Enjoying the Snow in Michigan(?)

I've been enjoying the week in Michigan with my family! The snow was a beautiful sight! But it didn't take long to appreciate the beautiful weather we have in Florida in the winter. It's REALLY REALLY COLD HERE! Enjoy some pictures of my vacation so far.

Here's my dog, Percy, just before I left home. He was very sad because he could tell that I would be leaving for the week!

Here's my childhood home in Michigan! It's COLD!


This is my brother's dog, Obi.

And this is my mom's dog, Buddy.

Guess who this adorable kid is!

Here's my mom and my brother!

Me with Obi.

My brother's driving! Yikes!

Actually, he's a pretty good driver!

The first thing we did on Sunday was to go see Ben play soccer. Look how COLD it is here! It was about 12 degrees that day!

My brother getting ready for the game.

My brother playing goalie.

Ben, trying to avoid having his picture taken while practicing for the game.

Look at that kick!!


Yep! STILL COLD!

Ben with some of his friends that he's had since kindergarten! It seems like only yesterday when they were all fifth graders themselves!

Ben's good at everything - even bowling!

"Please stop taking pictures of me while I'm trying to concentrate!"

By day 3 the snow was starting to get old.

Me shoveling snow. Not fun. Did I mention yet how COLD it is here?

Here's me getting buried in snow!

"It's too cold to pose for pictures!"

I hope everyone else is having a great vacation as well! I'll see you all on the fifth!

This is what we do at staff meetings!

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Merry Christmas!

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Snowball Fight!

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Elf Yourself!

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Holiday Pajama Bash!

What a great time we had today! This party was a blast as usual! Thanks so much to everyone who sent something in! We had so much food leftover, I was practically MAKING kids take home leftovers during extended day!

To get ready for the party, I spent HOURS decorating the room and preparing all of the fun stuff we would be doing! Take a look at some of the decor from our party!

The party was loads of fun! First we enjoyed watching "Horton Hears a Who" together, while sipping hot chocolate with marshmallows!

Thomas is comparing Jim Carrey's performance to his own third grade rendition of Horton from "Horton Hears a Who."

Awwwwwe!

How sweet!!!!

Then, we played some fun games, including my own unique take on "Deal or No Deal" - where the numbers actually mean something! Caitlin was the big winner of that game, walking away with $941 in bonus money!

Me hosting "Deal or No Deal?"

I was actually too busy with the game to take pictures! After Caitlin cleaned up with "Deal or No Deal," we played some Pictionary while we waited for the pizza to arrive!

Esther drawing a coffee cake

Shan drawing....something....badly.

Jayla drawing a sprinkler. Or maybe an atom bomb. I'm not sure which.

At Luke's house, his "backyard" is on the roof. Mrs. Robinson would be so proud!

After that, we stuffed ourselves on pizza that Mrs. Flaherty was kind enough to provide for us!

We also had meatballs, spiral sandwiches, cookies, brownies, chips, and dip. By the time I got the chocolate fondue fountain ready to go, everyone was so stuffed they could barely eat!

Malik and his mother! We're glad to see she's doing better!

Shan and her mom!

Then, we enjoyed my personal favorite part of the holiday party - the Chinese Gift Exchange! We were rolling with laughter as the students opened the gag gifts, including Spencer's bag of coal, Aniyah's "Hamburger Helper," Thomas's pipe insulation, and Denis's bag of potatoes! Of course, a handful of students were lucky enough to snag the FEW decent presents, including Malik's squishy ball, Jessica's headphone cap, and Chris's "The Witches" DVD.

Vanna gets not one, but TWO cans of tuna! Woah! She lucked out!

Tyra gets some sandwich bags!

Thomas gets some pipe insulation! Now he can do some plumbing over the break!

Don't worry, Mrs. Lopez! With a box of "Hamburger Helper," Aniyah will be making dinner tonight!

Just in case she needs help learning her math facts, Esther gets a set of Disney Princess addition/subtraction flash cards!

For some reason, Rami doesn't look too pleased about getting a brand new, unused phone book!

Denis hits the jackpot with a whole bag of potatoes!!

Caitlin had the most gifts stolen out of anybody in the class! First, she opened a squishy ball...

...which Malik stole.

Then, she got an iPod...

...or at least, a BOX from an iPod, with a dog whistle inside.

That was stolen by Spencer, and then by Federico.

Finally, she ended up with this "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" cup.

Malik rocking out with his headphone cap, before it was stolen by Amer.

Christian was shocked to find "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith!"

But hold on, Christian....

That's just a box, with a batton and pom poms inside!

But never fear, Christian! Our resident cheerleader, Jayla, was eager to steal them from you!

Shan gets a slinky, which is then stolen.

Then, she opens a copy of "The Witches" on DVD - the movie based on the Roald Dahl book that we read earlier this year!

Shan crying after Chris stole "The Witches" DVD and left her with a VHS copy of the "Star Wars" trilogy. Do you kids even know what a VHS tape is?

Shan was not too pleased with Chris! But her mom was having a blast! But don't complain, Shan! You still got to take Salt and Pepper home for the holidays!

What a great party we had! I'm looking forward to the holiday break, but I'm sure I'll miss you all a bunch! Get well rested and I'll see you in 2009!

Check back on the blog during the holidays to see pictures of my brother, my mom, and I enjoying the snow in Michigan!

Happy Holidays!