Long and Very Overdue

Good Morning! Sorry it has been so long since my last blog post. A LOT has happened/changed since my last post. I decided to go back to school, for various reasons, and obtain my teaching certification. It has been a long and busy process but right now I have officially obtained my probationary certificate, and after teaching this coming year will have my standard certificate. On top of going to school on nights and weekends, I also started substituting in our school district. It was a CRAZY time from Jan. through May, many times subbing all day, coming home around 3:30 or 4 and leaving again at 5:15 for class until 9 p.m. at night. I subbed a lot at Reese's school and was very excited and extremely grateful to get offered a position there for this fall. I seriously hit the jackpot on that one. My program director of the certification program said I must have been doing an unreal job subbing because Calallen isn't a school that hires brand new teachers. I had a lot of teachers at the elementary school requesting me for their classes. I spent 3 weeks in the same 3rd grade class and just had a BLAST with those kiddos.
I will be teaching 3rd grade, math, science and social studies and Wood River Elementary School is .6 miles from our house. In April I tested over all the core subjects, plus art, music and physical education for grades K-6. I passed my test and a huge weight was taken off my shoulders! In June, I started full day classes for 5 weeks to learn everything there was to know about being a teacher in a very short time. LOTS of important info, and crazy amounts of great information.
For the next three weeks (well now more like 2) I have some time to "relax" with the kiddos before I get my classroom keys and can begin setting up my classroom. Then it's a week and a half of teacher in-service and then school starts. AHHH! During the school year I will have some work due to my certification program, have classes one Saturday a month, and of course all the regular work that comes with teaching. It will be another busy year but I am looking forward to it.
 Now you might wonder what Brynn will be doing now that I am going back to work. I was very lucky and found an amazing in-home preschool which is run by a certified teacher and is located about 5 miles from our house. She started June 1st, since I had school for 5 weeks and has been attending some in July to keep some sort of routine. She absolutely loves her new school and has learned so much. Right now it's a summer schedule so there is a lot of playing and center time, but in Aug. the curriculum will begin. She has already picked up some awesome stuff so I can't wait to hear how much more she learns once classes actually start.
 Reese was busy this summer, with some camps, and a big week and a half trip to Meme's and Grampy's alone. I was lucky to have my Mom and Dad take Reese to Kingwood since I was out of things for her to do the days I was in school. It was a HUGE help to have her occupied and taken care of while I was at class. I was also very lucky and had a few friends who were able to watch her on the afternoons when I was in class when her camps were half days. She attended a VBS, a cheer camp and was dancer of the week for her age group. I was fortunate to have help this summer with her, otherwise it would have been hard to handle. This spring she played softball and had a great time. She made the All-Star team and played very well. We got rained out a LOT, I missed a LOT of games for school, but when I did get to see her play she always had a great time and tried her best. She really improved during the All Star season, with the more intense practices. At school she received some awards (pictures below). She got one for A Honor Roll, one for participating in the Science Fair and one for making it to the Regional Science Fair. She had a great school year and is looking forward to 2nd grade. She is really excited for me to be teaching at her school and is looking forward to being my helper in the afternoons. She is going to be my desk cleaner and pencil sharpener. I think she's the most excited that every day after school she can come into my room and draw on the white board. She loved doing that the afternoons I was subbing. Here are some pics from the last few months.

Easter:
Easter egg hunting with the cousins
LOTS of girl cousins!


Waiting to see what the Easter Bunny left for them.
Silly B
Riding her bike to school! Twinkies! When your Mom subs, you can both wear the same shirt to school!
a b-day party where they got their faces painted
We had a LOT of rain this Spring...a LOT
On average the entrance to our neighborhood was under water at least 2-3 times a week.
Piggies!

 Awards day at school. I was so excited for her!

 Brynn's first day of preschool!!! She loves it!

 Sweaty bands! Someone has a big forehead in this pic. :)

 While Reese was at MeMe and Grampy's having a blast on her own, Brynn and I hit the beach by ourselves on my day off from school. She had a GREAT time. While I know the girls missed each other (Brynn asked me everyday when we were going to get Reese) they each had a GREAT time on their own. Reese ruled the roost, went to the library everyday, read a ton of books, swam a ton, hung out with Nana and Grandma at their respective residents and keep everyone entertained. The best part was hearing how well behaved she was for everyone.

 E week at school!! This is just one of the amazing projects she comes home with each week! I love her school!!

The girls and I headed to the beach yesterday for a girls only trip. They got sprinkle doughnuts for the car ride and we played for 3 hours at the beach. No one was there and it was lots of fun to have the beach to ourselves. They rode the waves in on their boogie boards, made lots of sand castles and found lots of shells. 

We have been hitting the pool a LOT and everyone is improving on their swimming skills. Reese is a pro at jumping off the diving board and swimming in the deep end. I don't think she even hangs out in the shallow end anymore unless she is tired from jumping. Brynn has spent the summer swimmie free and has been doing an amazing job swimming on her own. It's crazy to think she's not even 4. She has mastered the doggie paddle (a skill needed to pass the swim test), can swim under water and come up for air before going back under and now can dive down to the bottom of the pool on her own to pick up toys. This last weekend she swam half the width of her pool on her own even going under the lane ropes. If she would work on floating on her back a little more I have no doubt she would be able to pass the swim test, meaning she would be able to go into the deep end and jump off the diving board. We still have a few weeks to practice so we'll see how she does. She is a FISH just like her big sister. I think next summer we will be in the deep end a lot because I bet both of them will be passing the swim test as soon as summer starts. I love how much they love to swim. We are three VERY tan people, that's for sure.