Lucky!

As I was grading tonight, I came across something very interesting! I had assigned a paragraph and the topic was "authors." In a particularly entertaining paragraph, one of my kiddos claimed to have met Mark Twain! How lucky is he?

Then in a conversation with another kiddo recently, I was told a tale of swimming with jellyfish at Pomme de Terre Lake! I exclaimed that I'd never heard of freshwater jellyfish in Missouri, so what a lucky kiddo he was! Well, as I googled it tonight, I discovered that it might just be true.........Freshwater Jellyfish in Missouri

Who knew!

Weekend - Part 3

The weekend wrapped up yesterday with a great trip to Kansas City for the Chiefs' first WIN!!!!!! YAHOO!!!!!!!! We had a great time on our trip. The trip was actually a present for Kenny's mom, who is a major Chiefs' fan. Kenny rented a Charger for the day. Our seats were great......34th row, right on the 50, behind the Chiefs' sideline! The weather was perfect, and the Chiefs pulled out a VICTORY!


A couple of side notes to share:

• I've decided that I love a Charger! I really like the body of that car. It sorta reminds me of a Mustang, which is my all time FAVORITE ride!
• On the way, we passed a Chiefs themed limo (upper left picture)! It was hilarious....all red with arrowhead decals.
• It was Breast Cancer Awareness Day at Arrowhead, so they were handing out temporary tattoos! To show my support, I went ahead and applied it to my arm! This morning before I left for school, I made sure to remove it. I didn't want any children going home and telling their parents that their teacher got a tattoo of the Chiefs' symbol on her arm over the weekend!

This weekend was tiring but great. This coming weekend holds the same amount of craziness, with a football game on Friday night and another band competition on Saturday. Luckily, I get Sunday off though! I'm looking forward to NOT setting my alarm clock that day!

Weekend - Part 2

On Saturday, the marching band went to Webb City for the Webbstock Marching Festival. We placed 2nd in our division, which meant we stayed for finals. My girls did a great job both times around.

I misjudged my estimated time of arrival at home by one hour. I pulled in my garage at 1 a.m. Now I'm up and at em for the Chiefs' game today.

Weekend - Part 1

I really should be gathering my things for today's band competition, but I just can't get myself motivated. The crazy weekend began last night with the RHS Football Homecoming Game........they lost, but the band did GREAT! It was our first real run through of the entire show, and they rocked it! I was really proud of the progress my girls had made since the last game. We still have stuff to work on, but hopefully we can rock it again today! I'll either be home by 6:00 this evening or midnight, depending on how we do. I know, I know ~ you're on pins and needles! I promise to let you know the outcome!

I'm pretty sure you're jealous that YOU don't get to spend a Saturday this way! Here I go......I need to gather my reading materials for the bus ride!

Things I Like

I sure like marlin. They are tasty. Just thought you all should know. This great picture reminded me of my fondness for marlin. I sure wish I could catch a marlin like that! These friends of Whitney's (from college) caught a marlin for Whitney because she loves them too! As a whole, I like seafood. I really enjoy the occasional trip to Captain D's or Long John's, but those are few and far between since Kenny isn't a fan of those establishments. Come to think of it, Whitney isn't either, so I'm not sure why she likes marlin so much!

I also like guitar hero, which you already know. Here is the paparazzi shot Kenny got of me. I didn't know he was lurking! I was concentrating way too hard on the notes.

Pac Man is another favorite. Thanks to Andrea, I can play it any time I want to! Oh, and Tetris! Love Tetris! Used to have competitions with my sister and dad!

Another thing I like is Dancing with the Stars. I enjoyed watching it while I was grading papers tonight. It made paper grading a little less painful.

Last of all, I like the occasional joke: How do veterinarians take care of sick birds? They give them "tweetments."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA!

Saturday

This is my last weekend of freedom before marching band competitions fill up my Saturdays and football games consume my Friday nights. I am looking forward to four Saturdays on a big yellow school bus.

Since the next month of weekends is shot, Grampy came to visit!!!!!! The family gathered at mom and dad's for lunch and Model T rides! Alex LOVED the Model T. He grabbed onto the wheel immediately and pulled himself to his feet. I also took Grampy to see my house. I'd sent him pictures, but he hadn't seen the newly painted exterior in person!

Later, while on the phone with Ashley, I went to water my flowers. As I approached my flower pot full of mums, a rustling near my feet caught my attention. With less than cat-like reflexes, I realized a snake was coming at me. I proceeded to scream into the phone and dance around while not gaining much ground. The snake kept coming straight at me! Finally I moved one direction and it went the other. Sorry Ashley! Your ear may never be the same.

After recovering from the snake encounter, Ashley and I went to dinner! I enjoyed our sushi and shopping very much! It was a very good last Saturday!

The Bungee Racer

When Whitney posted her entry about inflatable contraptions, it reminded me of my ALL TIME FAVORITE inflatable game: The Bungee Racer!

Last spring, our PTO hosted an event complete with kick-ball tournaments and inflatable jumping opportunities! That's when I spotted the bungee racer! Seeing it transported me back to a band event years ago, where I first participated in a bungee racing competition. My memory of it consists of cracking up non-stop for the five minutes it took to play. So there it was, right in front of me! I couldn't WAIT to find an opponent! That's when one of my students approached and threw down a challenge! If I played against him in a basketball throw, he'd compete in the bungee race with me! It was ON!

The bungee racer is made up of two lanes, divided by a wall with velcro along the top. You are strapped to a harness which is attached to the back wall. The point? To run straight forward with a velcro covered marking piece and attach it as far down the divider wall as possible, before the bungee cord you are strapped to snaps you back! Each person gets about 3 attempts, and when you've gone as far as the cord will allow, you are snapped back so quickly that you completely lose your footing, and are flung to the bouncing floor of the lane. The hilarity that ensues is beyond words. You simply laugh for the entire time you are up there. It is quite honestly THE most fun inflatable contraption EVER!

So as you can see, as the race was going down, a photographer captured this moment in time. As soon as we finished, he approached to record the specifics. He happened to be a reporter. It landed in the Republic paper.

The First Football Game

Today was the longest day ever.

Picture Day + Grandparent's Day + First Football Game = Exhaustion

Pictures: One of my boys was consumed with his hair. Every few minutes he would ask me if his bangs were curling.

Grandparent's Day: Uneventful, but always long and tiring..........mainly because the kids were WILD! In the midst of the wildness, I heard a kiddo exclaim, "I sure wish the water fountains could shoot out Gatorade!"

Football Game: I discovered something tonight that I didn't expect to. After watching a good first attempt at our halftime show, I realized that I don't like giving up control of my color guard girls. I thought stepping back and giving up some of my responsibilities would be a breeze. And it has been so far. Until tonight.

It hit me as soon as we stepped on the field. I had NO CLUE what they were doing! Then as I watched them, the feeling got worse! Every single year, I have known exactly what everything was supposed to look like. I could've performed in their place! But tonight, I was a fish out of water. And I hated it. I never thought I'd feel like I was missing out when I scaled back on marching band/color guard duties.

I must be crazy. Let's blame it on the full moon.

Guitar Playing Skills

For all of you DYING to see a video of my guitar skills, well keep on waiting! I'll have to work up the nerve to post one of those! Thank goodness only one photo exists of the event. As I was zoned in on the game, Kenny did some paparrazi style photography.

Thanks to the weekend, I had some time to practice. I will add that I am now "on tour." Meaning: I passed the entry phase! A few songs that I conquered were Barracuda and School's Out. I did have difficulty dueling Tom Morello though and had to call in the expert (Kenny).

An Addiction

I'm Danavee, and I'm addicted to Guitar Hero. Yes, you heard me.

The other night, after a VERY long day at school (complete with a 7:00 date for Parent Night), I went to Kenny's. What do I find when I get there? Kenny dueling Slash! He was getting down on the guitar, thanks to his new PS3 game. After a long day, I figured that a little video gaming wouldn't hurt! So I clicked on the easiest and slowest setting possible and attempted to finish a song!

As for games, I really want Rock Band. I thought (and STILL think) Rock Band is/was the best invention ever, but now that I'm learning how this guitar/bass contraption works, the more I love it! With Rock Band, the only instrument I cared about was the drums. Oh, and I'll sing too! The microphone is my friend! But the guitar is growing on me! My only problem? With the way Kenny was laughing at me, I think I bop, sway, and bounce too much. And I'm not very good at the actual guitar playing.

So tonight, after sushi, maybe I will try to conquer that Pat Benatar song one more time.

Three Day Weekends

I love three day weekends. I tend to stress out over them though. Mainly because I want them to be glorious.......not a moment wasted! I want to go back to work and feel like I've had a mini vacation! This particular holiday did not disappoint! Nothing major happened, I just really enjoyed the last few days.

It did start off sort of boring, with Saturday being filled with tons of nothing. Cleaned the house, actually did some school work, got my voice back, and was very lazy........BUT rented a great movie and had a wonderful lunch with Kenny too.

Sunday was my FAVORITE day. We got to see Kenny's nephew and family at a cookout for his mom's birthday. Then later we enjoyed some time with great friends. I fell into bed Sunday night with a smile on my face.......happy from the day.

Today was another lazy day.
Slept in, did some stuff
around the house. THEN mom and dad came over to help me hang my new curtains! Kenny took the circa 1967 curtains down last week, and we hadn't had the chance to hang the new set. They are up now, and I love them! They match my furniture perfectly! We still have work to do on the wall, where the old curtains were, but the transformation is amazing. It really makes the room feel bigger.

So tomorrow, when I'm back at work, I'll feel like I had a great long weekend! I'll just have to focus on remembering it when I have to rush to the high school for flag practice after school............and then again when I have to stay even later for a band booster meeting.