Friday afternoon my school bus got stuck in the snow on my route and I still had 4 students on the bus. I had to call for help on the radio (embarrassing because the whole school hears it) They sent another bus, who was still out to come and pick me and the 4 students up and the mechanics came and got my bus unstuck. The road had been plowed but it is narrow and has just enough room for the school bus to go down it....a car was coming from the other direction so I pulled over to the right as far as I could to let the car pass.....since we have had SO MUCH snow, it was piled high on the side of the road and when I tried to get back on the road, my rear end slid over in the ditch!! I was thanking God for His timing because it could have been so much worse if it had happened on the morning route. We had to get off the bus and step in deep snow and two of the little girls started saying they were scared....but I said that it was kinda fun to have an exciting adventure and that we were all okay....so they decided it was ok too. I hope that never happens again!!

We got hit with a BIG snowstorm yesterday. They dismissed school early so I had to go drive my school bus in a driving snowstorm with all these little kindergartners on my bus who are totally unaware of the dangerous, hazardous road conditions and just want to act "normal" by "telling on" each other....." Mrs. Coddington, Lauren stuck her tongue out at me"......"May I have a tissue?" "May I have a pencil?" "Mrs. Coddington, do you have an orange crayon?" "Mrs. Coddington, I need a band-aide" on and on....while I manage the other 30 kids on the bus and try to listen to my radio telling which roads were close etc.....it was wild. I did get everyone home okay and even had to "rescue" another bus driver and her last 2 students.....her bus couldn't make it up a hill on the snow and ice and she almost went in the ditch trying to back the bus so she could get a better start up the slick hill. Anyway, we all made it .....the bus mechanic had to go drive the "stuck" bus back to the bus garage....

I was telling another bus driver how I was going to try NOT to talk on my cell phone while driving because I was reading how many people have been killed by distracted drivers. She said that after being a school bus driver for 25 years and handling all you have to handle on a school bus.....she thought she could handle only doing ONE other thing while driving.....I laughed and agreed with her....but I am still trying not to talk and drive because I almost wiped out a motorcycle driver this summer when I was changing lanes because I was holding my phone talking and didn't turn to look (like I always do) before I changed lanes....it was all clear in my mirror.....thankfully, I heard his horn and severed back into my lane.....it was scary and I don't want to do that again.

J.D. (1st grade) and Katie (1st grade) were having a conversation. J.D. said, "My grandpa only has 2 teeth in his mouth so he has to wear fake teeth." "Yes, Katie", replied, "when you get old your teeth rot and you have to get false teeth." Yes, J.D. agreed.....they just rot up."

Later in the route I heard them talking about "being in their mommy's tummy before they were born". J.D. said that he did a somersault in his mommy's tummy. Katie said that her mom told her, after she was born, that she had tapped danced while she was still inside her tummy.

Today the moon was still shining brightly on the morning run. J.D. (1st grade) told me that God rode across the sky on the moon. I was excited to think I might be having a "spiritual conversation" when he blurted out, "Santa is on there too!" J.D. also told me he wanted to show me a picture of his dad playing baseball when he was in school. He pulled out a real baseball card with a Cardnial pitcher's picture on it. His name was Craig something.....I know J.D. dad's name is "Mike" so I was pretty sure it wasn't him. I responed with "Gee, it's fun to pretend sometimes isn't it?" No response from J.D.

One day last week the sun was just poking out from under a cloud near the end of the morning route. I said to Kayden (K), "That looks more like a sunset than a sunrise." He said, "Yes, that sun better get up out of bed and start shining!"

We have "music morning" every Friday while we wait for all the buses to arrive before unloading. Any student who wants to play a song on their band insturment, or sing a song for us is allowed to. Emily (grade 6) played "Green Sleeves" on her French horn and Gracie (grade 4) played "Row Row Row Your Boat" on her recorder (we called them "fluteophones" when I was in school). Zach (grade 2) sang a campfire song for us.

Graham (K) told me that he saw a dead skunk last night.
Aubrey (K) told me that she learned how to snap her fingers.

Today is 9/11/09 and it is hard to realize that many of the students on this bus weren't even born 8 years ago when America was attacked and the Twin Towers went down and the Pentagon was crashed into by USA commercial airplanes that had been taken over by terrorists. They learn about it in school like I learned about World War II when I was in school.

Lanae, grade 4, suggested that we sing "The Star Spangled Banner" in memory of the people who had lost their lives that fateful day, and we did.

Graham (K) complained that he had a headache. I said, " I'm sorry to hear that." He said, "Yes, my brain is hurting."