This past week held some fun events. We had the three-day weekend, which was really nice. Joseph got to have quite a bit of fun with friends. He went with one friend to Six Flags and then the next day, he went to another friend’s house and hung out and went swimming. It hit me as he was doing these things that in just a few short months, we’re going to have a teenager in our house. Crazy!! Abigail was a little bummed that she didn’t get invited along to the pool, so I let her do super-soakers and sprinklers in the back yard. Paul was gone to DC for the long weekend (the Libertarian Party’s national convention), so it was just me and the kids at home. After the week started, it went by in a blur. Abigail had her awards ceremony and so did my class. School days (for the elementary level, at least) have consisted of countdown days which have just been a lot of fun, end-of-year activities. We’ve only got four more school days left! Bring on summer vacation!!
I drew dots with chalk for her to aim for with the super-soaker.I didn’t realize she’d pop herself like, two feet from the target. 🙂The goggles were her idea. She asked for her goggles and I told her we didn’t have any (I was thinking of swim goggles). Then she said she meant her science ones. They worked in a pinch to keep the water out of her eyes. 🙂I was trying to convince Abigail to come in (she was really not done playing) when I noticed a big ol’ wasp nest inside my wind chime (rude). I said (more to myself than to her), “Oh, man. That’s a big wasp nest.” Well, she was inside and about to lock the door before I could even turn around. That’s one way to do it, I suppose. I left it for Paul to deal with since I knew he’d be back the next day.When Paul told Abigail he was going to be going to Washington DC, she asked that he get her a snow globe (he got one for Joseph years ago when he went back there for a different reason). He was able to make good on his promise!She got this unicorn for Christmas and hasn’t played with it for a few months (she tends to cycle through her toys).This smile right here is why I put up with finding storage for all her stuff.I love watching my kids enjoy their childhood!Awards! It’s a little off center because I wanted to crop out the student that was waiting his turn (I try not to post pictures with unknown kiddos unless I can’t avoid it). She got Outstanding Progress in Social Studies and Science and she also got a classroom award for making both academic and emotional growth this year.I love this sweet thing!Her reading tutor gave her an extra special prize out of the prize box since it was their last meeting and it was this cool reversible costume. One side is Thor (with a Thor mask). I love that she went and grabbed a hammer to complete the outfit. 😀 The other side is Captain America (with a separate mask). She had to go grab her Captain America shield which used to be an accessory on a bike that Joseph had.She then told me that she wanted me to pretend to be her biggest fan (not much of a stretch, if we’re gonna be honest) and that I asked for a selfie with her. I love how her mind works!They had a pop-up boutique at school that I popped myself into to see what they had. The owner used to teach but now does this. I found a couple sets of cute earrings.I popped these on before heading out to the end of year work party. I love the checkers. I’m saving the others for the last day of school, haha. I feel so blessed to be working where I do. I’ve told many people that I don’t feel any of it was accidental. Paul had been telling me for some time that I should look into what it would take to get my teaching certificate for Texas, but for some reason, I was just lacking the motivation…maybe it was a bit of trepidation about getting back into the classroom when I had been out of it for so long. One day, I decided it was time. I was just going to start off slow by subbing. I realized pretty quickly how much I missed it. That was about the time I was approached about finishing out the year for fifth grade last year. Then, because I had a caring administration, they asked me about switching it from long-term sub to contracted teacher (they recognized how much work I was putting in and wanted my pay to reflect that). They helped me get in contact with the right people to streamline taking the tests I needed to take in order to be certified in Texas and the entire process, including taking the last of my tests, was all done before June was even halfway through. I started this year way less stressed knowing that I was going to have my class from the beginning and that I already had all my tests done. It was still stressful at times, but I feel like next year is going to be even better. The support I feel from my team, the other staff, and my admin is amazing. There’s no way any of this was accidental. I fully recognize the hand of the Lord in all of it and I am so grateful for it all!
