I'm back to work. Students come for their classroom visit Tuesday. You would think I would be plenty ready by this point. This is my 6th year teaching 1st grade, which I must say, seems crazy. Since I contracted the rearranging bug from my mom, I can't help myself but change the design of my classroom every year. Often it is given further small face lifts through out the year.

Anyway, I spent the first part of the week trying to make sense of the disaster I created in my journey to create the optimal first grade learning space. Then, I decided it would be a good idea to repaint the cabinets around my sink area. The trouble with this is that there are 4 layers of paint. One is an oil-based graffiti paint that won't allow anything you put over it to stick. This is actually the whole reason I took on the project. The coat of paint that was applied over the glossy peach graffiti paint is chipping badly and looks like a wreck in my opinion. To make any improvements I have to sand the surface down to the bare wood. I honestly thought this would be a 2 day project; sanding one day and painting the next. Oh no, no, no. I've had some parent help but I've definitely been involved with the "hard labor". I'm ready for this project to come to an end. I think I'll be happy in the end that I went through all the trouble. I think.

Happy Birthday Zoe!

Together at last....

I love these kids!

So excited to be the birthday girl

The girls with their camp leader Kelly.

We had a great day. Zoe and Hannah had their last day of camp at The Austin Science and Nature Center today. We baked cookies yesterday for Z to take and share with the other campers at snack time. I picked them up and we had lunch at Jason's Deli. The girls had mac-n-cheese of course. Soft serve ice cream followed. Swirl for Hannah and Henry, straight up chocolate for the birthday girl. We came home to relax for a bit. After a few cartoons, we put our suits on and hit the pool. The kids played for quite a while. Zoe thinks she is a mermaid and swims as if her legs are connected. When I got everyone rounded up to leave we were surprised to see Rhett driving into the parking lot as we were walking out.

We gave Zoe her bike before dinner. She wanted to start practicing right away. She did very well but was definitely wearing down. Her choice for her birthday dinner was pizza and orange soda. Sleep came not long after. She has her bike parked beside her bed.

A Vampire Strikes

Henry...Henry...Henry. Will you be a mischievous boy yet?

Henry has taken to biting and pulling people's hair. This is new territory to me. Although Zoe challenges all I know about children and how to care for them, she was never a biter. Henry took a nice bite of a cute little boy at the library today. I was embarrassed and sad for the little boy. Henry looked quite happy which wasn't gaining me any sympathy points from the other mother. I'm not joking Henry just bit Zoe as I was typing this! She's recovering with an ice pack and some Max and Ruby. Most of the time I can't tell if Henry is going to give me a sweet smooch or bite my ear off.

I'm doing a good job with my summer reading goal. My favorite thus far is a picture book about a cockroach named Martina the Beautiful Cockroach. All of 21 days old it is time for Martina to get married. Her Cuban grandmother insists that she pour coffee on all her suitors shoes as part of the interview process. Fun story and good pictures. Approved by boys as well as little lades. Owen requested it be read many times while he was visiting. I find it odd but I've read two books this summer with cockroaches as the main character.

BEACH

Another great family vacation at Rockport has come and gone. We left this year wishing we had another day to spend at the beach. We took Owen with us this year and the kids really enjoyed having their cousin come along.
Zoe and Owen had their own room. They spent most of their time at the beach house with the door closed pretending one thing or another. We didn't take many toys but that didn't seem to matter. Owen's little imagination led the way. Several times I would go take a peek and they were crouched behind one of the twin beds, piled high with their gear, Owen behind the wheel taking them on a journey. The said wheel was an extend-an-arm type gadget that is designed to help pick items up off the floor. In addition to being a steering wheel the "picker" had many functions during our stay. Rhett got in on the action chasing the kids around pretending to gobble them up with his mechanical hand. Henry was especially skilled at getting the clamps caught in his sister's hair and just issuing a general amount of grief to his cousin via the "picker".

This vacation was just as it should be, relaxing and enjoyable for everyone. I won't be needing a vacation from my vacation.

Reading

One of my professional summer goals is to read as many books as possible from the Texas Librarians Bluebonnet list and the Texas Lone Star book list. I picked up Diamond Willow from the library today. Flipping through the book I was first drawn to the arrangement of the words. Most of the story is told through diamond-shaped poems. Once I got the book home I read that each poem has a hidden message inside. I think it should be pretty interesting.

Daddy's Day

Franklin Barbecue

Krauss Springs

Two cutie girls headed to their camp's splash day.

Man, doesn't Benny look old!