Gemma's first dance class

August 27th was Gemma's first dance class. She will dance with the same teacher as Amelia, which was very fun!

She is so excited! She has been waiting for this moment for at least 2 years.

Gemma meet the teacher!

Gemma and mommy went to meet her preschool teachers on August 24! I am so behind!

Of course, our little ham can't just smile for the camera!

Innovative Gemma

Gemma loves to play golf. She is always frustrated when the ball rolls in the street. She is not allowed to go in the street. Sometimes she gets away with getting out in the street when we don't have all our eyes on her. This day, she decided she could solve the problem. She took rocks and pushed them into the crack of the driveway to block the ball from rolling into the street. She came up with this solution all on her own and executed it all by herself. Such a smart girl!

Cooking

Cooking with googly eyes....

Seems reasonable, right?

Crafty project

I have been making some crafty projects for a classroom project and for Girl Scouts that involve Google eyes. Gemma, Amelia and William are totally in love with these eyes.

Gemma in particular, carries them around and we find them in the oddest places.

Mama's 2nd job

I haven't talked about this much, but I have picked up a new position. I am still teaching adults who are preparing to take their high school equivalency exams. I teach 2 days a week for 4 hours a day. It is a cushy schedule.

Last year in June, I was approached at our state wide teacher meetings by our state teacher training entity if I would assist in planning a science training session for other teachers to develop their knowledge. The pay was.... Let's just say more.

I agreed to help develop the training and then nothing happened. Nothing happened until before Christmas last year. I went to two meetings and worked several nights after the kids were in bed. Then, I was asked to present the training I helped develop to other teachers around the state as the other trainers weren't comfortable with the science. (The science teaching position before William was born paid off here, big time.).

So, about twice a month, I have been driving around the state and presenting a 6 hour training session to other teachers.

Overall it has been an exceptional experience and I have enjoyed this time. I'm also learning a lot.

I'm learning that a full time job with travel is not a good choice for our family at this time. The two times a month I travel have been a lot of work for everyone. I get to hand pick the dates, so I haven't had to miss anything. However, many times the distance has required overnight travel which leaves John on his own for night activities with the kids, feeding them dinner and most challenging : bedtime. Bedtime can certainly be done with one adult, but it is so much NICER when there are 2 people.

The first day of school, I was scheduled to go out of town for a presentation. I agreed to t before I knew it was the first day of school (my mistake). I would not miss hearing about the kids' first day of school, so we went to pick them up and then grabbed a quick bite to eat.

Everyone had a good day- what a relief!

Then, I packed up my rental car and drove to St Joeseph, MO- a 4 hour drive.

I caught a great sunset and a night game at the Kansas City ballpark.

I know I say this every time, but my husband really is the best. He is so supportive of the work I do!

August 14

First day of school! Only 2 months late!

I admit this isn't even a picture of Amelia from the first day! It is from her 3rd day!

Our schedule is a little different this year. William is at an upper elementary school building this year (grades 3-5). Amelia will be at the primary building for another year (grades K-2). She has the same teacher as William did last year, which we are delighted about.

Two different buildings mean two separate bus schedules. Amelia's bus comes much earlier than William's (hence, no picture).