Merry Christmas 2009

This year we spent Christmas in Washington DC at my aunt's house.  We celebrated with Spencer's parents, April, Ramey, Grandmother, and the boys the weekend before at our house. 

Here are a few pictures from the Roden Family Christmas:

Ramey and April

Henry and Owen

Owen and Henry with their new night vision goggles.  So cute!

We left for Washington the next day.  We spent two days visiting with Trey and Christiana.  We enjoyed some delicious food and even took in a play at the Wooly Mammoth Theater.  Oh...and did I mention the northern Virginia/Washington DC area had just had the Blizzard of 2009.  There was a lot of snow on the ground and it was freezing.

Spencer at The Mall in front of the Capitol.

My aunt's house.  Look at the snow!

 

We had a wonderful Christmas and are truly thankful for being able to spend time with everyone.  We did leave a couple days early from DC because Spencer got sick on Monday, had just wasn't getting any better.  It's always better to be sick in your own home.  We are looking forward to the New Year and everything 2010 has to bring. 

Happy Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at the farm this year.  My parents and sister, as well as my grandparents joined us.  It's so nice to be able to have the entire family together. 

  We had several tables put together.  We were able to seat 26 people around this table. 

Dougie Boy and Katie

 

Mom, Dougie Boy, and Joycie

The entire group! 

The Harrell Family

Owen and April

We are looking forward to our Christmas gatherings now.  Stay tuned for our Christmas adventures :)

I want to Rock and Roll all night, and party everyday.....

I personally have never been to a "Rock" concert.  I have been to many country concerts, but never anything like this.  A friend of mine from work sent me a note to my classroom on Friday and said she had two KISS concert tickets would Spencer and I like to go.  Now, I would personally never pay for KISS concert tickets, but the opportunity to go for FREE was something we just couldn't pass up.  It was TOTALLY an experience we will remember.  We had a great time, and now we can mark it off our list of things to do!  Check out our pics below:

  

  They are a little blurry because they were taken with my phone and I had to stretch them out.  But you get the picture.

Summer is officially over!

Well, since today was "Meet and Greet" with my new students I do feel that the new school year has begun.  It's hard to believe sometimes that I am going into my fifth year in the teaching profession.  However, I must say I love second grade so much more than teaching sixth grade.  But I did truly learn a lot teaching the older ones. 

With this new school year starting I have decided this year to begin work on my National Boards.  I am extremely nervous about this process.  However, I have a WONDERFUL AND SUPPORTIVE husband that encourages me to go through this.  We do not have children at the time and there is nothing but fear stopping me.  So as this school year begins so does my preparation for working on my NB's.

Please say your prayers for us as I work on this.  Not only will it be time consuming it will also be overwhelming.  It will take patience and lots of understanding from family and friends. 

So, with that said, I am ready for my second grade friends on Wednesday.  I am looking forward to a great year!

Outing #1: Helen Keller's Home

Well, if you keep up with my blog you would know that originally I had planned to take weekly outings with my grandmother.  However, a few things came up this summer and we were not able to go anywhere until Friday.  So the first and most likely final outing for the summer was Helen Keller's home in Tuscumbia, AL.

Tuscumbia is located in the northwest corner of the state.  It is approximately an hour and a half from Birmingham.  We left Friday morning around 7:30 and were home by 1:30.  We even stopped and had lunch in downtown Tuscumbia at a quaint little Italian bistro!

Me in front of Ivy Green (the name of the home)!

Katie and I at the well where Anne Sullivan taught Helen to spell out  water in her hand. 

My grandmother and I do plan on taking more trips, however it will have to be on the weekends or my off days during the school year! 

Camping: Lindsay Style

Spencer and I went camping last weekend.  I say "Lindsay" style because it wasn't tent camping.  We went in our travel trailer which has a slide out (makes for more room), an air conditioner,  and a bathroom.  I do not want to use a bath house.  So we use our own bathroom.  Which I must say is very nice! We went to the campground where my parents have their camper permanently set up.  We had a lot of fun.  We were able to hangout with my parents for the weekend and cook out.  On Friday night we enjoyed sitting around the campfire just chit chatting.  On Saturday we just hung out, went for a boat ride, and my sister and mom rode Katie's waverunner.  It was very relaxing and also very nice to have our own place.  We can't wait for fall, when it is cooler to go camping again!

I attempted to take pictures, but they did not turn out like I wanted.  I was practicing with my camera on manual.  Let's just say, I need more practice!

Happy Birthday Spencer!!!

Spencer's birthday is tomorrow, July 29th.  He will be 28 years old. It is so hard for me to believe I was there to celebrate his 16th birthday with him.  This will be the first birthday in 12 years Buddy has not been here to celebrate with him.  Spencer got Buddy on his 16th birthday.  Which I would say was the best birthday present ever!!!! If we could we would go out and adopt another chocolate male right now, but the timing just isn't right.  When it is we will be getting another dog.  I just wanted to wish Spencer a Happy Birthday and also remember Buddy!  There isn't a day that goes by that we don't miss him!