People I Think are Totally Awesome...

Hey there are some awesome people in the world who do awesome things.

1. Foster parents - the kind who dress their foster children cutely. The kind that tucks kids in at night and hold their hands when they are scared. Not the kind who make them wear sweatsuits in July and never let them out to play.

2. Grandmas - they can teach you how to sew, crochet, knit, tat, and make lefse.

3. Teachers - ok... I know I'm a teacher, but hey... the situation is that I'm a teacher because I had awesome teachers like Mr. G., Mrs. Harren, Mr. Amundson, Mr. Derosier, Dr. Drake, and so, so many more. I also love my daughters' teachers. They are the cat's meow! Teachers are always thinking of ways to make kids' lives better. I admire that.

4. Doctors- especially the ones that saved Jason's life when he took allergy shots and went into anaphaltic shock. OH! And the doctors that have not told me I was a freak when I was worried about my girls' asthma - yeah those doctors are awesome too.

5. Friends - what would I do without them? They inspire me to be a better person everyday. They cheer me on. They tell me when I'm wrong.... I guess I'm wrong sometimes or something.

Nat - Can You Spot Her Classic Smile? Or Smirk?

Crazy Allie Cat

She's always making faces.

Pool Party 2009

Last week, the girls and their cousins had a POOL PARTY! SO much fun. After 9:00, the lifeguards put on the lights and the kids got to swim after dark.


These boys were clawing for the opportunity to get their pictures taken. For some reason, they thought I was the paparazzi


No Diving - or something like that....

Someone Who Matters - My Mr. G.

Whenever I see Mr. G., he says "Hello Bobbi G. How are ya?" Mr. G. was my 7th and 8th grade math teacher and my Spanish I and II teacher in senior high!
I suppose I will always be Bobbi G. to him. Sometimes, he laughs and says "Oh but your not Bobbi G. You're Mrs. Aakhus I suppose now!"

My dad said that Mr. G. was his favorite teacher because he never yelled. He was always soft spoken and kind. Mr. G. had been my dad's math teacher. He often told me how smart my dad was. I believed him.

Mr. G. goes to my church. Sometimes, if I haven't been to church in while and I finally go; Mr. G. will hug me and tell me he's missed me. IF THAT'S NOT A GUILT TRIP! But, it works!

It seems as though whenever I ask a high school friend who their favorite teacher was they almost always say Mr. G.

Taylor Swift

Stole my look. Dang. That's exactly how I looked in high school. I even played the clarinet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xj8RrIpiiQ

A New Year

This weekend, I made a couple Target runs. In Target, I found something amazing. Moms with their freshmen picking out bedding, towels, school supplies, and snacks.
Each aisle contained a mom with either a young man or woman. The mom would murmur something like "What do you think? Will you use this? Do you want the pink or blue?"
What an awesome sight to witness. Oh the memories! As I brought my goodies to the front of the store for check out, the mom ahead of me in line was ready for her turn. She turned to her son and said "How much? Take a guess."

He shrugged.

"I'm going to have say $150.00." I realized this is their family's version of Price is Right.

"$151." He smiled.

"That's not even nice." She messed up his hair.

That cart ended up having $250.00 worth of college goodies in it. Yikes. (But such is the way in the ways of Target. You think you have $25.00 worth of stuff, but it's always $75.00)

I asked him if he was a fresman starting at UND.

"Yes." He was gushing. He was so excited.

"Have fun!" I smiled. "You're going to love it. I'm happy for you."

They paid for their goods and went their merry way.

I love Perrier...

I'm such a dork. I just love Perrier. I know. But here's the thing. I love carbonated water. I love lime carbonated water. And well.... I feel guilty about using a lot of plastic. Perrier comes in glass containers!!! BAM!

So... I'm in love with Perrier. Tastes so yummy.

More pics from Yearbook Camp...

We had a contest with props and emotions to see who could take the funniest pics! What fun was that! It was called "The Amazing Race," and we really got into it. So much fun!




It was a great mixer!



After this activity, the girls were more into meeting new people. I think they even got a few phone numbers from other schools. We had to mix and we really showed our crazy sides! I suggested them doing this first thing next year.

I always laugh at how I dread to go, and then, I have the best time. It can be nice to have an adventure on my own...

As I told the Fosston Girls on the drive to Wahpeton, "When you're on a field trip with Mrs. Aakhus, you'll never know what'll happen!!!"

Attention Young People

Here's a list I found via List of the Day. Coed magazine makes a pretty good case in point here. There's only a few mistakes on here I've made... mostly not traveling enough.


I did get married too young, but that ended up working out for me.


I did spend too much money on useless crap, and that didn't work out for me.


Even though I didn't finish school in my twenties, I did finish in my thirties.



Can I hear a woot woot?

Summer Reading

This summer I've been reading A LOT. I mean A LOT. I've been preparing for the upcoming school year. I have quite a few more books I've got on my reading list too. I've been getting a lot of good ideas. Some of the books that I've read are just for fun.







Marley and Me by Jon Grogan Several students took an A.R. quiz this book last Spring. I'm sure they read it even if they failed the quiz. By the way, it's very different than the movie!

Artemis Fowl and The Lost Colony book 5 by Eoin Colfer Ooo.. a fun book in the Young Adult section.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Another young adult book - not so much fun as Artemis - but it deals with more serious issues.

The Bully, Bullied, and the Bystander by Barbera Coloroso Very insightful book- I have read this book twice. I have two copies. I'm going to give a copy of this book to my friend who teaches Middle School in Middle River.

Girls against Girls by Bonnie Burton I have two copies of this book too. I'm going to keep one copy at home for my girls. I'm going to set one copy at the front of my room. I think it does a great job at explaining mean girls to us normal girls.


The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis ooo... This book is insightful for anyone. C.S. Lewis always fascinates me. Soon, I'm going to write a blog post on him and how he inspires me.

Read Aloud Anthology - Janet Allen oooo a great resource for goofy teachers like me.

Chicken Soup for the Soul in the Classroom - High School Edition: Lesson Plans and Students' Favorite Stories for Reading Comprehension, Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, Character Building - Jack Canfield This is a little bit corny... but sometimes a gal has to love corny.. Right?

Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence - Rosalind Wiseman This book inspired the movie Mean Girls. I think it should be required reading for future teachers... or even future parents or all parents!

On Chesil Beach: A Novel by Ian McEwan This book got me thinking a lot. It's somewhat hard to talk about because I don't want to give away the ending. The ending of the book had me thinking and thinking. And I decided it was an historical context issue. Setting- time and place- history- that sort of thing. I love when a book does that... you know? Make you think outside of the box and take a look from a different point of view.

Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox book 6 by Eoin Colfer A fun read

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich Another fun read... total fluff.


Talk to the Hand - Lynne Truss Great book! Not a manners book... but this book got me thinking about manners and consideration. It's easier to be nice than people think. Maybe do we think we're the center of the world? Anyways... A good book.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation- Lynne Truss Who but me would read a book about punctuation over summer vacation? So good. If you like punctuation as much as I do!

Kids are Worth It! by Barbara Coloroso I love Barbara Coloroso. She is the cat's meow. MEOW! Another good book for teachers and parents alike. Kids need us to provide structure.

Assertive Discipline by Lee Canter - I'm using this in my classroom for discipline. I'm not sure I agree with everything... but it works for me. I need something that works. This book shows how to provide structure.

OF course I'm still reading. I'm betting there's a book or two I forgot about!

Ha! Sums it up...

I found this article this morning. It pretty much sums up what I think of lame men who divorce their wives. Ha! Awesomeness. If you don't know who John Gosselin is... well good for you! You probably have a personal legend.

Leah's Site..

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/leahdazell

This is Leah's caringbridge site. Please visit it and give her parents all the support you can!

What do you do at yearbook camp?

- take lots and lots of pictures of course!!! BABY.

On Leah...

Our friends brought their Leah to the doctor because she wasn't feeling well on Monday. Good thing they did because they found she has HUS syndrome.




Leah was rushed to Fargo and later sent to the Children's Hospital of Minneapolis.


She needs to be close to a major blood supply as she will need multiple transfusions.


I know how much Cathy loves her little dolly. And how much Travis would do for his family.



They are scared at their waiting game


when their little Leah can be healthy again.

Yearbook Widget

Yearbook Camp

Tomorrow... I'm going to yearbook camp. Yikes. But this year I get to bring students... Woot woot. Yes! Students!!!

I hate leaving my family. I drag my feet at the thought of sleeping alone in a single bed. Yeah... I know... Jason's asthmatic coughs won't wake me in the middle of the night. But I'm sure I'll wake in the middle of the night wondering if he has asthmatic coughs. I'll wonder if he'll remember where his inhaler is...

Sigh...

Hopefully, we will all learn something and make 2010's yearbook even better than 2009.

Modeling their School Clothes

Saturday, my mom and I took the girls school shopping. I told the girls they each had a budget of $150 for this trip.
The girls took their budget very seriously. Our first stop was at Moorhead's Herberger's. The girls decided on the legging. They were $15 for two pair!!! The best part is that Moorhead is in Minnesota - no sales tax on clothing!!! The SALES! Woot woot!!!



The next stop was at Justice. We had a coupon for 40% of our entire purchase! Which we were totally into! The thing about Justice is that it is totally overpriced!! BIG TIME. So it was like were were paying normal prices at a normal store.


The girls had just enough left over to go to Macy Penny's (J.C. Penny's) for jeans. The best part was the escalator's. We don't have those in Red Lake Falls. We don't even have a stop light!!






Sunday night, the girls put on a fashion show for their dad. We sat on the couch and they walked in and strutted in their new threads! So pumped for their new fashion!!!!