Journal: Week of May 20, 2024

Ashlyn earned her Star rank with BSA Scouts on Monday, May 20, 2024.  She is getting one step closer to Eagle!  Jakob earned his Eagle rank about the week before he turned 17.  Her current goal is to beat him by earning Eagle before the time he earned his rank.  However, only time will tell though.  She still has a bunch of Eagle required merit badges to complete.  Back in January, she switched troops to an all-girl backpacking troop and has been extremely happy with the challenges along with the other girls in the troop.

We finished off the last day of the 2023-2024 school this past Friday.  It was a busy school year as always.  Ashlyn finished off her 7th grade school year.  I finished my 15th year teaching.  In the past fifteen years, I have taught 7th grade math, 7th honors math, 8th grade math, and Algebra on my campus.  

Part of our check-out for the end of the school year was to put our big tables in the hallway.  My room is changing next year.  I will be downstairs and I will have windows!  I am excited about having windows again.  It has been quite some time since I have had windows, so I am looking forward to it.  Prior to leaving last Friday, I was able to pack everything up and store most of it in my classroom along with the math closet.  After our school finishes with all the cleaning, I will work towards moving everything to my new classroom when we return for the next school year.

My Side Stitch Creations EtsyShop is slowly picking back up which is fantastic.  Last week, new pen holders and a keyfob shipped out to North Carolina and Illinois.

Jakob started back to lifeguarding again this summer.  He appreciates the hourly pay rate and really likes the management team where he is currently lifeguarding.  He completed his first year at college and did well overall for his first year away at college.  Thankfully, due to his scholarship, he was able to live on campus.  This past spring break, we found him a fully furnished student housing apartment where he will live for his next school year.  I know he will appreciate having a private room and private bathroom.  He will have a shared living room and kitchen area with one other student.

Journal: Week of April 29, 2024

This past week went well.  My Algebra and 8th grade math students took their end of the year STAAR test.  Hopefully, they did well.  We will not know the results until much later in the school year most likely.  Last year we did not know their results until the beginning of our current school year.  We have three more weeks of the 2023-2024 school year.  

We completed our annual swim test for BSA on Wednesday.  In order to pass the BSA swim test, you must jump feet first into water over the head in depth, level off, and begin swimming. Swim 75 yards in a strong manner using one or more of the following strokes: sidestroke, breaststroke, trudgen, or crawl; then swim 25 yards using an easy resting backstroke. The 100 yards must be swum continuously and include at least one sharp turn. After completing the swim, rest by floating. I recently purchased a Samsung Watch 6 and was impressed the watch knew which stroke I was doing while completing my test.  

Ashlyn went on an orchestra field trip with her school this past Thursday.  They did well and scored superior rating in all the categories.  After their performance, they went to Andretti Indoor Karting & Games.  

Friday evening, Ashlyn helped Jakob move the rest of his things from his dorm to the house.  He bribed her by buying her Whataburger for dinner and then ice cream afterwards!  He has a few more finals remaining next week, but otherwise has completed his first year at the University of North Texas!

Journal: Week of May 29, 2023

We moved a bunch of furniture around this past Monday.  By moving the queen bed out of our front bedroom it opened it up for me to use it for a craft and exercise room.  Last year in September, I started sewing more which included making classroom window curtains for everyone in our eighth grade hallway.  After pondering on the idea, I created Side Stitch Creations.  

The past few months I have even been classified as a STAR seller which is fantastic news.  In order to receive the badge, sellers must have speedy replies to questions, good reviews, on-time shipping, along with a minimum number and dollar amount of orders.

STAR Seller Badge - June 2023

Ashlyn has been enjoying her afternoons at her friend's house for VBS.  She had a good week which included swimming yesterday afternoon.

Jakob has had off from work majority of this week due to his graduation.  He starts back to lifeguarding at the of this week.  I suspect he will have a busy summer.

Journal: Week of March 23, 2020

Found this quote this morning while looking for something to post on Jakob's Facebook page for mowing business.  Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's learning to Dance in the Rain.  The kids have had a variety of activities to keep them busy and engaged.  This past Tuesday night, Jeff and the kids slept in the backyard.  Later this week, Ashlyn practice her golf using her club from grandparents.   Jeff picked up chalk from Target about a week ago and we've used it quite a bit from creating artwork to school work.  One of Ashlyn's school assignments this past week was to track her shadow throughout the day.  She understood her shadow would move, but she found it fascinating when we had to draw her really long shadow due to the angle of the sun at the end of the day.  Both kids have kept up with their school work.  Jakob has enjoyed his Zoom calls with his different class periods.

The past two Fridays, we had produce delivered through FarmBox Delivery.  I appreciate the choice to be able to adjust what we receive and the choice to skip deliveries, if needed.  I haven't made a smoothie in quite some time.  Ashlyn had been asking for me to make another one.  We made one yesterday afternoon with kale, banana, strawberries, blackberries, and an orange.  It tasted great!

Camp Gladiator started broadcasting their workouts using Facebook and now on Zoom.  Exercising has helped with my routine and stress levels.  This past week, Ashlyn and Jakob joined me in the workouts.  Jakob completed his first Camp Gladiator workout yesterday and reported today he was sore!  I figured the workouts are great for him, especially since swim has been canceled with school buildings closed.

3/23/2020

Ashlyn worked out with me on Thursday, 3/26/2020.

Kids worked out with me on Friday, 3/27/2020.

Tacoma has enjoyed our company while being home.  Jeff has been walking him in the mornings for about an hour and often another walk in the evenings.  In a few days, we will have had Tacoma for a year!  He is such a great dog and love him dearly.

Spring Break 2018

I just realized I never posted our spring break pictures. Enjoy!

Thursday, March 15th

We went to the Tulip Farm with an event with our new neighborhood and picked some pretty tulips.  It was such a windy day with our hair flying in all directions.

Friday, March 16th

We took the kids to Chuck-E-Cheese for the morning to play and have lunch.  The kids had the location pretty much to themselves for most of the time which is so peaceful in my opinion.  Shortly after finishing at Chuck-E-Cheese it was time to meet Jeff and drop Jakob off with him for the movies and then Mom and I headed to an event with our new neighborhood.

Mom and I took Ashlyn to a Saint Patrick's Day scavenger hunt at our new neighborhood which was a blast!  Afterwards, we walked the neighborhood and visited the playground.  Mom and I watched a house being built adjacent to the playground and were amazed at the brick masonry workers.  They were throwing the bricks up to the different scaffolded levels on average of five bricks per throw!  It was amazing to watch and sure impressed both of us.

Saturday, March 17th

Jeff took the training wheels off of Ashlyn's bike and she started practicing riding her bike without.  She is still working on balancing and has not mastered the skill just yet.  However, Jeff and I realized after taking the training wheels off the bike appears to be too small.  Therefore, possibly for her next birthday, she might be getting the next size!

Sunday, March 18th

We received free tickets from a friend from church for the Texas Legends game.  It was a fun evening with the entire family!  After the game, we went to Braum's and also ran into friends from church!

Summertime Swimming

Summer of 2015, both kids started swimming at Emler Swim School in Frisco.  I cannot say enough positive things about this swim school.  It amazes me to look back at videos from when they both started compared to now.  Summer of 2016, Jakob started swimming with Swim380 and in the summer of 2017, Ashlyn joined Swim380 also.  Check out their race times, pictures, and videos below.

Watch Ashlyn's swim races from July 28, 2018.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rMGM8EVEWvB2Eitd7

 Ashlyn took 2nd place for her 25M kickboard race and 2nd place for her 25M backstroke race.

	Swim 380	Swim 380	Swim 380
	6/17/2017	7/15/2017	7/29/2017
25M Kickboard	49.65 seconds	40.28 seconds	-
25M Freestyle	Refused to do this race.	42.40 seconds	42.54 seconds
25M Backstroke	49.88 seconds *used kickboard	46.79 seconds	46.3 seconds
25M Breaststroke	-	1.55.09
25M Butterfly	-	-	-

	Swim 380	Swim 380	Swim 380	Swim 380
	6/16/2018	6/23/18	7/14/2018	7/28/18
25M Kickboard	32.6 seconds	35 seconds	31.35 seconds	30.38 seconds
25M Freestyle	40.6 seconds	-	-	-
25M Backstroke	40.6 seconds	38.53 seconds	34.82 seconds	29.81 seconds
25M Breaststroke	-	1:01.81	1:01.96	51.69 seconds
25M Butterfly	-	-	56.38 seconds	46.81 seconds

Watch Jakob's swim races from July 28, 2018.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/b6x3qmoJU7ZVUe7R7

Jakob took 3rd place for his 50M Breaststroke race!

	Swim 380	Swim 380
	7/16/2016	7/30/2016
50M Freestyle	58.65 seconds	57.57 seconds
50M Backstroke	1:11.84	1:02.75
50M Breaststroke	1:21.43	1:15.65
25M Butterfly	48.18 seconds	-
50M Butterfly	-	-
100M Freestyle	2:28.03	2:03.43
100 IM	-	2:27.53

	Swim 380	Swim 380
	7/15/2017	7/29/2017
50M Freestyle	43.59 seconds	47.78 seconds
50M Backstroke	59.03 seconds	-
50M Breaststroke	Weather Cancellation	-
25M Butterfly	Weather Cancellation	-
50M Butterfly	-	1:05.41
100M Freestyle	Weather Cancellation	1:43.28
100 IM	Not scheduled	2:10.81

	Swim 380	Swim 380	Swim 380
	6/16/2018	6/23/2018	7/28/2018
50M Freestyle	38.29 seconds	37.03 seconds	36.94 seconds
50M Backstroke	47.65 seconds	47 seconds	45.03 seconds
50M Breaststroke	-	50.28 seconds	48.75 seconds
25M Butterfly	-		-
50M Butterfly	-		-
100M Freestyle	1:27.34	1:33.47	1:30.94 seconds
100 IM	-		-

Orchestra: Solo and Ensemble - 4/7/2018

Jakob went to his first Solo and Ensemble this past Saturday, April 7th, at Calhoun Middle School.  He played the piece called Gavotte by P. Martini.  Today, he received his results and he scored a I which is the highest rating he could have received since he was unable to memorize it. 

Constructive Comments:
Good morning! You have a lovely vibrato!  Great bow stroke and articulation.  Very nice dynamics.  A few minimal slips but you recovered very well.  You have such a strong viola sound - orchestra needs violists like you! :)