Summer is ending, a new year begins...

Since my last post, my summer has wound down and come Monday, it will officially be over. I went back to work last Monday, but the 25th makes it official because that is when the kids come rolling in.
My last activity of the summer was a weekend trip to New Braunfels with my singles group to tube down the river - if you've never done it, I highly recommend it. Tubing down the river made me reminiscent of my old college days - it was so relaxing, but it was hot and after just 3 hours or so I was burnt to a crisp (yes...I applied sunscreen - twice...I learned that the spray on kind doesn't work for me). We topped off our Saturday afternoon of tubing down the Comal River with dinner at the Gristmill http://www.gristmillrestaurant.com/ (a wonderful meal, but you always have to wait at least an hour for a table) and a concert at River Road Ice House http://www.riverroadicehouse.com/. Most of my friends spent the night at a hotel in San Antonio, but Michelle and I crashed with my cousins in town. Sunday, they were all ready to spend another day on the river and headed out to tube the Guadalupe (they didn't finish tubing until after 6 pm and then had to drive back to the Metroplex). I chose to spend some time with my cousins, Billy and Margie and on Monday morning I took off on the 2nd part of my weekend get away.
I left New Braunfels around 7 a.m. and took a 7 hour drive to the far northeast corner of the state where I spent 2 days with Kim and Owen. I hung out at the Pop Pop Shoppe with Kim, Paula and Owen and learned the art of making gourmet popcorn.
On Wednesday I headed home for a few days of absolutely nothingness - it was wonderful. The following week I had 3 days of staff development training for school - I learned a little, but not a lot. I spent the week of the 11th up at school painting my classroom, moving around furniture, throwing out old stuff that never gets used and finding places for all my frogs. The paint, a blue gray and light yellow, turned out great and really gives the room a calming feel - much better than the dingy white it was before.
On the 18th, Dallas ISD employees reported back to school, along with many other school districts across the state. We had two days of inservice training on campus and then on Wednesday we all (some 20,000 Dallas employees) headed to the American Airlines Center for a school year kickoff celebration. We were welcomed back to school by the likes of the mayor of Dallas, the DISD board president and through video, Nolan Ryan, Cynthia Izaguirre and John McCaa (Channel 8), Marty Turco (Dallas Stars), state senators and representatives from the Dallas area, Barney (the big purple dinosaur) and many others. The superintendent spoke for a while about where the district is heading over the next few years in attempt to become the premiere urban school district in the country. He discussed how far we've come since we began this journey in 2006, how far we have to go to meet our goal by 2010, and the things we need to do to get there. About 10:45 he finally introduced the keynote speaker for the morning - this is one of the most dynamic speakers I've heard in a very long time. Dalton Sherman only spoke for about 10 minutes but his message was powerful and touched the heart of every teacher sitting in the AAC. Dalton is a 5th grader from one of the Learning Centers in Dallas - after listening to his speech, I can only imagine the great things in store in his future. Take a few minutes to listen to Dalton's speech and see if you aren't moved by it...http://www.dallasisd.org/keynote.htm.

Well, in about 48 hours, my first day of second grade (for the 7the year in a row) will be coming to a close. I'll let you know how it goes and post some pictures of my home away from home. For all the teacher out there (new and experienced), and all those going back to school or sending their little ones off to school...Happy School Year 2008 - 2009!

Out for the summer - part 2

Back when I first got out of school for the summer, I wondered how I was going to spend the next 10 weeks. I know that there are many people out there who wish they still had the summer vacations they had when they were in school, but really...10 weeks gets a little long when you have nothing to do. Let me update you on what I have been doing this summer. My last post was about my job as a nanny - that took about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks. Blair is a great kid and I really enjoyed my time hanging out with her. Other than that, I...
me at Old Bedford Village
...left Dallas on July 3rd and flew to Chicago then to Washington D.C. and finally to Altoona, PA. It was a very long day - just the right amount of time to change terminals and get back through security in Chicago and about 3 hours too long in Washington D.C. where all I could do was walk up and down the terminal or sit at the gate. On July 4th, I went with my aunt, uncle and cousins to Old Bedford Village http://www.oldbedfordvillage.com. We walked through an old town with houses and other buildings that had been moved there for restoration to their original form. We saw a lady spinning thread in an old house; walked through an old church; ate lunch in a tavern (I had sausage on a potato roll and a cream soda out of a bottle); went to the carpenters shop, the chandlery, the blacksmith and the whitesmith and two schools. On the 5th, we had our family reunion down at the farm and in the afternoon, my uncle loaded most of us (probably 60 - 70 of us) into 2 hay wagons, attached us to the back of the tractor and took off down the highway. On the 6th mom, pop, my brother Chris and I went over to the Bedford Springs Resort http://www.bedfordspringsresort.com to look around. The last time I was in PA, the Springs was in shambles but now it has been restored and is up and running for business. It is beautiful!
...Mom, Pop and I began our trek back to TX on the 8th and made several stops along the way. On the 9th, we stopped at Jackson's Mill in WV, http://jacksonsmill.wvu.edu, the boyhood home of Stonewall Jackson. We walked through several cabins and 2 mills.

Inside the original mill

pictures of Stonewall Jackson
As we continued on our journey, our next stop was the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in KY, http://www.shakervillageky.org. Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill was started in 1805 and the last Pleasant Hill Shaker died in 1923 - the shakers would be considered a cult by today's standards as they lived basically in communes as brothers and sisters - there was no husband and wife - and they tried to live a perfect life before the Lord. They are known as the shakers because of the body movements used during their "meetings" which we would call church. The same day, we got into Paducah, KY which is the home of the National Quilters Museum and many antique shops. We only had about 30 minutes before the shops closed, so we rushed through town looking at antiques - even bought a few treasures. We got back to Dallas on the 10th, had dinner, went grocery shopping and the next afternoon headed to Lake Whitney for another family reunion.

...today, I decided to ride the Trinity Railway Express http://www.trinityrailwayexpress.org from end to end - I hopped on in Irving and went west to Ft. Worth stayed on and went east to Dallas. I jumped off at Dallas Union Station and walked a few blocks to The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza http://www.jfk.org. This is the location where Lee Harvey Oswald stood on November 22, 1963 and assassinated President Kennedy during a motorcade through Dallas. There is an audio tour as you walk through and look at pictures and memorabilia as well as short informational movies you can sit down and watch for additional information. This was a very moving experience - and creepy to stand almost in the place that Lee Harvey Oswald stood.

Well, it's been a pretty busy summer so far and it's not over yet. I wonder what the next 4 weeks will bring...I'll keep you updated on my adventures.

Nanny

For several weeks this summer, I worked as a nanny for an almost 4 year old little girl. I gained a new respect for parents through this experience. I have been around kids in different avenues for the last 17 years: babysitting, working in my church nursery, working at a preschool and a daycare, teaching, younger siblings (my youngest sister is 14 years younger than me), younger cousins, and my niece and nephews. However, I have never been solely responsible for their moment by moment daily life.
I enjoyed hanging out with Blair and I tried to do as many fun things with her as possible, as well as just running simple errands. We went to a couple of parks, the Dallas Zoo, the Science Place in Fair Park (a great children's interactive museum for those Dallasites with kids of all ages) and we watched Happy Feet at the Studio Movie Grill. I took her with me to get my tires rotated, to get a new cell phone after I demolished mine and school supply shopping for when I head back to teaching.
I fixed breakfast and lunch; gave baths; cleaned so the house wasn't totally demolished at the end of the day; tended to boo boos; put together puzzles; colored; played hide and seek; and even had to put her in time out some. I was tired at the end of each day - but it was a good tired.
For you parents out there, I only got a sneak peek, but I applaud you because it's a tough job. But as tough as it is, I look forward to the day when I can join your ranks. I thank Blair for teaching me all she did about being a "mom".

Out for the summer

Well, summer is officially here - weather-wise and job wise. I said goodbye to my 6th group of 2nd graders last Wednesday and bid adieu to my coworkers on Thursday after a luncheon at Texas Land & Cattle. I will see them all again in about 10 weeks but the next time I see my students, they will be 3rd graders (well, all but one - he will join me for one more year in 2nd grade). My very first year of 2nd graders will be 8th graders next year - I saw one of them back in April and I barely recognized her.
So, what would you do if you had 10 weeks of vacation in a row but no extra money for traveling? Well, the first thing I did was stop at the library and pick up a stack of books (7). That was Thursday afternoon and I've already finished two. On Friday, I hit the road - nothing exciting - just headed to my parents. I can't afford to travel anywhere exciting, but going home means free food and a break on electricity at home because I turned it up real high. I'm not sure how long I'll be here but most likely at least a week. I managed to secure a part-time job for the summer and the week of the 23rd, I will begin working as a nanny for a 4 year old girl. It looks to be the perfect position - just hang out with one kid (some days maybe 2) for 3 weeks. The pay isn't too bad either. I have some fun ideas of things we can do to pass the time like the Science Place at the Museum of Nature and Science and the Dallas World Aquarium. I expect I'll have fun.
My family reunion is in mid July and I'm looking forward to that - we didn't have one last year and with such a large family it's hard to keep up with everyone sometimes.
Other than that, I am looking at 10 weeks of teaching-free whatever. I'll let you know if anything exciting happens.