Happy Memorial Day!!

First off, Ben and I want to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day and thank all of the brave men and women who serve our country!  I truly can't imagine the sacrifice that they and their families go through every day.  So thank you!!!!  I especially want to thank my cousin Shawn who is overseas as we speak....stay safe!!  We love you and miss you!!

Last Friday, I got to sub for my mentor teacher and it was fun to be with my kids for the day.  Everyone wore red, white, and blue for the day and I read a Memorial Day book to the students.  We talked about the importance of Memorial Day and why it was more then just having fun.  We also got to go outside and participate in a flag ceremony.  The entire grade stood around the flag pole while the band teacher explained Memorial Day and what we were doing.  He then played Taps while some girl scouts and boy scouts lowered the flag, folded it, and held it.  We then had a moment of silence and then the teacher played the raising of the flag song while the scouts hoisted the flag again.  The students did fantastic even though it was a million degrees outside.  One of my students had his cub scout uniform on and he stood at attention the entire time!!!  It was really adorable.

Ben and I enjoyed relaxing this weekend.  We went to a drive-in theater with some friends for a birthday on Saturday night.  This drive-in has the biggest screen in America!  We saw Pirates, Band of Misfits and Men in Black 3.  The special was actually 5 showings, from dusk to dawn but we could only make it through the first two!  It was really fun though!  Check out Bengies for more info!

On Sunday, we did more relaxing and went bowling!  It was a lot of fun and I even got to beat Ben for once!  This is a huge accomplishment for me since he normally bowls a 180 or so.  Here's the proof!

Today, we had a doggy play date with two couples in our bible study.  We went to a dog park nearby before it got too hot and hung out while the dogs played.  We had Riley, Yoshi the Shiba Inu, and Banner the beagle.  Banner made Riley look like a giant!!!  The dogs really had fun playing and it was a nice dog park!

Riley and Yoshi had met before but Banner was new!  Checking everyone out!

Yoshi playing with the boomerang

Riley and Yoshi running after Ben

Yoshi and Banner

Riley, the giant beagle next to Banner, the regular beagle

Such a cutie!!

Cutest dog ever!

Adorable Yoshi!

Melissa with Riley and Yoshi

Such a cute picture of him!

Love Banner's expression in this picture!

Chilling in the shade

Ben, David, Lindsey, and Todd

Melissa, me, and Lindsey!

The manly men

Riley decided she wanted to drive home

The cute red velvet cupcakes Lindsey made for us!  Delicious!

Bags of dog treats that Lindsey made!  Biscuits on the left and peanut butter cookies on the right!  Riley loved them!

After we took the dogs home and cooled them off, we all went to Red Robin for lunch.  Ben and I came home, did more relaxing and I tried out a new cookie recipe!  If it's a success, I will post the recipe on here!

How was your Memorial Day?

Research paper---FINISHED!

Actually, I finished it last Friday but haven't had a chance to post anything.  But it is finished!  The final big piece of my master's program is finished!  Yay!!!  It is in the cover, turned in, and my professor said she gave it a read through and it looks really good!  With appendices, title page, table of contents, etc. the paper was 65 pages long! Easily the longest paper I have ever written and hope to ever write.  But I am pretty proud of it.

The next step is I have to present my research findings to my elementary school next Thursday.  It's open so I have no idea who will come to see me and the other four interns present.  But then I will be done with it!

Birthday in the House!!

Today is Riley's 2nd birthday!  Hard to believe we've almost had her for two years!!!  Of course, we had to celebrate her birthday!  Riley got a birthday hat (which she did not like), two new toys, a bully stick (which she demolished in about 20 minutes), and a cute little cookie in the shape of a cake!!!

Happy Birthday Riley!!

Waiting for her awesome birthday hat

It looks like I'm holding her paw when really I am trying to keep her from knocking her hat off.

Not liking the hat!

Eating her birthday cookie!

Enjoying her bully stick!

Family Business Celebrates 50 years!

On May 1, 1962, my grandfather bought a business and started his own company with just two employees.  This month, our family business, Hill's Electric Motor Service Inc. was able to celebrate 50 years of service!!! It truly is a family business.  My grandfather, dad, and two uncles work there, my grandmother has worked there, my brother is getting a degree in electrical engineering so he can work with the family business, I have worked there and one of my cousins has worked there.  It's an awesome company and my family makes me proud to be a Hill!!

The local newspaper wrote a sweet article about the business.  Check it out at Hill's Electric Celebrates 50 years

Forgot...

I forgot to add these but on Sunday, we sat around the pool (which was still closed) with my parents and Riley had a great time running across the top of the pool and playing in the water that came up.  She loved chasing the ball in the water which means I need to find somewhere for her to swim this summer!  Here are a few pics of her having fun

Two clean doggies! Oakley and Mali were not happy with me.

Happy Mother's Day!

Sorry we are a few days late but Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mamas out there but especially our awesome moms, Carla and Kim!  We love you!!!  We also love our wonderful grandmothers!!  Thank you for all that you have done in raising us, accepting us into each others families and for just being the wonderful mothers and grandmothers you are!

I think I posted these last year but I'll post them again because they're cute pics.  Enjoy!

Ben and his mom dancing at the wedding!

Ben and Grandma Bonnie!

Ben and Gigi Ruth!

Me and my mom!  (Sorry it's a little crooked...it was a scanned picture)

My grandmother and I ( she doesn't like pictures so I think this may be the only one I have)

So close!!

Well friends, can you believe that there are only 18 school days left?!? EIGHTEEN!! That is hardly any time at all!  Howard County did get the State Dept. of Ed to forgive our one day which wasn't even a snow day but a hurricane day back at the beginning of the school year.  And the State Dept. was kind enough to forgive it!! Yay! 179 days instead of 180!  It was a state of emergency and all so it really should've been forgiven in the first place!

Well just to update you on where we stand, Ben finished his class for the semester!!!  He is super happy to have some time to relax before his summer class starts!  He works so hard!

I have officially passed my internship (YAY!!) and my TPA (YES!!), which is the new electronic portfolio that we had to complete this year instead of a huge binder full of stuff.  If you remember, this was what I spent the entire spring break working on.

Tomorrow is my last day of the regular internship with the kids!  However, I will be in and out between next week and the end of the school year (which is only 18 days!) to observe other teachers and participate in all the fun end of the school year activities!  Though I must say, I sat my kids down today to talk to them about how I wouldn't be in the classroom as much starting next week, expecting a few of them to get upset and be peppered with questions.  After I said my bit, one student asked, "So tomorrow isn't your last day right?" "No, my last day is June 8th like you guys."  "Will you be here for the last day of school?" "Yes."  "What about our class picnic?"  "Yes."  "Ok, cool."  And that was that.  No tears, no frowns, no cheers, nothing!  I think I was more upset then they were!  It was very anti-climatic.  I was slightly disappointed.

Now, all that is left for me to do before my graduate program is over is to finish writing my action research paper and submit it.  So far, I am on page 30 and still have lots to type....

Anyone want to write for me?  No?

49 days till graduation!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Today, along with my Aunt Susie and Uncle Wynn's 25th wedding anniversary, is my brother, Derrike's 21st birthday!!!  I can't believe he's 21, which means I will be 25 this year!  To celebrate his birthday, I thought I would post some embarrassing pictures of him growing up!  Enjoy!