The Kindergarten Gazette

Abigail LOVES kindergarten and she has such a wonderful teacher. It's always so fun to hear about her day when I come to pick her up. On a good day, she'll present to me a copy of their class "News" which is printed weekly and sent home. It's the kids chance to share exciting news with classmates and families. This week it was Abby's turn to share a story and I laughed so hard when I read what she wrote.

(click on this to read it more clearly)

I guess the word is out!

When oh when will I learn?

If the kids are too quiet...

It's because they are up to NO GOOD!

I should know this by now.

The healing power of SPRING!

I've not been feeling well lately. Seriously what is the deal? It's been a week spent on the couch for me which has been a little bit of a bummer. My sisters all gathered together this weekend for a "sister's retreat" of sorts and I opted to stay home. As soon as Jewel left town I felt so sad to be missing out on all that they would be doing.

So when John came home from work yesterday afternoon and tore the blankets off the bed (which I was sleeping in), threw my coat at me, I was a little bit taken aback. Okay really he just suggested we all go for a drive, but I`m pretty sure he wouldn`t have taken NO for an answer even if I`d tried it. We needed out of the house. bad!

Within ten minutes we were cruising the back roads of southern Alberta looking for wildlife. Sam and Jess had their eyes closed most of the way, but I'm pretty sure they were having a good time just the same. Abigail stayed awake thankfully and proved to be quite the little birdwatcher.

We were super thrilled when on two or three different occasions we'd spot a bald eagle soaring over the grassland. This one time we saw three eagles flying together.

What magnificent birds they are to watch! We stopped and sang ``The Star Spangled Banner`` in honor of our American sister in law Luci.

She wasn't with us to hear it though.
So actually maybe we did- and maybe we didn't - she'll never know.

We saw some cute little calves every other mile or so. And in one field we even watched a little baby buffalo.

Now baby buffalo - those are CUTE!



We ended up in Waterton and got held up waiting for these sweet things to cross the street. The little baby sheep were so fun to watch as they'd climb down a rocky slope and then follow their mammas out onto the road.

It's at this point that I started to notice just how many BABY animals we'd seen already. Geesh. You'd think it was the first day of spring or something!

oh wait. ...it was.

While in Waterton we drove around and enjoyed the scenery, passed by the apartment where John's sister Sarah will be living for the summer. Turned green with envy about that and then drove on. You might remember a couple of months ago when I wrote about our last trip to Waterton. The kids and i had eaten at our favorite restaurant the Lamp Post which was located inside the Kilmorey lodge. That night the lodge burnt down. We were thrilled to learn that the Lamp Post restaurant had been moved for the next little while and is still serving our favorite meals.

Of course we just HAD to stop and enjoy some of the food.

Then it was time to head home. We'd grown tired of watching for wildlife by this point so most of us just stared aimlessly out the window. We were a little bit confused at one point when John pulled over to the side of the road to throw snow balls.

It was Odd. He did get our windshield pretty good!

And in case you needed any more signs of spring here is one more. John drilled into one of our maple trees last night and instantly the sap started dripping. He's got big plans to turn this stuff into maple syrup like we did last year.


And does anything say spring better than a new baby lamb? How adorable is this?

Our neighbors down the street have a whole field of these darling little things.

Couldn't you just eat them up?

Our freezer is stocked with Popsicles, the winter boots are put away, rubber boots are out, and our sidewalk is decorated with sidewalk chalk.

You heard it here first. I'm making it official. Spring is here!

I don`t know about you but that has done wonders to improve moods, and restore health around here.

Welcome Spring. I`m feeling better already!

Happy PI day!

Tomorrow is Albert Einsteins birthday. How do I know that? Well it is easy to remember. His birthday is ALWAYS on the 14th day of the 3rd month. (March 14th. ) In other words- 3.14
A.K.A Pi!

Don't you think it is a little bit cool that a famous scientist was born on a date that is also a famous mathematical equation?

Ok I didn't really think it was all that exciting either, in fact I still don't really remember much about my old Math classes. I've tried to block out all memory. But when you are married to a science geek...ahem I mean a strapping young physics teacher - you learn to remember dates like this.



I also remember this date each year because it marks the one time a year that I ever attempt to bake pies. Not "Pi", but "Pies." You see John celebrates this prominent day with his classes by having a Pie Party. I've never been invited to such a party, as it's a pretty exclusive group. Apparently you have to be under the age of 18 and own a scientific calculator! I imagine it is a party in which 15-20 students gather together, eat all sorts of fruit filled pastries and celebrate both Science AND Einstein.



sounds fun.



well the pie part at least.

I tried to research this morning more about that man but I couldn't get past a lot of the big words. Theory of relativity...mechanics...electromagnitism...metaphysics, ...all words that make John's eyes light up, and his dimples show. To each his own I guess.

I did find this quote by Albert Einstein that was inspiring:

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.

So Happy Birthday this weekend to a very smart man.
And happy "PI Day" to you all!

May we all find something to be in AWE of!

Is this gross to you?

I don't know where the time has gone, and more importantly why have I chosen to not write about all that we've been doing. Consider yourselves lucky I suppose. I'll spare you the details about the funny things my kids have said, our Sunday visit to the old folks home in Magrath and other such excitement, because today I'm in the mood to write about nothing but FOOD. More specifically...a sandwich!

Not just any sandwich though. This is an old favorite of my Dad's. Now admittedly my Dad had an interesting taste in food and often those "tastes" presented themselves in the form of an odd little sandwich. There was the "Cheese whiz and strawberry jam sandwich," the meat lovers "meatball and mayo" sandwich, the traditional "bacon and tomato" (though I have to say that one is good), and then his very own creation, the pièce de résistance ... the "Missionary Sandwich."

I'm not sure if my Dad created this himself or if he just learned it from one of his companions when he served a mission in Belgium (he served a little bit in Holland too), many years ago. I have a sneaky feeling that this is NOT a Dutch specialty, as much as it is a stumbled upon secret by a bunch of poor and starving elders.

Whoever cooked up this idea- I thank you very VERY much! It was the perfect cure to an afternoon craving.

So hear is how you make...a Missionary Sandwich:

First take several pieces of bread, and put some slices of cheese on top of each slice. See...just like this!


Then, brace yourself, get a can of mushroom soup. Spread a couple spoonfuls straight from the can over top of the cheese.


Then...Broil until the soup starts to bubble a bit.


After a couple of minutes, pull it out, and enjoy!
You'll notice I made two sandwiches without the soup on top. My children are wimps who have yet to catch the vision. Grandpa Rausch would not be impressed.

So there it is. I have to admit that for all logical reasons there is nothing very appealing about this sandwich. I mean, it doesn't even LOOK good.

That said, unless someone stops me in the next couple of minutes...

They will be in my tummy in NO TIME!

Try it.

...I Dare You! But don't hate me after!

Dear Abby...

This kid we LOVE! She's 6 today you know.

Last night we had an early Birthday dinner so that she could have some of her cousins over. Today we are going to celebrate as a family this special little girl.

I love it when people post "progress reports" about their infants or babies. You've seen them. A list of all that their child can do at such and such an age...

I thought Abigail deserved just such a list today.

So...at 6 years of age Abby Can:
* Ride a bike (with training wheels)

* Swim on her own without plugging her nose!

*She can operate a computer better than I can at times.

* She can now read level 1 books. She surprises me sometimes when we sit down with a book. When and HOW did that happen?

* She has memorized 3 articles of faith so far

* She loves to eat pizza, pasta and fish

* She's a tad bit dramatic and enjoys acting out movies she's seen. (Without FAIL I have to be the evil stepmother EVERY time!)

* She's been known to kiss two boys in one day

* She can change a diaper, sweep the floor, wash windows (or at least the bottom half of a window), and loves doing the dishes.

* She's a dreamer. She has big plans for her little life.

* She considers EVERYONE a friend, even if they don't know her.

* She can act like a teenager better then anyone. "Whatever"..."As-IF"...and "Totally" have recently become some of her most commonly used words.

* She's great at being the oldest child. She's a peacemaker when she needs to be.

*She has a heart of GOLD, and one of MY DEAREST FRIENDS!

Today as I dropped her off at school I watched her as she climbed out of the van. I noticed how carefujlly she crossed the street being sure to look both ways WHILE holding her arm outstretched in front of her the way we taught her. She turned once she got across the street, smiled at me and gave our secret signal that means, "I LOVE YOU." Then she ran to the big school doors, struggled a bit to heave them open all by herself, and in a moment...disappeared from my view. Despite the fact that her oversized pony backpack was almost as big as she is...she seemed older today. Bigger.

Suddenly I was depressed.

Someone else gets to have her for the next several hours.

I get to sit at home and lament the loss of my little baby!

I suppose I could also rejoice in the fact that she's now a beautiful, healthy and delightful 6 year old. But no- I'll likely spend half the day praying she'll never grow up any more then this.

Dear Abby,

We love you very much. We hope you have a WONDERFUL birthday. Please do us a favor though and don't ever EVER change! Stay my little girl forever.

Love,

Mom.

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