Our Fantastic Fall (So Far!)

Long time, no blog!  Like the sunflower from my garden pictured above, our Fall has blossomed into a season that's been bright and sunny!  Coming off one of our hardest and most exhausting years last school year, we are just loving life right now and enjoying the joy of expectations exceeded!  Delia is thriving in 7th grade and looking at one of her best report cards ever as this quarter ends.  Ella actually told me this has been her favorite year yet as she grows and blooms in high school.  And my preschool year has been full of the happiness that a beautiful new building, a great class of kiddos, and a team of co-workers I truly love and look forward to seeing each day bring!  Here are some of the pictures and stories that tell you in more detail what we've been up to the past 2 months:

While Delia stayed at a friend's house one day off, Dave and I enjoyed a Sacramento date with our oldest.  We just went to lunch and Ikea, but it was a special day because we had uninterrupted quality time with our busy daughter to laugh and have deep conversations.

 And when we got home with some new organization for all her art supplies, she built it herself!  

 With our new building, the preschool has gotten a lot of attention this year!  This was the day of a big ribbon cutting ceremony.  The ceremony got good press and had some neat touches, like our charter preschool class (now 9th graders) walking over from the high school to be a part of it.  But ironically, it was held during the middle of a school day, so all of us teachers, who have worked to make the preschool what it actually is, had students to teach and couldn't even be a part of it!  But, we did get to snap a quick picture.

I celebrated a birthday this fall and enjoyed over-the-top spoils and love from my people.  If you're reading this, you are probably one of them, so thank you!  My co-teacher gave me this new favorite shirt. :)

 We said goodbye to some dear friends.  Jeremy, who has photographed our newborn daughters and served as a youth group leader with Dave for 12 years, and his family moved to Washington.  We'll miss them, but celebrate God's clear direction in this new chapter of their lives.

While nothing huge has happened to or for Delia this Fall, I rejoice over her consistent good attitude and friendly personality.  Several of her teachers have made a point to tell me what a positive and good example Delia is to her classmates.  She has to work hard at school, and this year she really has shown that discipline, but being kind and welcoming to all remains her strength.  I just love this happy little reunion that happens every day as Ivy's favorite person returns to her!

 We have a super fun Wild West themed week at school where we learn about cowboys and animals that live in the desert.  A sweet group of church friends come in to give each student a pony ride and teach them how to rope and stuff.  Here is my room 4 team in the proper attire!

 The monthly trips to Dunkin Dounts have not stopped!  Here is a snapshot of October's visit!  

 This was a crazy experience!  Our school has a Foundation that consists of some of our most generous donors.  Each year a fancy dinner is hosted at the golf club to thank the Foundation for all they do for our school.  Along with an amazing dinner, there is also a presentation highlighting a part of our school.  Well, you guessed it...this year the preschool was featured!  I was honored (and a bit terrified) to be asked to come and speak about my experience as a preschool teacher.  I gave a 3 page speech on what a typical day looks like in preschool, what some of the different schedules we offer are, what our curriculum consists of, and what my favorite part of teaching is, peppered with some personal stories.  It went really well!  Though my lovely dinner had to go home in a to-go box with me because I was too nervous to eat before I spoke, I got a lot of nice feedback and enjoyed meeting some great people (mostly grandparents of current and former students!).

Busy Ella could not join us for Pastor Appreciation Day at Funworks this year, but we still had a good time taking Delia and giving her some special attention.  She was thrilled to be old/tall enough to drive the go-karts for the first time this year! 

 Here is a fun little collage showing us chauffeuring her all these years.  How we love this tradition!  With one daughter already down due to after-school commitments, Dave and I wondered if we'll continue to go and race each other around the go-kart track for free on Pastor Appreciation Day even when we have no kids to go with, and decided OF COURSE WE WILL!!

And now for the big thing that has been consuming our Fall-- Ella's involvement in our high school's production of Singin' In the Rain!  Even though it has been SO much work learning all the choreography, lines, and details, she has love, love, loved everything about putting this super challenging show together.  It debuts in ONE week, with shows this Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.  (Local friends, feel free to contact me to get ticket info!)  The two weeks before a performance are intense and she's been spending some late nights at school.  One night I went in to help feed the kids dinner and got a sneak peek.  It is so fantastic!

 Ella plays a couple different roles and enjoys 6 costumes changes.  Her favorite part to play is Dora Bailey, who opens the show with a bang, coming to you live from the red carpet outside Grauman's Chinese Theater, introducing all the actors in the show.  Here she is, above, with the famous Cosmo, Don Lockwood, and Lena.

She then becomes an all-important ensemble member doing everything from acting as a hairdresser to a movie-goer to a dancer in the big Broadway Medley scene.  What fun to realize the red, fringy flapper girl dress she wears in a big dance number is the same one her sister wore 2 years ago!

The night I stayed to watch a bit of the show had me leaving with a stitch in my side from laughing so hard.  The cast was getting a bit silly as it got later and later and they rehearsed their curtain call, but they were HILARIOUS!  This is a group of kids that share similar intelligence, creativity, and humor.  We've heard it's been a cast unlike any other, as they've all become good friends and started hanging out together outside of play practice.  Ella and one of the senior girls on cast even meet early every Monday morning to pray for our school.  When she talks about this beloved new group of friends, she explains simply, "These are my people, Mom."  Such a blessing to see the way drama has enriched my girls' school experiences so far...and we're just at the beginning!