This morning...

The mornings that I awake earlier than usual, are the worst mornings. Not because I have lost sleep, no, no, no that's not it at all. But because I end up lolly-gagging around more than I usually do. Take, for example, this morning: I awoke a half hour earlier than my alarm had been programmed. I am amped by my early wake-up and the fact that today is my last day with the kids before two+ weeks of winter break so I take Whoopi for an extended walk. When I get back to the house I decide I will order my dad's last birthday/anniversary/Christmas gift. I log onto EBay (NEVER a good idea). I pay for the auction I won last night, and change my shipping address to D&D's and allow myself 10 minutes to browse. The 10 minutes of browsing turns into 30 minutes and I end up with a Minnesota state lottery loon and am in the running for some Pyrex dishes (I will lose because my bid is low).
After showering and getting my hair dry, I decide I had better blog about it. Mainly because I am out of deodorant and body wash-- which I found to be great timing as I am returning to east river tomorrow evening.
Now, rather than arriving to school extra early, I will arrive right on time, if not a few minutes late.
Ahh, the life of a first year teacher whose classroom is in her backyard!

Happy Thursday, ya'll!

More Than That...

TCHS More Than That

Please click on the link above.
This is a video made by students at Todd County High School. They made the video in an effort to show America that Native Americans are more than what was portrayed on Diane Sawyer's 20/20 episode, Children of the Plains which aired in October. In this episode, Sawyer interviewed and camera's followed children of the Pine Ridge Reservation, showcasing the hardships children face on reservations. Though these situations may be more real than we would like to admit, I found the response video to be inspiring. That these students, found it important to share with the world that they feel they have a chance and are worth "More Than That."
I have read through numerous Facebook posts by teachers from TCHS that the class who made this video is hoping for 50,000+ views. Please, take the time to watch it. Send it out in a forward for all to see--rather than a political or racist jab, send thoughts of hope and inspiration. Show these kids, they have been heard and have people who believe in them enough to pass their message on.

It's getting cold!

The past week flew by so fast, I hardly realized the weekend had arrived!
Whoop and I took our morning walk during the 7°F sunrise. It was a frigid sight to see :)
School has been keeping me very busy. I am trying to get as many learning objectives completed before Christmas break as humanly possible. I am worried about the two week gap--will the kids retain any of the information taught thus far?! I feel as though it is difficult coming back after a three day weekend... this should be interesting!
A couple of funny things have happened over the past couple of days:
When covering words that end with -it we made a list. One of my brightest students raises his hand, points directly at my forehead and exclaims, "ZZZ- i- T, zit!" Truth be told, I most definitely had a zit on my forehead but I got out of it by saying that Whoopi and I were jumping on my bed, I fell off so my mom called the doctor and the doctor said no more Miss. Smidt's jumping on the bed. Oh my goodness, if they weren't giggling they were concerned about the stability of my state of mind. "Your mom called the doctor?!?! Up here at IHS or the clinic in Mission?! Did you have to go all the way to Pierre?!" I thought my para was going to lose it!
I cut my hair. 7+ inches are gone. The first day back to school, one of my boys says, "You look like you're from the 80's." So I responded with, "It just so happens that I am. I am from 1986." Big mistake on my part. Now half of my class calls me "eighty-six". Humorous, but not too great.

After three weekends in a row of having company, this past weekend was spent relaxing with Whoopi. Saturday evening I went to Mission to watch a movie and play cards with some friends, but other than that we laid pretty low and enjoyed every second of it.
I am working on training Whoop to walk on a leash without pulling and to "sit". I am too much of a softie to train him, so I'm thinking I may leave it up to my daddy, the dog whisperer.
Christmas is indeed coming!!! The only gifts I am going to buy (minus one that I must buy in Vermillion) have been purchased and are wrapped or en route via the interweb. May I just say (10 years late) that eBay is addicting and no one, I mean NO ONE, should have an account. I spent half of Sunday making and watching bids. Wowzas!
Well, I suppose I should really get to going over my lessons for tomorrow. We will be making snowman ornaments in our classroom for our class tree that will be displayed in the gym. Most other classes paid to  order ornaments through Oriental Trading, I however saw this as an Art Integration activity. As someone who lacks artistic ability, I am excited to see how it all turns out and will keep you updated.

I seen ya gobble-in, a weeble wobble-in.

Tricia and Laura came out to the rez for Thanksgiving! I really enjoyed having them here. The day they arrived we sat around for awhile then we took a scenic drive down to Spring Creek, which is the community I lived in as a child. Tricia had some very strong memories and was excited to return. She reacted as I had when I returned as a 20 year old with the thought, "it's so small--I remember it being so much bigger!!!" It was fun to show them around my old stomping grounds. We returned to my house, and proceeded to devour some pasta and wine. On Thanksgiving morning, I awoke and started to prepare the feast. When my guests got out of bed they instantly got to work, perfecting their "boards" on Pinterest (everyone should look into joining pinterest.com). After hours in and out of the kitchen, and many "pins" later, my friend Brooke arrived and the calorie consumption began! Four young women ravaged through the spread consisting of: turkey, green bean casserole, asparagus, brown sugar carrots, cheesy potatoes, buns, pumpkin cake with an apple cider glaze and homemade apple pie! The meal turned out fine, the conversations were enjoyable and the food coma(s) obvious. After lunch had settled, we drove to some scenic spots along BIA 5. The winding Little White River and its surrounding foliage provided some great photo opportunities (even if we did trespass a little).

Thursday evening we went to bed early, in preparation for our big Friday plans---no, no, no, no... not Black Friday shopping, but a tour of western South Dakota! We left my house in Rosebud at 4:48am CST and headed west towards Badlands National Park. After one poor decision on my part as captain that guided us onto a dirt and hawk (mind you, not deer) filled road, we arrived to Interior, SD around 6:00am (MST). We headed into Badlands National Park. I had forgotten how eerie it feels to drive through the Badlands when it is pitch black out, with shadows and stars acting as the tour guides. We found my favorite outlook and watched the sunrise from there. It wasn't the most beautiful sunrise I have seen at BNP, but was a great experience to have with Laura and Tricia.

From BNP we went to Wall Drug for some sight-seeing, shopping, and of course HOMEMADE WALL DRUG DONUTS! I ran into some of my old co-workers, people who were nice to catch up with. Tricia was able to take a picture with Annie Oakley, her childhood hero.

 From there we headed to Keystone, SD to the taffy factory, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and ended up eating in downtown Rapid City at the Firehouse Brewery. We ended the day at Target, because I was out of toilet paper--but I was able to purchase Megan's christmas present(s), which I had previously scoped out on Target.com!

I had such a great time with my cousins, and feel more than blessed to have family so great and willing to chart the miles for me. The past three days have certainly been filled with superb memories and hysterical occurrences that will stay with us forever. However, in conclusion, with their departure-- I'm going back to bed! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving filled with family, friends and warm fuzzies :)

This weekend.

MY PARENTS ARE COMING! MY PARENTS ARE COMING! MY PARENTS ARE COMING!
I'm so excited, that I refuse to let tomorrow's estimated high of 24 with 80% chance of snow get me down!

Mom, Dad and Rijah will be leaving after work today and heading west to visit me for the weekend. I'm so pumped to have my daddy cook for me and to just "hang" with them. I have been home to Verm twice since I moved at the beginning of August and had the drive to-and-from Stew/Roch to hang out but this is entirely different. After the week that I have had, I will be so incredibly happy to have them here.
Last night I traveled south of St. Francis to visit Katey and Solee. I took over Katey's classroom as she moved to the position of literacy coach for the district, and I student taught under her husband, Dave, last spring. Their daughter, Solee, was born October 2. Last night was the first chance I've really had to go spend time with Ms. Solee. What a doll! I don't really like babies that aren't related to me--but I feel as though Solee and I are Rez Fam, which makes it okay for me to love her :)
Da Whoop has not attempted any more escapes since Sunday. He did however get a bath last night, in anticipation of Rijah coming(!!!) and was a great sport, but hated every single second of it.

Click on the underlined words ----> It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!!! <------ to have start a great day! I promise it won't let you down :)

Alas, I must end this brief post to head to school.

the past few weeks

The past few weeks have been very trying.
When I returned home from Tricia's wedding I had no voice. Laryngitis had struck. There was no way I could take Halloween off, and absolutely no way I was going to leave my aide alone with my kids the day after Halloween (I am confident that each and every elementary school across the globe should not be open the day after Halloween).
And so it went, Halloween +19 1st graders + teacher who with no voice= mayhem
I had invited the families of my students into our room for a "Halloween Parade" during which my students walked around our classroom, strutting their stuff in their costumes. After about three laps around the class I ended the eerie Hallow-tunes and we partied with popcorn balls (thank you, Miss. Merissa), candy and juice. A good time was had by all, voice or no voice.
I struggled a lot during the week of Halloween with one student in particular. When he arrived on Monday (Halloween morning) he gave me my daily hug and bent over to show me the 5 staples that were in his head. Over the weekend, his 12 year old cousin smashed a bottle over his head which landed him in the hospital. He could see the anger and disgust in my eyes and said, "Don't worry Miss. Smidt, it didn't hurt that bad and I followed your rule and didn't even cry!" Right about then I had to excuse myself to the restroom to take some deep breaths rather than break my own rule of no crying in my classroom.
One of my professors from USD came to visit me on Wednesday. She interviewed me about my first year teaching experience on the Rez. She is going to use my interview to help upcoming student teachers (hopefully) make the choice to come out here! She is working on getting a grant for my friend Tim and I to travel to USD to speak on a panel. I am very excited to be a part of something that may bring more highly qualified teachers out here! I am having such a priceless experience that I can only wish for more people to have. Hopefully it all works out.
Parent teacher conferences followed Halloweek at RES. I had 13 of 19 show up! I was really impressed and happy with the turn out. I had no bad experiences, and felt that they went quite smoothly. On Thursday we had a Veteran's Day honoring complete with patriotic songs, veteran introductions and the Lakota Flag song being sung by a local junior in high school. It was a great ceremony, and the kids did really well singing!
In honor of Veteran's day, we did not have school on Friday. A good friend of mine from college came through and stayed for the weekend. She has spent the past 2 years teaching English in Prague and is spending some time helping her cousin in Colorado with her son. She was on her way through from Colorado to Scotland, SD to see her family. It was such a delightful time filled with Czech beer, good food and hilarious reminiscing of our Stroller days. Though we found out that we can no longer party the way we used to, we still managed to enjoy every last minute of our time together.
Whoop is doing great. Although he did escape the house this morning while I was helping my friend load the car. He ran loose for about 20 minutes. I drove around town, worried sick and had given up. As I approached my house, there he was --sitting on my front step grinning from ear to ear. What a little snot. I suppose I should be thankful he came back... but man oh man was I upset!
Speaking of being thankful: I am no patriot, but I definitely need to give a post-Veteran's day shout-out to my big Brother Matt for his years in the Army National Guard and his services to the people of Iraq. Also, Grandpa Jack, Amy, Johnny, Rob, Glenn, Jerry and an endless list of friends from childhood and college.  I will never understand how people are able to make those choices, but respect them for it.
I am really looking forward to this coming weekend, my parents and Rijah are coming to visit! I can't wait to have them here, all to myself! Aside from missing my parents, I haven't had a single drop of homesickness since I left in August. I miss a handful of people, the occasional Sunday morning at the Pub and of course Mexico Viejo but all-in-all I just miss my parents. So, my level of excitement is out of this world! I just hope that the weather cooperates and they are actually able to come!

t&t 10.29.11

   October 29, 2011 my dear cousin, Tricia, was married to Tony. It was a sweet ceremony with beautiful music, a great message and a lot of love and support from all who attended. I was Tricia's maid of honor. This was quite the honor. I have been in a few weddings, but never the maid of honor. I took this role quite seriously, planning (with my awesome aunts) a bridal shower and bachelorette party. I had a pair of silver TOMS sent to Tricia as her wedding gift, unfortunately they weren't worn-in enough to be comfy for the actual wedding night. :( Also, I attempted to write a speech that would both entertain and educate the guests at Tricia's wedding reception. For those of you who weren't in attendance, here it is:

    Hello everyone, I would like to thank you all for being here today to celebrate this beautiful couple: Tony and Tricia Knutson!

         I am Jacque Smidt, Tricia’s first cousin, friend and today I am proud to be her maid of honor. For those of you who don’t know, Tricia and I were born one day apart—I like to think that she really struggled in her first day and a half of life, because I wasn’t in it yet… So, Tricia and I met in our first days of life, as a matter of fact she was waiting in the hospital room right after my birth delivery. Since our days at Olmsted Community Hospital, we have had a special connection and relationship. A friendship unlike any other I have ever had or will ever have. Pish and I have been through so many things together—the worst would probably have to be the well known days of the bowl cuts, thanks a lot Mom and Becky.

         Since the bowl cut days, Tricia and I have had our fair share of experiences that kept us close and at times separated us more than we would have liked. A few months prior to the death of our Grandma Jeannette, Tricia and I somehow got back to the closeness that we had as children. We would talk quite regularly through text messages, various social networks, e-mail and the occasional late night phone call. After Grandma passed, we really depended on each other to get through that time.

         The following summer, Grandpa Arnie agreed to let me be his roommate for the season. The day I arrived Tricia was waiting on 2^nd street to tell me all about this nurse from Pine Island. He was unlike any man she had ever met. He was kind and sweet. He loved the outdoors. He loved children. He was smart, had a good job and most importantly he had great taste in beer. She wanted me to meet him as soon as possible so that I could give him my seal of approval. Of course I agreed to do so.

         And so I met the infamous “Murse”. He was, eh, okay. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later, on the day of Willie’s 21^st birthday that I was one hundred percent sure of this man. Not only did he seem to fit the entire list of great personality characteristics previously listed, but man oh man did he have patience! The remaining months of the summer slipped by us, filled with great times working here at Willow Creek, movie nights and wonderful summer evenings on Grandpa’s front porch. Not only did I get to know Tony, but I got to know what would become Tony and Tricia.

         At Tricia’s bridal shower, back in early August, we were asked to introduce ourselves and offer a piece of relationship advice. As we listened to our mothers, aunts, cousins and dear friends share their experiences and wisdom on the topic of marriage I started to get nervous as my turn approached. As a single woman, I could not think of anything to say—which is not a normal fear for me. As I stood and listened to all of these wonderful women, it hit me—you must remember the relationships that we have grown up seeing. We have learned to love from some of the experts in the field. From Arnie and Jeannette, Barb and Clarence, Becky and Buck, my parents and all of our other aunts and uncles and 2^nd street family we have learned all there is to know.

         So please, Tony and Tricia, accept each other as you are and for who you are. Keep God in mind at all times. Do not keep secrets from each other—but if you do, and when they are found out, forgive each other. Start a family and fill it with all of the love you have to give, and not one ounce less. When you are disappointed or discouraged, take Amy’s recycled advise from Jill, and remember what it was that made you fall in love with each other in the first place. When the going gets really tough, remember the words of the late, great Kurt Vonnegut: Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, there is less cleaning up to do afterward.

         I would like to thank Becky and Buck, Alan and Cher for this wonderful weekend. I would like to thank Patricia Lynn Fredricksen Knutson for including me in such a big way on such a big day.

         Tony, it takes a special man to be able to put up with Tricia, but more importantly our family. We are loud. We are nosey. Each and every single one of us is right—no matter what we’re talking about. But most importantly, we have a love for each other like no other family in the world. I am excited to officially welcome you to it.

         Patricia, although you are now a 25 year old married homeowner and proud mother… to a cat… I will always remember us as those two girls with bowl cuts, walking to the Stewartville Public Pool with popsicle-stained-mouths, talking about boys. To you both, I wish you the best life. Take your time and enjoy the small things.

         I raise my glass, and ask everyone to join me in wishing you happiness, love, and longevity in this most exciting journey. Cheers!

    Tricia worked hard to incorporate all of our cousins, which was a thoughtful gesture that worked out beautifully. Something I really liked about this wedding was the bulletin. Next to each member of the wedding party was a description of the relationship between that person and Tony/Tricia. I thought this was a very personal touch that didn't leave the guests wondering much. There was a bit of drama the night before the wedding. 

    Going through David's Bridal ended up being a bit hellacious. There were many problems for Tricia and I when dealing with them. The dress I ordered in July came in in August but I wasn't able to try it on until I arrived the day before the wedding--it didn't fit. Not at all. It was the size I had tried on and that the attendant had assured me would be fine in the model we were ordering. Not so. Luckily Liv, one of Tricia's bridesmaids, was able to get ahold of DB and found a dress in my size and the color we needed. Though my dress ended up being a different material, the shade was just right and luckily I was the MOH which made it "okay" to be different :) Thanks to Dad and Matt for keeping me calm and as far from a breakdown as possible! 

    We had great-aunts and great-uncles from afar who came to celebrate with us. Also, our Uncle Johnny his wife and daughter were able to come from Oregon. I am fully aware of how blessed I am in all aspects of life, but days like this really put it into perspective. Words can't express how much it meant to me to see all of these people and to be such a big part of such a special day. 

 Cousins: Laura & Kaylee after getting their hair done

 Cousins: Hannah & Michelle applying make up

 Uncle Buck seeing his baby girl for the first time on her wedding day

 T&T's wedding party!

 KayleeBug & I before the ceremony

 Matt was an usher, D&D were host/hostess, I was MOH

 My daddy and his five silly siblings

 Happily Married & making out!!!

 Cousins!

Memory table at the reception--beautiful memorial to great influences in our lives.

blog vacation

Sorry to disappoint. I've taken a vacation from the blogging world. With Tricia's wedding, halloween and parent-teacher conferences I have been a tad busy. I will be filling you all in on the awesomeness that is my life very soon.
I hope all is well with everyone.
Here is a photo of me and a student ("military ninja") on halloween to keep you entertained:

busy busy

So, last week when Allison and I went on a hike we saw those two buffalo. We thought that was really something special and crazy. Turns out, buffalo roam down at Ghost Hawk Park all the time! Allison, Jamie, Tim and I along with Gus and Whoop went down to the park yesterday for a walk and saw these two mischievous 'flos hanging out. It's still crazy to me! Jamie, from Rhode Island, wanted very badly to approach the buffalo and to pet them. After we strongly advised her against it, we noticed the bison were moving towards us. I announced to my friends that I didn't care what they chose to do, I however would be waiting for them at the van. With that, I moved very fast to the top of the hill to a safe place and waited.  

 Jamie, observing the buffalo.


After our afternoon outing, I attempted to take a photo with Whoop. I already have a plethora of him, but none of the two of us. He was too impatient for the self-timer to go off, so I wasn't able to catch a good one. Perhaps sometime when I have a friend or family member around I can con them into taking one for me!

This morning I went to church. The sermon covered the importance of Love and how if we were to follow the Ten Commandments, we would be giving our all to show love. It was interesting and very fitting for a lot of my recent thoughts. Yesterday I wrote my speech for Tricia and Tony's wedding, which is next weekend (!!!), and was thinking a lot about love. My past relationships and those that I have learned from such as my parents, my brother, my friends and family, etc. I love sermons, such as this morning's, that really touch on real life topics--when they are applicable to all people of all ages. It's so refreshing to have a pastor who really just lays it out on the line for you. Although it can be entertaining and somewhat unprofessional, I feel very comfortable at my church here in Rosebud. 

This week I have a lot going on. I am nervous to leave my class for the first time. Wednesday afternoon I have CORE Reading training in Mission and will be missing half of a day. Thursday I have taken off the afternoon and all of Friday so that I will be able to be in Minnesota for all of the wedding festivities! Of course I would never wish to be anywhere else, but I am struggling to cope with the thought of leaving my classroom in the hands of someone else. I have no idea why I am having these feelings, my full-time aid will be my substitute teacher and she has high expectations of the kids and knows how everything operates in our room--it's still an eerie feeling. 

I am not sure what I'm going to do with Whoop either. I have friends here that I could leave him with, but I feel that four days is a long time to leave him with someone. I may bring him to Vermillion and have D&D's neighbor girl feed and walk him. He's so incredibly calm and perfect, I know he won't be a bother to anyone that I leave him with. 

It's odd the anxiety I'm having about leaving my kids and my dog. I'm becoming that person I used to make fun of. I guess it's situations such as this that show me how I actually feel about my little snot-nosed 6 and 7 year olds and my canine.

Well, I suppose I should get to planning the next two weeks. I know that I won't have any time to plan the week of October 31 because I'll be having such a great time while home so I'm going to attempt to do it this week!

I hope all is well out there for each of you. If you live in Minnesota and are reading this--I can't wait to see you in 4 days!!!

whoopi is here!!!

Well, how do you do?

 Profile view.

 Whoopster lounging on dad's (very missed) couch.

So, I took the plunge and committed to a 30 lb lab/poodle mix. He is a neutered male that is housetrained and absolutely perfect in every way! In the words of my Aunt Pooh, "After him, you'll never be able to settle for any man!" No truer words have ever been spoken :) 

I drove to Rapid City on Saturday to "meet" him. It was total love at first sight! We clicked right away, and the volunteer at the Humane Society told me I was very lucky because "Joey" was quite the catch. The volunteer gave me some background info on him and said that he had been surrendered by his original owners because of financial and landlord issues. "Joey" had been adopted within days of his original surrender by an older woman. This woman returned him within two days, saying that she didn't like how he followed her everywhere---wait a tick, what is it exactly that dogs are supposed to do if not follow it's master around? Well, anyway there had been multiple people that called for information about him, but luckily I was the winner winner of that chicken dinner! 

I re-named him Whoopiman Cuddyer Smidt, and he goes by Whoopi, Da Whoop or Whoopster. What can I say, I love me some Whoopi Goldberg and had already named a rez street dog Cuddy (after my favorite Twins player). Although his name is semi-feminine, I do not give a rats pa-toot. After all, he is a freakin' poodle! 

Every conversation I've had with dad since Saturday has centered around Whoopster. He keeps telling me what a bad idea/habit it is to let him sleep with me--I figure it will keep the cost of heating down. Muahahahahaha!!! Plus, who could resist that face?! I mean, really!

buffalo!

Yesterday evening Allison and I went for a hike. Before beginning our hike, we stumbled upon two buffalo. Just hanging out at a local park! It was quite the sight to see. I don't know if I've ever seen buffalo outside of a national park and/or zoo. It was actually terrifying. We got as close as we saw fit, took a couple of pictures then headed back the way we came. Aggravating not one, but two buffalo is a certain death wish. So we continued on our hike--what beautiful sights there are to see! We gathered a bunch of sage and then went for a scenic drive. [Not a guilt trip] I wish I had some company to share these sights with--the fall colors are to die for, and the air is so perfect and crisp! After Allison dropped me off back at home, I ate a honeycrisp (thanks, dad!) and reflected on what a perfect day I had just had.

Big news in the J.Smidt house-- I will soon have a roommate! A male with curly black hair who is nice to children and animals and is potty-trained!  Saturday morning I will be going to Rapid City to pick up Whoopi (currently Joey) from the humane society. I am very excited! Click on this to see him: WHOOPI !

I received an e-mail from Ali today with this link: ABC News 20/20
If you have no plans, tomorrow (Friday October 14, 2011) evening there will be an episode of 20/20 on ABC during which Diane Sawyer follows the lives of some youth from Pine Ridge Reservation (the neighboring reservation to Rosebud). I find it interesting and hopeful. If you have time, try to catch it!

Dakota Days

This past weekend I went home for D-Days. It wasn't half the fun that it used to be, i attribute this to two things: 1. I am old and 2. Paulina wasn't in attendance. 

I hadn't planned to attend, but decided that a three day weekend would be nice spent at home. So I went. I left Friday after school and arrived right around 8:30 pm. Mom, Dad and I spent some time hanging out. Then Ali came from Sioux Falls, Sarah and Cameron came over and my old roommate Bethany stopped by. It was nice having some quiet time at home to talk and catch up with them, rather than the usual loud bar scene in which nothing gets accomplished other than alcohol induced reminiscing. Saturday morning Ali and I watched the parade from the lawn of Concordia Lutheran. It was nice seeing so many church members. Though I was pretty tired, I appreciated all of the kind smiles and greetings. Ali and I then got ready while we waited for Colleen to arrive from Sioux Falls. We all went downtown for a couple of beers. Sadly, I didn't see any of my friends from the School of Education. It was a good time none the less. Saturday evening we returned to Mom and Dad's house where we sat out at the fire pit until the wee hours of the morning. Sunday was spent going to church and hanging out with my parents. We went to see the movie Moneyball. It was super long, but I really enjoyed it a lot. In South Dakota we celebrated Native American Day with no school, so Monday I drove home to Rosebud. I stopped in Yankton to have lunch with my good friend Amber. It was great meeting her new puppy and getting to spend an hour or so talking. I miss her a lot.

A woman who had worked within the school district passed away late last week. Because she and her husband were/are both employees of the district and very well known throughout the community, we did not have school today so that anyone and everyone could attend the funeral without penalty. I attended the funeral with my friend, Allison. We felt it appropriate, and I am very happy that I did attend. I saw some students and many employees of the district. Events like this remind me why I am here. Seeing the support of so many people, whether family, friends or complete strangers is something foreign to many people--but not here on the reservation. This is something I truly appreciate. 

I have been in the market for a dog since I moved out here. I have had a couple of leads that have come to a quick hault. I think I have found one though. I will keep you all updated.

The Hills Are Alive!

I just returned to Rosebud from a great 28 hour trip to Hill City, SD! My friend and former roommate, Allison, ran the half at the Crazy Horse marathon. We left Saturday morning, stopped at Wall Drug, then in Rapid City to eat at our favorite restaurant, went through Keystone and Custer and landed in Hill City. We camped in the back of her minivan on a dirt road in The Hills. It's amazing what a change of scenery can do for a person! Allison is a person with an incredibly positive attitude and a fun personality. We had a blast!

 Backyard at Wall Drug

 Everything Prehistoric in Hill City, SD

 Sharing my milk shake with a pig in Hill City, SD

Allison and I on a walk on the Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills of SD

The complimentary shampoo and conditioner from our "hotel"! (I found these in the back of Allison's van as we were setting up our sleeping quarters and thought it was hilarious.


Last week school was fine. Nothing too new in the 1st grade world. I am going to attempt to write more regularly so that I can share the silliness that happens on a daily basis. To be completely honest I had been planning my lessons from day-to-day, which made it hard for me to keep up with the blog. Now that I am lesson planning and handing them all in on Monday mornings, I will have more free time in the evening.
I have been cooking a lot, lately. After having roommates for the past 6 years, it's hard to cook for one person. Grandma Shea has always been a huge advocate of freezing things, I have fallen into this and find it to be so helpful! I know that probably sounds stupid--like, "duh Jacque, you're just figuring that out?!" But I mean more along the lines of freezing pre-portioned meals to take to school for lunch. Who'da thunk I would be that organized :)

Green peppers are 3 for $2 right now! I've been having a lot of stuffed peppers, which I don't think I could ever get sick of!