Monday, May 30, 2016

The Calm-ish After the Storm


Family-

First things first. I am sure you are all dying to know if Eva got sick…. and I’m thrilled to say that she stayed healthy!  Wahoo!



We had a very productive week putting things back in order at our house. The laundry is (almost) completely caught up. Rooms have been double disinfected and Tennessee and I are sleeping back in regular beds (instead of on the tile floor).  Thank goodness.



This week I was able to visit Naiya’s class to teach Junior Achievement. Because her teacher was limited on available time, we squeezed all 6 lessons into two  1 ½ hour visits. The first visit was a little rough. The lessons delve into such interesting topics as economy, resources, and budgeting. The kids were extra antsy and pretty distracted. I guess I should have been tipped off when Naiya handed me a note earlier that morning that said "Tips for teaching my class: Good luck." Hahaha! 

After some readjusting (and including some external motivators- i.e. creamsicles), the second day was much, much better. And it is a good thing, too, because I ended up having to bring Tennessee along for the second session when babysitting fell through.  He was a very good helper and snuck in a little extra info about his books, trains and crackers. (I’m pretty sure the kids would have preferred to just listen to what Tennessee had to say for he duration of the lesson.) Naiya was happy that I came in, and I am just happy to have another thing marked off of the “to do” list.



Tuesday Naiya’s class went on a field trip. They went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.  Naiya was not impressed and had more to say about how unsafe it is that there are no seatbelts on the bus than about the museum. I think she was mixed up and expecting a visit to the Museum of Natural Curiosity.  Oh well!  We’ll have plenty of time for that this summer.



Tuesday night we got to visit with my parents. They just got back from a trip to Czech and brought back all sorts fun things and treats for us. I sure wish we could afford to visit there every year. It was such a great experience last year. Hopefully we can squeeze in at least one more visit while my Grandma is still feeling well.  I know it would bring her joy to see the great-grandkids again, and I sure would love to have a little more time with her. It is hard to have family so far away.



Thursday Eva’s class did a presentation of a reader’s theater.  They made their own costumes and even had sound effects.  Eva played the sky. It was darling. 

Right after the reader’s theater, her class had their University of Learning graduation.  Because Eva was one of 4 students that earned all 5 degrees (Technical, Associates, Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate), she was asked to give a talk. She was very nervous, but did an amazing job. Good eye contact, nice presentation and she even squeezed in a little joke.  It’s fun to see how she’s grown this last year. Her teacher was fabulous.  I dare say she is the best teacher either of the girls have had to date. We will miss her.



Also on Thursday, Naiya’s class had an End of School Year Party.  Since 6th graders are in the middle school at Canyon’s District, the 5th graders get to have a huge party to celebrate the end of their time at Quail Hollow.  The party was a big hit. They hired a DJ, had a snow cone truck come, and had yearbooks for the kids to sign.  It was fun to help plan and put together for the kids.  The best part was listening to them talk about how “epic” it was after school.  I’m so glad they loved it.



The kids had a long weekend with Friday and Monday off this weekend.  I had some tutoring to get done on Friday so the kids spent some time with Neema and Pa (my parents). That was really the highlight of their day (and honestly the only thing I can remember about it!)



Saturday we went up to Park City for a quick get-away.  We stayed at the Marriot so that the kids could go swimming to their hearts content despite the funky weather.  After swimming none other than a Harry Potter marathon was playing on the TV. The girls didn’t watch the whole marathon but were happy to get to watch all of the 4th movie (although they have seen it before). Tennessee just loved running down the looooong hall and up and down the stairs.  He wore himself out and slept well.



Today I spent most of the day catching up on school work.  I completed two projects from start to finish within the last 24 hours. Hopefully there will be minimal, if any, adjustments to make so that I can get my final score for the “Issues in Instructional Design” class. (It is absolutely as fun as it sounds.)  Jared took the kids to the park and to visit Grandma Marge’s grave.  The girls had a friend over for a couple of hours while Jared worked out in the yard and Tennessee napped. We ended the weekend making s’mores at a neighbor’s fire pit. The perfect ending to a nice weekend.



We have to buckle down for one last short week of school (although between field day, a field trip and a dance off, I’m not sure how much schooling will actually occur). Soccer try-outs are this week. Naiya is staying with the XFC team and is excited.  Eva is still on the fence and has one final day to decide which team she will try out for (if any).  She has been invited to try out by a couple teams and  really wants to play, but she also wants the summer off… decisions, decisions.



Oh I almost forgot… we are back down to 2 fish.  One seemed a little sluggish from the get go and died during the week of the eruptions.  The second little one died this week despite showing no signs of feeling bad.  The girls were sad, but we had a little funeral at sea. The two original fish seem to enjoy having the larger tank all to themselves, so I vetoed Jared’s idea to get more new fish.



Okay… I think that wraps it up for the week.  I am counting down the days to summer vacation.  I love getting the kids (sort of) all to myself!

Hope your school years, spring projects and May in general is ending well!



XOXO

Lucie et al

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