First Day of School

Today was our first day of school. I wasn't ready for it. I was stressed in fact. The budget in California is horrible and as a result school funding is being cut right and left. Many, many teachers were pink slipped and didn't get rehired for the school year. Supply funds have been slashed as well.

A consequence of all this, is that the state and district no longer think that small classes in the lower grades are important. Kindergarten, first and second grade have in the past not had any more than twenty students. Supposedly, they were going to cap classes at 25. Bad news: I have 26. Good news: only 24 showed up. Bad news: I might be getting a new one tomorrow. More Bad news: They are the most ill mannered group of children I have ever met. Good news: I have four great students from last year and there are a couple of other nice kids, including Harrison, David and Starr's son, to help make me believe maybe there is a chance for this class.

Curtis and Alyssa were excited for school today. Curtis was a bit nervous, because he would be going into the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade Gifted and Talented Class. He thought he wouldn't have any friends, all the kids would be bigger than him, it would be too hard, etc. Alyssa was just excited. She has been telling anyone who would listen this summer that she is a first grader. So here are the official pictures of the first day of school:

Junior Rangers

Curtis and Alyssa participated in the Jr. Ranger program while we were visiting Yellowstone Park. They had several tasks to do. Curtis had more to do than Alyssa because he is older. The morning we left, we stopped by the Visitor's Center by Fishing Bridge to turn in their assignments. The rangers asked them questions about the things they did and looked through their papers well. When they were finished, they made an announcement to the visitors that they had two special Jr. Rangers that would be getting their patches. The kids were thrilled. When they were finished with the presentation, the Ranger had them try on her hat. The program was good for both of them.

To be continued.....

More Summer Fun...

When we left Yellowstone Park we drove through Idaho to Utah. We made a detour and stopped to visit the Bailey family. Monica and Lauren weren't there. They were doing a Pioneer Trek. Curtis and and Judd were so glad to see each other. Whenever they get together it seems like they have never been apart. Alyssa loved playing with Will, the youngest. I enjoyed catching up with Jeff and Grandma Judy. Here are some pictures from our visit.

As you can see there was lots of Star Wars playing involved. The kids also checked out the Bailey farm. They saw calves, horses, cats, dogs, and chickens. There was much sadness when it was time to leave.

To be continued....

Lemon Streusel Muffins

I got this recipe from www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com a long time ago and finally made it for the secretaries and the custodian at school. It is always a good idea to keep them on your side. They deserve to be recognized for all they do, plus they do nice things for you if they like you.

I have to say it worked, because as a newbie at this school I kind of have crappy furniture in my classroom. Mr. Mike, the custodian brought me a brand new filing cabinet for me this afternoon and took away my old, rusted in places one.

So here's the recipe with the change I made:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup melted butter

1 Tbsp lemon zest (I have truly learned that lemon zest is important. It makes all the difference in the recipes I have used it in. I suggest using a microplane zester. )

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (the recipe called for 2 tsp, I liked it with 2 Tbsp)

For the streusel:

3 Tbs. flour

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. cold butter

For the glaze:

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice, melted butter, zest, and yogurt. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix just until combined. Let batter rest for 5 minutes. Grease or paper line muffin cups and fill cups 3/4 full. In a small bowl combine streusel ingredients, using a pastry blender or your hands, until it resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle over the batter. Bake muffins at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes and remove to a wire rack.

Mix together the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a thin glaze. Drizzle over the warm muffins.

This makes 12 muffins.

These were great. I loved them. The secretaries loved them and raved about them. Mr. Mike (the custodian) loved them. My kids loved them too. Make these as soon as you have fresh lemons. You will be happy you did.

This Summer, Part 2

I thought I would continue where I left off....

We went to Old Faithful. They are building a new visitor's center. When it is finished, it will be awesome! They said it will be done next summer. I would love to go back and see it. Alyssa was very impatient while we were waiting for the geyer to errupt. She couldn't understand why it wouldn't go off immediatly. There were also some people sitting by us who were very rude and pushy. She got pushed a couple of times by them and I thought she was going to lose it, but she didn't. So whew... Crisis averted.

When it did finally go off, she loved it. Curtis did too. I think they were amazed at the height the water and steam reached. As for me, I am always thrilled and amazed when I see a geyser erupt. They are so beautiful!

We saw many more examples of the geological wonder that is Yellowstone National Park.

We saw many different kinds of animals in the park. I think Alyssa's favorite was the pelican. We saw lots of those. Although I didn't get a picture of one. Curtis loved the bison. We saw lots of them. At one point we came upon a here crossing the road. Traffic was stopped as the mosied across the road. I think there were several hundred, including many calves. It was a neat experience. We also came upon about 5 elk lying in the shade near a picnic area by the Mammoth Hot Springs visitor center.

Summer fun to be continued...

Our Summer

In the last post I told about the very beginning of our vacation. I fully intended on several other posts about our vacation. It didn't happen and now I have to go back to work officially on Thursday, but realistically tomorrow, so my room is ready. So I will just post a few pictures and give the highlights.

We went to the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming. We spent part of two days there. We loved it. It is five museums. There is of course the Buffalo Bill Museum with lots of things from his career and life. Then there was the plain Indian museum. That was really great too. There was
also a natural history museum with exhibits about the region. I think that and the Buffalo Bill were my favorite. There was also a firearm museum. There were guns from the 1500's. It was interesting, but not my favorite. I got bored really easy. Guns are not my favorite thing. Finally there was a western art museum, which we skipped. The kids weren't interested and quite frankly, neither were Mike and I.

We went to Lovell, Wyoming on two different days to see my grandma. We only went for short periods of time and did other things around our visits. One of the things we did was to drive up to the Devil's Canyon overlook. I never get tired of that view. It is gorgeous. Wow! It makes me think of my Grandpa Cox. I don't know why, but it does.

After our 5 days in Cody, we headed to Yellowstone Park. We stayed in the park and had a great time. We saw lots of wildlife: deers, buffalo, pronghorns, marmots, etc. We also got to experience the beauty of this wonderful place. The kids did the Jr. Ranger program and got their badges. More on that later.

Alyssa did not like the stinky smells of the gases. In fact she complained about that a lot. All in all we had a great time.

To be continued later.....