Sunday Joys

Wonderful encouraging Church Service, smooth transition
Pastor returned
Lunch after church with friends, laughter
Errands with my sweet Ben
New pencils and erasers
Reading, kitties in my lap
Spaghetti, dinner together, leftovers for lunch
Making no bake cookies
Country Music
In bed early
Kids come tomorrow!

Could it get any better?

Why I'm ready for school

Its that time of year again. Brand new school supplies, no more summer, and a new start. One reason I love being a teacher is getting to start over every year with new goals and plans. Now, as I am trying to be positive about seeing all my free time, sleeping in, and playing go away, I would like to make a list of the things I'm looking forward to as the year beings. They are in no particular order except the order I am thinking of them in.

1. Time with teacher friends. I love my 3rd grade team, and its fun to spend time with people who know your field. You can make jokes like "There's no child left untested" and everyone gets it. (Someone said that at a workshop I went to).

2. My sweet kiddos. Some of my favorite conversations are the ones I have walking the track at recess with my kids. They are so easy to talk to and you can count on them to be completely honest.

3. Speaking Spanish. This year, my school is going to a 50/50 model of Spanish/English. I will be learning so many new words this year and getting to speak a lot of Spanish. Can't wait!

4. Routine. I'm one of those people who loves it. I am so much more productive and get more done when I have a routine to follow.

5. Working Hard. A month into school, I'll be wishing for a lot less of this, but during summer, its in short supply. Everyone needs a break, yes, but I'm about done with mine. I've relaxed enough and I'm ready to join the rest of the productive world.

6. Forced healthiness. I walk around my classroom and the school all day constantly and sometimes very fast - thus forced exercise. Also, I have a forced eating schedule. Breakfast, morning snack during specials, lunch, snack after school and dinner. During summer, eating is a possibility at any moment and sometimes its hard to say no.

I went back to school last Wednesday and the kids come back on the 24th. This week, we've got meetings, time to work in our classrooms, meet the teacher and time for planning. Should be a nice week!

Lots of food and a good friend

Officially, I have no more full weeks of summer. Last week I savored my free time with naps, TV, reading, shopping, and time with friends. I did go into my classroom a little and had a two-day training for school so don't get too jealous.

Wednesday and Thursday I went to a required bilingual training. We were blessed with Taco C breakfast tacos (YUM) and Panera bagels (my faves) for breakfast from the presenters. I learned a lot of really good stuff. For those teachers out there (the rest of you really may not know or care about this) the 3rd grade students no longer have to pass the reading TAKS test to go on to 4th grade. I haven't really decided if this is a good or bad thing for me or in general, but it's something different. We also learned about all the new standards that govern what we teach and how in depth we go into subjects (new TEKS) and learned some new perspectives on bilingual education. It got us motivated and thinking about the new school year. The second day of training, the presenters decided that if we worked through lunch, we could leave a few hours early and we enthusiastically agreed. We brought way way more than enough snacks to tide us over the hour we would have to wait to eat lunch. I think we maybe went a little overboard. It ended up being my lunch.

So lets see...grapes, chocolate, wheat thins, cookies, candy, granola bars, bagels, and sandwiches. No one can say we weren't prepared. And actually we were the only table to bring this much food...we were a bit embarrassed...but definitely not hungry!

Amanda, me, Jennifer, and Ana (3rd and 2nd bilingual at my school)

I also go the treat of seeing Lindsey, my sweet friend and roommate from college. She came to visit her boyfriend and so she stayed at my house Thursday night. Ben played golf Friday morning so we got to wake up, drink coffee, and make breakfast just like old times. Such a gift from the Lord.

Thanks Obama!

Last week, Ben got a brand new truck! We took Obama up on his offer for $3500 off our new truck if it met the requirements of 18 MPG or better. Also, our trade-in had to be 18 MPG or under and the new car had to be at least 2 better if it was truck. I think that was about how it went. Anyways, we met all requirements and took advantage. Ben got a 2009 Toyota Tacoma in the color Pyrite which is like a shimmery bronzy brown. Currently, its my favorite car color! Now my car is old news and we like to drive Ben's car around. Sweet Ben had been driving around without A/C in his old car. That's right, the past three Houston summers (temps into the 100's!) with no air to cut the heat. He would come home from work sweaty everyday. He has been so content with his old car and so kind to let me have the new car first. What a sweetheart. We look forward to many opportunities to use the truck. Thanks Obama for making it possible :).

San Antonio

This weekend, we went to San Antonio for a mini-vacation before school starts. It was just enough time out of Houston. We started the vacation on Friday afternoon with none other than a round of golf. Normally, this might not excite me greatly, but it was in the hill country. But this was no normal golf course. The holes were hilly and unique. And its always enjoyable to ride around with my Benjamin. That night we ate at a yummy restaurant on the riverwalk. Below is us when we had finished eating. We went bold in Pink and Purple!

Saturday, we went to Fiesta Texas. I had not been to a theme park like that since early college or maybe even High School. In High School, I absolutely loved roller coasters. This time I did enjoy them, but, I have to admit, not as much as I did before. The jerkiness was not so exciting as much as it was a potential headache. But the one ride I will never get tired of is "The Scream" called the Superman ride in Arlington. It shoots you way up and then drops you down. The most fun ride. Ever. Below is me pretending to ride one of the rides. The picture was supposed to be more zoomed in so that it looked more real, but the photographer was notified of this request. So instead I just look silly.

Saturday night was another delicious dinner on the river walk. Sunday, we drove to San Marcos to go to the HUMONGOUS outlet mall. Oh my, I had forgotten how big it actually was. I have to say though, I did not make the shopping queens proud this weekend. I pooped out on the first third of shops and was ready to go. Ben probably would have kept shopping and actually bought a lot more than I did. I was hungry and it was way too crowded. So we drove down to Gruene, Texas which is along the Guadalupe River. We ate at the Gristmill - a gorgeous little restaurant on the river. We had a nice time together and came back very relaxed and refreshed.

Changing subjects, I went to the eye doctor today and I need glasses. I see it more as a new accessory (just one I actually need). They're really just for reading and such, but I'm kinda excited. Hopefully it will help with my headaches as well. I'll post a picture when I get them.