Challenge Lab

In January, a position opened up at our elementary school to teach the Gifted & Talented class. It seemed like the perfect opportunity, and I started just days after my long-term 4th grade assignment. I knew it would pay poorly, but as a 4-day per week assignment with Brennan & Ethan in my class and my lunch coinciding with Katelyn's, I snatched it up. 

The first order of business was cleaning up the disaster the classroom was left in. After that, I had to organize and execute the Parent Showcase of student products from the first semester. The older kids had each created inventions, and the younger kids had each created a new animal for an existing biome.

After wrapping up the first semester odds and ends, I began teaching the new curriculum for second semester. Planning curriculum and teaching are my passions, and I was in heaven. 

In grades 3-5, the students were learning Utopian Destinations. The vocabulary and instruction included city planning, infrastructure, eco-friendly solutions, government, tourism, economy, and local history. By Spring Break, the kids were ready to work in small groups to create their own city. They had to make all the decisions about government and infrastructure in their City Charter and then map out their city on butcher paper. They also needed to build at least 10 3D structures. Lastly, they needed to create a product to promote tourism, like an advertisement, commercial, website, or brochure. Each group presented their cities within their grade-level, and students voted on the place they'd most like to visit or move. Students displayed their map, buildings, city charter, and QR codes linked to their advertisement at the Parent Showcase in May.

In grades 1-2, the students were learning Storytelling Across the Ages and Through Cultures. First, we learned about Story Mountain, utilizing vocabulary like beginning, middle, end, climax, resolution, setting, and characters. We then discussed all the different types of traditional literature, which I had just taught to my 4th graders. We also talked about how these stories are sometimes told differently in other parts of the world and in different time periods. By Spring Break, the kids were ready to break into groups and choose a folktale to fracture (change) and write as a play with parts. They created a storyboard displaying the parts of their story, determined props and costumes, and then rehearsed and performed their play in front of a green screen. I edited and revised their recordings to create a cohesive 5-minute play, as well as a movie trailer. Using a QR code, parents were able to watch each group's play at the Parent Showcase in May. 

In kindergarten, the students were learning Doing My Part for Art. They learned all about color, medium, subject, texture, and design. They each made a monster, which they labeled based on the new vocabulary. Then they were ready to study specific artists and create individual art products in the style of each artist. We studied Georges Seurat, Jackson Pollack, and Pablo Picasso. For the Parent Showcase, each student selected their favorite product to be framed and prominently displayed. 

I hosted the second Parent Showcase at the end of the school year. It was a huge success! 

Unfortunately, in May the district decided to make the position a 5-day per week without any additional compensation, and I resigned the last week of school. I plan to either teach full-time in the classroom with a salaried position or substitute-teach again. It was fun while it lasted! 

Sandfest in Port Aransas

Ever since we moved here, I have seen billboards along the highway to and from the beach for Sandfest. After we took a sandcastle lesson last Christmas with Kim's family, I knew we had to go. Unfortunately, like the Rodeo, it had been canceled several years due to COVID. As soon as it was scheduled for this year, we booked our condo within walking distance along the beach (The Princess). It did not disappoint! 

There are different categories within the contest, including families, juniors, singles, and duos. There are also categories for professionals and amateurs. Each visitor gets 6 tickets to vote for the People's Choice award. We took our votes very seriously.

We tried to do some beach time too, but it was windy and cold, so we spent the time we weren't at the contest in the heated hotel pool. I love that we are only 3 hours to the coast, even though it's the Gulf and not the most beautiful. 

Unfortunately, the Sandfest weekend is always one that there's school on either side of, so I'm not sure when I can talk Collin into missing a half day again, but we can't wait to go again sometime. So awesome!

Spring Break '22

 To start off Spring Break this year, my friend from my Ohio childhood that now lives in Houston with her 6 children came to visit. We did Sea World during the day and lots of Spoons card-playing at night. The kids all got along great, and we had an awesome time.

After the left, Collin got his braces on - for the 2nd and hopefully last time - and Ethan got glasses for the first time. Ryan deemed the day Williams Biotechnological Enhancement Day. 

The next day we drove up to Dallas, stopping in Fort Worth at the Stockyards on the way. 

We also had to stop at Buccees. It is a giant gas station with the largest, cleanest bathrooms and tons of delicious snacks and bbq. We got a dozen cinnamon rolls to eat with the cousins. We also let the kids each pick out a souvenir. 

We spent time at a park, in their hot tub, watching movies, eating the best BBQ (Hutchins), playing cards, and having NERF gun wars. I love how well our kids get along with their cousins, and Kate loves having a big sister in Charlie. 

On Sunday, we drove home with another stop at Buccees, this time in New Braunfels. It was a great visit with family! 

Madison Girls Trip

 In February, I took a long weekend to go and visit 4 friends I made while we lived in Wisconsin. Each of their husbands was working on post-graduate work, and we were nearly the only women in the ward without kids. We bonded there and have actually met up from time to time in Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, and Utah. The last two years - during COVID - we had spoken regularly on Marco Polo, a recorded video chat app. 

I flew in on Friday morning, and Heather picked me up at the airport. While I was in the air with my phone turned off, our hotel accommodations had been canceled because of a positive cause of COVID in the room. The friends had asked the room to just be cleaned, but their protocols prevented us from staying. Utah had a bunch of fresh powder for skiers, so we ended up in a simple hotel in downtown Salt Lake instead up a cute boutique in the mountains. 

Undeterred, we headed to Provo for lunch and met up with everyone else. After a quick tour of Jennifer's newly remodeled Provo home, we checked into the hotel and spend the COLD evening wandering under-construction Temple Square and City Creek Mall. We even got to listen to the Tabernacle Choir organist practicing in the Tabernacle. I enjoyed Cafe Rio for dinner and Cheesecake Factory for dessert.

On Saturday, we headed to the Bonneville Shoreline trail for some hiking. It had been so cold the night before, I dressed in lots of layers and then had to carry all my jackets and coats. It was beautiful and clear. Lunch was leftovers from the night before at the hotel while we showered and cleaned up for dinner. 

For dinner, we headed to the Zermatt in Midway. We met back up with Jennifer and got some treats at the bakery next door. Then we changed into swimsuits for our dip at Homestead Caldera. It was perfect! 

On Sunday, we attended church in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building with Elder Oaks presiding. Relief Society was led by Sister Kristen Oaks as well. It was a neat, especially since the General Conference talk I was scheduled to teach in two weeks was the lesson topic. 

After church, we said our goodbyes. Sheena dropped me off at Kim's house in Springville. That night, Sean, Jen, and Julian came over for dinner, and we enjoyed the evening. Janice even gave me a gel manicure! 

On Monday, Kim and I went to breakfast at True Religion in Orem, and then she dropped me off at the airport. It was a wonderful weekend with wonderful women! 

San Antonio Rodeo

Apparently, the supposed-to-be Annual San Antonio Rodeo is a big deal. Since we moved here almost 3 years ago, it's been cancelled each year due to COVID. When tickets went on sale in January, I listened to a couple songs of each scheduled country music artist, and we picked our night accordingly. 

We left the kids home (it is so nice to have built-in babysitters now!), and we went to dinner beforehand at the Pearl. Then we spent the whole rodeo googling the rules for bull riding and roping. Haha. The real cowboys around us thought we were ridiculous! 

After the rodeo ended, we waited about an hour for a stage to be constructed in the dirt. Then Toby Keith took the stage about 10pm. 

We stayed until about midnight and were one of the first to leave. He is a great performer, and the lyrics to his songs are funny and ironic. 

It was super fun, and we want to go again next year!