It's all good . . .

Gratitude, Veterans and the Beginning of November

November has slipped into being, and along with it, there has been gorgeous weather, good things, and lots to be grateful for.  Lily got to start off the month with a mission service project where she and her fellow service missionaries not only cleaned up the temple grounds, but the property next to the temple that the church owns.

Arthur got to have a fun Saturday play date with his friend, Oliver.  They even got to shoot BB guns, which Arthur thought was pretty cool.

Speaking of Arthur, at school, we had the fifth graders make special gratitude art about someone they are grateful for, and Arthur chose me.  It was the sweetest thing and said:

I am very grateful for my mom. I am grateful for my mom because she always listens to me when I talk to her.  You could describe her as loving, hard working and kind, because she is all of those things to me. Without my mom in my life, I wouldn't be able to make it through the day.  I know my mom is special because she works here at Las Lomas. I think my mom makes the world a better place.

On Tuesday, it was Election Day, and since so many schools in our district are used as polling locations, they canceled school.  Because of the random day off, it meant some extra time at home, which was great.  It also meant that Lily and I got to go vote together, and since we could vote at my school, which is only a mile away, we turned it into a workout as well :). And the weather was perfect!

Later that day, also taking advantage of the day off, I attended the San Antonio Temple.  My sister, Wendy, was supposed to join me, but on her way to San Antonio, her car started having issues, and so she had to turn around and go home.  So sad!!  Being in the temple was wonderful, in spite of not getting to share it with my sister.

Derek and Arthur also took advantage of the day off by playing together, including a swim in the hottub.  Good times!

Later that day, I was correcting papers, when I came across this answer that made me laugh out loud.  Oh my goodness - totally not what the author was trying to portray, but hey, it was this student's perception of the story.  Ha ha!

The highlight of the week was the special Veterans Day assembly at school.  Arthur's school choir performed, they had a color guard from the JROTC, and even a special reception afterward for any students who had Veterans that attended.  It was a very special thing for Arthur to schare with his dad.Arthur was also selected to read part of a special poem for the occasion, as well as his great singing.  It was a great event.

I also have to share a few more things about Arthur.  I got the funniest text from Arthur's GT teacher.  She said that she was working on decorations for the assembly, when Arthur asked if he could borrow a balloon - He said, "May I see that for a moment? I have an idea!" and then held it above his head because it looked like a lightbulb - ha ha ha!  Good times!!

Arthur is also continuing to create different forts in his bedroom every weekend.  For this latest one, he wanted to show me how he had multiple exit points, in case of an emergency.  Good times!  This kid is forever entertaining us.

A Happy Halloween

Our Halloween adventures actually began last week, however, that didn't stop us from continuing them.  For example, on Sunday, we got to finally eat the delicious caramel apples that Lily and I had made the day before.  So yummy!  Especially the ones that we dipped in chocolate as well.  Lily even sprinkled toffee bits on hers.

Although we aren't allowed to have Halloween parties at our school, my class still got to have a party.  It just happened to be that they earned enough points for a party, which was super exciting - it had taken a long time to earn those points.  We had decided on a popcorn and games party, and so I popped six bags of popcorn, and we spent the last half hour of the day playing and eating.  There were also birthday cupcakes, because one of my students had his birthday on actual Halloween, but decided to bring his treats early.  They all had a blast, even though the evidence of the popcorn eating was all over my classroom - hence the rule of "no snacks in fifth grade" - ha ha!

Halloween day just happened to be an early release for the students, which was actually sort of nice for us all, since the kids are so wired with anticipation on Halloween.  We had library, and she had them read from Macbeth and did a really cute STEAM activity with them, where they had to work as a group to hold up their cauldrons over a candle (fire).  They loved it!  I also stopped by my mailbox and discovered some cute little treats I had been left :).

Throughout the day, there had been a special Halloween Bingo for the teachers, and I got the very first Bingo!!  I sent a student down to get my prize, and he came back with a bouquet of flowers.  I loved it!!  He was super cute when he handed them to me too, and got down on one knee and held them out.  Ha ha!

The kids all were picked up and gone by 1pm, and then we had a mandatory training - lame.  Oh well.  Luckily, it wasn't long, and then we got to go work in our rooms.  I had so much to do, as I never have time to actually work in my room.  I finally had time to hang up the lights that had been given to me back in August.  I was also finally able to change my bulletin board to include things I actually needed up for my students.  And I got to correct a few things.

While I was busy working, Lily took the boys to Krispy Kreme to get free donuts.  You had to be in costume, and so they each got dressed up for it, including Lily wearing her dad's Chewbacca costume.  And she was awesome and even took pictures for me. 

When I finally got to come home, I made our traditional Halloween dinner of mummy dogs and Jack-o-lantern oranges.  Quick and simple.

For Kevin and I, it was quite an easy night.  Derek was awesome and took Arthur trick-or-treating (which meant that HE got to trick-or-treat as well, even though he is a six foot tall senior in high school - ha ha!), while Lily camped out on the bench outside with the candy to hand out.  That meant that I was free to work on a bunch of stuff for school I needed to take care of, especially because I was going to be gone the next day for Reading Academy.  There was one point where a few sweet girls from my classes recognized Lily, and so they asked her to get me so they could say hi.  It was super fun!

The boys were back home after an hour, and wow, did they make bank.  I mean, it was a crazy amount of candy that they got, but it's all good.  That means that there is plenty for the candy train, as well as for their eating pleasure - and ours ;).  It was definitely a very fun Halloween celebration for all.

 

The Last Days of October

I don't know where October went, but I sure have enjoyed the pleasant weather we have been having, as well as the rain we have been blessed with.  In true October fashion, we made sure to have Arthur decorate his Storybook Pumpkin for school, and this year he decided for it to be a golden snitch from Harry Potter.  Lily was awesome and helped him with the project after dinner on Sunday, and it turned out great.  The funniest thing about it though, was that it started out as a white pumpkin, and since we didn't have any gold paint, when they were done with it, it looked like they had painted it pumpkin orange - ha ha!

On Monday, in library, Arthur got to do a cool team building activity about a Halloween poem.  I believe they had to create something for a cauldron to be held over a "fire" (electric candle), and it had to be stable.  (My class gets to do this one on actual Halloween.)

Monday after school, I was so tired when I got home, I never wanted to move again.  I got dinner started - parmesan red potatoes in the oven, and a London broil grilling slowly on the grill, and since I had to be outside to watch the grill, I took advantage of the perfect weather, put my feet up, and read my book while I waited.  Unfortunately, the food was eventually done, and so I had to get up and go inside.

After dinner, one of the things I had waiting for me, were two loads of laundry to fold.  Luckily, Arthur was there to help drag them into my room.

Tuesday was another long day at school, and I was frantically trying to get everything ready for my substitute.  And then when I got home, I was frantically getting ready for book club, since I was hosting.  Luckily, everything went great and we had a nice turnout.

Wednesday, the reason that I needed to have a sub, was my Reading Academy training.  I still went into Las Lomas before school, because I was leaving my computer there for Jaime, my sub, to be able to use.  Then I headed to my training.  It went well, although sitting is so crazy exhausting.  The best part was that I won this gorgeous picture book for writing a really good replacement sentence.  Nice!

Friday was a bit of a crazy day, between an assembly and Fun Friday, I was struggling to have time for my students to get everything done that they needed to.  I also got a new student who transferred from one of the other classes.  Good times.  The assemble allowed me to grade some of the extended constructed responses that the kids wrote the week before though, since I wasn't all that interested in the magic tricks done by "Spikey Mikey" :).

At the end of the day, my class finally earned their 50th point, which means that we are having a party on Monday afternoon.  Wahoo!  They have been working so hard.

After school on Friday, when I was too tired to consider moving, let alone making dinner, Kevin had the great idea that we needed to go to Hallmark and buy our ornaments for this year before they sell out of the ones that we like.  We all found great ornaments, and then went to Whataburger for dinner on our way home.  It was definitely a successful family adventure.

That night, Arthur was begging to build a fort in the TV room, but Kevin convinced him to do it in his room instead.  And he did such a great job!  It looked awesome, and then I helped him make his bed on the floor extra squishy and comfy.

On Saturday, we worked.  Kevin started right away with building the shed, and it was a good thing he started early, because it took all day.  Each one of us helped at one point or another, but the boys helped the most.  I love how it turned out!  Now, we just need the time to organize the stuff so we can put things in there.

While Kevin was building away, I was correcting what felt like millions of assignments.  (It really makes you regret assigning so many short answer and essay questions.  Ha ha!  I did take a "break" to make caramel apples with Lily.  They turned out great, and I am using most of them to give to my Primary class, since I am getting released today and getting a new calling.  So sad!!  I have been with those girls for two years as their teacher, and even longer as an Activity Leader.

Then it was time for the Trunk or Treat.  I had grabbed Chipotle to go for Kevin and I, as we ran out of time or energy for a date this week.  We did make it to the Trunk or Treat on time to set up, although we did not dress up.  I wore my Halloween shirt, and Kevin threw on the Viking helmet and the yarn beard he had made for Lily back when she was Leif Ericson in 5th grade for a play.  Good times.
The boys had a blast.  Derek was happy to wear his Champions tunic again, and Arthur put together his own costume - "The King of Chaos," which consisted of him wearing his bathrobe, crocheted crown and his slippers.  Good times.  It was an interesting time as for the trick-or-treating, as there were tons more people there getting candy than giving candy.  In fact, I completely ran out of candy.  Oh well.  The best part though, was when I ran into Astin, one of my sweet students, who had been invited by someone to come.  He as so happy to see me and gave me a big hug.  Definitely a high point of the night, and a great way to finish off the week.

Making Our Way Through the Middle of October

Life is good, life is busy, but I got to see another sunrise yesterday morning, and so all is right with the world.

Life really does keep moving along, never truly slowing down, and so I am grateful for the moments I have to stop and think, stop and appreciate, or even just stop and notice.  Teaching is keeping me incredibly busy, and there are days I wish that I could just teach my students, without all the other parts of the circus that is education these days.  What makes it all worth it, are the kids and my fellow teachers.  I love them.  One day, one of my students asked me what is the best part about teaching, and my answer was getting to be with those kids.  Even on the hard days, I love them.  And my team - wow, I couldn't survive without the friendship, laughter, support and all the other stuff we do for one another.

Arthur continues to love school and thrive.  STEAM Club just started back up again, and since he made it in, he is happy to be there.  He also loves going to GT every Thursday, so that he can be with so many of his friends and get to do things that really challenge him.

In all the business and work, I often come home and collapse onto my chair, wondering if I will ever move again.  Some days I am much more successful than others, and so on Friday, when in spite of my exhaustion, I got up and made fettuccine alfredo, I had to take a picture.  I felt like saying, "Look, sometimes I still have energy to cook for my family." Ha ha!

Friday was also a special day, because we carved out time for Kevin and I to go do baptisms at the temple with Lily and Derek.  It was such a wonderful experience!  It is crazy to believe that in less than a year, Derek will be able to go to the temple to make covenants and receive his Endowment.  Wow!

Kevin's backyard project of making a concrete pad for the shed we are going to put up.  He took a day off work to do the concrete part, and it seems like it is actually going to work.  Very exciting!!

Saturday was a busy, but wonderful day.  It was packed, but it was good.  Arthur even got to play with his friend, Rhodes, and they had a blast using their imaginations.  I loved getting pictures from my friend, Penny.

Kevin and I had such a great day, beginning with lunch out downtown.  Then we headed to the beautiful Majestic Theater to see the Broadway show, "Six," about the six wives of King Henry IIIV. It was fantastic, edgy (because of the subject matter) and fun, as they did it concert style with the band on the stage and no intermission.   We had such a wonderful time together watching it.

After the show, we hurried home and picked up Lily, so we could drive out to her Service Mission Leader's home in Boerne.  The Richters are truly the sweetest and most wonderful people, and we are so grateful for the amazing leaders they are to Lily and the other missionaries.  When we arrived at their spectacular home up on a hill, we were blown away by the gorgeous view.  The house was pretty fun too, and perfect for a party, with a big yard, pool and pickleball court.  It even had this giant spiral staircase that took you up to a tower.  I had to get a picture of Lily up on it, and if I had had more energy, I would have climbed up to see the view.

The meeting was fantastic, with such a strong spirit as we were taught by Lily's mission leaders, the San Antonio Mission President and his wife, as well as hearing from each of the missionaries.  We also had a great meal and Kevin and I had such a great time getting to talk to and get to know a bunch of the parents.  We feel so blessed to be a part of this amazing group, and it was the perfect way to finish our week.

Fun in October

We are absolutely loving the cooler temperatures that came with the month of October, with lows in the 50's and 60's, and highs in the 70's and 80's, after solid months of unprecedented triple digits.  Because of the cooler temps, we are finally able to do some work in our yard, and so Kevin and Derek started working on the pad to put our shed on in the backyard.  Derek was happy to have s young, strong back to help him carry the many bags of gravel.  Next week, Kevin is going to do the concrete.  It was also nice that we all had Monday off for Columbus Day, so that they actually had time to work.

Tuesday, we were all back to work and school, and it turned out to be a bit of a crazy day.  It was as if, having an extra day off for the weekend made all my students forget how to behave.  So obnoxious.  We did end the day on a high note, however, celebrating Katia's birthday :).

Wednesday was my activity night with my Primary Girls, and we ended up putting together both of our October activities, since the one later in the month is getting canceled.  So, we set up a Gaga ball pit in the gym, and the girls played.  And when they weren't playing, they were working on their diamond painting keychains.  It was a hot, sweaty, mess, but they loved it :).

While we were doing our thing in the gym, Arthur was with the boys and they were learning CPR from Brother Hilton (who just happens to be a neurosurgeon).  They had a great time, even if they weren't quite strong enough to get the chest compressions to work - ha ha!  I am so glad that my friend, Erica, snapped some pictures for me.

Friday was a long day for me, but it was good.  It was the day of the Las Lomas Fall Festival, and all the teachers are in charge of running different booths to earn money for our grade level.  The fifth grade is always in charge of the jail, in which people can pay tickets to put their friends and family in jail for a few minutes at a time.  The fifth graders especially love sabotaging each other and putting them in jail.  One of the kids even put Mr. Massey, our principal, in jail - ha ha!  Our team is awesome, and we broke the festival up into shifts, with Catherine and I first.  That meant that we got to set it up, and wow, it was pretty ghetto.  Thank goodness that Kevin was there to help the Watch Dog Dads, so he came over and helped us set up.

I had Lily drop Arthur off when the festival was first getting started, and it was so fun to have him there, having a blast.  He was old enough that Kevin gave him a stack of tickets and set him free to roam, eat and play.  He even got put in the jail by one of his friends at one point - ha ha!

When my shift was up, I took Arthur over to the "Break a Board" table, because he had to have a parent with him.  He had been patiently waiting for either Kevin or I to finish so we could take him.  He loved it!!  Then we proceeded to spend the rest of our tickets on cake and cookies at the dessert table.  Yum!!  After that, we grabbed Kevin from where he had been helping, and then checked out the silent auction before heading home.  It really was such a fun night, but my favorite part was seeing all my sweet kids that have grown up and gone on to sixth grade who came to visit.  And seeing my own students, who treated me like a rock star - good times.

Saturday was a busy day for Derek.  He had regional choir auditions all morning, but luckily, it was at a high school much closer than it usually is.  He was able to drive himself, which was fantastic!  He also got word that he made it into the high school production of "Fiddler on the Roof." So exciting!! And even more fun, because I was in the same show when I was a freshamn in high school.

Derek got home just in time for the solar eclipse.  Arthur had been going outside to start tracking it for almost 40 minutes, but once it was getting close to the "ring of fire," we all headed outside with our eclipse glasses.  I tried so hard to get a picture of it with some eclipse glasses over the lens of my phone camera, but it was not working very well, and so I gave up and just enjoyed the experience :).

That evening, Arthur had a Stake Primary activity, and at the same time, Derek had a Regional Youth activity across town.  We decided to let Derek drive himself, and he even took a date - Natalia, the girl he took to Homecoming.  They had a great time, and even came home early.  While Arthur was at his activity, we got to go on a double date with Erica and Steve, since both of their kids were at the primary activity.  We had a great time catching up and laughing together.  Then, Kevin and I went and ran a few quick errands to finish off our date.  

It really was a good week, even if I was totally exhausted by the end of it.  Luckily, Kevin made things even better this morning when he make a pumpkin cinnamon roll braid.  It was amazing!! Best way to finish the week.

October is Here

October has begun, and with it came the hope of cooler fall temperatures.  I may even have to bring a jacket with me to work in the mornings, who knows. I just love that we are finally beginning my favorite part of the year in Texas - the many months of mild, beautiful weather with only a handful of cold days thrown in. (I really hate winter.)

At school, we started off the week with a special snowcone party for the fifth grade, because we won the Penny Wars competition.  The kids loved it, and I may have turned my lips and mouth blue with my blue raspberry snowcone. 

I also had a few birthday and unbirthday celebrations.  One of which was right before the snowcone party, and so my class was already sugared up on donuts when we went down for the other party - ha ha!  Oh well.
On Wednesday, it was the National Walk or Bike to school day, and since I couldn't join Arthur, Lily was awesome and walked him there, along with the group that met up with the principal.  They had a great time, in spite of the fact that the week before, getting my dates mixed up, I accidentally had them walk a week early.  Oops!  Luckily I had realized it was the wrong day before they stood at the corner waiting.  Ha ha!

Wednesday night was a special night for Arthur, as his older brother bought tickets for the two of them to see the new Paw Patrol movie in the theater.  They had a blast and both loved the movie!  It makes me happy that my senior in high school loves to do things with his fifth grade little brother.  It is such a blessing!.

Just look at how cute these brothers are together.  And hey, I trained Derek well, as he took these pictures without me even telling him to :).

Like I had mentioned before, the extreme heat that we had been caught in for month, has finally let go, and so cooler weather and actual rain is in the forecast.

In fact, the other day, we had indoor recess because of a thunderstorm, which I was actually excited about, since it meant I could break out my Legos for the kids to play with.  They were in heaven!!

Another funny thing from this week, was when I was in Arthur's room and noticed this letter on his dresser.  It was fantastic, and way too good not to share, so I had to show it to all my friends at work, including his teacher from last year.  Just in case you can't see it in the picture, it says:

Dear STAAR Officials,

When I saw that my essay scored me 0 points on the STAAR test, I was enraged! After all, it was a great essay and it at least desserved a 5.  Further more, you gave a student that deserved 10 points, 0 points! This shows that the people that score the test are lazy and will only look at the first few sentences.  Therefore, you should fire them!

Sincerely,

Arthur Dennis Brown

PS. At the very least, make sure they read the whole essay.

PPS. This is concerning the 4th grade 2022-2023 reading STAAR test.

Seriously, that was the best letter ever, and was so very Arthur.  I loved it, and almost want to mail it to the officials.

In other news, yesterday morning, I was able to watch the sunrise for the first time in a couple months.  I am always getting to work around 6:30am, so that I can have time there before the students arrive, but it means going into the school in the dark.  It truly gave me such great joy to stop on my jog to watch the beauty of nature.

And then to finish off the week, Kevin and I went over and hung out with our good friends, Debbie and Tyler.  We talked and laughed for a couple hours, and I may have eaten an entire bowl of popcorn - ha ha!  Definitely a great way to finish off the week.

Final Fall Concert for Derek

Derek is in the midst of his Senior year of high school, and because of this, it means that there will be a lot of "lasts" this year.  Last night was the last of Derek's fall choir concerts.  Derek has been in choirs since he was in third grade, and it is crazy to me that we are here.  

They are ordering new tuxes and dresses this school year, but since they haven't arrived yet, they wore their Reagan polo shirts for the concert.  Derek was in four different musical numbers, and an especially awesome one was the Varsity boys performance.  They were fantastic!

His Kantorie choir did a fabulous song with bongo drums and cool actions.

And then both of the varsity choirs combined for a couple songs, which were also fantastic.  I was so proud of how well Derek did and how dedicated he has been to choir over the years.  We are going to miss watching him sing when he graduates.

You will have to watch the video to see for yourself ;).

 

A Wonderful Conference Weekend

Twice a year, we get to spend an entire weekend watching and listening to ten hours worth of inspiring messages and music from our prophet, the apostles, as well as the other leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We all look forward to it, and as we listen, we eat yummy food, work on crafts or puzzles, and just sit together and enjoy the experience.  This year, inspired by our primary activity on Wednesday, Arthur even made himself a tent fort.

Derek broke out a couple puzzles to work on, as I think our whole family actually listens better is we have something to do with our hands.  Lily and Arthur would come and join him on occasion.

On Sunday morning, as a special treat, Kevin made us apple cider donuts, and although they didn't look like he envisioned them, they tasted delicious, and were such a great reminder of one of our favorite fall treats from back in Pennsylvania.

And because I have just been dying to bake lately, I decided to make some delicious homemade rolls to go with our dinner.  Yum!!

As usual, the messages were so wonderful, and I was full to overflowing with inspiration and direction.  In fact, I usually have to spend the next six months studying the talks to really internalize all I heard and learned, but I know that one thing totally stood out, which is President Nelson's call for us to "Think Celestial."  Here are a few little thoughts that stood out to me from conference weekend.  I can't wait to listen to all the talks again, and then read and highlight them as well.

Homecoming Dance 2023

A few weeks ago, Derek showed my this fabulous mum that Derek was given by his friend, Natalia.  In with the mum, was a note asking him to Homecoming Dance.  (It was seriously the cutest note, and even had a little check box for yes or no.  And crazily enough, Derek almost missed the note completely, but thank goodness he saw it and was able to answer her right away.  I didn't get a picture, but he gave her some Sweet Pea scented lotion with a note that said, "I would love to go to homecoming with a Sweet Pea like you.") He wore his mum on the Friday of homecoming, and even gave one to Natalia to wear - although we didn't make it, as neither of us had time for that.

Saturday night was the dance, and Derek drove over to pick her up.  She wore a beautiful dress that she sewed herself, and they looked so cute together.

They started out their date with meeting up for dinner at Olive Garden with Derek's friend, Paul and his date, Ava.  (Derek had struggled to find a group to join, since most of his good friends were not going to the dance, but Paul, who had graduated last year, found a date - a sweet girl from FSY - and went in a group with them.)  After dinner, I met up with them in our neighborhood to take pictures.

The pictures turned out really cute, and I loved getting so see them interact and laugh together.

After pictures, Derek and Natalia went to the dance for a couple hours, and then they all came back to our house for treats and to play games.  They played games until around 11pm, and I know they had a blast, because I could hear the joyful laughing coming from downstairs.  It made me so happy, and I love that Derek got to have this awesome experience.

The Last Days of September

September was here and gone before I knew it, and packed inside of it were wonderful moments, like Lily's zone conference with the missionaries from her Service Mission.  It is crazy to think she only has a couple of these meetings left before she finishes her mission at the end of December.

Derek got to sneak in some fun by going to the traditional Roller Skating night for choir.  He had a blast hanging out with friends and making memories.  Crazy to think this is his last one of these, since he is a senior.

The other day was a particularly trying and exhausting day at school, and I came home to this bag of homemade cookies from our friend, Dawn.  It was the perfect spot of sunshine in my day, and the cookies were delicious!!

For our combined primary activity on Wednesday night, we did a special General Conference Prep activity, starting with making reverence tents, like the people in the Book of Mormon did to hear King Benjamin speak to them.

Watching the kids work in groups with only chairs and a sheet to make their tent was pretty hilarious, but they all managed to make usable tents and fit in them, which was the kicker.

I had to get down low so I could get a picture of them in their tents, where you could actually see them (although Arthur was too bust adjusting his tent to pose for my picture).

After the tents, they played a cool game with seat switching and remembering which of the apostles and leaders of the auxiliaries you represented.  The kids had a blast!

Thursday night was both happy and sad. Happy, because we got to spend it with Elizabeth and Nathan, but sad, because it was a goodbye dinner, since they are moving to Virginia.  We had a fabulous time talking and enjoying the super eclectic restaurant, La Tierra in San Antonio (complete with Mariachis and random Christmas trees).  We had such a great time!

And at school, we got to have our very first "Fun Friday," which allowed all the kids who were caught up with their work, including homework, to go outside for an extra recess.  They loved it, and at one point, a group of them gathered together and played "Duck, Duck, Goose," which was hilarious and fun.  It was the perfect way to finish off the week and the month.