Merry Christmas!

Jonathan and I went back to Oklahoma for Christmas. We got in on Tuesday evening and stayed until Sunday. I can't remember the last time we got to go back and just hang out with everyone...it was fabulous! We relaxed, ate yummy food, and had fun. On Christmas Eve we went to church and then came back to my parent's house for dinner. We decided to open all our gifts that night so we wouldn't have to get up so early on Christmas...my, we're getting old! Jonathan got some great tools and clothes (again, we're getting old) and a guitar. He's super excited to learn how to play, and I can't wait to be serenaded. I was super excited to get a new camera. I wanted something that I could use to start learning how to take and edit pictures, but I don't have a whole lot of time to learn. I was also totally surprised and excited to get Adobe Photoshop from my sister...she's the best! Thanks, sis! I can't wait to learn more about my camera and the program and to try out new techniques. I'm hoping to take a photography class sometime soon to learn more, too.

On Christmas day we went to our wonderful friends' house for a late lunch. We've been celebrating Christmas with Jan and Helen for over 13 years! We had a great time, as usual, and left very stuffed. That night we all went to the movies. Jonathan and Dad saw Valkyrie and the girls went to Marley and Me. If you are a dog lover, you HAVE to see this movie. And read the book...it's even better! We all left crying, but it was totally worth it. I've been telling Lola that she's the best dog in the whole world every day since watching the movies. If you've seen it, I'm sure you know what I mean.

Here are a few pictures (from the new camera!) from Christmas:

Mom and "Aunt" Helen

"Aunt" Jan, me, Sarah, Mom, & "Aunt" Helen

On Friday morning we loaded up all of our dogs (yes, there are 5 of them!) and took them to Pathfinder for a long walk. I'm sure this was quite a sight for all the walkers and joggers out that morning. Needless to say, we're all dog lovers. Luckily all the dogs like each other and play together the whole time. My parents are completely understanding of us not wanting to board Lola when we come back home, so they always invite her to come. Lola was so exhausted on the ride home today...she slept the entire 6 hours!

Happy Hanukkah

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. After we cleaned up from dinner, Jonathan lit the menorah and we said the prayer. Then I let him open his one and only Hanukkah present this year...usually we do something for all 8 nights, but this year was different. I got him a shirt I really thought he'd like. I, on the other hand, got an enormous early Hanukkah/Christmas gift last weekend...A NEW CAR! I'm so excited about it! I've never had a new car before. I've always bought "pre-owned" - at least the one car I actually bought on my own - but this was such a treat and so fun! We got to pick out everything we wanted, and now I really enjoy my 20-30 minute commute to school each day. We spent all last week and last weekend test driving cars and researching the ones we liked. I felt like such a grown-up....I was really into the safety features and picked the one I thought would be the safest. We decided on an '09 Honda Pilot, and I love it!!! I need to get some pictures, but it's just been way too cold outside lately. I'll have to get some soon when it's not 11 degrees without the wind chill...brrr! For now, here are some pictures from our evening:

Lola playing with her new Hanukkah toy

The toy up close...I had never seen Hanukkah toys for dogs and thought it was hilarious!

Our menorah

Happy Hanukkah, everyone!

Winter Party & Talent Show

Things have been busy at school this month. On Friday we had our Winter Party and Talent Show. The party was so much fun...and slightly out of control...but the kids had a blast. They played a game where they had to use toilet paper to wrap up one member of their group like a snowperson. Then they used decorations and props to finish them off. The results were hilarious! The other game they played was a relay where they wore shoe boxes on their feet and adult-sized gloves on their hands. They had to run/slide down the classroom to the other wall, ring a bell, pick up a tootsie roll, and run/slide all the way back where they ate their tootsie roll. It was also fun and very entertaining for all of the adults. I included some pictures below so you can get the full effect.

After being wound-up from the party, my class had their Winter Talent Show. Our music teacher is just amazing, and she puts on talent shows twice a year for the kids. Each student picks out a song to sing or play along with. ALL the parents come, and it's a huge deal to the students. This year I was especially impressed by the group of boys who sang and played the drums to "We Will Rock You." Two of my students also did a duet to a song from Camp Rock (still not sure what that is...apparently I don't watch enough Disney Channel!) but they were SO GOOD! Especially the little girl...she has an amazing voice for a 7-year-old. I took a video on my digital camera, so I'm going to attempt to post that, too.

I just love this class, and watching them have fun is great for me. I'm going to miss them so much next year!

He wasn't being dressed up, but thought he needed the props to help him work

The relay race

A very heart-felt rendition of "We Will Rock You"

Singing a duet from "Camp Rock"

Happy (belated) Birthday, Mom!

I want to wish a "Happy Birthday" to the most wonderful mom in the whole world! Jonathan and I love you very much and are so blessed to be your children. Thanks for being a great mom, friend, and support to us. We hope you have a wonderful year, and we can't wait to see you very soon! Happy, happy birthday!

Go Sooners!

This football season has been so exciting! I sure love my Sooners! It's hard to live in Mizzou territory all season, but they played another great game on Saturday. Melissa texted me today to say that the oranges are back in the "Seed Sower" statue that is famous on OU's campus. Whenever we get a bid for a BCS Championship game, someone mysteriously places oranges or roses in the seed sower's bag. Yea for the oranges! And GO SOONERS!

Thanksgiving at the Teal's

Some pictures from Thanksgiving:

A family picture (Sarah, Judy, Samuel, me, Mom, Sarah, Dave, Mike, Jonathan & Dad)

Dave and Sarah

Mom, Samuel and Savta

Sarah and Alexander explore the backyard

Dustin and Lindsey watching the Dallas game

Tim and Jen relaxing

Eating a delicious feast

The Teals

The beautiful table (thanks to my mom!)

This was our first Thanksgiving to host dinner at our house. Jonathan's parents, my parents, my sister, Jonathan's sister and our brother-in-law, our nephew, and a couple of friends all came over on Thursday for a late lunch. My family and Jonathan's parents all got in on Tuesday night, so we had all day Wednesday to hang out and get ready for the big meal. Everyone was super helpful, and the whole weekend was very relaxing and enjoyable. I can't thank everyone enough for their help...the food was delicious, the table was beautiful, and everything was cleaned up and put away in no time!

After dinner, Tim, Jen and Alexander, Dustin and Lindsey, my sister, and both sets of parents hung out all evening. All of the boys played pocker (very Thanksgiving-ish) and then we all played games. It was so fun to be surrounded by our great families and friends. It reminded me of how blessed we are to have such wonderful people in our lives!

While they were here, Mike and my dad helped Jonathan finish the tricky work in the bathroom downstairs. It's looking fabulous, and we can't thank them enough for all their hard work to get it finished. I'm so glad we finally have a nice, working bathroom for everyone to use when they come over.

On Friday Jonathan's parents headed to Kansas City to visit Judy's family. We were sad to see them leave but so thankful that they got to spend so much time with us. That night my family went with us to get Ted Drewe's famous frozen custard before driving through Tilles Park in South St. Louis to look at Christmas lights. It was an amazing display (definitely beats Johnstone Park in Bartlesville) and really got me in the Christmas mood. On Saturday my mom left for Tulsa, so Dad and Sarah helped us put up Christmas lights and decorate a little around the house. We watched OU play OSU that night, and a few people came over to help us cheer on the Sooners. What a great game!

On Sunday we had to say goodbye to my dad and sister, and it was so quiet (and sad!) around the house. Jonathan and I finished caulking the trim in the bathroom and then put up the Christmas tree. Yea for the holidays! I just love this time of year and can't wait for Hanukkah and Christmas to get here!

Our Christmas tree is up and ready!

Happy Birthday, Sis!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

We want to wish my beautiful sister a VERY happy birthday! (Even though she claims she's no longer celebrating birthdays.) We wish you a wonderful year! You are the best big sister and best friend in the whole, wide world! We love you!

Why I love my job...

I have the best job in the entire world!!! Everyone should become a first grade teacher. This beautiful gift was created by a little girl in my class over Thanksgiving break. She brought it in on Monday with a note to me and "Mr. Teal."

The note said (with her original spelling still intact):

November 29, 2008

Dear Mrs. and Mr. Teal,

I found theas boluns in the basmunt at my Gramas House. Thean I thot of you. So...I took a red balun and thean I took 2 green boluns. and then I askt my grama to blowe them up. and tie them together. and I made a bolun Misletow and desited to giv it to you giys

Your friend,
Madalynn Elizabeth P

P.S. Pleas keep this as long as posepel.

At the end of the day she came back up to me and said, "Oh, by the way...you're welcome again for the gift." The letter is hanging on our fridge now and will probably have to stay there forever...or at least as long as possible. It makes me smile every time I look at it!

I have a lot more to update about Thanksgiving, but I'm exhausted and heading to bed early, so it will have to wait. Hope everyone has a great week. Keep smiling!

Samuel Comes to Visit

This weekend we got a lot done! On Friday we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant with several friends...I always love a good margarita and fajitas! It was nice to relax and catch up after such a busy week. On Saturday we had a whole list (started by Jonathan, which I find very amusing) of errands we needed to run. We got most of them finished and even got home in time to do a few things around the house before Sarah and Samuel got here.

Dave was in a wedding on Saturday, so Sarah brought Samuel over around 4 for us to hang out. We definitely needed some quality time with our nephew! We ate dinner, read books, played with some toys, and chased Lola around. Samuel was crawling EVERYWHERE! At one point he climbed off of Jonathan's lap, off of the couch, over Lola, onto Lola's bed, and all the way to the other side of the basement where I was throwing in a load of laundry. He is definitely mobile! It was so fun to hang out with him, and he was absolutely perfect. He literally whined for about 30 seconds before falling asleep, and that was it.

We watched the OU vs. Texas Tech game while Samuel was here...go Sooners! I kept singing Boomer Sooner to Samuel because I've heard it's best to start early. Hopefully we'll move up in the BCS rankings after such a huge win. I'd love to go to the Big XII Championship game in Kansas City since we haven't seen an OU game in person this year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that!

Samuel...come back to visit us very soon (and tell your parents to go out more often.) We love you!

Watching the Sooners with Uncle Jonathan

I think babies in footed pajamas are about the sweetest thing in the world...so cute!

Samuel LOVED playing with Lola...and she was really good with him, and I was really glad. He even crawled up on her bed to get closer. They look like good friends already.

Snuggling before bedtime. So sweet!

Girl's Weekend and Update from Our House

Last weekend I went to Lake of the Ozarks for some female bonding and Outlet mall shopping with some girls from work. We had such a great time! We ate, drank, laughed, shopped, and relaxed all weekend. Bridget found a fabulous condo (very cheap since it's the off-season) and we all piled in. Friday night we introduced Kristie and Lisa to the Sex in the City movie...and since we all fell asleep, we had to finish it the next morning.

On Saturday our main focus was the Coach Outlet. Everyone got a purse...except me! I know, can you believe it? I carried a gorgeous black leather purse around for a good 45 minutes before deciding that $375 for another purse just wasn't very practical. Even for an Outlet, that's ridiculous. When I called Jonathan to tell him and ask him how proud he was of me, his response was, "Yeah, I guess those 3 hanging in your closet are enough." He TOTALLY missed the point!

The whole time we were shopping, someone would pick something up and another one of us would run over and decide we needed it, too. So it ended up being a weekend of "twinsies." Everywhere we went, there were at least two of us ordering or buying the same thing. I guess great minds think alike! We thought it was so funny that we took pictures of all the doubles:

Abbie and I with our matching scarves and gloves. Brrr! It was cold. (Can't you tell?!?) Good thing we found those!

Abbie, Kristie, and Lisa with their almost-matching black purses

Bridget and Katie with their matching red purses

Bridget and Abbie's matching hoodies

Stopping for lunch. The girl taking the picture said, "Say Applebees!" and apparently I decided to do just that. Sorry I ruined the picture, girls!

The weekend was so much fun and very much-needed. The last couple of weeks have been really busy at school. Parent-Teacher conferences are tomorrow night and report cards were due last week. I know that this is always super stressful, but somehow I manage to forget just how crazy it is from year to year.

We're also getting ready for a big Thanksgiving celebration at our house. This will be our very first year to host Thanksgiving dinner, and I'm so excited! My parents and sister, Jonathan's parents, Sarah, Dave and Samuel, Dave's parents, and a few friends from St. Louis will all be converging on our small home. It's going to be packed but very fun, I hope! So far the count is 13 adults and 2 babies...there may be a couple more adults to add to that list before it's all said and done. The menu is set, and now all I need to do is buy groceries and start baking. Oh, and clean the house, too. Somehow I keep thinking that one will magically take care of itself. Wishful thinking!

The other news from our house is that Jonathan has been busy renivating the bathroom in the basement. We were too tired after finishing the basement last year to even think about it, but a couple months ago I mentioned how nice it would be if it was finished before Thanksgiving. Apparently that's all I needed to say because he got busy and it's looking awesome! I'll post pictures soon. We need to finish the base boards and crown molding, then it will just be decorative stuff (my favorite part!) Hopefully I can find a mirror this weekend that I like and maybe some towels and a picture or two. I can't wait for it all to be finished.

So that's all that's new with us. Hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather and getting ready for a very happy Turkey Day!

Halloween Weekend

So I realize I'm always a little behind on posting, but I'm trying to keep us updated! Over Halloween weekend, Jonathan's parents came in town so Judy could do a 1/2 marathon walk with Sarah. On Friday we met everyone at a wine bar and enjoyed catching up and trying some new wines. Samuel enjoyed his sweet potatoes and peas, too. Probably not quite as much as the wine, though. On Sunday we went to dinner with Sarah, Dave and Samuel before Mike and Judy came to our house for the evening. We always have such a good time when they come in town. Mike & Judy...thanks for coming to visit! We can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving.

Mike feeding Samuel

Judy & SamuelWhat a cute (and hungry) baby!

Sarah & Dave

I love seeing Jonathan with Samuel. He loves his nephew so much!

On Saturday we went to a Halloween party with people from my school. Social events are always a good time with the people I work with, and this one was no different! Almost everyone dressed up and had a great time. The best part was watching Jonathan sing karaoke all night...he doesn't have a shy bone in his body! It was a good ab workout for me, too (laughing at him, that is.)

Jonathan rapping in his cowboy get-up

Check out those boots and belt buckle...J just had to have the biggest buckle he could find. I just hope he finds somewhere to where it again!

My good friend, Katie. We taught 3rd together last year and have to find time to hang out now that I'm in 1st. (By the way, she and Tim dressed up as Huskers fans. Then they got blown out by OU...I told them I could loan them some shirts for next year!)

Jonathan and Tim...watching the OU/Nebraska blow out...I mean game. :-)

Kids Say the Darndest...continued

So we have this wall in the teacher's lounge where we post funny things kids say. It's always fun to read it and have a good laugh, especially when you're having a rough day. Well, there's starting to be this whole "W" section where I post funny things he says in class. Today he seemed to really be on a roll. Here are some of his comments:

"Don't worry, guys. He won't raise your taxes too much!"
-Talking (to no one in particular) about the new President Elect. By the way, since when did 6-year-olds pay taxes?

"Yeah, well, I think I'd be an Army Guy. But if I got fired, I'd just become a toy maker."
-During Morning Meeting sharing time about what career they'd like to have

W: "Mrs. Teal, when you grade that one paper tonight, you're going to notice that there are some words in Chinese."
Me: "Oh, really? Hmmm...if you mean that you're worried I won't be able to read the words because you weren't sure how to spell them, it's okay because I'm really good at reading 1st grade spelling."
W: "Well, kinda. But I wrote this word 'wheel' that's actually the Japenese word for 'wheels' only it doesn't have the 's.'"
Me (laughing): "Walker, that's not a Japanese word! That's an English word that just means one wheel."
W: "Yeah, well, whatever. When you check it there's gonna be some Chinese."
-Telling me about his paper of wh- words. So, do you think I should work with him on plurals or on keeping his story straight?

Kickball

The weekend after we went to Arkansas, I was supposed to play in a Kickball Tournament through my school district. Each elementary school could enter a team of teachers/staff to play in the tournament, and the winning team could pick a charity to give the money to. There are 18 elementary schools in the district where I work, and all 18 signed up at the begining. By the weekend of the tournament, however, there were only 5 teams left. Our team practiced once, sometimes twice, a week for a couple of months. It was cut throat...people were getting benched left and right for missing balls and missing practice. Who knew kickball could be so competitive?!? We totally felt ready to take the trophy, and we even got shirts made. We were so excited.

Unfortunately the tournament was rained out, but we're really hoping that it gets rescheduled in the Spring. Honestly, I just think the team that was hosting the event was totally scared of us and needed more time to practice...

Here are some pictures our principal took before we knew the game was cancelled. I think she's totally proud of all the time we've spent playing kickball (and NOT planning lessons, or grading papers, or working on report cards...)

Everyone has a nickname. Mine is "Teal Appeal."

I just hope the cry-babies at Ross Elementary are prepared for what the Bulldogs will bring in the Spring!

Trip to Arkansas

A couple weekends ago Jonathan and I drove to Rogers, Arkansas to visit my good friends from high school. Britney and Ryan were so gracious to let us all stay at their house...it was like a big slumber party! The girls (Megan, Hollye, Jill, Britney and I) have known each other since high school and have all been in each other's weddings. Friendships like that don't come around very often, so we take trips at least once a year to visit each other. The best thing is that no matter how much time has past, we always seem to pick back up where we left off the last time. This time we decided to invite the boys, and that made it extra special. The funny thing is...we never once took a picture of the boys! I guess that tells you who we focus on when we get together. But I know we all appreciate the boys for putting up with us and letting us be ourselves when we get together. Drew, John, Nick, Ryan and Jonathan...thanks for being the best hubbies around! (Especially that last one...I kinda like him a lot!)

The weekend was so relaxing and fun. Megan and Drew were extra nice to bring their sweet baby boy, Pierson, so we could all pass him around. He's such a cutie pie and the most laid-back baby ever! I just love him to pieces. On Saturday we shopped and visited Brit's dance studios while the boys played golf. That night we cooked some dinner (thanks for grilling, Drew!) and just hung out. It's always so refreshing to hang out with people you've known forever and who know everything about you. Sitting around in your p.j.'s drinking coffee is way more fun with great friends.

I love you girls tons and had a blast hanging out! Let's do it again soon!!!

Pierson even tried on his Halloween costume for us...isn't he the cutest monkey ever?!?