Cup of Joy

And...we're back in BlogLand.  

Welcome to the rest of Summer 2013!

 Strawberry shortcake, anyone?  Delicious!

I wondered why I wasn't able to move the batter.

Batter, 1.  Spatula, 0.

 Check it out!  

Caught an amazing storm AND a lightning strike!

 A bit'o'color in Cherry Hills Village.

 Time to celebrate Sarah's birthday.

The wall before....

 ...the wall AFTER!  The kids love it!

Bought the same day. Loved the same way.

WHAT's the DEAL!?

 Fun color all the way from Glacier National Park!

You've been warned, furballs.

 Lunch with the Leggs!  Awesome kiddos!

 Some time away to breathe. 

Time to watch the skies.

 Time to say goodbye.

Time to pray.

 And then some serious fun time with John and Abbey!

 Tiny Town is a hoot!

Tilting at windmills with the little guy.

A reverent Abbey.

A very, reverent Abbey!

 Some not so reverent fun with Emily at the paper factory!  

She helped the long hours pass quickly and joyfully!

Water always helps me relax.   

 And pray.

  

 And smile.

And notice the little things.

 And crash.

And pray some more.

Filling my cup of joy.
  

MUCH better than in June! 

 Love these two - sometimes the only way 

I can sneak out is if they can wave and 

cheer at my car from the window upstairs.  

It involves lots of honking and banging on glass. 

The neighbors love us.

John Boy turned 4 this summer, too! 

Nothing says Happy Birthday better than an over-stuffed, silent mouse with giant fingers and a casino-like environment filled with germs!  Yeah, Chuck E. Cheese!

Apparently, I was really excited to see Chuck E. Cheese, too!  (Actually, John had captured the slip of paper which won him 1,000 tickets in that creepy little booth where we lock the birthday child in a vacuum-suction tube where tickets are blown at the unsuspecting kid's head.  It's awesome.)

For the love of all things banana. 

 A beautiful day for a (false alarm) fire drill at Bethany.

My new cross!  Brad brought it back from the 

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa in California!  So colorful!

 Siblings in the Springs.

 This was basically our skies all summer.  

Cloudy with a chance of FLOODING.  

First we're on fire, now we're under water.  UGH.

Fun with cookie cutters and watermelons.

What a beautiful sight on a morning walk.

RUINED in the next 10 seconds when we turned the corner and found a GIANT sn*ke stretched across the sidewalk.  I'm shrieking just recalling the memory now.

Later that same day...what you can't see in this picture is the 34-year old She-Ra loosening those lug nuts and chancing this stupid flat tire in 90º+ heat, thank you very much.  

  

I told you I was a super hero.  As luck would have it, my colleagues all selected the super heroes that best fit their personality.  IRONICALLY, I was left with the Joker.   

Let the snarky comments commence.

Well, Siri....it does! 

 YIKES!  This little guy was drinking water from the street in a gulch near our school.  We think it might be a chupacabra (which I'm not sure is even real, but AM convinced is super creepy.)

Looks about right.  Repeat daily.  

Thought this was a lovely way to start the school year. 

Day #1 of Year #13.

I thought I had seen this picture before! HA! 

 Our first staff meeting included a presentation by FlourGal, a local kid who bakes delicious cupcakes.  Four different kinds were available for tasting.  If we must.

Do you see what I see?

 Well, I know what I see here.  

Colleagues armed and ready to attack!

It was that kind of week...

 Found this in one of my elementary school yearbooks!

Love it!

 This is on my desk and on my mind every day.

 When I'm not entangled in the server closet, 

fixing internet connections, that is.

Because I'm just the music teacher, you know...

Yup.

 Do you see what I see?

 Now, I know I can talk rather quickly, but COME ON, Siri!?

 "Lift thine eyes, oh lift thine eyes

To the mountains..."

Then answer my questions and stop talking back to me.

  

The Chamb Fam on Day #1 for kids! 

 Emma Bean on her first day of 4K Preschool!

 "Ms. G!  Ms. G!  I can play Bach!"

(as he proceeds to hum the exact tune we're discussing)

"May I play it for you tomorrow?"

(um....yeah.  THAT is what he meant by PLAY.  GRR.)

 One down, one to go.  

Only a matter of time before I kill this plant, too.

Remember those little ones who wave from the windows when I leave?

Yup.   The neighbors love us EVEN MORE when we honk and bang on windows at NIGHT.

WORD. 

 This creepazoid tried to be a part of my classroom.  WRONGO, buddy.  I have 5th graders who will protect me at all costs!  EEW!

Yeah, you.  Punk. 

When did this child outgrow the stroller?!  Wow. 

 Thanks, shoe stores, for making life with big feet all that more enjoyable by creating heinous patterns and butt-ugly color combinations.  I was SO hoping for a pair with creepy, one-eyed birds.  NOT.

"Ms. G!  Ms. G!  You need to see my emu egg!"

What!?!  Seriously.  His uncle brought it back from Africa.

My job rocks. 

Every. Single. Day. 

Look who is old enough for her first piano lesson!?  LOVE! 

Her name is MOM, you twit. 

 "Ms. G!  Ms. G!  I think I found 

a way for you to see with two eyes!"

The compassionate heart of my children 

overwhelms me at times!

 "Three little carts for school are we..."

Took some new lunch carts for the kids home to assemble over the weekend.  Other than slicing my fingers twice and my home smelling like freshly painted metal, the first graders can now pull their lunches to the lunch room instead of giving themselves a hernia at age 7 as they tried to lift the lunch tubs!

So much love from this two and a half year old!