New Orleans

I had a great opportunity this month to go to the Plain Talk About Reading Institute in New Orleans.  It was a great trip.  I was able to learn more specifics about teaching reading and it really helped me feel more comfortable in my position as a Title 1 reading intervention teacher.  While in New Orleans we had some extra time and we were able to go on a swamp tour.  The best part was getting to see the alligators close up!  Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

And here is a video of the alligator that came up close for some food!

Happy Birthday!

Robby and I both had birthdays recently and Natalie has started singing happy birthday.  In this video she is singing to her daddy.  I hope you enjoy it as much as Robby and I do!

Counting

Natalie likes to count and I love listening to her because she is so sure of the numbers.  Her counting consists of "2.....5.....10".  I am not sure what happened to the other numbers but I love listening to her "count".  She was counting the number of items on the grocery list today - "2....5.....10".

Natalie and I went to visit Mama and Aunt Chelsie this afternoon.  After listening to her count her noodles they decided to help her out.  Mama held up her fingers and counted by ones, this is how the encounter went......

Mama: One

Natalie : One

Mama: two

Natalie: two

Mama: three

Natalie: four

Mama: No....three

Natalie:  FOUR

Cracked me up!

Easter!

What a great Easter weekend!  Aside from being sick with a cold, we have had a fabulous few days.  On Friday I made marshmallows to put in the kids Easter baskets.  Natalie was a huge helper and loved the marshmallows.  I found a super cute pattern for an Easter basket on the Lion Brand website.  I didn't have the yarn that it called for but I used two strands of a lighter weight yarn and I really like the way it came out.  Next time I want to make it bigger and make the handle sturdier so that it stands up more.

I didn't sleep well at all Friday night due to this darn cold but Saturday morning was quite productive.  I made a german chocolate cheesecake with homemade frosting and potato salad for Easter dinner at my mom's.  I then made a blueberry ripple cake for a fellowship dinner that night. 

Natalie spent about an hour and a half at my mom's with Aunt Chelsie and John.  It was great because I was able to finish up the baking and clean up the kitchen so that when I picked Natalie up all I had to do was feed her lunch and put her down for her nap.  Natalie is just about over her latest bout of strep throat and is finally napping and sleeping like her usual self so I was able to do a baby boy hat from start to finish for a photographer friend in Rawlins.  I finished the baby girl hat on Friday and I am excited to take some pictures of them and get them to her for her ok!

A few days ago I found a super cute pattern for a bear hat.  It was really easy to make and I was able to get it almost done after finished the baby boy hat.  I waited to attach the ears so that I could focus without interuptions because it was about the end of naptime. 

We had a fellowship dinner with some great people from church.  My mom kept all the grandkids to play with my cousins little girl and the great grandparents that were visiting for Easter. 

Our church help an Easter celebration service at the community center!  It was great.  We had about 150 people in attendance........that is just about double our average Sunday attendance.  It is great knowing that we have a Savior who loves us so much. Here are a couple of pictures from Easter.....The first is of Robby, Natalie and me.  The second is of Natalie and cousin John.

It was such a great weekend with family.  Now Robby is out of town for a music festival and it is just Natalie and me. 

Finally!!!

After almost a year and a half I am officially done with my masters program.  I am glad that I did while I was still working part-time and only had one kid.  It was a lot of work but definitely worth it!!!