So close I can taste it....

That is exactly what one of my fellow Kindergarten teachers told me this afternoon after school had ended. We just have one more day of school, and a half day at that! Just 3 more hours of school tomorrow, then I'm gonna finish up report cards, clean up a bit, go to the staff Christmas lunch, finish up any loose ends and then I am on vacation!!!! I am so excited to just have a break! Plus, I will be going home in a few days and see all my family and friends! This has been a crazy couple of weeks, but the end is in sight! The kids are all ready for vacation already, as am I, which I think is why things have been so chaotic.

To all those who live in California and read this I love you and miss you and will see you very, very soon!!!!!

My new chuch

These are some pictures that I took of the church that I have been attending since I moved here. As you can see the building is pretty small, but it fills up quick with overflow to the outside, and they have three services. I usually go to the 11am service, except for when I play bass... then I have to be at all the services! As you can see the church is located right on the water. It is absolutely beautiful and I like to sit outside because there is always a nice breeze. There is no sand, just lava rock, but I think it looks cool.

Livin' it up!

This past weekend I went to the Hilton in Waikaloa for a women's retreat with my church. It was fabulous! I got to bunk with one of my best buds Chrissy and we had a fabulous time staying up late and eating a gigantic chocolate brownie with peanut butter frosting. Delicious! I played bass at the retreat and it was a lot of fun. It was great getting to be a tourist for the weekend and enjoy the luxuriousness of the resort. That place is huge! It has a tram and boats that shuttle you from one part to another. Our first night there was Halloween and one of the boat drivers was dressed up as captain Jack Sparrow. He has a full on costume and looked just like him! It was amazing. Oh, and there also is a waterslide that was super fun! It was such an amazing weekend and I didn't want it to end!

Chrissy and Me on the boat

Invasion

Aloha all! Do I have a story for you!

So this morning the school counselor for K-1 came in to do a lesson with the kids. Part of the lesson involved watching a video. As she talked with the kids, I got the tv ready. It was the first time I have used it all year and needed to make sure it was plugged in and ready to go. Well, as I reached to the top of the tv to grab the remote I noticed on the top a swarm of bugs. What kind of bugs you may ask? Well... they were baby praying mantises. And there were a ton! I left them be while the kids watched the video. Afterwards, while the kids went out to recess the counselor helped me get them outside. A few of the boys stayed around to help as well. After she left, and before recess ended I found the egg sack. It was on an extension cord that was on the bottom level of the tv stand. For the rest of the morning we kept finding little "friends" all over the place.

When I told my story at lunch one of the other K teachers gave me a book about a kid who has a praying mantis and while the family is away all the eggs hatch, but the lid to the terrarium was off, so they were all over the house! We sure could relate. The kids were really able to use their schema then! (Note: If you don't know what schema is, look it up... My Kindergarteners know what that word means so you should too!)

It was a very eventful day to say the least, and hopefully that will be the end to our infestation.

Top Five

I really enjoy living in Hawaii and feel very blessed to be here. Hawaii has lots of great things like the continuous warm weather that allows me to go swimming even in the middle of October and the beautiful scenary. However, it's not all just sun and fun. So, as a tribute to all my peeps back home, here are my top 5 reasons why Rohnert Park is better than Kona.

1. In-N-Out
2. Target
3. Shangri-la
4. Taquerias
5. Tuesday night dollar scoop night at Baskin Robbins