Albert Lea, The Encore

Early in my TOY journey, I had lunch with Dr. David Walsh (remember how cool that was for me?) and one of the things he said to me was "Walk through every door that is opened for you". With that in mind, I was happy to go back to Albert Lea to visit with Lutheran Church professionals. Pastor Mark had commented that the childhood we create for children is a moral issue and he wanted his church community to hear my message. It is a little daunting to speak to folks who speak to large audiences every week but I held my own. Afterwards, they invited me to a good old fashioned Minnesota Lutheran lunch in the church basement. I am adding pictures for my friends from parts of the country that may be confused about barbeques and bars. This is how it looks here in Minnesota!

Staples of a Minnesota Church lunch; strong coffee, a salad with a mayonaise base and a sloppy joe (barbeque for some folks but for me it's not a barbeque unless the grill is fired up).  Don't get me started on the differences between a casserole and a hot dish!

Bars have nothing to do with alcoholic beverages here in the land of 10,000 lakes.  If you are lucky enough to go bar hopping in Minnesota, go for the lemon bar and the Scotcharoos. We solve lots of world problems here with bars and coffee.  Thanks for the invitation, I had a lovely morning with you and appreciate your interest in the lives of small children and their parents.

Goodhue County Providers

I owe a world of gratitude to the fine child care providers in Goodhue County.  I have been asked to provide a training for them for some 15 years.  These are some of the heros in the world of small children.  Their work lives are often isolating and far from glamorous but OH. SO. REWARDING! They give me the best stories for the road and give me insight into the lives of small children in daycare.  This year they celebrated with me as the Minnesota Teacher of the Year and are pumped about the last leg of my journey! Thanks Ladies, I am so happy to call you my colleagues and my friends!

Holiday Fun

I think I will be grateful anytime one of the kids, just one of them even, is home for a holiday.  This Easter was all about Erin.  She was a great sport, dying eggs, making a bunny cake and hunting for eggs while her dad and I cheered her on in the morning. I miss having kids in the house, not enough to have another one or offer to have one of them move back in with us, but the life they bring when they are home.  I also miss their friends and the community of adults who come with them.  Erin has some great pals and it was great to have coffee with them and their dads. We share lots of memories and hours upon hours of cheering our daughters on, most notably on the soccer field.

We talked about  how important good friends are to young people and remarked that these women have been friends since preschool. I have the cutest picture of Ellen and Erin at a preschool pool party in my front yard.....adorable little girls....messy with watermelon...getting teary now...

And fun, did I mention fun?

Full House!

It has been 10 months since all three of my girls have been home at the same time! It took a visit from two of my favorite women from Montana to make it happen.  It was so, so, so, so, great to have Traci (one of my top three favorite sisters in law) and Jordan (one of my top six favorite nieces) stay at our house for the week.  Good conversation, good food, great laughs, lots of memories and "The Hunger Games" are the glue that keep us together. A very old cat is just the icing on the cake.

Get Off of I-90 in Fairmont!

I had the most amazing day in Fairmont! In the morning, I toured the early childhood facilities with Michelle Rosen, the Early Childhood Coordinator and Assistant Principal.  There is so much to see in this new facility, I swooned more than once.  I was treated to lunch with Joe Brown, the Superintendent, Bob Millet, a sixth grade teacher, Jackie from the Education Minnesota field staff and Michelle (pictured above).  Michelle passed me off to Bob after lunch and we moved! To the newspaper, to the high school, to the middle school, a quick spin around town and back to the elementary school all in a drivers ed car complete with a brake on the passenger side (oh so tempting....). It may not have been the best day to break out the high heeled strappy sandals for the first time this spring!  Bob moves!! It was so great to tour all that Fairmont has to offer with someone so proud of where he lives and works, thanks Bob!

It is hard to tell from this picture how big the crowd was at the union meeting after school! I have gotten pretty good at spotting a camera in a room and freezing to avoid yet another crazy looking picture of myself floating around out there. From the union meeting, I headed to ECFE to teach three classes.  It was so nice of Patty to let me join her and well, kind of take over.  I had a great time in Fairmont, an educationally vibrant community with so much to offer.  I hope to be invited back soon.


http://www.fairmontsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/520974/Teacher-of-Year-visits-Fairmont.html?nav=5003

I Got Pinned!

While the prospective inductees stated the Kappa Delta Pi pledge, I did too.  I have never been inducted into anything before.  I confessed that I had pledged and the very nice, very smart, newly inducted Kappa Delta Pi officers decided to make me an honorary member! Yeah! I wore the pin all day with pride and hoped that no one did the research on my cumulative GPA.

Here we are, me and the rest of my friends in Kappa Delta Pi. On just this day I was a member of an international honor society! Thanks for the invitation to speak at your induction ceremony.  I wish you the best of luck in your careers as teachers!  The world is waiting for you.

Reading on the Mall

Reading on the Mall is an annual event in our community.  It is a celebration of reading hosted by Winona State University and several community partners, The day is full of reading, art, a parade, live music, food and FUN!! I was invited to read and had fun sharing lots of my favorite books.

I am pretty sure Logan enjoyed my performance. It's hard to know how well you are doing when much of your audience is strapped in. Logan and I are pretty good friends. It just wouldn't be Thursday without seeing Logan, his brother Luke, and their sister, Emily before she graduated to Elementary School.

Congratulations to Winona State and Dr. Donna Helble! Donna has been the heart and soul of this event. She will hang up her Doctor Seuss hat now after 25 years of Reading on the Mall. Thank You!! Reading on the Mall is a great event for kids of all ages.