September Hike with Christopher

Hiking in Hixon Forest
A cave that we found...
I almost didn't notice these beady little eyes watching me!
A view from the top.

I was a little nervous about the one year anniversary of Gary's death, and didn't want to spend it alone....even if I have been doing fine....I guess I was afraid all the memories would come back to me. Christopher came to La Crosse that day and spent the day with me hiking....the thing that relaxes me the most. I enjoyed getting out in the sun and seeing all the fall colors....this is the first fall I have seen with big colorful trees in quite a few years!

Oktoberfest!

For two weekends, and a couple days in between, I celebrated in La Crosse's Oktoberfest- with lots of beer and live music! The first night of festing, I made the mistake of bringing some vodka with me....forgetting about that extra kick it can give you, long after you stop drinking it!! After a bike ride home that lasted much longer than needed, I decided beer was good enough for me for the rest of the festivities! My favorite was definitely the Jim Busta polka band- but the other bands were a lot of fun as well. I have never participated in a real Oktoberfest before, but it was definitely a lot of fun!


This little 2 year old is going to be a future polka star....
The festmaster!
The last night of festivities.....




Yep, we closed it down the last night...
While waiting for a certain person that uses the bathroom a lot, I noticed the festmaster and the whole "royal family" outside the tent. I took a picture of them, and was called over by the festmaster to get a picture with them...I also got an "honorary festmaster" button =)

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

A couple weeks ago I took both my morning and afternoon classes on a field trip to "Grandpa's Garden". With 18 kids in the morning and 16 in the afternoon, it was a full day. The kids each got to pick out their own pumpkin, and the next few days we used them in class to measure how many pumpkins long we were, weighed our pumpkins, and used them in our dramatic play center to sell. We had used the week before to talk about how pumpkins grew, and the different parts of the plant, so the kids were pretty excited to go.
With 4 classes going in the morning, the people running the patch came up with some different activities for the kids to do while the kids waited for their turn on the hayride around the farm (definitely the favorite part!). Here is one of the kids trying out the "balloon lunch"....a giant sling for water balloons...none of the kids got very close to the actual target....but some got closer than others =)






The hayride!!!
Here, "Grandpa" showed us a Native American carving tool that he found on his land....most likely used for scraping skins.

Having our snack....here is one of the little girls with her little sister. Some parents came with for the trip, and a few brought younger siblings along,.

Pumpkin pictures to color...one of the things they had there for kids to do.

Overall, this was a pretty tiring day, but the kids had a lot of fun, and I did too! It was nice that at the patch they talked about how the pumpkins grew, reinforcing what we had been learning that week.
As a school, West Salem does not really celebrate Halloween, so I haven't been doing a lot of Halloween stuff with my kids- but they are pretty excited about it- so we have been doing a lot with pumpkins, spiders and monsters, and the kids have been talking a lot about what they are going to be. I have to admit I am pretty disappointed that I am not in a village, and I won't get to see my kids in their Halloween costumes this year!....one disadvantage to being in a larger community.

Kayaking with Mom

Well, it has been a long time since I have posted anything, and as I have the day off, I figured it was about time I get something on here! =) I have had internet for about a month now, thankfully! I don't know how many times I called my landlords trying to figure something out, and had left at least two letters for them and nothing happened- I never even got a call back. Seeing as I had no time off during the day to go talk to them, I just got frustrated and was looking into getting internet from a different provider. I even tried one out, but they didn't work here as they were blocked by the bluffs. Aaron then wrote them a letter on my behalf and a few days later I had internet...he said the letter was "cordial", but I wonder. It seemed to work though...and I didn't write it, so I don't feel any guilt. I can finally keep up on my bills and get more stuff done! You don't realize how nice the internet is to have until you don't have it....I didn't even realize how much I use it just to get some quick facts.
Anyways- here are some pictures from last week when I went kayaking with Mom- who finally got a kayak of her own- a Current Designs Kestrel- 14 foot. She met up with me here in La Crosse after school, and we headed out to Green Island to try it out and explore. I hadn't been in my kayak in a few weeks, and was anxious to get out and see how the river had changed. We picked the perfect day- as it was almost 65 degrees when we launched...it was quite a bit cooler when we came back, but still a pretty good evening! I wish I could get out more in the fall- unfortunately this is my busiest time of year for work- and I am still trying to figure a lot of things out from moving and my accident =( The weather hasn't exactly been the most cooperative either.....
I have been trying to get out running at night- which I have actually really been enjoying. I like the cooler weather for running, and the stars, and the fact that there is really nobody out at that time. It is more peaceful. It has also helped to calm my nerves and help me sleep...which has been something of an issue for me the last month or so....mostly I just get really frustrated with myself, as it is my head that keeps me awake- and seems like it should be something I should be able to control.
I am settling into La Crosse pretty well though, and I really like my new job! The first month was pretty frustrating and tiring, but I think I am finally starting to figure things out, and so are the kids- things have been going a lot smoother, and I really do have a great group of kids to work with. Hopefully I will start being less busy at times when I am supposed to be done with work and will find more time to just have a life now. I am hoping to find time to make more friends around here, which I think I really need. I have a ton of friends in Winona- but by the time I go and hang out there at night and drive back to La Crosse, I don't have much time to be in Winona- and want to visit my family when I am there too....I really need some more friends that are local, so I can have people to just hang out with in the evenings and do stuff with. I went to a meeting for the Sierra Club this wek- which was really interesting, and I really enjoyed, but I was disappointed that there was nobody near my age involved- they were almost all 50 or older. I think I will stay involved with this group though- as I think they are working towards some wonderful things.
Well, here are some pictures from our paddling trip....I didn't have my camera unfortunately- so these were taken with the camera on my phone! Technology is getting easier! ha ha!