Back to School!

The day has finally arrived...time to head back to school.  It seems that the summer is WAY too short every year, and this year was no exception.  I'm happy to report that everyone had a good first day back and had lots to share about what we did today at school.  Luke had a good day of 1st grade, but he reported that it was not nearly as fun as kindergarten.  However, he says that he already loves his teacher, which makes my own teacher heart feel warm & fuzzy.  I also had a great first day in my new job.  It was so much fun getting to meet my new students and get to put some faces with the names.  I feel like I will remember a lot of names, but I know it won't be all of them, so I'm going to have to work on that.  Normally, I've been able to get away with it...not so much this year! 

 My big 1st grader!

Ginger's got to join in too!

My handsome guys (and Ginger)

First day of 1st grade & first day of 8th grade...and Ginger was so sad that we were leaving her today.

My new team. :)

Keeping Count

So, I haven't blogged for nearly 4 weeks.  Mainly, because I haven't had much to blog about.  We decided last Sunday to take a quick trip to Colorado, and 2 days later we were on the road.  It was Luke's 1st real trip, and was he ever excited!  On Tuesday morning at 6 am, we loaded up the kids (Ginger makes 2) and headed out for Colorado Springs.  Brandon and I being the road trip warriors that we are (Phoenix to KC in 17 & 1/2 hours & 3 stops - personal record), we weren't sure how Luke would do in the car for so long.  With both of our families living fairly close, he's never really had to make a really long trip in the car.  But, 8 & 1/2 hours and only 2 stops later, we made it to Colorado Springs.  He may just be a road warrior too!  Since it was too early to check into our hotel (Google directions said it would take us 10 hours - ha!), we decided to go check out a nearby attraction, 7 Falls.  Luke was in heaven!  He was fascinated with the mountains and loved looking at the waterfalls.  In order to really see the falls, though, you had to walk up a LOT of steps...like 224 really steep steps.

We weren't afraid to take them on, though.  Ginger made it up the first set on her own.  Brandon helped her out and carried her up the second set - that's a lot of steps for a nearly 10 year old doggie.  Luke didn't even bat an eye...

We hiked up through the canyon to check out more of the falls.  My favorite part was when we saw a sign along the trail that said, "Caution - Bears in this Area"  (which honestly kind of freaked me out too) and Luke says, "Is that really true?"  He questions everything...we assured him that we probably wouldn't see any bears, but yes, the sign was true. :)

 We absolutely LOVED Seven Falls.

On Day 2 of our quick trip, we decided to take Luke up Pike's Peak.  Along the way, we stopped to enjoy the beautiful Crystal Reservoir.  Luke thought it was amazing.

Eventually, we conquered the 14,110 foot mountain and here's the proof.  Just a note - this is Ginger's 2nd time achieving this feat.  The first time, though, she was only about 10 months old, so I'm not sure she really remembers much about it.

 This is Luke's "I'm really cold" face.  It was a cool 45 degrees at the summit of Pike's Peak.  Talk about a change from the heatwave we've been experiencing here at home!

Here we all are at the top.  After this picture, we were like, "Let's get out of here!" because we were so cold.

Our last sight-seeing stop was the Garden of the Gods.  I'm not sure if there is a more beautiful place on Earth.  Just. Absolutely. Gorgeous.

 My 3 favorite people (yes, I consider Ginger a person).

On Thursday morning, we packed up and headed back to KC.  The theme of our car trip seemed to be counting, which is why I decided to honor that theme in my blog.  What did we count? 

• 45 bull haulers (you know - cattle trucks - it's a Spaeth family tradition)
• 99 oil pumps
• We wanted to try to count the big windmills, but they're just staggered too weird and you get confused, so we'll just say a whole heck of a lot.
• And we saw 35 out of 50 state license plates (as well as 2 from other countries) - including around 8 from Hawaii.  Yep - Hawaii (they were on a car hauler, but it counts because you NEVER get Hawaii when you play the license plate game).

A little less than 8 & 1/2 hours and again only 2 stops later, we were back home to the 100+ degree heat.  We had a great time & I'm looking forward to what our next family adventure will be. 

What else have I been up to?  Working, working, working...trying to get myself ready for 8th grade reading.  I'm making progress, but have so much to do still.  I've still been reading, reading, reading...some for myself, but more recently, trying to catch up on my young adult literature.  I'm just finishing the 3rd book in the Hunger Games trilogy.  Wow...super good reads, even for adults.  I didn't know if I could get into the kind of fantasy-type story, but it is realistic enough that it totally grabbed my interest and sucked me in.  Other than that...nada...you can see why I haven't wasted your blog-reading time!  I'll post more pictures from our trip on my Facebook page if you want to see them. :)

Need a Good Summer Read?

I've had a few friends ask me to list some good books I've read recently and several come to mind.  I've been plowing through a new book about every 2 or 3 days this summer, which has been amazing!  There is just not enough time in the day to do all the reading I want to do during the school year.  Here are some of my favorites.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith - this novel was actually published in 1943 and is told from the perspective of a 9 year old girl growing up in Brooklyn in 1910.  I was skeptical before reading - I mean it was published in the 40's, right?  It was fabulous - I thought about the characters and the story for days after I read it.  Loved it!

The Thirtheenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield.  A suspenseful story about an obscure biographer who is asked by a reclusive writer to write her story.  The story that unfolds keeps you guessing the whole time you read.  It started a little slow, but once I got into it...wow.  Great read!

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows.  Again - I was skeptical...this story is told completely through letters from one character to another and I thought, what?  How can you really tell a story that way?  It turns out you can!  It's about the German occupation during WWII of an English Channel island.  It's a quick & easy read and at the end, you'll love the characters you meet through their letters.

Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden.  I'd heard of the movie - thought it looked weird (I am clearly SO judgmental!), but as I was looking for audiobooks for Brandon & I to listen to on vacation, this book kept popping up with extremely good ratings from readers, so I thought, what the hey...I'll give it a shot.  Again - wow - totally fascinating (fictional) story of a young Japanese girl who is sold into slavery to be trained as a Geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto.  It takes place during the depression and WWII and totally had me riveted.  I could hardly put it down.  I now have the movie on my shelf to watch, but I can't imagine that it could be anywhere near as good as the book.  This is a must read!

In the Woods,  by Tana French.  In this story a murder detective in Ireland must face the tragedy and crime he experienced in childhood, but does not remember clearly when he gets a similar case that comes out of his old neighborhood.  Very mysterious & suspenseful.  I also really enjoyed this author's next 2 books - The Likeness  & Faithful Place.   I recommend them all!

Lottery, by Patricia Wood.  This last one I did not read - I listened to.  I chose this for one of our audiobooks we listened to on our vacation drive this year.  We LOVED it.  It's the story of an almost mentally retarded man (as he says, the cut-off to be mentally retarded is an IQ of 75 - his is 76) who wins the lottery.  I'm not sure if it would be as good to just read, because listening to the voices of the different characters had Brandon and me rolling in laughter as we traveled across the states toward home.  Brandon was sorely disappointed when he looked to see if this author has written any other novels...unfortunately, she has not. 

So - there are a few favorites.  Hope you can find some good reading time in the near future!

Memo

To:  The People Who Live on the Street Behind Me
Re: Various Items I'd Like to Clear Up

It has come to my attention that you may need a few things cleared up after last night's festivities.  Setting off M-80's at 20 minute intervals from 9:00-10:30 is not super neighborly to those with dogs who become terrified at loud noises and a child who is trying to go to sleep.  Especially when the last aforementioned M-80 was so loud, it knocked a picture of the wall of my child's room onto his bed and scared the living daylights out of him.  I do thank you for knocking off the M-80 routine a little before 10:30...that was much appreciated.  However, at 12:00-something when awakened from a dead sleep by my dog barking due to your Saturn Missiles and various other fireworks, I realized that you needed someone to clear up a few things for you.  So, I am here to help.

a) The 4th of July is over a week away.  Last I checked, it was still June.  Please be advised to get a calendar.

b) Technically, fireworks aren't exactly legal in our city.  You know, if you want to bend that on the 4th, I don't have a problem with it (refer to point a).

c) It is not exactly considerate "neighborly" behavior for people to set off M-80's every 20 minutes until long past children's bedtimes.  In addition, it is also not considerate "neighborly" behavior to set off other types of fireworks until nearly 1:00 in the morning, even on the 4th (again - refer to point a).  I'm sure those who lived closer to you than I extra-appreciated your consideration.

I do thank you that when my husband left our bed & home at 1:00 am and drove by your house slowly and then parked nearby and pretended to be calling the authorities that you did stop at that time.  Apparently, you may have recognized some of my points from above already and decided to go ahead and give your poor behavior a rest for the night.  I look forward to the next 2 weeks, because I'm sure you will regard my memo with about as much consideration as you gave me and the rest of our neighborhood last night.

Sincerely,
Someone who got a lousy night's sleep

Yes!

I am doing a happy dance today.  I was approved to teach reading next year in my building, and I am so excited for a fresh start at something new.  I have enjoyed teaching special education for the past 12 years, but for the last couple of years I've been needing a change of scenery.  Not only will it be a change in subject, it will also be a change in grade level...I'm moving up to 8th grade!  There were several times throughout this year when I thought it was going to happen, only to be disappointed due for various reasons.  Today, though, it all came together and worked out, maybe even better than I could have hoped before.  I am so grateful and may continue my happy dance for quite some time!

Summer is Here!

It is official for me...summer is here!  It's been here for about 10 days, but I've been out of town and haven't had the time (or honestly, even the desire) to post.  Brandon and I left for Arizona straight from the dismissal of my students at around 10:40 on the 2nd.  We drove about 12 hours to Rifle, Colorado, spent the night, and drove the rest of the way to Phoenix the next day.  And it was Amazing.  For one week, I completely turned it (it being my obsessive-anal nature) off and relaxed like nobody's business.  At one point, Brandon was like, "What's the deal...I keep having to pick up after YOU?"  Suffice it to say, it doesn't usually work like that.  Thankfully, he's a great sport and didn't mind for a few days.  This is the 6th year we've been to Phoenix....the 3rd we've stayed at the Marriott Canyon Villas and it is just so relaxing, because here is our daily schedule...get up - early usually since they're 2 hours off our normal time, but I convince myself that 6:00 there is 8:00 at home and that IS sleeping in for me, take a walk, eat breakfast and read, take a nap, get up and eat lunch, go to the pool for 4-5 hours, clean up, go out to dinner and shop, come back and go to bed.  It was AWESOME.  I'm not a do-er on vacation...thank goodness as the years have gone by, Brandon has become less of a do-er.  I mean, there are things I like to see and do, but quite honestly, for the most part, I'd just rather hang out and do nothing except read a good book.  We made some fun pool friends...a retired couple from Texas, originally from Germany, and a retired couple from the Phoenix area (yes, they were only 30 minutes from their house, but hey) originally from Romania.  Talk about some fun conversations!  The funny thing is that a few years ago, we made friends with a retired couple from California, originally from China.  We're good at making friends with first generation retired immigrants, I guess.  Thank you to my friend Toni, who allows us to get a great deal through her time share with these "Getaways" to Phoenix...a little over $300 for a week at an amazing place.  Fabulous all around!

Here are a few shots of our room and more...

Brandon at Pinnacle Peak, which we hiked.

Me about halfway through our Pinnacle Peak hike - it was a little hard to smile, because I stupidly did not eat breakfast before we left since we were in a hurry.  I was out of gas at this point.

This one is just for fun - I was so completely turned off from my normal self that about halfway through an evening of dinner and shopping, I realized that I was wearing 2 different shoes.  Umm...slightly embarrassing.  Hopefully, no one noticed...

Have I said it yet?  We had an amazing time.  So amazing, that the above are pretty much the only pictures I took the whole time.  Friday, we left Phoenix at 3:20 a.m. local time and drove 17 & 1/2 hours straight home, arriving back in KC at 10:50 pm.  My hubby was a workhorse and drove the whole way.  I had mentioned the day before we left that I wished we had a driver...I guess I do.  I'm finally starting to catch up from that and catch up on time with Luke and Ginger.  A special thanks to both Brandon's and my parents for keeping Luke and Ginger.  Luke did not even want to come home with us on Saturday.  He told me all day that he wanted to go back to Grandma's...and with a sigh that it would be another 365 days before he got to go back for that long again.  :)  We were obviously very missed.

Goodbye Kindergarten!

Friday, we celebrated Luke's kindergarten year with an awards picnic.  Parents were invited to come to school to look through Memory Books the kids made about their year, watch a video, and enjoy a picnic lunch with them.  I'm so thankful to my administrators for letting me take off in the middle of the day for awhile so I didn't have to miss it!  It was amazing to see the progress Luke has made in his learning over the past year.  Brandon and I look at each other in startled surprise everytime he reads things to us off billboards and signs, etc. and go, "Oh yeah, he's a reader now!"  It was fun to read the letters his friends in his class wrote him.  Watching the video of pictures from the year was really emotional - of course, all the songs were about kids being kids and starting school, growing, and all that sappy stuff that I usually roll my eyes at, but it hit home as I sat there in realization that not only has Luke started school, he's already got a year under his belt.  When his teacher got up to say a few words after the video, I was crying, Luke was crying, and Brandon even teared up a little.  She talked about how much she loved each one of her students and you knew she meant it.  Mrs. Borsella has been such an amazing teacher and I am beyond grateful for her guidance and patience for all the children in her class, including Luke.  As a teacher myself, it is always my goal to love every student - especially the unloveable ones, because I don't always know if there is anyone else to do it.  I admit, though, that there are days I fall short and struggle to treat those really difficult kids with the love and respect that they deserve, but don't always know how to receive.  I am so thankful that Luke had a teacher who is able to do that with her students.

Luke and Mrs. Borsella

Luke & his classmates performed a little song for us.

Brandon & Luke enjoying our indoor "picnic".  Darned rainy weather!

He's getting big, but he's still my little buddy.

And I do have to throw in a couple of better pictures from Luke's 2nd baseball game.  We did manage to show up on time and discovered that all we really missed last week was the practice portion of the game.  Maybe that wasn't so bad after all...

Up to bat - he was able to hit both in practice & the game.  We're so proud!

He made it home!

{not that there was any chance he wouldn't, because there are no strikes, no outs, no score. (: }

Go team

There was no doubt what this Royals fan was going to wear on Sports Day.  Thanks to Aunt Krissy & Uncle Dusty for the awesome jersey!

And there was no doubt this girl was going as a "West-side Soc" for Outsiders Day.  I was rocking the 60's hair today.

My whole team looked awesome!

Tomorrow, we celebrate (nearly) completing kindergarten with an awards picnic.  What a bonus - I get to leave work for awhile to attend.  I can't wait to enjoy a little part of my day with Luke and Brandon celebrating a great year!

More than Meets the Eye

If you grew up in the 80's like me, you might remember that theme song for a popular kids' toy.  Today was character day and Luke wanted to be Optimus Prime, the ultimate good Transformer leader of the Autobots.  Hey, he got use out of his Halloween costume (without the mask, of course, there is some learning taking place still) so it's all good.  He decided to go for a serious and tough look today since he's a machine super-hero setting out to save the world.

What he couldn't save anyone from today was the hour-long "tornado drill" (his words).  It sounds like they had fun in his class - reading stories & playing games.  In my class, not so much.  Sixty seventh graders who are forced to sit on the floor for an hour get bored with tornado warnings a lot faster than one might think.  It was exhausting...I actually came home and took a semi-nap after school and I never do that!

Tomorrow - Sports Day for Luke & Outsiders Day for me!  Will I be a Greaser or a Soc?  Will I have a picture of me?  We'll see tomorrow!

Dude, just relax. You're going to blow out your squeaker!

Truly, I have no idea what that means, but I decided to look up surfer lingo and that one made me laugh.  Hopefully, it doesn't mean something bad! 

Who wants to go catch a wave with this guy?  He's all geared up and ready for the beach (or most likely, pool, in his case).  Summer vacation is only 5 & 1/2 days away and he's ready!

Cowboy Up!

Well, by golly, it's Kindergarten Spirit Week!  Who's the cutest little rascal this side of the Mississippi on Western Day?

Luke is!  At least I think so.  I love spirit week!



Batter Up!

This spring Luke has been obsessed with baseball.  He wants to stay up late every night the Royals play so he can watch the outcome.  He gives us updates after nearly every pitch if we're not in the room watching with him.  One night, when the game wasn't on TV, he sat in Brandon's office and "watched" the game on the internet.  It just showed the ball count and who was on base, etc, but it was just as enthralling to Luke. 

So, you can imagine his excitement at playing on his own team for the first time.  His first game was last Thursday and the build up in excitement as the days passed was almost unbearable as he waited for the big night.  Rain was in the forecast for Thursday, so Luke worried all night Wednesday that it would rain too much and he'd be unable to play.  Little did we know that rain was the least of our worries.  On game night, Brandon and I experienced a huge parent-fail (we I seem to be having a lot of these lately between the Easter Bunny & the Tooth Fairy), but this one was the worst by far.  We headed over to the ball park around 5:45 for his 6:00 game, thinking that this would give us plenty of time to find his team in the big ballpark complex nearby.  We arrived there to see people all over the place - I couldn't believe all the people of all ages there to watch.  The only problem was, we didn't see any kids who looked like they were Luke's age anywhere.  So, we walk over to field 1 where Luke is supposed to be playing, and which also happens to be the farthest field away.  Hmmm...those kids are way too old to be on a 6 & under machine pitch team, we thought.  Well, maybe we got the field wrong and it's on field 5 (his games are all at either field 1 or 5 - we DO know that much).  Hmmm...no, those kids are definitely too old too.  By now, it is almost game time and we are starting to freak out.  Brandon decided that he should run home and check his e-mail and the messages that he'd received and make sure the game hadn't been canceled or something.  I thought about asking at the concession stand, but there were just kids in there, and I thought there was no way they'd know every schedule for every league.  So - in hopes that we'd run into someone from the team who could clue us in on what field we were supposed to be at, Brandon left us there.  About 2 minutes after he left, I run into a guy who is with his grandson; we start talking and sure enough, his grandson is on Luke's team!  He can't figure out what is going on either, and he decides he will ask at the concession stand.  Then he tells me the worst news I could possibly hear - we are at the WRONG baseball park!  We are at Tiffany Hills park - Luke's game is at Tiffany Springs Park.  Gosh, I guess we just assumed that they were the same place being as Tiffany Hills is right next to Tiffany Springs Road & The Springs Aquatic Center.  BIG. MONUMENTAL. FAIL.  You know what they say about when you assume, right?  Well, it's true.  So - it is after game time, Brandon has left us and I have no way to contact him and tell him to get back here right away as fast as he can.  Those of you who know me well, know I don't have a cell phone and I have never, ever been in a circumstance where I felt I needed one until that instant.  (I still don't really think I need one - this was an unusual circumstance).  So...we wait.  As we're waiting, I run into a guy I used to work with who apparently now works at the ball park. He asks what we're doing just standing in the parking lot, so I tell him the sad and sordid tale.  He shares that, "Oh yeah, we have people here every night who make the same mistake."  And I'm thinking, seriously, EVERY night?  If this is such a common mistake, then why, why, why, doesn't someone - either the coach or the ball association or SOMEONE - make it clear to people that there are TWO ballparks and who plays where?  Sooooooo frustrating...Luke is beyond devastated at this point - it's close to 6:15 and his dream of playing his first game is falling apart before his very eyes.  And I am SO mad I can hardly see straight.  Finally, a little after 6:20, Brandon comes rolling in, and we run to the car and explain what happened.  We fly to the other ballpark and get there a little after 6:30.  I had already prepared Luke that he might not get to play at all, but he could at least meet his coach and the other kids on his team.  However, once we got there, everyone was very nice (you can imagine my horrified embarrassment at being THOSE parents) and Luke did get to play.  It's funny - because in his mind, it was like he didn't even miss anything.  He got to go out on the field (where he jumped and hopped around  because he couldn't contain his excitement).  He even got a chance to bat - and he had an amazing (if I do say so myself - and not just because he's my kid) hit!  Brandon overheard him say to a kid on the bench, "This is the best baseball game ever!"  And there you go, what should have been a completely ruined night, turned out for good and I'm mostly over my anger now.  :)

On the field (in the dark gray pants & blue hat)

At 1st base after his big hit

What a night - I know I won't soon forget it.  If you hung in through that horrendously long story - thanks for reading!



Better Late

For whatever reason, I have been incredibly lackadaisical about blogging the last couple of weeks.  Mainly because there is nothing interesting going on in my world, I guess.  I don't want my posts to completely bore those who actually read them to tears.  I think the excitement may pick up around here soon, though...summer break is only 11 & 1/2 days away (but who's counting?), Luke is going to start playing baseball this week, and Brandon & I are getting ready to take our yearly adults-only vacation.  But in the meantime, the only semi-interesting thing I have to post is a couple pictures from my Mother's Day.  I woke to find multiple flowers at my spot on the table.

From Luke:

Every time I look at this, I think - when did his hands get that big?

 From Brandon & Ginger:

These iris are from our flower garden...from my mom's flower garden...and some that we have go back to my grandma's flower garden.  My grandma has been gone for nearly 11 years, but every time I see an iris, I see my grandma.  I see my grandma and my mom digging them up and splitting them.  They are one of my favorite flowers because of the memories they stir up and because they're gorgeous.  Thank goodness for Brandon's green thumb and love of gardening that continues the legacy of iris passed down from my mom & grandma.  I can't think of a more perfect flower to commemorate my Mother's Day than that!

Oh & the only other noteworthy thing - another mother fail...somehow Luke ended up on my blog & saw my face on the tooth fairy (my attempt at a little goofy humor) in the post below and wanted to know how come the tooth fairy has my face?  Hmmm...for the same reason the Easter Bunny delivered your basket to my closet, I guess.  I don't know, maybe he bought my story that I was just being silly...