And Life Rolls On...

We've become a little bit more boring in the past four weeks...

Jon and I were just comparing our summer weekends, to our weekends now.

During the summer we had every weekend day, afternoon and night booked. 

We had so many adventures.

Now?

We stay at home and catch up on being lazy.

Some weekends are fails, some are wins, some are a combination of both.

But life keeps rolling on, and it's a good life.

Friday

Picked Jon up early from school as we had big plans to go to the temple.

 But in about 10 minutes we had traveled less than 1 mile in Houston traffic and had already had enough.

Houston traffic makes us both grumpy... and it had already started.

We knew if we continued our trip we'd probably end up angry at each other.

So we turned around.

Fail

And we penciled in plans to try again at a time when all of Houston's 4 million people aren't trying to commute home. 

 Win

Not feeling like spending money, yet not feeling like making dinner...

we compromised at the grocery store for this.

Win

We'd seen commercials for it on TV and they claimed it tastes "just like P.F. Chang's!"

Although it was rather delicious (win)

I don't think it quite lived up to the claim.

Fail

We came home to find these beauties waiting for us.

BIG WIN!

 

And had a blast together getting them set up.

Jon could watch football all night long.

Amelia can not.

So we watched until half-time and then went to get frozen yogurt.

Win-win

Marriage is a good thing :)

 Saturday

Sleep in.

Win

Eat breakfast.

Win

Seminary Pool party

Win

 Heck yeah.

Floating plates.

The epitome of teenage laziness.

 Doesn't he have gorgeous blue eyes?

Win!

 We played Ultimate Frisbee Football...

 

And lots of water polo...

 But we kind of made up our own rules :)

 Three goalies?

 Showing their love to "Brother Brame" by dumping him into the pool.

Fail? Win? Not sure...

 We had no major injuries... (win!)

a few scrapes and bruises,

and my toe got attacked by the pool drain.

Fail.

The left side of my toe is gone!

Fail, fail fail.

But the party was a success...

that's all that matters, right?

 Sunday

Got to sleep in because of Stake Conference.

Win

Ate fake, wannabe, leftover Cafe Rio...

A win for us peeps without a REAL Cafe rio!

Babysat this cute kiddo

Win 

Milla's phone didn't have nearly enough entertaining games.

Fail

But Jon Jon's hair picked up the slack.

Win

You win some, you lose some.

But life is good.

Here We Go!

We are BACK people! 

It's been almost a month back at school and the Top 10 moments just keep rollin'...

You ready?

Here we go!

10.

I was pretty bummed about going back to school... but once I got there, it all seemed normal.

I guess that makes summer abnormal.

Albeit a good abnormal.

Anyway!

I decided to look for the good in starting up school... and you know what I found?

The beginning of the school year is so great because the copy machines are actually working!

No having to clear out jams in those blasted machines this month.

9.

My classes are honestly SO good this year!

I don't know if they really are nicer, more respectful students...

or if I'm just meaner?

Either way-

it's awesome.

The first few days I tried to scare students out of my class.

It worked nicely.

In 7th period someone had their phone out and I took it up.

The girl next to her exclaimed, "What? You actually take our phones up?"

ANNND that girls hasn't been back to class since.

8.

Since I have a whole wall of mirrors in my classroom, I get many displays of student vanity.

The minute they see themself in a mirror they pull out their phones and start snapping pics of themselves.

"Put your phones away!"

"But Miss! That's what mirrors are for!"

7.

You really have to watch what you say... kids are always taking it the wrong way.

We're in our ballet unit and I was talking about OVER turning out and how it can hurt your knees...

Well I used the word "twerk" as a synonym for torque and got fits of laughter.

Don't know what to "twerk" is?

It's a dance...

I dare you to look it up on YouTube...

*watch at your own risk!*

6. 

I get this everyday...

"Miss you look like Katy Perry!"

"No I don't- it's just kuz I have brown hair, blue eyes... and I'm white."

5.

This week we had a "late arrival" day... a new thing we are trying this year.

Students arrive two hours later on certain Wednesdays throughout the year.

The first one went down with a bang.

10 minutes before school started,

a girl fight broke out in the cafeteria.

Girls screaming, words flying, weaves ripped out...

it was pretty epic.

4.

I'm being pretty anal about no shoes in the dance classroom this year...

I can't believe the excuses they come up with.

"But Miss if I take my shoes off then I'll be cold and get sick."

I don't know about you- but I vehemently disagree.

3.

Over the summer, I met Lauren Anderson (former principal ballerina for the Houston Ballet) and she informed me of FREE outreach opportunities for my dance classes.

Well I jumped on that!

This past Monday, Houston Ballet sent her (Lauren Anderson) to my Dance 3 class and we had a ballet master class with her!

ANNNND it will be on Mondays for the next SIX weeks.

I'm stoked.

And they are star-struck with her.

(Ok I am, too)

She was the first EVER African-American to become a principal dancer for a major ballet company.

SO cool.

2.

I really only have one problem student this year (last year I had 100)...

She comes in angry at me everyday.

I try to kill her with kindness.

She got dressed out in her dance clothes the other day (a rarity) and I asked her to participate in what we were doing...

to which I got the LOUD and snotty response of...

"MIZ B- I DRESSED OUT! WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?"

Well... dance, maybe?

Yep.

I need you to dance.

1. 

One of my students (bless her heart) is just so honest, and blunt, and vocal about it.

The other day while warming up at the barre (we're on our Ballet unit)

she exclaims (very, very... very loudly I might add)

"Ummm Mrs. Brame! I have a concern.... I don't think this is really dancing!"

I promise sweetheart.

Ballet is dancing.

I know all you kids know how to do is "twerk"-

but ballet is in fact dance.

 

And here's some pics of the classroom this year...

most everything was homemade (thanks mom for the pendant banners!) and inspired by Pinterest.

And that's what I did this summer :)

Dinosaurs and Chick-Fil-A

Labor Day = A day to given to hard working laborers to rest from all their labors.

Genius.

Especially when that day falls one week after school starts.

Double genius.

Jon and I set out on a quest to use some of our Groupon coupons that were set to expire soon-

And here's how the day went down...

Lots of fun at the Museum of Natural Science!

 We stood mesmerized by the Foucault Pendulum for quite some time!

 The Hall of Paleontology was our fave.

 Ah! T-Rex!

 He's gonna eat me!

 

Gems and Minerals Exhibit was pretty cool...

 I asked Jon if he could buy this for me....

Doesn't look too expensive, right?

Our Groupon included one of the "special" exhibits...

so we went into the one about China.

Super cool- but kind of small!

But nonetheless- we saw some "terra cotta" warriors...

 And Buddha :)

THE Butterfly Center which houses millions of butterflies!

ok... maybe not millions- but there were butterflies everywhere!

 

Jon has his guide to identify all the butterflies.

Did you know that there is a "mormon" butterfly?

For real.

 We got lots of practice standing SUPER still in hopes of butterflies landing on us...

 Jon got one!

Do you see it?

 Look closer...

 and closer...

 A hah! On his foot!

Good job Jon :)

  

And ending the day with some of the finest chicken cuisine around-

Chick-Fil-A

Happy Labor Day!