Christmas 2010

Merry (late) Christmas!!

It's been busy around here lately, but I didn't realize that I hadn't posted on my blog since September! Wow! Part of my excuse is the fact that I am teaching Pre-Calculus this year, and it is taking a LOT of work to prepare for that class! The other part of my excuse is the fact that my camera was stolen, so I didn't really have any pictures to share. Luckily, I have plenty of photographers in the family and have some time today to update you on our oh-so-exciting existence here in Del Rio! :-)

Christmas this year was awesome! Travis and I invited our families out to Del Rio to celebrate in our home, and we had two weekends filled with Christmas cheer and family. It was our first time to host Christmas at our house together, and we were so glad everyone could make it out!

My family, including my sister, parents, grandparents, and cousin came out the weekend before Christmas, and we had a great time enjoying the weekend. We took a tour of the base, enjoyed dinner in one of the restaurants in town, and did some shopping downtown. We also had a great time hanging out and opening presents. The best (and only) gift that Travis and I exchanged was the new furniture we bought ourselves to host everyone this year! It is absolutely perfect and works great in our house!

Travis' family, including his mom, grandparents, brother, sister-in-law, and the twins, all came out the next weekend. The dogs soaked up attention from the babies (who are 15 months old) and loved having so many people around to play with them! We truly loved our second Christmas celebration and enjoyed having everyone in our house! Christmas music was playing constantly throughout both weekends, and it was really a lot of fun. :-)

Pictures from our Christmas celebrations:

Hooray!! All the last minute Christmas decorations I ordered online finally arrived - just in time for everyone to see them! And yes, those are snowflake sheets...I was super excited about them. :-)

Family group shot!! And yes, I forgot to mention that my sister brought her dogs too!

My wonderful husband who is an amazing cook! We made lots of yummy goodies for everyone while they were here... I don't think anyone went hungry!

So, it was the kind of thing where you open a cookbook and see something cute and fun, and you just want to make it. These were delicious blackberry tarts!!

Travis, me, Kelly, and Shane all holding the sugar cookies we decorated with our college logos. Kelly and I made (and decorated) a HUGE batch of cookies, and we forced the boys to participate. They dutifully decorated their college cookies and then quickly lost interest. :-)

My sweet husband who I continue to love more every day!

My adorable niece Avery and nephew Carson! (15 months old)

The first thing the babies found when they got to the house was the dog door!

Avery and Carson in their Christmas pjs on Christmas morning...so cute :-)

Carson loved his train sets! He even says "choo choo" now!

Avery's word of choice right now is "puppy" so she got several stuffed puppies for Christmas! I don't know if she liked the puppy or the huge box it came in better...

And our puppies got a lot of attention from the babies! The puppies weren't really sure what to think about these little people, but they played nicely.

The weather was perfect for a trip to the park...

Overall, it was a wonderful Christmas! We were so happy to have everyone out to visit us, and we are looking forward to seeing everyone again soon! Merry Christmas!

School Report

Whew!! It has been extremely busy the past couple of weeks! Lesson planning for two "real" classes (Geometry and Pre-Calculus) is turning out to be more work than I anticipated. While I did teach Geometry last year, I taught the Pre-AP version of it, and so while I know the information, I have to completely change the curriculum as I teach the gradelevel (and below) kids. Pre-Cal is completely new to me this year, and I can't remember anything about it from when I took it ten years ago, so it is requiring a lot of studying and prep time!

My students, though, are pretty good. I have some of the same students from last year, but overall, I have an entirely different bunch of kids. They seem more motivated, slightly smarter, and seem to realize that taking a real class (Geometry) is so much better than taking a fake, TAKS -prep class (Math Models). I can easily say that I am much happier teaching now than I was last year. I still have my fair share of student issues, but overall, it is turning out to be a much better situation.

The school and administration still have many, MANY problems which they will probably never overcome and still continue to effect my daily classroom life, but as long as I get all my lesson plans completed over the weekends, I have plenty of time to deal with all the things they demand I do during the week. Unfortunately, this means I barely get to see Travis on the weekends (or during the week for that matter), especially with his schedule changing constantly. I am so exhausted when I get home (at 6 or 7 pm) that I am in bed by 9 or 9:30 every night! But, I feel more motivated to be at school and more excited about helping my students this year than I did last year. I feel like I am doing something better, and I am happier about what I am teaching.

And, the most inspiring thing of all is that many of my students from last year are coming to me, begging me to move them into my class. From the comments they are saying to me, I am getting the impression that they are finally recognizing all the hard work I put into my classes last year and how much they were actually learning in my class. Several of my students are begging to get a schedule change into my class, asking me every day if I have room in different periods and what they can do to get in there. They are so disappointed with the classes they are taking this year, and keep telling me how they don't feel like they are learning, that the teacher isn't teaching them anything, and all they are doing is working out of a workbook. I constantly remind them that all teaching styles are different and that I am here for them if they want to ask questions and get help. I keep encouraging them to talk to their teachers and ask for help, and they do try, but I think I spoiled them too much last year.

One student came in and said, "Mrs. Daniels, I need to move into your class...my teacher this year isn't helping me at all, and every time I ask a question he just gives me the answer and then expects me to do it. He's not like you...you actually took the time to answer my question and make sure I got it, and I learned so much from you." (Talk about motivation to keep teaching!!)

Another student came in one day after school SO excited to tell me about a question she had answered correctly in her class, all because she remembered something I had taught her about slope last year. She was bouncing off the walls with excitement about how she had remembered what I taught her and felt so smart for getting it right! :-)

Two girls have come in on two different occasions, almost in tears, begging me to move them back into my class. One of my ESL students, who never spoke a word in class, came to me and told me she wasn't understanding anything that her new teacher is teaching her and could she please come back to my room? She said she could really understand what I was teaching and felt like she learned so much in my class. Another of my ESL boys came to me, saying the exact same thing. I am so glad to know they were actually feeling good in my class and understanding what was going on!!

Another one of my students, a boy who told me all year long he was too stupid for school and hated my class and all the work I made him do, somehow managed to talk his counselor into switching him into my class. He and the assistant principal came down to talk to me about it, since it was my fullest class, and he promised he would be on his best behavior, do all of his homework, and would sit on the floor if it meant he could be in my class. :-)

So apparently, last year, I did something right. I'm so glad the students feel good about what they learned last year, and I hope I have given them enough confidence to do well this year, whoever their teacher is. It really is kind of them to say all these nice things to me and be so sincere about their feelings. I wish I could move them all into my classes, but it just isn't possible. I would do it in a heartbeat if I could!!

Now, if those students from last year could just convince my students this year that all the hard work is worth it... The new ones are still complaining about all the work and some are being really reluctant to work with me. I know I won't reach them all, but I hope I can get to most of them!!

Here we go - School year 2010-2011!!

Gator Bait Results

Here's how I did (officially):

Out of 15 people in my age group, I placed 4th. Out of everyone, overall, I placed 117th. Out of all the females in the race, I finished 15th. :-)

500 meter swim time: 8 min, 12 sec (3rd fastest in my age group)

1st transition: 1 min, 58 sec (my fastest yet!!)

13 mile bike time: 50 min, 2 sec (4th fastest in my age group)

2nd transition: 24 sec (again, my fastest yet!)

4 mile run time: 39 min, 45 sec (9:56 min mile pace, 4th fastest in my age group)

My total overall time for the race was 1 hour, 40 minutes. The person who came in 3rd place finished in 1 hour, 39 minutes. (one minute difference!!)

So, overall, a good race!!

The picture below is the HUGE hill we had to go up at mile 6 on the bike portion. It really wasn't that bad, but it was pretty rough!! :-)

Gaitor Bait Triathlon

This weekend, I competed in the Gaitor Bait Triathlon in Boerne, Texas. The official times and results haven't been posted yet, so I am "patiently" waiting for them!! I do know, however, that I FELT like I did really well in this race. It was probably the hardest one I have done so far, because the entire course was full of hills and all the distances were longer than any of the others. I completed a 500 meter swim, 14 mile bike, and 4 mile run in about 1 hour and 42 minutes (again, the official times still aren't in, but that's what I remember seeing as I crossed the finish line). Overall results were posted, so I know that I came in 116th place out of 300 participants (male and female). I also know that I came in about 12th place overall out of the female participants, and I came in 4th place in my age group!

The race itself was really fun. I felt good the whole time while swimming, biking, and running! Also, the lake apparently used to have an alligator in it, so the race is named in honor of that alligator - "gaitor bait". As we crossed the finish line, we were handed a small stuffed alligator as our finishing award! Sea World even brought out a gator lizard thing to take pictures with. Overall, the race was fun and exciting, I was really glad I could do it, and I am really proud of myself for finishing!

Travis and his mom Diane came along as my supporters for this triathlon. It was so much fun to have them there to cheer me on!! Diane also brought along her camera and took some amazing photos! So, while we patiently wait for the race results, we can enjoy these great pictures from the event:

A really cool shot of some of the bikes in the transition area...There were 300 participants in the race, so you don't have a lot of room!

Waiting in line to enter the water for the swim. They start two people every five seconds. I was number 67, so I didn't have to wait to long! And, the woman in front of me in the blue shirt ended up being the overall female winner of the race! (She let me cut in front of her in the line for the bathroom, so I felt like we were best friends.) I thought that was pretty cool. :-)

Finally my turn, so I am waiting to enter the water. Ready, set, go!!

A great swimming action shot!!

Finished with the 500 meter swim and on my way to transition to my bike...

Getting ready to bike (I didn't know Diane was taking pictures!!)

On my way back from the grueling 14 mile bike ride. It was a really intense and hilly course!

Crossing the finish line after the 4 mile run! The first two miles were all uphill, which made the last two downhill miles feel like a breeze. Throughout the whole race, I never stopped running or got off my bike to walk up the hills, so I am pretty happy with myself and my time!

Finally, after I caught my breath, I had a chance to thank Travis for coming!!

Group shot by the lake - it was a really fun morning!!

I'm planning to do another triathlon in September, so even though school is starting on Monday, I have to keep training! I'll post the official results once I have them...I'm excited to see how I did time-wise compared to everyone else!! :-)

One Year Anniversary

We started off our weekend celebration on Friday, when Travis was awarded the "Best Instructor Pilot" from the class of students that were moving on to the next stage of pilot training. It was such a great compliment to him, especially from this class that we both loved getting to know. He really seemed to enjoy teaching these guys, and I had the chance to hang out with them on a few occasions and enjoyed meeting them as well. We are looking forward to going to their graduation in six months!

On Saturday morning, we drove to San Antonio. We had originally planned to go skydiving (my idea), but Travis' flight commander would not allow him to do it. So instead, we decided to spend the day at Sea World! As active duty military, Travis and his dependents get one free pass to Sea World a year, so we were happy to use it this weekend.

We had a wonderful time at Sea World!! Travis had never been before, and it had been at least 15 years since I had been, so we tried to enjoy it all! We watched an extremely cute sea lion and otter show, which was our favorite. We also watched a show full of dolphins, beluga whales, at least 15 exotic birds, synchronized swimmers, and divers. It was pretty amazing. Then, we walked around and visited all the various animal exhibits, that included penguins, sharks, fish, eels, and more dolphins. We also rode the roller coasters, one of them five times (it was our favorite). Travis really enjoys riding in the front row of the roller coasters, so we waited in some of the longer lines in order to sit in the front! It was pretty fun, though, so I'm not complaining! We had planned to go to the water park and water rides next, but by the time we headed that direction, the line to get into the water park was over an hour long and for the water rides it was two hours! So, we decided to leave and head to our hotel instead.

We drove the rest of the way into San Antonio and found our hotel down by the riverwalk. We planned to stay at the hotel we really love. The staff is always amazing, the rooms are really nice, and the breakfast they serve in the morning is phenomenal!! We got more than we bargained for, though, when we arrived.

Upon checking in, we found out that we had been randomly upgraded to the Presidential Suite for the night. Apparently, the hotel was overbooked, and the manager just picked one random couple to move up to the empty suite. It was AWESOME!!! And then, they found out it was our one year anniversary, and the concierge sent up champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, on the house!!

The room was absolutely amazing, and was probably about as big as our house. There were THREE bathtubs, a huge entry way, three chandeliers, a dining room, china cabinet, sofa, extra chairs, and two flatscreen tvs. Also, we were on the top floor in the corner room, so we had three patios, more than enough windows, and the best view of the riverwalk and surrounding area! Did I mention there was also a sauna in the bathroom? Check out the pictures:

Yes, we really stayed here!!

Our view from one balcony overlooking the riverwalk!

We could have spent the entire rest of the night in the suite, but we had already made plans for dinner. So, we left our beautiful suite and went to Fogo de Chao for dinner. It is one of Travis' favorite restaurants, and we both really enjoy eating there. The food was delicious and we had a wonderful dinner. Then, we had planned to go to one of our favorite clubs in the area, but the line to get in was wrapped around the door and didn't move for the ten minutes that we stood there. After waiting in lines at Sea World all day, we were tired and didn't feel like waiting in line anymore. We headed back to our beautiful suite instead. :-)

Then, in the morning, we enjoyed the beautiful breakfast buffet by the river. The waiters were so nice and pleasent, and when they found out it was our anniversary, they brought us a little surprise!! Check it out:

We had found that the one year anniversary is supposed to be the "paper" anniversary, so we chose our gifts accordingly. I gave Travis a couple of pictures for his desk in frames, as well as a fun card and letter. Travis gave me the sweetest card, and then completely surprised me with a Nook!! It's basically an online library where you can download books and read them anytime and anywhere you want. Here's a link if you want to see more about it: NOOK

We drove back home on Sunday morning after breakfast and took the puppies out to the lake when we got home. They had a great time swimming around and playing with all the people on the beach. My friend had shown me this new, great cove to go swimming in, and I think it is my new favorite place at the lake!

We came back home, had dinner, and enjoyed our defrosted wedding cake for dessert. Surprisingly, it tasted fantastic!! We felt like we had just taken the cake off the table at our reception, and we really enjoyed it.

Overall, our anniversary was a blast. We are still so very much in love, and we wouldn't change one thing about our lives today. It's sad to think that a year ago today we were on our way to Costa Rica, and now this year today, Travis is back to work and I am swamped with homework and laundry to do. We, however, could not be happier about our first year together, and we are both so grateful we had the chance to celebrate together like we did. It was a perfect weekend!

It's hard to believe how quickly the time has passed!! One year ago in Costa Rica:

Today, our honeymoon continues. This time, though, we are just a little closer to home! :-)

On the riverwalk in San Antonio :-)

"That's the strange beauty of marriage: It's full of hard times and hard lessons that no one can ever prepare you for. But in the end, those are the things that give richness to your life together — and make your love even deeper and stronger than when it began."

Wedding Dress Photos

Finally!! Almost a year after our wedding, Travis and I finally made the time to take some non-traditional photos in my wedding dress. We hired one of our friends (who is working as a professional photographer), and we went around the city of Del Rio for the morning, taking pictures in fun and different locations. I think the pictures came out pretty well, so I wanted to share some of my favorites!

I wore my wedding dress and made my bouquet with sunflowers and red roses. Travis wore his fanciest cargo shorts, white polo shirt, and flip flops. :-)

And, I added a lot of pictures to this post... I apologize for the number...I just couldn't leave any out! :-)

This first batch is in front of a mural in downtown Del Rio, outside an old house that has been renovated as a hair salon/optometrist's office. The owner of the place paints these murals on the huge concrete wall behind his building; his wife is the hairdresser! It was really cool, and I loved the colors behind us in these photos:

This next location is a random, abandoned barn, also in downtown Del Rio, that is now in the middle of a parking lot. We parked next to it on our way to something else and just stopped to take a few pictures. This one is my favorite:

All the pictures with the yellow background were taken in front of the Yellow Taxi Cab office. They have painted their entire building bright yellow, and again, I loved the color!

There was an abandoned trolley in downtown as well that the owner is changing into a restaurant. After we had asked for permission, we took several pictures there. Then, the owner came out, offered us a free dinner at the restaurant (when it opens), and asked for a copy of one of the pictures when we finished. He wants to use the picture in the paper for the opening announcement for the restaurant and for decoration in the trolley! So, does this make us celebrities in Del Rio?? I never thought that would happen... :-)

We also took several pictures at the Del Rio Winery in downtown. It was absolutely beautiful since all the trees and grapes were in bloom!

These last pictures were taken out by a creek behind one of the houses in downtown. Again, just a random place we stopped and ended up getting some great pictures:

It was so fun to take all these pictures, since it felt like we were celebrating the wedding all over again! It's hard to believe we've been married almost a year!! We are looking forward to our anniversary in a few weeks! :-)

Key West Vacation

Travis and I traveled to Key West, Florida with his entire family, and we really enjoyed our week long vacation together! Not only did we get to hang out with Shane, Kelly, Grandma and Grandpa, Diane and Ted, Catherine, Jerry, and Hilary, but we also got to see our cute baby niece and nephew! Carson and Avery are nine months old now and are so cute and adorable! They are crawling around on the floor and really enjoyed their trip to Florida, especially the part where they got to eat sand at the beach. :-)

We had a blast in Florida. We went sailing and "snuba" diving (where we saw sting rays and Travis caught some lobsters with his bare hands), rode on a glass bottom boat through some coral reefs, shopped all over Key West, played on the beach, and enjoyed the beautiful house the family had rented. Travis had a chance to play golf (where he accidentally hit an iguana in the leg with the golfball) and go fishing for sharks. We enjoyed playing with the babies when they were awake and lots of fun family time with everyone else.

A few photos to share:

The beautiful view and backyard of the house we rented for the week in Key West

Uncle Travis and Auntie JJ swimming with the babies in the pool

At Mallory Square in Key West for the Sunset Festival, a nightly event which celebrates the sunsets, vendors, and performers, all original to Key West; these pirates were posing for pictures with anyone who wanted one!

One of my favorite views that we saw...

Our group (Ted, Travis, Diane, me, Catherine, and Kelly) on our snuba diving, snorkeling, and sailing adventure. The couple in charge of our trip lived on the boat with their cat, and we had a great time hanging out with them for the afternoon.

One of the things Key West is known for is being the "end of the road",

so here's the sign to prove it! :-)

Travis and I at the end of the southernmost pier in Key West.

It was soooooo beautiful!!