Family Academic Night

Last week Addie's school held family academic night.  Here each grade level (PreK-2) perform a song and then each family goes to their child's classroom and plays two academic games that they are learning at that time.  Since it was around Halloween we played Candy Corn Bingo with sight words and did Math on the Smartboard.  They had an awesome turnout this fall!  Addie's grade level has green shirts with the Indian logo on it that they were to wear.

Chloe and Addie at Family Academic Night

Busy Bees

Well since my last post three weeks ago, I have made it through another year of Homecoming festivities at the high school.  Everything went off without too much of a hitch.  Had our spirit days which required me to dress like a man, flashback to "Clarissa Explains it All" days, become Mary Poppins, share my geeky side, and scream Green n Gold!  With the week ending with a pep rally, parade, crowning, and dance I was happy to close that door again until next year!  Not to mention we had to have 90 degree days right around this time.  It couldn't stay a nice 70 degree day- but on the positive side- at least it was the past two weeks of moldy, wet, mildewy weather!

The week after Homecoming, I did get a slight break in the routine of things.  Another teacher, two students, and myself traveled out to Lexington, VA for the STEM conference at VMI.  It was a great conference!  Good workshops and an awesome speaker- Steve Spangler!  He brought out all of his great science tricks and kept the entire audience laughing and entertained from start to finish.  The campus was very nice and it was interesting to talk to and see the VMI cadets in action.  They were preparing for parents weekend that was at the end of the week.  

Steve Spangler

Me and Carol

VMI lawn with barracks behind

VMI cadets practicing

And a little bit of sweetness...

Gracie came to visit for a bit last Saturday while her parents were out of town! 

Gracie turns 2

Today was my niece's 2nd birthday!  Hard to believe she's been with us for two years, but she was cute as ever today.  She loves Dora, Bubble Guppies, and Sophia the First.  She hit the jackpot with much needed clothes, since she's growing like a weed, books, puzzles, new Sophia the First bedding, car seat, and a Radio Flyer Wagon.  Happy Birthday Gracie Pants!

Disney on Ice- Let's Celebrate

Addie, Adam, my Mom, and I went out Thursday night to the Richmond Coliseum to see Disney on Ice.  I had been trying to win tickets all week long on a local radio station, but was never successful.  Adam heard a friend of his win them on the radio Tuesday morning, so he called her and she ended up not being able to use them...so SCORE!  She gave them to us and we enjoyed ourselves.  Adam and I had taken Addie three years ago to see Disney Princesses on Ice and she still talks about that show, so we knew she would be ready to go to this one.  The seats were on the second level but at an angle that was great to see the whole ice rink.  We were hesitant being a school night and all but she was a champ.  Got up Friday morning without a problem and was good at school.  Here are some pictures from the show.  They did celebrations that happen throughout the year.

Patriot's Day

Last week Addie's school celebrated Patriot's Day. She is asked to wear red, white, and blue to school to show support.  Addie gets to wear her 4th of July dress again for this dress-up day.  Take a look at my little firework!

Teacher by Week, Hairstylist by Weekend

Well folks, if teaching fails...there's always beauty school!  Adam's mom had asked me over the summer if she bought a box of hair color would I color her hair.  My reply was that I have never ever colored someone's hair but I can read and I would give it a go.  Well today, she took me up on that offer.  She went and bought her Golden Blonde LOREAL Paris color and I took it from there.  She wasn't nervous, so she said, but I was a bit.  I didn't want to dye my mother-in-law's hair a crazy shade of purple, orange, or green! What if it didn't come out like the box looked!  What would we do?  I took the bottle and mixed as directed..easy enough.  I saturated her hair and watched the clock.  After 25 minutes she was ready to rinse.  When we went back to rinse the dye out, I felt like her hair was looking mighty orange.  I said, "Pat, I don't know about this..looks a little orangy."  She said oh no it's fine.  I was praying it was fine.  Thankfully, God was on my side today and ladies and gentlemen...she looks good!!  We dried it and the honey blonde appeared.  YAY for my first rodeo with hair coloring....who's next!!??  Gordon's Hair Salon- here I come!

Gordon's Hair Salon

This is one brave lady!

First Day of School

Addie's first day of 1st grade was a success!  After much worry over how she wasn't going to know how to do the "hard" first grade material and no one will help her...she ended up coming home with a smile on her face!  She was so nervous Monday night that when I put her to bed she said, "Momma, when I get home tomorrow after I have a bad day, can we please talk about it?"  I told her to stop worrying and everything would be fine.  She woke up Tuesday morning on her own and came running down to our bedroom (already dressed too!) telling Adam and I... " FIRST GRADE, HERE I COME!"  Well that was a blessing to me after all those tears and frets the night before.  She said she had had a dream that first grade was fun and easy so she was ready.  Too cute!  Here are a couple pics we got on her first day of 1st grade!  May the rest of the year go as smoothly and happily as her first week of school has been!

Up bright and early with Mom! 

Addie in her 1st grade classroom
Adam is given the task of taking Addie to school on her first days since I have to be at work.  He is told, " DO not come home tonight unless you have taken a picture of Addie in her classroom."  Well folks, he's two for two...lucky for him! haha

Adult Night Out

Saturday night we had an "adult night" out and left Addie at her Mimi's.  She was not happy when she found out that she wasn't going to dinner or a movie.  We went out to dinner at a Japanese Steakhouse that was super yummy and laughed our fannies off at the movie, "We're the Millers."  Grant took a moment to enjoy some surfing before the movie!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend means cookouts and my final days before the school year begins.  My parents had a cookout down at the dock where we used to keep our boat when I was young.  Addie and Grace were able to do what my sister and I did growing up....crabbing on the dock pilings.  Addie preferred to call it "crab fishing" but they had a ball.  When the crabs all swam away to safety, Addie and Grace decided to move onto the periwinkles that surround the dock.  They had a ball and neither of them made the dive into the water which makes it a good day! :0)  Most of the guys played cornhole and the ladies chatted it up.  It was a humid afternoon but a good time!

Grace caught a crab!!

Chris holding up a little one!

The Girls

Addie caught a crab too!

The girls found periwinkles

Happy Labor Day!

I'm back!

I think enough time has gone by since my last post that maybe I should get back on the wagon and share my exciting life with you again.  Haha!  I have been keeping up with the blogs that I followed when I was blogging but I stopped sharing on my own.  I have loved seeing the pictures of your families and thought I should share mine with you! So updates on The Simple Life:

• Addie is now 6!  She will be entering the 1st grade this year.  She is quite a mix of Adam and myself in all aspects!  She is sassy and likes things her way like her mother.  She is has a slight temper when frustrated and can be very funny like her father.  The people I work with call her a mini-Michelle but Adam makes his way out in her too!  Overall we can take her anywhere and she's a good kid!

4th of July 2013

• Adam is still with the State police but he serves as a special agent in narcotics.  He is super busy as you would expect in his assigned area of the Northern Neck.  He has been helping his uncle and cousin on the weekends cutting grass to make some extra cash flow for his lovely ladies! ;)  

Adam and Addie at Longhorn's Steakhouse...YUM!

• As for me, I'm still teaching at Northumberland High School.  I teach 4 periods of Earth Science and 1 period of Teachers for Tomorrow (parts I and II).  I am still sponsoring the Student Council Association going on five years, while at the same time serving on many other committees and mentoring teachers on Powerschool.  When will I ever learn to just say NO!  Besides school which consumes me August-May, I am addicted to Pinterest and I still love to read in the summer.
  

  

  Being a Mom, you know we are not in many pictures because we are always the ones taking them.right?  So this is from last Christmas.
  Heather (my sister), Me holding Gracie (my niece), my Mom is holding Addie
  Addie and since have had our summer cuts..its like a ritual!

  With this, I will vow to take a more active role in my blogging.  I love seeing my friends from KG and their beautiful families.  I still talk about you frequently and love you all!