Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year and everyone was far too good to us! The kids got a huge new swing set thanks to Mimi, Papa, Grandpa, and Aunt Theresa. We are so thankful that everyone went on this with us! We are also very thankful for Auntie Ann, Uncle JK, Joe and Sherri for helping to build it just in time for Christmas and to Gigi for keeping the kids occupied during the process. We have been playing all week and have been enjoying the swing set along with the 47 puzzles the kids received - that was all they asked for! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!!

Visiting Santa

Between the school semester ending for both Noah and I, and sheer craziness at work....let's just say Christmas activities have been limited. We finally got out on Tuesday night to go see Santa and Amy and Ray brought Rowan along as well. We wanted to coordinate their outfits for the picture but the girls haven't gotten their dresses yet, so we got out their new Christmas jammies and ended up getting the cutest picture. I'm so happy they cooperated and they had a lot of fun together!

We've also been having a great time with Charlie the Elf this year. He's been getting into quite a bit of mischief playing with the toys and doing some extreme sports around the house. I can't wait to see what he gets into next!!

Football

Last weekend was all sports. On Friday night we went to the ODU v. VCU basketball game. Of course this has not been a great basketball season for us so we knew it would be a tough game, but we went with a good friend and had a great time. Saturday morning was the big playoff game with ODU playing Georgia Southern. We have had an amazing football season and we would have loved to see our team go all the way, but they couldn't make it past GSU once again. It was heartbreaking but an 11-2 season's not too shabby! Then on Sunday Noah and I went to the Redskins v. Ravens game in D.C. The Redskins won in overtime. We had a wonderful time with my best friend and some new friends. We suffered through the first couple days of the week but we had a lot of fun!

Tailgating at ODU

FedEx Field

DECA Power Trip

A few updates have been posted so be sure to scroll down!

This past weekend I took two students to Washington D.C. for DECA's Ultimate Power Trip. This event combines the North Atlantic Region and the Southern Region for a leadership event. The students did a scavenger hunt on the National Mall in the Smithsonian Museums along with workshops and competitive events, which they won! We had a great time and enjoyed the weekend but I was happy to come home and I am even happier for a long weekend ahead!

Scavenger hunt at the Natural History Museum

Moonlight Monument Tour

Competition Winners

Whitney S Ketchledge, NBCT

That's right folks...I have a few new letters behind my name (I also get to have M.Ed.!) Last year I started the process of becoming a National Board Certified Teacher. National Boards is an organization that works to define the standards for certifying accomplished professional educators and recognize excellent teachers and leaders. The process is very intense requiring a huge portfolio of writing, evidence, student work, and videos of you teaching along with a six hour exam! It took me from August through June to complete the entire process (although most of the work was completed in March). The test was in June and then the waiting began. It was so painful waiting for six months to find out if you accomplished something you worked so hard for. It was just this past Saturday (November 17, 2012) that I woke up and logged in to see...

 I couldn't believe it! For most people this is a 2-3 year process. You have 3 years from your start date to complete it and 70% of teachers have to resubmit during year 2 in order to score enough points to reach the certification level of 275. I expected to have to do the same but I woke up to a score of 326! I am beyond thrilled and excited for this accomplishment. It was a lot of hard work and it means a lot to me to have this. I am still kind of in shock, but super excited!

To learn more about NBPTS click here!

Stay tuned for some exciting updates as I make the rounds of faculty and school board meetings along with the other teachers in my district who passed this year, and I'll be back soon to catch up on Halloween and now Thanksgiving as well :)

Happy Halloween

This year we did not have as many halloween activities but we had a great time with the ones we did. Hurricane Sandy gave us rain all weekend and a day at home together on Monday. I am very sad and sorry for the people in the northern states that experienced so much damage, but I am thankful for the time at home with my kids. There was no homework, school work or house work to be done so we just played and did crafts and rested. It was fantastic.

 

Wednesday Izabel had her Pumpkin Patch Parade and party and Tanner had his on Thursday at school. They had a great time and I will upload the video if I can. We went trick-or-treating and this year the kids were Beauty and the Beast. It was super cute, but Tanner's costume was heavy and trick-or-treating goes way too late for us. We barely made it around our block before heading in for the night. The kids still got plenty of candy and they had a good time.

Beauty and the Beast

Our little monkey Baby Rowan came along for her first Trick-or-Treat

Some houses were scary but the kids were not giving up any candy this year!

Mommy and Daddy got to have some Halloween fun too!

5 Year Pictures

We were a little behind on getting pictures done for Izzy's birthday because of all the yucky colds we've been passing around but we got them in yesterday and there were some great shots! Enjoy our little princess :)

A Very Happy Birthday!

Our little princess is now 5 years old. I can't seem to figure out where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday that I was enjoying these fall days with my tiny little baby girl! That tiny little girl is now a very busy big girl. She goes to school all day now and is in a Pre-K class. She is in her third phonics book and third reader. She loves school and has lots of friends. She is a strong independent girl who likes to think for herself and do what she wants, but she is super sweet and is always first to offer her help!

Clothing Size: 4T
Weight: 37.5 lbs
Height:(Coming Nov 8th)

Favorites: Pink ruffle skirt (if you couldn't tell), ANYTHING Princess, riding her bike, fruit and gummies, chicken with mashed potatoes and corn, gymnastics, coloring, working in her reader and phonics book, playing on the Leapster, going to the park and the mall :)

The day before her actual birthday we had her birthday party at Excalibur Gymnastics where she has been going for the last two years. Almost her whole class came to her birthday party and everyone had an amazing time. It really was one of the best kid birthday parties I have ever been to. They started out with stretches and the coach was so engaging and fun. Then they did an obstacle course that included two trampolines. They divided into two teams and raced through another obstacle course using tunnels, mats, and the pit. Then they got to play in a big inflatable castle with slides and on the playground. The fun went on past our scheduled time so we barely got to have cupcakes and we were done, but I wouldn't change a thing! Izabel got a ton of wonderful gifts, but the amount of fun that she had with the kids she has really gotten to know over the last two years was priceless.

Baby Rowan and Baby Jackson :)

Monday she got to take cupcakes to her class and wear a princess crown all day at school. I let her dress herself for her birthday! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves on that one. Then we met up with my parents and Uncle Matt for a birthday dinner at Friendly's. It's her favorite restaurant and I'm sure that has nothing to do with the ice cream that comes with every kids meal :)

I know she truly enjoyed all of the birthday activities and I am so happy that we were able to have such a memorable weekend for her. Happy Birthday to our perfect little princess!! We love you bunches!

September Happenings

We've been busy this month adjusting to our new routine. The kids are doing really well with school all day but they are so tired at night. I knew it would be an adjustment and we are getting there. We've been busy on the weekends with football games and social events. Grandma and granddaddy don't see the kids everyday anymore so they have been having the kids over on Saturday nights for sleepovers. This has been nice for Noah and I to get out and have some nice dates and time with friends. Izabel moved up to Level 1 at gymnastics and she was so excited but also intimidated. It was so cute and she has been doing really well. 

ODU Football is 5-0 10-1 and heading to the playoffs right now
and we are loving every minute of it!!! 

Work is CRAZY! I have been super challenged so far this year and I am just trying to keep up. Between school and work I am pretty tired all the time but I'll survive. Noah is starting his last quarter of his degree and he will graduate October 27th. I'm very proud of him and really happy for him to be done!

October has lots in store so hopefully I can keep up a little more frequently with some big posts including a very big birthday! Hope everyone has a great week :)