Mom goes back to school, too!

In the spring semester last school year, I kept having these thoughts about finding something different than substitute teaching.  I'd been doing it for almost 6 years, at Richmond Elementary.  I enjoyed it, I liked being with the students, but after Wade moved on to middle school and both he and Rhiannon's school schedule finished up before 3 pm, I'd taken on some new schools that year that ended by 2:15.  It was okay, but I felt stressed out and anxious after a particularly bad day at one of the new schools.  The thought coming to me often was this:  "Wouldn't it be nice to find something more consistent and predictable, that was during the morning and allowed me to be home when our kids were home?"

A few months rolled by, and then a friend posted the need for a new part-time projects teacher at a school I'd never subbed at.  The person in that position had been doing it for a long time and was retiring.  My friend said the principal wasn't sure anyone would want it, because it was just during the morning and had been cut to a 45%-of-the-time position with no benefits, to give the school the funds to hire two additional paraprofessionals.  I felt really good about that--it was what I was looking for and an opportunity that doesn't come open often!

So, I was hired as the Pierce projects teacher, with the stipulation that I had 5 years to complete the requirements needed to be a fully certified teacher in California (another step that I'd been avoiding ever since we moved from Texas!)

The best way I can describe this "projects" position is a jack-of-all-trades kind of job.  I'm new and clueless, so many of the things the former projects teacher did have been taken on by the resource teacher (a wonderful, helpful person named Judy), the librarian, and the art teacher.  These first few weeks of school I've just been trying to look busy, helping with crosswalk duty before school, attending some training, preparing to lead the student council group, and slowly trying to wrap my head around working with small groups of students--their GATE (gifted and talented) class, English-language learners, and kids struggling with math.  None of those groups have started yet, but they will soon.  A couple days ago the principal Pam Barnes also said I'd be the acting "principal" in her absence if she's ever gone during the morning hours that I'm there, called the "Teacher in Charge."  Which is why I gladly signed up to join her and other employees for a 12-hour Crisis Prevention and Intervention class on Labor Day weekend!  I may need it!

Did I make the right decision?  I wondered when I had to attend 4 different meetings/training and juggle family schedules around the LAST WEEK of SUMMER VACATION, haha!  But if my first 11 official days on the job are any indication, I wake up happy and excited to go every morning.  I don't have near the anxiety I had when I was subbing, which is interesting.  Maybe not surprising since substitute teaching is often unpredictable and like that Forrest Gump quote, "like a box of chocolates, you never know WHAT you're gonna get!"  The Pierce staff is welcoming, patient, and kind.

The kids are fun, too, the little I've been around them so far.  I posted this "first day" experience on Facebook and thought I'd share it here, too:

"I think I'm gonna like this new part-time job. This morning I got to the school early and then went outside to do crosswalk duty. There was this cute little girl walking up, young, maybe 1st or 2nd grade. I said, 'Good morning! I'm going to walk out into the street--please don't come across until I tell you to, okay? I want to keep you safe.' She gave me this HUGE smile, giggled and said, 'You must be new here!' I smiled and told her that yes, it was my first day there. She crossed over and then turned to me, laughing again. She waved and yelled, 'Don't work too hard!'

Oh my gosh. It was all I could do not to run after her and ask her to be my buddy the rest of the morning. What a sweetheart, and what a great sense of humor!"

2 big milestones

Two VERY big milestones happened in our family this summer.

Wade grew taller than his sister.

And Rhiannon got her learner's permit!  She needs 56 hours of driving before she can take her driver's test and get her official license, but she's doing it!  She's got about 3 hours of local driving done and looks forward to it every time.  Exciting times for this girl, even if her brother is taller than her, haha!

Back to school (already!)

This was taken very early on August 9th, the first day of 11th grade for Rhiannon and 7th for Wade!  We were all out the door by 6:15!

Jason takes Wade most days to zero period PE (which starts at 6:25), and Rhiannon has symphonic band early, too, which starts at 6:30.  She started a 5:25 am seminary class last week. 

Both kids are doing well and we are very proud of them!

Rhiannon's class schedule:

(early morning seminary, followed by:)

Symphonic Band

AP Biology

Honors English 11th grade

Spanish II

Anatomy/Zoology

Pre-Calculus

US History

Wade's class schedule:

zero period PE

World History

Honors Math

Life Science

Concert Band

Gateway to Technology class (ask him about this one!  challenging, but he loves it!)

English

A magical Cushing/Cropper family reunion!

A month ago our family was in San Diego, in the middle of a magical 10-day vacation with the Cushings and Croppers.  It feels like a lifetime ago already because we jumped right back into all-day camps and school and work when we got back.  Boo!  But over the past couple weeks, when I was feeling a little stressed out, I just closed my eyes and pretended I was back on that beach building trenches in the sand with nieces and nephews, playing card games in the condo, sleeping in, eating well, making memories with family.  It was a wonderful trip and we are so grateful and appreciative to Grandpa Rod and Grandma Deb for making it happen!!!!!  THANK YOU!!!!!

I took this picture one night from Grandpa and Grandma's condo terrace as the sun was going down.  I love the funny random kid running into the ocean.  The joy and glee captured there pretty much sums up our feelings about being on the beach, too.  It was so relaxing and fun!!

One thing I really loved was that we did SO many cool things over that week and a half, but also had plenty of time to relax.  The reunion began at Disneyland:

One of my favorites!  The whole family on a ride together!

This was Colton and Grandpa Rod about 10:30 pm after a very long, hot day.  We put in a full 14 hours at Disneyland on Friday, from 8 am to 10:30 pm.  Apparently the extreme heat turned out to be a hidden blessing--there were fewer people there and so we rode all the rides we wanted to, sometimes twice. But, boy, it was HOT!!!

We all drove down to San Diego on Saturday morning.  Traffic was brutal, but we made it!  MANY THANKS to the Croppers and Grandpa and Grandma for making the Costco stop for groceries!  We emptied vans and then went back out for local grocery shopping.  The pizza that night HIT the SPOT after a long day of travelling!

I managed to send a few emails to my parents about details from that Sunday:

"Yesterday we went to church with Heather's family at the Imperial Beach ward. I imagine there were several visitors like us because we filled the gym halfway.  I got up to go to the bathroom and saw an old friend from Ridgecrest, Sister Ambon, in the restroom, haha!  It was hilarious because we couldn't remember each other's names but we KNEW we knew each other. She was Wade's Primary teacher when he was 8 or so. Her family had been in our ward for a fairly short time and then moved to Hawaii.  Anyways, it was really fun and happy to see them. Brother Ambon invited us for a ride on his boat at Mission Bay later this week, and their family invited us to dinner.  We aren't sure yet if we will take them up on that since we are on a family reunion!

After that we drove to the San Diego temple and walked the grounds a bit. It was peaceful there. We got back to the condos and then I headed to the beach to jump some waves with my kids and nephew Colton. Down the beach a little ways was a BIG group from some church, and they were taking folks out to the ocean to get baptized!

That night we had a family dinner and then walked to the pier and back. On the pier there were a lot of people fishing. This young man pulled a ray out of the ocean and about broke his pole, but we all crowded around while he showed it to us. It had CRAZY sharp spikes on its back for protection. I think we embarrassed Grandma a little because we were so enthralled with it, but it was amazing and something I'd never realized, that I was catching waves earlier in the day with stuff like that swimming close by. Wow!!!"

Monday morning Jason and Wade went to a Porsche dealership and had a lot of fun doing that.  I stressed and fretted over our family's turn for dinner that night (nacho buffet), but it turned out well!  

One night a few of us girls walked down the street and got cupcakes at a little shop.  MMM. MMM. Good!  

Tuesday some of the "boys"--Grandpa, Brett, Matt, Jason, and Wade--went golfing, and Rhiannon and I went outlet shopping with Jaymie, McKaleigh, and Heather.  (THANK YOU, Grandma and Colton, for hanging with the younger kids!)  It was a really, really fun day.  We loved it!

Wade got his first official birdie that day, too!

Wednesday many of us went separate ways for the day.  Brett and Jaymie's family checked out Balboa Park, Heather and Matt's family CONQUERED Legoland, and our family went to the San Diego Zoo.

We loved riding the Skyfari Aeriel Tram first thing, and then meandered through most of the zoo.  Jason was not feeling well at all (he ended up finding a chiropractor in Imperial Beach when we got back from the zoo because he was in so much pain), but he pushed through.  I think, hands down, our favorite area was the gorilla family.  Seeing them up close and personal, with the little baby riding his mom's back, made up for missing the pandas and sleepy koalas!

Thursday our family went to the USS Midway Museum.  We loved it!  Rhiannon and I had been once before on a school field trip when she was in 5th grade, and let me tell you, it was a LOT more fun for me this time without having to shepherd hyper students, haha!  The audio tours via headphones were easy and fun, too.

On Friday night everyone worked together to clean up the condos and pack as much as we could so that we could get on the road EARLY for Universal Studios the next day.  It was definitely bittersweet to say goodbye to Imperial Beach!

Universal Studios was PACKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that Saturday.  We were happy to get there when it opened, though, and see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter before the rest of humanity showed up.  It was cooler than the day we'd been at Disneyland, so that was nice, and we had a great time watching Tyler, Alex, and Charlie do Jedi training, and watching Heather, Matt, Lilly, and Tyler participate in the Special Effects show.  (That was really cool because our entire group got special seating, too!)

One thing I F-A-I-L-E-D at this trip was picture taking.  I was staying off Facebook that vacation, too, trying to be in the moment instead of plugged in all the time, and one sad consequence of that was taking few pictures.  Thankfully, family members were taking lots, and I hope to get theirs on CDs or something, hint-hint!  Here were some of the wonderful things I didn't take a picture of:

--family meal times.  The food was fantastic!!!

--Grandma teaching Wade how to play Solitaire

--cousin sleepovers and roommates

--sharing a condo with Brett and Jaymie's family (fun!)

--BEACH and pool and hot tub awesomeness, including boogie boards, wave jumping, visiting, sand digging, snoozing, catching rays, and an epic "baseball" game with everyone (a favorite).

--poker nights with Grandpa (he had us round up all the pennies and nickels we could find, haha!)

--movie nights

--epic family game of Pictionary.  We used dry erase markers on the floor-length "mirror" walls and played as teams.  That was a big highlight of the trip!

--walking the pier together as a family

--more pictures at Universal Studios  (Harry Potter World was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Here are some fantastic ones borrowed from Jaymie and Heather--seeing these pics puts a huge, happy smile on my face.  Thank you, Utah family, for an amazing, memorable, and happy vacation together!!!  We love you!!!!!