BECCA LEARNS TO MOW THE YARD!


Dad went out the other day and began mowing the yard at the new lake house and Becca decided it was time to learn how to mow!  Because the yard is smaller than the one at Yellow House, Dad had to get out the electric push mower. As you can see, it can be pretty difficult to mow while trying to drag an electric cord behind, but Becca manages to do it.

Now, everytime Dad mows, Becca is right there to help.

MOWING THE LAWN AT SUNNYBROOK!


Right after Memorial Day, Biz and Charles closed on the lake house they've been trying to buy. The grey house in the back, now dubbed "Sunnybrook" as in "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Cottage" is the new summer vacation residence of The Ratliffs.  If you look closely, the brown house on the left is the cottage occupied by Biz's Mom and Dad, the Sanders.  We were lucky enough to buy the house right next door so that we can be close to Mom and Dad.

Becca has decided that one of her new chores at the lake house is helping Dad mow the lawn. Dad is happy about that!

As you can see, she is also happy about helping out. Life at the lake is not all about swimming! As Mommy says, "First, we work, then we play!"

OFF TO THE CONCERT!

Here, Becca is wearing one of her favorite dresses as we get ready to attend the Spring Choir concert at Knox High School. Among the many things Becca enjoys, besides dressing up, is listening to her mommy's students sing and perform concerts. Every time Bizzy says its time to go to a concert, Becca is in her closet looking for the perfect dress to wear.

Off to the Zoo!

For the end of the year field trip, Becca went with her class and the entire first grade to Potawatomie Zoo, in South Bend, for the day.  She had lots of fun petting animals, exploring the habitats, and being outdoors. Here she can be seen with her friends (from class and the zoo:).

Biz measured her the other day and noted that Becca has grown a full inch just since early March - in two months!  Becca still remains nearly a full head taller than most of her classmates.

Happy Birthday Bizzy!

As my Momma always said, "Never send a Bundt to do an Angel's job!"

For Bizzy's birthday, Charles tried to bake Bizzy her favorite cake - an Angel Food cake. So, rather than use one of her two Angel Food cake pans, duh!, he poured the batter into Bizzy's fancy swirl Bundt cake pan. . .

The cake batter overflowed in the oven, puffed out of the pan and refused to pop out when it was done cooking. Luckily, Charles had the foresight to put a cookie sheet beneath the cake, so cleanup was minimal.  The result, however, can be proudly seen in this photo.

Bizzy says this one takes the cake!

BECCA EARNS ALL As AWARD!


The first grade held their awards ceremony and Becca earned all As for three of the four quarters!  Becca did get one B during the school year, in one quarter, but the award is based on three quarters during the school year.

Here, Becca is shown with her first grade teacher, Mrs. Brown. Becca has loved being in Mrs. Brown's class.

Next up: Second Grade!

 

A Bald Eagle rested on a tree branch on Grandpa's  meander land.  Rumor has it that it is nesting near the train tracks a few miles away by Yellow House.  We're keeping an eye out for it to see if it comes back our way. Grandpa says its watching the Carp as the fish come in to the shore to nest.

BECCA AND GRANDPA

Becca and Grandpa share a moment prior to Becca heading off to Blue Room to watch a movie. She really loves all the old-time Musicals Grandma has on the shelf. Her favorites include "Singing in the Rain" and "42nd Street" both of which she had watched several times.

BECCA AND GRANDMA GOOF OFF!

Becca and Grandma goof off at the lake.  Becca is in her jammies and getting ready for bed (albeit early!) and was in the process of saying goodnight!  Bedtime, however, was still a couple hours off as Becca goes into Blue Room, relaxes on the bed and watches a DVD of any one of a dozen musicals Grandma has on the shelf.

 BECCA IS READY FOR A RIDE

Becca shows off Mommy's new car as she gets ready to head to the High School to see the drama department's performance of "Fiddler on the Roof," one of Becca's favorite musicals.  She has seen the Topol movie several times, knows the songs well and looked forward to seeing a live action version.

The Knox High School students performed very well, although Becca says it was way different from the movie, which stage versions usually are.  All in all, it was a very good play and we loved every minute of it.

CHECK OUT MY RIDE!

After having heard that Colton got a new ride (see the green machine below) Becca told Grandpa that it was time she had a new ride as well.  So, Grandpa backed the golf cart out of the garage and told Becca to hop on - in the driver's seat.

So, Becca got to drive the golf cart for the first time this past weekend.  Good thing it was a pretty cool weekend, because there were hardly any people around - in their cottages and on the street.

Becca pulled out of the driveway after picking up Mommy and Grandma and took off down the road - right back to the garage. It was too cold to go any further.

Now, Colton had been driving Chris' truck after getting his license, but the truck recently developed some issues and the May family traded it in on this gorgeous little green machine, which Colton gets to drive.

We hope to see more of this car and its driver this summer at the lake.

SHOPPING OUR WAY OUT OF TOWN

After we checked out of the hotel (and Becca got a final swim in) we headed across the street to the Yoder's Meat Shoppe.  The name Yoder is pretty popular in this area as evidenced by Yoder's Red Barn Shoppes, Yoder's Auction House, Yoder's Mercantile, etc. You get the picture. Here, at the meat shoppe, we stock up on the meats we'll need for summer, such as fresh Bratwurst, Jalapeno Bratwurst, Hawaiin Bratwurst, Smoked Bratwurst, pounds and pounds of hamburger patties, more cheese, particularly string Mozzarella (Becca's favorite) and Sharp Cheddar (white and regular) for use in the many meals Charles cooks.

Now that we are stocked and ready, we so desperately wish summer would arrive!

On our way out we stopped at one of the bulk food mercantiles where all the Amish do their shopping.  We are continually amazed by the amount of horse and buggies we see all around this part of the country.

We took some back roads on the way home to hit smaller, unique variety stores and I think I counted nearly a dozen Amish schools before we even left LaGrange County.  Amish children attend school up to eighth grade, but then do not have to attend any longer in order to work on the farm.

Here is Becca outside the Menno-Hof Museum in Shipshewana. Inside, one can hear the Amish-Mennonite story and how this unique society came to be in our country. As you can tell, it was really bleak and overcast.  Becca says, "Thank goodness for indoor swimming pools!"

We had a great time and headed out on our return leg to Knox.  We had so much fun shopping in Shipshewana!

Becca absolutely loves to swim. So, when we found a hotel with a heated swimming pool, hot tub and play facilities for kids, we decided we needed to stay over rather than driving all the way back to Knox. 

As long as Becca gets several hours in the pool, she's a happy camper.  Driving to dinner last night at Deutsche Keuken Haus in Middlebury (only 10 minutes away) Becca had a hard time staying awake. All through dinner she looked like she was about to fall asleep.

Once we pulled in to the hotel parking lot and walked in the room, she was raring to go!  So, it was back into the pool.  This picture, of course, is from the hour she swam after breakfast this morning.

SHOPPING IN SHIPSHEWANA

While on Spring Break, we took a day to go shopping in Shipshewana.  The trip from Knox is about two hours driving.  There is so much to do and see that we decided to reserve a hotel room and stay the night.

Shipshewana is in the heart of Indiana Amish country.  Along the road one sees horse-drawn carriages aplenty!  It's amazing that a people exist in our country that have virtually sworn to live the simple life. Now, we have seen Amish use power tools and farm implements to help around their farms, but for the most part, this is how they live.

In this picture you see Charles and Becca on the steps of the Guggisberg Cheese Factory, on the outskirts of Shipshewana.  This is where we buy our cheese blocks to last us through the year. Becca's - and Grandma's - favorite is the Garlic Cheese, which is great on crackers or wheat thins.  Charles' favorite is the Pepper Jack, or Pepper Colby Jack, or the Salsa Cheese.  He uses it with his Mexican food.  Bizzy and Grandpa likes all of them.  We also pick up fresh blocks of Mozzarella for our Italian food, and butter cheese by the bucket.

When we first started buying our cheese here, this was just a local operation, but was bought out a couple of years ago by an Ohio company. Now, the cheese is shipped all over the midwest.

THE WRITING TEACHER BLOG


I've begun a new blog. Yes, I know. "What!? A new blog?" Finding the time to write on the blogs I do have, QUE PASA and BASS LAKE BUNCH is hard, but something came up the other day that I just couldn't resist and am feeling the urge to begin yet another new project.

Rebecca turned 7 last month.  A milestone in and of itself, Becca is also expressing the desire to write. As we near the end of her first grade year, we are seeing her grow, becoming a high leveled reader (she's reading Junie B. Jones and Cam Jansen, both third grade leveled chapter books).  Now, she wants to write.

For the past several years, Becca has written (I should say scribbled) in notebooks and we've encouraged her to express herself positively, so naturally, keeping a journal would come next in her writing development.  What caught me by surprise is that she asked me to teach her how to keep a journal and the idea about me keeping a journal right along with her came to me like an epiphany.

So, go check out my newest blog.  It will contain mostly journal entries, right along with my daughter, but I will also use her writing, with her permission, of course, displayed in the blog. You can find it by going to the Links area to the right of this post, and click on "THE WRITING TEACHER", or just click on this link writingteacher2006.blogspot.com and enjoy.

The final goal of the blog is to explore how to teach primary students writing in order to bring about a change in their skills, to help them be better writers.  As I explore teaching primary writers, I want to record my thoughts and revelations, and hopefully become a better primary writing teacher.

Thanks for following!

Biz went to Chicago last week for a conference and got to stay in a beautiful hotel. This is a shot with her camera looking outside her window down on the Chicago River.

We don't get to Chicago very much, but when we do, it can be an amazing city to visit.

The recent cold snap gave rise (or is that fall) to massive icicles off the roof of our house. As you can see here, Becca peeks from behind this massive behemoth just before mommy knocked it off the eave of the house.

We have about another week of this bitter cold and we should start to warm up next week.

FIRST GRADE CELEBRATES 100th DAY OF SCHOOL!


Becca and her classmates celebrate the 100th Day of school.  Many teachers incorporate lots of "100" Day lessons to help primary students learn.  There are lots of things, such as counting up to 100, 100 items, and so on.

Here, Becca is shown with her friends displaying their "100" Day glasses. Becca has really come to love going to school.