Remembering Shawn

In Memory of Shawn Robicheax

December 31, 1971 - November 28, 2008

Death is not the end

Death can never be the end.

Death is the road.

Life is the traveler.

The Soul is the guide.

Shawn is now on that road and I believe his soul will be guiding him safely as he travels on his next journey. You touched many lives during your time on Earth - and you will be missed. Good-bye, my friend . . .

http://www.mem.com/Story.aspx?ID=2734944

Ice at the Gaylord Texan Resort

Leah, Trey, and Riley came to Dallas to spend Thanksgiving with me. I wanted to do something special and something different - so on Thanksgiving night I took them, J2, and Nicola to the Gaylord Texan Resort to see Ice! We had a great time and took a TON of pictures. Below is a sample of some of the pictures . . .

Riley is not too thrilled about having his picture taken!

Leah poses by some white trees before entering Ice!

Riley, Trey, and Leah

This was a cardboard cut-out of a lady . . . not the real thing!

J2 is always trying to amuse the crowd!

Our first photo as we entered Ice!

J2 - models this year's Ice! coat.

Leah is trying out her "model" pose . . .

Brother and Sister

Trey

Trey is freezing as we are half way through Ice!

Leah, Riley, Trey, Evan, and Nicola take a photo in front of a giant frozen ice cream cone!

Leah, Trey, and Evan

Jason, we are not supposed to "touch" the ice . . . don't do it!

Riley, Trey, and Leah

The family photo!

Nicola's beautiful blue eyes shine in this jacket!

J2

Riley - by Dasher . . . made out of ice!

Leah, Trey, and Riley take a picture by a frozen block of ice carved into Santa.

Leah strikes a pose!

Riley by a giant ice angel . . .

J2 tries to pet the lamb at the nativity scene.

The last ice scene . . .

Leah, Trey, and Riley . . . .

Ice videos of Riley and Trey sliding!

Riley slides down the Ice!

Trey goes down the Ice! a second time!

*** Is that J2 screaming in the background????????

WeirdFacts

I just downloaded the WeirdFacts application from iTunes two days ago. It is very cool - with LOTS of random facts - I love it! Here's a sample of what you get with this application:

1. No word in the English language ryhmes with month, orange, silver or purple.
2. More than 1 million Earths could fit inside the sun.
3. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper (marijuana).
4. England is smaller than New England.
5. An average ball point pen can write a line 2 miles long.
6. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, person died of natural causes.
7. The continents names all end with the same letter with which they start.
8. Polar bears are left handed.
9. The average person laughs 13 times a day!
10. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
11. Your stomach produces a new layer of mucus every two weeks so that it doesn't digest itself.
12. There are no clocks in Las Vegas casinos.
13. No one knows why, but 90 % of women who walk into a department store immediately turn to the right.

And that is just a sampling of the random facts! Believe them or not . . .

Happy Birthday to my Friend!

Happy Birthday, Erin!

I have grown to value Erin's friendship and professional relationship more than I can describe. She has inspired me in so many ways as a teacher. In just the past several years I have learned so much from her. She always has something new to tell me about - and many times it changes the way I do things in my classroom and in my personal life! She is such a treasure and a gift to GCISD as the Social Studies Coordinator!

Wish you the best, Erin!

Apple iPhone . . .

you've gotta get one!! I've had mine for a few weeks and it is the most incredible thing. The application features are amazing!

Katy visit . . .

I had a great time in Katy this past weekend. It was so good to get away for a few days! It was great seeing Leah and the boys and Chad, Amy, Ashton, and Cy . . . oh yeah, and Daisy! This is the picture I took of Daisy and Cy the night before I left. He was teasing her about getting a bird . . . she was getting all worked up. It was great and reminded me of what I used to do a looooooong time ago with Biddy!

I loved playing Ticket to Ride with Trey, Cy, and Riley on Sunday night. We always have a good time playing that game. I didn't win this time . . . Riley won one and Cy won the other.

We also ate at the Fish City Grill - and the pot roast was some of the best I've ever had! Great times! I should probably go down there a little more.

Bumper Sticker

I saw the best bumper sticker today on the drive home from Katy! If I was the bumper sticker type - I'd probably get it! Too funny!

I'm off to Katy for the weekend!

I'm leaving in the morning early and headed to Katy for the weekend. I don't plan to do much - but just go hang out! I'm taking Monday off too - so I am not rushed to get back late Sunday night. Nicola and Jason are going too - they are attending the Madonna concert on Sunday night. I'm looking forward to getting out of town for a few days!

Still Celebrating!!!

I'm still very excited about the election results from Tuesday night! It feels great to be an American once again! I found this website on the Election news from around the world. Great site titled "Obama Grabs Headlines."

http://obama2008.s3.amazonaws.com/headlines.html

Change has come to America!

The next President of the United States is Barack Obama!!!! Change has come to America - and that change is inspiring! I am very hopeful about the possibilities of what President Obama will accomplish for our country!

I am very excited about witnessing history in the making! It is such an incredible moment that the first African American has become President during my lifetime! It is truly amazing! Many people in America are feeling this inspiration from President Obama!

Election 2008!!!

I've been looking forward to this night for quite some time! I've tried to really get my students excited about this election. Today we were REALLY into this whole idea about election and the process of choosing our president! I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow. I do know that if McCain does not win - there will be "many" students who are NOT happy tomorrow. It will be interesting.

This is the predicted map for tonight's election - and I hope it is right!!! I'll have to post the results at another time. I gave my students a map that they will be coloring tonight as the election results come in. I can't wait to have a discussion tomorrow with my students! Stay tuned . . .

Earthquake hits North Texas!

I know it sounds crazy - but it is true. We experienced an earthquake in the DFW area (between Irving and Grand Prairie - just to the east of me) this past Thursday night. I was sitting at the table working on the computer and watching TV when I heard, what sounded like a horrible boom in the distance and then everything shook in the house. From where I was sitting on the computer - I could see the back of the couch and it began to shake. It was the weirdest feeling - and I wasn't even sure what it was. I quickly looked out the front windows and then went upstairs to look out those windows. I was trying to figure out what could have caused that. I was worried that some sort of explosion went off somewhere close - or perhaps even a plane crashed nearby - I was not sure. I even thought about calling 9-1-1 just to see if they'd heard anything. I went to bed soon after and felt a couple more small - what I later discovered - were more tremors. It never occurred to me that it could be an earthquake - because that is only something you hear about in California, or Asia. The next morning the news was covering this whole "earthquake" that hit the night before at about 11:25 and continued off and on until 3:30 AM. Wow, I actually witnessed a real earthquake - it was cool! It was not large enough to cause damage - as it was only between a 2.5 and 3.0 magnitude. Still, it was an actual earthquake - but just a mild one!