Spring Break 2011

One of the perks of being a teacher is getting to have Spring Break!  This year I abandoned traveled without the husband (he was starting his new city job!) and headed north to see my family in Kansas.  I drove "The Beast", aka Michael's Dodge Ram 2500, so I could haul back the antique organ from my parents' house.  My mom is now babysitting my cousin's little boy and my niece and needed more room in their house.  I have plenty of house and couldn't bear to think of that organ being sold or given away, so I volunteered to take it! 

Anyway, I got to play with the babies a lot, saw a few old friends, visited with the family, drank green beer, did a little shopping, and even squeezed in a pedicure.  Then I got to make an unexpected (but good!) trip to Iowa when my Great-Grandma Fannie passed away.  My dad, sister, niece, and I all loaded up into the car and made the trip.  Little Emma did such a good job in the car, but we were all pooped by then end.  I have a few pictures I am going to share, including one I found today when I was going through the boxes of stuff I had stored in my grandparents' attic back in 1997, and just brought back home with me this trip.  It is a picture of my Iowa cousins and my Great-Grandma.  Enjoy!

Me and Emma Grace on St. Patrick's Day

Emma Grace and her mommy, Hannah, on St. Patrick's Day

Modeling a dress I bought for her

Emma and I in Iowa

Emma and I the morning that I left

Taylor, Mallory, Carly, Hannah, Emma, and me

My Iowa Family

This was taken the summer of 1995

This is the organ and stool I brought home.  I found the serial number under 125-year-old dust, and this was built by the Estey Organ Company between 1884-1886.

Here we go again!

If you know my husband, you know he likes tends to change jobs quite frequently. Well...in a couple weeks he will no longer be an auto mechanic. He will be working for the City of Rusk in the Public Works department.

I think this will be a good change. He'll be making more money, have health insurance once again, and won't be coming home covered in grease. Did I mention he'll have health insurance??? That is the main thing that has really bothered me about the mechanic job. No insurance! It costs waaaaaay too much to put him on mine and I worry about him being an old man with no insurance. I'm glad I won't have to decide now if it would be cheaper to plan a funeral than pay medical bills.

Anyway, that's the latest news from the Beck household.

Super busy!

I know I haven't posted in a while. I've been super busy at school and at home grading 50 million compositions a week. Okay, it was really only 160 a week, but it felt like a lot more. Luckily I am done with those for the rest of this school year. My TAKS test was yesterday and it is such a relief to have it be over! Now I can use the laptops more in class and maybe do some fun things. Kids like to have fun still, right?