Foiled!

For some reason, all blogs at my school have been blocked for over two weeks, hence the lack of posting. I'm at my in-laws' house now, desperately typing out this message before we go home. Sigh... I'm working on getting at least my blog unblocked.

Curses!

Thanks for your patience.

Happy Halloween

Get a load of June's feathery cap!

Here's the happy family before they get dressed up.

June Bug, Scream Man, and Michael Jackson

My sister cracks me up.

Is that a scream of laughter or terror?

Ray LaMontagne at the Fox

Last night Nathan and I saw Ray LaMontagne at the Fox here in Atlanta. Upon entering the beautiful and historic theatre in Midtown, Nathan said, "I've never seen so many yuppies in all my life." It's true... we saw the full spread of the latest Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters catalogs - lots of organic cotton, ethnic scarves, and riding boots.

Ray LaMontagne is quite a character. I think he used to spend a lot of time in the forests of Maine, writing songs. He's got such a unique voice, and his music is just beautiful, but he didn't talk much. When he did, he mumbled and fumbled over his words. If I close my eyes when he sings, I hear a 300 pound black man singing the blues. When they're open, I see a lanky bearded hippie with a giant cowboy hat on to block the stage lights from his eyes. Interesting...

Anyway, we had a great romantic time up in the nosebleed section of the theatre.

Here's a sample.

Here's another one.

Kelee's Baby Shower

Worlds collide! My friends Kelee (a childhood friend from Washington State) and Annah (a friend from high school) are friends with each other, living in the same town, going to the same church, and having baby boys only days apart! It was so fun to see them together at Kelee's shower.

We served appetizers and had a tractor theme, as Baby Parker's room is decorated in th same theme.

Mmm... cookies and cupcakes!

More tractors, more cookies...

One of my mom's students made this diaper cake with a tractor theme!

Here is Kelee next to Parker's crib. Our friend Andrea made the canvases above.

My sister, Michelle, me, and another Michelle (both Michelles are from high school as well!)

Here's Andrea's sweet daughter, Emory, my sister, and Andrea.

Dewar's

Okay Amy... Here they are. Patience! Patience! This is Amy. I used to be her Bible study leader and substitute teacher when she was in high school. Now SHE'S a 6th grade teacher, like me. WE'RE COLLEAGUES! Here we are in front of Red Brick Pizza (I think that's what it's called.). But the really good stuff came later...

This is me and my pump at Amy's former place of employment - Dewar's. It's basically the best ice cream in the world. Thanks to la bomba, I could eat this entire sundae without losing any sleep. I definitely didn't lose any sleep... or any weight.

Pump, pump, pump it up! Pump that Mustang spirit up! Did I mention that Amy and I went to the same high school? Go Stockdale Mustangs!

Her face is so sweet, but that sundae in the foreground is even sweeter.

Two More Reasons Why I Loved Being Home

1) Dad's cooking. This was breakfast.

2) Fresh flowers, my favorite snack, and a Diabetes magazine awaited me in the guest room. I felt so loved. My parents are the best!

I'm Old

So at the football game, I was thrilled to find out that the West High Vikings were playing the Frontier High Titans. You see, most of my former 7th grade students from Freedom Middle School now attend Frontier, all of them now JUNIORS and SENIORS. Boy did that make me feel old...

I sneaked over to the opposing side and walked the bleachers, looking for kids that were familiar. It kind of felt like I was looking for missing children whose faces from five years ago were on a milk carton, and I had to find the older versions of them in a sea of people.

Lo and behold, I didn't have to walk very far before I heard someone yell, "Miss Sampley!" I turned and saw a blond girl pointing at me and smacking her friend on the shoulder to get her to look. Then, I beckoned them down from the bleachers and we caught up and took a picture. It was so exciting!

These two I had my very first year of teaching, and now they're in the drum line in the band and going to college next year. I'm on my tippy toes, but look how tall they are!

This one, whose brother is the blond one above, has the worst handwriting of any kid I've ever had. When he saw me he said, "Hey Miss Sampley! I get good grades now!" While I was thrilled for him, I'm not sure what that said about me...