A Surprise Party

Thursday after our Chess Challenge with the 2/3 class, 

 I walked into my classroom...

 ... and was stunned to discover...

 ... that the classroom was already full.

Who were these people??

Former students from my years as a Hershey teacher!

Kathleen Loftus handed me a container of her mother's famous "Loftus Fudge...

 ... and then gave me a big hug.

 I was so stunned, I did not know what to do or say.

There were former students everywhere, mingling with my current class!

Tim Schnepp was with us (he was in on the surprise) and he ended up helping me get my current students out to the buses at dismissal so that I could stay with my formers. (Thanks, Tim!!)

There were so many people, I did not know who to talk to first.

So I just jumped in!

So many people who have been dear to me over the years.

When you spend two (and even three) years together,you become very close.

Caleb Biemfohr squeezed in his visit between school and a track meet.

Albert Quigley, Jessica Gregory, and Katy (Katybug) Olson.

 For old time's sake, they wanted to go out to the playground (even though some of them are college students!)

 This is one of my favorite photos from the day.

Mrs. Olson, who helped Katybug organize the party, had the idea to take photos by the year the students were with me.

 Fromt row: Katybug, Albert, Sophie Anthony, Jessica Gregory. Back row: Lilli Tordil, and Angelina Poznanski. They are finishing their sophomore year at Harrison.

 Nikki Campbell, Lauren Smith, and 6'3" Zach Kelly are freshmen in high school.

 Ben Anthony and Merry, Merry, Merry, Meredith, who were in the 2/3 class with me and so were with me three years,  just finished their freshman year at Purdue.

 Harrison seniors Emily Blanchard, Kathleenie Loftus, Grace Bowen, Ellen Bowen, and Jon Hillery.

Chris Page, Daniel Campbell, Jay Thoennes, and Erin Smith are juniors in high school.

Carobou (Caroline) Blanchard and Madeline Roberts will be juniors are Purdue this August and were part of the original 2/3 class and thus with me for three years.

After our "recess time," we went back inside. I saw Jon Hillery looking through my book collection and wondered what he was doing.

 Turns out he was looking for a book he had gifted me seven years ago!

 And he found it! (I cannot believe he remembered that gift all these years later.)

The party wound down and people began leaving around 5:00. Several of the kids asked to have one last picture together. I was happy to oblige.

 Carobou and Emily.

 Sophie and Ben.

 Albert (who told me that seeing me again was the highlight of his whole school year) and Katybug.

 Jon and Ben.

 Madeline and Merry Merry Merry Meredith.

Laura Hess, Katybug's mother, who helped put the party together.

 I am blessed.

Cowboy Party!

Tim and Loni hosted a cowboy party and hayride tonight out at the barn. What a fun evening - I looked forward to it all day. Craig and I arrived a little early; Tim was still setting up the new barn for his guests. (Tim has three barns, the old barn where the horses spend most of their indoor time, the new barn with an indoor arena, lounge, shop, tack room, and bathroom, and the blue barn which is rented out by a couple who own Rocky Mountain Spotted Horses.)

 He pulled one of the buggies he has restored out of the barn for guests to look at and sit in.

Inside the lounge of the new barn, Loni was setting up the beverage and dessert table. She had found these cute, cowboy boot shaped glasses on Amazon.

 The picture doesn't do them justice - they were my favorite part of the meal!

One serving table with bread, biscuits, and some salads was put up outside by the buggy.

 Tim's buckboard served as our chuckwagon.

He fixed pork chops for everyone - they were delicious! (You can see the blue barn in the background.)

Twelve couples came, some of them horse people but most of them not.

 The entrance to the new barn and its front porch - a nice place to sit on a cool fall evening!

 Tim does such lovely work on his restoration projects.

After we ate, Travis Horton brought out his guitar and we had a sing along.

If you look through the windows, that's the indoor arena and the stalls that line it. Tim likes his horses to roam free and does not stall them, but if one were ill or injured, he's got a nice set of stalls where they can recuperate.

It was a cool day, and as the sun set, it became very chilly inside and out.

 A fire was lit in the cast iron stove and the lounge quickly warmed up to a comfortable temperature.

 In between Travis' songs on the guitar, Blake Robertson and I read cowboy poetry at Tim's request.

I had never read any, and am now hooked! There is a sense of humor coupled with reality in them, and if you know horses or cattle, you will not have any trouble understanding their meaning.

Dinner and entertainment over, we moved on to the next part of the party - a hay ride! Tim hooked the hay wagon up to his truck, made some seats out of bales of straw, and took us through the fields in the dark.

He would stop periodically and tell the history of the area, - stories of William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh, the Battle of Tippecanoe, and the Potowatami Trail of Death that went through the property. The ride culminated in a spooky chain saw story, and with Brandon, Tim's son in law, jumping out at us from the dark, wearing a mask and carrying a chain saw. Only he could not get the chain saw to start, and we all dissolved into gales of laughter instead of being scared!

Hot chocolate at the house wrapped up a wonderful fall evening. I cannot recall the last time I went on a hay ride or heard scary stories in the dark. And certainly I've never read any cowboy poetry, either!

Sure hope Tim and Loni do this again.

Partying on the Wildcat!

The Weston family invited the entire class out to their property on the north fork of the Wildcat near Pyrmont for a year-end party today. The weather was perfect, and we had a blast!

 A group shot - look at those happy faces!

 After playing corn hole, ladder ball, and exploring by the creek, the kids organized a game of soccer.

 MM is in hot pursuit of LW as they charge down the field.

 FR steals the ball!

 HS carried his ball glove everywhere in the hopes that a baseball game might begin.

There was even a spontaneous halftime show!

 Doin' the wave.

After soccer, we divided into teams for volleyball. 

 The kids invited me to play, and made kind remarks about my (mostly nonexistent) serving ability.

 Meanwhile, the Westons were grilling burgers and the biggest hotdogs I'd ever seen.

 TM, AY, and me down by the creek.

 A campfire was lit and ready for s'mores later in the evening.

 Chowing down - after all that hard play, we were hungry!

Thank you, Weston family, for a wonderful way to end the school year!