The Walker Blog: June 2008

What A Weekend!!

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Bulls Game, Hollerin' Contest, Our Weekend | 9:26 PM

What a wonderful weekend!! We were so busy doing things all over this great state of ours! On Saturday we drove down to Spivey's Corner, NC to attend the 40th Annual National Hollerin' Contest. It was very interesting! Cathy got to see Tony Peacock and cheer for him. He came in 3rd place, but he did great! There were more than 12 people in the men's contest and even someone that came down from Virginia!

After the contest ended, we drove home and on the way, Steve had a bright idea to stop at a local place called "Ron's Barn." Yeah... we should have known by the name what it would be like, but in the back of our minds we kinda had hoped that we found a hidden gem. When we walked in, there was a musty smell to the place, but there were lots of people and it seemed like everyone was happy. It couldn't be that bad right?

Well... to the left was a cafeteria-style line that was rather short. In front of it, there were a few tables. We were taken immediately to our seats and our drink order was taken. Cathy ordered a Coke and Steve had a water. The waitress brought out some hush-puppies and then said, "Help yourselves." Not a good sign... we both anticipated a menu and dreaded the idea of the cafeteria-style line. There were people at the table RIGHT (yes, we were on top of another table) next to us and they got up to go get some chow.

We thought that maybe we were in for a treat when the one man raved about the food. How can you mess up apple sauce? Well, you can and they did. They even messed up Coke. It was by far the most disgusting meal that either of us has ever ingested.

Now, you're probably thinking that we learned our lesson right? Wrong. We decided to order dessert. BECAUSE the man at the table next to use was going on and on about the banana pudding. We decided to get the banana pudding and chocolate pie. Cathy thought both were absolutely GROSS but Steve kind of enjoyed the chocolate pie.

So, at the end of the night, we spent more than $20 for dinner that was disgusting. Cathy enjoyed the corn and Steve enjoyed the pie and green beans. The rest... well, that's another story.

Sunday night we went to a Durham Bulls game with Cathy's 4th graders. She's going to blog about it on her blog, so be on the look out for that if you're interested in reading about the game.

:)
The Walkers

One Year!!

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Anniversary | 8:46 PM

We've been in North Carolina for a year already!! Can you believe it? It's gone by so fast! Steve celebrated his one year anniversary with Burt's today. He didn't get any recognition at work, but Cathy sent him a congratulatory email and text that made his day. :)

Cathy has survived the EOGs for this year. She has learned a lot from giving these tests.

First... regardless of how many HOURS she spends reviewing and giving test-taking tips... it's all thrown out the window when the test is in front of their faces.
Second... for some kids, being the first one done is like a secret victory. Even if the test takes the average child 60 minutes and they've finished in 20.
Third... there are a lot of things on the EOG that Cathy didn't spend enough time teaching to her kids!! :(
Fourth... Everyone from kids to teachers stresses out about these tests!!
Fifth... sitting/wandering the room for four hours a day is excruciating. It'd be better to be taking the test than to be monitoring the test.

Cathy doens't know how her kids did yet (she's very nervous about it and scared that they all bombed it) and hopefully will know by Friday. Keep her in your prayers!!

We're excited to spend this weekend at home doing nothing. It's Father's Day and both of our father's are out of state, so we'll be chilling out together.

Next weekend we're going to the Hollerin' Festival with Katie (a girl that Cathy works with) and maybe her parents and then on Sunday we're meeting Cathy's kids and parents at the Bulls game. Should be fun!!

We'll write again soon...

The Walkers

Not Even Summer Yet...

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | | 10:33 PM

Well... it's not even summer yet but it sure is hot! This week we have had temperatures reach over 100 degrees!

On Friday, Steve attended the second annual Burt's Bees Culture Day. You might remember the post from last year that talked about it. We had just moved down here, and that Friday was his first Friday at Burt's. He got the drum and they all played the drums to find their rhythm as a company. Burt made an appearance. Well... not this year. This year, they went to Hope Crossing, (Aa"green" community) which is a Habitat for Humanity of Durham community of homes. This last week was a "Building Blitz" across the US and for the Durham area, they built ten homes in five days. To make their impact, the Burt's Bees employees went for the day and built a playground.

Steve had a great time and really felt great giving back to the community. It was a VERY hot day though. There were several groups of people that left before 10:30 am, and through it all, Steve stayed and worked hard. He was among 15 that were able to stay through the whole day and help clean up at the end. The temperature on Friday was over 100, but Steve was able to stay hydrated and able to stay cool. He was really proud of the work that he did and can't wait to volunteer in September with the Burt's group. Cathy plans on volunteering with him. The home that Burt's will be working on this fall is extra special because it will be the home given to a fellow employee at Burt's.

Cathy is getting ready for her fourth graders to take the North Carolina End of Grade exams (EOGs). She is quite nervous about it, but we're hopeful that her kids will do well on the three-day test. They'll be taking the reading test on Monday and then Tuesday and Wednesday will be spent doing math tests. She got her scores back for the state writing test (which has been discontinued for next year) and was excited about the results. Her kids did an amazing job and she was very pleased!! We hope she'll have the same results on the EOGs. She'll find out how they did on the math test this coming Friday, but won't know anything about reading until September/October.

Tomorrow we're going to see Kung Fu Panda with Cathy's fourth graders. Acutally, they're meeting her at the movies. She has about ten or eleven kids and their parents/families coming so it should be fun. The movie looks pretty good and we're sure that the kids will really enjoy it. Cathy has planned a "Meet Mrs. Walker at the Durham Bulls game" in two weeks. You might remember that she always did this in Michigan with the Tigers, and fortunately, we're close to Durham and can do the same down here. She has about fifteen families that have signed up for that event. They'll get to have their name on the big screen. We'll be sure to post pictures of the event.

We're excited to head to Spivey's Corner in two weeks. It's time for the Annual Hollerin' Contest. Cathy is excited to go and cheer for Tony Peacock. He was the writer in residence at her school this year and she was really excited to maybe get to see him compete. The contest is the third Saturday in June. He has won the contest several times!! Click this link to watch a youtube video about the contest and to see Tony Peacock!! (After the guy explains distress hollerin', Tony is the first guy and he's wearing purple.)

The warm weather appears to be sticking around for a while, so send cool thoughts our way!! We hope everyone reading this is doing well. Feel free to drop us a line and say hello!! That's what the comments are there for!! :)

Take care,
The Walkers