Fast Forward

SO much has been going on since February!!!!  I can't believe that was my last post!  I feel like the whole world is speeding up so fast around me and I'm just trying to catch up! I'll follow up with some more posts, but I want to share our spring break trip first!

The middle of March, we took a trip to Washington DC with my sister.  We drove the WHOLE way there and back!  According to Google Maps, it was supposed to take us 1 day and 3 hours to drive from Golden to Gettysburg, PA where we were staying... We made the entire trip there in 1 day and 6 hours!!!!! 

Amanda and I had never been back east at all, and Mark had once, but he didn't remember much of it so it was really new for all three of us.  Here are some pictures of the highlights from the DC area:

Trying to figure out the Metro ticketing system.... worked great the first day... the second day we found out the hard way that the "All Day" passes are only good after 9:30 AM... How does that even make sense?!

 Arlington National Cemetery.  I was humbled and amazed at the same time.

 We were able to see the changing of the guard.

 Everyone was so quiet and respectful.

 Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

 The Lincoln Memorial

 He really is as big as he looks!

 The Washington Monument.  Unfortunately they had the reflecting pool drained, but it was still cool to see!

 The Vietnam Wall

 The White House!  We were glad to have gotten this picture, because the second day we were there, we couldn't get close at all.  Something special must have been going on!

 The World War II Memorial.

 Relaxing after walking WAY too much : ).  Mark and I decided that we'd like to take our family there some day, but not until our kids are old enough to walk by themselves for long periods of time!

Amanda and I in front of the Capital

We got to see the Hope Diamond at the museum of natural history.

There's SO much to do and see in DC that I think I could spend a month there and still not get to it all!

We stayed with a friend's parents in Gettysburg, PA and so we got to see a lot of the Civil War history in that area which was really neat!

We also got to see the farm where our friend has worked in the past.  There were so many different animals to see!

On our way home, we took it a bit slower : ).  We stopped in Louisville and went to the Louisville Slugger Factory and the we saw the Arch in St. Louis but we were too late in the day to go to the top of it.

 We had a great time on our trip!  I'm so glad that we decided to drive!  All together, we went through 13 States in 6 days!

Amanda's 19th Birthday!

Our President's Day weekend was packed full of busyness!  We started the weekend on Friday night with a visit from my sister and two of her friends.  Sunday was her 19th birthday, and she wanted to come down here and celebrate a little early!  On Friday night we went to to Casa Bonita which is a Mexican restaurant in Denver that has not only dinner, but entertainment as well.  Cliff divers, a live Mariachi band, and an arcade are just a few of the types of entertainment there!  Here are some highlights from the restaurant:

 Mariachi band singing "Happy Birthday" to Amanda.  It was awesome!

Shots from the arcade : )

They had this sweet machine that blew up a balloon for you and then placed a cork in the end of it and walla!  You have a balloon to take home with you!  I'd never seen anything like it before!

After dinner we went back to our house for dessert!  When I had asked Amanda earlier what she wanted me to make for dessert she said "Oh Sarah, you don't have to do that!  A tomato would be fine!"  And if you know how much Amanda loves tomatoes, you'd know that there was actually a hint of truth in that... so what did I get her for dessert???  That's right.  A tomato with a candle on top : )

Just kidding!!!  She had a real cake too : )

But that doesn't mean she still didn't enjoy the tomato!

Happy Birthday Amanda!!!! I'm so glad I could be a part of it!!! : )

Bursting with Ideas

Lately my head has been SO full of ideas.  Ideas about projects to do with preschoolers that is!  I'm in a class this semester where I have to do a ten week practicum at a preschool.  As part of this practicum, I have to present an invitation and two lesson plans based on the same science topic.  The topic I chose is "color!"  Oh my goodness, what a wide topic to choose from!  But that is the beauty of it.  I went to this AWESOME local teacher resource store this last week and now I am even more excited about it than before!

I present my invitation next week which will start out by reading the book "Mouse Paint," and continue with children being invited to mix colored water with eyedroppers and then transfer that colored water onto coffee filters to look at the designs and colors that makes.  The idea of the invitation is for me to learn what the kids already know about colors, what they want to know, what intrigues them, etc.  Then I'll plan my lessons from there.  I am one excited soon-to-be preschool teacher! 

...And I hope that's a good sign... I've really been wondering lately if preschool is really where I should be.  Working at an after school program has made me really wonder if I choose the right major.  I love working with 5-12 year olds.  They can do so much more for themselves... I can hold a meaningful conversation with them without being confused by what they're saying once... but then, preschoolers are fun too.  I love knowing that I get to help them learn... that maybe I'm really making a difference in their future.  It's so exciting to watch a child discover something for the first time, to see them really "get it."  Maybe I'll figure out eventually which age group I want to work with!

But for now, my head is just brimming with color ideas.  I even woke up two nights ago several times thinking about color and kids.  Here are some of the great resources I've discovered:

http://scienceforpreschoolers.com/topic/physics/color-science

http://www.ideasforpreschoolers.com/colors.php

http://www.amazingmess.com/

http://chasingcheerios.blogspot.com/

My Favorite Cooking Blog

The internet can be a wonderful resource to use when you don't know what the heck to have for dinner... which for me is much to often.  So where do I turn when I need an idea for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert?  I'll admit, I have googled  "Coupon for Pizza Hut" a time or two, but if I want to PLAN something, my go-to website is http://www.melskitchencafe.com/.  This blog has PRACTICAL, SIMPLE recipes that use NORMAL ingredients.  The woman who writes it has a family of her own, so she doesn't get too fancy.  That's my kind of cooking blog.  If you have questions about the recipe steps or cooking in general, she'll respond to your comment right away.  I also LOVE her "Tutorials" section.  If you want to know how to do something like how to shape rolls or how to cut a pineapple and you want step by step pictures, this section rocks.  All of the recipes are well organized in the Recipe Index so if you're searching for something specific, this is the place to go.  I've tried several of the recipes, and I can't wait to try more!  Check it out for yourself!

Pay It Forward

What's the  next book I'll be reading in my free time?  Pay It Forward, by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  Perhaps you've heard of the movie by the same name?  Did you know that there is also a Pay It Forward Foundation, or numerous days throughout the world dedicated to "paying it forward?" 

So what exactly does it mean to "Pay It Forward?"  Well, it means to preform a random act of kindness for someone, and not to expect anything in return except for asking that person to do something good for someone else, and continue to pay it forward.  At a time when it seems as if everything in the world is bad, it feels good to do something you know will brighten someone's day.  I like to think of it being like the Golden Rule.  Treat someone like you would want to be treated, do something for someone else that you would like done for you.  It could be something simple like greeting someone with a smile, or make more of an impact.

The first time I can remember witnessing an act like this that really made an impression on me was when I was in high school.  I was on an FFA trip with about 20 other students and we were eating at McDonalds.  After all of us had placed our order, my adviser stepped up to the register to pay and the gentleman behind him insisted that he pay for our entire group for no other reason than that he was impressed with us and wanted to do something to help us out.  This event will always be in my memory.

This past Christmas, Mark and I had a voucher for a free  night at Best Western that we weren't going to be able to use before it expired, and so we took it to a Best Western and asked the hotel manager to please apply it to someone's stay that night.  It felt SO good to do this for someone else, even if she didn't know who we were. 

I just read a friend's status on facebook that said the person in the car in front of them at the drive thru paid for their dinner.

What can you do to "Pay It Forward?"  Keep this going, and hopefully everyone will know what it feels like to do this.