Year 2

I never intended to go so long without an update.  I don't even know where to begin.  Here it goes!

I enjoyed a beautiful summer in Colorado!  The weather could not be more perfect and the activities to enjoy it are endless.  It definitely made me love the life of a teacher.  So much freedom to enjoy the summer!  It even gave me the time to do random things like dress up for free food:

I got to enjoy a fun race with good friends right in Colorado Springs that left from the Broadmoor.  It was quite fancy!  I was treated to a full meal, Barefoot wine, a finishers necklace, free massage, and a post-race hangout at the Broadmoor.  Yes, again, these are the true reasons I do races :)

I hosted some great people throughout the summer.  Two of them were particularly to spend time with.  One was from Kansas and the other from New Zealand (I really like the idea of having a place to stay in New Zealand if I ever have the opportunity to visit).  They pulled me back out to some of the touristy things that you so often put off once you live here.  We got to explore the Cave of the Winds and just couldn't resist the cool hard hats!

We also played the penny arcades in Manitou and decided to be adventurous and eat Egyptian food.  So glad we did!  Turns out I love shwarma!





Towards the end of the summer I think we realized our time was running out, so we had to cram in some of the things we had said we would do all summer.  I finally climbed my first 14er (for those of you unfamiliar with Coloradan lingo, that's a mountain over 14,000 ft. tall).  Maria and I decided to conquer Mt. Harvard.  It was wonderful!  The views were amazing as you can probably imagine.

Yep!  We even ate a mango at the top.  We know we're a little crazy about mangoes.  And I really became quite fond of the little cairns.  They remind me of God's faithfulness.  When you're going through all the mess of rocks at the top, they are so faithful to guide you up the peak.  Just when you're not sure where to go you see the next one and know that you just have to set your eyes on it and keep going on.

The very next day I went on my first white water rafting trip!  I rafted down the Big Horn Sheep Canyon.  I even got to see a pack of beautiful Big Horn Sheep standing right off the river as we rafted by.  It was a great trip with just enough excitement and rapids for me.

I'm the 2nd person on the far side of the boat.  I'd highly recommend the trip!

Shortly after, the school year fired up again.  You may or may not know that I was informed the day before school started, just hours before meeting parents and students, that I would be switching from 2nd grade to 1st grade.  Needless to say, I was slightly overwhelmed.  We cleared out the 2nd grade materials and hauled in the 1st grade as quickly as we could.  And off I went as I 1st grade teacher :)  Through the whole experience it has brought me to realize how lucky we are to have a God who always knows what is best for us.  I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that I have praised God every day for moving me to 1st grade.  Here are a few of the reasons:

1. I have a truly incredible team to work with!  My 3 teammates and I meet together weekly to share ideas and collaborate for the next week.  They have great resources and creativity to share so we are able to all lighten each others' burdens.
2. The current 2nd graders were a rough bunch that drove away all of the 1st grade teachers last year and continue to be a rough bunch this year.  They would been mine. 
3. My 1st graders are adorable.  Yes, they drive me absolutely insane at times, but when you take a step back you realize they are 6 & 7 year olds.  They are sweet, loving, sincere, and hilarious.  They love to learn and are doing a great job at it!
4. I love what you teach in 1st grade.  I get to see kids come in saying they don't know how to read, and I get to show them that they can.  I teach them the very basics and essentials.  If they can master these things they will be so much more successful for the rest of their educations and even lives.  The light bulbs coming on and the excitement in their faces when they realize how much they have learned keeps me going.

The safari does continue, I've gotten even more into it this year!  We go on all kinds of safaris.  We've had an African safari, Australian safari, and we are currently on our Chinese safari.  My little explorers just eat it up!  And they did so good on their first round of assessments that we had to celebrate.  In Ms. Eastup's class we:

 

Even since school starting I have made sure to continue having some fun on the weekends.  First came the Warrior Dash!!!!  We crawled over cars, through tunnels, climbed ropes, ran up a mountain, crawled through a muddy pit covered with barbed wire, and then leaped over fire!  What a blast!  We definitely earned those viking hats :)

Next, I complete my first triathlon!  I'll say it was quite the experience.   It confirmed that I am not a swimmer.  The training I had done all summer was thrown out the window as I tried to simply survive!  I seriously could not wait to get out of the water.

 

 Thinking the worst was over I excitedly headed towards my bike.  Little did I know another little fiasco was about to unfold.  Once there I quite humorously got stuck in my wetsuit.  I finally got free and hopped on my trusty, vintage bike...the chain falls off.  No worries, two very nice men jump the rescue and send me off again.  

But I immediately know something is wrong.  I was working hard to ride my bike downhill.  After about 4 miles of struggling to go maybe a blazing speed of 5mph, my frustration growing, and all my pride issues suddenly surfacing, I hopped off and ignorantly fiddled with the back tire.  You see, "The Chad" had so kindly "fixed" my tire the night before because I had gotten a flat.  I guess "The Chad" did not put the tire back on correctly and now I was paying for it.  By the grace of God whatever I messed with worked and I was able to enjoy the rest of the ride.  At that point I was so far behind that I decided to just take in the beautiful views of Boulder and make the most of it.  What can you do? 

By the time I got the run I just wanted to run my little heart out, so I did!  Overall takeaways from the race: I'm glad I did it, but I'm definitely a runner.  Maria did great and we thoroughly enjoyed all the cute Aflac goodies.  See, I do it for all the freebies!

About this time brought about even more blessings for the semester.  Two of my dear college friends are now living in Colorado Springs. What a joy it has been to have them around to hangout with, go have fun adventures with, and just have people around that know you well.  Nikki and I fulfilled one of our bucket list items by hiking Pike's Peak.  Here we are at the summit:

The hike brought more of my favorite cairns:

We walked through Devil's Playground:

And such satisfaction of knowing we had accomplished a life goal:

 Most recently I got to go on a pleasant hike with Nikki and Kelly up Raspberry Mountain. 

We went on the perfect weekend to see the Aspens changing!  We don't know Fall in Texas.  I saw Fall for the first time.  Absolutely breath-taking!

I am so thankful for good friends.  It's so good to have them here! 

 Whew...I think that about brings us up to speed.  It brings us to a long weekend where I am finally able to sit, relax, breathe, and rejuvenate for the next quarter.  It couldn't have come at a better time!  I hope you've enjoyed catching up.  I'll try to do a better job of making more frequent, less lengthy posts!