I cannot believe that 2 months of school are finished!! Where has the time gone. I totally remember as a kid how it took FOREVER for Halloween and then Christmas to come. As of right now, I'm making halloween costumes for Brent and I. I have also finished casting for our Christmas Play. What the heck?!?! I love my job - I love my students. We have hit our stride and are getting much accomplished. Today we did the most beautiful art project. It is a spooky tree silhouette in black with a beautiful dark sunset behind it with a full moon. I'll try to post a picture at some point, but they turned out beautiful! We have also been learning about Canada. So I realized the other day that my students didn't know that Alberta was between BC and Saskatchewan, that Ontario is next to Quebec. I scoured through the curriculum set by Alberta Ed and realized as well that nowhere in there did it require students to know this! I was appalled. How can these kids not know where we are in Canada, the continent, the world? So we went old school for the week and they had to memorize a map of Canada complete with Capital Cities, correct spelling, and capital letters at the beginning of each word. I haven't marked the tests yet, but I'm hoping they at least know how to spell Alberta correctly now!

We are off to see the movie "Pitch Perfect" AGAIN! It is sooo funny, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you take the time. You'll build a six pack while watching a movie. :) 

Cheerio!

Jules

Week 2

Another week is done. It is Sunday night and I am ready to go for week 3. This will be a hectic week with PD and sub plans on Wednesday, and IPP day on Friday. I am hoping to hear all my kids read this week and set some goals with them for their reading. As for the home front, we are well. We spent a good chunk of the weekend setting up our new turtle tank and stand. It's so nice now! Hopefully they don't eat too many rocks! We also went to the funeral for little Thomas. What a sweet little one he was. His parents are amazingly strong and faithful! It was a good opportunity to reflect on the importance of loving and forgiving everyday. Until next week, be good, play fair and have fun!
xo
Jules

A long time coming...

Wow! It's been almost an entire year since the last post. I am going to try to use this as a journal of sorts. Here is a quick update on our last year:
- Dog is now Huge! We love him and he is just adorable - even if he cries when we stop to visit people on our walks. :)
- Half our basement is now renovated! Hooray for laundry rooms that aren't in the bathroom! Lovely job Wolsey Works. 
- We finished a school year and have started a new one!
- I went to Atlanta for a conference this summer trying to learn how to better teach reading and writing. 
- We spent a week in Fairmont with the Gilson family and it was a very relaxing and fun week. 
- one nephew and one niece have been added to the family. Beau Baker and Nia Haggarty. We love them both!
- We continue to love high school and our students' sports. We go to whichever town promises the most exciting match-up for football, basketball, hockey and baseball. Cheap date nights! lol
- 

I can't really think of anything else. We are happy, we love our lives and our jobs. We are grateful for our health and the blessings that sneak up on us. 

Cheerio,
Jules

unsure what to call this!

Hello world wide web.

I am feeling frustrated at the moment. I am feeling selfish for thinking there are things in my life that I want to have and so many are suffering with the loss of so much. Why must I be selfish?? How do I get over what I want and when I want it, so I can focus more and appreciate the amazing blessings I enjoy everyday! Any advice would be welcome.
xoxo
Jules

happy new year for me

Teachers get to celebrate a new year twice as much as anyone else!! I feel as though this post is the same every September! ha ha. Oh well, here it goes:
My class is amazing. I have great kids, great parents (which, believe it or not, play a HUGE roll in the atmosphere of a classroom!)  and work with some pretty incredible people!! I love my job and that's the end of the story.
As for home life, we have finished our fence all 300+ feet of it! What a job it was. I am such a slacker and don't quite have pictures of the finished product yet, but that will come. Brent is loving his job and paycheck!! Me too for that matter (going shopping in Kalispell this weekend to celebrate).
Our puppy Stanley is coming home to live with us this weekend! I am beyond excited about that. He has a house, a water dish and a food bowl. His kennel will be set up on Monday next week. It's going to be great. I hope he is as good here as he is out at my parents.
I am also very excited about a Christmas present I have gotten for Brent! It is so fun!!!!!!!! I know it is early, but alas, when you find the perfect gift it's hard to pass up! As for the rest of you... don't get your hopes up! haha.
Now for the most exciting thing that is happening on the home front for us. We are expecting to loose even more pounds in the coming future. To date Brent has lost 9 and I've lost 5 in 3 weeks. It is slow, but steady and the best part is, it's all natural!! No drops, no drugs, no special diet pills or name brand food. Just healthy portions, healthy snacks, healthy meals. I feel so great. 5 lbs isn't too much, but holy smokes it might as well be 100! I have energy, I don't hate all my clothes and life is good. Look for a new me by next summer. I'm very excited about it all.
Anyway, that's about all for tonight. I have to make a new seating plan for the kids tomorrow. It's time for the monthly switch - the bane of my existance is seating plans! ugh. nighty night world.
Jules

In Sickness and In Health: This may be graphic for some readers...

So I have always enjoyed good health. I have never had major health issues or the need to go under the knife. I didn't even have wisdom teeth that needed pulling! As we have been facing the challenge of expanding our family, I have had the unfortunate experience of seeing the inside of an operating room. F.Y.I. IT'S NOT AT ALL LIKE GREYS ANATOMY! Anyway, I don't recommend it at all. While the nurses and doctors were very kind and did everything they could to make me comfortable, I can't say I will ever look forward to it again. AND nobody told me that the regular BM's I've had all my life would come screeching to a sudden halt and that for the first time I would experience the inability to go number 2! Sorry that's gross, but I am feeling quite empathetic towards those of you out there who are plagued by constipation. It is an extremely unpleasant feeling! Anyway, I'm doing much better after some deliciously greasy chinese food, a bottle of Dasani water and a good walk around West Edmonton Mall. Thankyou Oriental Express!! That's all for tonight folks!

It's been a heck of a summer!

WOW oh WOW! I have been sitting here on this Sunday evening thinking about the summer. Lets make a list of what was awesome about it...

• Sara and Ryan's Wedding - Canmore is a beautiful little mountain town and we had a great time photographing the lovebirds on their perfect day. The backdrop was gorgeous and the event was stunning.
• Shannon and Eric's wedding - comfortable and beautiful are the best 2 words to describe this event. Photographing these 2 was a joy. They are so in love and were so excited to be married and start their life together.
• Hamilton Family reunion consisted of  riding bikes off the dock, body-ball, too much food and some great catching up with my cousins. 
• Amazing trip to Seattle: rode a ferry, walked about 15 miles, delighted in attending a glass blowing shop demonstration, shopped, ate fresh seafood on the harbor, got lost on city transit, read a book in the park, relaxed in a beautiful hotel. It was a great trip!
• Got a new puppy!! His name is Stanley and he is a pure bred German shepherd and I LOVE him!
• We are currently putting up our fence. It is a big project and probably the only negative thing about having a house in Magrath - the lots are HUGE! Therefore it is a HUGE undertaking to contain it all. Stanley needs a home so we build a fence! :)
• Time at the ranch was super duper! We tubed down the river many times and Kayaked down the ditch all the way to Payne lake. Brent tipped 2 times and I almost died laughing. It was really funny. It was a beautiful quiet and I saw parts of my backyard that I'd never seen before. We even saw some pelicans really close up and they are huge freaky birds.
• I re-discovered and Brent discovered Waterton Golf Course wing night. Monday nights are sooo delicious. 
• We relaxed at home and just enjoyed sleeping in, reading books both professional and for fun, went to matinee's, played with the nephews and niece, played some seriously good rook (I got 2 300 hands in one game people - that is almost unheard of for those of you who don't know) and fell in love a little more! :-)

Overall it was fun and went just too darn quick. I am very excited to get back into the swing of school and routine and more sleep! I have a great class again this year and will try to be more diligent in my blogging regularity.
Mucho amor mis amigos!