Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

As the year ends, we have been talking about all the adventures our family has experienced in 2009. We moved halfway across the country, bought a car, sold a house, started new schools, new jobs and met new friends. We've experienced our first tornado, our first true Fall season, our first snow and bought our first winter coats. It's been quite a year. To sum it up, we will call it the year of weather. We have been entertained and learned so much about weather since moving to Texas.



Today is no exception! Megan and I had a new experience when grocery shopping. First, we started out at Sprouts and bought lots of fruits and veggies. Then, we needed to go to Kroger's, but decided we were hungry first. So, we left the fruits/veggies in the car while we went out for a late lunch. We figured it was only 40 degrees outside, so being in the car was like being in the fridge. We even left the stuff in the car while we went to Kroger's after lunch.



As 2009 ends and 2010 begins, we are grateful for our loving family and good friends. We are hopeful that 2010 brings all the happiness and contentment that we look forward to.....for you and for us!



Whatever you do to bring in the new year, do it safely and have fun!



Love,

Fishgods

Home, Sweet Home

We are home safely. Well, most of us are home! Megan won't arrive until tomorrow. It will be great to have us all under the same roof again!

It's a snowy day here in Dallas. We are snuggling by a warm fire and have lasagna cooking in the oven. I think we will just stay close to home tonight!

Can't wait for Megs to be home tomorrow!

Betsy

Christmas in Arizona

We have been enjoying our time in Scottsdale. Grandma Jane has been very busy cooking constantly! She even got Megan involved in the preparations! Megan was very good at preparing the carrots!

While the ladies have been busy in the kitchen, Steven has been exploring the outside. The weather has been clear and cold, but warm enough for Steven to try out the old swingset from when they were little.

As you can see, he's outgrown it a bit!

Once the swing got old, he figured out how to unlock the door and get out to the swimming pool. The water is extremely cold, but he still was sure he had to get in all the way!

At this point, I convinced him he needed to get out of the pool before he froze to death!

We are excited to have Christmas with our families tomorrow, then will hit the road to come back to Texas early on Saturday morning. We've been watching the weather and saw the alert advising of 1-4 inches of snow at our house today! Wish we were there to see it!

But, the weather will still be there when we head home! The forecast shows that we will probably be driving in snow or sleet about 10 of the 18 hours of drive time!

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Fishgods

We have arrived

We have arrived in Scottsdale. After a good night of sleep, we are ready to rock and roll this morning.

I hope the coffee kicks in soon.

B

Partying in Odessa, TX

We hit the road today and have come to Odessa, Texas. It's quite a happening spot! We hit the Whataburger drive thru and had greasy fries and sodas for dinner.

We are settled in at the Town Place Suites and are ever grateful to Anisa for her help in procuring great rooms! Troy is sound asleep next to me on the bed and Steven is roaming the room trying to convince me that we should leave.

Tomorrow we will finish the remaining 750 miles of the trip. Here's hoping we get a good night of sleep tonight!

B

Party at the Gym

We recently went to a holiday party for the special education PTA. The party was held at a place called Excite! Gym. They have classes for children of all ages and abilities.

The PTA rented out the place for a few hours and the kids had full run of the joint!

Here are a few photos. the first one is our family photo. we kept trying to get Steven to smile at the camera, but he was just in love with Mommy at the moment. The next picture is also the family shot, but we didn't all face the camera then either!
Towards the end of the party, Megan, Steven and Christina (our helper girl), found the foam pit! Steven loved it! Once he was in it, he could hardly get out!

We were able to get a few shots of Megan and Steven together in this round tube thing that Steven liked hanging out in!

Steven was also most impressed with the trampoline in this place! The rules were one child on the trampolines at a time. Steven didnt care about the rules and was more than happy to bounce another child off the trampoline when they got in his way!

All in all, it was a great day! The kids both got their pictures taken with Santa, but I don't have those yet. I'll post those when I get them!

Christmas in my eyes

As I have mentioned in the past, Texas likes to do things their own way. I like their ways.

For instance, there really isn't any separation between church and state. Megan commented at this back in October when we went to see the choir perform at her school.

At our Christmas Program (not winter program) the kids sang many songs that included Jesus. Santa will be visiting my school next week. Teachers are allowed (and encouraged) to have Christmas trees and decor in our classrooms. Heck, we even have lighted Christmas trees, complete with wrapped boxes, in several halls through out the school.

One of those beautiful trees is located right where my class lines up to leave school every day. Yesterday, one of my students caught me off guard when he said, "Mrs. G, I can see Christmas in your eyes!" It took me a second to realize he could see the reflection of the lights in my glasses. Too cute.

These kiddos come up with the funniest things! Here are a couple of examples from this week:

We read a book called "Courduroy" about a stuffed bear. When I was prompting for details in retelling the story, one litttle boy called the stuffed bear "Quarter boy".

Another little boy was tattling about another boy not being in line. I said, "Okay."

He replied, "You're supposed to say you've got it under control. That's what YOU say.....Mrs. G, DO you have this under control?"

Evidently, I say I have it under control too much. It's just a coping mechanism. It's my mantra. I didn't realize I say it out loud!

Finally, a little girl recently told me that she hopes I will be in her first grade class. I explained that I would stay in kindergarten when she goes into first grade. She told me that I, "am really smart." and I'll "probly be ready for first grade this time." She even hopes that we sit next to each other in first grade.

The things these kids say are priceless!

Have a great Friday everyone!
B

2/3 Done

Okay, I'm a little premature in this posting, but I'm really looking forward to it being true!

I'm taking state certification test 2 of 3 this morning at 8:30am. This test is more specific to Texas laws relating to English Language Learners. I know the strategies to teaching ESL students, but had to have a crash course in Texas acronyms.

Wish me luck!
B

Today's Forecast

This morning the temperature is 25 degrees. I checked the forecast and it says our high today will be 38 degrees....but the windchill will make it feel 9-14 degrees.

It's Wednesday. I have parent pick up duty after school. This involves standing outside and helping get kids into cars for about 20 minutes.

I believe I will need a Starbuck's this morning to help me stay warm!

But, I do want to know when it's considered cold enough to delay school start times or cancel school?

Oh, and I think I will stop on my way to school and get a hat. My sister commented that we will need a hat when it gets really cold. I think today qualifies.

Betsy

Troy's Retail Stroke

Tonight, we gave in and went to Kohl's to buy winter jackets. When the locals told us "wait until it gets really cold." we thought we could take it.

Wrong.

These are photos of our jackets. The fur lined one is Megan's. The grey one is Steven's. The black peacoat is mine. The really, really nice looking two in one coat is Troy's.

Now I should tell you that Troy hasn't really been much of a clothes shopper since we met 25 years ago. As time has gone on, I have become his personal shopper and that seems to work out okay for both of us. Tonight, I needed him there to try on jackets.

He found a jacket that he really liked.

Then he saw the price tag.

I think his blood pressure went up about 25 points! He kept saying, "But it's just a jacket!" I kept explaining that this jacket was worth every penny and he looked fabulous in it.

So, he tried on several other jackets. None of them were as comfortable as the one that gave him sticker shock. Still, he tried to put off buying a winter coat. He chose to do this on the night that our temperature should drop into the low 20s.

I did what any other wife would do. I lied to him. I told him I had a coupon and his coat was 50% off of what he thought the price was. That pacified him enough to allow me to buy it. That got us through the check out line.

He looks great in his new jacket. It kept him warm when we continued our errands tonight. But, he is still scowling two hours later.

Please be sure to comment on Troy's jacket if you see him in it or see photos of him wearing it!

Betsy

PS He has forgiven me for my little white lie about the coupon!

This just tickled me today!

Today's weather: "Mostly cloudy. Isolated flurries in the morning. Highs around 40. North winds 5 to 10 mph."

Isolated flurries means no one will be outside to keep the snow flurries company!!!

I am awake early and checking the news to see if we have "late start" or if school is cancelled today. I know Megan is hoping for cancelled, but she might get "late start"....they wouldn't start school until 10:30.

I know the constant weather updates might seem mundane to you all, but I continue to be amused by the variety of weather we experience here.

B

Let it snow!!!

Imagine our surprise when we woke up this morning to snow! The weather man had said it would be in the low 40s last night......

This picture is our back patio furniture.

Troy even got to write in the snow on his window!

This was the scene in our front yard about 7am.

It was a really beautiful sight!

The kids are both amused by the snow! It's a good thing, because tonight it is supposed to drop into the low 20s and we are expecting snow or ice tomorrow. My school even warned us that we may have a "snow day" tomorrow!

1/3 Done!

I passed the EC-12 Texas State Pedagogy and Professional Responsibility test with flying colors. The test was pretty hard, in my opinion. So, I was a little worried about passing.

But, I got the test results today and I got 282/300. I only needed 240 to pass!

I will be scheduling the next two tests between now and 12/21. It will feel good to have those out of the way!

Betsy