Pagosa Springs Ski Trip '07

Erin, Evan, Jamie and I just returned from our Spring Break trip to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We had an awesome time skiiing with just a couple wipe outs on the slopes. The ski area was one of the best snow and trails I've been on and our condo was great too, but the town of Pagosa Springs was pretty... boring. We watched movies, played cards, ate alot and slept alot. It really was a great trip!





(This is a pic Erin took from the back porch of our condo!)


(Erin and I are still smiling after a 14 hour car ride with two boys!!)

Ticket to Ride

Jamie has wanted a motorcycle for so long that eventually he was going to get one. So I thought I'd take some of the credit and get him one for his birthday last week! I picked out a great girl's helmet that fit me, wrapped it up and gave it to him on the morning of his birthday. He looked a little confused when he opened it, but I told him he needed to pick out a motorcyle that I could ride on the back of! He was pretty thrilled. This is the bike he chose... Happy Birthday, Jamie!




(This is a photo taken by the world renound photograper, Kim Lo.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I suprised Jamie by sending a Singing Valentine quartet to his office yesterday! He was a little embarrassed to have four little old men serenading love songs at his desk, but he was a really good sport about it and his whole office loved it. I just enjoyed adding a little excitement and "old fashion" romance to his Valentine's Day! (Here are some photos his co-workers took for me.)

New Furniture

I have had the same bedroom furniture for over 15 years (my parents got me a beautiful bedroom set for my 13th birthday and it wasn't even new then but definitely lasted a long time)! With my recent National Board accomplishments Jamie thought I should celebrate with new bedroom furniture. So we picked out two dressers, a wardrobe chest, two night stands, a bench and a king size bed! And of course Jamie thought a bigger tv was very necessary to complete the ensemble. :) I really do love the new furniture even if it was hard to part with my teenage bedroom set.

(Old set)

(New Bedroom Set)

Snow Day!

Yay! One of my favorite things about being a teacher... snow days! Bentonville closed school yesterday at noon and 30 minutes later I was on my couch, under a warm blanket, reading a book and watching the snow come down. I said a few prayers that Jamie would make it home safely (I really was worried) but he made it- with some slip and sliding past other wrecks. After dinner, a few of my students who live in our neighborhood came by and asked us to go sledding with them. It was so much fun and I only had one small wipe out (just because they convinced me to try going down the hill standing on my sled like a surfboard)! School was cancelled again today (and probably tomorrow) so looks like I'll be forced to scrapbook, clean house and bake goodies... did I mention I love being a teacher!

National Board Certified Teacher!

(This may not mean as much to you, but just know that this is a HUGE deal for me!) I just found out that after over a year of testing, portfolios, documentation, videos, etc and going through the National Board Certification process that I am officially now a NBPTS Teacher! This is a crazy, challenging, scrutinized process that teachers can choose to go through after they have been teaching for more than 3 years. I started last August and completed in June of this year. It was the toughest thing I've ever done (besides my niece's birth) and I was so excited to get the "CONGRATULATIONS" message! The pass rate for this is about %40 of teachers pass the first time and the benefits are: being recognized as an outstanding teacher, fame and prestige (ha), being able to teach anywhere in the US without red tape or state certification, and... a huge yearly stipend from the state department and my school district. I still am in a little shock that I passed, but I am praising God for His blessings!

Game. Set. Match!

Jamie still plays tennis every chance he can. He is currently playing on two local leagues and during "tennis season" he plays in (and has won) several tournaments. I try to go cheerlead whenever I get the chance and I am finally starting to figure out the scoring. He has taken me to the courts a few times for a lesson, but I think he's afraid I'll get too good. Ha! Jamie usually plays 3-5 but I am waiting for him to go Pro so we can travel the world while he wins the Grand Slam!

"I want to teach the world to sing..."

Last year, Jamie & I (with my friend and choral director, Andrea Ramsey) founded the Bentonville Childrens' Choir. It has been alot of hard work, but what a blessing- we absolutley love teaching these young singers! This year we have about 100 singers, ages 8-15, in the two choirs- Cantus and Camerata. Our next concert is coming up this weekend- Sunday Dec. 3rd @ 2:00 (and you will get to hear Jamie play his saxophone). I may be bias but I love to listen to children singing Christmas songs. Besides- someone famous once said, "The best way to spread Holiday cheer is by singing loud for all to hear..."!

We finally have a "backyard"!

God has blessed us with a beautiful new home here on Weston Circle- where we have lived almost a year now. But we always dreamed of making the ski slope (our backyard) into something more practical. Mowing the steep incline wasn't Jamie's favorite hobby, so we decided to have a deck built over the steepest part of the hill. It is SO wonderful to be able to step out the backdoor and actually be able to take more than a few steps. We now have some patio furniture that we've enjoyed some dinner on and Jamie put a fire pit in the bench area (of course Jamie has to incorporate fire anywhere he can). We even roasted marshmallows last night and made smores! And, yes, there is still a good section of steep hill to the right of the porch- just enough for some good sledding this winter!

Mr. and Mrs. Cornett

...and here is a more "normal" photo of us. (Taken at our friend Jim and Emily's wedding in December.) It is definitely "Wedding Season" with a few of our close friends getting married in June. Melanie & Brian on June 9th and Erin & Evan on June 23rd. Of course, after seeing how happily in love Jamie and I are after 5 years- who wouldn't want to be married...! :)

Trick or Treat?

Ok, "Everyone's doing it." So I guess I better get on the bandwagon and try my hand at some blogging. I'm not really sure I have anything to say that anyone would want to read, but I'm always up for trying something new. And, no, I didn't go blond and rescue Jamie from jail- this is a photo from our Halloween outing this weekend with some friends. Though I have to admit I didn't hate the blond look- excpet everytime I walked past a mirror I saw my sister, Denise!