A Busy Couple of Weeks

The past couple of weeks have been crazy busy. So busy that I didn’t have time to write a blog post last week…so here’s the make-up post. We’ve had dress-up days, Abigail’s kindergarten performance, STAAR testing, and I took my second big test (only one more to go…assuming I pass the one I just took). Now it’s just overdrive until June 1st, haha. Paul has been busy at work and with stuff around the house. We’re kind of just pluggin’ along, doing what we always do!

Fifth grade dress-up day. Joseph and I rocked our Harry Potter costumes.
Abigail had beach dress-up day and had loads of fun picking her own outfit for it.
She was in her element for the kinder performance. 🙂
They had a photo op area set up with little props.
She loves her shine-a-light books. If you shine a light under each page, it shows a hidden picture.
I love when these two play together nicely.
They both have a deep love for Mario anything.
Disney dress-up day. She didn’t want to be a princess (the dress gets in the WAY, Mom), so we opted for Ms Marvel, since Marvel is technically Disney. She loved it!
Teacher Appreciation Week was this past week. We had all sorts of goodies provided by the admin, PTA, and office staff. I got a gift card and a sweet note from one of my students and also got this “teacher survival kit” from another. It has different pampering items, snacks, water, a cup, and even a Target gift card. I felt so spoiled!

And the Skies Opened Up

This past week held some interesting weather: it was muggy, overcast, and just…blah for most of the week. Then on Thursday, we had a craaaaaazy couple of storms come through. We got more rain than the ground knew what to do with. Friday morning was interesting. The school had power, but no Internet or phones. I joked with the kids that it was like we were back in the 80s. They were not amused, haha. We persevered with working through worksheets I had, but luckily the Internet started working before too long. Then last night, we had even more storms with more rain. I’m grateful for it (even if the thunder startled me bad enough early this morning that I almost peed my pants, haha) because Texas really needs it!

In other news, state testing is coming up, along with some fun ways to help the kids review, practice, and relax right before the tests. We’re doing one test a week for the next three weeks. It’s goingto bean adventure, for sure!

The calm a few days before the storms. 😉
I got a new shirt! It’s kind of my favorite. Muggles are the non-magic people in Harry Potter (Hogwarts is the wizard/witch school).
Paul spoiled us big-time with this meal (smoked chicken and potatoes). It was so good!
Playing dominoes with Dad.
She likes building towers after the game is over.
Our state test is called the STAAR (please don’t ask me what it stands for…I don’t remember). I found this quote online and used it (along with some free coloring pages where I just cut out the figures)to decorate my door.
Watching the rain. The water was rushing down the street. You can even see a mini river between our yard and the neighbor’s.
After a bit, we had standing water in the back yard.
One of the kindergarten classes made this banner for our class. It’s meant to say that my class will crack the STAAR (it’s designed after a star-shaped pinata). It was really thoughtful of them!

Field Trips and Early Fiesta

This week had some fun events for me and the kids. I got to take my students (and Joseph, kinda…it’s convenient that he’s in the same grade that I’m teaching) to the Natural Bridge Caverns. It’s called Natural Bridge because there was one point where a sinkhole opened up and rocks and soil collapsed, leaving some rocks that were connected to each other, making a natural bridge. The caverns were surprisingly warm (the guide said that the caverns stay at a pretty constant 85 degrees year round. I wanted to take pictures of everything! Nature really is amazing. The field trip went really well (nobody fought, threw up, or got lost). The day after the field trip, the school celebrated Fiesta (early, because actual Fiesta will be happening while the older kiddos are doing state testing. There was the shoe box float parade and then parties galore. Finally, Friday was Abigail’s field trip to the zoo. She had a ton of fun!

I have this strange compulsion to take a picture of every old-fashioned windmill I see.
Here’s the Natural Bridge. It’s right at the entrance of the caverns.
The different colors were so fascinating!
I was also fascinated by the ones that looked like stone icicles.
The different textures were really cool. Smooth bits, spikey bits…there was just so much to look at!
Each “room” had names. This one’s name had something to do with castles, I think.
Pluto’s Anteroom (the last room before we got to the deepest part of the caverns) was really cool, too.
This one was called “Bomb Bursting”…can you see the explosion?
This one is called The Watch Tower. It’s the tallest column in the caverns.
Looking down into the Hall of the Mountain King.
I think I got my steps in that day, haha.
I went in to check on her and realized she was half off her bed. I snapped a picture and then carefully put her legs back onto the bed.
Shoe box float parade.
She was in her element!
I love getting to sneak in pictures with this sweet boy of mine! This was during the fifth grade fista party.
Her teacher snapped this picture of her at the zoo. This has always been one of her favorite spots.
She is super-excited that we’re growing carrots. And yes…she pretty much lives in her pajamas while at home. 🙂
We went out to eat last night and discovered the restaurant was giving away Fiesta medals (they’re medals that people like to collect from different places during Fiesta and the places will design and release new medals each year). Paul decided to grab one for Abigail. She was pretty excited to get it.