2009 in Pictures

Since my last real blog posting in April, I became lazy and uninspired by this blog. So I have decided to post a few pictures highlighting the events from the past 8 months. Some life-changing and eternal, others less so.

First and foremost was the arrival of this new little critter into the family. Henry William Fuller was born on May 21 and despite the still sleepless nights, we are incredibly happy to have this beautiful boy number 3 in our home.

Although the birth of Henry meant an early end to my teaching year, I left my wife and three boys at home for a week in June to take 30 rambunctious 8th graders to Washington DC and Philadelphia. It was another great trip and I am looking forward to trip number 4 this next summer.

Summer was supposed to be a time when I was working hard on getting my proposal ready for my PhD. However, when an unexpected departure of my advising professor at the university provided me with a set back, I took the opportunity to relax...went camping with the boys, fishing, trips to the coast, and of course spending time with "Le Honnes".

Summer ended with a great trip to Utah to see our families--and especially for the kids to see their grandparents and cousins.

While we were in Utah, I ran my first competitive race since running cross country in high school. I ran the Provo Canyon Half Marathon with Amber. I had forgotten how addicting running can be. I loved it.

We returned home to a nutria epidemic. These nasty river rodents were invading our garden. Unfortunately, they had to be exterminated.

My long summer soon came to an end and it was back to school time. James started 2nd grade and Owen started his first year of preschool.

We decided to cut down the two giant blue spruces that were taking up our entire backyard. It was a big project, but a lot of fun.

Thanks to my good friends and their big tools that made the job a lot easier. We took them both down with no injuries.

This Halloween, we enjoyed the annual visit from Marge and Pops. James decided to be a wizard and Owen was a chef. Henry (not pictured) wore the pumpkin outfit that Kristine had made for Owen when he was a babe. It was a little bit of a tight fit (Owen was only 1 mo. old his first Halloween) but it worked.

Finally, we enjoyed our first Thanksgiving at our own home. We were sad to be away from family, but happy that we didn't have to spend two days traveling anywhere. We enjoyed the day with great friends and delicious food.

Battle of the Books Part III

I thought that I would at least make the effort of posting our new Battle of the Books list for this year. I have been a little overwhelmed with the whole process this year. Our principal decided last summer to get rid of our librarian in an effort to save other teachers' jobs and so the entire responsibility of Battle of the Books has fallen on me.

I was a little weary about the book list that we have this year, but have been completely surprised by how fun and addictive many of the books are. So here is the annual list. For some reason, I still haven't read some of the historical fiction. They seemed a little heavy and I have needed some light reading during the past few months. So here you go, enjoy!

Adam Canfield of the Slash by Michael Winerip
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
Any Small Goodness by Tony Johnston
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Maximum ride: the Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci
Ranger's Apprentice: Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
Schooled by Gordon Korman
So B. It by Sarah Weeks
Trapped between the Lash and the Gun by Arvella Whitmore
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy
Zen And The Art Of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick

The Alchemyst is a great read for anyone that loved series such as Percy Jackson or Fablehaven. I quickly read through the first three books and am waiting rather impatiently for the fourth book that will come out this spring.

Plain Janes is the first graphic novel that we have had on our lists. Pretty cool for a different style of reading.

The Wednesday Wars might be my absolute favorite. It is a must read for anyone who loves Shakespeare or works with youth in any way. It tells the story of a boy who spends every Wednesday afternoon alone with his teacher because all of the other students go to Catholic or Jewish seminary. He thinks his teacher is punishing him by making him read Shakespeare, but we all know that Shakespeare could never be a punishment. I loved this book.

My New Fun Find (thanks to Kristine)

If you were to ask Kristine to tell you one thing that she doesn't understand about me, she might answer that it is my obsession with buying and owning books. Kristine is perfectly fine with checking books out from the library and sometimes even waiting for weeks to get her hands on a book that she wants to read. Part of our difference lies in the fact that I enjoy reading contemporary literature, while Kristine tends to read older books.

Anyway, a few months back Kristine and I created a category in our budget called "Whatever I want." This provides us each with some money to just buy a few things for ourselves---just for fun. This has provided me with funds to go use my Borders Rewards coupons that show up in my email inbox and tempt me every other week or so. Therefore, my book collection has increased.

There are a few reasons why I enjoy buying a book. 1) I like the look of a full bookshelf that contains a variety of different types of literature. 2) I like to be able to loan a book that I love to a friend. 3) Occasionally, I like to reread a book (ex. My Name is Asher Lev, To Kill a Mockingbird). 4) I hate the pressure of a library due date that makes me feel like I have to rush through a book. 5) I have a dream of our future dream house containing a beautiful library full of books that represent many memories of different time periods of my life.

For the most part, I can read anything and enjoy it. However, from time to time, I read a book with which I make very little connection. Then these books still lurk around on our bookshelves and are visually distracting from the books that I love. So, Kristine found this beautiful website called paperbackswap.com.

This site allows you to post these sorts of books and then for every book that someone requests from you, you get a credit that allows you to request a new book from anyone else. For the cost of mailing a book to someone else, I can get a book that is new to me. Of course, this wouldn't be a site for those who frequent the library and are content not to own the book, but for me this is perfect. I am waiting for my first two books to arrive and already have 5 more credits that I can't wait to use. I look forward to the additions this will provide for my classroom and dream house bookshelves.

Soccer Mom (& Dad)

This year we signed up James for AYSO soccer. Two years ago we signed him up to play through Kidsports and it ended up being a kind of ridiculous scam with 6th grade girls teaching the kids how to play "Duck, Duck, Goose" with a soccer ball. Needless to say, it was a waste of time and money; although, I am pretty confident that James had a lot of fun.

So I convinced Kristine that we should sign him up through AYSO this year. Much to my surprise, the coach called and told us that they will have two practices a week and then a game every Saturday. We thought that having two practices a week was a little excessive, but after watching them play last Saturday, we realized that maybe two practices is not enough.

Saturday they started off their season playing in a jamboree. Each team played three games that consisted of two quarters each. It was hilarious to watch. James hadn't really played in a real soccer game before and his excitement seemed to get the best of him. The first quarter he just danced around the group that was following the ball, seemingly nervous to really get involved. The second quarter that he played, he finally started to kick it. However, he kept kicking it the wrong way. He would get so excited that he would just kick the ball, not caring which way he was supposed to be going.

While this was going on, Kristine and I were rather embarrassingly yelling things like, "That's the wrong way!" or "Get in there and kick the ball!" Poor James just kept looking over at us. I think we confused him more than helped him and he didn't understand what was going on--He was just having a whole lot of fun.

The team didn't win any of the three games. In fact, they didn't even score a single goal. However, they seemed to get better as the day progressed. His coach finally put James in as a fullback. At first we were a little nervous that he was too close to his own goal and if he kicks it the wrong way, it might be incredibly embarrassing if he scores for the other team. But James has a pretty good foot on him and was able to clear the ball away from the goal several times.

It was a lot of fun to watch. But Kristine and I both left the game feeling a little embarrassed that we couldn't help ourselves from being a crazy soccer mom and dad that just want our kid to perform well. So we scream and yell, instead of just being happy that our little 5 year old was perfectly content to just run around on the field with his friends.

DC Trips

As many of you know, for the past few years I have been taking students to Washington, D.C. along with a good friend of mine here at school. This is a great opportunity for our students to visit the nation's capital and to experience some of the things that I have been trying to teach them throughout their 8th grade year in US History. I normally don't read the comic strip Luann. (I am more inclined to read Zits or Baby Blues or one of our local favorites Stone Soup.) But for the past week Luann has been on a trip to DC and it has captured such perfect moments. I just wanted to share a few.



We have had some pretty similar experiences, but every year it is one of the highlights. I love going to the nation's capital and watching some of these students (many have never been out of Oregon) see these sights for the first time.

Here's hoping that our 35 or so students coming with us this year will have a great time, even after they realize that the only shopping that can be done at the mall is from those crazy street vendors selling the cheapest shirts imaginable.

Happy Valentine's Day

Last year, I shared my thoughts about Valentine's Day from a middle school perspective. This year, if I were to give a bad stuffed animal holding disgusting, cheap chocolate candies, I would give them to my television. I confess, I am in love with TV.

I used to have a love affair with movies. During college and before having kids, we would spend many nights at the cinema. We probably spent at least one night a week at the movies and were normally up to date with the movies that were up for awards. We had such a problem, that we even sunk as low as theater hopping--our most, 3 movies for the price of one. Now, we rarely go to the movies and if we do, it is either separately or to an animated movie with the boys and I don't think we have seen a single movie that is up for any awards.

In order to fill this void, I have resorted to a love affair with the tube. I love watching TV. I love sitting with my boys, one of them tucked under each arm, watching Ben 10: Alien Force or Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I love relaxing with Kristine and cheering on our favorite Survivor or analyzing whether we would dare do a challenge on the Amazing Race or trying to figure out what is going on during all of the flashbacks and flash-forwards on Lost.

I find it incredibly comforting to have a DVR that is full of shows that are just waiting to be watched. For example, I like watching Battlestar Galactica when I have two episodes to watch, because one just leaves me wanting more. But there are some shows, like Heroes or Friday Night Lights, that I need to watch the night that they air, because I just can't wait and I can't imagine why everyone doesn't feel the same.

I have an addiction. And for now, I am okay with it. This Valentine's Day, I declare that I am in love with my TV.

Why so sad?

I just finished reading two novels, Revolutionary Road and The Known World. I really wanted to enjoy both of them. There is so much about them that seem to fit right with my literary tastes. I love a book that deals with the complicated life of a married couple and I also love a book that delves into an historical context while providing a glimpse into what it might have been like for a single individual. It seemed like I would really enjoy these books.



However, I came away from both feeling a little bit more empty inside than when I started. When I read a book (and I can read almost anything, I am really not too picky), I want to come away with it feeling as if my life has been improved. I don't mean that it needs to be a life changing event; but most often I can find at least a few things that I can take away from the reading experience. It might be certain traits about a character that I find intriguing or enlightening. It could be a reminder of the the simple pleasures of life. It could be the poetic use of imagery and prose that somehow lifts my spirits. These two books, just left me feeling....nothing.

Perhaps it is the dreary, fog-filled, cold winter that we are experiencing right now or the economic situation of our country that we are reminded of everywhere that we turn; but these books seemed to make me more depressed. I don't know if I have it in me to read these books that seem to end without any redeeming qualities in the characters. This is coming from a person that used to be obsessed with Albert Camus and all of his existential novels. My favorite is of course L'étranger. Perhaps the stranger can sum it up best, "Voulez-vous, s'est-il exclamé, que ma vie n'ait pas de sens?"

The Beautiful Northwest

These photos were taken as we were waiting for the ferry on Vashon Island in Washington after a rocking Justin Roberts concert. (This dilapidated dock was not the one used by the ferry :)

Coming back....

(First congrats to our new POTUS, somehow I feel like we are living a great episode of The West Wing)

Just like all things, it is incredibly difficult to come back to something after such a long absence. I have a million reasons why I haven't posted, but don't we all have a ton of excuses. Nevertheless, to make me feel better, I shall create a list that will portend that I have been much busier than I have been.

1. Working full-time, going to school full-time, finishing my practicum hours to become a principal, and having an enormous amount of duties in my church have taken control of my life.

2. Having a pregnant wife that was insanely nauseous for weeks and weeks forced me to spend less time blogging and more time developing my homemaking skills.

3. I have recently become obsessed with CNN, ABC World News Tonight with Charles Gibson, and other news outlets.

4. It is too difficult to try to be an "active" Facebooker and a blogger.

5. I sit in front of a computer too much trying to put in grades for my students or reading some lame article for a class that I have no desire to look at a computer screen at any other time.

6. I have nothing important or worthwhile to say.