she's a leader, just as long as she uses her super powers for good.

Man, those buns are cute.

Girlie, but Wormy

We spent a weekend on the Mckenzie this summer at Cush's cabin, and while we were there we went fishing. That's a story for another time. The worms were a highlight for Libby and she loved playing with them so much that she asked her dad to buy her some more, and on the way home, he did. Every once in a while she takes them out of the bait fridge to play with her slimy little friends. I spend that time trying to hide the disgusted look on my face with an awkward smile. I was her at her age. I liked the worms better than the fishing. At some point, though, I got the idea that the worms were gross, and I'm trying to let her come to that conclusion on her own. I'm just here to make sure she washes after her slimy little play date.

Literary Misfire

My class size has increase considerably from last year. In order to make room for all the bodies that contain the free spirited cherubs that will call this place home this year, I moved out two freestanding bookshelves that took up too much square footage. Then, I tried to see the glass half full and take the opportunity to organize my books in a way that I've never done before. I'm sorting by genre and author. I'm alphabetizing and arranging things in a way that, I hope, will make it easy to find what we're looking for. I've wanted to do this for a long time, and I know I'll be so glad when it's done.

My little project got off to a rocky start, though.

I've inherited a (new to me) table that was moved into my room over the summer. I put it on the tile, and put letters A-Z on sticky notes around the edge of the table. I started sorting according to author's last name. After a round of books, I'd go pick up another stack and put them in the correct pile. After one particular round, I walked away from the table. As I did I heard a creaking noise and turned to see one leg (under M) of the table give way, and all of my hard work slide off of the table and onto the floor. I stood frozen. I could only watch....

Oh. My. Literature.

What could I do? I posted a picture to facebook to garner some sympathy from my teacher friends and considered meeting Shane and the girls for breakfast, preferably at Taylor's, which makes a mean Bloody Mary. But, after a small tantrum (punching the air and jumping up and down), I reconsidered. Because Shane was home with the girls, and this task is so much easier done alone. So I stayed. And fixed it. And this morning, I returned to this:

Now, I still have to put them in bins and on shelves, but I have hope. One, that I'll finish this little project before work officially starts next week. And two, that I'll have a place for everyone to sit when school starts.

On another note, while I stacked picture books today, Peyton went into the hallway and counted coat hooks outside my door. I peeked my head around the corner to watch, but she told me to go away. So, I hid within earshot and listened to my baby count to sixteen. Sixteen! Can you believe that? Now, double that and add six and that's about how many students I'll have this year. Wish me luck!

Fair Enough

Guess who was tall enough to ride the rides at the fair this year?

....and ride they did.

Then, we beat the heat with a shaved ice. I ate an elephant ear instead. The outside temperature was about 90 degrees and the elephant ear was hotter. But how could I not?

After that, a little fun in AGventure Land. Get it? Ag-venture?

We saw lots of animals. Here, Peyton takes an interest in a sheep that was doing his business. Fascinating stuff.

One more ride on the way out, and we'd had enough for this year.

My Sweet Peas

I went through my summer pictures tonight to make a plan for how I'm going to get everything on my blog that I want to, before going back to work. I discovered a few overlooked gems....

See this piece Grunny? This one here? The one dripping a millimeter in front of your nose? This is watermelon. This one's mine. You can't have it. Also, I'm the boss, okay?

(If he weren't such a good boy, she'd be missing fingers.)

Mouthy

Peyton: Mom, do we have a bah-eeee bah-eeeee?

Me: Um....what?

Peyton: Do we have a bah-eeee bah-eeee?

Me: A berry berry?

Peyton: No. A bah-eeee bah-eeeee!

Me: Um, what are you saying?

Peyton: BAH-EEEE BAH-EEEE!!

Me: Tell me about it. What's it like?

Peyton: A bah-eeee bah-eeee. With BOOKS!!

Me: Oh, a library? Do we have a library?

Peyton: Yeah! A bah-eeee bah-eeee with books!

Me: Yes! We have a library! You wanna go there?

For the love.

Libby's latest wasn't nearly so frustrating....

I don't even remember what Shane did now. But Libby's response was, "Dad, don't be an ass."

I responded like any parent would. I bit my lip and tried to hide my laughter. I'll claim this one. I'm actually a little bit proud to claim this one. Cause no one should be an ass. And the girls need to learn this while they're young.

He wouldn't admit it, but Shane loved it too. Because he's totally going to hang this over me later....

Sand and Water

Temps moved up this week, so this was the perfect time to head toward the coast and play where it was just a bit cooler. A favorite spot of mine since childhood, and the girls love it too....

The Dunes

Grunny watched another dog approach, and then he went and sat right next to the girls as they played. What a good boy. The other dog was a 180 lb. mastiff.

Libby and I picked some blackberries on the way home. Peyton slept.

Libby fell asleep like this after picking berries.

Peyton woke and saw Libby.....and well...... monkey do.