the float...

how is it possible we only came in third?

this was before more kids had gotten therem. the sign says "fall in love with learning"

me and some of my students. (the plaid is my costume...)

sally and some of her students.


you wouldn't believe how long this parade is for such a small little town. the first year that i'm not working in agassiz, i will still be at the fair to watch the parade.

here's one of the reasons we should have won - fluttering leaves along the side of our float...

what are you doing saturday morning?

agassiz fall fair is calling your name. if you're looking for something to do - it's a pretty cute fair. tomorrow at 9:30 there's a parade (that i'll be in on a float with the school) and rides. lots of animals and tractors. all the great fair foods like mini donuts and cotton candy PLUS...the reason i stay aoround until lunch time? bbq chicken and corn. it's the best meal ever. they have tons of it. i was supposed to have entered my scrapbook in the fair but never got it in. shoot - could have won $4 if it had come in first. there's always next year.

on the road again...

the past couple mornings it's been so gorgeous out that i've been snapping pictures through the windshield despite knowing they won't be good...

see all the rough mountains in the center of the above pic? (and in the other two too) the one on the far left is where i'm headed. yes - that's how far i go everyday. here's what it looks like when i get to school:

it really is a beautiful drive on days like this week.

classic.

my mom's current facebook profile pic. i copied it and pasted it here because it's just so crazy how young they were when they started dating. and they both had awesome hair.

am i the only one who just learned about...

parchment paper? do you use it?

i was given a roll in a giftbasket at a wedding shower back in the day and used it mostly for cookies and frozen french fried. my mom uses it when she cuts up chunks of potatoes and bakes them in the oven so that they get crispy but not stuck to the pan. recently though i've been using parchment paper under other things and the results have been crazy. like brownies? i put a sheet of paper into the pan and then poured the batter over it. i was thinking, "ooh...maybe this isn't a good idea" as i was doing it because it was sticking to the paper. but when i pulled those brownies out of the oven, i was able to lift them right out of the pan on the piece of parchment! beautiful! and tonight we had sausage and eggs for dinner both cooked in frying pans with parchment under them. no sticky mess in the pan afterwards! this parchment stuff...pretty great. just thought that you should know about it if you don't already. but hey...maybe i'm just the last one to have found it. :)

the break up...

i don't know if you've seen it but we own it. jen and vince. and i watched it again today. the last 1/3 of the movie i cried and cried. and i've seen it before many times!!! it's just too real life. we've all had arguments like this. "i want you to want to do the dishes!" (haven't we?) i don't think it got great reviews...i don't remember...but if you want to see a bittersweet movie about relationships with a lot of too real arguing...this is it. haha. anyways...where am i going with this? nearing the end, tim's chastising me for watching this movie ("it's too sad for you rebecca") he says, "well at least it's a happy ending." oh wait...umm...don't read this next part if you haven't seen it before and don't want me to spoil it for you.

anyways...tim says, "well at least it's a happy ending" and i say, "no it's not. they go their separate ways". he's like, "no - they look back at each other. they're going to end up together." and i'm like, "no! it's that awkward conversation where you say that you should catch up sometime and then you both know you're not going to. they're not going to get back together - it's over!" and tim continues to disagree.

so what do YOU think? c'mon - they're not getting together, are they? that was definitely not the vibe. or am i just a pessimistic person who likes the bittersweet endings to movies instead of lame happy endings? let me know. i need some back up.

le premiere classe de francais...

they just stared at me and copied my actions. they started at me and tried to understand. they learned a couple lessons worth of words. they lapped it up. no one tried to speak english. i accidently spoke english! more than once! oh man. bad example but...it was okay. we can do it. everyone got a 5 in participation today. class two tomorrow.

first day back!

kids wouldn't believe it but teachers are nervous too on the first day of school. last night i woke up in the middle of the night and remembered that i hadn't cut out the leaves for my tree on the wall of my classroom. i was up at 5:30am this morning to get the hair right and the outfit perfect. i tried out the starbucks breakfast sandwiches. as it turns out, there's a reason i've never bought a breakfast sandwich anywhere...i didn't think i liked them...and i don't. shoot.

but of course, leaves or no leaves (and i did get some cut out and on the wall), the day went fine. i actually was not as nervous about the day as i've been the past two years. all the same kids except for two new ones. they seemed happy to see me and i was happy to see them. until math. haha. just joking. we wrote some poems, interviewed each other about summer, and played some capture the flag. and now the year has begun. tomorrow is my first day teaching french and just one block so stay tuned for how that works out. :)

as for the hair and outfit? i had one student comment, "your hair is different this year than it was last year. do you get a new haircut at the beginning of every year?" and i have a total of 4 blisters from my new teacher shoes. tomorrow i'll be back to flipflops and ponytails. :)

29 years ago...

these two got married.

happy 29th anniversary!

we love you!

as much as i dislike crave...

as much as i've been balking at our "new" radio station, i'm still listening to it because there's just nothing good on the radio. driving home late from work the past two nights, i've been listening to the "6 o'clock Cravings" where people email in three songs that they're craving to hear and they give reasons as to why these songs "move" them. last night the three were pretty funny random songs but tonight they were super lame always-on-the-radio songs. so it got me thinking as to what songs i'd choose. i've narrowed them down to a theme: soundtracks.

#1. in your eyes - peter gabriel, from the scene with john cusak holding up the boombox in "say anything"

#2. canned heat - jamiroquai, from the fantastic vote for pedro skit dance scene in "napolean dynamite"

#3. twist and shout - the beatles, from ferris's superb kareoke scene on the float in "ferris bueller's day off"

just so you know.

the last camping trip of summer...

despite washing my hair with two types of shampoo, i cannot get the smoke smell out of my hair. but otherwise, camping this weekend was great. sure, it got a little rainy on saturday evening but that didn't stop us from roasting hotdogs and marshmellows over the fire. though we did eventually move under the strange hut that we'd made over the picnic table to play games. the mosquitos got the best of alyssa...she's not sure if she's allergic but every bite she got swelled up to at least 3 inches in diameter...i'd bet allergy. the charbonneaus showed us up with their giant tent but we still shared our extra cutlery with them. if you're looking for a great campsite - check out nairn falls provincial park in pemberton. next summer, we'll be booking the group site for a weekend and you're invited.

big tent, little tent

the crew

joffre lakes

lots of rocks

smores in the rain

all of the trip to be seen on facebook...

school? what?

so yesterday, all i did all day and all evening was work on school stuff. getting ideas down into unit overviews. going to the library to get potential books out for literature circles. i read 2 and a half books yesterday while sitting at the computer typing questions as i read them. and no, not lame "what did billy eat for breakfast in chapter 2" questions but questions like, "At the end of chapter 5, Mila writes, “I am looking in the face of Shay. Shay is not showing. Shay is not saying. But I am hearing Shay with no words.” What could this sentence mean? What does it mean to hear someone with no words?" deep. i know.

i'm looking for kids books that have the following themes:

> overcoming challenges
> helping others
> biographies
> taking care of God's earth

if you have any books that you read as a kid that you loved and could fit into these themes, let me know. overcoming challenges begins in november. so far i'm reading the music of dolphins, the great gilly hopkins, in the year of the boar and jackie robinson, yang the youngest and his terrible ear, because of winn-dixie, and no arm in left field.

i don't know what teachers did before the internet. i spent hours on it finding lit circle info and checking the library website to see if they have the books i want and checking amazon.com to look inside the books (i love that feature). but i couldn't find anything specific to what i wanted...which means that i have to develop it all myself. i really should it online when i'm all done but i don't know how. adam? i'll have to look into that. haha.

the mad day of school work was because this afternoon, tim and i leave for some camping and hiking with alyssa and james this weekend. it's been planned forever but...we didn't make reservations. so hopefully we find a spot. i'm off to do a little grocery shopping and pack the car with our gear. pics to follow.

je n'aime pas le premiere jour d'ecole...

i survived my french workshop in voctoria. i learned some gestures. in fact, the gestures for the title would be:

thumb point to self
shake head "no"
both hands over heart
make a big x with hands
make L with fingers on right hand and put one finger above lips like a mustache with other hand
hold one finger up on right hand and hold whole left hand below finger
place one arm on top of other arm in front of you then slowly raise top arm to 90 degree angle
make a d with your left hand
motion with both hands making a large box

yes. it sounds like a lot of work. it is. and now i have to teach this to children.

bonjour tout le monde! comment ca va?

4 days left until i go back to work. sigh.

saturday hike...

diaz vistas, overlooking indian arm

(photos courtesy of jay spiro)

no NASCAR...

well, for those of you who know the story of the "best wife ever", i am now the "most wasted money on a birthday present wife ever"...for those of you who don't know the story - here's a recap.

tim turned 30 this year in may. i bought him tickets to a NASCAR race in California. now...the date was a bit sketchy because it takes place on september 2 which is two days before i have to go back to school AND it's a big orientation weekend at TWU...but i booked the tickets anyways and planned on a quick roadtrip.

now that we're here at the end of august...the race is just looking too far away to roadtrip it and flights are too expensive for such a short trip. so after many tears on my part and many apologies on tim's part, we've decided not to go.

tickets are posted on ebay and if you or someone you know was wishing they could go to NASCAR, let me know and i'm sure we could give you a deal. row 9! :)

dinner for breakfast...?

after a very filling breakfast of waffles, fruit, and whipped cream at the kovacs' place on monday morning, i noticed that i wasn't hungry for the rest of the day. when dinner came, we ate very little because i was still full from breakfast. the same day, i read an article about different diets and there was one about having dinner for breakfast and then breakfast for dinner: the concept that if you eat your big meal in the morning, you don't need very much at night. this works because all day you're filled up and working it off instead of getting so full at night and sitting around to watch tv. SO...(can you see where this is going?) i thought i'd try it out.

so tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and today, i've eaten large breakfasts. for example, oatmeal, two pieces of toast, two eggs, and fruit. yes - as one meal. then a medium lunch, like an open-faced sandwich and some veggies. then dinner has been small, like a shake or a salad and small piece of chicken.

i'm loving it. i'm never hungry. i don't even snack. i allow myself one 100 calorie treat like 1/2 cup of ice cream or frozen yogurt or something. the problem is, how do i keep this up when school starts? i can take 20 minutes to make and eat breakfast when i get up at 9am but my usual morning routine on a school day is roll out of bed at 6:40am, shower, get dressed and out the door at 7am. i'm serious. i eat breakfast when i get to school but it's usually just a piece of toast or a bowl of oatmeal.

i bought one of those egg poachers that you put in the microwave - i thought maybe i could zap a few eggs and throw them on toast and make a sandwich type deal to eat in the car. we'll see. any tips on fast breakfasts?

from highschool even to the beginning of my first year teaching, i never ate breakfast. i didn't like bread in the morning. and now this. my, how things have changed.

SYTYCD - finale part 1

5 hours of so you think you can dance this week??? my life is revolving around it!

well, here we are at the end of the season. it seems as though it has gone by much too quickly. man, this is a great show. great great great.

for some reason, tonight was a bit of a disappointment though. when i think about each dance individually, i think they were great but i guess last week's show was just HUGE. this week was...good.

too bad dan was judging. he's not great.

i thought that wade robson's fox routine for lacey and sabre was fantastic. i couldn't believe the judges' reactions! even when they replayed clips of it at the re-cap, i thought there was good dancing in it. it was creative and different. boo on the judges.

wasn't it silly for nigel to say that "for the show - it should be a girl who wins this year"? why would you say that?

as for predictions? umm...i really really want sabre to win. i don't want lacey to win but i'm glad she made it this far. i guess it would be okay for danny but not for neil. if neil wins it, it's because the 12 year old girls have gone crazy.

go sabre!

lynn and adam are married.

beautiful lynn.

adam and i.

some of the girls.

hey! these are my bridesmaids! (too bad kara wasn't there)

tim and i.

congratulations lynn and adam!

(many more photos to see on facebook)

bonjour, tout le monde. (wave, circle with hand)

ahh, french.

i have a two day workshop coming up next week in victoria and liz and i have been working out the details of her coming with me and me staying with her parents for the 2 days. i was saying to tim tonight about how i'm a little nervous going to a workshop without knowing anyone because you do a lot of partnering and lunch-eating and when you're alone...this is lame. especially for someone as co-dependent as myself.

well tonight when looking for more detailed info to tell liz about times and such, i was on the AIM website where i saw some photos that make me WAAAAY more nervous about this workshop. the photos include costumes and acting and performing. and that means it'll be in french. but i still don't know much french! oh man.

i guess i'll be spending some hours with the dvds tomorrow.

the day to day

so the posts haven't been too typical lately - lots of pictures, not much writing. and there are only more photos to come as i get them uploaded from adam and lynn's wedding yesterday. i wore the shoes and averted the lipstick crisis with some help from some woman at shopper's drugmart. the wedding was a good time. high-class lynn. some highlights? when guy serving hor'deurves came by and tried to describe what he was serving as some kind of fancy lamb on a stick with fancy dip and tim referred to it as a meatsicle ( i LOVED the meatsicles). a girl at our table in disbelief that it was a cold buffet - "even the chicken is cold? even the potatoes are cold?". the fact that i could get diet coke as often as desired. lynn's dress. ang's dress. the line dance that tim, darian, and dallas interrupted with their crazy interpretive dancing. the pecans (? - the ones in the salad). the fact that lynn and adam are MARRIED. wow. it's about time, hey. so great. anyways... in other news, soccer season started yesterday. we found out by the 8am from the parents on sidelines of the field behind our house screaming so loudly that we can hear it in our bedroom. with our windows closed. yesterday, i put a pillow over my head and it was okay. this morning, it was a more excitable group because nothing could block out the yelling. i moved from my bedroom to the living room and could still hear them. what? how could that be? okay - so weekends in the summer is not a big deal for me because i can sleep in on weekdays but man, once school begins i come to hate soccer. this week has been a difficult one, trying to be productive. i've wasted a lot of time this last week and when i say that to people, they say, "it's summer vacation!" but that never makes me feel better. exactly, it's summer vacation - why am i wasting it? so next week, i have big plans to get things done. tune in here tomorrow to find out if anything happens on monday. haha.

vote for heels and tips for lips

as some of you know, my friends lynn and adam are getting married this weekend and i have still been hunting for heels. whenever i try on shoes, i get very indecisive. ashlee, i took back the shirt with no photo vote needed but what do you think of these shoes? and what about you other non-commenters? keep em or keep looking? you may be thinking, "but rebecca...it's friday tomorrow." that's not an issue. i'll already be out shopping for a shirt for tim! haha.

now today, i was looking for lipstick. i cannot figure out how one knows which lipstick to buy. first of all, there are just way too many options. and i wanted to go bold lips in my red dress but the more lipsticks you test, the weirder colour your lips become and it's just so not me that every lipstick looks ridiculous. any tips on lipstick buying? please. i'm helpless. and no, i'm not taking my camera into the store with me and taking pics of myself to post for votes. haha.

painting our kitchen!

when we got home from our trip, tim still had a few more days off so we finally got started on painting our kitchen -- something we'd wanted to do since we moved in 2 years ago! we went green. if you want to look it up online, go to the behr paint website and find corn husk green and olivine.

BEFORE!

we forgot to take "before" photos before everything was in disarray in preparation to paint.

Painting!

Tim's mom, Joy, came over and helped paint. she and tim did all the trim.

i mostly rolled and taped.

AFTER!

we're planning to put two wall-length shelves on this wall for books and such.

this couch is going.

corn husk green.

an afternoon of family geocaching

location: willband creek park, abbotsford

the boys.

matt's reflective sunglasses.

we thought it might be over there...

but we couldn't find the cache here...

location 2: stony creek park, abbotsford

judy: "it's in a gnarled tree. maybe it's up there."

jamie: "i'm on it."

but instead he found lots and lots of stinging nettle...

meanwhile...judy found it in a gnarled tree that had a path to it. why didn't we see that path before jamie tried the stinging nettle bushwacking?

trying to wash away the nettles in stony creek.

sibling fighting...but matt's too strong.

aww.