Time for school!

Today was the first day of school and the first day for me at a new school and a new job. The above photograph was taken this morning before I left for my big day. This year I am at Elm Lawn Elementary in Middleton (we are the Eagles, I guess) as an educational assistant working in the library, a kindergarten, and monitoring a few recesses as well. If you are wondering why I am at a new school, I will be extremely brief and say it is about seniority and allocation of both money and students. I will miss the students and staff I worked with last year at Sunset Ridge, but I look forward to working at Elm Lawn too; I really liked this school when I was subbing 2 years ago.

Mark and I are looking forward to a visit by mom, dad, and Bill this coming Thursday. They are spending the night before flying out of Madison to Little Rock, Arkansas for the baptism of my new nephew Stephen. Mark and I are planning on spending Christmas in Arkansas this year, but fortunately we don't have to wait until then to see the new baby---Don and Hope, Inc.. will be coming in October for a fun-filled evening in Cross Plains!

I have been instructed by Mark to write about Roxy's continued hardheadedness. It is really amazing how different she is from her brother, Mingo. We love her dearly, but she can be very trying. This morning she rousted a few unsuspecting turkeys from our back yard, making such a commotion, I thought she'd wake our neighbors. This evening I let her out to do her duty, but instead she decided to run up the hill behind our house (I call her back), she sniffed around for those turkeys she toremented earlier (more calling), and then she ran to our neighbor's yard (screaming).

Well, I better get going. The pictures below were also taken in Rhinelander from my last visit. I'm including the paper birch picture especially for dad...who can't believe that those trees survived after 6 little Bragg kids group up around them (they're the trees you see right outside the living room windows next to mom's flower garden).