Hawaii 2007

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Some summer stories for ya!

Hey. This is Ryan.

I think enough has happened that it's time to update the general populous.

First, I went back to grad school. This came after a prompting from my classmate and friend, Jill, peer pressured me to just suck it up and go for it. I think her exact words were, "Do it! You gotta do it! You should just do it! Do it, wimp-o!" So I, being the grateful pushover I am, jumped in feet first and with the love and support of my awesome chick, Lish.

You know how some things that are right just fall into place? Well, it must have been the right time because everything really just came together quickly. I had to have my stuff in to the university (Walden University, in case you were wondering. Google it, it's accredited, which translates to legit.) I'm getting my Master's in Educational Science with an emphasis in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. Totally nerdy, but appropriate. Administration just isn't my bag, baby. So far, I've loved it. I'm only two weeks in, though, but I've previewed all my materials and I'm impressed ... and motivated to do better this year. And for four classes more, I can get licensed in Instructional Design and Technology. Win, win. Plus, the first class is free and they give you all your books. It's already added in the cost. I'll be done in two years.

The second thing is we are finally in a position to buy a home. We have worked to clear our debts and credit so that we can provide a good, affordable home for our family. We looked at several and I think we know what we want. The market is great and we can buy a lot of house for a little money. I can't wait for the day when we can sign those papers and get into a home of our own. I really just want to be able to go to the bathroom without someone busting in on me.

This truly is becoming a summer of change.

Grad class discussions and blogging

Hey. This is Ryan.

Do you mind if I post my discussions for my grad class here? I'd love a rousing discussion on what my educational viewpoints are.

My discussion prompt for this week was:
Imagine if a movie were made about your teaching passion, commitment, and impact. What would an inspiring scene from your movie look like and how would it reflect the concepts presented this week? Based on what you want to accomplish as a teacher, consider how you would respond to Mr. Canter’s retirement dinner activity. What would you want students, parents, and colleagues to say about you at the end of your teaching career?

One of my supervisors once described me as “unorthodox.” I really just translated it as weird. My movie would probably be something between “Patch Adams” and “The Paper.” (If you haven’t seen the latter, check it out. It’s a pretty accurate depiction of a newspaper office. It is “R” though, so you’ve been warned.)

I know that I’m a clown. I consider myself an entertainer when I’m at the front of the classroom. I know that I have to captivate the attention of my students – whether in speech or my publications classes (yearbook, photo or newspaper). In speech, I take the approach of not being afraid to look like an idiot in front of an audience. So, I’m goofy. Our discussions on current events are spirited. We talk about the absurdities of today’s societies. We talk of, as it was mentioned in the viewing, of subjects that matter to them (Nieto, 2003) and deal with differences.

My movie would depict my passion for journalism and communication and our race to be nationally recognized. It would definitely be a “dramedy” because if you’ve ever been in a high school publications class, you would definitely see some pretty funny drama. I would hope to see that my students, though their home lives are not ideal, would have an escape at our newsroom. Or that the students who aren’t particularly awesome at sports, would have one thing to feel like they accomplished something or are superb in something other than sports.

As for my retirement dinner, I would hope my students would say that they always had at least one person who cared for them at the high school. I hope they saw the sacrifices I made with my own family for my school family. I hope they know that I truly cared about their success. I hope they say my class was fun. I hope they say they looked forward to coming to my class because the hour would fly by and they actually walked out each day with one nugget of knowledge.

I hope they say that I inspired them to do the best they could and that I held them on equal ground as professionals like Peter Jennings or Walter Cronkite. I hope they say they loved coming to yearbook, newspaper or photo because it was like coming to their second family – fights and all!

I hope my colleagues say my content area is significant and that my passion drove my students to excellence. I hope they recognize journalism as an application of core classes they are mandated to take. I hope they express they knew I respected them as professionals and equals.

I want both my colleagues and my students to say I loved what I did and in turn, they loved being around me. I want them to say I was excited to come to school and do what I do.

I Love Summer!

Our life is drastically different in the summer as compared to the rest of the year.
The biggest difference is the absence of a schedule. 
It is not unusual for people to still be asleep at 9 am around here. 
Lately it has been reminiscent of a lazy Saturday...everyday.  
The kids were 30 minutes late to swim team the other morning because I forgot what day it was.
It has been nice. 
I feel like my brain is on vacation.   
Here is what we have been doing.

Multiple trips to the zoo.

 Watching the penguins.

 Playing in the children's zoo.

Stuck in the egg shell.

 Luke has been playing T Ball.

 Waiting to bat.

 The White Lightening.

Ally has been playing softball.

 Lady Tigers up to bat.

 Up to bat.  She plays machine pitch and has improved TONS.

 Jumping on the ripped trampoline.  Dad took it down the next day.

 Losing more teeth!

Spending lots of time at the pool.

 Flying Green Monster

 Superman!

 Relaxing in the sun.

 Ryan's Grandpa Taylor surprised  us one day...he was in town visiting his sister.  Clark had never met him.

Spent the evening at the Global Water Dances event.  My sister organized and choreographed the event. 

 Maga the flag carrier and Molly the Director.

 Beautiful evening.  The weather was perfect.

Emma got a new hair cut.

We have also been able to spend lots of time with cousins.  Ally and Emma have been to Dance Camps, Luke and Emma both attended Tennis Camp.  We have had multiple trips to the library, but not as many as we should. 

hope you are having fun this summer!  We should hang out.

Double Digits

Ally is TEN! I am amazed at how fast the time flies! It seems like just a few years ago I was pregnant for the first time and eagerly awaiting becoming a mother (read: scared to death!) I am so excited for her to continue to become a real person. She is smart, funny and very involved. She also knows exactly what she wants.  This birthday brought that realization into clear focus.  Here are a few examples.

We went shopping for her birthday outfit and she chose this shirt right off.  We looked and looked and shopped for a long time, but she kept coming back to this shirt.  She likes how the ruffles bounce up and down as she dances hip hop. 

For her birthday she wanted her hair highlighted and to have a feather put in. Aunt Sam did the highlights and we headed over to Austin Kade Academy for the fancy hair, the feather and the nails.

Ally decided she wanted to go to dinner for her birthday.  She wanted Texas Roadhouse because her favorite thing to eat is Steak.  Did I mention she is only 10?

In school this year they read a book about Eleanor Roosevelt.  Her favorite cake was Angel Food Cake with Pink Whipped Cream (full of fresh strawberries).  Ally copied the recipe out of the book and brought it home.  This was in February.  When it came time to choose the cake she wanted, she pulled out the recipe and said, "this is what I want for my birthday cake."  Not super pretty, but MAN did it taste good! 

We had a cake with our IF cousins.  We have a bigger, better swimming party planned for when more cousins will be in town next week. 

Ally is an amazing help around the house.  I love watching her grow and become a beautiful young woman.  Last night at dinner she asked if she got to go to Girls Camp this year.  We told her she had to be 12.  Then it hit me that soon she will be.  I feel like I missed a few years somewhere along the way to have children old enough to be thinking about young women and caring whether they have their nails painted.  She is growing up way to fast for me, but I feel like I am powerless to stop it. 

Did I mention she shaved her legs the other day?  She showed me this morning.

Emma's Big Day

Emma was baptized on April 9. It was a fun day for everyone. We enjoyed having our family and friends attend and support her on her day.

Here is the whole family right before the meeting.

Posing with mom.

Grandpa Hansen flew in from Arizona for the weekend.

Dad was able to baptize and confirm her a member of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Right before she was ready.

We had a lunch afterwards with all the cousins who came to visit.  Here she is posing with Birdie, G and Lu.

Disneyland/Anaheim Day 2

Day 2 started out similar to Day 1.  Get up early and head to Disneyland.  We spent the morning in the park, again visiting places we don't normally go.

We had breakfast with two of the seniors at the Carnation Cafe.  It is the outdoor restaurant right on Main Street.  The food was delicious and surprisingly not ridiculously expensive like we usually expect it to be.  In the past we hardly ever ate in the park because it is so pricey, especially with 4 kids.  We decided to splurge this go round and it was well worth it. 

Peter Pan was just wandering around Fantasyland.  We asked him if he would sign the autograph book and have a picture with us.  He took the book and said, "Sure, I am walking over here, want to come with me?"  So we followed him.  Eventually he stopped, but only long enough for the picture, then he was off again, waving to kids and saying hello to everyone he passed. 

California was gorgeous, 85 degree weather.  It felt so good being in shorts and wearing sunglasses, and not because of the glare off the snow.

Today was also the first day of the JEA (Journalism Education Association) Conference.  You know, the reason we were in Anaheim to begin with.  At 1 pm we headed over to the convention hotel to check in and meet all the yearbook reps.  This is one thing I actually did that was JEA related.  We spent several hours there playing games, collecting free stuff and enjoying the recognition. 
This picture is the yearbookers posing in front of the Pacemaker Nominees Sign, pointing to their yearbook and smiling excitedly.  A Pacemaker is the equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize for high school yearbooks.  It is a national award that The Spud Annual (I know, right?) was nominated for, for their 2010 yearbook. 

Here is a closer picture of Ryan pointing out the yearbook.  He has been working toward a nomination for this since his Junior year in high school.  Needless to say he is super giddy and very nervous about the potential award.  One really neat thing the convention people did was give all the students a special ribbon to add to their name tag, noting them as Pacemaker Finalists.  Everywhere they went people would congratulate them on their nomination.  They felt like Rock Stars!

After spending the afternoon at the vendor booths, we took the students to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner.  We learned from our very first trip with the kids what a fun experience the character dining is.  The food is always super yummy and it is fun to meet the characters in a more relaxed setting, without the lines and mobs of people trying to catch them for a picture. 

Goofy has always been one of Ry's favorite characters.

Here are the other characters we got to meet at dinner.

Captain Hook, who was surprisingly flirtatious.

 

Dale, of Chip and Dale.  Chip was around earlier but we missed a picture with him.

Here is a first.  Belle in the dress she wears for almost the entire movie.  I loved that I got to meet her in her "normal" clothes and not the super fancy dress.  Did I mention she is my favorite?  I think I did.

Fairy Godmother.  Also another first!

Pluto.  One of our favorites.

Of the 24 students that went on the trip, only 5 were male. 

Here is "the Boyz" picture with Pluto.

I love how he puts the book on his nose to sign his autograph.

After Goofy's Kitchen we headed back to Downtown Disney to look around at the shops.  This Woody statue made of Legos was a new addition to the Lego store since the last time we visited. 

We rode the Monorail tonight, another thing we have never done.  I vaguely remember riding it when I was 8, but I am not even sure we did. 

Two more days of fun to be added soon.  Probably not until after the weekend though.  We are out of town and I don't have the pics on the laptop.