Celebrating Another School Year

Here we are celebrating the last day of school.

My great buddy, Holty :0)

Jennifer, Jenny, and Jill

Becca, Sandy, and Me

Time for toasts...

A drinking wave :0)

Kevin, groom-to-be, received some gifts from the math dept.

Surprises and a Goodbye...

Our faculty gathered for a goodbye to Brenda, our "head office angel".

     After 22 years of being an awesome secretary, Brenda (B) has decided to only work for their company, Hound Heater Inc.  Mike and Brenda have been working at school FT and then going home to their very successful business to work from 4-10 M-F.  It was getting to be too much.  With Mike only being four years away from teacher retirement, B made the decision (after all, she is the CEO), to work only for their business.  We are sure going to miss her!!

     Mike presented her with a cartful of her favorite treats (diet Sunkist, Chicken in a Biskit, blueberry Sobe water, & Lay's sour cream and onion chips) plus a variety of gift cards.  Then I presented her with a yearbook signed by the staff.  It was definitely a bittersweet gathering!!

     The next day I had a very special surprise visitor all the way from Germany!!  She did her practicum with me six years ago, had to student teach for two years (a requirement in Germany), and now she is an English teacher.  She came back to the States for her host family's daughter's wedding, so she came to BLMS to visit for 1/2 day.  It was awesome to see and catch up with her again.  She also worked with Simona, Alison, and Claud, so they all had a chance to visit with her as well.  It was a very fun surprise!! :0)

Another surprise visitor came by on Friday... 

...too dark of a picture though ):

     Deb was in Big Lake for a couple of retirement parties, so she met us for lunch.  We then took her over to the MS, so she could spend some time visiting her former colleagues.  On the way to the middle school, Mason snapped a picture of her sitting in Rach's car seat, and since kids are so tech savvy these days, he posted it on FB with the caption, "OMG...Deb in a baby seat."  It was hilarious!!

     One of my favorite teacher gifts ever is this shirt that one of my 1st hour HP English students, Gabby, gave me.  "There.  Their.  They're not the same."

 

Another is this picture that one of my 3rd hour HP students designed for me.  

Our Proud Grad

This picture says it all...

Dani graduated with her MLIS Friday night at St. Catherine's University.

 Time for a selfie with her friends and fellow grads...

  It was a beautiful evening for a wonderful celebration!!

The moment after she was officially hooded :0)

We are so proud of you, Dani!! You worked extremely hard for this degree!!
We love you so much!!

Mother's Day

Love you so much, Mom!!

 Celebrating Mother's Day with the kids in the Cities

 

Celebrating Clea's birthday too...

Enjoying a hibiscus mojito with dinner before catching a movie...

 Clea's selfie of us after our mojitos. :0)

Beautiful signs of spring...thanks, sissypoo!!

 

     I took a picture of these gorgeous tulips after our brunch. They were amazing! Obviously, the Cities is a bit ahead of us in the flower blooming department!!

I am so blessed!!

Fundraiser for Katie

     On Wednesday we gathered for a walk/run fundraiser for a 6th grade student of ours who has terminal cancer.  Her family wasn't even sure that Katie would be able to join us, but she is such a strong girl and surprised us all by being there.  A very bittersweet moment!!

Katie with her para, Heather

Katie's cancer has moved into her brain. ): 

 Katie, her parents, some of her siblings (14 in all), and Simona, 

who along with the other track coaches and teams, organized this special event.

Here she is coming across the finish line with the track team behind her. :0)

We had a great turnout, and the rain held out for the event as well.  Praise the Lord!  

Almost $3,000 was raised for Katie's family!!

Brook

     At our brother-in-law's recent 60th birthday party, Darrell and I met Jill and Jed's new puppy, Brook. She is so adorable!  Gavin, our great-nephew, was playing with my phone and captured this photo; not bad for a four-year-old!!

Easter in Fargo...

     Now that I have some of my family living nearby, Darrell and I headed to Fargo to spend Easter with Steven and Ann.  It was a beautiful weekend with temps in the 70s! :)

A creative way to display some gorgeous and fragrant hyacinths...

Other fun Easter decor...

 Playing some games...

 Steven was deep in thought!!

Poor Daisy had to wear this; thankfully, it was only a short term deal!!

 Where do the adults sleep??

A fun Easter basket awaited us on Easter morning...

A beautiful Easter morning for mass...

Brandon's 17th birthday...