my week in pictures.

Or rather...week and a half. Because it's been awhile.

We learned how to sort by shape, color, and size at school. The kiddos loved it. Mostly because I gave them a cup with lots of different buttons, and they got to sort their own cup of stuff. It's the little things, I tell ya.

Last week, we went out for dinner. This is how we accomplish a picture of both of us together that does not qualify as a selfie.

Listen to Reading. The kids listen to a book on tape. This picture melts my heart, because of the little girl holding the book "like Mrs. Miller" so all the other kids could see better.

And here's Read to Self. The kids are loving it, because of these awesome Whisper Phones my parents made for them. The kids whisper the story to themselves, and it sounds nice and loud in their phone. Perfect because kindergartners have to hear themselves in order to read, but the Whisper Phones help keep them quiet enough that everyone else can concentrate.

We also learned about patterns this week, and made this quick project. The kids had a blast, and now every time we switch subject, they ask if we're making another project!

I stood in line behind an Extreme Couponer at Walmart. She had 3 carts, a bajillion coupons, and her notebook outlining all the costs and discounts and stuff. I didn't realize it until I'd been in line a few minutes. Then I was torn between, "Should I switch lanes because this is taking an eternity?" and "Should I stay because I'm incredibly interested in how this all turns out?" I chose the latter and waited in that darn line for 25 minutes. In the end, the lady got 3 carts of stuff for $94. I didn't hear what the original total was, but considering I spent more than that one my ONE (not even full) cart, she did pretty good in my book.

Two carts in front of me, and one up at the front packed with groceries.

I decorated this little space for fall. This is my favorite area in our house, because it always looks nice. I love it, and find myself staring at it a lot!

I like the touch of the chalkboard. I can't wait to change out the lettering for each season/holiday!

Today was a work day. After the grocery store, I sat down and got to work on some stuff for my class. I'll save you the boring details of what Close Reads are, but I will say it's very time consuming to write your own, and I've now written 12 (which amounts to 12 weeks.) I'm on a roll!

And finally, Pinterest has done it again. I was browsing the other day and came across a pin that showed an easier way to organize your tshirt drawer. My tshirts are always stuffed in like this:

And now thanks to Pinterest, I've simply folded them and stacked them differently. DUH. Now they all fit nicely (with even a little room to spare!) and I can more easily see what's in here, and won't have to dig through them to find what I'm looking for. Maybe everyone already knew about this. I didn't. And it has changed my organizing life.

And that's enough for now.
See you again.
But probably not for a little bit.
Life's kind of boring around here lately.

xoxo, wife.

happy monday.

So today was a good day. Which says quite a bit for a Monday. I didn't sleep well last night and had a reallllllly hard time getting out of bed this morning. I probably yawned 34 times on my drive to work, and I just didn't anticipate today being a very good day.

But Monday proved me wrong.

My kiddos continue to show me each day how cool they are. They've got a LOT of personality and make me laugh a lot. They're still being really good, and when I picked them up from lunch today, I found out that they each got a piece of candy from the lunch aide because they were the best class at lunch today!

We're also getting good at Daily 5 (literacy centers). I walked around today making sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to...and they WERE!

Listen to Reading (book on tape)

Word Work

Work on Writing

Read to Self/Read to Someone

Eventually during this time, I'll be able to pull small groups of kids to my table and work with them on specific skills that they need to work on...at their own pace. That's why establishing these centers and expectations is so important. That way I can work with students at their own level, while the rest of my kiddos are participating in activities that will better prepare them for reading. I'm so proud of my kiddos and all the hard work they're putting in to becoming life-long learners!

While I was checking folders today, I found this little gem:

Then this afternoon, one of my bosses asked to meet with me. She asked me to be a part of the High Ability (Gifted and Talented) team at school. There are only 3 other teachers on this team. We're starting a High Ability program at our school, and they wanted an advocate for the little kids (K-2). So my job will be to provide ideas, suggestions, feedback, and structure for what the High Ability services will look like in the lower grades. This is a great opportunity and will look good on my resume too!

So take that, Monday...guess you aren't as big and bad as you thought you were!

xoxo, wife.

a wedding.

Hear ye! Hear ye!
I actually did something to my hair yesterday.

But only because we went to a wedding. Because if it's just a normal day, you can bet my hair's either hanging limply down or up in a messy bun. But for a wedding, I gotta make myself presentable, you know?

 Ty's cousin Carmen was the one getting married.

 And now let me take the opportunity to point out how incredibly adorable the flower girl was in her sweet dress and cowboy boots.

Here are Ty's grandparents. His grandpa was blowing bubbles in the receiving line, and I think he looked so sweet!

 I LOVED this holder for cards at the wedding. I wish we had one that we could put outside somewhere! (Not necessarily with a slot at the top for cards though. Unless people wanted to stick some cash inside, which in that case, a slot wouldn't be so bad.)

I was actually successful at photobombing...something I've never been able to accomplish before.

Congrats Carmen and PJ. May God bless you with a long and happy marriage. We love you!

xoxo, cousin.

family reunion 2014

Every other year over Labor Day weekend, Ty's family has a big reunion at a camp about 45 minutes away. So this past weekend, we got ourselves a cabin, sent the dog to stay with my parents, and set out to have some family fun. Games, corn-hole tournament, auction, talent show, late nights, and lots of laughter. (Warning: there will now be about a million pictures.)

Friday Night: Sitting by the lake, watching our nephew Caleb swim with some cousins.

 This picture of Aunt Edna with her grandson, Luke, warms my heart. 

 I have to say these girls are my favorites...are you allowed to have favorites in your family? Well other than the immediate family, these two girls take the cake. Meet Holly and Emily. They're super sweet, super funny, and SUPER good at any game we happen to play. They live in Virginia, so the only time we get to see them is during this reunion. I'm always excited to hang out with them!

 I think we have a future model on our hands. As soon as Ty got out his camera, Lydia began striking poses all on her own!

Saturday: Cabin life. Thank goodness there was air-conditioning. I actually slept pretty well...until I had to walk 1/4 mile to go to the bathroom at 6am. After that I was pretty much awake.

Ty took me for a canoe ride after breakfast. 

Lydia and I played Dress Up with some of Aunt Edie's old jewelry.

 Corn-hole Tournament time!

And Team Miller won the whole shebang! Corn-hole Champs right there.

And I scored a whopping 6 whole points the ENTIRE tournament. 

So clearly I'm an asset to have around for a game of Corn-hole.

Saturday afternoon found me sitting on the dock watching Ty and a bunch of relatives I don't know swimming.

We haven't seen baby Silas since Memorial Day, and boy has he grown! He's starting to look a lot more like his brother, and a lot less like a wrinkly old man! 

 This girl. She's ornery as all get-out, but she makes me smile. She's talking so much and is really funny!

 Activity during the day Saturday: Photo Booth. We got all dolled up with props and stuff and got to take pictures.

 Sunday: These handsome men had dish-duty after lunch.

We ate like kings. These Amish cooks make some of the most amazing food, and they come every time we have a reunion. They don't even do much else anymore because they're getting older, but they make sure to still come out and cook for us! They make these AMAZING soft pretzels and cheese. And the BEST homemade bread I've ever eaten. I look forward to the bread the most, I think.

 Sunday night it was time for the Talent Show. How cute is Aunt Edna all dressed up as an Amish lady to perform?

 Our nephew Caleb decided last-minute to get up and tell some jokes. I believe he botched every single punchline he delivered, haha! But at least he's cute! I love this kid!

Lydia didn't do much besides talk into the microphone and scream at her dad during their skit, which you can see below.

 A few of the little girls got up there and sang Let It Go, from Frozen. It was so cute!

And then Ty, Jason and Tara did a skit. Enjoy.

And there you have it: Family Reunion 2014. If you're still here, congrats for making it through the whole post! We'll do it again in two years!

xoxo, wife.