MURPHY TURNS 13 ON TUESDAY

Murphy is....

...always willing to lend a paw,

...ready to be your best friend,

....someone to lean on,

...always able to laugh!

Fourth of July in Atlanta

We went to the Braves game. They even won that game!!! Braves win! Braves win!!
Braves win!!!

We had a great time in Atlanta. From seeing a Braves ball game the first night to running the Peachtree Race the last day, it was outstanding.

We went to the World of Coke and to the CNN Center...our usual hangouts!

This year we even walked over to Georgia Tech. The buildings were all closed but we got to wander the beautiful campus and hang out among the trees and quiet setting. Yes, the students were mainly gone, too!

WHAT IS YOUR STORY?

Sometimes as I sit in front of the computer I wonder what my story is for today. What do I really have to tell that makes any difference. That's what I was thinking today as I visited two of my four schools that I am assigned to for the summer.

Then I thought of D and K who are English Second Language learners. They were telling me the story of them playing soccer in the afternoon. D would kick the ball and K would catch it. Then K would kick the ball and D would catch it. They drew the pictures and then wrote two sentences on the two sheets of paper. To add details, they added a sun and then wrote: It was a sunny day. They had a story. They really did have a story!

And, I thought of Maria who told the story of going on a field trip to the zoo with her class last spring. She and her partner had sack lunches. They loved the monkeys best because they would run and fight with each other and made her laugh. She had a story She really did have a story!

Then there was Lauren who wanted to tell a story to share with her last year's teacher, Mrs. A. She wanted to share the story about going camping with her family and playing in the sand and sleeping in a camper. She had a story. She really did have a story!

And, I can't forget the teacher who told me about the boy in her class who has trouble writing but when he shares what only he can read, it keeps the rest of the class on the edge of their seats. The class sits breathless when that child shares his story...because he has a story. He really does have a story.

So, when I sit today in front of the computer, I think what is my story? My story is helping those teachers to get the stories of all these children out in the world. My story is to help them give those children the tools they need to tell those stories. Because I have a story. I really do have a story.

What is your story?

SUMMER INSTITUTE 2009

Julia signs people up for the author dinner!

Everyone else helps to register the 400+ people who came this year!

It was great seeing old friends!

Jaqueline Woodson was awesome!

I even got to meet Aimee Buckner

AMAZING RACE 2009

For several years now, The Big D, Ty and Lane have participated in the Amazing Race. One year they did it with Michelle and one year with Brandt. This year I had the chance to participate in it also, only with another team. Kathleen and her two boys needed someone, so I was it!

We did this way back in April, but my new camera wouldn't let me download them. I finally figured it out so here are a few of them. The two teams are on top. The feet/hands picture shows our nails painted. We had to paint each others feet and hands with the polish brush in our mouth! Thankfully we got a very light pastal paint and so did The Big D's team! We had beautiful weather and the day was a complete success. What fun!!! Thanks Kathleen and boys for letting me join you!

SURPRISE!

Going to the mailbox in the summer is usually one of the highlights of my day. You just never know what surprises you may find there. Today was no exception.

I opened the lid, pulled out a stack of mail and thumbed through it. There they were: the 8 x 10 envelopes with red, white and blue lettering...Peachtree Road Race. I hurried inside and ripped open the one with my name on it. It is always exciting to see what number you get each year. The Big D and I never know, but they are always consecutive numbers. They could range anywhere from 10,000-99,999. Well, probably not the 10,000-24,4000 sections...those are for the really fast runners.

I pulled out all the many inserts. There is a brochure with 2009 Official Instructions (The 40th Running) with everything you ever wanted to know about the rules of running in the Peachtree. Then there are all kinds of advertisements stuck inside. One for UPS, one for AJC, Atlanta's newspaper, and of course, REEBOK. But what I was looking for was my number. I felt it's smooth silver peach that always is in the top right hand corner first. I slid it out slowly hoping to find something in the 30,000 range where we have been for the last couple years. A perfect spot.

The paper it was on was green. That didn't mean much, because each set of numbers is a different color and each year they are different. Green is nice, I thought. Then I saw it!!! The number!!! It was 99,772. Yes, 99,772!!! WHAT??? That can't be! That means I am at the END of the pack...the VERY END!!

I quickly repressed any guilt I might have, and opened The Big D's packet. I was sure he would have 99,771...we were always one number apart. But, NO....his number was...37,616. Right where we BOTH should be!!!

So, here's the deal. If we want to run together, and we do, he will be running at the back of the pack with me. Unless, there is someone out there who would be willing to trade me numbers for anything in the 30,000 range. AND, if you got 37,617...you have MY NUMBER!!!

NOTEBOOK CONNECTIONS

Today I tried something different. A principal friend of mine who lives in Atlanta, home of the Peachtree, invited me to join some educators for a Webcast with Aimee Buckner. That sounded exciting to me, but a little scary. I had never done that alone...only with my colleagues. Still, I am in the process of reading Aimee's latest book: Notebook Connections AND she is going to be presenting at the All Write!!! Summer Institute in a few weeks.

I took the challenge. I clicked on the link, dialed my phone and there was Aimee, well, really a picture of Aimee. It was a thrill to hear her talk about her book while I thumbed through it to the pages she discribed. I underlined and highlighted things I had already read, but now it seemed more real with the actual author talking about it.

I am even more excited to finish the book. I am even more excited to get to meet her in person in just a few weeks. So, for a rainy, dreary Thursday I got to speed away to another place and listen to one of my favorite authors. Hey, Aimee, I am a FAN!!!