Five for Friday: Pinching Myself to Make Sure I'm not Dreaming!

So I still can't seem to find the time to blog during the week now that school has started back up! My students are in the midst of some nifty projects, so I will be posting those activities soon...hopefully!

Alright, I haven't linked up with Doodlebug's Five for Friday in a LONG time.  So here it goes:

I Must be Dreaming!

My group of 5th graders this year are AMAZING! I seriously keep thinking I am in the twilight zone. I have ZERO, yes, ZERO behavior issues within the walls of my classroom. These kids love to work, in fact they go above and beyond what is assigned and some even seek out extra homework and turn that in on top of what was assigned.

Yesterday, I saw a group of my kiddos heading out to recess with their notebooks and such. I was curious as to what they were doing. When I asked, they told me that one of my boys is aspiring to become a director. So he gathered a group of kids to help him write a script and that day they told me they were working on character development. Seriously?!?! Super cute! Today another one of my boys told me he was creating a storyboard for a video game. Aren't they the BEST!

It looks like I may have to move up to 6th with them or just keep them in 5th grade forever!

Who Won Not One, But Two Attendance Awards???
Yup, you guessed it, today my 5th graders won the attendance award for the 5th grade level and a 2nd attendance award school wide (K-6th). I'm proud of them for being here every day and on time! I've got a cute group photo, but I'm not one to post photos of them on the net. So this one will have to do.

Ireland for New Years? Yes Please!

My wanderlust just can't be stopped! I have such a desire to explore this world we live in and I'm not content just sitting in one place for too long. So, every vacation we get, I purchase a ticket to some far off place. My poor husband and family think I'm nuts! I've been known to get back from a trip and book a flight that same day for my next vacation.

My husband doesn't like to travel much, so I often head out with friends. However, our 5 year anniversary is coming up in October and I told him we need to celebrate overseas. He agreed and chose Ireland (which is fine with me...I will go anywhere), and I booked the tickets!  I can't wait to explore the Emerald Isle.

Of course I'm pondering where to venture off to for Spring Break. Thanksgiving and Winter break are already spoken for. :)

I can't wait to see this in person!

Weekend Hikes
My husband and are pretty active and love the outdoors. Lately, we have been heading out for some day hikes. This weekend we are trying to choose between two different hikes, both in the Santa Monica Mountains. Solstice Canyon has a year around waterfall (hmm...with the heat we've had we shall see if this is fact or fiction), the oldest stone structure in Malibu, a well preserved burnt down mansion from the 1950's, a view of the Pacific Ocean. The second hike is the Murphy Ranch Trail. This hike seems to be a little more hardcore and a bit spooky. In the 1930's Nazi sympathizers built a refuge here and the building remains (albeit graffitied). Decisions, decisions...

Solstice Canyon

Murphey's Ranch...a little creepy to say the least.

And I Gave My Boys a Bath