Yes, I am bragging!

Each year students in grades (4-8th) compete at a county spelling bee. From our school of 700 we could only send two competitors. Through a rigorous elimination process, and a series of tryouts, finally the two members of the team were announced today- Sarana and Kailtyn! Sarana scored 50/50 on her final tryout with Kaitlyn only slightly behind her. With just helping them study I learned some new words! Tryout words included things such as: rendezvous, lieutenant, streusel, croissant, percocious, renaissance, etc. (Hope I spelled those right! lol) Anyway, we are extremely proud of them and will certainly be cheering on the McDaniel & McDaniel team at the county spelling bee!

This is Sarana making a presentation to the school board as a representative of a committee she was on. As student body president she was asked to be a student representative to a committee of staff, parents, and community members undergoing the process of selecting a name for the new school being built in the district. Sarana was asked to present on the process that the committee underwent. Although she was nervous she did an excellent job.

Back at it

Well, vacation is over and we are back at it. School resumed for the girls and I on Monday, 1-12-09. I cannot tell you how many times I have been corrected by 4th graders that it is 09 not 08! However, since I didn't have a reason to write the date while off on vacation I am now being retrained. Returning to work always brings mixed feelings. I do love my job and am extremely attached to my kids. However, it breaks my heart to hear the stories of the holidays that they shared with their families. Some of my students truly desired to return to school to, “have someone be nice to me,” or “get good food.” I can only imagine what they ate for the last three weeks if they look forward to coming back to “good” cafeteria food! Truly our family, and especially our girls, are blessed to not have to worry about some of the things that are reality for so many of their classmates. Knowing that I, in some way, brighten the day of students who face more struggles than even I know, makes the early mornings, late nights, and meager paychecks all worth it.

Family Time

A few days ago we had the privilege of visiting with Grandpa & Grandma Helms in Orosi. Regardless of what time of day we visit with Grandpa and Grandma somehow it always turns to eating. This time we ended up going to a good mexican food restaurant in Cutler. Upon returning to their home Kaitlyn started in again on her quest for Grandma to teach her how to knit. This lesson started at Christmas time and Kaitlyn forgot all she had learned as soon as Grandma left. I thought it was sweet that Kaitlyn and Grandma Helms (her great grandma) had something in common. I laughed as Grandma patiently showed Kaitlyn mutliple times how to hold the yarn and needles. Grandpa laughed as he shared that Grandma and Kaitlyn reminded him of Grandma and Aunt Karen when it was Aunt Karen teaching Grandma how to knit. I know that Grandma was certainly more patient about taking out the mistakes than Kaitlyn was. We count it a privilege to call these fine people family and thank God for them daily.

Oatman, Arizona

Before we left Arizona we visited a little quaint mining town called Oatman. Oatman is on the historic Route 66. Burros roam the streets and actively pursue anyone carrying a bag of carrots or a bag that even resembles carrots. Kaitlyn stated that after she finishes vet school she would like to return to Oatman to be the town veterinarian. Kaitlyn fell in love with the spotted donkeys and the "furry" babies. Besides feeding the donkeys we also visited a goldmine, did some shopping, watched several gunfights as bank robbers tried to steal money, and ate lunch. Steve was the only one brave enough to try a buffalo burger the rest of us just stuck to a plain cheeseburgers. At Kaitlyn's request we all ordered Lay's chips with our meals instead of the fried burro ears! (That wasn't a hard decision for Sarana and I!) The interesting thing about the salon was that the ENTIRE building inside was covered with dollar bills. When we first walked in Steve and I joked about how we needed to get wallpaper like that to impress our friends. However, it wasn't wallpaper but real money. The elderly proprietor explained that the tradition of tacking money to the wall began in the early 1900s when the miners earned a dollar a week. Instead of cashing in the dollar for a 5 cent drink they would attach the dollar bill to the wall above the bar and the bartender would create tally marks on the dollar to signify how many drinks they had purchased. The tradition continued on through the last century and now the place is "wallpapered" in money. The elderly gentleman that we talked to stated that the "wallpaper" was appraised several years ago and it was over $55 thousand. Now, as you can see from the picture, it is impossible to appraise the amount of money on the wall since some dollars are stacked three and four deep and not all of the bills are ones anymore. Well, we couldn't break tradition so we added three new segments to the decorations before we left. Now in Oatman, AZ there is a dollar representing the McDaniel and Tredway families, as well as, proclaiming that Sarana and Sandi are BFF (best friends forever). Oatman was a blast and we will certainly go out of our way to make sure we visit the town again especially since we own a piece of wallpaper at the local salon!

New Year's Desert Trip

Before we returned home from Lake Havasu we stopped off in California City for a few days of relaxation with my family. My parents, Jason, and Gavino (a close friend of Jason's) met us there. Although our family did not have our quads with us we had so much fun in Jason's 4 x 4, the golf cart, and the Jeep. I never knew splashing through mud puddles and 4 x4ing could be so much fun. Yes, it was Kyle, Kaitlyn, and I that got stuck out in the mud puddle and had to be pulled out. Oh well!

God proved his faithfulness to us once again when Jason and Gavino had car trouble and the Jeep stalled on top of a huge mountain. Unfortunately while retrieving the jeep it rolled multiple times down into a ravine. Jason, Gavino, Steve, and/or my dad could have certainly been hurt in this incident. God was definitely with the guys as they had the Jeep removed from the ravine and cleaned up the debris. Such a blessing to know God is an ever present help in the time of need regardless of whether you are at home or away.

Lake Havasu

Recently our family was privileged to spend a few days in Lake Havasu, Arizona with Bro. & Sis. Buxton. We thoroughly enjoyed spending the time with these great people of God for another CIP graduation. It was such a blessing to see graduates from the first CIP ceremony still attending church several months later. God is certainly moving in Lake Havasu and what a joy to be able to witness it. Thank you Bro. & Sis Buxton for your hospitality and kindness. Bro. Buxton- keep on sneaking that second piece of pecan pie :)

Now Live

After several threats and promises to help keep Steve's blog updated with all of our adventures I've decided it would be best to try this on my own. So, here it goes. Be patient with me as I launch into the world of blogging.