A Hiking We Will Go

We packed up the crew and headed up . . . and down . . .

We went to Shenanoah National Park to hike in the Blue Ridge Mountians. Rojelio wanted to see a waterfall. To make his dream come true, we drove 25-minutes to the park entrance. Once we were in the park we drove another 20-miles on the beautiful winding Skyline Drive through the mountains. We made it to the Jones Fall Trail.

Would we see any bears? Or how 'bout a spotted skunk?

Our hike began. It was only 3.7 miles round trip, which didn't seem too far, but take into account we are not walking on a flat trail. Down hill, up hill, over logs, across streams, uneven ground . . . it was quite the adventure.

We began the hike later in the day, 5:30pm. Would we make it back before dark?

We made it to the falls, took a quick break and some pictures before heading back to try and beat the sunset. All of the tall trees made it seem even darker in the forest.

CRACK - CRACK - RUSTLE - RUSTLE - WHAT WAS THAT!? We all scanned the forest for a bear or spotted skunk . . . nothing. We picked up the pace climbing the mountain.

As we trekked on it got dimmer and dimmer. We think we're getting close. WHAT WAS THAT!? We definitely heard something in the distance this time . . . it was getting closer and closer . . . it was a . . . a . . . a car. Just around the bend was the road. We got to the car as the sun fell asleep.

No spotted skunks or bears. But we had a dog the color of a skunk and we were all hungry as bears when it was all said and done.

Ms. Hokett's Schoolwires

How many websites does a girl need!?
TWO.

Besides having the most ultimate blog with the most ultimate posts, I have given birth to a "professional" webpage. Schoolwires is what the district here calls it. Each teacher is suppose to host a webpage about the happenings of their grade/classroom and what not.

I have made it my mission to post speech-language information and activities. My hope is that others (teachers, parents, the average Joe, etc.) will get an understanding of the kinds of things I do all day.

I just started this site, so it doesn't seem like there is much on it yet compared to the big picture of what I invision it to be. I will be posting much more throughout the year, especially since it is one of my yearly professional development goals I will be reviewed on (YIKES!).

Check it out from time to time to see new information. Ms. Hokett's Schoolwires. It's pretty much the coolest SLP site ever!

Besides here you can find the link in the right had column of this page under links titled Annie's Schoolwires. Happy surfing!

If anyone has any suggestions/comments/ideas/questions drop me a line.

Annie F. Hokett, MA, CCC-SLP

Mitt & Pole

The goal: play a joke on Rojelio's dad

Materials:
an extendable paint pole, an oven mitt, two people with nothing else to do on a Saturday night, a camera to capture the moment, and a change of clothes

The Plan:
1. Put the oven mitt on the pole
2. Bang on the window with the elevated oven mitt
3. Wait for Rojelio's dad to look out the window
4. Have the oven mitt dance in front of the window
5. Laugh until we pee our pants

Outcome:
Everything was going to plan, the mitt was on the pole. Rojelio was able to reach the window no problem . . . he banged . . . we waited . . . he banged again . . . we waited . . . bang . . .wait . . . bang . . . wait . . . bang . . . wait . . .

Maybe his dad thought we were doing work outside. Rojelio tried banging in a rhythm . . . and we waited . . . it was obvious the joke was really on us. Rojelio's dad never looked out the window. He must be sleeping we thought. We abandoned our scheme. Though our joke was unsuccessful we still had fun and laughed trying to pull it off; though not to the point we were peeing our pants.

Rojelio went upstairs to see if his dad really was sleeping. No. He heard us banging the whole time, but thought we were just fixing something downstairs.

Drats! Foiled again!

Isn't it Ironic

As you may have read previously Annie's parents were in town early August. We all took a trip to Washington DC.

On the way home we were pulled over by the police in a small town in northern Virginia. Apparently we were going over the speed limit. A violation was not issued, only a verbal warning. We were grateful for that. We continued to go on our merry way, making up TV trivia questions for each other.

Just the other day Rojelio received an interesting piece of mail from the DC Metropolitian Police. The letter included two pictures of his car driving down the highway and a zoomed in picture of his license plate, not to mention the violation information. Well I'll be . . .

Isn't it ironic, dontcha think!?

A Battle to the Finish

Rojelio was taking out the trash tonight and a little friend came in for a visit . . . well not a little friend, more like a BIG friend!

What kind of bug was it? Unknown. It was big and had a stinger, that's all we needed to know.

Rojelio to the rescue. The battle lasted at least 5-minutes. It was a fight to the finish.

Strong work warrior Rojelio . . . CRUNCH!

Hardscaping

We started with uneven ground, four half dead azalea bushes surrounded by mounds of woodchips, a dogwood tree, a yard more full of dirt than grass, and an empty porch.

We had a plan in mind. A couple hours we thought . . .

After 4 trips to Lowes and a day and a half of hard work our hardscaping was complete. We seemed to underestimate the length of this project by a long shot, but the extra effort in making it just right paid off.

A glorious triple-tier Machu Picchu style retaining wall in our own front yard.

YARD OF THE MONTH here we come!

Observant Multitasker

Rojelio was stopped at a traffic light today on the way home from the hospital. He was talking to Annie on the phone; discussing ethical decisions within our jobs. He looked over to the right, there was a man, an elderly gentleman about 100ft away. Rojelio paused in conversation. This man was moving about a huge man-sized pot. Rojelio abruptly halted his discussion with Annie. He took a closer look at the man and what he was doing.

This elderly man was pulling something . . . he was pulling something out of this ginormous man-sized pot . . . something reddish in color. The light turned green. Rojelio made a sharp right. Fresh steamed Maryland crabs were on our dinner table!

Crustaceans anyone?

Rojelio's dad was happy as a clam enjoying his crab!

Dirty Clothes-Clean Lungs

Rojelio was doing some work up in the attic the other day; running cable between rooms. Instead of helping, Annie thought it would be a great time to bring out the camera.

Is he smiling? Probably not, but we can pretend he is.

His clothes were dirty, but at least his lungs were clean!

Oh the joys of being home owners.

School? Work? Huh?

Wednesday August 9, 2006 was my first day on the job, well orientation anyway. Rojelio didn't have to go to work until later so my day started with a good home cooked breakfast. Thanks Rojelio!

Working at a school I always questioned whether to say "Hey, I'm going to work" or "Hey, I'm going to school." I guess both could be correct technically. Neither sound fun. When you say "work" it implies you are being paid, which is good. When you say "school" it makes you appear younger, which could be good depending on how you look at it.
Annie F. Hokett, MA, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Verona Elementary School
Augusta County Public Schools

Okay I'm off to school . . . err . . . work . . . huh?
Only if all life's dilemmas were as simple as this.

I just happen to be one of the lucky ones that's right next to the playground. I think I might put a note on my door, "If not here please check swings."

P.S. I miss my CECC friends - yeah you know who you are.

Site Seeing Etc.

While Annie's family was here we filled our days with the local culture. Starting only hours after their arrival we went to a local frozen custard parlor, Kohr's Brothers; we are talking good stuff, chocolate & peanut butter twist, mint & chocolate twist, banana & strawberry twist, orange & vanilla . . .yum!

Sunday we went to St. Thomas Aquinas, to see Rojelio's hospital, followed by lunch at a great sandwich shop called Jaberwoke, and visited Jefferson's Rotunda on UVA's campus.

We slept in Monday after staying up late playing XBOX 360. After a hearty breakfast we were off to Monticello, where we received history lessons while touring Jefferson's home and gardens, then we were off to a newly opened restaurant Cheeseburgers in Paradise (yes owned by Jimmy Buffet).

Tuesday we headed a few hours north to Washington DC. It was their first visit so we filled our day visiting the monuments around the National Mall, going to a couple Smithsonians, and visiting Arlington National Cemetery to watch the changning of the gaurd. The family also experienced the Metro, traveling between Arlington and the Mall. We even met a couple nice local small town Virginia police officers on our way home . . . yikes!

Wednesday we took it a little slower. We visited shops in Charlottesville's Historic Downtown Mall and had refreshing gelatoes at Splendora's. To finish the day off we had Rojelio's birthday dinner at Guadalahara's (fine Mexican dining), followed by gelato cakes and a quiet evening at home. Yes and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROJELIO!

The whole crew in front of the Reflecting Pool with the Washington Monument in the background.

This picture was possible due to the kindness of a friendly Italian tourist.

Thanks that was fun; boy are we hot & tired!