Summer Super Post

Are you ready for this? 

I'm about to catch you up on my whole summer in one super-sized post.

Here is how I spent more of my summer vacation out of town (and the heat) 

than in it.

My first excursion was a road trip to San Diego with Tim.  

He got to visit his cousin and I got to visit my best friend. Win-win. 

I only thought to take pictures at the zoo, but we did plenty of other fun things while we were there. I promise.

I was very sad to leave the nice weather, so I went back to California 2 weeks later. 

This time I was in Oceanside with my mom, sis, and nephew for our annual girls trip (girls+cute baby).

See, I told you he's cute.

(and no, I'm not trying to punch him)

 Plus, some cute little Buswell girls came to visit us for a bit.

And of course, we had to take the annual jumping in the air shots.

I'm still working on jumping with my mouth closed, but it seems to be a hopeless endeavor at this point.

After being back home for about 4 days, I left again to go to Utah.

The crowning moment of the entire trip was when I won the 

Annual Cox Family Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship.

I'm kind of a big deal now. 

After 2 weeks in Utah, I went home for a week.

Then, I went camping!!

I totally dominated in Peanuts/Nertz and then Tim creamed us in everything else.

Lesson to learn: Don't mess with us.

Do not be fooled by this picture.

I let a lot of clay pigeons live this day.

The whole gang.

I sure love them.

(and Ray & Diane's trailer potty)

Now that I've been home about 5 days, I have one last little Relief Society cabin retreat to attend and then it's back to work for me.

Man, I love summer. 

"I Hate Goodbyes"- Lloyd Christmas

It's funny how the last day of school varies so much from year to year.  I'm always planning the same activities and dealing with the same age group, but it never ends the same.  One year they'll be jumping around and talking about how they're going to t.p. the school.  The next year, they'll be sobbing their eyes out ALL DAY LONG. This year, there was none of that.  It was just like a typical day.  They cleaned up what they were working on and got in a line just like we always do.  They were even a little confused when I tried to hug them instead of giving them our traditional end-of-the-day high five. 

So, I didn't get emotional at all...

...until I got home and read the very last card in a stack of notes the wonderful Mrs. P had the class write for me. 

Why is it that the students who "keep you on your toes" the most are the ones that it's hardest to let go? I've got to give this kid props for keeping me on top of my classroom management strategies all year long.  Also, I love that he started to write "I don't want to leave," but couldn't figure out the proper spelling for "leave", so he changed it to "go."  

Here are a few other notes that I enjoyed:

"She's kind of like Miss frizzle but awesomer than Miss frizzle."

"Miss Jones is always doing silly hands or jazz hands."

"Miss Jones is a nice teacher because she just is!"

"Make sure you go on a date with your french modle."

"You will be missed."

(sounds like I died or something)

It's been a great year.

But, boy am I enjoying every minute of summer vacation already.

I really needed a break from those jazz hands I was apparently doing all the time.

3.5 Days

That's right, folks. Only three and a half more days of school.  I'm possibly a little bit excited about this fact.

If you really want to know what teachers are thinking during the last week of school, though, you should ask their students.  That's what I did.  Check out their captions below:

My favorite: "I'm gonna go and look all teachery at the beach!!!"

I want to know why I'm the only one with freaky hands.

This kid was probably thinking, 

"I don't have time to draw actual bodies, but they'll definitely all need to be wearing boots."

Mrs. Carpenter and I are burglars in the summer?

Not your average Sunday experience

I took a nap before church today (we don't meet until 2:00).  I'm hoping that our actual Sacrament Meeting service turns out nothing like my dream.

Before church began, word was spreading that something was going to be different today.  As one of our leaders began the meeting, we were all asked to turn around and face the stage behind us.  I had a nervous feeling about this and as I turned, my feeling was confirmed.

A large screen had been pulled down and some inappropriate images popped up on it that were part of some music video.  Then Dustin* and his buddies started dancing for everyone.  I quickly turned my attention back to the bishopric to see how they were going to handle the situation at hand.  It was more than apparent on their faces that they were uncomfortable, but they didn't know what to do. They had sort of given the ok for this without realizing what they were agreeing to.  While they were debating, I went into the hallway and talked with some of my friends.

I know that several churches have dancing and singing incorporated into their worship services.   Just to clear things up for you, this was nothing like that.  

Once the dancing ended, I re-entered the chapel for our real Sacrament services.  As I went back to my seat, I saw that Dustin and his girlfriend had sat down right next to me.  Actually, they sat one apart from each other, so that I was in the middle of them. She asked me if I was mad at him.  "No, I am not mad.  I just don't think that this was the time/right place for that. Do you want to switch seats with me so that you can sit next to Dustin?"  We switched seats and that was that.





*Name has been changed

Feeling Loved

I have a student.  I'll call her Hannah.  She loves to give me things. I think that I've gotten something from her just about every day this year.  I have a strong feeling that her language of love is "Receiving Gifts."

Today, she gave me three gifts:

Her "guitar" from our instrument project 

A dolphin clapper 

A heart bracelet

As hard as she tried, I am sorry to say that she didn't win for the best gift-giver today.

That award belongs to the student who wrapped her gift in a paper towel.

 What could be inside?

Chips!!

I bet you didn't see that coming. 

Neither did I.
I should have, though.
This is the same student who gave me a mint.
Gotta love it!

A Common Thread

Can you guess what all these things have in common with each other?

Squishy things

 Stuffed animals

 Balls

Jewelry

 Pencils and Pens

Bottled items (nasal spray, body spray, nail polish)

Misc. Items (Duct tape wallet, Tic Tacs, fuzzy hair tie)

If you guessed...

a) things I confiscated from my students this year*

b) things that should not be played with during a lesson

or

c) things that have been causing my desk drawer to overflow

...then you would be correct!!

*I've actually taken more items than those pictured (if you can believe that).

Students can have their items back if their parents send in a note.

These are just the ones that they are willing to wait for until the end of the year. 

I am...

My cute, little students amaze me every day.  Since we started our poetry unit, they've been amazing me even more than usual .  I just give them an outline and they produce something like this:

I am an author

I wonder what to write next

I hear the mouse clicking

I see my story on the screen

I want to make it better

I am an author

I feel the rectangular keyboard

I touch the keys

I worry my story won't be good enough

I cry when it dosen't sound right

I am an author

I understand that it won't be perfect

I say "I can do it!"

I dream of my books in "Barnes & Noble"

I am an author

This one almost made me cry:

I am a solder's wife

I wonder if he will come back

I hear gunshots from miles away

I see people getting shot

I want him to meet our new daughter

I am very sad

I feel like my daughter needs her daddy

I touch and pinch myself to make sure im not dreaming

I worry that he will die

I cry when I touch our wedding pictures

I am very emotional

I understand that he wants to fight for our country

I tell my daughter that daddy is on a long trip

I dream of all of us in one small family

I am a solder's wife

Amazing.

Especially when you consider these were written by nine-year-olds.