........

it's still hard to believe that I'm actually running my own classroom. some days just slip by and I barely remember what happened! Monday's I'm usually excited, full of energy, and ready to accomplish a lot! but as the week wears on it gets harder and harder to get out of bed.....and it doesn't feel like I get much accomplished during the day.

just this week in particular perhaps, because it's the end of the first quarter, and report cards go home next week! the grading program on the computer is excellent, so it's not too complicated, but I'd still like to put in more marks....which means more marking! Scott is gone to a soccer tournament all day Saturday, so I'll probably spend a lot of the day at school. sometimes it just has to be done on a Saturday!

we finally got a permanent teacher for the other grade 4 class this week! she also just got married and came over to Beijing. her husband is working on the American Embassy project. It's such a relief to all of us, and the class seems to be adjusting well. I'm really excited, because she has taught a lot of this curriculum before! she's got 2 years under her belt. so we hope to do a lot of planning together. and she's full of helpful, brilliant ideas! thank God for Jodee!

this past weekend I experienced more of what we call "Beijing Belly"!!! basically I ate something that didn't agree with me. either it was something gone bad, or some bacteria my body wasn't used to. I spent most of Saturday sleeping, trying to ignore the pain in my belly. thankfully we did pack lots of Advil.

I'm not sure I ever mentioned the little trip to the "ranch" during the second week of our vacation. basically we drove out of the city about an hour to a "ranch" set up by a Canadian. the accommodations were nice enough. cedar cabins, and the bathroom had a big jacuzzi tub and a sauna. by the grounds were nasty. not well kept. but we did lots of things: horseback riding, archery, go carts, bowling, ping pong. the best part was the hike that Scott and I took. no one else was on the mountain! except of course for the giant spiders and grasshoppers. we are very thankful that our chinese neighbour invited us along.....though we didn't know that all 6 of them were chain smokers!!! haha....not used to that much smoke in "Smoke Free Ontario!"

well.....that's all for now. I hope you're all enjoying the beautiful Fall.

p.s. sorry, it takes too long to load pictures on here sometimes....but check Scott's facebook if you want to see more