What would you say?

Right in the middle of a lesson on the 1st day of school, little Ryan raises his hand. His question is SO important that it is taking all of his strength not to lunge out of his chair & scream it out at the top of his lungs... his teacher thinks, "Wow! This kid really must have something important to say; something that can't wait & all further understanding of the concepts being taught will be futile unless this question is allowed to burst free and enlighten us all!"
She proceeds:

Teacher: "Yes, Ryan."
Ryan: "Ummm, ummmm...my mom is divorced & I've wrestled a shark..."
Teacher: (pauses) "Well, Ryan, you must be very brave!"
Ryan: "Nope, it was way easy."

A Few Random Things...

And why not?!

Well, the classroom is officially student-ready. Which is a good thing considering they'll be pressing their little noses up against the windows Monday morning. Some of them may already be doing that considering they posted the class lists at 4:00 this afternoon... I high tailed it outta there at 3:55! I have a few returning families this year which is always nice! I think I'll have a lot of parent help this year! Yipee!

On a completely separate note, our friend EW (or Eric, as the rest of the world calls him) came over last night & spent the evening. He & Ross used to be roommates up in Tahoe (pre-me). They both moved to "The Hoe" 10 years ago... Eric is now off to a new adventure in Portland, Oregon. Eric, we wish you the best! And remember, if it sucks, Tahoe will always be here waiting for you.

Now, this is the most random tidbit of all... not much explanation needed really...


Wee Wee (aka Marie) & Rollins both share a favorite chair... He looks a little concerned, actually... maybe I should send the real Rollins a copy of this shot... he sent my mom a postcard once... who knows? He may have something to say about this too. We're seeing him in November, I'll discuss it with him then ;-)

ReUnion Valley

I went up to Union Valley Reservoir today with my friend Kim for a bike ride. We haven't seen each other in about 3 years & it was great to get to spend the day together. Kim & I met our freshman year of high school & became fast friends. Our friendship has no doubt had it's ups & downs (as will happen when two people are as close as sisters). We have been there for each other through some of the happiest times in our lives & some of the toughest times of our lives. Union Valley is a very special place for us... it's the first place I ever went with her & her family. I have so many great memories of camping, biking & boating with her & her parents. In high school, we used to use her parent's 5th wheel as a "base camp" & go on hikes into Desolation Wilderness. On July 13, Kim lost her mom. Judy was an amazing woman & a wonderful second mom to me. Union Valley was the perfect place to go & share some time together; sharing memories & updating each other on what we've been up to. I am so happy to have Kim back in my life... however, my ass is going to hurt for a few days from that bike ride! Why we did that to ourselves is beyond me!

Kim enjoying the creek

View of the bridge

Meet you at the crossroads...

Okay, we've been taking our evening strolls past this sign for a while now, so here it is... For all of the rock n' roll types out there we have -


Folsom rocks!

I've got some work to do!

If you've ever wondered what you're child's classroom looks like over the summer, I'll let you in on the secret... the first day of school is August 13th, and I "officially" go back starting on the 7th for trainings & meetings... so I guess I know what I'll be working on from now until then! Ross was nice enough to come to my classroom today & help me move furniture, what a guy! It took some masterful Tetris moves to get these big ass desks to fit with the small group tables and carpet, but I think we figured out a plan that flows well, the true test will come when there are 20, six year olds in there with me! I'll post the after shot once I'm finished, whew!

Road Trip Quiz

Due to my overwhelming laziness, this quiz will consist of only 1 question and 1 question only... there is no googling allowed (MOM)... good luck & eyes on your own paper!

1. Which is the MOST mountainous state in the contiguous United States?
*hint: we were in this state while on our trip

Another great weekend!

Friday night Ross & I went to the movies to see The Simpsons movie... Ross was sooo excited & we were ready to laugh at all the funny ha ha's... but unfortunately, they were few & far between... poor Ross, he looked like someone had run over his puppy... it wasn't that our expectations were too high, it just wasn't a good movie, period! The plot was stale & cliche, the jokes were dumb (and not in a good way)... the language & nudity (and yes there was some) was gratuitous... it had nothing to do with what was going on in the story, it was just done for the sake of it being done... if you're going to make a movie about The Simpsons, you'd think there would be some underlying wit to balance out all the fart jokes... very disappointing!

We had a great time on Saturday with Anil & Andrea. Anil is Ross' assistant director at the Hyatt and Andrea is his wife. They are big time winos just like us, so we all met up at Oakstone winery in Fairplay to pick up our Obscurity Cellars futures. We then had a lovely picnic there & headed to a few more wineries. Truly a great time with great people! Later that night we rented Reno 911- good to see a t.v. show made into a movie that actually worked! Very entertaining!

Yesterday (Sunday) Ross' & I headed out to Lake Natoma here in our beautiful town of Folsom for sea kayaking lessons. I used to kayak with my family years ago & thought it would be fun for Ross & I to actually learn some safety tips... perfect birthday gift for him! Despite having the instructor from HELL (he very nearly ruined kayaking for me altogether) we managed to learn some good stuff. I think Ross really enjoyed it, although his abdominal muscles may be trying to convince him otherwise this morning!