Day at the beach

The kids and a friend and I had a beach day. Pictures!

I'm spoiled

Here are the reasons we were underwhelmed by the Bahamas. Don't get
me wrong...the water was beautiful; we just weren't shocked by it. The
top picture is the Bahamas. The bottom picture is our local beach.

Funny story

When we picked up T. Willy, my in-laws told me this story: T. was
asking questions. One was...who made God. Questions like that.

Another question was: did God make my shoes? Then he realized on his
own, "God didn't make my shoes, because on the bottom they say 'made
in China'."

So happy to be home

But we had a wonderful trip! I will try to piece some things together in the next few days. For tonight, though, I'm just going to post a few pictures.

Back in the USA

Wow! We had such a great time. Too much to tell from my seat on the
bus, but it's Spring Break, so I'll have some time to compose my
thoughts. We rested and ate (ATE) and did a little sightseeing. We
even saw a good bit of MK. I didn't turn on my phone once, and only
missed it a little. Since it was off, I will have to wait until I'm
home to post pictures. It would have been nice to be able to text on
the ship, because communication was hard. If you weren't with
someone, it was hard to find them. But we managed just fine.

When I finally turned on my phone this morning, I found several emails
from my mother in law with pictures and updates about T. Willy. It
looks like he did well and had a great time too, but it sure will be
good to see him again.

So now we are riding back home with a lunch stop along the way. We
should be back with T. Willy this afternoon. See you soon!

See you Monday!

I've just decided not to worry about the posting streak. I'm just
going to relax and enjoy the trip. No texting...no blogging...no
phone...apple free! So I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and
please be prepared for a lot of pictures when I return!

This is how we look at 5:46 a.m.

We are on a charter bus getting ready to go to Jacksonville. From
there we will board our cruise ship. We are chaperoning MK's band
trip. The kids are pretty excited right now, but I suspect (hope)
they're going to fall into a deep sleep which will last until we get
there. Too much to ask?

Kiss. Hug. Kiss.

We are leaving for our cruise in the morning. The Big Man, MK and I
are going, and T. Willy is going to stay with the Big Man's parents at
their house here in our neighborhood. We are looking forward to a
great trip, but I am slightly concerned about T. Willy simply because
we've never been away from him for this long.

So tonight as we said our goodbyes, I was hoping for a big hug.
Instead he gave me a kiss. I said, "I wanted a hug." Then he said, as
if I should have known the order instinctively, "It's kiss, hug,
kiss...so you got a kiss."

So, I will probably post once more from the bus as we ride to the port
in Jacksonville, then we're going "apple free" until we get back in
port Monday morning.

Counting down...

Only one more day of school!!! I have quizzes planned tomorrow, then
I need to complete grades, and then I'm finished with school for over
a week! We are getting too excited about the cruise! Here is another
picture that I found on the Internet.

Off we go...

Well, not until Thursday, but it's starting to feel real! We had a
meeting tonight to get our final details, and we meet at the school at
4 a.m. Thursday! The Big Man's parents are coming over to watch T.
Willy, and he's getting excited. I know he will get spoiled and well
cared for while we're on our cruise.

Jesus loves me even when I'm cranky.

There were some special speakers for the kids at church. They invited
the adults to see them, so MK and I went to watch. T. Willy was in
there, so MK sat with him for a bit. If you look closely, you will
see him in a black hoodie sitting on MK's (green hoodie) lap.

Carnival

There is a carnival in town. The kids and I went last night. I took
pictures, but they're all of T. Willy. MK was with her friends, and
I never thought to take her picture.

Go Mountaineers!

I'm wearing my WVU shirt today in support of their game today. It's
in a little while, and I'll be checking the score as I'm able to.

Friends

Here is a picture of MK and her good friend, TB, while they were
waiting for church on Wednesday.

And something has just occurred to me. Since I made my New Year's
resolution last year, I have posted on this blog every day (okay
okay...I missed once in December.) Anyway, i realized that I am going
to miss several days next week! However, it isn't worth missing the
cruise just to keep my streak intact, and I will post plenty when I
get back. The ship has an Internet cafe, but I think it costs money
and it wouldn't be convenient to post pictures. So, that's just how
it goes. Going without my phone for four days is a bit more
concerning, but I plan to be too busy to miss it!

Stolen photos

Borrowed, actually. They're from MK, and I just felt like posting
them tonight. It's cool again and dreary...T. Willy was sick again
today, and I needed something to brighten the day. These pictures do
it. T. Willy is feeling better and should be back to school tomorrow.

As if I have nothing better to do...

Here is a picture of me in my classroom. I don't just snap pictures
all day long; I had just gotten a haircut and wanted to get an idea of
how it looked. I'm not fishing for compliments...just documenting the
mundane as well as the extraordinary.

Welcome spring!

We are trying to enjoy the cool weather before the heat sets in. Today
we lowered our basketball hoop so T. Willy can enjoy it. He had a
blast outside with his friend, and I had fun catching up with his mom.
Here is a picture of T. Willy setting up a shot.

Cool T. Willy

Pretty in pink

We spent the day in Destin with MK and some really great friends of
hers. She was in need of a dress for the cruise we're taking in two
weeks. We were successful, and here it is.

Top Dawg

We are at the high school to watch "Top Dawg." It's a tongue in cheek
pageant for guys. Before the show, T. Willy showed that he's a top
dawg too by posing with the school mascot.

The boy at play

We are finally having beautiful weather, so we are taking advantage of
it and getting outside. Here is T. Willy in action.

Let's eat

We are having our state assessments this week, so my co-worker and I
brought breakfast for our students yesterday. Here is a picture of a
couple of students helping themselves to biscuits and hash brown
casserole, courtesy of the Big Man.

These little town blues are melting away.

We do enjoy our little town. It has grown substantially since we
moved here, but we still do not have the amenities that we enjoy when
we visit larger cities. One of those things is about to change! We
are getting a new movie theater.

This is a big deal. I love to go to movies. We have a small and old
theater here, but it just isn't the same experience that we get in
larger, newer theaters. And, though MK is an excellent babysitter, we
are hesitant to drive to the newer theaters 30-40 minutes away while
she and T. Willy are home alone.

It is supposed to open next month, and I am going asap. MK and I
drove past it on the way home from school yesterday. Here it is.

"You're not really like other families."

That was a quote from one of my students today. I was explaining to
him how we spent our Oscar evening. The Big Man was working, so MK, T.
Willy and I put on our "fancy" clothes to watch the Academy Awards.
The Big Man was quite amused to come home to find me in a black velvet
dress and high heels...folding laundry. But we had a fun time
watching the Oscars together. MK made "fancy" snacks for us, and we
drank juice out of "fancy" glasses. Maybe we aren't like other
families...but I'm okay with it.

M is for Mad....

Here is a picture of MK in the shirt that she wore to see "Alice in
Wonderland" yesterday. Her friend, Alice, has the "A is for Alice"
version.

Movie Day

MK went to see "Alice in Wonderland" with her friends, Alice, Jessica
and Kelsey. She loved it and had a great time. Here is a picture of
her and Kelsey trying on fashion frames.

Something new...to me at least.

Or, it's just not something I've never thought about.  But, I learned this week that elephants can swim, and I'm completely fascinated by it.

A change is gonna come.

There has been a tutor in my classroom this year. She could not have
been a better match for me. We've had a great time working together
and have become really good friends. But, as they say, all good
things must end. The tutors' grant has ended, and tomorrow is her
last day. We are planning a party in our classroom to say goodbye and
for a last hurrah before the state exams next week.

We had a fun evening tonight. We went out to dinner, and here are
some pictures. T. Willy only cooperated long enough for a picture
with MK, but she was willing to pose again.

Photos

The kids were both back in school today! They're well, and we're back
in our routine for the most part. Here are some pictures we took today.

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

T. Willy went back to school just in time. Today they celebrated Dr.
Seuss's birthday.

MK missed school today, but she will be back tomorrow. She and the
Big Man had a movie marathon today. I'm glad they were able to have
fun.

It was a fun day today at school for me. We played "Comparison and
Contrast Idol." Oh, there's never a dull moment in my class. It was
actually fun for most of the students; I just hope they remember the
lesson we were teaching.

Not much cuter

Than a sleeping boy. He's feeling better and will return to school
tomorrow. However, my cell phone started ringing at 1:00 a.m. I saw
MK's picture on the screen and had a suspicion. Sure enough, T. Willy
shared with his sister...only this time it was his stomach bug. I
stayed up with her until about 4:00. I caught another hour of sleep,
and then I greeted my day...sleepily but MK was feeling better, so it
was worth it. Just like TW, after she started feeling better, she
started running a fever. So she, TW and the Big Man stayed home today.