2 Days and End of Year Book

Wow, when I look back this year has really gone fast.  We are down to 2 days left.  It doesn't seem possible that school is almost out.  We did our awards with our kids last week and it was exciting to announce names and have them come get their certificates for various things.  They were so proud and they were smiling ear to ear!

This week we are going to do our end of the year book:

What all do you do on the last couple of days of school?  I have always wondered what others do the last couple of days.

Hope you have a great week!

Weigh-In and Liebster Award! :-)

A much better weigh-in today -- Hip! Hip! Hooray!

How'd I do on my goals?

Workout 5 days - check

Eat no ADDED sugar M-F - Hmmm...the kids went to Grandma's on Monday and made pies. Harley (my daughter) made my favorite - Chocolate (what else?) - so I did have a couple of pieces throughout the week. :-)

Pounds lost - 2.4 for a total of 6.4 (over halfway to my goal!!!)

Inches lost - 2 for a total of 6.25

This "weigh-in" is definitely holding me accountable! Last night, I was seriously craving "pie crust cookie" (pie crust with cinnamon and sugar on it) which of course must be eaten with my chocolate coffee drink but I refused because I knew I was posting my results today! Ha!

If you're just joining me on my journey, you can click here to see what it is all about.

Now on to some exciting news! Erin at:

has given us the  award! Thanks so much, Erin. You truly have been an encouragement to us since we have started blogging.

The purpose of this award is to highlight new bloggers with less than 200 followers.

Here are the rules:

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. Thank the giver and link back to them.

3. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

So.... here are our picks for the Liebster Blog Award:

First Grade Magic

Creative Happenings

Thanks again for the award, Erin! That makes THREE awards in one week - whew! There has been several ladies that have welcomed us and encouraged us through comments (everybody loves those, right?) with our blog. We thank you all! We're creeping ever closer to 50 followers - can't wait for the giveaway - we're already talking about it! :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Crystal

Versatile Blogger Award!!!

WOW! Two awards in one week! Just after I posted about the One Lovely Blog Award, Lisa from Learning is Something to Treasure let us know that she had nominated us for this award:

We're so excited! Thanks Lisa!

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

Check!

2. Include a link to their site.

Check!

3. Include the award image in your post.

Check!

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself

See Below - Check!

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

6. When nominating, include a link to their site.

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

See Below - Check!

Kristi's 7 Random Facts:

1. I love chocolate!  I think I love it too much!
2. I am a K-STATE and Kansas City Chief Fan.  Love watching both football and basketball.
3. I have 1 cat (persian) and 3 dogs (Siberian Husky)
4. My favorite type of food is Mexican.
5. I am a little bit big control freak.
6. I get a little antsy if my house becomes a mess-I like it to be clean and stay clean.
7. My new favorite exercise is ZUMBA

Crystal's 7 Random Facts:

1. I love BASKETBALL! I'm a huge KU fan, but I will watch any college basketball game. In fact, we normally have the very basic Dish package, but when basketball season rolls around, we upgrade and use DVR so I can try not to miss any Big 12 games. :-)
2. I make my own laundry soap! Made my first batch in February and just now need to make again - SO COOL! I use the OxiClean scoop so may be using more than recommended...click the pic below if you want the recipe.
3. I am married to my highschool sweetheart...going on 16 years and LOVING it!
4. I have had two inspirational fiction books published (years ago).
5. When asking my children (11 and 12) to describe my husband, their first answer was patient and for me...NOT patient. It is a family joke. I will not even frost the cakes I make because I lose patience with the crumbs coming up on the spatula, so hubby does it for me!
6. My favorite type of food is Mexican - hey, Kristi, we need to go out sometime!
7. A few years ago, I tiled the backsplash in my kitchen on Good Friday while hubby was at work. Looks good, right? :-) Yes, my counters are always this clean...I'm a little funny about the kitchen being clean.

The accents are blue glass tiles...and now the toekicks are tiled to match the floor tile.

Our Nominations:
 (you'll notice alot of them are the same as for the Lovely Blog Award, but hey,
these are some of our favorite blogs, so...)

Thanks again for the award, Lisa!

Kristi and Crystal

One Lovely Blog Award - Pass it on!

Sorry for posting twice in one day but...

Thanks to Sara at...

for giving us the...

{Here are the rules for this award}

Once you receive the award, you must:

1. Follow the person that gave you the award.

2. Link back to the person that gave you the award.

3. Pass the award on to 15 bloggers.

Passing it on proved to be quite difficult. I've seen this award on a lot of blogs! So here goes:

To be honest, We're surprised some of these blogs hadn't received the award yet, so if we made a mistake and missed the award on their site, please forgive us. :-)

We'll work on notifying everyone over the next couple of days!

Thanks again for the award, Sara!

Kristi and Crystal

District Teacher of the Year!!!!

Okay, so Kristi will probably want to kill me when she sees this post, but I just have to brag on my teaching buddy. We had our district breakfast and awards ceremony yesterday to close out the year and guess who received the District Teacher of the Year award?

Kristi, that's who! :-)

There were several in our building that nominated her so we were waiting with anticipation yesterday morning to find out if she had been selected. I was getting stressed out because she kept having to go to the restroom (too much coffee, that is all I will say about that), and I was afraid she was going to miss the announcement. Then when they called her name, she says, "Do I have to go up there?" LOL!

Here's a few parts of the nomination letter I sent:

I will never forget the first time that I saw Kristi teaching. It was the spring of 2008, and I was observing various schools and classrooms in order to decide where I wanted to student teach. I watched that morning as students started filing into the classroom, each receiving a personal greeting and a hug. Then as Kristi began to teach with such animation and excitement, I knew that I wanted to learn from her.

As I think about what makes Kristi a great teacher, the first thing that comes to mind is her love for the kids. She takes the extra time necessary to truly foster a relationship with each of her students and bring out their best. Some in our building even call her “the child whisperer” because of her talent in the area of classroom management. Aside from that, Kristi works many extra hours searching for resources online that can make her lessons more exciting. She presents her lessons with such enthusiasm that the students are actively engaged – even during direct instruction.

Kristi would probably disagree with what I have written here. She is very humble and does not realize what a wonderful teacher she truly is – which makes her all the more deserving.

And I have to apologize for our lack of posts this last week. After the zoo trip, things just got a little crazy. I will say that I CRIED the last day of school as I was saying goodbye to the kiddos. I thought I could make it through the line, but then one of my sweeties told me a 5 minute story and I just couldn't hold on any longer! By the end of the line, I was crying so much I could barely talk. I really enjoyed this group and I'm going to miss them!

Today, I slept in until 8:00! My hubby and I do P90X every morning before work...last night, I told him he was on his own because I was sleeping in on my first day off. :-)

Have a great day!

Crystal