May is sweeping along, with all that comes with it.  May means blackberry season here in San Antonio, and my blackberry bushes are doing amazing!!  I mean, not only are they bursting with blackberries, but they are huge!  I almost feel like these small, but prolific, bushes are a tender mercy after leaving behind my fantastic strawberry patch and raspberry bushes in Pennsylvania.  Arthur is especially happy about them as well, because it means that he gets to eat fresh blackberries every day 😊. 

My tomatoes are also coming along wonderfully, and it seems like we can pick a couple every day to snack on, which also makes Arthur and I very happy.

Another adventure we have had at home lately is the appearance of kittens in our back yard.  Yes, kittens!!!  We do not own a cat, or any pets for that matter, but the other day, Kevin went into the yard and saw a small kitten stuck halfway up our step.  When I got home and Arthur showed me, I decided to look under the outdoor sofa, which was had a cover over the top, making it the perfect place for kiteens to hide, and low and behold, there were two more kittens.  Seeing us seemed to inspire the other two to move as well, and soon they were slowly crawling along the cement, and making me worry for their safety.

The next morning, when we went outside to check on the kittens, they were gone.  It was the strangest thing, like the mom got nervous and moved them.  I thought she had taken them to a different yard, because we searched everywhere and couldn’t find them.  That is, until I went to pick blackberries that evening.  There they were, and I may have missed them if the mama cat hadn’t jumped out of the bush as I came near.  There were those three cute faces just staring at me from the bush.

Knowing that the weather was going to get rainy, and knowing that our yard was really not the best place for them, I reached out to a few local organizations, and was able to find a man that worked with a shelter who came and picked them up.  He tried to get the mama cat too, but she wouldn’t come.  And within a couple days, he had found homes for all three of them.  Awesome!

School is busy, but good.  We finished up STAAR testing, just in time to start on MAP testing.  As a teacher, and as a parent, I much prefer MAP testing, as it is given at the beginning, middle and end of the school year, and really is a great indicator of student growth.  Because truly, that is what I care about.  Are my students growing and progressing?

It has also been teacher appreciation week, and some of my students have done the cutest things to show me their love.  Admin has also done some fun things for us, with a special lunch, some snacks, as well as a build your own hat activity.  I really like how mine turned out 😊.

There was also a free car wash day from a local place, and so I was able to get both of our cars washed, which was fantastic, and totally worth the long lines of other teachers getting their cars washed 😉.  Good times!

It was the end of our library time and book checkout, and so the librarian, Mrs. Smith, had the kids do a special puppet show, which they loved.  Even though they all try to seem so grown up now that they are almost 5th graders, they still really do love the simple things like puppet shows.

This past week, we also had the last of our classroom birthdays!  It sure was fun having them all sit on my special chair, wear the birthday glasses, and then have class sing along to the doorbell playing “Happy Birthday.”  And then the class would chant “first bite” as they ate the first bite of their birthday treat.  Good times!

Friday was field day, and it was a hot one.  Luckily we started the day with a water fight. 

The kids loved the water fight, especially because it was done using refillable water shooters.  I did have to warn them not to shoot me with the water guns, as I was still fighting a cold and did not feel well. 

After the water fight, we played a fun game where they tried to tag their classmates with pool noodles while they ran across a field.  My class was super excited because the two ladies who were our APEX representatives came, and they totally played with the kids.

Then it was time for another water game – “Duck, Duck, Splash,” where the kids would squeeze a sponge full of water over the head of the person they chose.  They loved it, and at one point, we were combines with Ms. Candelaria’s class.

Our last outdoor game was capture the flag, which may have ended with some major hard feelings and blame, but after some strong talking to and pep talks, they all came around and were fine.  It also helped that we went inside for snacks, a break, and a chance for them to change out of their wet clothes.

After our break, they got to go to the library for some fun STEM activities.  Then we had a super fun blind volleyball activity, where the net was completely blocked so that couldn’t see where the beach ball was coming from.  They had so much fun and loved it!

And I was much happier by then, because my friend, Sarah Pippert, loaned me her awesome “jazzercise” microphone.  I had lost my voice at the beginning of the week, and after a week of teaching, it was even worse, which made it extra hard on a day when the kids were doing outdoor, and even indoor activities that required me to get their attention throughout.  Thank goodness that after popsicles and lunch, we went back to our room and watched “Ella Enchanted,” the movie that went with the book I had just finished reading my class.  We all needed a break, that’s for sure.

On Saturday, Kevin and Arthur were off bright and early to head to Arthur’s choir competition.  His sixth grade boy’s choir and the sixth girl’s choir both did fantastic and won two big awards.  

After the festival, they all headed to Schlitterbahn for the day.  They were only at the parks for a little while when Kevin sent me the funniest text, “All it takes is 45 minutes with other people’s kids to realize just how amazing our kids are.”  Ha ha ha!  I guess that one of the boys in his group would not stop whining.  Good times.  Luckily, they still had a blast.

On the way home, they stopped at Buc-ee’s for snacks.  Always a good choice.  They also got a picture of all the choir kids with their trophies.  Good times!

Lily was also having adventures.  When she arrived back at school a few weeks ago, she discovered that she was the ONLY person in her apartment.  Two the the rooms were completely empty, and although there were belongings in the other private room for her roommate from the previous semester, she was nowhere to be found, and would not answer her messages.  She was going a little crazy being totally isolated, and in an effort to show her love, my amazing sister, Cheryl, took her to lunch.  Then she had her come to Idaho Falls for the night to watch a play.  Lily stayed over, and the next day they were able to attend the Idaho Falls Temple.  Such an awesome blessing!

The crazy situation has also pushed Lily outside of her comfort zone, and the other day she invited a few people from her ward over to eat dinner (she made fried chicken) and to play games.  She had so much fun, and her isolation has actually made her more social than she has ever been at school.  Definitely a silver lining and an answer to prayer for our swwet girl.