Jon Testifies before the Washington State Senate

Jon has been a bit famous lately (at least at our house)
This picture has been in the newspaper and several other publications the past month. This article is on the opening page of the school district web page. Jon worked really hard to get this bill passed and I felt really bad that he was one of the only kids who didn't get to go to Olympia yesterday to attend the governors signature. He got a new job and of all things he had training on the very same day. But he was interviewed by YES TV (the educational channel here) the other day and his name has been in all the articles except this one. Everyone says I have such a handsome son.............I agree!!

Photo of the Week

Students from Evergreen High School testified in front of the state Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee


Students from Patti McMaster’s Advanced Placement (AP) Youth and Government class were recently informed that House Bill 2781 introduced by Rep. Deb Wallace, has unanimously passed both the state Senate and the House of Representatives and received concurrence from the House of Representatives for the amendment added by the Senate.

This bill is significant to these students because not only does the bill require school districts to incorporate information into curriculum dealing with 21st century politics, international trade and state constitution and policies, but students from McMasters class met with Wallace as she was she was writing the bill and four traveled to the state capitol to testify in front of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee about the importance of the bill and the changes it entailed.

Senator Rosemary McAuliffe said “The students were so impressive that they received the full support of the Senate. They were the ones who made this happen.”

The entire class traveled to the state capitol to attend the signing of the bill on Thursday, March 27.

The Legend of the Tree

It has been a bit of a sad week here this week. We have said goodbye to a longtime friend of the family. Years ago when we bought our house this little tree was planted out front. It was a funny looking tree......it was growing crooked and it's limbs were all in disarray. We didn't know anything about caring for trees and Richard thought we should take it out and plant another one, but I resisted, saying it would be a good tree climbing tree for the kids. I have pictures of the little tree, but don't know how to get them here, so just imagine a little tree.It was true....it was a good friend to the boys. Jon and his friend Jared spent many hours climbing it and as the tree grew bigger, so did Josh. He loved the tree and he and his friends would dream of building rooms in the tree for a fort. One summer a few years ago, I consented, and build they did!!
Hours upon hours were spent, dragging wood from the neighbors houses. Hammering would begin early in the morning and go into the night. The front of our house looked like a wreck from all the hammers and nails and wood pieces strewn about our front yard out, but the kids loved the tree. (Forgive me if I might sound a little like Shel Silverstein)
As the boys grew older, they forgot about the tree and moved on to more exciting things.....but the tree stood giving shade to our home and as it got older it continued to bend. The tree was decorated on numerous occasions by neighborhood rascals, each time it got harder and harder to get the decorations out. It covered the house and one had to look very closely to see a house was even there.
Then one day, while the mother was gone, the tree came down. The mother had thought of the idea, but was unprepared for the sight as she drove in. Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered all the memories the tree provided, but thankful that the tree had a good life....grateful that the tree was loved.
Goodbye tree. Thank you for all the love you showed my family....thank you for the beauty that you provided for our home.....thank you for the warmth that you will bring to another family on a cold winter morning in the not too distant future.

Word Verification

I have been encountering some spam on my blog. To try and put a stop to it I am enabling word verification on my comments link. For those who regularly comment on my blog, you will just need to type in the words you see on the screen to be able to leave a comment. Sorry! I must try this to stop the unwanted comments. Keep your fingers crossed that it works:)
I've been very busy and tired. Will blog again soon:)