The Honeymoon is Over

I hate to say that it's over when it's only been one week.

But...

It's over.

Today was the first day that I left school with a headache caused by the noise of my students and not because of being inept and losing my water bottle.  I know partly it was my students rambunctious natures, they're only 8 and 9, after all. However, I know the larger reason was me. I came to school feeling tired and while the morning was fantastic--they read for 12 minutes and then 8 minutes with it completely quiet, everyone participated the whole time during keyboarding, and everyone was engaged when we learned about sentences.  However, after lunch (which I wasn't too excited about today; it was a last minute lunch consisting of a tomato sandwich, cashews, a peach, and some pumpkin seeds that I didn't even eat), I started the beginning of my crazy, chaotic afternoon.

How?

Easy. I didn't state all of my expectations clearly and explicitly.  Specifically: I forgot to tell them what to do when they finished their math quiz, making their brown frosting, and read-aloud.  Ugh. I won't ever need this reminder again, though I probably will still make the same mistake. When I do, then I'll think, "Why didn't I just tell them what I wanted?! I thought I learned this the first week of school!?" And I have.

Successes

Open House last week: took a nap
Thursday, first full day of school: took a nap
Friday, last day for the week: no nap, but I went on a run
Saturday: visited my grandparents
Sunday: visited my grandparents, sister & her family arrived, parents & brothers arrived
Monday: took family pictures and drove back down to Provo, went for a run
Tuesday: back to school, went for a run and no nap
Wednesday: shortened day (got out at 2:30 instead of 3:15), no nap (yet...), but no run today (I need to give my knees a break)

I think it's a great success that I can still squeeze in time to take a nap.  I also think it's a great success that even when I am tired from teaching all day that I can still go out in the grossly hot 5-7pm time period and go for a run.  My parents and brothers are in town for a few more days, helping my new BYU freshman brother get settled in, so I'm expecting to spend time with them.

I'm also hoping that my brain doesn't feel as much like mush at the end of every school days as it has for this past week.  I feel like my vocabulary and sentence structure is being depleted every day. Isn't it supposed to get better when you go back to school?  I mean, I can figure out how to say things when I'm at school (for the most part...I still mix up words like "five highs" instead of "high fives", and I've been having problems with saying my vowels correctly when they're by ls or ms...weird), but as soon as I get home, I just lose all ability to speak like an adult.

First day of third grade

Today was my first day as a third grade teacher.  It went a lot better than I was expecting.  I'm still really tired, so I'm not going to write much today.

View from the front of the room; after math, the desks changed from two rows of 13 and 12 to five groups of five 

Another view from the front

View of my computer/desk

Close-up of where my I Can statements will be displayed throughout the year

View of the front of my room

View of my desk & calendar 

View of my word wall and carpet area

Ten days

It's been ten days since Cody and I returned from DC.  In those ten days we have attended two weddings, one two-day graduation, I have had math training, back-to-school faculty welcome meeting, district meeting, third grade team meeting, and Open House.  School starts tomorrow.

Needless to say, I am exhausted. I was doing fine until today but man, I forgot how wiped out I get the first week of school.

Now, to go in order: Cody's younger sister got married last Wednesday.  We attended their sealing in the Salt Lake City, Utah temple...

Cody and me standing next to Cody's sister and her new husband, just outside the doors of the Salt Lake Temple

then went from there to help set up her reception at Wheeler Historic Farm in Cottonwood Heights area. After about four and a half hours of set-up, we attended the actual reception. Three hours later, we helped take it all down in an hour and a half. Also a funny thing that I thought of that day as I was getting my picture taken with the bride and all of her bridesmaids (of which I was one), is that I was the only one with my hair up. All the rest of the girls had their hair down. The funny thing is that, it used to be that after a certain age, it was a "privilege" to have your hair pinned up to show that you were a woman. Now it seems to be the opposite--have your hair down and show how beautiful it is.  I'm not complaining or judging (I have my hair down half the time, too), I just wonder when that switch in the female psyche happened in the Western world.

Then on Thursday, I went to math training and saw most of the faculty again for the first time in three months.  But the more important events of the day were that Cody's day one of graduation occurred. He was given the official "you're graduated" from President Cecil Samuelson, president of BYU. His parents, brothers, and us went to dinner that evening at Sizzler (Cody's choice; my family's traditions have rubbed off on him).

Cody and me after Thursday's ceremony

The next day, me, all of Cody's grandparents (except Papa John), plus his parents and brothers, and his cousin Shane, attended his college's graduation ceremony.  This was followed up by lunch at DP Cheesesteak's (another suggestion by Cody and it was a winner!). We were really happy that so many family members were able to be there for it, especially since most family members won't be able to make it to his higher-degree graduations.

Cody's parents, brothers, and me after graduation

Monday was my back-to-school faculty meeting and district meeting.  Yesterday was my third grade team meeting. And today was Open House.  I'll take some pictures of my classroom before school starts tomorrow.  I like it. It doesn't have an overt decoration theme, but it's simple, uncluttered, and open which I really like.

I miss DC. But I'm happy to be back.  I hope our paths really do take us back out there in the near future, like we hope they will.

Arlington National Cemetery & National Zoo

Yesterday on our last Friday in DC for this summer, Cody and I went and visited the Arlington National Cemetery.  We visited JFK's gravesite and the tomb of the unknown soldier.  We even got lucky and arrived at the outdoor amphitheatre two minutes before a changing of the guard ceremony, so we were able see that too.

Cody at JFK's grave with a part of the cemetery in the background

Cody thought this was cool, "He was an interesting man" was his comment as he snapped the picture

Outdoor amphitheatre at the tomb of the unknown soldier

Guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier

Funeral procession

Then today we were able to spend a few hours at the National Zoo with our friends the Days.  They had been to the zoo twice already this summer, so they were our personal tour guides as we wandered the zoo.  My personal favorites: Amazonia and the orangutan.  Cody's favorites: the lions, gorillas, and the snapping turtle.

Male lion just chillin'

Inside the Amazonia building

Tortoise

Tortoise

Orangutan--they have this cool structure connecting the Orangutan Room with the Think Tank (another room where the orangutans hang out). They are able to climb on it between 11am-2pm daily.

Snapping turtle

It's almost over...

I can't believe I've already been here for over two months and that Cody has been here for over three months. The summer went by way too fast!  Today is filled with getting things ready so we can leave on Sunday:

• Cody carried a huge package to FedEx so we would have less to take with us on the plane (and how else do you send a 72 hour kit back to Utah?)
• Cleaning because there are cleaning checks tomorrow (stove, oven, fridge, vacuuming, cupboards, desk, bathroom)
• Packing...(mostly just clothes left now)
• Cody's last day at his internship
• Cody will submit his last paper for his class
• We're going to get together with another one of Cody's best friends and his wife tonight before we leave
• I finished the coding that I've been working with Kathie all summer so now we can analyze it
• Sending flight plans to our parents and Cody's brother so that he will hopefully be at the Salt Lake airport to pick us up when we land :)
• Trying to talk myself out of getting a stomachache because my subconscious is getting anxious about change
• Trying to talk to my subconscious so that I can sleep better at night instead of tossing and turning

Weird weird weird. Isn't it strange how attached you can get to a place even if you're only there for a couple months? I'm referring to DC in general, not just our apartment. I mean our apartment is fine, but it's more leaving DC that is strange. It was strange to come and now it's strange to leave. I really hope we do get to live out here again.

DC Aquarium visit

On Friday Cody and I went to visit the Aquarium here in DC.  It's housed in a rather odd venue--the basement of the Commerce building.  It also wasn't as big as we were anticipating. However, that being said, we did see a lot of cool aquatic life and some snakes (definitely not as cool as all the fish and the American alligators though).  Cody's favorite were the American alligators.  My favorite was probably the turtles that were giving each other a piggy-back ride.

One in two million lobster are blue. Here's a blue one!

An American alligator

Cody thinking with an American alligator in size perspective next to him on the other side of the glass.