Our birthday.

NOTE: Blogger is mad at me because apparently I have used up all of my pic space and now I have to pay $2.50/month to upload more pics. I am planning on doing this, but I can't bring myself to commit yet. So, this post doesn't have as many pics as I wanted to include. Boo. I will stop being cheap soon and upload some more soon. 

Our (mine & Nicole's) birthday was last month & Brandon, A & I drove up to surprise her. We haven't spent our birthday together in years! Because we both have been teachers for the past decade, we haven't been able to just take off to hang out. August is an intense time for education, there is no sitting down, much less days off. Anyway, she was surprised and thanked me for coming. I kept trying to explain that it was my birthday, too, so it was like my present to myself. It was such a great day. 

Tubing with my bug. 

I love random shots that really capture life. 

I'm totally going to pretend this is me with Anderson (it's Nicole) and use it as my new profile pic on Facebook.

Captain Hughes. He is the one who helped plan the day because my contribution consisted of texting him & asking if we could come up for the day. He is the one who organized all 3 meals, the boat, bought A a fishing pole, etc. 

Really tried to get a pic of the 2 of them. Hilarious. Lily was the typical teacher's pet & kept smiling very intensely. Anderson was a typical 2 year old & kept standing up thinking he heard an airplane. 

First time fishing-he caught one!!

Love these two. 

I gave Nicole a book (that I totally read first. Again, it was sort of my bday present,too) called, "One & the Same." A journalist who is an identical twin did a lot of research about twins. It was pretty interesting. Here are a few of my favorite parts/quotes: 

 "Being an identical twin—I can’t speak for fraternals—is intense. It’s all the clichés: feeling like you have an unwavering partner in life, knowing exactly what another person feels, wanting to tell her a story before anyone else, confiding with unrestrained—sometimes shocking—candor, valuing her opinion above anyone else’s, taking on someone else’s pain to the point of vicarious depression, being incapacitated by any minor dispute."

(ha ha, so true. We literally live each other's lives.)

I'm too lazy to type all of this, but in one chapter she interviewed Ronde & Tiki Barber (identical twin NFL players) and it was hilarious. Ronde said he never measured incomes." If Tiki made more than me, he took care of me. Same for me with him. We will do that forever. I know that to be a fact." (When Nicole & I worked at Sonic (Shout out to Shannon!!) we would balance our tip money at the end of the day, so that we each left with the same amount. We seriously did it every day without even questioning it. We are the only example of socialism actually working.)

 Tiki was later asked if it bothered him that Ronde had a Super Bowl Ring and Tiki responded, "It was the greatest moment of pride that I have ever felt. Cynics will say, 'Oh, your're jealous', but those same people have no idea what we have.'" (When good things happen to Nicole I am usually the one crying with happiness (along with mom, of course) and vice versa.

"What I find most moving is that her children & mine have the same DNA, which makes them not cousins by half siblings. There's a potency in that, as if our twin connection is sealed in our sons's & daughter's bodies." (Sounds a little creepy, but how cool is this? I mean, really.Plus, Anderson & Lily look so much alike, so there's that...sarcasm)

If you're thinking, "I bet it would be so great to have an identical twin, " you're wrong. Great is a word to describe your day or a snack, not the deepest, most indescribable because words really aren't enough kind of relationship that we have. The single most shaping factor of my life is the fact that my genetic identical was born 4 minutes after me. We knew each other before we met our own mother and there are some things that exist without being able to explain them. For all the moms out there, imagine how you feel about your kids. How the instant they were born you became a different person because of the bond you now shared with them. That is the best way to describe what we have because it is one of those things that you can never understand unless you are a part of it. Anyway, enough rambling. It was such a  fun day!!

Numbers & too many pics.

21: The age I was when I started at Farragut High School as an intern in the Social Studies department.

6:00am-the time I arrived at FHS during my first few years as a teacher when I taught a 7am class

44: The number of cheerleaders I have the privilege of knowing/loving/supporting/learning from

5: The number of Homecoming dances I was in charge of (A Night in Paris, Friday Night Lights, Glow in the Night, On Cloud 9, The City that Never Sleeps) 

66: The number of classes I have taught

3: The number of preps I had each semester my first official year teaching (Government, Fundamental US History, Bible History)

2: The number of classrooms that I had at FHS (my perfect trailer and my loud room)

4: The number of interns I was able to work with (shout out to Jessica!)

1650: the number of students (estimated) that I taught

4: The number of student Europe trips I was lucky enough to chaperone

0: The number of years that I have spent in education NOT at FHS

1540: the number of texts Clare & I have shared in the last 3 months (I met Clare at FHS about 9 years ago!)

2: The number of presidents I became obsessed with as a teacher (Andrew Jackson & Teddy Roosevelt)
A LOT:  the number of tears I shed as I realized I was leaving all of this

In case you are very confused, I am no longer a teacher at FHS. I accepted an Assistant Principal job at Powell High School the day before teachers arrived back for the year. It was a very tough decision to leave everything I know about education/life, but I know this is going to be a great opportunity for me. 

I was a lucky, lucky girl to have spent the last decade as a teacher at FHS. I made awesome friends, realized that I am meant to be in education, loved days/hated days, ate a lot of Lean Cuisines in the yellow wing workroom, graded a TON of essays, learned what a "lib" is in cheerleading, realized the joy of helping a kid realize that he really does like History he just didn't realize it, completely immersed myself in everything that is being an Admiral. I met Clare, Chelsea, Elizabeth and all of these other great people who are just a part of my life now, so much so that I can't remember them not being there. I fought the yellow wing restroom every day in a battle to win just a little bit of toilet paper and I dressed in a tshirt decorated like a can of spaghetti o's for the can dance every October. There really is just too much to list, so I will stop. 

Just a few of the posts that I have done on FHS related activities....
DC trip, Homecoming dances, football games,  my classroom  memories, perks, more perks the cheerleaders,
Europe trip 2012,

I can't find my first badge, but here is an early one.

My last pic in my room!

The "crack" that Angela & I used to talk through to each other. a story about the crack...

My notebook. Always. I kept everything in there-attendance, grades, cheer info, work to do, notes for class. I remember my printer was not working last year so I just wrote my name on a piece of paper until I could print a title page. Never got around to that...

Entering for the last time. I was literally throwing stuff into boxes when I started packing. One can accumulate quite a bit over the span of a 9 years. Mostly it is random stuff that I used as props in teaching. I am a firm believer in props.

Quaker Man. I used him for random things during the Colonial American unit. He has been with me about 4 years, I think. Sort of like a colleague.

My awesome podium. Pops and Uncle Frank made it for me a few years ago and it is so great, I am taking it with me. You just never know when you are going to need a podium. Check out the note Pops wrote in it for me when he made it.

Random. I think this was from World Culture's Day and my room was Italy. Apparently I wore this?

One of my bulletin boards.

Another one. All kinds of random stuff. I keep everything that has a story.

This is from a few years back, but a teacher left and gave away all of his stuff. I did not want this giant, heavy copy of the Emancipation Proclamation but I sort of felt bad throwing it away. So, I gave it to a random kid who carried it around and brought it back! Hilarious. We started a game where the student who had it got to pick the next kid to give it to and they got to sign it. (There are a bunch of names on the back) The catch was that you had to carry it around all day and if I saw you without it, you lost it. They took it very seriously. I love kids.

Found this from my first year of teaching when I lost my PowerPoint remote. My class was trying to raise $ to buy me a new one. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I found the note. Do not hate on teenagers in front of me because I will disagree with you!

 I grouped my kids using President faces. They were each assigned an awesome president and had to get the laminated head from the Hitler tissue box when it was time to work in groups. I loved looking around and seeing floating heads of Truman, Lincoln and FDR.

 First Powell shirt! In some twisted version of irony, Powell played Farragut in the football jamboree, which was my third day at Powell. My brain was struggling with "We" vs. "Us"!

One of my cheerleaders brought me flowers to my new office. Which is, of course, one of the many reasons I am going to miss them.

Speaking of, this is my last pic with them. I cannot express enough how much I love these girls and what being the cheerleader sponsor has done for me. I had no idea to know that the day I said yes to taking on this responsibility was going to be one of the best days for my life. While the beginning was rough (ROUGH), the relationships, life lessons and rewarding days that I gained from this will never be able to be replicated. Anyone who knows me has heard numerous references to, "my girls", "the cheerleaders", and "I'm planning this project/ordering these things for the girls."    These girls and their families have honestly been a huge part of my Admiral family and telling them goodbye was very difficult. I started crying before I even opened the gym door, so it was definitely not one of my better moments.

FHS was truly an amazing part of my life. The memories and relationships I made there will always be with me. I love you all!

last few weeks of summer!

Summer ended the first of August when I was at inservice, so these pics are a little late, but here they are! Visiting Bobble Cole & Yilly at their new house! It is only 2 hours away! Welcome back to Tennessee! I predict thousands of pics from visits to the Hughes' house, so stay tuned.

Brave girl!

 Anderson has been doing really well at pooping in the potty. I am writing tiny because I live in FEAR of the jinx gods. So, his "reward" was a trip to Dollywood. We have season passes, not a huge reward, but whatever. He totally fell head first into this bucket of water, which is why he doesn't have glasses or an eyepatch on. Hilarious.

 Dollywood is amazing. I am constantly mesmerized by the sheer awesomeness that is Dolly Parton. She is on the same page as Steve Jobs to me. And, that is saying a lot.

Love!

 Anderson likes to take pics of me. This is the price I pay for him letting me take a few of him!

 Thanks to my Europe trip and cheer camps, these 2 have spent lots of time together this summer!

We made cheer practice a family outing one night!

Speaking of cheer, the girls won 1st place in the cheer competition and second place in the dance at UCA Camp! After 4 sweaty days in an un-airconditioned gym, it was a nice reward! They did so well and I am so proud of them!

we made some chalk with paint and baking soda & then squirted it with vinegar to make it fizz. Whatever. I have a boy, he is just not that interested in crafty stuff so while it was fun for a bit, it did not really change our lives.

New helicopter from a certain Aunt:)

 L.O.V.E. this shirt! Thanks, GG! (Does Kohls know about my kid? How do they have so many eye shirts?)

Aunt LoLo came to visit and brought a box full of goodies!!

GG & Jpa...duck whisperers!

And, the most exciting thing of all is that Jack is going to be a big brother in February!! YAY! I cannot wait to meet/snuggle/love Baby Brimer #2!

Tried to catch a good video of him playing helicopter. He is the best. He starts off with a slow propeller and then speeds up,always on the lookout for an emergency.

I love videos of his little voice. This is the best because I captured how precious he says, "Keputch"

Cousins, birthdays, Rain

We had visitors last week! Lots of them...from Oakland, Collierville, Blountville & Hoover! I had inservice one day they were here, but I got frequent updates. Love the tv watching/snuggling pic.

Love these 2. They are hilarious together.

Big Cousin Noah was such a trooper and let Anderson tackle him and run all over him. A lot.

Lily was obsessed with Manda. This is a legit obsession. I kept annoying Lily by asking if she wanted to sit with me or let me lay with her. Every time I got a, "I'm just good with Manda."

Last year...

This year!

This is the only time all summer we have been in our neighborhood pool. I know I need to step it up.

We went to Gatti's pizza for dinner and the best part was trying to figure out how to use the prize machine. There was no logic. Jacob wanted a yo-yo, he got a plastic hippo. He wanted a little rhino, he got a plastic fish. We all tried to figure it out, but no luck.

Celebrating Big Cousin Noah's birthday! WHEN did my nephews grow up?? Also, please note Anderson's face as he stares longingly at the fire. You can see his little mind going...there's a tire, it's an emergency, fireman Sam!

Who remembers when they were this little?

Jacob's old chair is like a magnet. Every time I looked up someone was sitting in it. We do have actual adult furniture in our house, but something about this was just so comfy.

We made a visit to Gatlinburg to hit up Pancake Pantry. Party of 14 eating breakfast. It doesn't get better than that.

Nicole met us there & Kyer decided he didn't want to walk all the way to our car, so he just detoured into her car and rode there.

We were going to tube down the river, but it rained and ruined our plan:(

Last minute playing with Jacob!

We had a BLAST with our cousins/aunts/uncle and are so glad everyone came to visit!! Also, check out Shannon's blog!