4th and 5th Grade Camp

Just got back from camp yesterday.  Every year, the 4th and 5th graders, parent volunteers, and my teammates go up to Stanwood to the campgrounds at Camp Warm Beach.  As expected, it was amazing, especially since the children this year are extra awesome.  It was 3 days of hiking the trails, finding interesting critters, and lots of outdoor adventure, mixed in with indoor cabin giggles.  It rained all day on Thursday, but we were troopers and made the most of our time there.  Moving to 2nd and 3rd grade next year, I'm really going to miss camping out with the kiddos.  Here are a couple of snapshots that I was able to take.

My camping quarters.  It was pretty sweet.  I hardly felt like I was roughing it.

My activity group, Group Love.  Getting ready to ride the trail.  There were two girls who were pretty terrified to get on a horse.  Once they got back, they were beaming with excitement.  It ended up to be their favorite thing about camp.

Lucas found this huge slug while we were lost in the wild.  I lead them in the wrong direction when trying to find our next station.  I'm gonna miss this kiddo.  He was in my activity group last year too.

The 40-foot climbing wall.  I didn't get the chance to do it last year because we ran out of time, but I was determined to do it this year.  And I'm proud to say I conquered it!  We had to make up a superhero name before going up.  The kids gave me the name "Cat Attack," and they cheered me on the whole way up.

This year, one of the stations was the "chill station," where the kids could sit by the fire, read, write, play chess,  play cards, or just lay down.  I think it's pretty obvious what the teachers decided to do. . .  Jeff was passed out.

Breakfast Crawl

Ardon and I have been such early birds for quite a while now.  We wake up, even on the weekends, bright and early between 6:00 and 7:00.  We like to take advantage of our mornings because his new schedule has him working from 11am to 7pm all weekend long.  Lately our weekend morning routine is to get up, chill for a little bit, and get to a good breakfast spot by around 8:30.  We have really enjoyed the early mornings because we don't get the rush of brunch that hits by 10am.  The restaurants are super mellow, the servers aren't in a scurry, and the food comes out pretty fast.

I must say, Seattle has some really delicious breakfast.  So far, Ardon and I have only been to a few spots, but we're excited to keep exploring.  Here are just some of our greatest hits:

Portage Bay Cafe South Lake Union.  Always an easy win (and kind of our default)  since it's a block away from home.  My favorite dish is their crab cake benedict and breakfast potatoes.

Geraldine's Counter in Columbia City.  Another easy win.  We enjoy this place because it's close to where Tin and David live, so we can eat with good company.  My favorite is the Emerald City Scramble.

The Backdoor at Roxy's in Fremont.  We've had lunch here, but tried their breakfast for the first time just recently.  A charming NYC-style Jewish diner.  My favorite was the challah french toast.   The hashbrowns are yummy too.

Citizen Coffee in Lower Queen Anne.  Breakfast crepes to die for.  The Nutella crepe is a must have, even if you split it with somebody.  The savory crepes are just as delcious.

Beat the Bridge 2012

Before the run:  Vince joined the 6-7 minute/mile runners.  Mar and me?  I don't even know what category we started running with.  We just kept inching our way to the front, heard the airhorn, and started running.

In preparation for the Rock n Roll half which is just a month away, Mar, Vince, and I ran the Beat the Bridge 8k (5 miles) just this morning.  For me, it was my very first 8k.  The longest official race I've ever ran was 5k, so I was super excited for this one.  The weather was perfect, even if it did sprinkle a little, it felt good.  There were thousands of people, and it was just a lot of fun.  It's called Beat the Bridge because 2 miles into the course, there is a draw bridge that goes up 20 minutes after the last person crosses the start line.  (Not gonna lie, I was nervous.  I have short legs, whether or not I would beat the bridge was questionable.)  But WE BEAT THE BRIDGE!  Vince definitely beat it.  He finished the whole race in 32 minutes!  Ardon came with to cheer us on too.

I even got a gold medal!  

Teacher Adventure

Back in February (or March?  I can't remember), we had our school auction.  One of the auction items was a teacher adventure to bake cookies and plant flowers in cute flower pots for Mother's Day with Ms. Bogel and me.  Eight families bid on the adventure.  Almost all of whom I taught as first graders, so it was lots of fun to spend time with them again.  We spent the Thursday before Mother's Day baking dozens upon dozens of cookies after school.  They were so funny when some of their moms were the ones to pick them up.  "Mom!  You can't see!  You have to turn around!" they would say as they put their huge flower pots behind their backs.

Yay for moms!

HAPPY Teacher Appreciation Week?

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week.  Kids showered me with flowers, Starbucks cards, mangoes, and much more. They know what I like!  Some of them wrote me letters or made cards.  Here's one that I thought was particularly interesting.

Oh, Molly.  Is it that obvious?

Mariners DREAM at Gatewood!

I know I've got a lot to catch you all up on.  I've been so bogged down with work and running, that I'm so behind on the rest of my life.  Laundry and dishes are piling up like no other.  Now that I've got a chill weekend, I finally have some time to just relax and think. . .  With that said, here are the happenings.

Left to Right:  Hernandez, Seager, Josa, Ackley, Vargas, and Manager Wedge

On Tuesday, May 8th, we had a surprise assembly for the kiddos.  The Seattle Mariners came to town to talk to the kids about staying in school and making good decisions.  Vargas, Ackley, Seager, Jaso, Hernandez, and Manager Wedge (kids were bummed that Ichiro was a no-show) each spoke about something different to encourage the kids to be their best.  They used the framework of DREAM (Drug-free, Respect, Education, positive Attitude, and Motivation).  We even made the news!

Mariners Surprise Gatewood

May Birthdays

It's May, which means it's a month full of celebrations.  Happy 28th birthday to Ardon (quatro de Mayo), and Happy 4th birthday to Mia Grace (cinco de Mayo).  May you both have many many many birthdays and fiestas to come!

Ardon and I celebrated his birthday on Thursday night.  We had a wonderful dinner at Dahlia Lounge and then went to Skratch Lounge where he met up with all his buddies to cut it up on the turntables.  All his buddies kept buying him drinks, which made the rest of the night veeerrrryyy interesting, considering Ardon never drinks.



We celebrated the princess's birthday at her house.  It was a fun little celebration with her grandparents, aunties and uncles.  The weather was perfect for us to enjoy a delicious BBQ on the patio in the back yard and watch the kiddos run around.

On to Mother's Day!  And the celebrations continue. . .