Home for the Holidays

There really is no place like home for the holidays!! I was fortunate once again to have three weeks off of school, which gives me lots of time to soak up my sweet Michigan. I've enjoyed every moment thus far and the sweet memories just keep rolling in! Here's a quick recap of my last few days...

A trip to see Santa! Charlotte's first encounter with the big guy. Dylan asked Santa for a train, and according to Dylan, Charlotte asked Santa for a remote controlled tractor, because that is so  Charlotte....  The train was under the tree, but the tractor... maybe next year, Char.

A trip to the zoo for night lights!.. complete with an amazing photo booth.

A trip to the mall! Dylan even got to ride in the red caboose of the mini train. And Amanda got to chase the train all around the mall.

Dylan and I went on an early morning movie date to see The Polar Express on the big screen... He got to watch one of his favorite movies and pig out on popcorn while I got my nephew snuggles! It was a win-win!

Packing preparation for a week in Cancun to celebrate family and celebrate Josh and Tara's wedding!

I babysat the littles for a couple days. They went easy on me and we had lots of fun building block towers, dumping the ball pit everywhere, playing with tractors, and exploring the awesome house Santa brought on Christmas.

Snow fun at Ama and Papa's house! Dylan and I built a snowdeer while Charlotte cheered us on from the kitchen window. That girl is fearless and not much slows her down...

Christmas dinner at Grandma Ree's house. If only photos captured sound... All of us are singing a different Christmas carol. I believe that was an attempt to get Charlotte and Dylan to smile, but the logic behind that could certainly be debated.

Christmas eve dinner with Grandma Ree and the parents followed by church. I then rushed home to play Santa's elf. Christmas morning brunch and gifts and family facetime with Pookie and Tara. Then Christmas day at grandma and grandpa Feldpausch's.

A trip to the Impression 5 Museum to check out the hot wheels exhibit. Also the bubble room, and blocks, and mega blocks, and marble table... Impression 5 is pretty great!


Lunch with Beth and some other ladies I worked with during my student teaching in DeWitt.

Brunch with Dana, Kelsy, Casey, and some delicious homemade cinnamon rolls. Followed by shopping shenanigans with Dana!

NYE dinner and fireworks!

A down-on-the-farm, John Deere style birthday party for one very excited (now) three year old!

Before, during, and after there were countless other small moments I treasure, tons of giggles and even some tears. My trips home may not be glamorous, but this little guy's giggle is totally worth long flights and jet lag.

Speaking of flights... the next part of the holiday is a week in Cancun to enjoy the sun and celebrate Josh and Tara's wedding. That is IF we survive a four hour flight with the unstoppable (doesn't even liked to be slowed down) Miss Charlotte...

Pre-holiday

4:30 pm .. at least it's pretty

Holiday anticipation is sometimes the only thing that helps make it through the dark dark days of December. Each day I get a little closer to my flight and those adorable kiddos back home! In the meantime, I've had lots to keep me busy.

A few weekends back was the Chrismas Bizarre. The ISL students made coasters to sell and all the profits go charity. I picked up these penguins! It was a beautiful day so I strolled through some of the other markets and parks. The park near my apartment has a giant bunny wonderland. The bunnies are equally large in size! But I've enjoyed walking past it the last few weeks. 

The next weekend was the staff Christmas party. This year, it was a place called Moonshine. It's a fun Rockabilly themed place in Old Town. Yummy snacks, plenty of drinks, and even a small pool table! 

That Sunday was the Santa Run! Another charity event where tons of people dress up as Santa and run through old town! It was cold, but thankfully not snowing or raining-- wet and slippery cobblestones make the short distance feel much longer. I was going to do the race with Bekah, but her family was in town and they had a stroller... the only thing more dangerous than the cobblestones would be the crazy number of strollers. So I ran ahead while they walked the course. 

Finally, it was the last week of school. It felt like the days dragged on, but there was plenty of fun! We had the Snow Show- my students composed their own songs to play on Boomwhackers. 

Then we had a PJ-and-slippers day on Thursday! With some peanut butter bars and a compliment exchange. At first, the students were a little unsure about the compliment thing. Then some of them were really against it once they found out it was random and not just their friends. But once everyone got their compliments, they were loving it!! And I think the fact that the compliments came from different people was more meaningful to them. That is what I am telling myself. :) 

Friday finally came! The room moms brought in pizza and ice cream treats. They also a planned a super cute craft with holiday pictures of each kid. And glitter. So. Much. Glitter. But the students were happy!! And sparkly. 

I just submitted the final assignment for a second grad class. Tomorrow I have a list of Christmas, birthday, and wedding gifts to get. Then a suitcase to pack and squish it all into just in time to head to the airport!!! 

Michigan here I come!! 

 

Fall 2016

I think 2016 may be the fastest year I've yet to experience! Before the last few days slip away I'll try to recap my last few months!

🍎✏️ SEPTEMBER ✏️🍎

There was a hockey game! Go Dinamo.... they actually played well and were in the lead. Until they weren't and of course that's how it ended. But we got this awesome selfie with the mascot! 

There was a fall festival. The fall festival actually. It's one of the bigger markets that happens and it's complete with crazy furry hats and adorable little booties for tiny toes! It doesn't sound like Charlotte would slow down long enough for these anymore!! 

There was a girls night. And another. Okay, there were probably a few. I also remember several brunches at various locations around Riga, my favorite being the Bagel place that is literally right behind my building! I've had a lot of bagels in recent weeks. I regret none of them. 

🍃🍂🍁 OCTOBER 🍃🍂🍁🎃

There was a break! From school at least. Grad school continued and so did the rest of life. I didn't plan to travel and instead offered to help a friend and take care of her dog while she toured Italy. Lulu and I had a fantastic week of walks in the park, rounds of fetch, and cuddling- my toes have never been so warm! 

Of course, Lulu likes a little adventure too. In the form of slipping her collar. As she had done this to Elizabeth a time or two, I picked up a harness for her hoping that would prevent any mishaps. But oh no! Lulu and I joined Bekah and her dog Bella on a mini road trip around Latvia. Our very first stop, Lulu managed to slip the harness and took off, first to the river, and then through the town, while I frantically chased behind cursing shouting for her to stop.  Once we caught her again, I made sure to check the harness Frequently. 

We ventured through Kuldiga, to see the waterfall. Then to Liepaja to check out the fort ruins and seaside. From there we followed the coast up to Ventspils and Kolka where the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Riga waters meet! It was fun to see the beaches around here and they reminded me a lot of some areas in Michigan.

And of course, Halloween rounded out the month. It's slowly catching here in Riga, but very slowly. A couple from the school did host a house party though, so I joined some friends and we all dressed as clowns. Sadly, we did not pull up in a tiny car. Maybe next time.

🍁☁️🌧🌨⛄️ NOVEMBER ☃️🦃💡

While my family celebrated their unusually warm temps, November rolled into Riga with a snowstorm! It wasn't too upsetting, the city is beautiful with a layer of white snow and somehow it feels like the snow makes it less cold. 

Months ago it was announced that Elton John would be performing in Riga. Yea, stranger things have happened, but this one seemed up there so we grabbed some cheap tickets. Plus, the arena here is quite small, so all the seats are pretty good. However, we did not consider the date very carefully. He performed on Tuesday night and Parent conferences were after school the next day! But again, how often do you have the chance to see Elton John perform in Riga. It was actually a really great concert.  Followed by two days of awesome conferences. 

Grad school was, of course happening during all of this, but I spend enough time on that (despite the vision presented in this blog) I didn't feel it required any more attention. It is going well though. Challenging me in ways and helping me to become a better teacher. I see connections frequently between what happened at school and our discussions or vice versa. Okay, enough about that :p 

After conferences ended we had a lovely friends-giving celebration!! It was a week early but coincided with Latvia's Independence Day, so it still felt like a holiday weekend! Most of which was spent grad-schooling, but there was also Staroriga going on!! There are several different light displays put up all throughout the city. Cool stuff to look at, but consistent with the trend since July, the weather was terrible! Cold, cold rain made the exhibits a little less enjoyable. Only a little though. 

Celebrating their hard work with
a disco-ball dance party

In grade 4, we wrapped up a unit about technology and innovation by sharing some of their knowledge at the elementary school assembly. The students worked in groups to produce little trivia games for everyone to play, they wrote scripts for themselves, and they totally ran the show! My job was to move the PowerPoint along, which was fine by me!

The next day they continued their awesome streak with the Invention Convention! Each student came up with an invention of some kind to present. We even had grade 5s and some parents fill in an investment form to see whose idea attracted the most attention. In the end, the "zero effort skates" (self-propelled roller skates) and the "bag n flag" (an automated kitty litter box) were the investor favorites. 

And now it's December! We've started learning about human rights, my second grad class is a few weeks away from being complete, we have more snow on the ground, I have Christmas music playing, and in 16 days I'll be back home again!! Just in time for Charlotte's first Christmas, Dylan's third birthday, and Pookie and Tara's wedding! 

..I'm pretty sure 2016 doesn't plan on slowing down now. Let's see how 2017 goes! 

Finding the balance

Near the end of last year I was finally starting to be okay going home at night and only doing a little work, or sometimes, not working at all. As a teacher, long hours are to be expected. And there were plenty of nights that required a few hours of work at home. But it was nice to take the occasional "night off." Same goes for the weekend. I could easily pack those 48 hours with reading and planning and prepping materials and gathering resources... easily. But I am finally learning to limit those times.

This year my goal has been to "do work at work." Meaning, minimal to no work at home. With the exception of weekends, of course. So far this year it's been working well enough. Granted, we are just getting into the all the material and true fourth-grade action.

As much I would love to say all this evening time has meant pursuits of new hobbies or that I have finally mastered something in the kitchen, instead the true motivation for the "work at work" is that I have started a grad program. So after I "work at work," I get to "grad school at home." And my weekends? They have been evenly divided; Saturday is for cleaning, laundry, and grade 4 stuff. Sunday is for grad school and grocery shopping.

So as long as I don't have anything else to do on my weekend, or really busy evenings, or really crazy times at work, this schedule will be perfect! .... hehe

The year really is off to a good start, though. I have 23 students - 14 boys and 9 girls. I haven't had such a boy-heavy, crazy energetic, always chatting bunch since my first year in Morocco. I have consistently been in bed and asleep before 10:15 each night, and believe me, that is as long as I can possibly hold my eyes open. This group is exhausting me in that positive teacher way. A few things about them:
They have big opinions and they are not afraid to share them.
They love to play games and question every rule while also accusing each other of cheating.
They love scary stories and suspenseful mysteries.
They love to dance. The crazier the tune and moves the better.
They are hot messes. Whoa man!
They are sensitive and young and can be sweet.

I am certainly beginning to love these kiddos. There are certainly a few with specific needs that will stretch me, frustrate me, confuse me, and challenge challenge challenge me. But that's also how I will grow. Regardless of how crazy, or frustrating, or silly they may be they are my students, my kiddos, my "friends" as I refer to them in class. And I am excited for all of us to find some balance in the year ahead.

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.

Field trip

One if the first things students ask about are field trips! And this year was no different. What was different, was that all the trips Leigh and I discussed or tried to plan, fell through. We were feeling bad about the fact other classes were on their third or fourth field trip for the year and we had gone no where. We were also sensing a mini revolt being planned as their patience wore incredibly thin.

As our government unit went on, we decided a trip to Latvia's parliament would be fun  and fitting. The Latvian studies teacher was gracious enough to call and set up the times for us. But, as was often an issue last year, 35 kiddos was just too many. They needed to break us up into two groups. That's really not a big issue, but it does create the task of what to do while not touring the parliament. Thankfully the Saiema building (parliament) wasn't far from the castle or town hall. So we had a little scavenger hunt for the kids to complete when not inside and we prayed hard for decent weather!

Our wish came true and we had a perfect spring (nearly summer) day. The weather wasn't a problem but I did have a few kiddos forget their passports despite the (not kidding) 12 reminders I sent home and countless verbal reminders. A few early morning phone calls and we were all able to make it in. We even had an extra parent show up to join us!

My kids did the inside tour first. I have to confess, field trips are super fun for me too. At least trips like this with a tour guide. I get to turn my teacher hat around and learn with them too. It's awesome! I think they were more into the different couches, but they asked a few good questions as well. Then it was our turn to venture outside.

I love Riga's old town, but I still get lost down there sometimes. Thankfully all the roads lead to the same few spots so it's easy enough to hide. We went to the Town Hall building and the kids had several tasks like listing the different committees and finding certain dates. Town hall is situated on a decently sized square. The kids knew they needed to stay with their buddy but for the most part they were all zipping about the square from statue to fountain to wall while the parents and I looked on.

People frequently ask if I feel safe overseas and I never feel that people understand my answer. As I stood there watching 18 ten year olds run about in a main city square, my biggest fear was not kidnappers, creepers, or crazed killers. My biggest (potentially only) fear was that someone (including myself) would fall on the cobblestone. That was honestly the only worry I had.

Of course, I still follow news and am aware of things happening in the world and US, so I had a careful eye on all the pairs and people in the square. No one seemed bothered by them, no one complained, no one threatened. My kids weren't worried about any one causing harm to them, because at age 10 you shouldn't have to be. My kids got to be kids. And I got to watch them laugh and learn and explore knowing that we were safe and fine. Except for the cobblestones...

My students discovered a working fountain in the square center and everyone had to take a turn pushing the button and splashing the water (it was quite warm so I let it happen). Then we headed back to meet the other class for the bus trip home.

It was a beautiful day! And it was really nice to get out of the school. The students loved all of it and were thinking back on all the field trips they've done in their school career. It was nice to hear that this had been one of their favorites. I am going to pretend that opinion never changes. ;)

Escaping Riga

One of my good friends decided to celebrate his birthday by renting a cottage out in the countryside. Springtime in Latvia might be even more fickle than that of Michigan. So despite a warm week, the weekend forecast was looking chilly.


I rode out with Bekah and Meghan, and after a short "we are totally lost" moment, we found it! It was a big place and yet still very cosy!! We played some frisbee and ate a delicious dinner, then I alternated between the fire outside and the fire inside. Some of the guys braved the sauna and the freezing pond. Most of us were happy to enjoy what warmth we could find.



On Saturday we walked over the beach. Latvia's beaches remind me a lot of Michigan's coastlines. There was no one else around as we walked up and down and enjoyed the sound of the crashing water and bright clear blue skies. I found a big rock and took a little snooze. We had just wrapped up spring conferences and it was that time of the year when you can start to see and feel the end coming, but all the 'to-dos' are still there and weighing heavy. It took me a while to clear my head but I'm glad I had the chance to sit and be and process the year.