Proud to be a Wrangler

So my first week of school is officially over.

I have forgotten how tiring and stressful the beginning of the year is. I just got finished teaching almost 6th graders and am now teaching graduated 2nd graders. It's a huge difference in age.

My students are seriously the most social and talkative you can ever imagine. At first I was super stressed out by this, but now I am "training" them and getting really attached to their cute little personalities.

Let me just give you a rundown of my school/neighborhood:

-A kid in my class is named after a gun

-8 year old girls in my class know what the difference between just a bullet shell and an actual bullet

-Writing prompts include hunting deer

-Favorite kids activities include shooting animals

-You can hear horses naying inside my classroom

-There are goats that wander aimlessly on the street my school is on.

To say the least, it is definitely different than good ol' Provo was. But I LOVE it. Everyone I work with is so great, and I love the small town feel.

Here's a tour of my classroom (Mom):

My door on the first day of school:

This is my calendar and job chart--right above my desk.

Bulletin board where students can thumbtack everywhere their books take place.

Book recommendations board:

Behavior board:

Writing board:

Literacy bulletin board and book boxes:

Nice view from my window of a barn and where the horses are:

Our class pet and 3 year old gold fish: Seashark. My students just renamed him today.

View of my classroom from my desk:

I know it is SUPER colorful, but the teacher before me had it all gray and the walls are gray, so I needed something different and fun!

Crowder Fam Vacation

Steve and I just got back from an amazing fun-filled vacation! We flew out early Friday morning a couple of weeks ago to my home in Virginia. That night, we were lucky enough to see Wicked. This was my first time and definitely not my last. It was amazing! I think I smiled the whole time. These pictures are from the roof of the Kennedy Center in DC where we saw it.

Very early the next morning, my family took off to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the week. My mom's side of the family was having a family reunion, so it was fun to be with them and have Steve meet everyone.

Every year my family goes to the beach and just relaxes. However, Steve doesn't know HOW to relax. As you can see, he kept himself busy:

skim boarding

throwing the football

building sandcastles

and digging holes.

He did this all while I read, talked to family, and slept on the beach.

After our super fun trip at the beach, Steve and I left a day earlier than the rest of the family to go to Williamsburg, Virginia. It'd been since elementary school that either of us had been there, so we thought it'd be fun to check it out.

Some highlights of the trip include:

taking an awesome tour of the governor's palace. Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson both lived there at one point. The whole thing was decorated with swords and guns.

the gardens behind the palace

eating at a tavern (house made into restaurant) right in Williamsburg. It was like going back to the 1700's. Our waitress was decked out in colonial clothes and even the food was colonial. Like my creeper shot of her?

and touring the capitol.

We had such a fun week, thanks mom and dad!!!