SEATTLE

Ok... so I know it's been awhile since I posted anything on here, but I thought I'd say hello.

In case you don't know, Melody and I are moving to Washington in May, May 31st to be exact. (See the countdown clock to the right.) We're pretty excited about this new adventure. We're tired of living where it's hot most of the year, and are ready for a big change! So we're off to the northwest. It's going to be great!

Why We Smiths Make Up Songs . . . .

Yesterday I had to run Amy across town to pick up her car from the dealer. On the way there I tortured her with a particular CD (I will reveal it later). While listening to this CD I shared with her my theory about why all the Smiths (meaning my grandfather, dad, brothers and sisters) make up our own songs and sing sentences etc to ourselves or others.

It's our Norwegian blood.

Grandpa Smith is half Norwegian, Dad 1/4 and we are only 1/8, but it's the Norwegian in us. You might think I'm crazy (Amy did), but as we were listening to "Teach Yourself Norwegian" we learned that the Norwegians (and other Scandinavians) have a "sing song" quality to their speech. There are different pitches and tones so it sounds like they are singing. Our Norwegian blood misses that sing song sound causing us to express those tones through making up our own songs and turning our sentences into songs. You might think I'm crazy - but I think it's a valid explaination of why we all (yes Andy, Mike, Rob, Abbie, Andy, Amy & me) make up songs.

The Future

It's a whole new semester and I have a new bunch of students. My Geography students had an assignment getting to know their textbook. One of the questions had to do with time zones. If it's 8pm February 4th in Auckland, NZ, what time is it where we live. (11pm Feb 3rd in L.A.) Some of my students had a hard time understanding that it would be the day before. I tried to explain that when I email my friend in New Zealand on Sunday afternoon he's getting ready to go home from work on Monday. One student said, "How can that be? It's like the future!" Ah - the mind of a fourteen year old!