Summer Family Vacation 2011-Phase 1

 Wow!!!!!!!!!  Where to begin???  We had a great family vacation this summer!!!  We were excited to do our vacation at the beginning of the summer this year instead of the end like last year!  Starting off the summer with a bang!  We got in the car and drove to Madison, Mississippi the first day where we stayed with my Grandma.  The kids love their Great Grandma and love staying at her house!  They loved that they got to sleep together, and I must say, they did great with sleeping in the same bed during our time in Arkansas also!  The kids were great in the car!  We watched movies, colored, sang songs, and played Toy Story!  My grandma does everything for us when we are there, great food, great entertainment, and great just visiting until late at night!  We went to the park the next day and it was HOT!  The kids stayed for just a little while until we moved on!  Thank you Grandma for a great time!
We then drove to Memphis where we stayed the longest on our trip!  We stayed with my Uncle Frank and Aunt Susan!  We got to see my cousins, Malorie and Madison and Malorie's hubby Neil!  The kids LOVED staying there!  We went to the Memphis Zoo which is ranked #1 in the US and is fabulous!  Uncle Frank braved the heat with us and he was a trooper...it was a scorcher!  The next day we did the Graceland tour and had a great time doing that!  It is something neither of us had done even though I have been to Memphis all of my life!  It was neat to see and I know the kids will appreciate it more as they get older!  I got a chance to go visit with my Granny in her apartment...just the two of us!  It was so cool to sit down and talk with her by ourselves...we have never been able to do that!  She came over the next day and ate dinner with us and watched the kids swim and play the Wii!  It was so great to see my Granny!  Every day the kids went swimming in their back yard and just loved it!  This is the place that Brooklyn truly clicked with how to swim!  She is doing amazing now!  I am so proud of her!  Daddy was a great help in giving her some pointers that made it hit home!  We went to Incredible Pizza one day which was a first for our kids also!  It was very fun...thank you Neil for the tickets!  The last day we went to The Peabody Hotel to watch the duck march!  Sounds weird but they load the elevator on the rooftop, ride the elevator down, and walk on their red carpet out of the elevator into the fountain on the main floor.  It is quite a tradition that has been done since the 1960s!  Very neat!  Great Memphis food, fabulous family, and even better memories of time spent together!  Thank you Bridger family!!!!!!

Ready to go!

And so the journey begins!

9 hours later we arrived to surprises from Grandma!

They loved sleeping together!

Typical of my son!!!

I Love this pic of Brooklyn helping Grandma!

Colson's surprise was a tent!

Loving Grandma!

It is one HOT DAY!

Memphis Zoo

Aweome pic!!!!  He wanted to stay cool also!

The Pandas were very active!

 

 

The Grizzlies were playing chase!

 

They were hilarious to watch!!!!!

Brooklyn became a Wii fanatic!

Graceland!

This was his living room

Mirrors on his basement ceiling?!?

The jungle room...Priscilla's favorite room!

Hall of records!

 

Outside the mansion

We went to his Automobile Museum

His plane was toured also!

Daddy is awesome!

Brooklyn and Aunt Susan

Colson and Aunt Susan

Brooklyn and Uncle Frank

Colson and Uncle Frank

 



Malorie with the kids at the hotel



No family gathering is complete without a game of Tripoley!

31st Birthday

I had a great birthday this year!  It was spent doing the normal mom things by getting the kids and hubby packed for our family vacation and a morning full of worship at church!  We celebrated with my family on the Thursday before my birthday because it is my dad's birthday the 4th, mine the 5th, and my sister's the 6th!  We were thrilled to get a gift card for ceramic gas logs for our fire place as well as a cute shirt from my sister.  We ordered in Memphis barbcue from Pit Masters...the best BBQ in Houston!  It was a great night spent with family!  The week before we celebrated with my in-laws because my sister in law and I celebrate it on the same day!  It was so nice!  Curt's Aunt Marion was able to join us and she brought Maggie and Bailey.  Maggie is the daughter of Curt's cousin and they LOVED our kids!  They all went in and got me spin shoes for cycle class!!  I also got some money, zoo tickets to Memphis Zoo, and Amazon gift cards for my Kindle books!
Happy Birthday to me!!!!
Thank you family!!!
Friends will celebrate at the end of the month!

Goodbyes are NEVER easy!

The last day of school was so bitter sweet for me this year.  I was excited to see our rough group go that we had this year and ready for summer for our yearly refreshing time, but I knew it was going to be good-bye to a school full of people that mean so much to me!  After being in a school for 9 1/2 years, you become very close to everyone in it!  I would never change my experience at Smith Elementary for the world.  I have been blessed with THE BEST team ever full of caring friends that I have learned so much from.  Parents and students have been a blessing as well as a challenge at times!  Looking back at a year ago, I never would have thought that I would be closing this chapter to reopen to a new one this year BUT I know that I am going in God's path and it is where He wants me to be.  Without Smith, I wouldn't have my husband (we met there), my kids (had both of them while working there), and have made some of the greatest friends!

Jennifer and Me....we had kids at the same time and shared many tears!

Amy and Me...we had kids at the same time and went through a lot together!

My partner Brenda and Me...I learned a lot from this lady!!!  Thank you!

Krista and me....one of the calmest people I know!!!

Christen and me....HILARIOUS!!!!!

Heather and me....the best laugh award goes to HEATHER!!

Terry and me...there are not enough words to describe this man!  He is like a daddy to me!  Love him to pieces!

Angie and me!!!  She is moving to Marshall for next year!

Jamie and me...we started at Smith together and are leaving together...one of my fave student's mommas!

Holly, Michelle, and Christina....the baby teachers that I LOVE!!!!  I am so glad that some of our kids will still be in school together!



Richelle and me....we worked together with math but most of all became great friends!!

 For some reason I did not get home with a picture of Tracy (my best friend at school)--probably too many tears!!!  She was my rock for many years!  Love you Tracy!!!!

Moving on...

There has been several references to what all has happened to me at Smith Elementary this year....after 9 years...here's my story...

About 2 months ago we were ALL forced to turn in our transfer forms...yes forced to turn them in to the new principal at the new elementary school, Marshall Elementary. We were first told that they would be taking the last hired from each team and they would be the first to go. Well, I knew that I was at the top of the seniority at Smith so I didn't turn in my transfer at first....we were then told that all has changed and NO ONE is safe so we all had to turn them in. I turned mine in at 3 one Thursday, I was called at 4 that same day for an interview at Marshall (new Elementary school) at 8 am that Saturday morning. I was basically told that if I didn't go in, I was waving goodbye to a job! Well, I went in and I knew by her responses in the interview that she would hire me. Well, her secretary called me the next day during church to tell me that I would be teaching 5th grade at Marshall next year. When I asked to talk to my husband about the change, I was told NO because the district has said that since I turned in a transfer, I had to accept the transfer that was granted....A BUNCH OF POOP if you ask me! We were ALL forced to turn them in! Well, I was told by my principal on the phone that afternoon that I had to accept it or who knows what would happen. Unfortunately, and against Curt's wishes, I accepted the job.

I was furious with how things were handled so I started seeking out other job options immediately. I did not tell a soul because I didn't want any rumors or gossiping to start. My mom asked me one Thursday night if I had thought about private schools, of course I never have because all I have ever known is public schools...she said she would mention it to one of her friends the next few weeks when she saw her about keeping me in mind if they had any openings at St. Anthony Catholic School in The Woodlands. RANDOMLY, the very next night, her friend called her telling her of a middle school math opening that they had at St. Anthony! Wow! I KNEW IT WAS A GOD THING! I have interviewed at St. Anthony, toured The Woodlands Christian, and interviewed at Roberts Elementary in HISD (where my great friend Jennifer Heemer teaches) and will be working at St. Anthony next year.   I KNOW this is where I am supposed to be!  We will be taking a big pay cut, but I will be off earlier in the afternoons to get Brooklyn and Colson from school.  I will be teaching 6th-8th math as well as an ESL class, and a Lego Robotics class.  I am very excited about the opportunity and all of the people there.  They are genuinely happy to have me join them there. 
This week will be incredibly hard at Smith.  Saying goodbye is not easy for me to do...I do not love change. 

Colson's Last Day of School

We made it through our first year in school!  I am very proud of Colson....we ripped him from DeeDee's house in October when he got in to the Early Learning Academy.  We definitely had our time-outs, hitting, kicking, yelling, and accidents but we made it through!  His teacher Mrs. Elke was so supportive of us potty training and though she did think he was young, she stuck with it and took momma's word!  Colson loves Mrs. Elke!  Mrs. Betty is the one who had to rip him from Daddy's arms in the morning...he did much better just walking in all by himself with us staying in the hallway and not going in the room with him!!  He now knows how to do many things....of course we work at home with him too...
count to 18 without skipping any numbers
spell his name
say his first, middle, and last name
recognize all letters
say all letter sounds
recognizes 5 shapes
all animal sounds
sings entire songs
hits a ball with a bat
kicks while ball is still and when it is rolled to him
Thank you for a good year Mrs. Betty and Mrs. Elke!  Can't wait for the 3s!!  He will do great! 

Blessings...

Wow!  God's timing truly is perfect!  I was assigned 2 student teachers this semester at Smith in 5th level.  I have never had a student teacher but was so excited to help nurture a novice teacher and give them ideas and skills that they will use in the future.  My first student teacher was a nightmare...couldn't wait for the 6 weeks to end.  FORTUNATELY, my partner, Brenda, and I were sent a second student teacher that was a dream.  We have become GREAT friends and talk on the phone even though she is out of my room now.  I went through a lot while she was in my room.  I was moved to a new school in the district...rephrase that...forced to go to a new school in the district, interviewed at new schools, and went through a roller coaster of emotions with her in my room.  Not only is she one of the most mature Christians I have met at the age of 23 but she is tons of fun and the kids LOVED  having her in my room.  I told her that I needed her more during this time than she needed me!  God has a funny way of working that out!  She will be going to Thailand to teach and do mission work and I am convinced that she will be used in a mighty way there!  My students miss her dearly but I think I miss her more!  Here's to Lynne.....

Brenda, Lynne, and me!