Between the breaks.... a recap leading up to a MUCH NEEDED respit!

The last 3 weeks of school were pretty intense.  My students in the "intro" classes were supposed to have presentations Dec 4/5... but no one was ready.  So, I pushed to Dec 9/12.  And - still most weren't done. (grading had to be 100% done by Dec 16).  So, sadly, some students were still presenting Dec 13/14... and THEN making improvements Dec 15/16 on their final projects because their grades tanked after their paltry submissions.  I can't.  I just can't.  Running around after these students who just don't care.  It's exhausting.

So much so that during the 2nd week (early December) I was under so much stress, that I had to go home!  I did go in for 1 class period - to wrap up presentations / vote on my 2nd year projects... which were also a couple days late.  (These I had to have because we were entering a competition at our local nature center.)  I really must re-think BOTH of theses schedules for next year!!

Todd and I took the "winners" (one from each class) to the Nature Center on a Saturday and we walked around for a bit afterwards.  The exhibit opened on Sunday.  I had free passes for me +1 (I wanted to take Isabella) but it rained all day, sadly, so we didn't go.

But there were SOME good products.... and SOME students that worked hard.  

So, I should focus on those positives!  

Because I missed a day / missed their class - I had these two girls come check on me the next day.   THEN on the last day of school (Dec 16), they came to their class beaming with smiles and hugging me and bringing a giant bag with them that they insisted I open immediately.  (It was full of "relaxation" products.) They wrote the sweetest card and insisted I rest over break!   It was so heartfelt... and it also warmed my heart knowing that I am making a difference in their lives.  (One of them this is especially heartwarming- as I learned this year from another teacher that she has a degenerative disease.... I knew she was out a lot at the end of last school year, but did not know why.) 

I took a picture of the card on top of the luxurious blanket they gave me that Isabella and the dog and I are fighting over.  (So much so that we just looked it up online and bought Isabella a blanket of her own!) 

I guess these are the moments to cherish!  

I also had a fun thing we did with some students in my afterschool club:  AIAS - American Institute of Architecture Students.  We had at our December meeting an "architectural gingerbread house" build.  It was fun / students had a good time. 

Yep - should definitely focus on the kids who want to be involved and who are "into" what I'm trying to do in my program.  

This "gingerbread house" (graham cracker) build helped me to get into the Christmas spirit a bit.  As did the CRAZY BUSY weekend that we had prepping for the holidays.  I was a docent at the Marietta tour of homes that 1st weekend in December.  Then, I scooted up about 45 minutes north to go to a girl's brunch and gift exchange at a former neighbor's house - who bought up in the country - they have 10 acres and a horse now!  

Todd put out the lights on the front porch AND set up the tree while I was gone. Isabella and I decorated it while Mercer and Todd did some baseball stuff.

She & I wrapped up the weekend with a visit to a church - about 45 minutes away in a different direction - to visit our beautiful Santa who is no longer at the square. (Found this photo from 10 years ago when she first saw him!)

And my FAVORITE photo of the two of them from 4 years ago when she was 6.

He gave up doing the big crowds and long days during Covid.  "Santa Lamar" is the REAL DEAL !!  So kind to have let me know when / where he was going to be - at his personal church where he attends - so that Isabella could see him.

"Santa Lamar" is the REAL DEAL !! 

  

Over the course of the next week - we set out more Christmas stuff AND the elves started harrassing us... I mean... visiting us.

They are definitely getting into some mischief!

(Those are peonies that Todd got me for my birthday!)

Speaking of birthday, we went to Cirque du Soliel (after we went to a quick dinner at my favorite low-key restaurant, Willy's.  

It was a good time!  There were some really impressive acts. 

One of my favorite things was not one of the fancy acts... it was these crazy accordion pants!  ha!

I'm grateful that the semester is done.  Mercer worked REALLY HARD to get good grades his 1st semester of high school.(he had to really push and push and push - and push - to get a B in one of his electives that he was failing almost all semester.  I know he's grateful the semester is done too!   Isabella earned good grades too.    Todd told them that we'd do something of their choice if they got good grades... so we need to figure out what that will be.  But, we're proud of both of them.

parting photo:  Isabella during the last week of school on Crazy Holiday dress up day.

Now, we'll enjoy a couple of weeks off! 

Thanksgiving break

Todd did not have the week off, but the kids and I did.  So....we took a few days and headed to Florida to visit dad and Charlie.  (It has been since September 2021 since we saw them - and it was only for an afternoon lunch / playing games in an outdoor pavilion when we rented a little house north of Tampa off of the west the coast of Florida.)  

Before we went, however, Todd (and I as helper) installed a light fixture at our dining room - we had been without light for a year +/- ??!!  Mercer went to a baseball camp.  Isabella played on the computer and on her violin.

This time for our trip to Florida, we stayed closer to their house - still a ways away but we were inland / closer to Orlando.  We went to them for a few visits this time.  My step sister Michelle moved in with them as she had a job change / relocation. That's a good thing as it helps her to live there, but it also helps them too as they are needing a bit more help these days.

There's not the space for us to stay with them in their house like we've done in the past but that's OK. The kids want to do other things when we visit, so this gave us the opportunity to do a few other things while in Florida.

We drove down and stopped on our way into town.  We checked into the hotel really late, but were confused at first when they gave us 2 separate keys... as it was TWO whole units that were connected by a vestibule. We thought we had a "two bedroom" unit - where we shared a living room and kitchen... but... nope.  

There were 2 living rooms and 2 kitchens.  2 washer / dryers.  2 bathrooms.  It was like Mercer had his own apartment!  (since Isabella and I were already slated to share 1 of the bedrooms)  He was pretty stoked about that!  

Our hotel was 10 stories tall.  We were on level 6.  We were in building 16.  There were 21 buildings in the complex.... they said they had about 1000 of these suites in this complex!

And... there were DOZENS and DOZENS of these complexes just along the major road we were on!   We also noticed that for miles and miles out away from the place we were staying ... there were GIANT complexes that were being built everywhere. (we were on a major toll-road out of town back-and-forth each day to get to dad's.)  One that we noticed over and over again looked like apartment buildings (5-6 stories tall) and we counted 21 elevator towers that were under construction in that complex!  (the concrete elevator towers / stair towers went in first then the apartment buildings were constructed of wood as infill between all of the towers.... as we saw in another complex.

Here's a picture of the office park at "Celebration" which was across the major road from where we stayed.  (designed by a famous architect - known for using geometry.  This complex isn't that interesting, though.) 

We looked it up while we were on our trip: there are average 57,000 visitors a day at just ONE park (Disney World)!  Epcot - average of 34,000 visitors a day.  Hollywood Studios (31,000 / day).  Animal Kingdon (38,000/day) Plus there's Universal - a competitor.  There's Sea World and LEGO Land.  It is absolutely crazy how many people visit this area.  Everything there is BIG.  It's insane!  

I ran an errand:  dropped off 2 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas child. Have done this in years past, but the place that I dropped off was interesting!  

At dad and Charlie's house, Mercer helped pressure-wash a driveway, I picked up sticks and Isabella caught lizards.

She played her violin and we all had dinner together.  We waited on Michelle to come home from work, but she works late pretty much every day and we didn't see her.  We didn't get back to the hotel 'til close to 10 and Isabella / I went for a night swim for about an hour before the pool closed.

The next day, we went shoe shopping (doesn't sound major, but for M... with a size 14 kick... he had LOTS of options at the Nike factory store that was next to our hotel.) 

Then we met dad at the "Museum of Illusions" at Icon Park.  It was pretty cool.... a lot of it was science and tricks to the eye with mirrors.  Lots and lots of mirrors!

  

This exhibit -- I had to go look behind the wall.  There was a ladder that you could climb / hold onto and put 1 leg / 1 arm out.  Isabella was imitating the photo at the front of the exhibit here.

Most people did what she's doing below... looks like you have 2 heads!  

The infinity room was really cool! 

There was also an exhibit that was slats of mirrors and slats of openings.  The idea is that one person stands on one side and another on the other  side / their faces "morph." 

This was one of my least favorite.  We'd been in something like this before:  it's a video of lights flashing and spiraling around you... so... it looks like and feels like you are spinning. Isabella fell down in this one!

This was one of my favorites:  a long tube that is a triangle shape... it created a "human kaleidoscope"  -- in this case -- Isabella being the focus of the changing view.  (One person shoots a video or photo at one end while the other person moves around at the other end.)  It was sooo awesome!  I wish I could have gotten Mercer in it too!  I'd love to see him as a snowflake.  ha!

And - a famous trick-of-the-eye exhibit:  tall vs small.  (slanted floor)  Here Isabella is bigger than grandpa!

We played putt-putt (which is Mercer's jam) - they had some good water hazards which the kids hit all of! :)

Water hazard 1 that got the best of him.... multiple times

Water hazard 2 that got the best of her.  (thankfully this one had a metal grate, but she couldn't figure out how to get the ball out!)

Icon park is in the background.  There is a CRAZY high swing, a slingshot and a Ferris wheel.  (none of which we tried, but Isabella said she wanted to do the swing?!) 

Um.  NOPE!

Afterwards, we went to dad and Charlie's again for dinner / one last visit with Michelle (she came home "early" that next night).  We got back to the hotel too late for a night swim, though.

I'd say we crammed in a bunch of stuff in our few days there!

On the way home - we drove towards some unusual clouds - which helped occupy the drive.  (In looking them up later, found out they're called Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds named after 2 scientists who studied velocity of fluids and disturbances caused by the disturbance caused by these fluids in the water (waves) and in the sky (billow clouds).  Never seen them before, but cool!

According to a ThoughtCo article about the clouds:  

Your best chance for observing billow clouds is on a windy day because they form where two horizontal winds meet. This is also when temperature inversions -- warmer air on top of cooler air -- occur because the two layers have different densities.

The upper layers of air move at very high speeds while the lower layers are rather slow. The faster air picks up the top layer of the cloud it's passing through and forms these wave-like rolls. The upper layer is typically drier because of its velocity and warmth, which causes evaporation and explains why the clouds disappear so quickly.

The day after we got home was Thanksgiving.  I went to the top of the street with Mercer to hang out with neighbors / cheer on the Gobble Jog (well, I had a bloody mary and didn't do as much cheering this year)...  while Todd was prepping a turkey for smoking.  Something happened this year with the smoker and we had to "finish" the bird in the oven to make sure it was cooked all the way through. It was delicious though - when done!

We bought many of the side dishes, but made pie + a neighbor brought us pie... so we had MORE dessert than we needed.  (The day after Thanksgiving, we went to a movie / out to lunch with baseball friends.  Later, we invited Mercer's friend + his mom over for pie.  Problem is... she brought a giant tub of banana pudding to our house... when we were trying to get RID of desserts!)  eek.  :)

At Thanksgiving, we went around the table and said what we were thankful for:  Isabella named just about every dog she could remember the name of + dad, mom, the lizard Lizzy and her brother (even though he annoys her sometimes).  Todd was thankful for family, the food on our table and health.  Mercer was thankful for food - specifically popcorn and applesauce (since that's what he seems to live off of.)  I was thankful for safe travels, health and family.

We still have a couple of days of break.  I need to get back to reality of grading.  We'll also do some errands and set up some Christmas decorations.   It was way too short, but glad we had some down time this week!