The Tale of Thanksgiving

You see, what happened was...

(Get ready... I'm about to start rhyming)

Our Thanksgiving was all planned,

South Africa we would head.

The husband was to do research there, 

but then his Professor said...

"Thanksgiving will not work for me,

We'll have to do December."

Jon agreed and nodded,

his Professor did not remember...

that Amelia is a school teacher.

She cannot leave whenever.

So thus we were back to square one,

we had to find a new endeavor.

For we could not go from Africa plans,

to nothing, just nothing at all.

We had to find some middle ground,

so we made a telephone call...

to Carnival Cruise Lines, Oh yes we did.

(Hey, we had to use a voucher)

So we booked a cruise for Thanksgiving,

as we sat on our couch... er.

We set sail on November 18th,

the boat was Carnival Magic-

We went to Honduras, Belize and Mexico,

The ending was oh, so tragic.

Because we had to go back to real life.

The End.

(of my poem anyway- here are some pics from our adventure!)

We see the ship!

 Deck plan- check.
Get us on-board!

Goodbye Galveston!


Too cheap to buy their pics... so we totally snapped a picture of a picture with our phones.
Teehee.

Our boat was a new Carnival boat and it had some awesome features!
The sports deck was insane-

Ropes course, mini-golf, foosball, pool, and a big ol' X-box system.
Jon killed the "Rock Band" competition!

Taking a little jog up around the track...

This is the main pool deck.
It has a huge TV that you can watch movies on every night.
Super fun!

Formal night #1

Formal night #2
(nice timed pic including us, bed, and counter)

 Of course, the animal towels left by our lovely room steward were always a treat.

Activities on board are so fun-
 Jon loved volunteering for all the game shows/competitions.

We took a ballroom dance class.

Fun shows every night.

So many beautiful sunsets...

We were pretty fond of just relaxin'

And were good at it.


Our first port of call was Roatan, Honduras...

It was a bit drizzly...

But didn't let that deter us from enjoying the beach!

 He's got his flippers on...

 and is ready to snorkel!

But then it got EXTREMELY rainy...

And this monkey entertained us!

The monkey LOVED chasing this little boy up and down the beach!
So funny!

I think I've finally convinced Jon that we need a pet monkey!

So long rainy Roatan!

Next stop was Belize...

We had to be tendered WAY offshore.

See our boat way in the distance?

We got on this awesome school bus :)

to go cave tubing!

 Got our tubes and head lamps- we are ready!

 Do you see Jon jumping off the cliff?
Go straight down from this word and there he is!

 Our cave tubing entrance...

 Looking dashing...

 All hooked up and ready to go!

This is the only pic that turned out of the cavern formations...

 Light!

We're almost there...

And we made it!
Sunshine again!

 Just floating down the river...

On our way back- we saw the missionaries riding their bikes down the street!

Love it.

And last stop was Cozumel, Mexico.

We booked a horse riding tour online- and when we got to the place, we were really worried.

Super sketchy.

But three other tourists showed up so at least we'd all get mugged together, right?

Joke joke- it ended up being quite enjoyable!

(Even if we STILL have sore bottoms!)

Along the ride we stopped at some Mayan ruins...

teeny Mayan ruins :)

So downloading pics from Jon's phone is always a surprise... this is what I found.

Me with food

Food.

More food.

Jon with food.

Amelia with food.

Food.

Food.

Food.

Food.

Food.
AND pretty proud of myself that I tried lobster.
Totally not my thing, but surprisingly good!

Food.

Food.

Food.

More food.
This was shark.
Yep.
More like shark fritters.
But still.

Food.

(That is JON's second plate... not mine... but hey, it was Thanksgiving Day. We needed to feast right?)

Food.
(free smoothie, hoorah!)

Either Jon loves food...

or we ate a LOT.

Ok maybe both?

And It Just Gets Better and Better...

I know it's barely December...

but my list is growing long with funny stories to tell.

I'm not sure if it's all the candy, growing near to holidays, or just feeling more comfortable around me- but these stories just get better and better.

Enjoy another Top Ten from my students!

10.

The holidays are getting to everyone.

Me included!

I think we'd all rather be home eating bon bons,

but alas- school goes on.

Before Thanksgiving break students would say,

"Mrs. Brame- c'mon! We shouldn't have to do anything today!"

The Monday AFTER Thanksgiving break students said,

"Mrs. Brame- c'mon! We need a day to get used to school again! We shouldn't have to do anything today!"

I'm no detective...

but I detect they love to be lazy.

9.

I still crack up everytime I see a student in the hallway and we totally make eye contact, but they pretend to have NOT seen me and proceed to ignore me.

I love it.

So awkward.

8.

Its gotten a little chilly (a couple times) the past month...

46 degrees- I throw on a scarf... maybe.

Show up to school and students have on their fur coats and have scarves wrapped around their heads.

No lie.

It hits 50 degrees and the school sports teams can't practice outside because it's too cold.

I know I've acclimated a little bit to Texas- BUT 50 degrees is really not that cold.

C'mon people.

In Utah they'd be out having picnics in their shorts.

7.

"Mrs. Brame I can't change into my dance clothes, I look TOO ca-yuuuuute today!"

I love these kids.

6.

We finished up a folk dance unit right before Thanksgiving Break and we had some good moments...

First of all- my students thought it appropriate to say "Opa!" after every folk dance.

So follow me through their logic...
"I am doing dances from foreign countries...

I know ONE foreign word ("opa")

so naturally I must say "Opa!" after every dance."

Who cares if it's an Indian, Colombian, or English dance right?

Speaking of Colombian...

We learned cumbia and half my students had a great time!

But one girl exclaimed to me, "Mrs. Brame this song is SOOOOOO old! Why are you using it?"

In my head I'm thinking... "Really? Am I that outdated? Is it more than 10 years old?"

She continues, "Yeah this song was popular when I was in 7th grade!!!"

"Ummm... you realize that 7th grade was three years ago for you, right? That's not old!"

"OMG Mrs. Brame- middle school was so long ago."

Of course it was sweetheart.

5.

Student bursts in from the locker room all out of breath...

"Mrs. BRAME!!! Can I be ghetto for a moment?"

"Sure- whatcha need?"

"I need to use your stapler to staple my jacket together."

Sure enough- she stapled her sleeve back on to the body of her jacket.

Awesome.

4.

Sometimes I wish there wasn't a mirror in my classroom...

it'd solve a lot of problems of girls primping, grooming and taking pics of themselves during class time.

One girl (with her head tilted all the way to the right) exclaimed, so proud of herself-

"Look how long my hair is getting! Ah!"

Girl- your head is tilted all the way to the side,

of course it's six inches longer right now!

3.

I have decided that most teens are haters of Christmas.

Or pretend to be.

I tried to play Christmas music one day- bad idea.

BUT in the words of one my quirkiest students...

"Haters gonn' hate. Tomatoes gonn' tomate. Potatoes are gonn' potate."

Yeah I know- it makes no sense.

But that makes it even better.

2.

I hope I can do this conversation justice. It was SOOO hilarious...
So we have Girl #1 who has a new weave, which is super long.
Class is about to end and she's looking at herself in the mirror fixing her hair.
Girl #1- "I pull off this long hurr well. They done told me I'd look ghetto. But I be lookin' good."
Girl #2- "Yeah gurl, you look like a female version of Will Smith."
Girl #1- "OMG he is soooooo fine!"
Girl #2- "Yeah he is, expeshally during his Fresh Prince days."
Girl #1- "Oh gurl I KNOW! I love his style. I wish I lived back then... back in the 20's."
Girl #2 and myself look at each other dumbfounded.
Me- "That wasn't the 20's sugar nut."
Girl #1- "Oh 20's, 30's, 70's whatevah! They all done look the same to me."

1.

Remember Pig Latin girl from last month?

Yeah- she makes it to numero uno again.

She cracks me up.

She's in ROTC and was complaining to me about having to run the mile.

I reply... "The mile isn't too bad! I bet you can bust that out in 10 minutes."

"Oh no- Mrs. Brame, it took me but a few minutes."

"So six or seven?"

"No, I ran the mile in three minutes yesterday."

"Yeah... pretty sure you didn't."

"No, I did! It was like just under three minutes."

"Ummm- the fastest man in the world ran the mile in 3:43 so unless you think you're faster than him... I'm pretty sure you didn't."

"Well maybe it was more like 3-5 minutes."

"Hahahaha"

And just the other day this one occurred...
Pig Latin girl was talking to me and another girl.
Other girl is talking about her 6 month old and how he's started to pull himself up in the crib.
Pig Latin girl says, "Oh he'll be walking before you know it!"
"Yeah.. my doc said kids start walking about 9 months to a year-ish."
Pig Latin girl- "Yeah all kids will develop differently. BUT I actually started walking at four months!"

Sure you did girlfriend.

Another Missionary!

Another "Stone" is joining the ranks of missionary...

little Jessica Belle.

I can't believe she's old enough to serve!

Thanks to this announcement from General Conference- little Jay is living her dream.

She started her papers the day after the announcement... and although things didn't happen as fast as she'd hoped- the call came last night.

Opening the envelope...

 Jessica Stone- you are called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints...

 You are called to labor in the Russia, St. Petersburg mission!

 And can I get an "Amen, hallelujah!" for Google plus chat?

Hmmm...

I feel a trip to Russia coming on in oh, say September 2014

:)

Ready for Thanksgiving!

Middle of the semesters are just hard.

Students are ornery and mean.

Teachers have had enough.

Good thing we get a week break for Thanksgiving!

I tell ya what- that is the ONLY thing that is keeping me going!

Why?

10.

Students + Election = Fired up, ignorant students.

Ugh.

My dance classes have turned into political science classes and it hasn't been pretty.

I've been called racist, stupid and a myriad of other things.

Lesson learned- never tell students who you voted for.

Never.

Ever.

 BUT moving on to funnier things :)

9.

It's popular to put "R"s in words that don't have "R"s.

(Thanks to Madea)

For example.... Hellur, instead of Hello.

Thank yurrr, instead of Thank You.

Hallelujer, instead of Hallelujah.

You get the picture.

8.

I don't know how we get on some topics after class...

but the topic of weddings came up.

Girls were talking about wedding dresses and what type of dress they'd want.

When I overhead Charlaleeqweea say,

"Well I just want a pink lerpard dress."

Yep... pink leopard is bad enough.

But pink leRpard is even worse.

7.

I have a student who talks like she is three years old, and refers to herself as "gummy bear".

Yeah....

I dunno....

6.

We were put on lock down a few weeks ago AND made it onto the news.

Staying classy over here in East Houston.
(start at 3:30)

 5.
Student 1- "Mrs. Brame are you black?"
Student 2- "No she's Hispanic!"
Student 3- "Nuh uh, aren't you a mix Mrs. Brame?"
I don't know if I should be dumbfounded... or flattered that I fake it so well?

4.
 We've been doing a World Dance unit and we spent a good amount of time on Indian dance and learned some Bollywood.
To make it a little fun (and a little politically incorrect)
I brought stickers for us to wear as Bindis
(a dot worn on the forehead after marriage).

So there we are with our sticker dots on our forehead, including myself...
and after class I had to go to the bathroom.
So I walk down the hall, through the cafeteria, down another hall, into the main rotunda, past the secretaries at the main office to use the nicer teacher bathrooms.
All the while... getting funny stares as I go.
After using the bathroom, I go up to the sink to wash my hands... and see my bright neon green sticker on my forehead...
and die.
Bahahaha, no wonder everyone was looking at me funny!

3.
 One of my students decided to perform our ballet dance for a church talent show she was in...
and tore her ACL!
I'm not quite sure if should be proud of her that she tried so hard (which she doesn't do in class!) or if it makes me a bad teacher...?

2.
Back to the World Dance unit...
we've been listening to some funky songs with lyrics in different languages.
Without fail...
Crazy worried student- "OMG! Mrs. Brame!!!! What ARE they saying?!?!"
Me- "I really don't know..."
Crazy worried student- "What if they are saying something TERRIBLE?!?!"
Hmmm... pretty sure it's cleaner than any music you listen to, so we're ok.

1.
Talking to a student before class....
Student- "I just hate 8th period..."
Me- "What's 8th period?"
Student- "Spanish. I hate Spanish."
Me- "Why? I wish I knew Spanish!"
Student- "Well it's just so hard! Did you know that it's the SECOND hardest language in the WORLD?"
Me- "Uhhh.... yeah.... pretty sure it's not."
Student- "No it is."
*Whatever*
Me- "You know- Spanish is pretty useful. You should take what you can out of the class... you'll be better off."
Student- "I just wish I could learn something MORE useful... like French... or PIG LATIN."
Me- "You know that Pig Latin is a made up language, right?"
Student- "Uhhh... yeah! *ahem* Oh yeah... but it's BASED on Latin."

I-ay an-cay.

Experienced Houston Visitor

Momma Brame came for a visit last weekend!

It's kind of becoming somewhat of a tradition for her to come visit in the Fall... three years in the making thus far.

With three visits behind her belt- I think she's seen everything "neat" there is to see in Houston. 

We had a hard time coming up with ideas!

BUT here's how the weekend unraveled...

Friday morning these guys had fun exploring Memorial Park,

And stopping by the infamous, Beer Can House.

Over 50,000 cans adorn this monument to recycling.

We all joined up for lunch downtown at the Hub Cap Grille

(said to be the best burgers in Houston)...

and they were pretty dang delicious.

We wandered downtown, and headed up the JP Morgan Chase Tower-

and got some pretty spectacular views from the 60th floor.

 It felt like we could see the whole world because Houston is so flat!

Friday night lights at a local high school game...

(and supporting a YW/seminary student)

Saturday morning we headed down to the Houston Ship Channel for a free boat tour!

It was so fun- and they even gave us a free soda- now that's what I call free+

Over in East Houston, we stopped by Battleship Texas...

and visited the San Jacinto Monument.

Funny story about this monument.

So Texas wanted to create a monument for the battle of San Jacinto (the decisive battle in the Texas Revolution).

So as Texas would have it- they wanted to build a BIG obelisk... TALLER than the Washington Monument.

OF course, DC told them heck no- your obelisk needs to be smaller.

So they made theirs smaller...

and smacked a HUGE 220-ton star on top,

you guessed it- making it taller.

Washington Monument 555 feet.

San Jacinto Monument 570 feet. 

Those darn Texans.

The view from the top was amazing!

 

There is even a large pool in front of the monument...

similar to the one at the National Mall.

 We checked out Old Town Spring...

Played some games...

Had frozen yogurt with cousins...

Saw "Wreck It Ralph"...

And just had a great time together.