December Catch Up

It is been quite some time since I have posted. This has been on purpose. I know there are other things that are more important and I am attempting to stay focused on those items. Blogging got the best of me this morning and I thought equally important is sharing those "things" I have been busy doing and working on.

For Halloween (I know BIG priority!) our first floor staff at school dressed up as Super Mario Brother characters. I made hats for Mario, Luigi (that was me!) and Wario. They turned out great and the day was very fun.

In November, I started teaching again. I had a student teacher and she taught full time in October. I was anxious to be back in my classroom and ADORE my class more than ever. Our school also held conferences in November. This meant 3-half days of school and meeting with families in the afternoon and evening. It is always hectic getting ready, but well worth the time you have to visit with families.

I also met a few times with my cohort for National Boards in November. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about National Boards and what I should be accomplishing. This process has taken much of my time and is my highest priority right now. I am reading A LOT, taking notes (something I didn't really do in college or my master's program), writing, and brainstorming constantly. When should I do this? how about this lesson? will this fit here? what do they want to see? is this right? The weekends are filled with more questions and filling my head with hopefully the right knowledge to move ahead. This process will hopefully be completed by the end of June. That's not too far away....is it?!

Jason, a good friend of ours, called the first part of November to ask if we were coming to eat turkey with his family. So, went to Indianola for Thanksgiving. Our "adopted" mom and dad live there. They were anxious to have us over again this year. We stayed for the day and then drove home late that evening. As usual, we had a great time and had an excellent dinner (and lunch and dessert).

On the 29th, we went to a Brandi Carlile concert in Seattle. We had dinner with friends prior to the concert and then went to Benaroya Hall. The Seattle Symphony was a part of this concert which was a great combination! On the 30th, Richard turned 34. It was a pretty low key celebration. He worked in Tacoma that day and I worked on National Boards. That night I made dinner and we enjoyed a quiet evening together.

The beginning of December is here and before I know it, it will be Christmas! On Tuesday night, I hosted our Bunco Holiday Party! There were 12 ladies from our neighborhood in attendance. We had a potluck dinner and then had an ornament exchange. It was fun. Today and tomorrow will be spent reading a few books I just received for National Boards. Richard has work to do in Tacoma.

I have two weeks left of teaching before Winter Break! I can't believe it. My mom and dad are coming to Washington from South Dakota for Christmas. We are anxious to show them around again. This time they will get to see our new house, my classroom! (I had just graduated with my teaching degree the last time they were here), some fun little towns here and there, and of course we will make it to Seattle for some sightseeing. I can't wait!