Merry Merry Christmas!

No jumping in this year's Christmas photo. Housh will probably make a comeback for next year's card.

We hope everyone had a delightful Christmas.

Love, Jake and Jill

To see our last two Christmas photos go here

You might be tempted to think these shoes/sweet little feet are nothing but pure joy. My shins would tell you otherwise. I'm thinking of investing in a pair of sturdy shin guards. I'm not kidding.

Other than incessantly swinging their feet and thus kicking their favorite teacher, my kindergartners are treating me quite well. We had Christmas in our room this week and I got to experience what it feels like to watch a solid week's worth of wrapping get unwrapped in 2.5 seconds. I might have to invest in gift bags next year. :)

Teeny Tiny

It makes perfect sense that with a combined height of 12'5, we would purchase a 4' tree.


Some things however, we never skimp on.

Go Beavs

Although Jake would like for all of you to believe he does not have any orange and black clothing, he definitely has his fair share, and gasp is even an OSU season ticket holder. While he claims, he only does it for the love of certain members in his family, we have enjoyed cheering the Beavers on this season (minus the WSU splattering).
OOOOOOOOOOOO SSSSSSSSSSSSSS UUUUUUUUUUUUU !!!!!!!!!

A few things to consider before accepting a ride from us...

Jake and I make excellent car partners. Rides with us are full of fun and excitement- especially if you like to hear off tune singing and 90's music. However, before accepting a ride from us it would be wise on your part to know a thing or two about our car.

*The defroster must be run at all times. On high. And yes the AC will be on full blast. If it is 40 degrees outside, it will probably be colder in our car. Dress accordingly.

*If you sit in the front seat, you may be asked to squeegee the windshield while we drive. The squeegee and a towel are by your feet. And no, this task does not replace offering to give us gas money.

*Speaking of sitting in the front seat, it would be beneficial for you to wear waterproof shoes. It may be true that whenever Jake turns left, water gushes out of somewhere and gets the passenger's feet wet. Jake will not be happy if you scream every time this happens. In fact, he will get very, very annoyed at you.

*At some point during the drive you will probably be asked to roll your window down. We value your safety, so please do as you're told.

*Did I mention the temperature dial will not stay on heat? Try as you might it will wind right back to the frigid cold temperature.

*If you sit in the backseat, pay no attention to the rips on the ceiling. It is the direct result of Jill having too much time in the backseat with an axe. Yes you read that correctly. If both Jill and an axe are in the car, you might want to consider driving with someone else.

*If you happen to see any sort of dark substance, do not panic. The axe was never used on anyone and what you are seeing is not blood. Nope, it's just some syrup that was spilled and never thought of again. Sheesh who spills syrup in someone's car and never cleans it up! How rude. It is sticky, so watch out.

*And lastly and probably most importantly, the tape player does not work. As much as it saddens us to say, your Amy Grant tape cassette will be unable to play in our car. A real deal breaker.

So...anyone want to roadtrip with us?

All was Quiet...

We were all sitting so nicely on the carpet. For once we were all criss-cross with our hands folded politely in our laps. We weren't picking our nose. We weren't eating yesterday's snack crumbs and at the moment we weren't even petting Mrs. Denbrook's foot. The room was quiet. We were focused. We were engaged. Until.....Ruthie unexpectedly shouted out, "My tonsils are touching my uvula!"

Help My School, Pretty Please

Hello All!

Last month I sent an email to some of you asking you to vote at Pepsi Refresh for my school, Hawthorne Elementary. Long story short, Pepsi is giving away a lot of money to schools to fund various improvement projects. If at the end of this month (November) our school is in the Top 10 we will receive $5,000 dollars to fund our Positive Behavior Program and oh how lovely that would be for our kiddos in Sweet Home. You can vote EVERY SINGLE DAY until the end of the month by simply clicking on:

"I want to fund Hawthorne's program/Vote For This Idea" (to the right of this post)

or by clicking here and then typing: Hawthorne PBIS into the search box

You can also send a text to 73774 and put in 102716 in the subject line to vote for Hawthorne.

One text per phone and one vote per email per day. Have multiple emails? Vote multiple times.

If you have any questions, please let me know. :)

Thanks so much for your support.

Love, Jill