So, it's been a few months since I sat down and actually shared what we have been up to. So here is the condensed version, but with a lot of detail!
This spring Kit played soccer, and I coached her team-they assured me any idiot can coach U6 girls soccer, NOT TRUE. This idiot didn't do very well! I think the girls all learned something about soccer, and I'm pretty sure they had some fun. I just hope that my coaching didn't discourage them from playing again!
In May Riley and I ran in the one mile fun run at the Kevin Jenrette Some Gave All 5k run. I would like to work up to running the 5k next year, but it isn't looking good. It's a fun event though, there is a lot of fun stuff for the kids to do. We also went to Lula Elem. Night at the Gwinnett Braves, all the students got to walk the gravel track around the field before the game and they were up on the big screen. It seemed like a deal, only $5 a ticket. Unfortunately, just eating dinner at the game blew out the ticket savings.
In June we went to Savannah for Abbe's 8th grade graduation, and the kids did 2 vacation bible schools, one at our church and one with some friends. They were two different weeks, so I don't think they got burned out, even if it was the same theme. I also taught at our vbs, second graders are fun and exhausting.
Riley also started conditioning for football-yes, can you believe it, they have conditioning for 7 and 8 year old football?!? He was a champ, 2 hours of running and learning new drills and he always came off the field smiling, telling me about the fun stuff they did.
In July we went up to Michigan to spend the 4th of July with the WHOLE family. It was a fun and crazy adventure. Kit, Abbe, Emilie, and I stayed a few extra days to hang out after everyone else headed home. It was a fun trip, but it was hard to say goodbye to Summer, Dan, and baby Ian. Ab, Em, and Elaina came and spent a week at our house after the trip, it was a full house but we had a lot of fun. Riley had football camp and Kit had cheer camp that week, so I sat and sweat for 2 hours every night, and the older girls joined me once they realized that there were high school football players helping at the camp. Kit turned 5 on July 20, she is growing up so quickly!!
Football practice officially started for Riley, which included helmets and pads. One kid passed out at the first Saturday practice (duh-it was 11 in the morning and 95 degrees) so they changed practice to 8 am, much nicer! I also started back to work for my last 7 weeks at the preschool, yay!
Kit started kindergarten in August, which should have been a bittersweet day with my baby being old enough to officially start school. But no, she cried and carried on and the teacher had to hold her so I could leave. I was a little frustrated with her behavior, so not the kodak moment I was looking for. Riley started second grade, he told me he was too old to have his picture taken with his teacher. I respected his wishes even though I wanted a picture, and gave him his hug and kiss outside his room so as not to embarrass him.
He also decided he wanted to start riding the bus this year, which we had a few hiccups with, but by the third day of school he was officially a bus rider. After driving Kit to school by herself that morning and needing the teachers to pull her out of the car in the car pool lane, on the fourth day of school Kit officially became a bus rider as well!
It was a little rocky as well, I felt like a jerk watching my little girl ride away on the bus crying. But Riley has sat with her every single day, and now they race to see who gets on first! Kit also started cheerleading practice, which went as well as all of her other new experiences this month. I gave up fighting with her about participating and from then on she has been all into the cheering. Her favorite part is their dance routine for the halftime show, it's pretty cute.
In September Riley's football games started and they won the first game, unfortunately they lost the next 3! But they've won the last 2 and seem to be getting it together. Riley is a linebacker and he loves it, he is one of the littlest guys on the team, but his coach told me Riley has the most heart of any kid out on the field. He works hard and has fun, I am very proud of him and happy that he loves it so much. I finished my time at the preschool, which was a lot of fun this year even if I was in the baby room. I had a new co teacher, Stacy, and we had a blast. But I was excited and nervous and ready to start my student teaching. I love teaching middle school, I'm at East Hall Middle, and I have no doubt in my mind that God created me to be a middle school teacher. I felt completely comfortable and at ease with the students, staff, and curriculum by the end of my first week. I'm not picky and I'll take any teaching job I can get at this point, but my goal is to work my way back to East Hall Middle School.
We've enjoyed our football/cheerleading Saturdays and I'm actually sad that the season is over, it's been fun for all three of us. But I have met some new moms and gotten to know some other ones even better, and we have been able to get the kids together a few times already.
It's now almost the end of December, another year has flown by, they really do go quicker the older I get. Riley has started wrestling, and he loves it! Kit likes practice because she has two little friends there and I like it because it's another opportunity to talk with other moms. Riley joined the team late, so he only had 3 practices before his first match. He didn't win, but he did pretty well for his lack of experience!
I finished student teaching the first week of December and did some substitute teaching this month, and was offered a job as a special ed para pro at the middle school where I student taught! So I'm pretty excited about that, this is the school I want to be at, and I feel like this is the perfect way to get my foot in the door and be right there in case a teaching job opens up.
