June & July

We are still here in Vermillion. It's been a busy summer so far. The Dakota Writing Project went well, but it kept me very busy. Jon had baseball every Monday and Wednesday and Joey had T-ball Tuesday and Thursday nights for six weeks. Over the Fourth of July went to Inwood for a Ter Wee family reunion. Then Jim spent six days in Chicago for the American Library Assocation, wish I could have gone! So I'm finally updating.

A wonderful gentleman from our church GAVE us a canoe!
Jim has named it The Falcon, as in, "You came here in that?
You are braver than I thought!"

The weather was not great for our Fourth celebration,
but the Ter Wee's entered in the Inwood parade.

Heath entered the Demolation Derby again.
This time he drove the Bat mobile.
He won best car AND the derby!

Joey and Garrett stood in the rain to catch candy.

Some of the many Ter Wees

Hanging on the lake on the fifth of July.

Confirmation trip

I've been home from my Iowa trip for a week. It was an amazing time. I could go on and on, but I won't. I have a ton of pictures, but I've just posted a few to give you a quick overview.

This is a Hindu temple outside of Madrid, Iowa.
It was built for the Hindu populations of Des Moines and Ames.
We weren't allowed to take photos inside, but it was just beautiful.
Riley and me outside of the montesary.
It was also beautiful, in a very stark way.
We attended four services here, including the 3:30 am service.
We each slept in our own cell.

Here's our whole group in the Mother Mosque.
It's the oldest mosque in North America, the Imam gave a little
talk and answered many questions. I learned a lot.

Working at the food pantry.

Playing at Adventureland

We also went to a Southern Baptist Church, the Amana Colonies, and a meditation teaching. I spent 13 hours driving someone else's Suburban around the state. But that doesn't describe the trip. Working with those kids, learning with them, becoming their friend, it was a trip of a lifetime. I'm so blessed to have had the oportunity.

Summer plans

We accomplished the first of our summer plans today. Jon had his tonsils out this morning. Correction, he had his tonsils AND adenoids out, Jon feels it's important to note that the adenoids were removed as well. He can be such a goof ball. The surgery went well, to quote the doctor, "his tonsils were large and gnarly." When Jon first woke up he told the nurse he didn't want to have his tonsils out, he changed his mind. It was a little late for that! He's slept most the day, but is up watching cartoons and eating ice cream. He should be discharged soon: ) On a side note, we don't have cable or dish at home anymore, and spending the day watching Cartoon Network has pretty much convinced me we made the right choice. Most of these cartoon are really lousy.

Jon was disappointed to learn that he will not be able to play baseball for 10 days so he will miss the first two games. Jim is coaching Jon's baseball team with our friend Chris so Jon's friends Dylan and Drew are on the same team. Joey has his first t-ball practice tonight, then he and Jim will drive up to Sioux Falls to pick up Nancy. She's returning for a couple weeks Europe, I hope she had a great time!

The guys have a pretty full summer. Besides baseball and t-ball, they will both take swimming lessons. Jon is doing a children's theater for a week and a week of an Out and About program, among other things they'll spend a day as an army guy. He's really pumped about that! Joey will be doing tumbling. Both will be involved in the VBS at our church and the many activities at the library.

As a family we plan on doing a bit of camping, hopefully out in the Hills. And we have the Ter Wee cousins reunion over the Fourth and Jim's family will be here in August. Jim will be Dad on duty and be running the boys here, there, and everywhere. Jim is also in charge of the garden this summer. He put in more plants than previous years but it will still be a small garden, mostly tomatoes and peppers. A friend gave me some strawberry plants too.

What about me you ask? I may well be the busiest member of the Z's. Sunday I will be leaving on the Confirmation Trip. I've been spending most Sunday evenings with the 15 or so 8th and 9th graders in our church. They are a great group and I'm very excited for the trip. We will be visiting a Muslim mosque, a Hindu temple, and an African-American Baptist church. We'll work in a shelter and possible a Habitat for Humanity house. And we will be spending the night in a monastery. Promises to be very interesting.

I will also be participating in the Dakota Writing Project during the month of June. Some of you may recognize the DWP, Nancy was the director for years. It is a great class/workshop during which teachers teach teachers writing. It meets Monday through Thursday for four weeks. I'm a bit nervous about it. For one thing Nancy is very well respected and I hope I don't embarrass the Zuercher name. Also, most of the participates will be staying at the dorms and will have alot of time to work on their assignments; where as I will be going home to T-ball and theater and, and... I tried to convince Jim I should stay in the dorms too, but it didn't work.

This has been a very long post. It's now after 10. Jon had one incident of nausea and has little interest in eating or drinking, but other than that he is doing well. We've read some and now he's watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone since he slept most the day . I'm sure tomorrow he'll feel much better. Thank goodness for pain medicine!

I did it!!!!

I made it through my first year of teaching middle school! I'm quite impressed with myself. I was really, really nervous last fall. And there were days in August and September when I questioned my sanity to willingly spend my days with students who weren't very interested in learning and could be unbelievably rude. One student did a handstand on the desk the first day of school, and when I told him not to do it again, he said "Why not? All the other teachers let me." By the way, I'm sure few, if any, teachers let him. Then, maybe two months later, on the day the districts salaries were printed in the local newspaper, the same student told me he hated me and another student chimed in "Yeah, nobody likes you. Why do you even bother coming everyday?" I was asking myself the same question especially after looking a the pay scale and being reminded that South Dakota pays it's teacher lower than any other state. I know, I know, we have no state income tax and low cost of living. But in Iowa I would make $10,000 more a year and you can't tell me the state tax and cost of living is $10,000 more 45 minutes away. So I digress, sorry.
At any rate, last fall I was questioning my sanity. But then things started changing, I started having a bit more control of my classroom most days, the math was coming back to me, and I started teaching novels. I cannot tell you how much more I enjoy teaching novels than 2nd grade reading books. And to be able to discuss plot and characters with the students who had an idea what I was talking about, it's great. I got to teach ten novels this year, some I'd read when I was a kid, like The Outsiders and To Kill a Mockingbird, and some that were new to me, like Tangerine and The Westing Game. And I read a ton of other young adult novels in order to better help my students choose their independent reading selections. Well that's why I said I was reading them, in actuality, I really enjoy reading YA novels. I am seriously considering getting my Masters in library sciences.
So things ended much better than they started. It didn't exactly turn in to To Sir with Love or anything, and I don't think I was the one teacher who changed a student's life. But I think I helped some kids who needed it and I grew some as well and what more can I ask for? Well, more money, but I digress again. I know I didn't help every student as much as they needed and I also know there's a lot more growth I'll make, but it's a start. And the handstand kid? He really got into To Kill a Mockingbird and had some great insights into the book. Granted he really thought Atticus should have shot Bob Ewell during the trial, but he knew what was going on. Truly, that alone made much of the year worth it. Handstand boy goes to the high school next year, I will miss him.
Next year I will be teaching the same subjects with some of the same kids. For the most part, that's a very good thing. It's the first time in a long time that I'll be in the same classroom 2 years in a row. The math should be much easier the second time around and I won't have to do quite so much reading, although I'm sure I'll do plenty.

The Z's minus one

Jim has spent the last 4 days kayaking on a river near Pierre. I'm hoping he is having a great time. In our age of instant communication, it's weird to have him out of touch. I hadn't spoken to him since Thursday night. He just tried to call, but the connection was bad so all I heard him say was "Hi Honey." I'm sure he'll call back soon. I gotta say, the pessimist in me was getting nervous so that "Hi honey" told me he hadn't drown or been bitten by a rattle snake. He is suppose to be home late tonight.
It is very good for our marriage for Jim to go away once in a while. For one thing, I am much more of a homebody than he is. I think Jim could happily travel every other weekend. I enjoy traveling but not quite as much. Also, Jim and I often joke that I am the general manager of Team Zuercher. And secretly, I often think I do most everything around here. Then Jim goes away and within 12 hours I am reminded about how much he does, how good he is with the guys, and how much I like that guy. Plus, I had to make my own coffee this morning, my coffee is not good.
Jim just called back. Sounds like they had a great time . They paddled 90 miles in 3 days and Jim says his shoulder feel it! He'll be home later than expected. He did not take our new camera but his friend Jarrett should have some pictures.

Speaking of pictures

I had a really nice Mother's Day. The guys each wrote me
a card. Jon's said I was as pretty as a pony, I've decided
it was a compliment. After church, Nancy went with us to
my mom's house. We had a lot of fun with all the family.

Yesterday was the last day of soccer. To tell the truth, I'm a bit relieved.
It was fun, but coaching is not my cup of tea.
Joey enjoyed practice, but wasn't crazy about the games.
He was very photogenic though!
We have fewer pictures of Jon since I was busy coaching.
It was amazing to see how much the team grew over the year.
U8 teams don't have goalies, but Jon enjoyed being sweeper, basically
a goalie who can move around, but can't use their hands.My allergies were horrible week before last.
Honestly, I don't think they have ever been quite that bad.
I lost my voice for three day so Jim had to coach practice that week.

Joey had his last preschool program last Tuesday.
His last day of school was Friday.
Getting his certificate.

My mom helped me Thursday and Friday then took Joey

with her to Jessica's house. My folks came back with Ada and Garrett
on Saturday to watch Jon's last game. Then Dad edged our yard.
Here's Ada "mowing" our yard with Dad in the back round.

Jim's Birthday

Jim's birthday was last Tuesday. He found out on Monday that he did not get the full time position at Morningside, which is a big bummer. But the person who did get the job was very qualified and Jim will still be working there as a writing specialist and will be teaching 3 classes in the fall so all is not a loss.
Jim birthday was still a nice day. He worked on his birthday, but left a little early and picked up pizza from Elfredo's in Sioux City. They have great pizza sauce! Nancy joined us and add a salad to our meal. We had a carrot cake from Monica's, yum!

Daddy and his guys.
Joey is wearing his giggle gear mask, goofball!

Jon choose a card for Jim that came with this pin.

I told Jon and Joey the night before what Nancy and I had
bought Jim for his birthday. They were so excited!
I was a little concerned that Joey wouldn't
be able to contain his excitement and tell Jim, but Joe kept the secret.

I think Jim figured out what his gift was.

Happy Jim and his new i pod touch.
It has rarely left his hands since he got it.

Easter Pictures (finally)

We have attended the Sunrise service at the river
for the last 4 years. Last year there were snow flakes
in the air. This year the weather was perfect.
Chilly before the sun rose and then it warmed up a bit.
The sunrise was beautiful!

The Faithful watching the sunrise.

The guys down by the river.

The Easter Bunny may have gone a little overboard.
He brought Easter treats to Grandma Nancy's house this year.
After the guys found all the candy,
we had a lovely breakfast together.

Joey, how much candy are you going to eat?

We then drove to Spencer and hung out with the Ter Wee clan.

I guess someone didn't want to be in the family picture.

The cousins being goofy.

Knowing my strengths

I will post Easter pictures tomorrow. I was going to right now, but I don't have all the pictures on my computer. I'll download them tomorrow, promise.
Since I'm not posting pictures, I thought I'd whine, just a little.

It's been a really looong week. One of those weeks when we have something every night and more than one thing a couple nights. Plus, we are waiting to hear if Jim got a full-time position at Morningside. He interviewed on the ninth and thought it went really well. It is a grant position training current teachers to be certified to teach English Language Learners. It is right up Jim's alley and as I said, the interview went really well. It's nice to be an internal candidate. Jim thinks he would really enjoy the job, and the pay is much better. He was the first of five interviews, they said they would let Jim know by April 25th. That would be today and we haven't heard anything yet. We are still very hopeful, but the waiting is hard. If you pray, please send one up for us!

So, it's been a busy week. Not all bad, my sister Jessica invited me to "Ain't Misbehavin'" at the Orpheum Theater in Sioux City. Frenchie Davies was the female lead and Ruben Studdard was the male lead. I'm not a big American Idol fan, but I remember Frenchie from the 2006 season. She was my favorite ever, but she was booted because of some photos she'd done before Idol. It's okay, she went to Broadway! (or Sioux City) It was amazing to hear her in person.

Friday night Jim was able to present the Fredrick Zuercher graduate assistanceship during the Political Science banquet. The evening got a little long, but it is an honor to be able to remember Fred's legacy by helping students. Jim did a great job presenting and he told the group that if Fred was alive, he would have reminded Jim that Friday was the 10 year anniversary of Jim and I's first date. My how time flies! I guess Fred also told Jim that Jim should marry me. Fred was such a smart man.

That brings us to today. In order to fulfill the "highly qualified status" required by No Child Left Behind, the powers that be decided I needed to take the Praxis test. Never mind the fact I've taught nearly eight years and never mind the fact I took a version of the Praxis 9 years ago in North Carolina, in order to get my next teaching certificate in SD, I am required to take 3 separate tests. I'm still arguing, ever so politely with them about the special education test. There is actually a 4th test the state would like me to take, but at $80 per test, I'm only taking the ones I'm required to take. Today I took the first two.

I study a bit for the tests, not much, but some. This morning was a comedy of errors. The proctor didn't have my name on her list so I had to find the women in charge to let me in. Then I realized I'd signed up for English Language, Literature, Composition NOT Middle School English Lit and Comp. Oops. So not only was I taking an $80, two hour standardized test that I hadn't studied for (I haven't had a Lit class in at least 14 years) I wasn't sure the test would satisfy the state's requirements. Nothing I could do but take the test. I have to say, the test went pretty well. I would have done better on the middle school version, but I was proud of me. I recognized almost all the authors it referred to and had read many of the books, not all of course, but quite a few. There were a couple questions I didn't know, but I was usually able to narrow it down to 2 answers and then make an educated guess. I know I don't always use proper grammar, but I can usually identify it! I finished with over half an hour to spare.

There was a break between the 2 tests. I went over to the new student center, the MUC (Muenster University Center) to get something to eat. Nothing opened until 11, it was 10:30, the next test started at 10:45. There was a machine in the Ed school, but unfortunately I had less than a dollar in change on me and even a candy bar was $1.25. So I went into the Middle School Mathematics test on an empty stomach. During the break I read a bit of "Teach like your Hair is on Fire." The author was commenting on how test crazy our nation is and how he helps his students without making it the focus of the classroom. I found it a bit ironic to be reading that between my test.

I had signed up for the correct test this time, thank God! But I had not studied nearly enough. There were 40 multiple choice questions and three in depth questions essay type questions. They were 4 part (or more!) story problems you need to solve and then explain your answer. On the multiple choice section, there were several times I worked out the problem only to find my answer was not a choice. A couple problems, I didn't even know how to start I just put down a letter I hadn't used in awhile. I found myself on the wrong number and had to go back and find my mistake once, it took awhile. I don't even want to talk about the in depth questions, it wasn't pretty.

So I'm thinking I should be teaching more literature than math. There is the theory that someone who has struggled with a subject can be a better teacher, because they can empathize and recognize common errors. Usually I believe that, not so sure today! The good news is, the high school English test does satisfy the state's requirement. At least I won't need to retake THAT one.

I'll keep you updated on Jim's job and my test scores as I know more. This turned out longer than I intended, thanks for sticking with me. I'm going to watch a Chick Flick and turn my brain off!

Catch up

Yes, we are still alive. Really we are. It's been a good month or so since I last blogged. Nothing major but a good month. I will post Easter photos another time, I just thought I'd show everyone what the Vermillion Zuercher's have been up to.

The Vermillion PTA sponsors a carnival every spring.
The guys had a really good time.
Jon spent awhile playing chess with member of the chess club.

Joey enjoyed fishing, maybe sometime
we will take him fishing where he will catch real fish.

The perfect Sunday afternoon
Both guys are playing soccer this spring. I got out the
box of spring supplies, here's Joey trying stuff on.

The first soccer game was two weeks ago, luckily we played before the snow!
It was quite chilly. The guys both played at the same time, since I'm
coaching Jon's team, Jim stuck with Joey and didn't get any pictures of Jon.

Jon playing Wii fit at Peggy's house.

Spring?

The calendar says it's spring. Around the ides of March, it was beautiful around here, 70 degrees and sunny. Today the high was 43 degrees and there's a chance of snow Monday night. Gotta love South Dakota!
Not a whole lot to report. The boys start soccer this week. I'll actually be coaching Jon's team, not sure why I agreed to do that, but it should be interesting. Today the guys and I went to Sioux City and saw Monsters vs. Aliens. Jon was really excited to get to see a movie, "The first day anyone can see it!" We had a really nice time. Joey and Garret shared a seat for most of the movie.
I'm finally posting pictures from our trip to Minneapolis a couple weeks ago. We had a really nice time with Angela, Matt, and Grant. We stopped at Berke's house on the way back, which was a lot of fun. I didn't think to get the camera out though, so no photographical evidence exists.

Grant playing with his Momma (he has chocolate on his tooth)

Grant wasn't always so sure about his crazy Aunt Gina,
but he and the guys got along well.

Jon and Joey shopping at Ikea.
Among other things, we bought a $3 lamp.
The bulb cost $8.

We also went to the Mall of America.
I finally caved and let the boys ride some rides.
I thought Joey would love this ride because he was a huge
Wonderpets fan. He was not all that impressed.

We went back to the zoo, always fun.
I honestly put this picture in because it's so
rare Jim or I show up on the blog.
Yes, dear, I'll post a picture of you soon.

We always love the aquarium

The Grizzly coast has only been open six months or so.
We think it is awesome.

It's amazing how close the bears seem!