When I began this blog about 3 1/2 years ago, I gave myself the goal to write every day. And, for the first year and a half, I did write every day. Even on days where I had nothing to say, I still wrote something.
Then, about 2 years ago, I decided I was bored. I couldn't think of anyone who would be even mildly interested in what was going on in our lives and I stopped writing. Little did I know, there were people who were interested in our lives. And I apologize to those people for hiding for the last two years.
So, I will attempt to write again. Not every day, but maybe once a week or so. The kids are getting old so fast, and I would love to have this blog to look back on. I will NOT be posting to Facebook when I post, so if you want to get the updates, I believe there is a link on the side that will email you every time I post something new.
Summary of the last two years:
About me: I decided that I wanted to teach full time. So, I went back to school and got a second Bachelors in Mathematics - Secondary Education. I wanted to take all those education classes, just to make sure I wasn't missing something. Working through WGU, and taking into account that I already had a BA and could transfer all my core classes, I was able to complete my BA in about 16 months. I finished up my student teaching in December 2014 and I am now I certified math teacher (5-12) in Montana. Our math teacher in Geyser is cutting back her hours, and I was able to help out by teaching a few of her classes, and my own computer classes and online classes. It's busy, but fun.
I also became the Speech and Drama coach for Geyser. Allen wanted to take Speech, so we co-op'ed with Stanford and Denton and I became the third coach. We attended about 8-9 meets this season (October - Jan 2015) and had a great time. I learned a lot and I'm looking forward to next year's season!
About Patrick: Patrick has continued to work with RevShare in Temecula, CA, for the last 3 years. He does all his work from here, and it's great. But, in the last few months, we realized that he could get so much more done for the company if he was an employee rather than a consultant. So, for the first time in about 6 years, Patrick has a full time job again. He will still be working from home, but he is an employee rather than a contractor. His first assignment was a quick flight down to Temecula to meet and greet everyone, sign docs and just get a face-to-face with the team. He is super excited about the opportunity to work on projects, and not feel required to document why he does everything, Hopefully, this will make it easier and also keep him focused and excited.
About Allen: Allen is currently a sophomore and is 16... This means that yes, he is driving. However, there isn't much chance to do anything so we haven't had any problems. As I mentioned before, he joined Speech and Debate this year. He had a great time, competing in both Extemporaneous Speaking and Lincoln-Douglas debate. He went to State in LD and learned a lot! He enjoyed Extemp, and did very well, but he really wanted the back-and-forth of LD debate. Some of the kids he competed against were seniors who had done this for years. He was quite excited for next year by the time the season ended.
He also became quite notorious at the meets for his dancing. For anyone who has never been to a SAD meet, there is a LOT of waiting around between events. Allen would be that kid that would grab a girl and jitterbug around while waiting. Never afraid to be himself, he met a ton of people and had a great season.
In addition, Allen also did Cross Country this year. Cross Country events are 3 miles (5K) and he qualified for state with a time of ~28 minutes. He did great, especially since his starting time was about ~40 minutes. He's already committed to next year!
About Connor: Connor joined Allen in Cross Country, although he honestly had no desire to do so. That being said, he improved his time immensely, going from almost 50 minutes to about 32 minutes by the end of the season. Although he didn't qualify for State, he improved so much that I can't wait to see what he can do next season.
In addition, he is still working on his book. It is finished, and now he's in the editing stage (which may be harder than writing the first time). He is a freshman this year, and is still top of his class. He just finished his Science Fair project, and came in 1st in the high school! The last week, he has been fighting a cold, but he managed to fake it enough through the judging round on Tuesday. :)
About Kathryn: Katie is currently a 7th grader, which pretty much means that school sucks. Anyone who has already been through middle school knows what I'm talking about. But, we are lucky and she is doing fine in her classes. I hope that she will find life better over time, but at 12 years old, I don't think there is much I can do for her. She is really into her books (usually mythology) and she likes watching YouTube videos.
This year she has really grown up. She has gotten into makeup and hair stuff and clothes, and suddenly went from being my little girl to a teenager. I am still in awe.
About Ryan: Ryan is doing amazing. We had a rough Christmas season, where we flew to Seattle twice. He had an overgrowth of bacteria in his gut, and was loosing weight. Fortunately, it was not rejection or anything bad, and with the right cocktail of meds, he is back and better than ever.
Ryan is in 3rd grade this year and loving it. He has a very small class (3 kids, including him) and a full time aide that works with him independently. When he is feeling well, they can push him and he does great. When he's feeling out of sorts, they let him take a break and there is no pressure. His teacher has told me that he can obviously learn to read and write and complete his math work, but sometimes it is hard to get him to prove it. Typical.
March 3-7, 2015
This week was the science fair. All three kids did great. Allen and Connor both received blue ribbons and Kathryn received a red ribbon and got 2nd in the Junior High! They will all go to regional competition in Great Falls next week, so I hope they do well!
Patrick spent the week in California, sorting out stuff for the new job. This meant he also got to spend some quality time with his sisters and their husbands. It's been almost 4 years since we left and with the exception of mexican food and spending time with his sisters, there isn't much he misses.
I got to attend the Spring Meeting for Speech and Drama this weekend. It meant I got to spend 2 days at a hotel and chat with other coaches. Sometimes it's hard for me, because everyone already knows each other and I'm the new kids in school. But I hope by next year, things will get better. And I can never complain about 2 in which I couldn't do laundry, even if I wanted to. :)
So, thank you to those who read this. I hope to keep you better informed about our AWESOME life in Montana!
You don't need to post every day - that's too much work! But it is nice to see updates now and then, even if it's just monthly news. I subscribed, so I'll know when you post. :) - Jen
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