This Christmas...

We have purchased our plane tickets for Christmas time... we are flying to Houston!

Matt's parents live out there, ... and recently, his sister Kelly and her two boys moved into the big city as well! It should be an awesome trip!

LAST TIME we visited the Grimes' we were amazed to see how they decorated the place! Apparently, they LOVE TEXAS! They plastered "Texan by Choice" decals on the guest bathroom mirror. They had little cactus plants decorated with xmas lights for their night light. They even had a soap tray in the shape of a cowboy hat! "Hank" was ready to take your notes down on a chalkboard - in a moment's notice!
It was a little bazaar to see how acclimated they had become to the Texan way of life... and so soon!

Alright..., so Matt and I purchased the hick-wear for their home, and we cut the "texan by choice" sign out of the in-flight magazine on the way there. BUT, I have this sneaky suspicion, they will decorate with it again this year (now that we are headed that way!).

School Dayz

So... I started teaching again. I have the strangest, most challenging bunch of Kindy Kids to date. I have 13 boys. I have 6 girls. Those poor girls. I have 5 four year olds, and 5 kids that turned 5 the month that school began. I have one child that ONLY speaks Spanish. I have 3 more that are classified as English Language Learners. I have 3 children that were retained in Kindergarten last year due to behavior problems. I have one child with Cerebral Palsy, seizers, frontal lobe damage, and is clinically blind.

I am struggling.

The days are getting better... I think that there may be a light somewhere, in some tunnel that I could find.

I have drank a lot.

I have second guessed my career choice on more than one occasion.

But they are just so darn cute. Today, I played a new CD for them. They LOVED "Alphabet Rock." Sitting back, watching them dance is awesome... I don't know anyone who wouldn't enjoy watching 19 children trying to find a beat! I almost peed my pants - laughing so hard!

Tomorrow, I'm going to the fair to watch one of them preform her belly dancing routine with her grandma on stage! I can't wait! I wish I owned a video camera!

A Week Spent Differently

Matt and I went to Monterey for a week, in the beginning of August. Matt went to work. I went to play. Matt had a conference there, and spent every single morning and afternoon in class. I however had my days filled with fun events for spouses! I went to a culinary school and learned to make ravioli, pesto sauce, tomato basil soup, tiramisu, .... (and haven't made it since) - BUT IT WAS SOOOO Yummy!

I went to a state park and walked the beach with Christie and her daughter Malana... she is REALLY cute.

I went wine tasting... saw how all of it is made. Got to keep one of my glasses.

I went jogging on the beach down to the aquarium... which incidentally, was rented out to the conference people the night before and we got to eat dinner there... by candlelight... and the glow of the tanks! IT WAS SO COOL.

I went on a historical walk one day... learned all about Monterey. Filmed mainly the plant-life.

We ate dinner and breakfast together each day... but the rest of the time was completely different.

One night we got to go to a luau! It was interesting. The conference people "built the beach scene" on the beach! They brought in fake palm trees, lit bonfires, ... SO NEAT! They hired fire dancers too! Dangerous job. Freaks doing it. But entertaining nonetheless!

A good way to spend a week... And even though Matt was in class most the time - If you've gotta go to a conference,... Monterey's not a bad way to go!

Stagnant

Yes, I know... It's been a while.

It's not that we've been up to nothing - but rather - that we've been up to SO MUCH that we haven't had time to sit at the computer and relish in our thoughts and memories.

I'll try to catch you all up - a little at a time.