Mom and Dad Come to Visit

We recently enjoyed a wonderful week with Mom and Dad Nicodemus (aka "Nonnie" and "Papa").  They are so kind to come visit us twice each school year at conference time to help with our school book fair as well as spend time with us!

Their visit is always a highlight of the semester for us, and this time was no exception!  We took lots of walks with Benji (sometimes to visit the chickens at the hoop house--his new favorite friends), read and played with him at home, and played lots of card games after he went to bed.

Visiting the chickens

We also took an adventurous road trip one day to Ramah to hike around the lake there.  It was a beautiful hike! 

Unfortunately it had recently rained in Ramah and we got our car stuck in the mud on one of the back roads!  A kind man helped us get out, so we were able to eat lunch at the Ancient Way Cafe and make our bumpy way home (mud coated our axles and shocks so much that even after a car wash, Jonathan and Dad had to chip it away with screwdrivers and hammers!)

But Mom and Dad have a way of making such misadventures manageable--even fun!--with their calm and cheerful presence.  We miss them so much and can't wait to see them again in June!

Happy Pi Day!

My father has instilled many values in me over the years.  Among them is a love for the date 3/14--maybe, in my case, not because of the mathematical mysteries of the number pi, but because it is a great excuse to eat my favorite food: pie!  So when I realized that this year's Pi Day is especially notable (3/14/15), it became clear that we really needed to celebrate!

So, we had the other Rehoboth math teachers and their families over for an old-fashioned Pi Day nerd party.  Everyone brought a delicious pie and we played the "fishbowl" game (like charades) using math, science, and technology terms.  (It was pretty challenging; YOU try to act out 'irrational number' or 'quadratic formula'!)

Benji is doomed to be a nerd...

We hope that you also enjoy an inspirational--and delicious--Pi(e) Day!

An even more significant celebration took place in our family this week as we welcomed a new nephew, Knox Downey Newman.  Congratulations Andrew and Meghan!  He's an adorable little redhead!  :)  And what fun for Benji to have a new boy cousin to play with!