I miss this... (especially in the midst of winter of being cooped up inside)
Lake Powell
And this...
Family
And this...
Fun with the Fam
P.S. If you listen VERY carefully and turn up your computer speakers, you can hear the echo. It's funnier in person!
I found this picture on my parent's computer that I have never seen! Andy just threw pumpkin guts at us. This is the day before we decided to get married for sure. Fun memory!
I'm posting for my birthday a bit late, but hey, better late than never! It was a week of celebration. My wonderful parents took us to the Olive Garden, one of my all-time favorite restaurants. Delicioso! Afterwards we made a quick stop at the Sunflower Market where I discovered a machine that makes peanut butter made just from peanuts with nothing else added. I'm sad to say that it was gross, and it looked like cat poop. I can't believe that I just said that about my beloved peanut butter, my daily food love affair! I'll stick with Skippy and Jif.
Eli is "steaming" his face with the potato
I love kindergarten.
I love that I got sick my FIRST day teaching - the classroom is like a petri dish of germs.
I love that the kiddos say the most random things
(Me: "Daphne, did you know that Christian goes to your same church?"
Daphne (blank stare): "I have a loose tooth.")
I love that Davis brings me an apple every other day (I didn't know that kids really did that!).
I love that I get to sound out every single letter when we write one word.
I love our deep intellectual conversations about losing teeth and visiting grandma.
I love snack time.
I love overusing glue so that papers are soaking wet with Elmer's.
I love catching a finger up a nose in route to the mouth.
I love opening snacks, zipping up coats, tying shoes.
I love getting hugs.
I love kids who leave class, flush the toilet until it overflows, and then dance in the water (not sure what motivated that. the response I got was "I just wanted to see what would happen if I flushed the toilet lots of times.").
I love trying to decipher a sentence that looks like this: WIGTSMY.
I love singing "Old MacDonald" everyday.
I love fingerplays.
I love how the kindies believe their imaginary magic wands for writing letters are real.
I love getting cute notes such as "I love Mrs. Morey" with a stick figure image of me.
I love kindergarten.
P.S. I have now taught K, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th. Do I know which grade I want to teach? Nope - I'm loving them all. Each grade has it's positives and negatives. I do know that, though I love kindergarten, I think I might want to teach older kiddos if it's for a longer period of time.
Romney was in Denver on Thursday and my mom and I got there in time to get seats (If you can call standing on a chair together "seats") on the balcony instead of outside. I felt so Patriotic being there! I've never gotten this into politics. My dad is very involved in the Romney campaign in Colorado so I've caught the Presidential fever and it is FUN! Here's a quick video of a couple things he said at the rally... (If you hear an individual scream when he talks about the military, that's my momma. Feelings run deep in our fam when the military is mentioned!)
Super Tuesday is two days away and I'm encouraging everyone to GO VOTE!!!! This really is a big election that ultimately can determine who the final two Presidential candidates will be. It takes literally 15 minutes so go do it if you can. On the political note...
As I've been watching debates and reading about the Presidential election, I keep asking myself this question: Why do people like McCain so much???
I'm not an expert at all on debate tactics, but, next to Romney, it is apparent who is the better candidate just according to the way they debate and respond to questions. Romney is very charismatic compared to McCain and really knows how to speak and what he is talking about. He is quick to answer and backs up his answers with facts and figures. McCain holds onto his ideas about Romney, which Romney kindly and deliberately corrects with hard facts, like a 2nd grader who is too stubborn to admit that he is wrong and continues to mutter and stammer random things. I really don't see why people are attracted to McCain as the man to be the face, voice, and mind of our country. (Watch the Republican debate from January 30th on cnn.com)
Also, are people still holding onto the idea that they don't want a "Mormon" president? If so, that is just ridiculous. Huckabee is Baptist and he uses that in his campaign. Romney is looked down upon for upholding his religion. Does that make any sense at all???? It's like people are scared of Mormons. If you know one (and you probably do if you're reading this!), you know that they are kind, hard working, full of integrity and good values people. The fact that Romney is Mormon should tell a great deal about his character: honest, family-oriented, hard working, kind, strong moral values. Aren't those things we want in our President? There will be no chance of scandal, alcohol/drug use, or divorce while he is President and after. Even though I'm Mormon, I'm not supporting him just because of that. I have been following this election and I really believe that he would make a good President because of his character and his position on politics. If Huckabee is staying in the race because of his prejudice against Mormons, though he has no chance of becoming the Republican nominee, that is a very anti-Christian thing to do. Romney is a Christian just like thousands of people in this country. That's really all they need to think about.
Did you know that Romney received $1 a year for his service as the Governor of Massachusetts? He didn't want to be paid; instead, he wanted to give back to society. He also didn't get paid at all for his service in the 2002 Winter Olympics. Many people get into the Olympics because the perks are nice. Romney didn't care. Those examples show the caliber of his character. I wish more people would do things like that instead of caring so much about money.
Finally, if McCain became the Republican nominee, the Democrats would have an easy time beating him to the White House. People would tire of McCain's personality quickly between now and November. He is not nearly as strong as Clinton or Obama. On the other hand, Romney would be a good opponent and the race would be tough for both Republicans and Democrats.
So I ask my question again, why do people like McCain? Put them next to each other and just listen to them for 10 minutes. There really is no comparison.
I know things will work out and our country will be ok, but I hope that people will get involved since this race for Republicans and Democrats is so close!
Aren't my parents darling?! They have been wonderful for letting us crash for a while at their house while we wait to find out where we'll be in the fall. We eat dinners together, we go on double dates, we talk politics, etc. We love Mom and Dad Archer!
Barbara and Andy - Since you guys missed the traditional Christmas Eve, I wanted to share some videos from the Christmas Program. For anyone else reading this, we sing the 12 days of Christmas every year and it gets goofier every year. This year each group had 4 different days instead of just one so everyone had to be even more creative with their days. Also this year, we sang "Come Thou Fount" and it was so beautiful the first time we ever even sang it. It touched our hearts which resulted in all the parents telling their testimonies to all the kids. It was a sweet experience. Enjoy!
For Andy:
Talking to Andy on Skype
