Things to Do Before Back to School

1. Have lunch with a friend!


Melinda and I have been friends for almost 30 years. We've been through a lot together, good times, and not so good times, but the best part of it all is we "get" each other and are not afraid to be truly honest with each other. I believe everyone needs a best friend with whom will rally for them yet, let them know when they are off track. Melinda is one of those kind of friends to me. We use to live about 10 minutes apart and saw each other often, but now Melinda lives in Crystal Lake and I in Aurora, over an hour apart. Needless to say, we are not able to get together often because of the distance and our schedules, but we do manage to meet at least once a year at favorite restaurant, Maggiano's in Schaumburg. I believe everyone needs a Melinda in their life.

2. Prepare my Classroom.

In my five years of teaching this has been the first year that I didn't need to completely set up a new classroom - so Kristen and I were able to put up a "Dr. Seuss" type tree outside of my classroom. Students involved in my Buggy Book Club can put a bug on the wall with the name of their book. By the end of the year my wall is pretty full, as last year my 8 students who participated read almost 1000 books! Way to go kids!!


3. Visit with the Newlyweds.



Jake and Lauren stopped by for a couple of days before heading out to DC for their fall internships. It was so fun having then around again. The two of them are like "two peas in a pod". One night while playing Spinner with them Erik called and we video chatted with his family. It was so fun to be all "together" via the Internet and to see Eli keeping his parents hopping. He is quite a busy guy! They are such a sweet, cute family and we look forward to the "Eli Show" each Sunday night.

On Thursday Lee took them down to the train and off they were to DC. We were all a little concerned about the train ride as after we had bought them tickets, we heard all kinds of horror stories on the train arriving hours late. But they arrived only 17 minutes late. If only the airlines could do that. We wish them all the best on their fun adventure.

This One's for You Bill!

The girls and I left for Girls Camp on a Sunday evening. We were driving down I65 a road I am not unfamiliar with since my grandparents lived in southern Indiana and I traveled on that road many times to visit them. Anyway, as we were nearing our designation the girls and I noticed many synchronized red flashing lights. We could figure what they were and since I hadn't traveled down this road for awhile I was puzzled. I didn't remember an airport being near Lafayette. Huh!!

As we got to the flashing red lights we realized that is was a field of wind turbines! Hundreds and hundreds of wind turbines!! On our way home during the daytime we took many pictures, but here are just a few.


They stood in a row and looked liked soldiers. Each row of turbines would face a different direction, I guess to catch the wind no matter which direction it blew.



I couldn't believe how many wind turbines there were and it went on for miles and miles.


Kristen said it reminder her of Europe. I on the other hand have never seen so many wind turbines and was quite fascinated by it all.

Girl's Camp

Well I promised to post about our church's Young Women's Girls camp that the girls and I attended the last week in July. Actually, you could hardly call it camping, but I loved it! It was somewhat like camping Hilton style.

Our camp this year was in Lafayette, Indiana at a Boy Scout Camp. Here is a picture of the wonderful lodge that we ate in, that my craft "cabin" was in, and that I slept. It was equipped with central air conditioning, Wi-Fi, a fully functioning kitchen, (all the meals were prepared for us) beautiful flush potties, sinks, and a terrific shower. I slept directly under the air conditioning vent. Ahhh…


As the girls and I were packing up for camp I needed a cot or some sort of air mattress. Lee proudly showed me the cot that he had used when he camped with the boys about 10 years ago. It has been stored in our garage all of these years. We set the cot up in the living room to test it out and he showed me how he would put a small inflatable mattress on top of it. He encouraged me to try it and was proud of the comfort it had provided him. I tested it out, it seemed just fine and I proceeded to pack it up by deflating and rolling up the mattress on top of the cot. As I did this a piece of plastic that held two poles together broke. This should have been my first clue as to the future of this cot and me, but I thought no problem I'll just get a clamp, fasten the two poles with clamp and all will be fine.

At camp I had four other roomies. They all had brought air mattresses. I was the only one with this "deluxe" set-up. That night I as I climbed into my sleeping bag and was settling down to sleep every time I moved my cot creaked. I was concerned that I was disturbing my roommates so I tried not to move very often. Additionally, as I slept the plastic pieces that were holding my cot together would break and all of a sudden a shoulder or foot would jerk downward. I was sure I was going to wake up on the floor. When I awoke in the morning I looked under my cot to discover many plastic pieces on the floor. So off to the dumpster my cot went.

Fortunately, we were close to town and every small town has a Wal-Mart, so I purchased a super and quiet Coleman air mattress! WOW, I was livin' now! Not only was my air mattress comfortable, but much to my roommates delight, it was quiet too!!

My main purpose to attending camp was to run the craft cabin with another leader. I honestly feel I had the best job at camp! Below is one of our crafters with her craft. Cute huh? If you haven't guessed her name was Abbey. (And, by the way notice the wonderful facilities!)


We also offered the girls opportunities to make their own "license plates." I made one for my classroom that said ED U K8 and below where the state goes I wrote Mrs. Hartman.


We offered many other crafts of which I don't have pictures for but included, mini-scrapbooks, washer scrapbook paper resin necklaces, sand art, beading, felted beads, and more. We were a busy and popular part of camp.

So that sums up camp according to JoAnn, but I did take Kristen and Katie with me.

Kristen went as a leader over the 1st year camp girls. Unfortunately, she didn't get to sleep in the Camp Hilton Cabin, but slept in a tent 2 out of three nights. The last night she was able to join me in the Hilton Cabin.

Katie went as a 2nd year camper. She slept in another cabin that also had air conditioning and bunk beds with box springs and mattresses, a small kitchen and a bathroom. Her successes included completing a 5 mile hike on a terrifically hot day, and learning how to shoot a BB gun. She actually was very good with the BB gun and made several bullseyes. She also enjoyed swimming, camp fires, and of course the crafts.

Guess Who?

Can you guess who belongs to this foot?



Well, if you guessed …



… Kristen - you're right! Yep, this is the third summer in a row that Kristen has injured her foot. The first summer she needed to have part of her toe nail removed as it was infected. Last summer she broke her toe and this summer … she has a stress fracture. She injured her foot as she ran her foot into a chair as she was packing to go home. Go figure!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles?

Well actually it was planes, shuttle bus and automobiles …

A week ago Friday, Kristen left her wonderful college campus BYUI at 9:30 am and boarded a wonderful shuttle bus that looked somewhat like this…


She took a four hour trip to the Salt Lake Airport, in what was suppose to be a fairly comfortable ride, but early on in the trip it was noted that the air conditioning was broken. So she enjoyed a four hour trip in 90 degree weather with no air conditioning. No problem, you may say, just open up the window, but… the only window that could open was the drivers window.


Good news though she arrived at the airport in plenty of time to catch her flight out to Denver and then to Chicago. But… the flight she was scheduled to take to Denver was delayed in arriving to SLC so - no problem says Southwest, how about we fly you to Vegas and then you can take a connecting flight to Chicago. So off Kristen goes to Vegas Baby!


She arrives in plenty of time to make her connecting flight to Chicago. But… in Chicago we are having terrible thunderstorms and needless to say, they delay their departure, waiting for the storms in Chicago to pass. After a two hour delay - they take off to Chicago. Yippee!


So, instead of arriving at 10:40 pm she arrives at 12:20 am. No problem we say, we are just all so glad to have her home we (Lee, Katie and I) jump into our car and drive off to Midway. But … to our surprise, (it really shouldn't have been a surprise, with the storms we had that night) the place is totally slammed. It takes us 20 minutes to drive from the entrance of the airport to the Southwest terminal. Finally, I go into the airport help Kristen with her bags and Lee circles the airport.



It's amazing that she can be all smiles and look so wonderful after only 15 hours of modern day travel! As any mom, I am thrilled to see her and we enjoy small talk about her day as we wait for her luggage…


Along with a million other travelers in the wee hours of the morning.



So we wait …



And wait for - a hour and a half - tick, tick, tick - meanwhile mind you, Lee is still making that 20 minute circuit around the airport loop another three times.


And just when we think that perhaps her luggage is lost and are headed to the lost luggage counter what do we see, but her luggage on another carousel going around and around. Who knows how long it had been going around that carousel!



Finally, we all loaded up in the Honda and drove home arriving at 2:30 am. Not bad, I guess if you compare yourself to the pioneers who traveled for weeks to make the same journey.

And a day and a half later, I loaded her and her sister Katie up in the Honda and off we went to Girls Camp for four days in Lafayette, Indiana. Let the good times roll!

Pictures and fun details to follow.

Smile Pretty!!

Today Katie woke up and her smile looked like this. Yes, I know it looks somewhat like a train wreck, but because we went to the orthodontist her smile now looks like…

Just imagine what it will look like in just a short 24-26 months! Priceless!!

Sew What?

Thirty backpacks that what! I spent this afternoon with three of my friends doing one of the things that I love to do the most - SEW! We made 30 cute backpacks for girls camp, fun, fun fun. We also decorated 30 hats with gems. We will be stylin' at girls camp!

Knit-a-Square

This year the Young Women in our ward accepted the challenge of knitting or crocheting 2010 squares in 2010 for the Knit-a-Square foundation. This foundation takes the 8 inch squares and assembles them for orphans in South Africa. When we began this project in January we were very enthused, but as summer approached, our collection basket that I bring each Sunday had very few squares deposited each week. So I challenged the girls to fill the basket for a ice cream sundae, hence the reason for the chocolate syrup, sprinkles and cherries. The first two weeks of the challenge our basket was fuller, but not full. This week however our basket "runneth" over, and we passed the halfway point towards our goal. Hurray!! Way to go girls! If you are interested in our project you can check out this cause at http://www.knit-a-square.com/index.html.

Thanks Erik, Colette and Eli

Several months ago for my birthday Erik, Colette and Eli sent me a gift certificate for Red Lobster and tonight I redeemed my certificate as Lee, Katie and I ventured out to our local Red Lobster Restaurant for a seafood delight! I hadn't had lobster for years, decades maybe, and Katie has never eaten lobster until tonight, and couldn't wait to try it.

Eating lobster brought back memories from my childhood when as a family, we traveled to Maine and watched fisherman catch lobster from the Atlantic. We then ate fresh lobster and were taught all the skills necessary to get all of that yummy meat out of its shell. I don't know if I've ever tasted lobster that good since, but it sure loved eating lobster tail once again. Katie and I shared the Ultimate Seafood Platter, that included lobster of course, crab legs, and shrimp. I was in seafood heaven! And Katie discovered that she too enjoys lobster. Lee enjoyed steak and grilled shrimp.

Katie of course was enthralled with the lobsters in the tank as you walked in the door and when an employee came to catch one to cook she managed to make friends with him and Mr. Lobster. Go figure - some things never change! Like the time she helped some woman play the drums at a restaurant in Arizona, her older siblings were mortified, but she was in music heaven.

Back on topic … we all enjoyed the atmosphere, food and very nice service. So thanks Erik, Colette and Eli for a wonderful birthday treat in July!

Girls Camp Crafts Time - Fun!

I know this is crazy - I haven't posted in months and now I've posted three days in a row. Why you may say - well I guess it's because I've learned that it isn't that hard to do and it doesn't take that long. I taught myself how to download pictures from my camera and upload it to this blog. Pretty cool, huh! (Aha, the joys of being a teacher and having the summer off!)

Another reason that I haven't posted frequently in the past was that I wasn't sure that what I had to say is all that interesting - perhaps that it isn't, but I enjoy reading other people's blogs, so maybe whoever reads this might enjoy knowing a little about me and how I spend my days. At least my mom and dad seem to enjoy my ramblings. Thanks mom and dad!

Well today wasn't a pool day for us, but I enjoyed preparing this craft for girls camp. I hope the girls think it's fun. I think it's kinda cute. The girls can write their favorite camp memories on the tags.

It's goin' rain, it's not goin' to rain, it's going to rain, it's not goin' to rain?

Last night, Tom Skilling, our WGN TV weather man, said that we had a high chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. Katie and I talked about going to the pool today but were uncertain due to the weather report. But when Katie got home from summer school, the sun was shinning so we put on our swimsuits and drove to our neighborhood pool at Philips Park.

We were so thrilled when we got there that the pool didn't seem crowded. In fact it looked like hardly anyone was in the pool. When we got in the pool, we discovered that actually no one was in the pool. Under further inquiry we found out that someone had an "accident" in the pool and they were "shocking" the pool to sanitize it and that the pool was closed for about a half of an hour.

Well the pool reopened for swimming after being sanitized and Katie went in for a brief dip and decided that she would like to play in her favorite place at the pool, the sand.


While in the sand the pool was closed two more times as someone again had another "accident". Go figure - you think after the first time you'd get the hint and go home, but three times! I'm not sure it was the same person, but 3 times in a 3 hour period. Each time we had to wait at least 30 minutes before we could go into the pool again. Give me a break!

Nevertheless, I did my part in entertaining Katie while we waited for the pool to open again. Below is the results! Don't you just love the mote around my feet?

Happy 4th of July!

I love the 4th of July - I think it is my absolute favorite holiday! It's easy, (no spending hours shopping for that perfect gift, no elaborate menu's to prepare, not a lot of decorating just fun). I love the easy BBQ food, the warm weather, the parades, the get togethers and of course the fireworks.


We had a busy, but not too busy weekend. Friday, Katie and I made these yummy patriotic strawberries.

Friday evening we were invited to a friends home the Lawn' s for a BBQ. Jim did an excellent job grilling burgers, brats and hot dogs. We all brought a side dish to pass. We brought these fun strawberries and brownies. Afterwards, we all gathered on their front lawn to light sparklers and watch spectacular fireworks. Fun!

Saturday morning we went to church for the 4th of July Picnic breakfast. I brought my yummy cinnamon rolls. We enjoyed watching the Boy Scouts raise the flag, the kids bike parade and then we played outdoor games, potato sack races, tug of war, and various water games. I was in charge of the water balloon toss. The benefit of being in charge of this activity is that you don't get wet since you are running the game. We also had our ward version of America's Got Talent.

Sunday evening we invited the Tanner's over for games and dessert. We enjoyed sharing one of our favorite games with them "Spinner" and then had Blueberry, Strawberry Shortcake. I guess this was a big yummy food weekend.

Monday we traveled to Barrington to meet up with Uncle Bill and then traveled to Woodstock to visit Uncle Dick who is recovering from spine surgery. Uncle Bob, Aunt Lee and Aunt Shirley met us there and it was nice to see the Hartman Clan. We hadn't been all together since Thanksgiving.

So that raps our holiday weekend up - Food, Friends, Firewords, and Family. Not a bad holiday!