School!!

Yep, it's that time of year again! It will be an interesting year. I've had the amazing experiences of trying to find classes with two seniors in high school, taking a kindergartener to his first day of class and getting homeschool started for a 4th grader! Whew!!! All in one week!
Thank heaven for routine. It's nice to have one again. I'm actually cooking dinner again every night (instead of having leftovers, cereal or sandwhiches). My desk got cleaned off, too. Sheesh, at this rate, I might actually become a decent housewife!!! Now if I can just get the kids to understand the concept of putting things away when they are done with them. . . . . . . .. . . .

Experience the Exchange!!!

We have a foreign exchange student with us for the school year!!! We picked her up from the airport on Wednesday and I think she's finally getting over the jet lag! Her name is Sinthu and she is from Norway. She left Oslo, Norway, at 10:30pm (our time) on Tuesday and arrived at our local airport at 11:15pm on Wednesday! What a trip!!!!! And that isn't taking into account that it took 9 hours to get from her home to Oslo!
She speaks very good English although we're going to have to rid her of her British accent. :-) She will be a senior in school. She will still have one more year of school when she returns to Norway. She plays soccer and went to practice on Saturday and will go again tomorrow. She's been playing for quite a few years so I don't think she'll have a problem making the team! She is very outgoing and has already made friends on the team.
The kids are all adjusting quite well. They've even started bickering with one another in front of her. Not sure that's a good thing.
This is our second time hosting a student for the year. And we might just have 2 for the year (the program we are hosting through, EF Foundation, allows that). There are some students who haven't been placed with families but are on their way here. One family wants to host but has a son who will be having surgery this week. Once he is recovered, they might still be interested in hosting. So, until that decision is made, we will be having Frazsina from Hungary living with us! She arrives on August 30th. If the other family decides they can't host her, we will have her here for the rest of the year. We are actually very excited about it! She has been dancing (ballet) for 13 years, speaks 4 languages and wants to learn to play ice hockey! Right up my alley!!!!!
So, if you haven't ever had an exchange student, I highly suggest it!!! Even if you have just young children, having a teen in your home is quite an experience!! Brandon was only 7 when our first student came. We have loved it!!! I know my Mom and Dad could make a recommendation for it, too! We will continue in the years to come although next year we will have to switch to having boys. Brandon will be a bit too old to have a teen-age girl living with us! I'm sure having boys will be just as great!

Spelling Issues

Well, I used to think that I was pretty good at spelling. In grade school I was always one of the last 2 or 3 people out in a spelling bee and a lot of times, I even won. My husband is constantly asking me how to spell (even with spell check on his computer, he doesn't do very well sometimes) and I usually get it right.
Then came the dance festival. We hosted dancers from a far away island in the Pacific Ocean. I thought I knew how to spell.
Just for reference- it is not "Phillipines". It is "Philippines". If I had looked at the t-shirt they gave me I would have known a lot sooner. :-)

Tagged and posting

4 Jobs I've had:-
Motel cleaner (ugh)
Restaurant hostess
Receptionist at a law firm
Head of scrapbooking department in a craft store (best job I've ever had!!)

4 Movies I could watch over and over:-
Sleepless in Seattle
The Lake House
Return to Me
Kate & Leopold
(and lots more but it says 4)

4 Places I've lived:-
Sacramento
Gold Beach
Rexburg
Arequipa, Peru!!

4 TV Shows I enjoy:-
Tv??? What is tv??? We don't have it.
I used to like-
ER
The Cosby Show
Little House on the Prarie
The West Wing

4 Places I've Vacationed-
The Oregon Coast
Yellowstone-
Telluride, CO
Montana

4 Places I like to eat:-
Home
Olive Garden
Marrakesh (in Portland)
Bajio

4 Websites I visit regularly:-
Family Blogs
msn.com
my bank account
google

4 Places I'd rather be:-
Sleeping
Montana (Brian is up there)
On a date with Brian
Reading a book

4 People I'm tagging now:
Well, lucky for everyone, I don't know anyone else with a blog that hasn't already been tagged. :-)

Can I sleep yet?

What a busy few weeks we've had!! Our town hosts an International Dance and Music Festival every year. The dancers are hosted by families around the area. We decided to host this year. We had 3 dancers from the Phillipines stay with us for 9 days! It was an incredibly wonderful experience!!!!
There were many short nights and long days with the busy schedule they had. We were responsible for taking them to practice, perfomances and anywhere else they had to go. Some nights, we didn't get home until 11:30pm! I wouldn't have missed it for anything! Our ladies cooked for us several times. I've learned to use some new vegetables. I loved everything I tried!
We had a family reunion during the same time. I was helping put it together so I had a lot to do that week. The reunion was great!! My brother and his family came up. My parents surprized us at 11:30pm Saturday night by knocking at my front door! They had said they weren't going to be able to make it but decided at the last minute to come. It was a nice surprize! Our house was almost overflowing with 9 extra people sleeping there on Saturday!
We said good-bye to the dancers on Monday morning. They headed to Bountiful, UT for a folk dance festival there. I was sad to see them go but it wasn't as hard as I thought to say good-bye. I have made some wonderful friends!!! We plan on doing it next year, too!
Tuesday, I made an overnight run to Salt Lake City. I left home around noon on Tuesday and was back in town by noon on Wednesday. After doing some errands, I collapsed in bed and slept quite soundly for several hours!!
It has been a fun time but I'm glad I can sleep again!!!!!
Oh, but next week our exchange student comes. Hmmmmm. . . . . . . . sleep?? We'll see.