Well, since the last post we've had Halloween, Tim's birthday, and Thanksgiving!

Our first Halloween in the new house went well. We put up some Halloween lights outside and had about 20 trick-or-treaters. Then, we went to Justin's house for the Halloween party. Tim and I were "hippies" and we had spent the morning of Halloween tye-dyeing our shirts (and Tim even made signs) !

Here are some pictures from Halloween.

Ted, Courtney, Tim, and the Stettlers.

Bryan and Justin.


Tim and I.

Tim's birthday also went well. We spent the morning getting him a new iPhone. Then, that afternoon we went to see his family at his brother's house. His parents were there, so we got to see them, his brother and sister-in-law and our nephews and niece, Calvin, Travis, and Claire. So, we chatted awhile outside and Tim and I played Calving and Travis in basketball. We won, but barely! Then, we all went to eat at a Mexican restaurant, then Tim and I headed back home.

Here are a few pictures and videos.

Tim opening presents.

Kye loves playing with the boxes and wrapping paper!

Tim, Claire and Travis with their rabbit!

Cindy, Claire, Travis, and Calvin with the birthday cake.

Claire!

Singing "Happy Birthday" with Tim's family.



Calvin, Travis, and Claire.

Tim's birthday cake at my parents' house.

As for Thanksgiving, we went to Sugarland to stay with my family. Thanksgiving day we ate at Boppa and Grandfather's, as always. Also, every year they ask us to make a Christmas list and we can never think of what to put, so we don't do it. This year, Boppa asked us for a list again, so Sydney and I decided we should actually make a list. So, Syd, Tim and I spent the night before Thanksgiving searching online for everything we could think of and we each composed a Christmas list with pictures, stores, and prices. It was actually kinda fun to do, so maybe we'll do it every year. Austin, however, didn't participate. He could only think of 4 and a half things that he would want. The half being something he's not sure about! haha So after eating, we went back to my parents and began putting up Christmas stuff. We had to stop, of course, when the Aggie-Longhorn game came on. If you don't know, Tim is an Aggie and my dad is a Longhorn, and this year the Longhorn's won. The day after Thanksgiving Mom had to work bright and early for Black Friday. Dad, Syd, and I put up the lights outside. We ended up covering all the bushes with lights, rather than the trees and it ended up really good. Then, Tim and I went back to College Station on Sunday.

I spend Sunday night putting up most of our Christmas decorations. Things went downhill from there. Monday morning, Tim and I went to school as usual, but before 1st period even started Tim was in so much pain that he had to go home. He made an appointment with the doctor for the next day. I stayed at school Monday, but took a half day on Tuesday so I could take him to the doctor. He right leg was in so much pain that he could barely walk or even stand up. We go to the doctor and he takes X-Rays to find nothing wrong with the actual hip, so he assumes it a nerve problem (which is what we had thought) and prescribes him 3 medicines (something for the nerve, the muscle, and a steroid). Tim and I took the rest of the week off and Wednesday goes by with no results from the medicine and he is still in a huge amount of pain. We decide to make him an appointment with a chiropractor. Thursday morning, we go to the chiropractor and after him moving Tim's leg for less than a minute, he immediately knows what's wrong: a herniated disc. He has a slipped disc that is pressing on his nerve, sending constant pain throughout his right leg. He told us to keep an ice pack on it at all times and to do a leg exercise twice a day for an hour and a half each time. He had us make an appointment for Monday morning to check the progress and said if it gets significantly worse, go to the ER. Luckily, Tim has felt slightly better, so it looks like things are working. Hopefully the next 2 days will go well and we'll have good news on Monday. There are only 2 weeks of school left until Christmas break, but hopefully Tim will make it back to work sometime next week.

I will update later once we go back to the chiropractor on Monday.

As for today, it was supposed to snow, but we only got a few drops, while the rest of Texas (almost) got at least an inch of snow! Not fair!

Here is a picture of our fireplace and Kye with the Christmas tree!

Tim is at darts tonight, as he is every Wednesday, so I thought I'd update the blog!

Work has been about the same as always, nothing too exciting happening. The past couple weekends have been busy. We saw Where the Wild Things Are and also Zombieland.

Where the Wild Things Are was interesting and very strange. I wouldn't say I disliked it, but I wouldn't say that I loved it either. It had some good parts, but was overall less than exciting. Tim described it as "creepy" and Justin said "Maybe it would have been better if I wasn't tired." We had gone to see it after school on a Friday, so the slow parts made us even sleepier!

This past weekend, we went to the Bryan High football game, yawn. Football, to me, is just not entertaining. Unless its a back-and-forth close game, I don't really care to watch and that was definitely the case on Friday. The cold didn't help either. It was comfortable at first, but slowly got colder and colder as the night progressed. My favorite part of the game was watching the drum-line entertain the crowd. I have 3 students in the drum-line and they are awesome.

Then, on Saturday we saw Zombieland with the Stettlers and Garcia. It was great for a zombie movie. It was exactly what I expected: funny, gross and entertaining. Tim definitely liked the movie, but he really likes movies like that; ie Shaun of the Dead.

Saturday, we also went to Lowe's for some tools for the house, but mostly for the yard. We got a blower for the leaves, which is SO much more effective than sweeping, go figure! We also got a tree limb cutter. Its amazing how much better the trees look once they are trimmed. Next, we want to tackle the front walkway. The previous owners did zero lawn work, so the front walkway is just a mess. We don't even know where to start or what to do, but it would just be nice to have a less-ugly entrance.

Yesterday, we took Kye to the vet for his shot updates. He's very laid back, so it didn't bother him to take a trip. Everything went fine, but he has gained a little too much weight since his last visit. The vet said "he just shouldn't gain any more" and the recommended instructions for Kye were "diet and exercise"! haha We already knew Kye was getting a little chubby, so it wasn't a surprise. Kye's dad likes to give him more food than I do, so we got a measuring cup to make sure that he gets the right amount of food and can't cheat for a little extra.

Anyways, I will update again soon. In the mean time, any Halloween costume suggestions would be highly appreciated! We are going to Justin's but have no idea what to wear! Help!

It seems like the only time to update the blog is on weekends, so here we go. I can't believe it's already October and almost Halloween! Before you know it Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here! Can't wait!

So, work has been pretty busy. I am on the iSupport team, which is basically a group of teachers from each department who help out with technology. We, as teachers, are required to do a certain amount of technology training each year, so as a member of the iSupport team, I will train the LOTE (Languages Other Than English) department. This year they are requiring us to have working websites with a certain amount of info (ie Course Outlines, Syllabus, etc...) and the students all received working FirstClass accounts, so there is a lot of technology changes this year. With the students having access to FirstClass, they now have a means of easily emailing teachers and students. When they log on, they have their 7 class folders and in each folder they can find assignments, post questions/comments to the class, turn in assignments, and see a calendar with any tests/etc. that are upcoming. They also have a Student Conference where they can post things to the whole school and have access to any info about clubs/sports/etc. It's a pretty cool thing to have and I have taken full advantage of it. I already post all the notes and assignments we do, I use the calendar, and my students are having fun emailing me back and forth in French. Unfortunately, not all teachers (ahem TIM) haven't been using it!

Also, as part of the tech iSupport team, I received an AirLiner. An Airliner (using Bluetooth) connects to my laptop and I can control the laptop an do other things without having to be sitting next to my computer. Its pretty nice because I can use a Keynote presentation or anything else and be able to add text, draw shapes, pull up a link from the internet, etc. while still walking around class to keep the kids on task.

As for Tim, Varsity tennis is almost over. No playoffs because they'll finish with a losing record in District. The team is inexperienced and young so that bodes well for next year. The JV and Freshman are now in full swing. On Sat. the 17th they traveled to Killeen Harker Heights and Copperas Cove. The Vikings were on the short end of a very long stick. Nine wins to about fifty losses combined between playing the two schools. The JV and Freshman have a lot of improving to do if they want to someday help us on Varsity. There are only three more matches left for the JV and Freshman during the Fall season. One tournament in BCS then one each in Georgetown and Round Rock Westwood.

Kye is enjoying the Fall weather and his spiders. He has taken a liking to the decorative Halloween spiders we put out. He plays with them until they get stuck under something. Then he goes and finds another one. Here's a video of Kye, once he noticed the spiders were out.

Kye is also enjoying our new 40" LCD TV. He really likes the Animal Planet Channel. He even tried to catch some kangeroos as they traveled off the scene. He just didn't understand where they went. He also has an obsession with birds. Anytime they come on screen he really pays attention. We're thinking about getting a DVD of just birds for him--Kye TV. Here is a video of Kye and the new TV.

Right now he is being lazy and laying flat on the floor. He sure looks chubby. He's definitely not a little kitten anymore.

Here are some pictures of Fall/Halloween decor.

Last weekend, we also went to Sugarland for the long Columbus Day weekend. Austin and Sydney had school on Monday, so Mom and us, we went shopping for new bedding for our room. Here is a picture of our new stuff from West Elm and Pottery Barn and another of Kye on the new bedding.

Well, Tim and I just finished making Chi Dogs (Chili-Cheese Hot-Dogs), so we are going to eat dinner! Bye for now!

It's been awhile since our last blog, so a lot has happened. My family came down about a month ago for my birthday. We (teachers) had already started school, so Sydney and Mom helped organize my class a little bit. We also went down to Northgate to find Sydney some TOMS at the vintage clothing store... No such luck. We ate out at Texas Roadhouse and I opened my presents: PB pillows for the couch, a black dress, leopard BCBG shoes, and from Tim, an iPhone and a gift certificate to a spa. Here are some pictures from my birthday weekend:

Syd, Austin, Me, Tim: pancake birthday breakfast.

Syd & I at the Northgate vintage clothing store.

Me, Beazly, and Tim, opening presents.

Syd at Dixie Chicken (Northgate).

The next weekend, Boppa & Grandfather came up to see the house and take us out to lunch for my birthday. We ate at Eccell Steakhouse. The service was a little slow and one of our side dishes was cold, so they didn't charge us for it, but other than that, our steaks were really good and it was good to see them!

Here is me and Kye on that day. (With my new birthday dress that my family got me).

Other than that, we haven't been up to much else. Since school has started back up, that takes up most of our time.

Tim's schedule this year is the same as always:

1st: Freshman Tennis
2nd-5th: Government

7th: Conference

As for me, my schedule is crazy, of course:

1st: Conference

2nd: French 3, French 4, French IB

3rd: French 1

4th: French 1

5th: French 2 pre-AP

6th: French 2

7th: French 1

Seems normal, but 4th period is a class of about 50 students, therefore we did some improvising. We have the 2nd lunch, so Jan Krammer (our German teacher) takes half before lunch and we switch students after lunch. She obviously knows French, otherwise this wouldn't work, but it is a little confusing at times. Also, my 2nd period is a mix of French 3, 4, and IB, and as of right now, we have no books, so that is slightly annoying. I can easily manage and create lessons and work, but it would be nice to have our textbooks. We were supposed to have them before school started, but there was an ordering issue, and it didn't work out. Our IB coordinator placed the new order on Friday, so hopefully we will soon have books!

Tim's classes are fairly normal....HUGE. He has about 30 students per class, which is way too many. It's a senior class, however, so in theory they are more well-behaved and can handle being in large classes.

This past week, our school was doing TAKS benchmark tests from Wednesday-Friday. This was for Freshman-Juniors, because Seniors have already finished with TAKS. I was in my classroom giving the sophomores (last name C's) their benchmark. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, because they took it pretty seriously. This is the first time we have done this at Bryan High (since I've been here) and considering the students knew that these tests had NO effect on their grade, they actually did good. I expected them to come and goof off, knowing it wouldn't matter, but no!

Tim, on the other hand, didn't have to give the tests, because he teaches a Senior class. They had classes like "normal"... That is, he was moved into a different classroom to teach, and he also had to "babysit" seniors 1st period who didn't have a class to go to.

Overall, the testing went fine. Unfortunately, from having a room full of kids, 10 of which were sick, I also got sick. Yesterday and today, I've felt pretty crappy with a sore throat and congestion. Tim is also feeling under the weather. I wont blame the kids for sure, because we did get our flu shot, so the sickness might be a side effect... Who knows.

In better school news, each week for football season, we have a "spirit day". They range from 50's attire to Crazy Tie to Camo.... And sure enough, Tim was the Camo Day spirit winner.

Here is his picture from Camo Day. (It is hard to tell, but it a full camo suit, complete with leaves.)

Well, I will leave it at that for now. Tim is in Waco for tennis and I'm trying to clean up and do some laundry. I will try to keep up better with blogging... Sorry!

It's been a long time since the last update. We officially have to start back to school tomorrow, but we have already been to 2 trainings this past week. One of the trainings was about updating our teacher websites using the new program. Here are Tim and I's sites so far:

http://fc.bryanisd.org/~tsmith/ -Tara's website
http://fc.bryanisd.org/~tim/ -Tim's website

The other training was about Google Earth and how to use that program in the classroom. It was a somewhat interesting class, but we mostly discussed things I already knew and already used in class.

Other than school, we've been pretty busy. The house is finished and we now have a working bathroom! We still don't have everything organized, but we've been working on it. It is definitely a huge improvement from before! Here are some pictures of our home:

Here is the house, from the street.

We have a tree that grows in the middle of our driveway!

Instead of a dining room, we choose to have a reading area.

Here is the living room.

Tim, by the newly installed master sink.
(The cabinet doesn't have the hardware in this picture.)

The sink, in use!

Here is the kitchen.

Here is the breakfast area.

Here is the back porch and yard.

I will post better pictures as we finish organizing the rooms.

Yesterday, Tim's parents came in town for the day to visit and see our house. We went to eat at Koppe Bridge and visited the George Bush Library & Museum. The museum had a space exhibit going on, so that was fun to see. Here are some pictures:

Tim, George Bush, and I.

Tim, with his parents, outside the museum.

His parents brought us some flowers for a housewarming gift. Kye had his nose in them as soon as we put them on the table!

Well, that is all for now. I will update more often, promise!

I will post a real blog later, but for now, enjoy the video:

Kye, our kitty, is sweet most of the time, but if he's in a playful mood, watch out! He can get pretty feisty!!

I can't believe it is already August! School will be starting soon and our house still isn't finished. They should be installing the sink and cabinet tomorrow morning. Thank goodness! It will be so nice to have our bathroom up and running! In the mean time, we have been organizing a little everyday, but the house is still a mess for the most part. We've also taken some time to spend with friends. We have gone to dinner with Cody, Jessica, Cade, and John one night and the Stettlers, Ted, Justin, Courtney and two of her friends another night. We also made a trip down to Houston to go to a Katy Perry concert with Sydney. It was a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures from the concert... (my camera is getting old and zoom doesn't work well, so sorry about the crappy pictures. It's definitely time for a new camera.)

I will update again soon with some house pictures, once things get a little more organized!

Tim is at darts, so I thought this would be a good time to post a blog.

Things have been pretty crazy lately. After closing on our first house on July 2 and the house flooding on July 4, we still are not finished with the repairs. All the floors have been replaced, the base boards are all in, but we still have painting to be finished and the sink/vanity needs to be installed. The painters should hopefully be finished tomorrow and I would assume the sink would be quick to follow. I think that Tim and I are both really ready for things to settle down. We only have a couple more weeks before we will have to go back to work, so it would be nice to have a finished house so that we can finish moving in. Our apartment lease is up on Friday, so we have pretty much cleared out the apartment. We waited until the last minute, hoping the new house would be finished earlier, but no such luck. We have one more load of things to bring from the apartment and we will be done! Thank goodness! It probably would have been much worse, but Dad made one trip up here to help, and then last weekend Mom came to help finish with the rest. They really helped a lot!

Here is a picture of me with the new floor, before it was installed...

Here is a picture of Tim and plumbing that caused all our problems, just before being changed into one sink...

And here is a picture of Kye on the new floor...

Other than house things, we haven't done too much else. Last Wednesday though, we did meet Mom, Dad, Austin, and Sydney in the Woodlands for a Coldplay concert. We ate at Potbelly's first, because it's Austin's favorite, then we walked over to the concert. It was a lot of fun! We got lawn seats, as always, but they turned out to be perfect because at one point the band moved the set to the lawn and they were set up right in front of us. It was pretty awesome!

Here are a few pictures from the concert...

Well, I think that is all for now. Thanks for reading!

So, Tim and I had a fun weekend.

First, on July 17, we went home for Austin's 18th birthday! I can't believe he is 18 already. I still remember going to the hospital when he was born. I always wished for a brother when I threw pennies in water fountains, and I have to say, I think I got the best brother anyone could ask for. I'm pretty lucky! So, to celebrate his 18th, the immediate family (Mom, Dad, Austin, Sydney, Tim and I) went to eat at P.F. Changs in Sugarland. We were having trouble deciding between that and Thai Cottage, but P.F. Changs was the end result. Afterwards, Boppa, Grandfather, Fifi, Ken, Connor, and Cole came over to open gifts and have cake. Austin actually opted for pumpkin pie rather than cake. He didn't have too many gifts to open, because he had already gotten a new laptop and a flat screen T.V. Not too bad of a birthday! Tim and I got him an Aggie shirt, because I'm trying to convince him to go to Texas A&M University to be near his big sister. I don't think he's falling for it, though.

Here are a few pictures from his birthday...

Then on July 18, my good friend, Kent, got married in Alvin, TX. Kent and I know each other from travelling to France in college for a study abroad program (twice). His wedding was at a beautiful home, just outside Alvin. It was an outdoor wedding, and they were very fortunate to have good weather for the ceremony. The wedding was at 7 pm, so it wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze. The chairs were set up facing a beautiful staircase entrance to the plantation-like home. The wedding party entered from each side of the house, and Roberta (the bride) made her entrance from the house, walked down the staircase to meet Kent and the rest of the wedding party, awaiting her on the stairs. Roberta looked beatiful, with a strapless, long, flowing gown. I have to say, though, that my favorite were the bridesmaids' shoes. They were a yellow-green BCBG pump. (I recognized the brand right away. They are my favorite shoes that I wear to work almost daily. haha) After the ceremony, the wedding party stayed behind for pictures while the guests headed upstairs for the reception. The reception was partly outdoors. It was a covered pavillion set-up with lots of decoration. It, unfortunately, did not last long. Mother Nature had other plans and a storm blew through, taking everything with it. So, the guests headed inside momentarily, so the reception could be cleared, and once it was safe to go back, we did. Meanwhile, Kent and Roberta cut their cake and we all had cake and signed the guestbook. It was definitely a wedding to remember. Lots of fun and good to see an old friend.

Here are a few pictures from the wedding....

Now, we are back home in College Station, trying to get things finished in our house. Yesterday, Tim bought a lawn mower, since we now have a yard that needs to be mowed.

Here he is with the new mower...

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!