Micah's Graduation

Micah graduated! Last weekend, we gathered to celebrate Micah and all she accomplished during her high school career. She's fabulous, and we love her so much!

She had a big class - more than 500 students - but the ceremony went surprisingly quickly. I appreciate a snappy graduation.

 We were almost as far away as you can get, but there she is walking across the stage.

 I love being sandwiched between these two beautiful sisters!

We had a party for her right after the graduation. It had rained the night before, but fortunately we had great weather!

Run This City

I'm not usually a work-out-your-stress person, but since I moved in to my new house, pounding the pavement to some pounding tunes has done wonders for my heart, mind, and soul. I love having this beautiful city to explore.

Isaac and Dominika Leaving

About a week and a half ago, Isaac, Dominika, Holden, and Adelina moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado so Isaac could work on the temple there. I already miss them terrible. Leading up to their departure, I tried to spend as much time with them as possible. One Sunday afternoon, Tessa watched Adelina while Isaac and Dominika had an appointment so I went up there to hang out with them. Adelina was a bit fussy, but I soothed her soul with my smooth driving skills.

Oh this toothy grin. I can't handle it. During this time, she was actually doing this killer fake laugh. She was cracking us all up.

The night before they left, I went up to hang out with them a bit. We went to dinner and (mom and dad) helped them pack things up. Adelina was pretty fussy that night, too, but in what I believe was an intentional gift of love, she gave me this perfect picture. I love this baby girl to infinity and miss her so much.

Late that night, after they'd gotten everything else packed up, Isaac, Jacob, and my dad brought over Isaac and Dominika's piano to my house where it will now be residing. They take such good care of me. I'm grateful to have such strong, generous men in my life.

IMSA Graduation

Not related to graduation: the night before, I went to Tessa's and she grilled salmon and zucchini and cooked up some good ol' Indiana sweet corn. So good. I love summer!

Related to graduation: a couple weekends ago was the high school graduation for Indiana Math and Science Academy. Normally, I wouldn't have gone because I barely knew most of these kids. I taught middle school and my first eighth graders are only juniors now - not quite to graduation yet. I went to this graduation, though, to see former teacher friends, specifically my friend Rebecca Forman who was in town from New York City. She and I met first for frozen yogurt then went to the graduation where we connected with Kelly Webber, Ann Klaus (who drove down from Chicago), Luke Lofland, and Amy Baker. It was fun to see them all again!

It was also fun to see a few of my former students - this is Alexandra Chacon who was one of my first eighth graders. She's now about to be a junior. Crazy! They're all looking so grown up.

After the graduation, Luke, Amy, and I went to dinner and caught up a bit, which was fun. I wish I could just take old friends with me to every new job!

Staff vs. Students Volleyball Game

I love volleyball and I love embarrassing children, so when our school team's volleyball coach invited the staff to play the girls in 80s workout attire, I was all about it. The girls had no idea we were playing them - we came in during one of their practices - and they about died when they saw us all dressed up. It was really fun. It also didn't hurt that we killed them. One of my favorite things about working at my school is the sense of community the staff has. We definitely have some staff members who don't seem interested in building relationships with anyone else, but for the most part I work with a lot of really fun, really dedicated people who are a pleasure to work with. 

I credit my entire outfit to this woman, Mrs. Amy Pellor, who brought extra clothes for some of us to wear and rocked us all in this stunner.

Family Weekend 2.0

For our second annual family weekend getaway, we headed south to Patoka Lake. We weren't actually right on the water and we didn't have a boat, but we still enjoyed the beautiful scenery and relaxing atmosphere. Unfortunately, Jacob couldn't make it down and we missed Thomas, of course. 

The first night, we all got there at different times so we took it easy. Nalon and Holden played Twister while trying not to lose their balance due to the monster baby crawling all over.

Saturday we spent time exploring. We went on a hike through the woods and drove down to the lake. We played games and made food. My favorite activity was putting Adelina to sleep. A few different times she let me just walk with her and she fell asleep right on my shoulder. Super snuggly and super sweet. I can't get enough of that squishy baby.

The lake was beautiful and I wish we'd gotten a boat to enjoy it more. We had fun just hanging out by the water for a few hours, though.

Dominika's little brother Azaan, who's three, came with us and definitely kept things lively. At the lake he was cracking us all up because he was afraid of the muddy sludge at the water's edge and wouldn't let Dominika put him into the water. It was hilarious to watch him raise his feet as high as he could as she lowered him towards the water.

As you may notice from the above pictures, Holden and Nalon were not afraid of the mud at all. :) They got down and dirty and pretended to be alligators - crawling slowly out of the water up through the mud and brush.

Saturday night we roasted marshmallows on the fire and made s'mores before heading to bed. On Sunday, we went to church in nearby English, Indiana where our family nearly doubled the size of their tiny congregation. Afterwards, we relaxed. Mom and Dad took most of the kids back to the lake while a few of us napped.

Monday morning, we packed everything up and headed over to Marengo Cave. Before we started the tour, my stomach started hurting and it got worse as we went through the cave. It started getting really bad, and I really think it was exacerbated by anxiety of being down in a cave with nowhere to go or even sit down if I got sick. I finally went back out the way we came in and hung out at the visitor's center while everyone else finished the tour. I was bummed to miss half the cave.

Afterwards, we all headed home. I had Nalon with me and we stopped at Sam's Club on the way home so I could get a blender. I became dependent on Tessa's Blendtec blender while I lived with her, and after only a week without one I couldn't take it anymore. My green smoothies have become such an integral part of my diet that it made the hefty price tag worth it. It didn't make it any easier to swallow, but it was worth it. I use it all the time and I love my smoothies.

Field Day

One of the things I love most about my job is the flexibility and autonomy. I have things I need to get done, but for the most part when and how I do those things is up to me. I'm able to adjust my day pretty easily and I love it. That kind of flexibility also means I often get assigned to do things because I'm "available," meaning I don't have a classroom full of students who I'm responsible for. Sometimes this is terrible, such as when I get assigned to do several hours of ISTEP testing every day for two weeks straight. Sometimes this is great, such as when I get assigned to go to field day. 

This year, IPS did a district-wide field day where they had dozens of different activities set up around a giant outdoor facility. Students and staff were able to go around at will and participate in the activities they found interesting. They had everything from jump rope and potato sack races to rock climbing and archery. My favorite: the DJ. A few of the kids and I got down for real.

Full disclosure: I hate field trips - it's tough enough to manage kids when they're all in one classroom. Release them into the world? Not fun. This trip was great, though. I was in charge of a small group and they were fabulous. We spent the day migrating from activity to activity and I got to play right along with them. Aside from the fact that it was freezing, we had a great time!

I also had the chance to get to know some kids I don't regularly come in contact with. By the end of the day, this little girl hugged me and told me I was a fun person. Nothing feels better than validation from a nine-year-old. :)

Last Day at the Temple

I've said it before, but working on the Indianapolis temple has been a huge blessing and miracle in my life. Temporally speaking, it came during a time when I needed some extra money without the restriction of a typical job schedule. Glen, my boss, was very flexible and allowed me to work as little or as much as I could. When I started, I think I was the first woman on the job site (there might have been one other there before me), so it wasn't always comfortable, but Glen and the other guys on his crew always made me feel welcome and valued. During my time there, I met great people and strengthened previous relationships. My understanding of and appreciation for the temple was deepened. 

More than anything else, it was a treasured opportunity to work with my brother on such a special project - something that he was so proud of. Sharing it with him was an honor and a joy. Before we wrapped up, my dad came up to help for a couple of days so I was able to work with both of them in the temple, which was fabulous. The ordinances we do in the temple bind families together for eternity and because of the covenants my parents made in a similar temple almost forty years ago, our family will be together forever and I'm so grateful.

The temple is absolutely gorgeous. The woodwork and detail inside is stunning and the architecture of the outside is majestic. I drove by yesterday and the landscaping is mostly in now. It's a gorgeous site. The last day I was there was bittersweet. On the one hand, I'm thrilled that we're now only about two months from the dedication - we'll actually get to use the temple! On the other hand, working on it has been a unique and wonderful experience and I'll miss that - I already do.

Throughout the seven months that I worked there, I periodically took pictures from the same side view to track the progress. I think it would have been more obvious from the front, but that's not where the parking lot is. :) It was so fun to see the evolution over time as it became the beautiful building it is now.