We have been extremely busy for the past month with school starting back. Brianne is enjoying school except for Outdoor Ed. They have to shovel dirt into holes on the football field. I haven't quite figured out what Georgia Performance Standard it covers but she doesn't want us to complain to administration. Miranda is really enjoying school (especially her math teacher - me!). She actually loves Ms. Dean more! I am also having a good year so far. I am team teaching with Christie Dean. I teach math and she teaches Reading/Language Arts. It is working well for both of us.

The girls have also been busy with dance, soccer, and cheerleading camp. Ben has just been working. I will post pictures of Miranda playing soccer soon. Brianne also has a birthday this week on the 6th. She will be 12. It is hard to believe. She is having a few girls over and we are taking them to the first home football game and then they are having a sleepover. Pray for Ben! We are also looking forward to going camping on the 14th with Pam and Jerry Mills and Kelly and Rodney Holland. We are going to High Falls Campground somewhere near Forsyth. That is about all of our news for now. I will try to post more often. See you soon!

1st Day of School

Summer is officially over! We all started back to school on Friday, August 3rd. I have included a picture of the girls on the 1st day. Brianne is in the 6th grade and Miranda is in the 1st grade. Brianne had an eventful day, starting with there was not a bus scheduled to pick up her and three other teacher's children so she was late for the 1st day of school. (Not a good way to start off the new year at a new school!). Her classes are scattered throughout the school so she said she was lost most of the day. I know it will get easier as this next week goes by. Also, a note of interest. It surprised me to find that Brianne's homeroom class is the exact same classroom that I attended in the first grade. It brought back some memories! Of course, she thinks the ceiling tiles are going to fall down because they are so OLD! Miranda had a great day. She loves her teacher Mrs. Dean. She was glad to reunite with some of her friends. I will also be her teacher this year. I will be teaching her math. I hope it goes well for both of us!

Vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida

The four of us just returned from Florida today. We went camping for six days and we had a blast. We stayed at St. Andrews State Park in Panama City. The Park is located in between a lagoon and the beach. Our camper was about 1 mile from the beach. We went to the beach every day and dodged a few rain showers. Ben and Brianne went to see the latest Harry Potter movie and Miranda and I went shopping. We had a wonderful, relaxing trip and can't wait to go back next year. We took some great pictures and I will share a few.

Trip to Atlanta

I went to Atlanta from July 15th-19th for a CRCT Data Review Conference. Me, Danette Rogers & Terri Bennett represented the Primary School. Danette and I reviewed field questions for 1st grade language arts. We learned a lot and really enjoyed our week there. We ate really well each day. We also went to Centennial Park and the Aquarium one day. On Wednesday we went school supply shopping and met with a fellow Walden student, Amy Scott. We had so much in common that we sat at Macaroni Grill and talked for three hours.

While I was in Atlanta, Brianne went to stay with MawMaw in Douglasville and Miranda stayed with Grammy in Cochran. Ben was all alone for the week.

Danette took some really good pictures while we were there. I will share some of them soon.

Brianne went to dance camp!

Brianne and Britleigh attended dance camp the week of July 9th-13th. They worked hard all week to perfect their dance steps. Their hard work paid off as Abbie decided to move them up to Ballet III next year! Way to go girls!

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!

We enjoyed celebrating Independence Day. We went to a cookout at Susan & Rick Simmons' house. We ate and enjoyed good fellowship. We later went to Dublin and watched the fireworks. It is just not the 4th without fireworks! We missed going to the parade in Douglasville but already have plans to attend the Labor Day parade and fireworks show in September. Hope everyone enjoyed the day!

Vacation in Hilton Head

Me, Brianne & Miranda just returned from a week's vacation at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We went with Charlotte, her granddaughters Ashleigh & Tabethia, and Charlotte's friend Eunice. We had a great girl's vacation. We went to the beach, swam in the pool, and shopped. It was nice to get away. This is our 3rd annual summer trip and we are already looking forward to the 4th one.

Hello from Ben, Gina, Brianne & Miranda

Blogging is new to me! My hopes are to keep this page updated with thoughts and pictures as often as possible for our friends and family to enjoy. We all stay so busy that I should have plenty to post each week! I want to start by telling a little bit about each of us.

Ben is currently a Special Agent with the Georgia Secretary of State's Office in Macon. He is also a full time student online with Florida Metropolitan University majoring in Criminal Justice. He is looking forward to obtaining his Bachelor's degree in 2008.

I am currently teaching First Grade at Bleckley County Primary School. I am also a full time student online with Walden University majoring in Literacy and Reading. I will graduate with a Master's degree in December of this year.

Brianne will be in the 6th grade at Bleckley County Middle School this upcoming year. She is busy with dance also.

Miranda will be in the 1st grade at Bleckley County Primary School this upcoming year. She plays softball and will begin gymnastics in August.