Hello, New School Year, You're Going to Be AWESOME!

So, my last blog post was a reflective post on the last four years. As I sit here on the couch with my feet throbbing from 16ish hour work days, my eyes very heavy from sleep deprivation, I still can't help but think of how grateful I am for the opportunity to teach a new group of kiddos this school year. 

I have loved everything about RCES, admin, support services and Comal ISD as a whole, so far. I have worked (like many other teachers getting a new group of kiddos soon) tirelessly and past dark every night since the first official work day, to get my classroom ready before Meet the Teacher. I feel like I'm almosttt ready for next week, but I have a few more things to do to be completely there!

I have loved getting to know my new team over the past few weeks. There is something so amazingly reassuring about 5 people coming together from different backgrounds and experiences, that are on the same page about best practices and small groups and being open minded to change. I just adore these ladies already. 

Here are some pictures from the beginning! 

Thank Jesus for Hopi and Russell for always coming through in the clutch.

Here are some pictures from this week (mostly today) as I pulled it together just in time for Meet the Teacher! Special thank you to my sweet coworkers who stopped by to help out/make sure I was ready before the parents arrived. You are so thoughtful. 

 Our first team photo! 

Convocation with these beauties.  

 A flower clock...because why not?? lol

I am obssessed with my leveled library and reading corner!  

Now!! Meet the Teacher was a success!! It was definitely bittersweet. One of my absolute favorite things about Meet the Teacher is having my kiddos from the year before come to my classroom and see me. I'm so grateful for the positive relationships that I made with my families at WCH, so I  can keep in touch with those precious kiddos!

I used stations created by my friend Rachel for the kiddos to follow once they came in the door! It's always nice to provide direction during things like this! :) 

I know, I know I didn't get a picture of Station 4...I'll take one tomorrow, but I'm too impatient to wait to post! 

There were a few other things that helped make my Meet the Teacher a success! Our team decided to do glow sticks as a goodie and we attached a little tag that Julie made that was precious! We decided to use Google Forms (Y'all know how much I love Google and technology!) to collect parent/student information and my new teammate Sarah shared this awesome foldable with us to put out for our parents! :) 

It was so easy and efficient. 

I'm not quite finished with my classroom, but when I am I'll add some final pictures! :) Surely that will be soon, being that school starts Tuesday...

I cant wait to start Year 5 with my 20 new little Busy Bees! 

Happy BOY, teacher friends!

-Amanda

New Beginnings

As I alternate watching the Olympics and napping a few hours at a time, on my last official day of Summer Vacation, I have had lots of time to reflect on where my life is, along with the excitement of what's to come.

Most of you know that Russell and I decided to move to New Braunfels. We've been here for 12 days, and we can already tell this was the best decision for both of us. The peace that comes with that is unexplainable.

I've learned so much over the last four years, personally and professionally. Professionally, I've learned that change is scary, but usually works out for the best. I learned that being surplused isn't the end of the world, even that at the time it may feel like it is. For me, it turned out to be for the best. I learned that best practice is always best, even if it's not the most popular decision/more work. I've learned that your relationships with your teammates are some of the most important things, and I have been so fortunate. I've learned that all children can learn. I've learned the kids that require the most attention are the ones you miss the most. I've learned that opening a new school is as hard as everyone said it would be, but I wouldn't change the experience for the world. I've learned that I still have so much to learn.

Personally, I've learned that life keeps going even when you want it to stop. I've learned that making decisions that are best for Russell and me, doesn't make me selfish; it makes me a good wife. I've learned that mistakes are okay, as long as you use them as a learning experience. I've learned that being a grown up is harder than I thought. I've learned that being a good listener is just as, if not more, important than sharing my thoughts. I've learned that the timeline for my life isn't the one that I chose for myself by is the one that God has decided for me, and I'm perfectly okay with that. I've learned that PERSPECTIVE is EVERYTHING.

I could keep going, but in honor of the new school year I wanted to share some pictures from the last four years. Pictures of my classrooms and my teammates. :) Every year, has been a learning experience, which is exactly the way it should be.

Year 1, I had two teams and two classrooms in Round Rock ISD. I was surplused the week before school started. I can't tell you how grateful I still am to have had the support of both teams throughout my first year.

You wouldn't know that I only got to work with these precious people for six days the way that they supported me through my first year. I'm so grateful for each of them. 

These two had no idea what they were getting when the district surprised them with a first year teacher the Friday before school started, but I am so grateful it worked out for all three of us. 

Year 2, provided the stability that I needed to make me want to continue teaching. Same school, same grade, different classroom. :)

We were the shortest team on campus, no doubt, but these two made Year 2 so wonderful. It was a pretty challenging year, professionally and personally, but these two were there through it all. 

Year 3-I took a leap of faith and applied to Lake Travis ISD for the opportunity to open a new school. It was very challenging, but it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I loved FNE and very few districts compare to RRISD, but the relationships that I've developed over the last two years, made the move worth it. 

I loved working with these sweet ladies. 

Year 4-I decided that professionally it was time for a change. I asked my principal if I could move to first grade if the opportunity presented itself, and it did. This year was one of the most challenging years of my life personally, but I was surrounded by the most loving families and coworkers and made it through. 

There aren't enough words to explain my love for these ladies. It's hard to believe none of us will be on the same team this year. I wish all four you the very best!!

Year 5-I made it here. I always said that I'd stay in teaching for at least as long as I was in college for it. I'm so glad that now that I've arrived here, leaving isn't even on my brain anymore. Russell and I decided that it was time for a change...a change that would lead to more permanence in our lives. Where do we want to put down roots? Where do we want to start a family? We landed on New Braunfels, and 12 days in, we have such peace about this decision. Along with this move, came a new school and district, and I could not be more excited!

 ((Photos of Year 5 classroom and team to come!!))

I'm obviously going to end this post with an inspirational quote...well, two of them because I love them both. Dr. Rita Pierson said both of them. If you haven't watched her TED talk, I highly recommend it. :)

“Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”

“I gave [my students] a saying to say: ‘I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I’ll be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here.’”

Have a great year,

APB

Estes With My Bestest

I'm back!! Every summer, Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, Spring Break and any other teacher break, I pick up on writing this blog! However, this time (I'm hoping if I type this and you read it) I'm sticking to it! :)

There are so many things going on in my life right now, but I thought the best way to hop back into blogging is with a Girls' Trip post,  since my very first post was also a Girls' Weekend! It was a different group of my sweet friends, but it makes sense to me! 

Let me start at the beginning! This whole trip came about when Julie told us (Lindsay and me) about this awesome company called Vacation Races. They set up 5ks and half marathons near national parks! Their motto is "Run Where You Play!" We decided that the Rocky Mountain races would be a perfect way to end the summer/start the new school year and began planning!

When July 28 rolled around, we couldn't wait for our adventure to begin! Below you'll find a little bit of advice and a whole lot of pictures. Enjoy!

Planning

The planning part of this trip was pretty simple! We searched VRBO, AirBNB and other sites and found a reasonably priced condo for a 6 day stay! We booked our flights and rental car through Southwest and our condo almost 7 months in advance, which made it much cheaper than doing so last minute, obvi! We decided to wait until we arrived to plan out our adventures! The 5k and half marathon were set in stone, so we knew we'd want to work our other adventures around the races! 

Below is how our week unfolded!

July 28-Arrive, Explore Estes Park, Check In
We flew out of Austin and landed in Denver bright and early on Thursday morning. We couldn't check in to our condo until 3 p.m., we decided to spend the day exploring beautiful Estes Park. If you're from the Central Texas area, Estes Park's downtown area is very similar to Fredericksburg, except the views and scenery compare to nothing I've ever seen in my life. It has lots of little shops with lots of touristy things to buy, which for the three of us, was exactly up our alley.

We spent the day exploring downtown Estes Park and brunched at Claire's. If you know me at all, you know I love a good brunch and this was a good brunch! After brunchin' and moseying around downtown, we checked into Riverwood on Fall River, and it was perfect! We settled into our home away from home for next six days. We had a not so great dinner at the first place we tried, but nonetheless "at least we were together!" :)

July 29-Explore RMNP, sign in for races and 5K
We grabbed breakfast at Cinnamon's Bakery and with a recommendation from the manager at our condo took a drive up Trail Ridge Road, until our 4-cylinder rental car made us too nervous to go up any higher! It was unbelievably beautiful. After meandering around Bear Lake and getting great advice from a couple from Denver, we headed back into town and picked up our bibs for our 5k and Julie's half marathon! Being from Texas and all, I was equally as surprised as you probably are that we were running a 5K in the evening, but when it's in the 80s in July at 6 p.m., of course it makes sense!

Vacation Races is an amazing company! Everything was so organized and went really smoothly! Julie was able to see how the altitude would be for the half in advance; Lindsay was able to run the whole thing, and as for me? Well, I enjoyed the views during my walk/run/walk/run! We all had a great time! We finished the day with dinner at Sweet Basilico and it was delicious!

July 30-Julie's Half Marathon and a Jeep Tour
We woke up bright and early and got Julie off to her half marathon! She did AMAZING and we were so proud! Following the half, we took lots of pictures and went home and napped! That evening, we took it easy and went on a Jeep tour with Green Jeep Tours! This was one of the best experiences of my life. Of course we chose the Photo Safari tour, which took us to all the best picture taking spots! Our tour guide Eric took us up to a little over 12,000 feet. It was almost 4 hours long and completely worth it. We ended the day with dinner at one of my favorite places of the trip to eat, Ed's Cantina!

 Alluvial Fan

 Chasm Falls

July 31-Horseback Riding and a rained out hiking attempt that ended up being a wine night
After dinner our first night was a bust, everything we did/ate came with a recommendations from people we met during this adventure. The manager at our condo recommended a horseback riding tour with Cowpoke Corner Corral. So, at 9 a.m., we headed out on our tour with a sweet, 18 year old guide, named Gabby! I had a super stubborn horse named GG, but I loved him through it. ;) It only took me hundreds of kicks and plenty of words of affirmation to keep him moving. After horseback riding, we naturally wanted BBQ, so we stopped for lunch at Smokin' Dave's and it did not disappoint. We decided to spend the afternoon hiking, but the weather did not cooperate, so we drank wine and had a frozen pizza instead.

August 1-Hiking and Bachelorette 
We decided to spend the morning hiking to Alberta Falls in the Rocky Mountain National Park. We parked and shuttled up to Bear Lake. We decide once we were to the falls to have lunch there. It was beautiful and the perfect morning hike. After coming back down from Alberta Falls, we decided to take the hike to Nymph, Dream and Emerald Lakes. This hike was remarkable. So many times, we were blown away by the beauty as we ascended higher and higher up the trail. We had a very special moment on the way back down, finished the hike and made our way back in to town. After hiking almost 7 miles, we decided to stay in, eat lasagna and watch JoJo break Robby's heart.

 Dream Lake

Emerald Lake

August 2-Red Rocks and LODO Denver
The same sweet couple that told us which trails to hike, also assured us that a trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater and Denver was totally feasible. So on Tuesday, that's exactly what we did! We ventured over to Red Rocks first and then spent the rest of the day exploring Denver. On the way back in to Estes Park, we stopped by Elkins Whisky to buy some gifts to take home and ended up staying for a few hours. It just opened on July 4 of this year and the guys running it are awesome!

Station 26 Brewing in Denver

August 3-Spa and Home 
We ended our last day with a spa day. We checked out of our condo and headed over to Elements of Touch before leaving town. It was the perfect way to end such an active trip! After our spa treatments, we headed into Denver to come home!

The following quote sums up this trip perfectly:

"But the most beautiful things in life are not things. They're people, places, memories and pictures. They're feelings and moments, and smiles, and laughter." 

-APB