Mrs. Ashmore's 3rd Grade Class

You've been asking to see my classroom for awhile now...so mom, this is for you...(and for me a little bit because its fun to show it off!)

Welcome! (Keep in mind that I have a lot to hang and set up in my room yet. It's still a work in progress.) Thank you, I decorated the door myself. (Much of the decor compliments of Andrew's mom.)

This is the view as you come in the door. Orange is my least favorite color in the entire world. I guess you could say that I intensely despise the color. So when I first walked in and saw the wall of bright orange cabinets and orange chairs, I was less than pleased. Oh well. I'm dealing.

But if you ignore the orange-ness, it is really a cute little classroom. This is what the kids have named "The Pizza Table"...because it's round...like a pizza. We use it as one of our Centers stations. (Notice the giant letter and envelope on the bulletin board? We learned this week how to write a letter in the proper format. )

I'll take you in a circle through the entire classroom. Next, is our

mini computer lab, the class library, and the teacher's (that's me!) desk.

We bought that extremely ugly, extremely comfortable couch at the D.I. for 30 bucks. The kids love it in that library. Do you see the bookshelves in there? Andrew was kind enough to build those for me. Kid are much more likely to read my books if the covers are facing outward. In front of my desk are the student's cubbies.

The kids know that there is an imaginary line that separates their area from my area behind my desk. They are not to go back there unless invited. I was selfish and put my desk by the only window in the room. I love my desk area. Can you see my Associates and Bachelors diplomas? Do they not look so official? I still shake my head in disbelief sometimes that I am actually an adult with a college degree.

The view from my desk to the opposite side of the room...and more orange cabinets. If you look to the left of the whiteboards, we have what the kids have dubbed "The Kidney Shaped Table". If you haven't guessed, it is shaped like a kidney. This sits in front of our wall with the schedules and class rules. To the right of the whiteboard is our math meeting wall. Our vocabulary words wall is to the right of the ugly orange cabinet and above the coat/backpack hooks. (Do you like my cool director's chair at the front? We got it a yard sale for a few bucks. I love it.)

Just outside my room, to the left of the door, is our apple tree. "Mrs. Ashmore's Pick of the Crop." Teachers have to do cheesy, crafty crap like this to make a nice environment for the kids. Okay, okay...I'll admit it: I get a lot of pleasure in creating this cheesy, crafty crap. Its the art major in me leaking out. I made everything by hand except the apples I wrote the student's names on. And yes, I realize that yellow, green , and red apples do not all grow on the same trees. Oh well! I had to work with what I had!

So Mom...what do ya think?

Uncle Bill

He's really my Great-Uncle Bill...my mom's father's brother. (That is him standing up in the black suit) I went to his funeral this weekend in American Fork, Utah, and I want to post something about him. A quick overview of a few accomplishments, a hardworking farm boy, Uncle Bill was the Stake President of my home Stake when I was in Elementary School. He was also the first popularly elected mayor of our hometown of Gilbert, Arizona. When he first got involved in politics, he was able to win an election as a write-in candidate...that is how impressive of a man he was! He also served as a mission President in Pocatello, Idaho, even amongst developing Parkinson's Disease. These are only a few I remember. But when he passed away in Utah, in Arizona, he was making the nighttime news, the newspapers, and flags were even at half mast.

I mostly just saw him at big family gatherings. Even though my family lived in his house for three years while he served a mission, he and I never really had much one-on-one personal connection. He has managed to have a powerful impact on my life anyhow.

I remember walking into Great Grandma Maggie's little home one evening when I was in high school. Family members were packed in sitting wherever they could, and I was going through the room giving hugs and hellos. When Uncle Bill turned to greet me, I sensed an immediate change in the spirit. I felt a power and a love that seemed to emanate from him tangibly! It was undeniable and I have pondered on the experience many times before. What could have been the cause? I have heard countless beautiful stories of Uncle Bill's kindness, wisdom, and ready forgiveness. The best explanation I have come up with is that he is the most successful person I have been in contact with to receive the image of Christ in his countenance.

Here's one small way he helped my family: When my mom and dad moved to Arizona, they arrived a few days before the moving van and they were absolutely flat broke. I was a few months old and my mom had to wrap me in old dish cloths because she had run out of diapers. They were picking from a roast my mom had brought in a cooler for food. It was supposed to feed them until the moving van arrived. Uncle Bill lives a few miles away from that first Arizona house of ours. That night, he showed up carrying a bag of diapers in one hand and a pizza box in the other. To this day, my mom doesn't know how uncle Bill knew so specifically how to help us. Could I ever be THAT in tune?

But anyway, this is my little tribute to Wilburn J. Brown and for his influence on my life. I frequently think of him as a benchmark...a wonderful example of how I want to live my own life eventually. I'm so glad I got to go the funeral...what a beautiful funeral it was!

Follow this link for an article about him and a better picture. (The Ms. Abbot referred to in the article was my sister's government teacher in high school. She once told the class that Wilburn J. Brown was one of those people who she most admires--without knowing Becca was related. Becca later brought her a painted portrait of Bill as a gift. Ms. Abbot was so moved by the gift that she got emotional! The last time Becca checked, the painting is still hanging above her teacher's desk.)http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/08/28/20080828gr-brown0828-ON.html

Mr. Domestic

These last few weeks of working full time, teaching piano lessons, and preparing my classroom for the first day of school have been INSANE! Even since I've quit the other jobs and school has started full time, I have still been putting in 15 hours worth of work per day and I am tired. Poor Andrew has been left to his own devices for quite awhile now because I have had no time for domestic chores. But I have to say that Andrew is the most supportive husband ever. For example, I came home from working at the school at about 7:30pm Saturday night and Andrew was rushing around making dinner (yummy Japanese food), putting a load of clothes in the washing machine, and folding the clean laundry fresh from the dryer. Then, I found he had been grocery shopping while I was gone and later after dinner was cleaned up, Andrew made a batch of brownies for dessert!! Once I start to get the hang of this 3rd grade teacher thing life should settle back down and I will be able to take care of my sweet husband again. But in the meantime, I want to say: THANKS ANDREW! I LOVE YOU!

Where the blacktop ends...

We've been wanting to go camping this summer for while now and we were very excited to go this last weekend! What a beautiful drive it was to get there! Past Newdale and Teton, we took a turn on a gravel road and were surrounded by farmland for as far as the eye could see. But then within a few miles we went from rolling wheat and potato fields to a thick green forest of firs, pines, and aspens seemingly out of nowhere!

We prefer to camp far away from people and civilization and after exploring the maze of winding dirt roads for a bit, we came across this sweet little spot. From the time that we pulled back into the trees and set up camp, we didn't see another person until we packed up and got back on the road. Now that's real camping! I have to say, that romping around the woods in Andrew's truck made us miss our friends Travis and Brittany. Such happy memories!

Andrew's manly self prepares the coals for our chicken dinner =P

Our campsite was nestled next to a meadow of the most incredible display of wildflowers I've ever seen.

When we went out exploring the next morning, we found fresh deer beds in the meadow where entire families spent the night in the long grasses.

Rachel wading in the creek. Though you can not tell in the picture, this spot by the water was swarming with butterflies of all colors.

A moose. We were CloSE! Surprisingly, she didn't seem too concerned that we were watching her. She studied us for a sec and then kept right on eating. We saw a good sized 4x4 buck too but it was concerned by our presence and took off before we could get pictures.

What a cool camping trip!!

Brown Family Reunion

We spent a few days in Utah with my mom's family. It was fun to hang with those that we hardly ever see because they live far away in D.C. or Saipan. My cousins are starting to have adorable babies of their own that are miniatures of themselves. So cute! If you don't know the family I realize this post won't mean much to you. I'm sorry for those of you who don't though cause the Brown family pretty much rocks.

Chillin' in the shade, digesting Aunt Joy's yummy cooking: Heather Tebbs, Lenita & John Keller, Uncle Aaron, and Andrew.

Heather and her "Toby baby". He has curly hair, dimples, and big blue eyes. Awww...

Andrew participated in some serious male bonding with my little cousins: playing football and soccer, teaching them how to wrestle, and as pictured, lounging on the couch flipping through the sports channels. Andrew was so fun to watch with the little guys. They got pretty tight.


Aunt Shauna, Aunt Chelta, Nana Donna, Uncle JJ, Aunt Rita, and little Summer and Kennedy

My cousin Lenita has the sweetest little Samuel...plus they announced she's expecting their 2nd at the beginning of next year!

Karsten: the coolest goober of a cousin.

One of Aaron and Chelta's girls: McKenna
Isn't she a pretty thing?

Rob and Joy's youngest: Janaya sportin some crazy flower power =)

My sister Rebecca. She's cool. Most of the time. =)

Aaron and Chelta's boy Braden
We like him. Talk about a sweetheart.

Washington

No, we didn't have a baby while in Washington...this is our Niece Adelle. She is such a precious girl.

Tenant Lake: completely covered in lily pads!

This is my "looking directly into the sun" face expression.

The Needle

This is where we watched the fireworks on the fourth...Rachel used her amazing picture taking skills to capture this!

What a hottie! Rachel's first time to Canada!

Larabee State Park...I loved coming here growing up! It was fun to take Rachel to see the Puget.

Ferndale...don't blink

Road Trip!

So, Andrew and I spent the last week in Washington. It was a LONG trip there and back and poor Andrew was getting a wee bit bored with all that driving. He started to make weird noises, sing, and even dance in order to entertain himself. He actually does this all the time...he's kind of a ham =).I was looking for something to do too so I decided to capture his crazy antics on camera without him knowing. This was tricky. I pretended to be going through the pictures we had taken on the trip so he wouldn't be suspicious. Then, after a few minutes, I slyly turned on the video camera and and got some hilarious footage of Andrew... just being Andrew.

Sorry the sound of the car is so loud. You'll have to turn the volume up to hear him. And sorry if it is kinda slow at the beginning, keep watching til the end...it gets pretty good. Andrew sure had a good laugh when I showed him this finished product! He had no idea! (if for some reason it doesn't want to work on our blog click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upsMYtB972E&feature=email )

Andrew is posting more details about the Washington Trip soon...