Birthday

I was pretty irritated that I had to have a birthday again this year. I pouted about it for months in my head. It's not easy turning 29 again!

But...When it arrived, I realized how incredibly blessed I am. I have a fantastic husband, amazing kids, wonderful families in NY and Washington, and I've even developed my own little Arizona family.

Life is good....even at 29+.

Another Career Update

This year has been crazy. There have been all sorts of changes in our school district as far as staffing goes. Principals were scrambled, new Assistant Principals were hired, and tons of new teachers are still being hired. At my school, our principal was moved to another school. Our assistant principal became the principal, and one of our master teachers became the assistant principal. She had also been the site director of the after school program that I help coordinate. As an AP, she won't have time to do the after school program, so they decided to bring me back! I transferred to another school and back without ever having to move my stuff. :0)

We just got the official word on Wednesday. I'm excited to remain part of the community that I've been in for 8 years and Ryann has become a part of. However, I was looking forward to a change of scenery. I'm sure that might come somewhere down the road. Staying where I am is the best choice for now. I'm excited to stay on my leadership team and take on a new role.

I officially begin my journey as a master teacher on July 24, even though I'll be training and preparing all summer. I'm excited to see how it goes.

Birthday Season

In our family, spring is more accurately referred to as birthday season. It kicks off with Scott's birthday on March 18. Ashtyn is March 28th. I posted pics of that previously. Avery's birthday is May 2, but we celebrated the last week in April this year. We had a Strawberry Shortcake party for her at the house. We had lots of daycare friends and a bounce house. Ryann's turn was next. She turned 6 on the 16th of May. On the 18th, we had a party at Build-a-Bear Workshop. She had 4 friends and Avery join her in making furry friends. It was really a great time.

In addition to our family birthdays, we have several friends with birthdays around the same time. So, in conjunction with party planning, we shop for gifts and attend other parties. It's a busy (and expensive) time of year. Once Ryann's birthday was done, I took a big sigh of relief. Birthday season is exhausting. Somehow, I do love it, though.

Career News

For the past eight years I've been at a school that I have really liked. I've met some awesome friends and had some great experiences. I taught special education resource for 2 years, then third grade for 6 years. These last 2 years, I've been a Mentor Teacher and a coordinator for our after school program. I've really enjoyed each role, but doing so much has burned me out. My time with family has definitely suffered. I've decided to make a career move.

I've just been hired to be a Master Teacher at another school in our district, starting next school year. It'll be good because it'll be much more focused. I'll be doing a lot of the same things I did as a Mentor, but without a classroom of kids to be responsible for. I'm looking forward to a new challenge, but I'll really miss my peeps at my old school.

I haven't decided if Ryann will go with me or continue at the school she's known since birth. I guess we'll figure that out before August.

Our Baby is One!

I guess she's technically not a baby anymore. Ashtyn turned one year old on March 28th. We had her first birthday party on the 23rd. It was nice because her Uncle Keelan, Aunt Kirsten, and cousin Kaida Mai were in town to celebrate with us. We also had some great friends, our Arizona family, come as well.

Since it was so close to Easter, we decided on a bunny birthday. It was cute. She's our little snuggle bunny. I even tried my hand at making cake pops. They were suppose to be carrots, but Scott said they looked like orange strawberries. Oh well.
Ashtyn clearly loved the cake. She was happy to eat the frosting at first, but she soon made light work of a huge carrot cake cupcake. She smelled like cream cheese icing all evening.

She is such a big girl now. She walks pretty well, although she did take a tumble the day before her first birthday pictures. She has a big scratch on her head. Most of the time, she's a very happy girl. She's giggly and smiley, especially when she's into mischief, like I said, most of the time.

Long Time No Post

I was reminded today of what a slacker I have been with the blog. I haven't posted anything since November. Ugh! Where does the time go?!
A few highlights from the last couple of months include Ashtyn's first Christmas, my National Board Certification, and Scott finishing another marathon. Here are some pictures of our last couple of months.

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