Before and after #2...kinda

I'm sitting here trying to update the blog while I babysit for my granddaughter, Sophie.  Currently, she is entertaining herself by walking around the house with her shopping cart.  I think she is pretending to be a bag lady because the shopping cart has my rain boots, several containers of playdough, a purse, a stuffed animal, the left overs of her lunch, and a flip light that she is using for a cell phone.  And, she sleeps with a dog! Whatever keeps her happy!

Sophie & Boomer taking a rest...

Sophie enjoying her strawberry milk snack...

Anyway, I said this was a before and after kinda today.  BEFORE summer began, I finished the school year with mixed emotions. Mostly because it was the last time I would be a "classroom" teacher.  AFTER summer ends, I will be the RICA teacher; a fancy term for the dyslexia teacher.  Kathy Smallwood held the position for several years, but decided to retire this year.  Recently, I have been struggling with the amount of time my job consumes on a weekly basis; especially now that my grandchildren have so many activities I want to see.  Also, I really want to be able to spend more time with my parents while they are still around.  They are the best parents anyone could ever dream of having and I know I still have so much to learn from them.  So, when Kathy came in to tell me about her decision to retire, I knew I needed to let my principal know that I was interested in the position.  Thankfully, I interviewed and was offered the job about a month before school ended! An answer to prayers!! Hopefully, the new position will allow me to use my time at home for family and still keep me in touch with children doing what I love to do.

Unfortunately, a new job meant moving rooms and purging my teaching materials.  For the remainder of the year I spent every Saturday cleaning out files and cabinets.  I gave a TON of things away, stored 2 TONS of things at my parents, and donated another TON of books to Maggie's school library.  The one thing I hated getting rid of was my set of anchor charts that I created for science.  BEFORE I gave them away, I took pictures of them to post on my blog. Now I will always have a virtual copy of them.  Now, I can't claim that they are all my own ideas because I browse Pinterest to find things for the classroom. When I see something I like, I tweak it so that it what fits my personality. 

Luckily, I will be able to create new anchor charts for all of the skills associated with the Wilson Reading system. Of course, I will have to invest a lot of time going to professional development classes this summer just to know what I will be doing! AFTER those anchor charts are created I will post them.

Before and After #1

This is the first summer in a long time that I am not recovering from some sort of surgery or taking a trip somewhere.  Therefore, I have decided that this will be the summer of make overs.  

I started simple with some yard work.  Ron hired the scouts to do some yard work in order to earn money for camp.  Ron supervised as they cut out 2 ugly shrubs in front of the front porch railing.  As soon as school was over, I got the front flower beds in shape by planting some native plants (Mexican Heather and Dusty Miller) to take the place of the shrubs.  I'm hoping the yard will eventually have only native plants in it; but, I'm realistic enough to know that it will happen over the course of MANY years. 

As part of the yard make over, I needed to add some color to the back deck.  We bought a yellow retro style set of chairs and a glider last year that only had 1 table.  We had a couple of cheap wooden things I had bought at Big Lots, but they were falling apart.  I looked around for some inexpensive side tables, but couldn't find anything sturdy for less than $20.  I decided to take a couple of old flower pots that I was going to throw away and repurpose them. I bought some wooden rounds, spray paint, and bolts to attach the pieces to make a couple of side tables.  

Here are the before and after pictures.

I was a little irritated with myself when I got home and realized that the orange paint was gloss and the green paint was satin.  But, I can live with that.

Unfortunately, once the tables were finished, they made everything else look a little dull and shabby.  So I grabbed some more spray paint and attacked some yard art daisies and smaller flower pots.  It looks better, but now I need to repaint the swing, the frame, and the glider & chair set.

 I'm also starting to think the black lawn chairs need a coat of paint as well. I'm just not sure it would stick very well to the mesh seats.  

Hopefully, I can get the rest of it done before our crazy Texas summer gets too hot to sit outside and enjoy the peaceful serenity of my deck.

Spring 2013

Spring has come to Texas; and, with the season came my last school break.  This year the schools in central Texas had different calendar dates for their breaks.  Killeen and Gatesville were the same week; Copperas Cove had to cancel spring break because of all the days they missed due to the numerous bomb threats; and, Temple and Belton had theirs a week after ours.  So, we didn't get to have the grandkids together like last year. Still, it was a pleasant break and I needed the rest to get through the remainder of the year.

I spent a lot of time reading, cleaning the yard, and quilting.  I made some wall hangings for the girls, using some St. Patrick's embroidery panels my mother made.  They are the perfect size for the mini quilt racks Mom gave us last summer.  The wall hangings are identical except for the inner border.  The one I didn't post a picture of had a light green shamrock fabric where the tan fabric is in this one. They were quick and easy to make, which is always a plus when I only have a week off.

Of course, I had one of Mom's quilt in the quilting frame for about a month before the break.  I was thrilled to finally get this one quilted.  It is probably a king sized quilt and I love the red, white, and blue fabric Mom used in it. You can't go wrong in a quilt with red, white, and blue fabric using pieced stars.

  

Another milestone this spring, was Maggie's move from indoor pee-wee soccer, to the real thing. She is on an all girls team with the city parks and recreation department.  Gerson is her coach again; and, he is going to be coaching Sophie when her indoor season begins in a few weeks.  Luckily, a girl from church has a little one on G's pee-wee team and has agreed to fill in for him if Maggie and Sophie have games at the same time.  Their seasons should only overlap for a couple of weeks.  

These pictures were taken at Maggie's second game.  It was unbelievably cold that day!

Leslie had made the cutest water bottles for all of the girls on the team.  She found them at Dollar Tree, put some cute blue and white polka-dot ribbon on them, and used adhesives vinyl and my Silhouette to cut out each girls name. I feel like I'm looking for hidden pictures, trying to spot the water bottles in each frame!

Another exciting development in our city was the addition of an Aldi market! It hasn't been open for very long, and I hadn't had a chance to check it out.  Maggie called me this morning and asked me if I wanted to go to breakfast with her, Sophie, and her mom.  I asked her where she wanted to go, and she said Shipley's Do-nuts; but, her mom made her settle for Cracker Barrel.  

After breakfast, we all checked out Aldi.  It is very small and reminds me of the little commissary annex we used to have on post, or, the little commissary at Bad Nauheim, Germany.

It has such great prices!  Everything in the picture below was bought for $25.00.  I plan on doing most of my grocery shopping there once the newness wears off and it isn't so crowded.

We seem to have managed to get Boomer's mange under control.  He sure lived up to Scott's name for him; a mangy flea market dog.  I started to notice pink patches of skin on him and his hair was starting to fall out. I thought maybe he had allergies, so Ron took him to the vet.  Well, several dips, scrapings, and about $1,000 later, the silly guy is cleared up.  Thankfully, it wasn't the horrible mange that results in raw sores and can be contagious.  The vet said Boomer's was more of a "walking dandruff" and not contagious.  Maybe I should have just washed him with Head and Shoulders.  It would have been much less expensive.

But, as much as he loves us and we love him... it was worth it.

Today is Good Friday, and will probably be the last day I have off until school ends in June.  It was so sweet when Ron said to me, "It sure is nice having you home."   I had to admit, I agree with him 100%. 

Bad Ass Dash... in memory of Amy Firth

Several months ago, the mother of a former student passed away suddenly.  She also worked at KidzTherap with Leslie, so our families had a double connection.  This weekend, the women that work at Kidz honored her memory by participating in a competition to raise money for Autism Speaks; Amy's favorite charity.  They called themselves Team Amy and gathered in Kemp, Texas to run, laugh, raise money for an honorable cause; but, mostly to remember a wonderful wife, mother, daughter and co-worker.  I am so proud of Leslie and Scott for taking part in such a challenging event to show our support for a wonderful family. 

Here are some pictures that were taken as they ran their hearts out for Amy.

Team Amy: Leslie is front row, center and Scott is in the back.  Amy's family is here with
the women and their spouses/partners.
Alyssa, my student, is the little blond to the right of Leslie.

Waiting with the family for the competition to start. Becca & I were not
prepared for the colder temps up north. We had to make a
quick trip to Wal-Mart for rain boots, thermals & sweatshirts.

Leslie, her friend Katie, and Scott just before the race...

The second obstacle, right after vaulting a 5 ft. chain link fence.
Leslie and Scott are just about to reach the top.

The 4th obstacle, after vaulting several chain link fences and
climbing the dirt mound. Scott is in front and Leslie is behind the bale of hay.

Crossing a pit by running over logs... still dry!

The cold mud pit! Very slippery and VERY cold...

In and out of the first tire obstacle...

And the second tire obstacle...

Water slide on the opposite side of a very tall hill they had to run.

And at the end of the slide was a mud pit.  Leslie managed to
miss most of what Scott found!

There were several events that were too far away for us to see.
But, we watched Leslie cross the finish line...

Amy's father shook hands with those that crossed the finish line.
Here is Scott with Mr. Henderson.

My two tired and muddy kids.  So proud of you two!!

Mother Neff State Park & The Grove...

On Saturday, Ron and I wanted to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather so we took Boom to hike the trails at Mother Neff State Park. It is a little park located about a 30 minute drive northwest of Temple. The park has hiking trails, camper sites, primitive camping, a couple of pavilions, as well as a picnic ground and some play areas.  The kids and I went camping there several years ago during one of our spring breaks and really enjoyed ourselves.  It isn't a large place and outboard motors are not permitted, so it stays peaceful.
Sadly, in recent years, the park has been closed for repairs. Anyone who has ever lived in Texas knows that the weather is unpredictable. Several years ago, we had severe rains during the springtime, which resulted in heavy flooding along the Leon River. The river passes through the park grounds, which quickly covered most of the area with water.  The park was completely closed to the public for over a year until the Texas park service, and countless volunteers, could get it cleaned up and clear the hiking trails.  When it first reopened, it was only for day use.  Only recently, has the camping area become available for overnight stays.
I've been curious to see what condition the park was in, and now that my feet are healed enough to start walking longer distances we headed out to see for ourselves. There is still a massive amount of twisted and shattered tree trunks along the hiking trails, and you can see where the volunteers cleared the way with chainsaws.  The trees along the paths still have the gray, dead appearance that comes from being under water for so long; but, there are signs of nature restoring the forest.  Tiny trees are sprouting up between the piles of twisted and mangled logs.  It may not be completely recovered in our lifetime, but it was wonderful to see the new growth and know that the park will be beautiful again.
Boomer loved being in the woods! His little nose was going a mile a minute, trying to figure out what all those unusual smells were.  He got to meet other dogs that were MUCH better behaved than he was, and he got to bark hello to lots of strangers. We were only there for about 2 hours, but we sure were pooped when we finished our hike. Ron and I both agreed that our bodies and minds will benefit from more trips to the park.

Da Boom looking a little excited about our car trip.

Waiting for us to catch up... 

Ron and Boomer at the cave...

At the top of the tower...

Walking another path with evidence of flood damage...

Looking down into the cave... 

On our way home, we drove through a little community called The Grove.  Each time we drive to Gatesville, we pass by the road that goes to the community.  It is one of those places you always want to visit, but always seem to be too busy.  When we left Mother Neff, we made a quick trip to drive through the community.  It is priceless! I don't know the history of the community, but have heard that  someone who lives there takes care of these old buildings.  It is like walking back in time.  I would love to go inside and look around but they are kept locked.  It's one of those places that represents the tough determination the early Texan's had when they fought this harsh land to create homes and build lives. It also has a sense of sadness about it; leaving you wondering about whether or not their families are still there and if their dreams were ever realized. Nevertheless, it is a priceless gem here in central Texas.

This is one of the free standing structures in the community.

This is a row of buildings that looks like any other town square in Texas.

I love old post offices.  They must have been the heartbeat of these little communities. 

The other two free standing buildings...

and the little covered well in the center of the town.

I may not have been born in Texas; but, I am proud to call it my home.  I can't wait to discover more hidden treasures like these.