HomeSweetMitten

School wrapped up and it was time to make the trip home once again for the summer season.

Instead of the normal flight through Frankfurt, I flew to Moscow and then to DC from there. I was attending a week-long training about Math. I don't have anything that exciting to share about the conference itself, but my time in DC did allow me to catch up with an old familiar face! Jon, a teacher I worked with in Morocco now lives in the DC area and we were able to go out and celebrate his birthday!

I was able to visit a few museums while in DC. First I went to the Newseum.... it was amazing! It's all about media and journalism. It had hundreds of front pages from all over the world, talked about freedom of the press and freedom of speech throughout history and the world today. Obe of our grade 4 units is all about Media and we use a ton of resources from this place. I wish I could take my kiddos there. It'd be totally worth it!

I also went to the air and space museum. I'd been there before and they definitely had some fun exhibits, but I mostly looking for the gift shop. I have a precious nephew that loves planes! I found a cute little gift for him and a few books as well because it's never too early for that!


Finally, Friday came around and it was time to fly home! That little plane enthusiast and my parents picked me up and then we stopped off to watch a few more planes do their thing. Dylan loved his plane, but I will pretend he loved seeing me even more ;)


So much was squished into what always feels like too short of a time. As lovely as it would be to travel more in the summer, I love spending that time with my family. And that is exactly what I did this summer!!


Nothing but zoo trips, buggy rides, pool parties, and family dinners. Lots of ice cream, baby snuggles, and laughter. We went to an air show, two zoos, two farms, a parade, and a couple shopping trips. We also celebrated Charlotte's baptism and her first time rolling over, as well as Dylan's half birthday (any excuse to spoil the child). I got to catch up with friends too, and I love doing that also!


The moments I treasure most are simple.
They are unplanned.
They may look like nothing special.
But those simple moments are the times that bring joy to my heart and tears to my eyes.


My family is so precious to me and I think the many miles in between us are teaching me to love them more and never take the moments I have with them for granted.

I am about to begin my fifth year living overseas. Sometimes it feels as though I've been gone longer, sometimes it feels like I never left. I am often asked when/if I will return, and honestly I have no clue. I've asked God many times, but he hasn't yet revealed that to me. And that's okay.


I don't know when (or if) this overseas life will end, but I do know that no matter where I am in the world, I am loved, I have a home, and I have a family... And I can't wait to see them again!

End of year happenings

Quick recap of some great springtime events: 

The students helped me out with a project for Kristine. They all posed with these amazing mustaches or glasses and it resulted in the cutest collage of kiddos ever. Perhaps it's more that I've been with these guys for two years now and have real feelings about how much they have grown, learned, challenged each other, and matured. They used to be like babies and now.... I have some really mixed emotions about getting a new group of children.

My golden birthday - turned 27 on the 27th. Celebrations included mint chocolate brownies for the staff, a delicious cake with grade 4, Indian food and beer fest with friends, and a fantastic pineapple with a face! 

In class we were doing our final unit about the human body. After reading a bit about the circulatory system and blood, we made our own blood models using Cheerios and food coloring. It was pretty awesome and quite disgusting, which makes it even more awesome in grade 4! The students also worked in groups to present on an activity and how it affects different systems in the body. They did an incredible job with the projects and even though they were specific to that unit, I felt like it was a culminating project in that it showed how much they have come with their presentation skills! Speaking of presentation, we also had the Spring Show. Grade 4 did a song about the respiratory system set to the music of a One Direction song.... It was fantastic. They also sang "all about the bass" like Meghan Trainor, except the lyrics were all about bass notes. It was adorable.

In a continuation of my birthday, we biked out to Jurmala. It was only like a three hour ride. Since Latvia has no hills, it really wasn't bad. Just hot. I still have tan lines from that trip. But it was worth it once we got out to the water. Bekah, Rorey, Cody, Shaun, Alyssa, and I all enjoyed a nice lunch and  then some drinks and naps on the beach. Plus a bit of volleyball. Then It was time to head back to Riga.... We opted for the train. :) 

Grade 4's end of year party. Oh my. There was a bit of drama in the planning of the party, but in the end, it was great. The kids had a great time and it didn't rain until it was time to leave and no one got hurt! Which is quite astounding given that the party included a climbing wall, ropes maze, slack line, trampoline, outdoor games and 33 sugar-crazed 10 year olds! The venue wouldn't have been my first choice, but again they all enjoyed it and that's really my biggest concern. 

I know there was a lot more in between those things, but I don't have as many photos of those. 

Volleyball

Just in case my backpack was starting to feel too comfy after all those trips, it was time to fly yet again. This time it was for the Middle school girls' volleyball tournament in Helsinki, Finland.

Last year the tournament was in Sofia, Bulgaria and required a long early morning journey. Helsinki, which is nearly straight north, was a short 45 minute flight!

Last year was also my first year coaching. It was certainly a learning experience for me and if I, honest, I wasn't thrilled about coaching again. Ieva agreed to coach again also and we divided up the commitment, making it a bit easier to come back. I was pleasantly surprised at the first practice when all the girls were ready (on time) and eager to get practice volleyball (as opposed to their flirting skills). Don't get me wrong, I get it, it's middle school and we had the girls and boys practicing together (small school struggles). But after spending all day with my kiddos that after school hour is precious time, and giving it up to a group that didn't care wasn't easy. But this year, it was totally different!

There was a solid group of 8th graders that traveled last year and returned again to lead the team. We had 14 girls sign up to travel but only 10 spots available. After a bit of drama over who made the cut and wanted to come, we had our team of 10- the six 8th graders and four 7th graders.

The team with
encouragement notes

These tournaments are really the only time the girls play a real game. We don't have local teams to compete against. At the same time, these tournaments are awesome! From a coaching standpoint, you do get to see the growth the girls go through individually and as a team. But it's also a great chance for the girls to meet and make friends with others and to see a new school/city/culture. And as a coach I get to live it up in a hotel for the weekend!

The tournament started on Friday, but due to space (more small school problems) our group had the city tour first. We ventured downtown for a bit and stopped for many photo ops - again, middle school girls. The tour included a nice little market along a harbor, where most girls filled up on waffles and chocolate. Then the tour ended with a stop at Starbucks. Starbucks is well known, but most girls were coming from places that don't have a Starbucks, like Riga.

You can see Ieva and I in the background
of this picture.... it perfectly captured us

Our games began after lunch and we faced the two toughest teams first. The girls came out strong and surprised the teams! We ended up losing both games but only by a small margin. And I felt it was a win because despite our loss, the girls stayed positive and into it- a huge improvement from last year.

Since the tournament was in May and it's now almost August, I have forgotten a lot of owe little details like scores and if we played three games on Friday or only two. But I do remember that the girls worked together in every game and, similar to last year, squeaked their way into a playoff game. This time it was for third place.

We won the first set by just a few points. Then started the second set with all the 8th graders out. Despite a lead, the other team came back and, by just a few points, took set two. By this time everyone was nervous and excited and the little gym was packed. Ieva and I couldn't help but laugh. we showed them the rotation and the rest was up to them. With a score of 13 to 15 we lost the final set and took fourth overall in the tournament.

They were of course bummed to have been so close to third place but I do believe most of them didn't come for the competition, they came for the chance to make friends and take more selfies than you could imagine. I'm surprised snapchat didn't break. We also got the sportsmanship award again. Which, although I wasn't excited about the giant trophy, is a nice award to receive.