Weekend

Saturday was our first band competition. They did great, in fact they won both their division and over all first place! It was fun to watch!

It’s general conference weekend . It was amazing! I need to re-listen/re-watch it. I may have dozed during a talk or two and we missed some for band but I loved the parts I heard!
 

We got out our Halloween decor this weekend too. 

One super exiting announcement was Fort Worth is getting a temple! Wow! That’s going to be amazing for them! 

October 1st!

I wore an orange shirt to work today! I love Halloween season.

Tonight I broke out my Halloween jams and curled up with book 3 of the All Souls trilogy. 

Rob and I tried an Argentinian restaurant for dinner. It was yummy. 

We have a sisters text thread. Today we did a fall this or that. Everyone loves fall. 

The end of the first quarter is upon us. In my class that has meant oral book reports. The kids have done a really good job. It’s been fun to hear what they like to read. 

Izzy telling us about some creepy dolls come to life and kill people book.

 I love this picture of Val and Kenz!

In preparation for conference I’ve been listening to last April’s talks. Some of them have really touched my heart. One that brought me to tears as I drove to work early one weekday morning was Elder Renlund’s Infuriating Unfairness.  “Do not let unfairness harden you or corrode your faith in God. Instead, ask God for help. Increase your appreciation for and reliance on the Savior. Rather than becoming bitter, let Him help you become better. Allow Him to help you persevere, to let your afflictions be “swallowed up in the joy of Christ.” Join Him in His mission “to heal the brokenhearted,” strive to mitigate unfairness, and become a stonecatcher.“. Everyone’s life is hard hard, and unfair. I am grateful that Jesus will make it all work together for our good.

Zzzz

I ordered some books for my classroom. They were super cheap and I needed them. Teaching 6th grade is a lot of fun and a lot of work and sometimes discouraging. Yesterday we read Jabberwocky and they loved it! It was fun deciding what things meant and also to hear their rationales for if they thought words had positive or negative connotations . For example this line: “He took his vorpal sword in hand;” the kids thought vorpal probably meant sharp and some said that was negative because you could hurt someone or cut yourself waving it around and others said if they were fighting a dragon they’d want a sharp weapon so it was positive. I accepted both answers and enjoyed the discussion. 

We talk about lots of hard things, but then life is really hard so I guess there’s no getting around it and discussing literature is a safe way to process those things.

Sometimes though they are the biggest stinkers!

 Last night we chatted with Bub. I took a picture of us listening to Sawyer tell about his day. He has some gross stories! He is liking his job, which is awesome!

We stayed up way too late talking and today I was really tired. I’m excited to go to bed!

A girl at Grace’s school died this weekend. Jessica Yee’s brother died this weekend. Hard things just pile up all around and all the time. 

I am grateful for the peace the gospel brings and the assurance that the trials of this life are not the end. But it’s hard none the less. 

We’re Back!

Grace and I got season passes again!! Yay! So excited! They are pricey but if you are a Florida resident it’s less. Basically it’s two weeks of work for both of us to have passes (work for me not for R…maybe it’s 2 days for him??) 

After work yesterday we went. Lettie came with us and we had a marvelous time! We rode splash mountain first, which is one of my favorites! They wanted to do Space Mountain so we split up and off they went while I headed to Pirates. 

The park closed early for Boo Bash so we only had until 8:30. I got an orange dole whip and watched the amazing happily ever after fireworks. 

Then we walked through the shops and left. It was packed for both the ferry and the monorail but we have a trick, we rode the resort ferry and then walked across the beautiful Polynesian sand to the parking lot. 

We wanted to go the Taco Bell on the way home but they were closed (at 10pm??) so we went to Wendy’s and the guy working there said we barely made it that they were closing too. I said it’s only 10? To which he replied that they are so short staffed that they can’t stay open longer. I’ve been seeing this more and more. People aren’t working and it’s disrupting our late night snacking options (also our regular evening time dining is so much slower). Joe needs to stop giving out $ to folks so they can hop up off their couches and go to work. Seriously it’s not good for individuals or society to have our able bodied, young (or middle aged or even slightly old) people not contributing and just getting government dollars (which we don’t actually have anyway so…)

 

First day of fall

 

Our front door with its new fall attire. I like orange and navy together.

Other than fall decor nothing is really different in Florida. Maybe they should sell Christmas and Halloween print swimsuits so people will feel more festive!

School has been good. Louise, the teacher in the portable next to mine, has been a lifesaver. She keeps me on track and we share ideas. She’s from England so she has a pretty accent. I usually try to go to the break room for lunch. It makes me feel better about my classroom struggles since we all seem to be in the same storm! My boat is not as well equipped as the veterans but I’m still rowing!

Some lessons and some class periods go really well. Today, 7th period, which is typically my hardest, did pretty well. Of course 2nd made up for it!

Tomorrow we have a test, no one is happy about that. Friday is small group day and the kids are working on their first multiple article essay. They read 3 different articles about how dogs think, which were interesting and most of the kids like dogs so there is that. Friday they are going to write an essay on them. We worked on thesis statements today. I’m curious how they will do.

Yesterday we learned about connotative language, which is fun. Rob and I went to Lowe’s and stole got paint sample cards, enough for each kid, and they wrote on the different colors words that expressed a similar idea with different shades of meaning. They liked that a lot. Hopefully they will remember what we talked about (hopefully tomorrow when they see it on the test)

Next week we start with the Jabberwocky, which I am looking forward to and in two weeks we are having our first book tasting and that will be fun. 

Yesterday we had a mental health lesson. It’s required. 5 hours of mental health training a year. In the high school mental health training led to a very busy guidance office. I don’t think the middle school saw too much of that. It was 5th period on a modified schedule so there was extra time. I have my planning period 5th so I was assigned to help the art teacher. She had over 50 students..which is way too many. I was jealous that her chairs weren’t broken though. I have a hand full of broken chairs and a bunch of graffitied desks and an AC that doesn’t keep anything cool. But I digress. So this was week one and most of the kids were not able to log on to the lesson. Technology problems are one of the biggest frustrations I have with teaching. That and kids who wear brand new shoes every other week but can’t buy a pencil to bring to class . Again with the digressing. 

Anyway after the online work we gave them a self care worksheet and they had to fill out what kinds of things they did for self care in different areas of their lives: physical, mental, spiritual, at school, with people they trust, and so on. We walked around and discussed and talked with the kids. We gave them ideas if they didn’t know what to put, or explained what different categories were. One boy, who is in my 3rd period class, wrote 3rd period ELA in his school bubble. When I saw I asked him why he put that there and he said it was his favorite class because I never yell and he likes me. It was super sweet & I felt good about that. Idk if the kids often tell teachers that they are their favorite but I have many students who do. I guess if all I accomplish is leaving them feeling like I like them that’s good(ish). If I can also teach them to write an essay and love to read that would be good too. 

Tonight for YW we made spiritual preserves in canning jars. Ann also brought all the full size candy bars we got to bribe encourage the girls to learn our new theme. 

Tonight I have a stomachache, which is no fun.  Other than that it was a good day. And just FYI I love being a grandma and can’t wait to meet our new little one in a few months!

 

Weekend

Friday after work I drove straight to Windermere so I could chaperone the band at an away game. It was fun. The other band parents are our friends and it’s fun to work with them and chat with them during the long hours of chaperoning duty. We lost, badly. We also had lots of injuries including a boy had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. Thankfully he is fine but it was scary and reminded me of Sierra’s accident. 

I was hungry after and stopped at McD at 11pm for fries and Diet Coke. It was a crazy day and breakfast and lunch had been pbj and dinner an apple so I was ready to eat something.
 

Saturday we cleaned and did laundry and grocery shopped. Then it was stake conference. Rob and I both had to go to the leadership meeting and of course the adult meeting. They were both outstanding. 

Today it was broadcast and I enjoyed it as well. We had the elders over for dinner (5 of them) and Jess and Isaiah came with the kids. After the missionaries left we went swimming.

The kids are super cute and it was fun to play with them. 

And just like that the weekend flew by too quickly and it’s heigh ho heigh ho off to work tomorrow. I have lesson plans for Monday and then a skeleton for the rest of the week (yikes! I did stare at the curriculum but was uninspired) hopefully tomorrow something will pop up in my head!

Dilemma

 Go to sleep on time so I can go to work tomorrow or stay up late so I can be awake and not working. It’s a dilemma. I was telling Rob that there are things I like about teaching, and things I don’t. One of the big ones I don’t is I miss being in my house, during the day. There is always, always something to do. I like my kids, even 7th period (which is the worst, and that is not hyperbole they really are). Some things are so frustrating, some of the kids are really low..and dare I say it kind of dumb. I am always patient and kind but in my head I can not believe how difficult it is for my low babies to do, well really anything. Teaching the advanced classes is a lot of fun. Teaching the regular kids or the low kids who try is also fun. Standing in front of the ones who won’t or don’t try, and can’t or won’t do the work and saying things in Charlie Brown teacher fashion to them is a lesson in patience. 

Grace and I have been online homecoming dance dress shopping. The dance is at Sea World (how fun is that!?) Finding a time when we are both home is near impossible. Grace’s schedule is super busy and she’s gone most evenings with band so online has been the way to go. 

Wednesday night we went to the park for mutual. The Baron’s brought a giant cake for Michael’s 16th birthday so that was a fun surprise!

Our sweet friend, and Ethan’s seminary teacher, from CA died this week. I am sad for her family, she was a wonderful lady and I know she will be very missed.

Two brothers who go to Boswell were in a head on collision and they both died yesterday. I was very sad to hear that. This life is full of grief and pain. I’m sad for their families and friends. I am so grateful that Sierra survived her terrible accident. I am also so grateful that no matter the outcome of the tragedies of life Jesus is there and makes up all the difference. People casually say “thank God” whenever it strikes them but in this case it really applies and I am offering up all my gratitude and all my thanks and praise at all times for all He has done and continues to do for His children. 

Tomorrow we start small groups. I hope that goes well, I have my reservations. Tomorrow night is an away football game and I am a chaperone, I’m looking forward to that. 

It rained a lot today.

Grace has been having  lot of pain lately :(

And now I stayed up late and need to go to bed.