tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66098284520528409062024-02-20T19:57:30.318-08:00Mr. Laing's 4th Grade ClassMr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-84200427722210390572011-09-09T21:21:00.001-07:002011-09-09T21:53:07.784-07:00Summer Projects<div align="center">
This summer I tackled a major project at our house. I relandscaped the back yard. The largest part of this project was putting in new grass. I removed all of the dead grass and top soil layer myself. This took many days with just me and my shovel. </div>
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After that, I spread eight cubic yards of organic compost over the whole yard and roto-tilled it into the soil. </div>
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Finally we laid down the fresh new sod. My wife, Laura, and her parents, all helped out. After that project I built a shed and spread mulch in the planter beds.</div>
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It looks great!</div>
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Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-70132914511678402612010-04-30T22:41:00.001-07:002010-05-05T20:39:39.995-07:00Our New House<center><br /><a title="SHOA1 by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/4480265299/"><img alt="SHOA1" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4063/4480265299_2a768b3b3b.jpg" width="500" height="254" /></a></center><div align="left">I have been talking a lot about our new house in class. We just got it in April, but we are not moving in until the summer, after we have fixed it all up. Laura and I have a new blog that shows all of our home improvement efforts. You can visit it at <a href="http://sweethomeonalabama.blogspot.com/">sweethomeonalabama.blogspot.com </a>. We are having so much fun making this little pink box into something special that is just right for us (and any future little ones). We hope you enjoy watching us make a mess and demonstrating our home fixing up skills.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Just click here to visit our site: <a href="http://sweethomeonalabama.blogspot.com/">Sweet Home on Alabama</a></div>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-9481876720432655222010-03-30T20:57:00.000-07:002010-03-30T21:49:20.198-07:00My Third LA MArathonOn Sunday, March 21st, I ran my third consecutive LA marathon. This was also the third route that I have run because they have changed it every year that I have run it. This year's route was very interesting. We ran from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica. This route took us through Downtown LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and many other great cities. It was a fun run but again, one of the hardest things I have ever done. Even training for 16 weeks does not full prepare your body to run 26.2 miles. My goal was to finish and I did in 5 hours and 42 minutes.<br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/4473579402/" title="Marathon2010002 by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4473579402_9acff8b688.jpg" alt="Marathon2010002" height="500" width="334" /></a><br />Here is Laura and I at Dodger Stadium before the Marathon started. It was cold but the view of Downtown was amazing.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/4473583382/" title="Marathon2010016 by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/4473583382_96f0364eb6.jpg" alt="Marathon2010016" height="500" width="334" /></a><br />Look at all of these people that I am in front of...I think most of them passed me.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/4470119776/" title="DSC03548 by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4470119776_fc967bbba6.jpg" alt="DSC03548" height="375" width="500" /></a><br />Here we are running up the hill toward the Disney Concert Hall.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/4469349141/" title="DSC03555 by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2703/4469349141_72bb56a2ab.jpg" alt="DSC03555" height="375" width="500" /></a><br />Lovely Echo Park<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/4472807415/" title="Marathon2010023 by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4472807415_6b39396800.jpg" alt="Marathon2010023" height="500" width="334" /></a><br />Still smiling...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/4469373371/" title="DSC03583 by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2700/4469373371_775467aa0e.jpg" alt="DSC03583" height="375" width="500" /></a><br />Here is the best thing I saw all day. Only 0.2 miles to go.<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="375" width="500"></object><br /><br /><br /><object height="364" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KTYfGrlDKgE&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KTYfGrlDKgE&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="364" width="445"></embed></object><br />Here is a video of what it was like to cross the finish line.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/4472810865/" title="Marathon2010037 by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/4472810865_c483734809.jpg" alt="Marathon2010037" height="500" width="334" /></a><br />Here I am with Laura after finishing. No, the medal does not say that I came in 25th place. It was the 25th anniversary of the LA Marathon. I was more like 13,000th place.<br />(Yes that is a bagel in my right hand...yummy)<br /></center>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-77427488228188157642010-02-22T20:55:00.001-08:002010-02-22T21:11:30.479-08:00Monkeys in the Snow, Oh No!What is wrong with these monkeys? Don't they realize that there are piles of snow sitting below them? Why don't they care? I guess they don't like snow...<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImjbu6Pv9FgEVGeLcl77UbvPbe5O4ZdsbCXDmKpWz8VQHbUZVats_19borTGEK7zrPsbFupkFWOOKVSV16s7xzD69k7NrB5tQgZG4Y0OXhNRuS8DN552UD8MJcgdV_d_54SyvPgdP7Tck/s1600-h/vday018.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441298288397744530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImjbu6Pv9FgEVGeLcl77UbvPbe5O4ZdsbCXDmKpWz8VQHbUZVats_19borTGEK7zrPsbFupkFWOOKVSV16s7xzD69k7NrB5tQgZG4Y0OXhNRuS8DN552UD8MJcgdV_d_54SyvPgdP7Tck/s400/vday018.jpg" /></a> Last week on Valentine's Day, Laura and I went on a romantic date to the LA Zoo. We have passes so we were able to go on nice date for practically no money (which is good when you are trying to buy a house). They had put snow in four of the animal's cages. This was the chimpanzee's, but they also put snow in the cages of the black bear, tiger, and snow leopards. None of the animals seemed to care about the white fluffy stuff. Most were passed out asleep on the ground. I thought at least the snow leopards would be having a good time. Nope, they were also fast asleep.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><br />We had a fun Valentine's Day. We also went to dinner and saw a movie. We paid for both of these with the gift cards that you (my students) gave us for Christmas. So I thank all of you for helping us to have a great time.</div><div></div><div>Oh...guess where we went for dinner?</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRNhLgsE2VcA6UXE7Aw9GKi8nl4jGGTelGsFGxOV7ofvae64IWlZ4tBdFKUHvZGD3AhWF9Ig66SMokn_EQen-hXK73Fn0Y6mB2Oiqr6x6v2DqC-fcdTHZvnTG9a1OQJ7LO3Fhi0BkPN2U/s1600-h/vday089.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441298406910255202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRNhLgsE2VcA6UXE7Aw9GKi8nl4jGGTelGsFGxOV7ofvae64IWlZ4tBdFKUHvZGD3AhWF9Ig66SMokn_EQen-hXK73Fn0Y6mB2Oiqr6x6v2DqC-fcdTHZvnTG9a1OQJ7LO3Fhi0BkPN2U/s400/vday089.jpg" /></a> Here I am at Outback Steakhouse enjoying a delicious ribeye steak. It was so juicy and delicious! I love that place.<br /><br /><div></div>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-83681392573495508362009-12-31T16:51:00.001-08:002009-12-31T17:36:51.540-08:00Winter Trip to Mammoth<div align="center"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class="separator" align="center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrr03POVVEq2Cj3JqGQ_bYfjjpF3BRDOZZO-6ivgXMAqDu68J5NVb_luR_vr0roahtERC2SBo3JUeIAcqP7HkFzUNvIxiCeQUOZTIKg93TCiriMeN6eDIWhV1sOdkzHldJnNtNwa-s9C3/s1600-h/mammoth0001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrr03POVVEq2Cj3JqGQ_bYfjjpF3BRDOZZO-6ivgXMAqDu68J5NVb_luR_vr0roahtERC2SBo3JUeIAcqP7HkFzUNvIxiCeQUOZTIKg93TCiriMeN6eDIWhV1sOdkzHldJnNtNwa-s9C3/s400/mammoth0001.jpg" ps="true" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; CLEAR: both" class="separator" align="center">Before Christmas, Laura and I got the chance to go to Mammoth for a couple of days. We spent most of our time in the small town you see in this picture, Crawley Lake. Laura's uncle lives there. We went with Laura's parents and with Sandy, their adorable border collie who you've met before. I called her snowdog the whole trip. You will see why later.<br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; CLEAR: both" class="separator" align="center">We did all sorts of fun things on the trip. We did not ski or snowboard but we did go snowshoeing, site seeing, shopping, and of course had plently of snowplay. Here is a great video of Laura having fun in the snow. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx0--WcCQLaApmBpSWH08GzlHnWpPDiYuI7MDHIeADyZJNzXQVAqoQZQ8gOCdXC2174qFD8-yBhQzSpf9H2ag' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><div align="left"><br />Haven't you always wanted to do that? As you can see, we had a lot of fun in the snow, even though it was so cold the whole time we were there. Since we had the snow dog with us, it was my goal to get her to play with me in the snow. This dog usually spends her days laying around the house sleeping. Let's just say that the snow wasn't her favorite thing. This video speaks for itself.<br /></div><p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxoNob8vLAI4HGkanjg1nxGDhWX88SJtG27b1ujk_p3qf155iUBEY5jTXkDAhU2wd-zJLczOcemdKN-9HfD' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p align="left">Did you go on any interesting trips over break or do anything exciting? Tell us about it.</p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421578543879458434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJv_tVIWGtE1d255Kl2mIq-1IOBGCKyst7EnAPqNS6Bb9leSB0jHyq9fBK26dZ2eU_OXMCJtwrebbJUz8S99WdiK5Rgpb95MkiPigg1ssExOiHUWBfppMUGC6nmG7epTXz9OEs7ANCPMFN/s400/mammoth0077.jpg" /> <p align="center"><em>No dogs were harmed in the making of this blog post</em></p>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-79805147787070976502009-12-13T21:21:00.000-08:002009-12-13T21:24:38.446-08:00We are ready for the holidays!<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Today, Laura and I decorated our apartment for the holidays. We decided not to get a tree this year. We had two reasons for this decision. First of all, our apartment is very small and there is really no room for a tree. Second, we are trying to save our money to buy a house. We need to save every penny in order to make it happen.<br />
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Instead of a tree we hung our ornaments from some garland. Doesn't it look nice?<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Can you tell that there are ornaments hanging there? We actually collect ornaments wherever we go. That big red one, that looks like Mickey's head, is from our summer trip to Disney World. Laura also took a piece of white ribbon and strung small round ornaments on it. She is very clever.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is my contribution. I decided that since we cannot hang lights from the outside of our apartment, I would hang them inside. Here they are hanging from our track lighting. They actually wrap halfway around our entire apartment. We are definitely in the holiday spirit now. Oh, that other Mickey-looking thing is our advent calendar. Yes, we are a bit obsessed with Disney.<br />
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</div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDa0GG8TMC0J56wEQsb4_D3O6SNj7-ttoyn9LAIw8I4mTIKXXKaUO-fL2ptZvVbG2ZBJ-jQtzU_Yagb_ZlXonKFsSPMARGWL4VEzw48wESWLsf7eKA7-ee4gXh_i-9plNZN04-ZX8u7SAn/s1600-h/Chrismas+09-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rs="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDa0GG8TMC0J56wEQsb4_D3O6SNj7-ttoyn9LAIw8I4mTIKXXKaUO-fL2ptZvVbG2ZBJ-jQtzU_Yagb_ZlXonKFsSPMARGWL4VEzw48wESWLsf7eKA7-ee4gXh_i-9plNZN04-ZX8u7SAn/s400/Chrismas+09-2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tell us what you have done to get ready for the holidays. How does your family decorate? Are there any unique traditions that your family does? Tell us about it!<br />
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</div>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-18341925291405112502009-11-15T19:53:00.000-08:002009-11-15T19:53:15.724-08:00"Mama, look at the chicken"Laura and I decided to go to the LA Zoo today. We happen to be members so why not? I love the zoo! I can remember going to the zoo when I was in elementary school. It has changed a lot since then. The main difference is that all of the primate exhibits have been updated and made way better than they used to be. They are much nicer places for these animals to live. One exhibit that we usually don't see, because it is way up at the top of the zoo, is the ostrich exhibit. One little boy told his mom to look at the chicken. That is one big chicken!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7euh7CAn9eWr23fUnyWGp_Awxyz5SdqdVl2jZfoSQlrXVnDhe8er3zYajoOgxJPGI0r7z4gfkvz5W3aUyUT04eDVtsl_kAAUb-rpZFSiFq1UmGF1C7HbSpIKrQvMfnwe1rk4RUKjaWDK/s1600/DSC08471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7euh7CAn9eWr23fUnyWGp_Awxyz5SdqdVl2jZfoSQlrXVnDhe8er3zYajoOgxJPGI0r7z4gfkvz5W3aUyUT04eDVtsl_kAAUb-rpZFSiFq1UmGF1C7HbSpIKrQvMfnwe1rk4RUKjaWDK/s320/DSC08471.jpg" yr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I love these little guys. They are the Meerkats. They have recently gained popularity since the show Meerkat Manor came out on Animal Planet. I got to watch a movie about these tiny creatures on the plane during my summer vacation.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdr1Gbc_h2F3USTj4wDgQIYT_nacE-_tQ0cAu9xHTKYRV625qxgeaKDQh5FkrA3P3STC6k5QHFhg-2VdruxrsNI3XueX1P9Eoy4rpNHXE1Bijhc5YTsA87AGitEd6duU3Q1E5_3YSN1wI7/s1600/DSC08422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdr1Gbc_h2F3USTj4wDgQIYT_nacE-_tQ0cAu9xHTKYRV625qxgeaKDQh5FkrA3P3STC6k5QHFhg-2VdruxrsNI3XueX1P9Eoy4rpNHXE1Bijhc5YTsA87AGitEd6duU3Q1E5_3YSN1wI7/s320/DSC08422.jpg" yr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Did I mention that I love the monkeys? Actually this is not a monkey, it is a Silverback Gorilla. This big guy runs the place. He is the man with the plan, the head cheese. He didn't want to turn around. I think this is because there were about 25 people trying to take his picture. Would you turn around?<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_76_rrFtBCCbA_f4-GKkVssFdhaoJnRwD7OK8SEdvlTmwUeSZGLADZbBdlp3BDyJLiDzwKKifQsBEsloMzmpIJnr8StiqcF-oMDd1PJ_lV39XdLzWyCyuV_QBo0ZDwZ_kLk4URuLcQV-9/s1600/DSC08429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_76_rrFtBCCbA_f4-GKkVssFdhaoJnRwD7OK8SEdvlTmwUeSZGLADZbBdlp3BDyJLiDzwKKifQsBEsloMzmpIJnr8StiqcF-oMDd1PJ_lV39XdLzWyCyuV_QBo0ZDwZ_kLk4URuLcQV-9/s320/DSC08429.jpg" yr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I just love this great shot of a tiger taken by Laura. I think he is trying not to fall in the water. Cats hate water you know. A tiger is basically a really big cat, right?<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5906RE5PgRq-lz26QiawCab4CaiVZvlYkoGQS_r1aQdDbq2EUkQPNg0KcWbNQIkVcGBQcIJtaFH2SzmnODN6FIMzBeoy45YMlkpHl46YiKOCX-V1QBC3NousqmTsidJhQ1XHxFwlXhnF/s1600/DSC08484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5906RE5PgRq-lz26QiawCab4CaiVZvlYkoGQS_r1aQdDbq2EUkQPNg0KcWbNQIkVcGBQcIJtaFH2SzmnODN6FIMzBeoy45YMlkpHl46YiKOCX-V1QBC3NousqmTsidJhQ1XHxFwlXhnF/s320/DSC08484.jpg" yr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here I am with a big Gorilla. Luckily this one is made of metal. I wish I could get this close to the real one. Do you think he would be that friendly?<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRsXtKVT1pHdxntzrnvtzYhOCqwe_RSs5IUPexL5xN7qSlqmfiJ_tUByc2_9eCKdmq0XMUyqMhJad40bqBNzpD9XBfrtrtbBgHWo3uTvsxvLJTDkbsyyN7ixH_A6b7kcq6os3C62VebkJ/s1600/DSC08507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRsXtKVT1pHdxntzrnvtzYhOCqwe_RSs5IUPexL5xN7qSlqmfiJ_tUByc2_9eCKdmq0XMUyqMhJad40bqBNzpD9XBfrtrtbBgHWo3uTvsxvLJTDkbsyyN7ixH_A6b7kcq6os3C62VebkJ/s320/DSC08507.jpg" yr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>And of course my favorite area of the zoo is the orangutan exhibit. They have all of these ropes and straps hanging around for them to swing from and climb on. They just get to play all day long. I am very jealous. It is because of these guys that I am going to name our first daughter "Oranga." That way her full name will be "Oranga Laing." Say it all together without pausing and you'll get why. Have you ever been to the zoo? If so, what is your favorite area? Tell us about it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS16jEBp-HmKNYjQ_cQ-x_E6kMkESiahEEBDA3LqRQOYzp1PZaBctOQAf5apgh9675C9GLlMO8et1w01GjIkSz4WJNziWLs88SX53jD_1V4iB0Gu1mkL71LPQFoH2tzTzegsRmqzoa5als/s1600/DSC08442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS16jEBp-HmKNYjQ_cQ-x_E6kMkESiahEEBDA3LqRQOYzp1PZaBctOQAf5apgh9675C9GLlMO8et1w01GjIkSz4WJNziWLs88SX53jD_1V4iB0Gu1mkL71LPQFoH2tzTzegsRmqzoa5als/s320/DSC08442.jpg" yr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">"What are you looking at?"<br />
</div>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-71753969879681247852009-11-01T21:11:00.000-08:002009-11-01T22:06:38.985-08:00What did you do with your extra hour?Last night was Daylight Savings time. This is when you change your clocks either one hour ahead or one hour back. This time we set our clocks one hour back leaving us with extra time do whatever we wanted. Rather than sleep that extra hour away, we decided to go on a day-hike with our dog Sandy. Actually, she is Laura's parent's dog. We are dog sitting while they are in China. Check out this great shot of our burned up mountains which rise high above the Crescenta Valley.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mBxN0-QaREy5nBaVCMeSzNmznpP0oER_gAPowjGDHAE3St1wAvsZRyGl6WArhprdVXGyD7qjabcYzcTvBtor2DgVncp_8X1_B42CZmE65jojX2dxeUvUFaAnKBsWh4Ujs717v6m3zP_Z/s400/Hike-22.jpg" vr="true" /><br />
</div>I have been wanting to check out some of the trails in the Verdugo Mountains, which we can see every day from our classroom windows. First, we ventured up a small trail in the back of CV park. I always see this trail when I run at CV park but have never gone up it before. We found out the it leads to a small waterfall which only runs when it is raining. I would not recommend going up this trail because it is hard to tell where the trail goes. This is Laura with Sandy.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDJk6hYz1S4_EWqSIlwLtTQNUrA_Hc-TFGaWe8l0pnWBw68Ob665O8BDcF5fb-CiASy1J-mbBn-RIkl9Ub-39H6BaVr2IZROhLUDLna7SiSXOg5F12RT9R2OQt4jLHbMG0lh3GqbtKVZb/s1600-h/Hike-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDJk6hYz1S4_EWqSIlwLtTQNUrA_Hc-TFGaWe8l0pnWBw68Ob665O8BDcF5fb-CiASy1J-mbBn-RIkl9Ub-39H6BaVr2IZROhLUDLna7SiSXOg5F12RT9R2OQt4jLHbMG0lh3GqbtKVZb/s320/Hike-16.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here I am walking Sandy down the CV park trail. We decided to go and check out the Whiting Woods trail, which I read about on the Internet. This trail is actually a fire road so it is not easy to get lost. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmB2DpgaOnZoOtZd6Hkoh4G0p6wx7IMhm6c97C5Epw2v19QGr7xi8sSiu17eTqbwpg1mGUITnQizM1RRUqfc2yRzKXLdmWrF0LiPvP5XT2vGOe-yeKvcAKjuTqteKbpMwzKFns4nSzxEqP/s1600-h/Hike-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmB2DpgaOnZoOtZd6Hkoh4G0p6wx7IMhm6c97C5Epw2v19QGr7xi8sSiu17eTqbwpg1mGUITnQizM1RRUqfc2yRzKXLdmWrF0LiPvP5XT2vGOe-yeKvcAKjuTqteKbpMwzKFns4nSzxEqP/s320/Hike-18.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Watch the video below to see how our day went.<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxi5uGND-M6HSjZ_W-hQPDYgmCrsM3tkx_i4vh2hGRt6PiDi6Xin9JPMdxK-qH8TyhSLep8-2PJMrrwOYdoRg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Tell us what you did with your extra hour on Sunday. I hope you didn't spend it playing video games. The great thing about living in Southern California is that you have so many things you can do in nature. Whether it is a day at the beach or a hike in the hills, get outside and use some of that energy!<br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskaWn5xR7RFjsrQyDjqwAbYy77-pkUk1BaMYXh2VgrqfZJH5D1KLKwKu7GtHn0QhhADlSGjKISqVl1TR5CwMPU1sKN0llHKkDpsY0PK8cuiYCHksQAGcVfCqL5be8bcXK4cEfzspS58pO/s1600-h/Hike-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskaWn5xR7RFjsrQyDjqwAbYy77-pkUk1BaMYXh2VgrqfZJH5D1KLKwKu7GtHn0QhhADlSGjKISqVl1TR5CwMPU1sKN0llHKkDpsY0PK8cuiYCHksQAGcVfCqL5be8bcXK4cEfzspS58pO/s320/Hike-6.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Isn't she cute?<br />
</div>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-2965578890123697852009-10-16T20:31:00.000-07:002009-10-16T20:33:04.948-07:00Pupil Free Day Fun for Teachers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So you might be wondering what all of us teachers do on your pupil free days. Well, today we got to do art! We learned all about our new art program that we just got this year. It is called "Arts Attack." Here are some of our teachers completing their line monsters.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHSESuB2QXQN7x-brfiAUiHzoFMz1H1sb4vX12_wxbKwZcLYXZh9Tr2rosuU7opeOyzaPBJay8GHKqDswc9dSChJmVvMD-_tPSmXPMkno_hmYkl_GLZYsKMfIv57f7QQvFjj1fzZpfhX1/s1600-h/Teachers+drawing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHSESuB2QXQN7x-brfiAUiHzoFMz1H1sb4vX12_wxbKwZcLYXZh9Tr2rosuU7opeOyzaPBJay8GHKqDswc9dSChJmVvMD-_tPSmXPMkno_hmYkl_GLZYsKMfIv57f7QQvFjj1fzZpfhX1/s1600-h/Teachers+drawing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHSESuB2QXQN7x-brfiAUiHzoFMz1H1sb4vX12_wxbKwZcLYXZh9Tr2rosuU7opeOyzaPBJay8GHKqDswc9dSChJmVvMD-_tPSmXPMkno_hmYkl_GLZYsKMfIv57f7QQvFjj1fzZpfhX1/s320/Teachers+drawing.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is a picture of my line monster. He has a saw blade nose and flames for hair. We had tons of fun and leaned how to do some great art projects that I can't wait to do with our class. They are planning to display all of the teacher art in the auditorium. Be sure to look for these great masterpieces. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmDUR_aJfzDm6nAbXodMRTTpqp34KixTv9nf7975a6iEITbsBbZIE4qJ2GauxNo0oSVsKFro_iFtz7T_VA3aXsFVDoJl9A2HK0HV1Z1ho9dzZY1HCMNdjyITouNr9drXmTaU47PArXAqXj/s1600-h/line+monster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmDUR_aJfzDm6nAbXodMRTTpqp34KixTv9nf7975a6iEITbsBbZIE4qJ2GauxNo0oSVsKFro_iFtz7T_VA3aXsFVDoJl9A2HK0HV1Z1ho9dzZY1HCMNdjyITouNr9drXmTaU47PArXAqXj/s320/line+monster.jpg" /></a><br />
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Have you ever done an art project that you just loved. Tell us about it. Who knows, maybe we will try it in our class???Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-259564007611468502009-10-11T22:01:00.000-07:002009-10-12T20:25:18.250-07:00My Favortie RestaurantFor years now my favorite place to eat out, when I don't mind spending a bit of money, is Outback Steakhouse. Luckily, they recently put one in Glendale which makes it so easy for me to get there. I just love their delicious bread, salads, sides, and of course...steak!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P1MnuIraPxCF90EjUVQkqPZct3TUJxl0qk8K6ko8ImQdza0ra7LMQ91xXuEq_Y9nNcY7vTBQoKvKuMAjU1ocuQIctWSon2pIEXenieBRQAEQ9Gz4KnKlI1zPtj5YDyvewkO-vyNoxFI1/s1600-h/Outback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P1MnuIraPxCF90EjUVQkqPZct3TUJxl0qk8K6ko8ImQdza0ra7LMQ91xXuEq_Y9nNcY7vTBQoKvKuMAjU1ocuQIctWSon2pIEXenieBRQAEQ9Gz4KnKlI1zPtj5YDyvewkO-vyNoxFI1/s320/Outback.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>My favorite item on the menu to order is the ribeye steak. This is by far the greatest cut of steak in my opinion. It is so juicy and flavorful. I sometimes like to order the prime rib instead. If I am in the mood for spiciness, I order my prime rib "Outback Style," which means they sear it with tons of spices. They recently added a wedge salad to the menu, which I love. It comes out as a whole wedge of uncut lettuce, covered in dressing, grape tomatoes, blue cheese, bacon, and red onion...so tasty. It is fun to chop up. I also like to order the loaded baked potato as one of my sides. And I have to have a side of Tigerdill dipping sauce, which is Outback's take on the classic horseradish sauce. This is the ribeye below...yummy!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEham2AVRf6EXLBYsmYqPvxm-Rh3ACtF7li05umvLkD1MFgH3ktzO5MffayqF6-S9UR8qJLFHJt3E6zNP1F6QM5IVC5Xjzr8KXrEWdIzyuRRZsDoRJs_piW6WhnMZuKv7fmkg4Z4f2IMYm5f/s1600-h/ribeye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEham2AVRf6EXLBYsmYqPvxm-Rh3ACtF7li05umvLkD1MFgH3ktzO5MffayqF6-S9UR8qJLFHJt3E6zNP1F6QM5IVC5Xjzr8KXrEWdIzyuRRZsDoRJs_piW6WhnMZuKv7fmkg4Z4f2IMYm5f/s320/ribeye.jpg" /></a><br />
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When I am really hungry or with a group of people, I have to order their famous appetizer, the Bloomin' Onion. It is like having onion rings but way better. They literally batter and deep fry an entire onion and bring it to your table. It is too much for just my wife and I to eat. I wish they offered a half onion for couples. Come on Outback. Think about it. You could sell half to my wife and I, and the other half to the couple sitting across from us...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6-smHgAZqVLHUR4NVn39AAhewbRaoJWHruq7QmXezfCria1D9y4SfUXQlYbvzWExKIWn-22oBpG34yLtGJLz4JA-eNFC8oY4DX7XQkRspL8NLQ41GGXxHmHZZZOETsX0dZ96dvInmY1g/s1600-h/bloomin-onion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6-smHgAZqVLHUR4NVn39AAhewbRaoJWHruq7QmXezfCria1D9y4SfUXQlYbvzWExKIWn-22oBpG34yLtGJLz4JA-eNFC8oY4DX7XQkRspL8NLQ41GGXxHmHZZZOETsX0dZ96dvInmY1g/s400/bloomin-onion.jpg" /></a><br />
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Well, now that you know all about my favorite place to go eat, tell us about your favorite restaurant. Do you have a place that you love to eat at but don't get to go very often? What do you like to order when you go there?Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-14527249068754177072009-09-17T21:06:00.000-07:002009-09-17T21:32:24.237-07:00My Summer VacationI keep talking to my students about this awesome video that I shot on my vacation to Disney World this summer. Laura and I went to this "escape from reality" for seven days in August. We visited every park that Disney has to offer (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and both water parks, Blizzard Beach, and Typhoon Lagoon). It was a busy and exciting trip. Here is one of the best rides that we went on. It is called Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. After riding it the first time I wanted badly to go on again and tape the experience. Here it is:<br /><br /><object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/GFrTOfNxszE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/GFrTOfNxszE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="420" height="270"></embed></object><br /><br />Yes, that was me screaming...Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-70388396481606183992009-09-17T20:48:00.000-07:002009-09-17T21:06:23.439-07:00My HeroI have been promising my students that I would post the picture of me with my hero John Muir.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHf1pqyZt5nefZUO8t9aRDWzGdRy1x8UR24RnSPazXs4ItrSlo_zbtOT2-QTczB1OcZz9lFyHHZeYprnSPBC6iq60vBiXQLIhNPQo9LoIC2S4FKEjqKoa82WUgWD03ErsLK5P32H6QEPY/s1600-h/DSC02850-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHf1pqyZt5nefZUO8t9aRDWzGdRy1x8UR24RnSPazXs4ItrSlo_zbtOT2-QTczB1OcZz9lFyHHZeYprnSPBC6iq60vBiXQLIhNPQo9LoIC2S4FKEjqKoa82WUgWD03ErsLK5P32H6QEPY/s400/DSC02850-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382649720265276658" border="0" /></a>Actually, this is not the real John Muir. This is Lee Stetson, an actor who portrays John Muir. He can often be found in Yosemite giving presentations as the great John Muir. We went to his show one evening during our spring break trip to my favorite place. He was telling some of Muir's famous stories at the Yosemite Lodge. This was my second time seeing him perform. <br /><br />The real John Muir is my hero because of what he did for California's most beautiful places like Yosemite and the Giant Sequoias of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. He helped see to it that these areas would be protected. This led to the creation of the first State Parks in the United States.<br /><br />John Muir also started the Sierra Club, which my parents have been members of for about 40 years. I too was a member in high school and enjoyed going on trips with my parents to see many of our state's most beautiful locations.Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-3397606926803302652009-09-02T17:37:00.000-07:002009-09-17T21:12:33.405-07:003rd Time is a Charm, Our Last Cancelled DayWell, today was our last "day off" due to the Station Fire. This was a less eventful day. No more fires could be seen on the hillside thank goodness. The two pictures below are "before and after" shots of the hillside above school. In the first photo, which I posted two days ago, you can see the lush green hills as the fire was approaching from the other side. In the second photo, taken today, you can see that the hills have been turned completely gray. Hardly a plant was left standing. It is a bit hard to tell from these small images but if you click on them you can see it a bit better.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZK_lK_6ibFPN2CqefiHwyhOsTpSU1EO68TAXZLvvegoRyClsnnJmylKf8Z-eSInu7jLbcUSvtFfArOiOrraStaxDjifN5IxtxIQ90_ngxkYFu15aHdGCAI9JQrLbYZ3XBECru-gxoReZ/s1600-h/Station+Fire+From+VV+Playground.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377128072293394290" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZK_lK_6ibFPN2CqefiHwyhOsTpSU1EO68TAXZLvvegoRyClsnnJmylKf8Z-eSInu7jLbcUSvtFfArOiOrraStaxDjifN5IxtxIQ90_ngxkYFu15aHdGCAI9JQrLbYZ3XBECru-gxoReZ/s400/Station+Fire+From+VV+Playground.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJreSgYWa7Jd7_pAMdDAqgEEVrofGV1ZaB6ES9UPeOWSi1AJ9XEL08-yeEt_Jd10DhfRpKewi4u1ifDFJPfNtpsfvd1WcQ2XHgAgK1VduRdtr2OJbM0lCbGCf2yMNb34jkmMdCmwYaDSn/s1600-h/Staiton+Fire+aftermath+from+VV+playground.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377127922196158018" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJreSgYWa7Jd7_pAMdDAqgEEVrofGV1ZaB6ES9UPeOWSi1AJ9XEL08-yeEt_Jd10DhfRpKewi4u1ifDFJPfNtpsfvd1WcQ2XHgAgK1VduRdtr2OJbM0lCbGCf2yMNb34jkmMdCmwYaDSn/s400/Staiton+Fire+aftermath+from+VV+playground.jpg" border="0" /></a> We are all very lucky to still have our houses and our school to return to. Others in this fire have been less fortunate. I think we are all excited to be returning to school and a bit of normal life.</div><div></div><div></div><div><br />Just for fun I have added a time lapse video that Laura and I made from our backyard. The news kept showing time lapse videos so I wanted to see if I could get some press with mine. So far I don't think it has been shown on any news stations but it has had a lot of views on Youtube. Check it out:</div><p align="center"><object width="420" height="270"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/qAhxg7Crc1o&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/qAhxg7Crc1o&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="420" height="270"></embed></object></p>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-86016940597000980812009-09-01T23:29:00.000-07:002009-09-01T23:40:38.748-07:00Day 2 Still Cancelled<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc53f44krN2F8miWxqthyLtA1isPyUmlMyZJVgDo3ht_sxh_Z5kP6hRdvATJWI9DTF2E8d8nwF29DcTcnvDwaGJWCUQWKPjUnjSpbh5FA1UxYxtOghTRsw1Ac9_3B1ZBOzhZfhgr8fDAdT/s1600-h/Second+day+of+school.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376754707238732210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc53f44krN2F8miWxqthyLtA1isPyUmlMyZJVgDo3ht_sxh_Z5kP6hRdvATJWI9DTF2E8d8nwF29DcTcnvDwaGJWCUQWKPjUnjSpbh5FA1UxYxtOghTRsw1Ac9_3B1ZBOzhZfhgr8fDAdT/s400/Second+day+of+school.jpg" /></a> Day two of school was another uneventful day... at the school site that is. Again, school was cancelled due to horrible air conditions, not to mention the fact that part of the hillside was still on fire, and many students were still evacuated from their homes. Laura and I decided to go down to school to check things out. You could still see smoke high in the hills above school.<br /><br />Oh…we also learned how to order pizza when you are evacuated. The trick is that the pizza guy cannot get past the police and if you leave the evacuation area in your car, you cannot return.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8txedVJJwinapzv-2dOMt4zD9dFpFVHeakBGiN2HqE0_WdOw8Zxtb2YDWOABF02Ti4hu3C5IMcE_1ABhjMftPAuz46s0Nxcvt7VgtwOeo10VXuJmQ7cH3YUleqoUr0LAbyo7inPhiWH84/s1600-h/Evacuation+Pizza.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376754490510818066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8txedVJJwinapzv-2dOMt4zD9dFpFVHeakBGiN2HqE0_WdOw8Zxtb2YDWOABF02Ti4hu3C5IMcE_1ABhjMftPAuz46s0Nxcvt7VgtwOeo10VXuJmQ7cH3YUleqoUr0LAbyo7inPhiWH84/s400/Evacuation+Pizza.jpg" /></a> In this picture you can see the pizza guy on the right. He pulled up and we thought, “Oh no! How will he deliver this pizza?” Well, just then, the guy who was in the black car in the middle (just to the right of the police car), honked his horn to get the attention of the pizza guy. That’s right, he drove his car right down to the police security line and waited for the pizza guy to bring his pizza to the intersection. I tell ya, that is creativity.</div><div></div><div>For more entertainment and clean air, Laura and I headed back down to Glendale today. This time we went to my favorite burger joint The Habit. Oh my goodness it is so good. I love the BBQ Bacon Char Burger…Yummy!!!<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHO_QympzQvscU3OBRtntky2VtqtkmR-qVr7Bh0RMJ-cLPKUUUz32m-MSdCD-R6tSHKcuJ2yW-aHt90jyxVq3UjDLEj_UYWe3hoTsEIFUUQTEKw-ABjgaT0MrsCo-uOQcStOQMOeLY9oar/s1600-h/Habit+Burger.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376754310613724050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHO_QympzQvscU3OBRtntky2VtqtkmR-qVr7Bh0RMJ-cLPKUUUz32m-MSdCD-R6tSHKcuJ2yW-aHt90jyxVq3UjDLEj_UYWe3hoTsEIFUUQTEKw-ABjgaT0MrsCo-uOQcStOQMOeLY9oar/s320/Habit+Burger.jpg" /></a> Also while we were out I picked up one of these babies. Now I am ready for the real "Day 1" whenever that may be…<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhFVpbm_R6EUkdjYQtphz0AoqDgJUDEmsXe6yOQr9jKsJCXJO2vWax7vooeMXzszWgWddI8v_u6XCHalh6WiAR5p1KOTofLnbZKWWvl1SVNMCXPkXCG0ydyugMQD9wWURhO3vig3csea_/s1600-h/Smoke+Mask.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376754181262573522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhFVpbm_R6EUkdjYQtphz0AoqDgJUDEmsXe6yOQr9jKsJCXJO2vWax7vooeMXzszWgWddI8v_u6XCHalh6WiAR5p1KOTofLnbZKWWvl1SVNMCXPkXCG0ydyugMQD9wWURhO3vig3csea_/s320/Smoke+Mask.jpg" /></a></div></div></div>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-29231319287947403752009-09-01T22:50:00.000-07:002009-09-01T23:25:23.215-07:00Valley View at Night, a Spectacular Sight<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjki47NJx0i9c100Jeo7I8QgDlOVoSkAqMVDQ_f8yEnEC0DhHVy3BvkgRRzo0lSSzkaw5IFeBJZtSpATOkOaQ7P6x8nHroudvOs3VTni8Y5oaZ3mBkC5gP64o8bGPYvP50_VPIep3Nex6bn/s1600-h/Valley+View+at+night+Day+1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376745355430001426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjki47NJx0i9c100Jeo7I8QgDlOVoSkAqMVDQ_f8yEnEC0DhHVy3BvkgRRzo0lSSzkaw5IFeBJZtSpATOkOaQ7P6x8nHroudvOs3VTni8Y5oaZ3mBkC5gP64o8bGPYvP50_VPIep3Nex6bn/s400/Valley+View+at+night+Day+1.jpg" /></a> Last night the hills behind Valley View were ablaze. This picture was taken at about 11:00 pm across the corner from Valley View. This was supposed to be the first official day of the school year but as you can see that did not happen. All of the fires in the background are actually control fires set by fire fighters. Check out this video for my first hand account of the evening:<br /><p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dySZh1Bip2eeVMUsW3T58Pr_92dWVKJP9WwR2OgN2mRgxY-QE-6lNxNV2zVrGg1bJfyRZBXuzqbK1XqVX3m2Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-62946980590987764792009-08-31T21:26:00.000-07:002009-09-01T23:25:48.997-07:00An Interesting "First Day of School"So today was the official first day of school. The only problem was that there were no students, no teachers, no books, no pencils, nothing. The reason is this<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376351118556107634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKQWE5_c9wWpjF-DoTIcvzIic7pAFCNI-d4JY2ypnorVgBlJHa4FuK0TH9lN5BSHe5SQ_4f-IOTdn44-Ae1aOzrRVLMZJHItFjSLcG6iHGTcxs6x6KhRSjfRJyQFQm7HN1OlyAQe6ENnN/s400/Station+Fire+From+VV+Playground.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><p>The Station Fire, which began last Wednesday as a small brush fire in La Canada has decided to burn the whole Angeles National Forest. This is a picture from the playground on Sunday afternoon. (I took this picture before hearing that I was not supposed to be there). The air quality is so bad that we just can't hold school. Currently, school has been cancelled for tomorrow as well. We hope to begin on Wednesday with our new classes. The fire could not keep me away. Today, my wife and I went to the school to see what was happening:<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376352008906313906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOgfJp_308jP73h2-POlkRDRaPKBFVZiB3DnyxOqOftwdieB_Ue0avU7Yc97l9LNV_0g9hiEjjvpWMlvCUK6-Fl9_xJXtssh1hc00P4fTqopidAa8NohNlLOmXT9KxOu1UF2cA2k63lnd/s400/Station+Fire+Form+VV+corner.jpg" /></p><br /><p>In this picture you can see the Valley View sign on the corner and plumes of smoke towering high above the playground. I did not go on campus this time. The police officer is there because the entire neighborhood north of this point is under evacuation orders from the city of Glendale. Those living way up the hill have been required to evacuate. We could not get past this police officer without an ID having the proper address. As I write this I would estimate that 1/4 t0 1/2 of our student population is under evacuation orders. This is because fire fighters are conducting controlled burns at the base of the hills above Valley View.</p><p>Since we could not go to work today (Laura works at Fremont Elementary), we went shopping at the Americana. Here is a picture of me at my new favorite place to get dessert:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPzYJROpzuhUO4-PvJvd0EjEI3eGBnt6xVUv5owMDrv7hHqFfqzYV7O8iQ6s0kfitwU4hSiDj4kIao8kVmOUYxeufy-ArhmGiRZ3JJLvrnSTCXizoFUdJczWtdM2wMfcabjUsoCz1DaCq/s1600-h/Ice+Cream+Sandwich.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376354132396386754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPzYJROpzuhUO4-PvJvd0EjEI3eGBnt6xVUv5owMDrv7hHqFfqzYV7O8iQ6s0kfitwU4hSiDj4kIao8kVmOUYxeufy-ArhmGiRZ3JJLvrnSTCXizoFUdJczWtdM2wMfcabjUsoCz1DaCq/s320/Ice+Cream+Sandwich.jpg" /></a><br />Did you know that you can get an ice cream sandwich made out of any cookies you want with any ice cream you want? I was in heaven. My favorite thing to get when I am at any ballpark is the Tollhouse Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich. The Tollhouse Booth at the Americana is my new favorite place. This is peanut butter cup ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chip pecan cookies. Yummy!!</p><p>What has been your experience during the school closures? How has the Station Fire affected your family?</p><p></p>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-2369508000524642132009-05-27T20:30:00.000-07:002009-09-17T21:31:12.281-07:00LA Marathon<div style="text-align: center;">On Monday, May 25th, Memorial Day, I ran the LA Marathon for the second time in row. It was a great experience all the way from mile 1...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/3572331502/" title="Mile 1 by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3339/3572331502_8c08d47813_b.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />...to mile 26<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/3572333442/" title="Mile 26 by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2479/3572333442_fd5e7bc23a_b.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />The last 0.2 miles were the worst, but it was worth the hard work and effort.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/3571530257/" title="Finish Line by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3558/3571530257_67485ffa8f_b.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Here is a great action shot of me at around 15 miles still going strong. After that was a different story.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/3572293710/" title="Untitled by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img style="width: 280px; height: 415px;" alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2452/3572293710_d19009b7cf_o.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Hey, look who came to see me run. My wife, Laura, and her parents drove their car and stopped to watched me run by about ten different times. Thank goodness for that cell phone I brought with me.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/3571485943/" title="DSC03612 copy by lauralaingphotography22, on Flickr"><img style="width: 280px; height: 419px;" alt="DSC03612 copy" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3411/3571485943_6d998641d6_o.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Here is some awesome footage that I shot myself at the halfway point (That is 13.1 miles into the race). I was right on pace and feeling good.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/sets/72157618890853200/"></a><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxLEBopdz79ysReWanumBKV3yu4I2q67P-SLusfGT4i6G0-4NAbCAzuUUwc2GgbV83E_4OFiZFwSnP_Rq8cnw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />And then here I am after finishing the race not feeling so wonderful anymore. Notice the man in front of me who ran the whole thing barefoot.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxU1075IDSYHiz2XaPjbkHlR_brN8GYaRUdB_xLfcuCeTjjwrUkFIxcUmwLbpuRfQAi1QNmrZkVuSFpOhFw4Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />I decided two years ago that I wanted to run the LA Marathon before I turned 30. I accomplished that goal three days before my 30th birthday. This year I wanted to run it again so I could say, "I run marathon<span style="font-weight: bold;">s</span>." I hope to keep it up as long as my body allows me to. I takes about 16 weeks to train for a marathon, which adds up to hundreds of miles and hours just running week after week. It is not easy, and it hurts your feet really bad, but it is great to set a goal and to work hard in order to reach that goal.<br /><br />Tell us about a goal you have set for yourself and the hard work it took to get there.<br /><br />To view more pictures from the marathon <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laingwedding08/sets/72157618890853200/">click here</a>.</div>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-47626975796785014752009-04-21T15:35:00.000-07:002009-04-21T21:59:42.025-07:00Stranded on an IslandOver spring break, my best friend, Mike, and I went on a backpacking trip on Santa Cruz Island. This is one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara. This is basically where Spanish Explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was taken down by the Chumash.<br /><br />Before going on the trip, the boating company that takes you to the island told us to bring extra food in case they couldn't pick us up.<br /><br />This backpacking trip was planned to be a two-night trip. We would get there on Monday afternoon, hike 3.5 miles to the first campground, wake up early, hike 11 miles to the other side of the island, camp there, and then get picked up on Wednesday. Sounds great right?<br /><br />Well, when we arrived on the east side of the island, after hiking over the tallest peak on the mountain, we found a note from the Ranger telling us that the boat could not come until Thursday. AHHHHHH!!!! We wanted to go home on Wednesday.<br /><br />The reason was because the island was experiencing Gale Force winds. This means that the wind was blowing at about 50 miles per hour. Here is a video of Mike and I at the top of the mountain during these strong winds. You can really tell just how windy it was. Imaging hiking over a mountain with a big back pack on in Gale Force winds...not easy.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxBFmw3UGr1dlHLlrg2bV1uA-3FztcNQS-qYhP0eTZ_Wa62ctJeBzUj8Tqk84Mlyo7uY3DmTBbVr3krsNm-bg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />Here's another video that shows just how windy it was:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyO2NWTP35o0v8n3osGgDPJ3fBZlQx5gCZpBuS2TbLgBsUSdjV3chYYIl7lIMEibD7969XLbs_ce6djPcG2VA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Here's what the ocean looked like:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyi5SYuOzgVG6SGZ4YW0PZRwziZXOuQydcj-N-xzmKcHZjz_aQ4i39FqViQTIxe_DO97TS7_P8JwBgrBHFfLw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />And just a bonus... here's my "Jeff Corwin Moment" in search of the rare Santa Cruz Island Fox:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy6Ywb8CNhurLLZiYXd9PGEO3XLOleW3ZG1ED5RXZgwD8sVIWHCplK3L0BGF_orvKFEdY9ENjEexqkbYaWvWg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />See what happens when you're totally bored?<br /><br />Tell us about any Spring Break adventures you had.Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-82976485604783582322009-02-01T20:41:00.000-08:002009-02-01T21:30:19.242-08:00Jerry Fixes His Injured Water Bottle<center><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Xkz3nAh1Yv6GXI4_5mvpiQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1mOPVepJhlruX_kDtgVFJNf7aHhgzyTJUmbGom3aCCKgvEBZBnLvKv63v9eW6B9e4EecTxHqW7o0KCPvqTjk-f4sg6P7H1B13ZhsjOE-W48nkDaLbLkibc_hEGKi-TbEg-l-DKQULn3y/s400/DSC01989.JPG" /></a> <center></center><div align="left">Everyday in our class, silly things happen. Sometimes they are words that I say or revolutionary object lessons that I try to use to teach a point. Most of the time, however, the silliness is brought on by the students themselves. Hard to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">believe</span> right?</div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">This is Jerry's water bottle. He informed me, after the morning bell, that his frozen water bottle had a hole in it. I asked him to take it over to the sink. Before I knew it he had come up with a brilliant idea that only he could think of. Jerry had gotten a band-aid out of the first-aid kit and used it to cover the hole...BRILLIANT!</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Actually, Jerry soon learned that this quick-fix would not keep the water from dripping out of the tiny hole. Sorry Jerry, but you tried :)</div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">The only thing better than Jerry's unique solution to this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">dilemma</span> was Sharon's comment, (Which she made without displaying the proper "I have a comment" hand signal), "Eww now your water is going to taste like band-aid water!"</div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Band-aid water????</div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Sharon, is there something we need to know? </div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">It is these silly moments that make coming to class every day worth it. Tell us about your favorite silly moment in Mr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Laing's</span> class. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><center><br /><br /></center></center>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-56898766552563004262009-01-29T17:45:00.000-08:002009-01-29T22:06:55.161-08:00Mission Report Part I Sample<span style="color:#ff0000;">DUE: Friday, Januray 30</span><br /><br />The following is a sample of Part I of the Mission Report. Please remember that this should be used as a guide and not copied word for word. Your Part I needs to include information that is specific and true to your mission. You may paraphrase some of the sentences here but the information must be about your mission.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ffff99;"> Have you ever been to one of the California Missions? Let me tell you about my favorite mission, Mission San Francisco Solano. This mission is located in the Coastal Region of California just north of San Francisco Bay. It was founded by Father Altimira. The Spanish missionaries needed to start this mission because the land at Mission Dolores was no longer fertile and could not grow crops. The purpose of the mission was to teach the natives about the Catholic Religion. Mission San Francisco Solano was the last mission to be founded in Alta California. The mission founded before this mission was Mission San Rafael. Water for Mission San Francisco Solano was obtained from many natural springs that were all around the mission. The fertile land around the mission provided crops for growing food so that the people of the mission could eat. All of these crops surrounded the beautiful buildings and structures that made up the mission grounds.</span>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-50695666646480066102009-01-29T17:27:00.000-08:002009-01-29T17:51:39.005-08:00Great Mission Web SitesI told the class that I would post some websites were they can find information for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">thier</span> mission reports. Please remember that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">internet</span> should not be your only source of information. The students are required to use books and encyclopedias as well. Also, don't forget to write down the web <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">address</span> where you find any information as well as the time and date that you found it.<br /><br />Happy Surfing<br /><br /><a href="http://missions.bgmm.com/index.htm"><span style="color:#33ccff;">Mission Site 1</span></a><span style="color:#33ccff;"><br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.californiamissions.com/"><span style="color:#33ccff;">Mission Site 2</span></a>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-39803756789758248362008-12-06T21:52:00.000-08:002008-12-06T22:05:15.430-08:00I Got a Tree!<center><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1HPL0VTXSqEBys5jY5rvsw?authkey=e_pL7aDxLHY"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePmDdbhxaPHdcZxQPxVpS2Gy7_784UVJkXKV0qXi6oY_GnW1HhyM0VOvhv6KSzVrJqx6PoIf8jDYP5dSCvsuFAgOwfgnKkldVy9nMouZo3NJANaM4jCeF4J05o4IOFY65wsWCeZOUdGM/s800/DSC01294.JPG" width="400"/></a></center>Look at the newest addition to my tiny apartment. Today Laura and I went out to get a tree to celebrate the holidays. The problem is that we live in a small apartment so we had to get a small tree. Luckily the CCY had just the right sized Noble Fir. We ended up with this great four footer. We just finished decorating it. Doesn't it look nice?<div><br /></div><div>How does your family celebrate the holidays? Tell us of any unique customs or traditions that your family does to make the holiday memories last.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, those are my lovely socks...</div>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-44010373236724774672008-10-16T15:22:00.000-07:002008-10-16T23:05:52.226-07:00Forgot your book at school? No problem!Did you know that you can find your child's Science and Social Science Textbooks online?<br />It is easy and can even save your child the trouble of lugging around heavy books. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSBJlqG51SZjnSIh1YmqJ5eOnX5P-NQY4PLfWZ9TTNLtzRcNIIMntQTsyFJM_-qAUdlU5gozMPJbaAkGsApLHSdGCa1v6gs_xRf28Bs-fCsh-xPBmh5LFMU2SgroDQPik40huZQiGaad-/s1600-h/DSC01987.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257996956650489698" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSBJlqG51SZjnSIh1YmqJ5eOnX5P-NQY4PLfWZ9TTNLtzRcNIIMntQTsyFJM_-qAUdlU5gozMPJbaAkGsApLHSdGCa1v6gs_xRf28Bs-fCsh-xPBmh5LFMU2SgroDQPik40huZQiGaad-/s320/DSC01987.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">For science just click this link:</span> <a href="http://activities.macmillanmh.com/science/ca/">http://activities.macmillanmh.com/science/ca/</a><br /><br />Just click on the book cover for fourth grade. This will lead you to all sorts of activities to help your child learn more about their current science lessons.<br />In order to view the actual textbook just click on this link and enter the login info found below: <a href="http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/ose/">http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/ose/</a><br />Username: casci04<br />Password: redwood<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">For Social Science it is just as easy.</span><br />Click on this link: <a href="http://mhln.com/UnregisterController?ACTION=POST&MANAGER=LOGON&OPERATION=LOGON&JSP=index.jsp">http://mhln.com/UnregisterController?ACTION=POST&MANAGER=LOGON&OPERATION=LOGON&JSP=index.jsp</a><br /><br />Simply click on the " For Students" tab (on the left side) and enter our class code: Owen2007<br /><br />You will get a list of the textbooks in grade order. Just click on fourth grade.<br /><br />Both of these sites have games and extra resources to help your children expand there knowledge in the sciences. How great is it to live in this day and age where your child's books can be found on your computer. My back still hurts from carrying all of my books around as a youth.<br /><br />Please comment to this post and let us know how this resource has been helpful for your family.Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-3440075578801194142008-10-16T14:52:00.000-07:002008-10-16T15:37:13.766-07:00Get AR information at home!Become a more informed parent.<br /><br />Now you can view your child's academic progress online (via the Accelerated Reader Program).<br /><br />It's called Home Connect:<br />Home Connect builds a bridge between school and home and keeps parents informed of their child's progress toward Accelerated Reader goals. This useful information will not only keep you up to date on AR points as well as books your child is reading, it will also motivate them to read even more!<br /><br />I encourage you to visit the website and view your child's information. It is totally awesome!<br /><br />Just copy and paste this link into your browser and you are good to go: <a href="https://hosted22.renlearn.com/265629/HC/Reading/ARReadingPractice.aspx">https://hosted22.renlearn.com/265629/HC/Reading/ARReadingPractice.aspx</a><br /><br />or click <a href="https://hosted22.renlearn.com/265629/HC/Reading/ARReadingPractice.aspx">HERE</a><br /><br />You will need to enter your child's ID# and password. If you have misplaced the information just email me and I will send it to you.<br /><br />Please post comments of how this program has improved reading at your home. We would love to hear your stories.Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609828452052840906.post-90621200561208738642008-10-07T20:18:00.000-07:002008-10-09T06:07:20.692-07:00New writing resources hit home!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghz-JWHRoIP5C-2PG0rbTmNeQtyFM8aHbhp4-HxCM0zs1acm-c0UmtpQLsuN0uNrp4LmE0xkxs2lw_0-lO_WwgYi7n6SztpplwRe9GvHlDOy1nnWmeMEr5zNK_qTncEJrCvoyd2L77ugXt/s1600-h/DSC01979.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254622576507147522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghz-JWHRoIP5C-2PG0rbTmNeQtyFM8aHbhp4-HxCM0zs1acm-c0UmtpQLsuN0uNrp4LmE0xkxs2lw_0-lO_WwgYi7n6SztpplwRe9GvHlDOy1nnWmeMEr5zNK_qTncEJrCvoyd2L77ugXt/s400/DSC01979.JPG" border="0" /></a> By now you have received your copy of the Tuesday Night Writing Parent Handbook. Students are also now using their Tuesday Night Writing folders. This is a sign that our writing program is in full swing in the fourth grade.<br /><div><br /><div>We are very <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">excited</span> to have the Parent Handbook this year that can be used at home for many purposes. Be sure to look inside to find a multitude of checklists and rubrics which help you understand what fourth grade writing should look and sound like. Not only will this resource be helpful for Tuesday Night Writing <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">assignments</span> but also for any writing that is being done at home. </div><br /><div>Remember that Tuesday Night writing is assigned every Tuesday evening. These <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">assignments</span> might involve <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">prewriting</span>, drafting, publishing, or even a whole writing process to be done in one evening. Assignments will usually be related to our current science or social science instruction. It is not our goal to bog down our students with these <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">assignments</span> but to expand our writing instruction by bringing it into the home. Here are some tips and guidelines for having great <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">TNW</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">assignments</span>:</div><br /><div>- Write all final drafts in your best cursive (No typing please)<br />- Work must be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">completed</span> by the student</div><div>- Parents assist by helping student to understand the writing assignment</div><div>- Email, post a comment, or call early if there is a question about an assignment</div><div>- Remove distractions in the home when writing is being done</div><div>- Don't wait until the last minute to do your writing</div><div>- Homework passes cannot be used on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">TNW</span></div><div>- Have fun with it. Writing is a very enjoyable <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">exercises</span>.</div></div>Mr. Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714116637917013480noreply@blogger.com4