Bunnies! Bunnies, Everywhere!

This was my second week back to work.  Last week was filled with meeting the many news faces I will have in my class this year and catching up with the old ones at home visits.  My co-worker and I completed 20 visits last week - and when you think about the many miles in between some of them that's a pretty good record!

This week my assistant returned and we spent about half the week in trainings, meetings, and lectures....not my idea of fun, but it must be done...  The remaining half of the week we spent at the center, preparing our classroom for the arrival of the children!

On Monday afternoon I had the great idea to start clearing out some of the furniture we weren't planning to use at this time.  We have a storage shed out on our playground so I found the key and went outside to look for unused space.  As I went down the ramp and around the corner to the shed, I noticed a little brown bunny sitting next to the ramp.  I have to admit, I was startled by the little guy!  I quickly returned inside to share this news with Chris, my assistant.  She had heard there were two, maybe even three bunnies hopping around our playground - and they were domestic, floppy-eared bunnies!  (I had not even noticed his ears were floppy).  When I returned, the bunny had fled under our ramp.  I immediately set to work to find the other bunny - not a hard feat as he was simply under the other ramp (go figure!), and of course, finding domestic bunnies on the playground meant these guys were dumped here, and that of course meant I HAD to catch them.  I set to work...

"Grandpa, can I borrow your have-a-heart traps?"  (Obviously, he said yes, how could he not tell his granddaughter she could borrow his traps to catch the stranded bunnies?)  After retrieving the traps, I set to work, setting traps and being the worst "watch pot" ever!

Tuesday came and went and no bunnies were caught.  Wednesday, same thing.  We had seen them, chased them, and learned some of their entrances and exits to under the ramps, but to our disappointment my co-workers and I could not catch those bunnies!

Finally, as I sat in my training Thursday morning, I received a text from my boss that they had caught one of the bunnies with a blanket (yay! :))!  I was so excited to hear this!  She also told me a man from the local fair board promised to pick the bunny up and find it a home (whew, he would have a home now that he's been caught!)  Wrong!  By the time the center closed for the day the man still hadn't showed up to take the bunny.  I was not going to allow this bunny to sit, trapped, with no more food than a few broccoli clumps and little water all night.  Not after he had sat like that for over eight hours already.  My husband was on his way past the center to come home and I detoured him to pick that poor bunny up and bring him home with him.  I had already gone to get an extra dog kennel from my mom and dad, and had it set up as bunny haven.

My husband arrived home with a terrified little bunny and we put him in his new, temporary home.  I set to work trying to find the bunny a forever home....what better way to do this than post on Facebook?  And finally this morning a co-worker from another center in our agency said she would like to have the little brown bunny for her children.  Yay!  Now I can even get updates on the little guy I advocated for to be rescued!

Now, don't forget, we had another bunny running around our playground.  I set to work today - I was "wabbit hunting!"  Just imagine three women running around a playground, then field, then yard, chasing a bunny with blankets, traps, and a net....  We were quite a sight to see I am sure!  As I left for the day, I felt so defeated but also concerned, what would happen if that bunny was trapped by the traps over the weekend?  What if he didn't return under the ramp?  What if something got him?  What if he ran in the busy street and was hit? ....I didn't want to think about it anymore.  And finally, a text from a co-worker - THEY CAUGHT THE BUNNY!  YAY!! :)

Come to find out, the last three staff members at the center today were trying to catch the bunny when a random car with two women in it pulled in  questioning what my co-workers were doing (or perhaps it was their sanity in question).  As it was explained to the new women, these ladies joined in and were successful in catching the bunny!  After the debacle, they expressed wanting to keep him - so he went home with "Holly" and "Christine."  Apparently, these women crawled under thick, scratchy trees and shrubs and weeds to catch him, and they still wanted him.  I think he will have a good home.  And all of my worries have been put to ease....  I have a feeling this one will be spoiled!

I'll be saying good-bye to our little house guest any moment now as my co-worker will be arriving with her family to surprise her children with the little, brown, floppy-eared bunny.  I have known her and her husband since high school, so I know this bunny will have a loving home to go to as well.

So far, this school year is off to an adventurous start!

Let's Try This Again....

So apparently my goal of keeping up with a blog didn't quite pan out as I had planned last year...  I made it to November.  Woot!

So, let's try this again.....

I am down to my last few days (I can count them on one hand) before I head back into the daily grind of teaching preschoolers.  Although I am excited for what this year holds, I must say, having to go back to work on Monday is not the best birthday gift I could think of (Monday also happens to be my birthday)!

This summer has been full of fun...

First there was the "Summer Beach Vacation to Chincoteague Island, Virginia."  This place is really heaven on Earth, paradise, the best place ever!  I have grown up going to this little island, and regardless of whether we visit in the summer or the winter, it really does feel like home away from home.  We went with some very good friends of ours this summer, and although the weather wasn't the best - we still made it fun and adventuresome!

Then, my "little" brother visited from South Dakota.  He moved there a little over a year ago and now has a girlfriend, who he brought home with him.  We did everything we could squeeze in during the 10 days he was here.  From picnics to winery day trips to Put-In-Bay and even a dual-First Communion party for our very good friends' children...we did it all.

Finally, I spent a few days in the Blueridge Mountains in Virginia with my parents.  This is my other most favorite vacation place.  It has something for everyone...  It is only about a half hour (at the most) from Charlottesville, where you can visit presidential homes and learn a lot of history.  There are also the mountains, where I love to hike and enjoy nature, and of course look for bears!  And finally, there are plenty of wineries, breweries, and cideries.  This year, I took my dog with me to hike and visit wineries.  She was a great travel companion as my husband spent his vacation days at the beach earlier in the summer.  This is my wine stock up trip, too; this year I brought back eleven bottles of wine.  Each one from our favorite Virginia wineries!

Throughout the summer, my mom and I took our dogs for training hikes in our area.  I had to make sure my little Cocker Spaniel could really hike in the mountains since I was planning to take her to the Virginia mountains and hike.  Boy was I ever surprised when we started hiking and learned my little Maggie not only enjoyed (duh!) going to wherever we would hike for the day, but she absolutely loved hiking!  The more she had to climb to get through the trail, the faster her little nub would wiggle and the more pep she had in her step! 

I also took the plunge into starting my Master's Degree this summer.  It is an 18 month program, and at the end I will have a Master's of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction, with a concentration in Literacy.  I am almost done with my first class (it ends Sunday) and have a 99% as of now.  I get a week off from class (which is perfect timing since I am starting back to work Monday), and will start up again August 26 with a new class.  Classes are five weeks long, so a lot is crammed into a short time, but I am finding that I am actually learning and able to make connections. 

I must say, I am truly sad to see the summer break end.  However, I am excited to see what the new school year has in store for me.  There have been rumors of big changes in store, that seem to have a positive impact on how the year will go.  So, here I am, making a pledge to try to keep up with this blog thing yet again...