SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!

And I'm already missing it. We had 1/2 a day yesterday, Field Day, and then I hugged them all good bye and it made me sad to see my class go. They've been a great group of kids and I love them. I haven't really known what to do with myself today. Not that I don't have lots and lots to do, but I just couldn't get too motivated.

Dear Mrs. Bayles. . .

When we were eating lunch in my classroom yesterday, (all 8 of us 3rd grade teachers,) a couple of little 3rd grade boys pounded really hard on my window and made us all jump, so their teacher made them write me apology letters so that they would know not to do that again. Here they are:

Dear Mrs. Bayles,
I am sorry. I guess I was a little to mean there. Please pretty please forgive me. I will never pound on the window. Just truly sorry. I will never break your heart. Your friend, Ethan.

and then the other one:

Dear Mrs. Bayles,
Sorry I pounded on your window. It was Ethan's idea.


Ha, ha, ha. Funny kids. One of the other teachers got a funny letter from one of her students too. It said,

Thank you for all you have tout me.
p.s. Maybe you could teach me how to spell tout.

Oh my. I love my job. 3rd graders are great. Today was our Valentine's Day party/dance and it was delightful. I came home with a whole sack of valentines, a belly full of cookies, and a smile on my face because they were so cute.

Yay! I'm remembering to drink water.

I set the goal to lose 10 pounds during the month of January. Well it didn't happen, but I DID lose 7 pounds. So it made me kind of encouraged and I'm going to lose 6 pounds this month. February. So we'll see. I know I can do it if I just eat better, drink more water, and move more. I'm doing really good about eating more fruit and vegetables. But I still like candy. I passed up one of the huge, delicious cinnamon rolls that they make for the teachers in the cafeteria once a month and that made me so happy with myself that I went home and celebrated by eating 4 cookies! Yes, that's the way I work.

Thank You Notes - 3rd Grade Style

Honestly, I have the funnest job. We've been doing a lot of writing this week and one of the assignments was to write a thank you note to someone. I gave a few instructions and let them write to whoever they wanted to. Here are a few of my favorites: (I'm not adding the signatures.)

Dear Grandma.
Thanks for taking me to the balling alley.

Dear Mom,
I want to thank you for being a great mom to me. I will alweese love you.

Dear Mom,
Thank you for wakeing me up in the morning even if you don't want to and making me brekfist and watching for the bus. Thanks agen.

Dear Dad,
Thanks for saving me when I fell into that stream when i was little.

Dear Dad,
I wont to thank you for making tapioca. I love you so much.

Dear Grampa,
Thank you for helping me with my pinewood dribey. Right me back.

Dear Drs and nurses all over the world,
Thank you for saving people's lives!!!! You always make your people feel right at home!!!!! Thanks so much!!!!!

Dear Mom and Dad,
Thack you for the breakfast, lunch and diner you fick for me. Thack you.

And this one is so sweet:

Dear Mom,
Thank you for getting up in the morning and cooking crepes for me. I hardly get crepes to eat and they taste really good. I love you for doing that.

Some of them even wrote to me!

Dear Mrs. Bayles
Thank you for being the best teacher in the whole intire universe. You teach me so much and I've learned way more than I did last year. Thanks anyway. P.S. YOU ROCK!!

Dear Mrs. Bayles,
Thank you for teaching us. I've been haveing a wonderful year.

Dear Mrs. Bayles,
Thank you Mrs. Bayles for teaching us stuff we need for our careers such as math and learning to read and following directions.

Dear Mrs. Bayles,
Thank you for teaching me my times tables. I will say the times tables. 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36.

Aren't they so fun? I don't know how something like teaching can be so exhausting and so wonderful at the same time. But it is. I'm so blessed.

Hard To Believe It's Over

Ok. How on earth did Christmas come and go so quickly? I'm still having a hard time believing that summer is over - and here it is 4 months into the school year and a new calendar year about to start. I spent some time with Andy and Sarah on Christmas Eve in SLC and then went to Layton to spend the rest of the evening and Christmas day with Aaron and Cyndie and their darling little family. Having little kids around certainly makes things more exciting. I came home Christmas night and have been lazy ever since. Aaron and Cyndie were such great hosts and so good to me and I sure enjoyed my visit there. My children and spouses gave me a new wardrobe for Christmas. Andrea, Anneke, Anna, and I also went to the John Schmidt concert on the 18th, compliments of the girls and that was just wonderful. So entertaining and we enjoyed it a lot. We went out to eat too. Anna got to go for a present for her birthday that was on the 4th. The only thing that would have made that day more fun would have been to have Amy, Cyndie, and Natalie there with us. What a lucky mom/grandma I am to have such a wonderful, loving family, who are good to each other and good to me. Love them!!!!

Being Thankful

It's that time of year when we officially think about our blessings. Where do I even start? First of all - the gospel. And my testimony of it. And my precious, precious family. We've had the blessing of adding 3 little girls to our family this year. They are healthy and beautiful and I'm in love with them. Yes siree - my family. What a blessing they are to me. I'm thankful for my job and the wonderful people I get to associate with every day. I have a good class this year that I enjoy a lot too. I have a lovely home, a car that runs, plenty to eat and would have plenty to wear if I didn't have plenty to eat. I live in a beautiful corner of the world in a great community. And in spite of all the sickness that has gone through the school, I've stayed healthy. yay. So the next time anyone hears me complain about anything, tell me to hush up and count my blessings.

Words of Wisdom from 3rd Graders

Today one of the girls in my class left this note on my desk:

The only thing that keeps you going is knowing somewhere in the day you may find the key of life.

Well. That's certainly a deep thought, huh? She also wrote me this other note:

Happy Halloween!!!!
Dear Mrs. Bayles,

I think that you should give us kids your addres tomorrow. Why you ask? I'll tell you! If you give us your addres then we can go trick-or-treating to your house! If you do give us your addres then I will surly come to your house! I bet if you do give us your address then a bunch of other kids will go trick-or-treating to your house too! Plus since you won't see our costumes here in shool, you'll be able to see our costumes right in your very own doorway!

One day my friend, Amy, substituted for me and she noticed that one of the girls kept disappearing to go in the bathroom, so she got after her for it. A while later, the girl wrote this note to her saying: I'm sorry. I'm the person who has to buetify myself, so I went to fix my hair.

For some reason I got lots of notes and pictures today. I have such a cute class this year. When they earn 100% of their Accelerated Reading goal, they get a bag of microwave popcorn and get to pop it in our classroom. I had run out of popcorn when one little girl earned hers and I forgot to take some the next day. In a very serious voice she said to me, "You know, if I was a teacher and I needed to remember to take popcorn to school the next day, I would write a little note and stick it on my bag, then when I picked up my bag I would see the note and remember to take some popcorn to school." I said, "Wow! What a great idea. I'll try it." And you know what? I remembered the popcorn the next day. :)