Memorial Day

Last week on Memorial Day I had the honor of going out to the National Cemetery here in Dallas.  I went with Aaron's dad, his two brothers and sister and Mawmaw. 
It literally took my breath away to see how many graves there were out there.  And then to think that this is just one of many cemeterys for the men and women who served our country....it was overwhelming. 
We went out there to see some family members who have served.  First, we made our way to Pawpaw's grave.  He passed away before I started dating Aaron, but I know I would have loved him if I had known him.  It was a very touching moment for me to finally "meet" him.  Aaron has told me so many stories about him...I know he was a special person.
Then we headed over and found Mawmaw's brother, Uncle Ray.  He just passed away last year, so this was everyones first time to visit his grave.  I did get to meet him, and he was a very kind man.   
It is so beautiful and peaceful out there.  I am so glad that Greg invited me to go.  I couldn't imagine a better way to honor those who have fought for our freedom, and I will be forever thankful to them all.

Pawpaw

WANTED

The week before school was out, we dedicated to the great state of Texas :)
We teach about all the symbols of Texas (bluebonnet, mockingbird, armadillo, pecan tree, etc).  At the end of the week, we of course have to sneak in a bit about Cowboys and Cowgirls.  I always enjoy this unit because the kids are so excited to be learning all of these facts about where they live.  And they get very into the whole cowboy thing :)
That week, on Tuesday, we had a Western day where all the kids and staff got to dress western to celebrate our principals birthday.  I took advantage of this and took their pictures with a bandana tied around their face to look like a bandit.  They all loved it of course.  So on Friday, we read a book about someone that was "wanted" (don't remember the title).  Afterwards, we discussed why someone back in the day would be WANTED.  We then talked about what a reward meant.  Then, they got to go fill out their wanted poster with their name, age, why they were wanted and what the reward for helping to catch them was. 
It was such a cute activity and thier ideas really made me laugh.  Some offered a reward or as low as $5 and others as long as $58723948875982984-20389072934838.  I wish I could have helped catch them!
Anyways, I found a cute idea to display them on the wonderful website that is TeachersPayTeachers.  Here is a pic of one of the finished WANTED posters :)

It says Wanted for: picking bluebonnets and the Reward is $300.

Seriously, how cute is that?!  I had them make "angry" faces for their pics :)
Anywho, I can't wait to do this unit again next year and see what my future kids come up with!