Week One, Year Two---Check!

I officially started (and completed) the first week of my second year of teaching. For some reason, I was NOT nervous about starting the school year. It almost seemed unreal to me that summer was over and that I had to go back to work so soon after finishing summer school. Even though I did teach summer school (and worked at Enterprise off and on throughout the summer months), this was officially my first summer "off." It was a great summer, as you've seen from my pictures, and I wasn't quite ready for it to end. I was, however, ready to get back into a routine. It was weird to sleep until whenever (although I'm a morning person and was usually up by 7 or 8), eat breakfast as I watched the news, head to the pool, eat lunch whenever, head back to the pool, eat dinner whenever, go to bed whenever. I had a hard time with all that, so I was eager to get back into the swing of things. I was excited to see my teacher friends. I was excited to meet the next group of kids I would mold into fine young adults.

What I forgot about was the horrible, god-awful, horrendous week that preceeds the start of school: MEETINGS. For an entire week, we sat through boring meeting after boring meeting after POINTLESS meeting. And I must say that teachers are the worst students that will ever walk into a school. But I won't get into that...

So the week before the kids arrived was the worst week of my life. But a week ago today, I met my little chickens (as I like to call them). They begin as little chicks, all cute and adorable. Then they hit 8th and 9th grade and become all ugly and gross. I, luckily, am the lucky one who gets the 10th and 11th graders this year who are starting to turn into the grown chicken they are meant to be. The ugliness is fading, and for the first time in their lives (for many of them), they are beginning to understand the importance of their education. It's exciting to share this moment with them.

As I was saying, I wasn't nervous for the first day of school. It kind of snuck up on me, and I was anxious to get through the meetings so I could meet my chickens. As they began to arrive, I began to see many faces that I had last year. As the students piled into my room, some old faces, some new faces, I was thrilled to meet the new crew.

1st hour-11th graders who are fabulous.
2nd hour-11th graders who are amazing.
3rd hour-11th graders who are fun.
4th hour-11th graders who are exciting.
6th hour-10th graders who are...quiet. You know the sound a cricket makes? You will hear that in this class. I even told them, "I'd rather have you talk too much than not at all..."

"Chirp, chirp, chirp."

Ok, so this 10th grade class isn't AS exciting as my other four 11th grade classes, but we'll get there, I'm confident.

Anyway, the most exciting part about this first week has been the flock of students who have flooded my room to welcome me back, to request me as their teacher, to hug me and ask about my summer, to complain about how horrible their new English teacher is and how they wished I was their teacher, to ask me to request them as my student next semester, or just to visit. I have students stopping in between passing periods (at the risk of being tardy to their next class) just to say hello. I have students coming in during their off hours to write/draw on my boards and chat the hour away. I have students asking me for English help because "I just connect with you and I know we work well together. My new teacher isn't helping, so I would love to get help on my thesis statement if you have the time."

THIS is why I teach. As I collect 150 essays on Friday, THAT is not why I teach. But the process of writing that essay is why I teach. Seeing the lightbulb go on as I help them write a good thesis is why I teach. Being able to say to a kid who has just told me he's stupid when it comes to English, "You are not stupid. You just struggle with English, which is why I'm here." Seeing him smile as he begins to realize that just because he has a hard time in English does not mean he's stupid; that is why I teach. Seeing a 10th grade boy tear up when I look him in the eye and say, "This is your year. I am confident that you are fully capable of this work. I have no doubt in my mind that your parents will stop yelling at you and be so proud of you when you bring home your first A." That is why I teach.

I thank God every single day that I have a job in the teaching industry. Not only do I have a job, but I have a job at MY school. Chatfield is my home. These students are MY students, my little chickens, or in the case of my 10th grade class, my little crickets.

Family Reunion

My grandparents are truly two of the coolest people I know (and I'm not just saying that because they are my grandparents). Everyone who meets them says the same thing. They have been married for over 65 years, and they are more in love today than they were on their wedding day. Shan shared a bit of their story here. In order to honor them, our family and my grandpa who just turned 90, my mom put together a mini family reunion.

We all packed up and went to NE a few weekends ago. On the way, I told Shan and Jeff that grandma probably wouldn't recognize me with my new hair color. I couldn't have been more correct. Grandma walked into the house on Saturday and looked at me and then walked away. Knowing that she didn't recognize me, I grabbed her arm and said, "Grandma, it's me, Shiloh. I changed my hair."

You would have thought that hell froze over. She looked at me with the most puzzled look and said, "Shannon, did you change your hair? I don't like it Shannon. What did you do with your red hair? I like your red hair. You need to change it back to red."

I chuckled, thinking she was playing with me. "Grandma, I'm not Shannon. I'm Shiloh."

She stared at me. "Stop it, Shannon. You're not Shiloh. You're Shannon. And I do not like your hair."

I'm not even kidding, for over two hours, she just stared at me, called me Shannon and kept repeating that she did not like my new hair and she missed my red hair. (I should mention that Shannon was not around when this all took place-she was hosting a PC party at a nearby house).

Eventually Shannon arrived, which really threw grandma for a loop. She then looked at Shan, looked at me, looked back at Shan. She was SO confused. I kind of felt bad and probably should have called to warn her. Once she saw Shan and me standing side by side, she was able to see the difference. She finally started calling me Shiloh but refused to accept my new color. All she could do was stare, shake her head and say, "I do not like it at all."

The rest of the weekend went without a hitch (other than the HOT, HUMID weather and the stupid mosquito bites). We had a great time and, of course, had to snap some pictures.

Kye, Aydan (April's little boy) and Carson going for a ride with Dido

My dear Grandma Van

Me, Grandma and Katie (sis-in-law)

My pops

My mom's sister, Lisa, and Corinne

My grandparents great-grandchildren. We were missing a few, as they have around 13 great-grand kids. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the boy in the orange (on the far left) and the boy in the yellow (with his arm up) are identical twins.

All my cousins (four are missing)

The Kloepping clan (missing a few)

The Nichols/Anderson clan

My amazing grandparents, Bill and Van

Some of my Faves...

While home two weekends ago, I was able to spend some time with some of my favorite people...McGee, April and me

My dear, sweet April

Mike and I go back to middle school (Holly, don't say a word!)

Katie, April and me (we're missing Irish and McGee to complete the fab five)

Apparently green was my color of the weekend (yes, they are different outfits)

Bowling

When we were back home two weekends ago for a family reunion with the Kloepping side of the family, we were also able to meet up with the Nichols side of the family, too. We saw both sides of grandparents and almost all our aunts and uncles. It was great. The kids were able to play with their extended cousins (my cousins children) and all the little kids had a blast playing together. They tried their hand in bowling... Carson, the champion

Kye, the determined one

Case, the stubborn one

Corinne, the sweet one

Siahna sat this one out....

Joad, The Turtle

I have seen a lot of crazy things while living in Denver, but I have to say that this tops them all. The other day I was turning onto my street that takes me to my apartment building. As I turned the corner, I could see two cars stopped on the road ahead. Their flashers were on, and there were people standing out on the street. I assumed an accident had happened, so I slowed down so I could pass. What I saw was the craziest thing. There was a guy with a stick in his hand, and he was guiding a GIANT turtle across the street. I was so shocked at what I was seeing. The turtle was about the size of a basketball, and his legs were at least the size of my wrists. As I slowly drove by, I could see people running with cameras, getting out of cars, people coming off the golf course to see this turtle. I wish I would have stopped, but I was in a hurry to get home, so I kept on driving. I sent Shan a text telling her what I had seen. It was unbelievable. I even told Shan I thought it was a snapping turtle, as he had a sharp beak and a rigged back and tail.

A few days later, mom and I were headed to Shan's house for dinner, and at the exact same spot, there were cars stopping and people standing out in the lawn. I told mom that I wondered if the turtle was back. Sure enough, the turtle was lying in the grass. He wasn't moving and mom was worried he might be dead. I asked her if we should stop to take pictures and we decided to do just that. As we were stopping, a guy took his foot and touched the back of the turtle. He was NOT dead, as the turtle jumped and started walking toward the street.

I flipped a U-Turn and turned on my flashers. There were several people joining the scene, so we weren't the only crazy one taking pictures. Sure enough, it's a snapping turtle, which mom said are super dangerous. They can bite off a finger or break a man's wrist. Mom said once they snap on, they do not let go for a very long time. He had long claws and his tail looks like a dragon's tail. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen. I took the opportunity to take a picture of Joad (I named him). The guy made sure Joad didn't cross the street and made him head toward the pond instead.

Now, every time I pass the pond, I look for my pet turtle, Joad.

Marcy's Wedding

I attended a good friend's wedding back in April. Other than getting pulled over during that trip, which you can read about here, I had a blast with Marcy. I was a part of her wedding, which made it that much more special, and I am looking forward to having Marcy come visit in September for my 30th birthday celebration.

Marcy is the second over from the left in the black and white.

Water World

I've gotten a tad behind on blogging (and pictures), so I'll start at the beginning of my summer and work my way through.

I started out the summer at Water World with Britt and Amber. We had a blast, we hit the park early enough in the season that there were barely any lines, and we missed any afternoon storms. If you live in Denver, you have to go to Water World at least once a summer. It's a blast, and we made sure to do every single crazy ride.

July 4, 2010

Here are some pictures from the Fourth of July weekend in Glenwood Springs/Aspen. We rode down McClure Pass, and no one got hurt!

Corinne had to join the climbing. She's a tough cookie!

Siahna's first camping experience!

When you have to go, you have to go!

Carson and Kye climbed down into an ice cave. They had a blast.

When you go camping, you must bring your tutu, duh!