The Scott Family

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Washington DC Part 1

Matt and I have been so lucky to have our spring breaks line up two years in a row! Last year we went on an awesome road trip; this year we decided to splurge a bit and go to Washington DC for the week. Since this was our last big trip without a carseat in tow, we decided to go all out and make the most of it. We ran around like crazy and saw as much as we possibly could! It was a little tiring but still relaxing enough to feel like vacation.

The trip kind of fell into four parts I'll be breaking it up into multiple posts so I have room to give a little more detail and avoid overloading you with pictures . . .

Part 1 would be our first two days in DC. We started out early each morning and made very good use of our metro cards to see the tourist sights but still find the good local places to eat and explore (You'll notice through these posts that the food was a highlight for me--all of my "food pictures" have turned into a running joke at our house).

Natural History Museum--our first Smithsonian of the trip! Man, this place was impressive. They had everything here, from mummies to aquariums to dinosaur bones. I imagine it gets pretty packed here in the summer, there were lots of kids and families, but I would say its worth it.

National Museum of American History. You guys. I was so excited for this one. (Nerd alert) Julia Child's kitchen is on display here!! We also saw some other cool stuff like the flag Francis Scott Keys saw as he composed our national anthem, a great exhibit on the presidents and first ladies, Dorothy's ruby slippers, an original bar from a Civil Rights sit in, the original Sesame Street puppets, and the first Apple computer. Pretty random, huh? We loved this museum just for that reason.

After the museums we hopped on the metro and made our way to Eastern Market. I had read about this place online and was excited to go on a Saturday when all of the vendors and stands were set up. We found an amazing El Salvadorian restaurant here--Tortilla Cafe.

We finished up the afternoon walking around the National Mall to see the monuments and memorials: Jefferson, Washington, WWII, Lincoln, Korea, and Vietnam. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and loved watching the sunset on the Potomac. Those memorials are so beautiful all lit up at night!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Christmas!!!!

(Note: I wrote this a couple of months ago and forgot to post it . . . better late than never?)

Looks like my blog has fallen to the sad state of blog disrepair which entails only posting for holidays and major events. Sad. In my head I want to be the kind of blogger who finds randomly interesting things to post about regularly--you know, the everyday kind of stuff you would normally forget. Oh well. On to Christmas!

I love Christmas. Everything about it. This Christmas was no exception! We spent a couple of weeks in Utah being spoiled by the Scotts with lots of good food, good company, movies, and adventures. We saw an exhibit of the Dead Sea scrolls, Olympic Speed Skating trials, went sledding, made a quilt (Sarah), watched about 2 million hours of football (Matt), finished 2 books during said football watching (Sarah), got together with old friends, spent some time with extended family, saw Christmas lights on Temple Square, went to Elf the Musical . . . it was quite a party! We are so grateful for them and always look forward to these holiday reunions.

Monday, November 25, 2013

"Ode to Mrs. Scott"

An ode is a poem written to celebrate a person or thing. Before our Thanksgiving break, I had my classes write one on something they were grateful for. Here's my favorite (transcribed as written):

Ode to Mrs. Scott

Thank you Mrs. Scott for teaching us the success

You are teaching me the secrets for the tests.

And you are teaching me the best

So I would be great and not be mess.

Giving us alot of work and tests every day

But if we don't do it we throwing the chance away.

We got to pass your class and STAAR but without help

None of us would be passing we will melt.

In all honesty, it has been a really tough term so far. I often feel frustrated about the increased testing in my school and the way it affects my already discouraged/apathetic students. Even without all the testing the holidays are a crazy time; it's so hard to keep the kids focused. Last Friday was no exception, but this little ode made me smile. As long as those kiddos know I care and don't want them to "be mess," I can feel like I'm doing my job.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

We're Back!

Back to the blogging world, that is. It's been a busy few months!

July: Matt came back from his Officer's Training Camp on July 4th. It was the BEST day. Our last 4 weeks in Hawaii was perfect. We spent a long weekend at a vacation rental on Sunset Beach, went to the beach every single day, and did a lot of fun things with my family--sailing, beach days, snorkeling, hikes. It was nice to get back home to Houston after being gone for so long, but we are counting down the days until we get to go back!

August: Happy Birthday Matthew! We had a quick weekend in Utah with Matt's family, and also got to be there for my cousin's wedding. Mom and Dad Scott came to Houston for a few days to enjoy the lovely summer weather. And for Matt's birthday we took a trip to Dallas for a little Rangers baseball and trip down memory lane to see his old neighborhood--he hadn't been back there in 15 years.

September: School started. Stress started. But it was also my birthday month! So it all balanced out :) Matt treated me like a princess all month long, and I threw my first dinner party. Best birthday ever.

October: September was when the stress started; October is when it morphed into an uncontrollable beast. I'm being dramatic, per usual, but it really was a busy month for us. Matt had 2 weeks of block exams and everything with my teaching just seemed to pile up so that I was always feeling behind. Lucky for us, October is over, and we are both feeling caught up as November begins. There was plenty of fun mixed in though; Dad Scott in town for the BYU vs. UH game, BYU winning the UH game, a few get-togethers with friends and neighbors, and Halloween of course!

Now it's only a couple more weeks and then THANKSGIVING. I love the fall.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

A trip to the Big Island

A couple of weeks ago I got to travel to the Big Island of Hawaii for a couple of days with my Dad. We had such a great time! He has traveled there quite a bit, but it was my first time. We drove around the entire island, seeing the dramatic cliffs of the coastline, wide expanses of lava rock, and beautiful jungle. One of the major highlights was watching the sunset from 3,000 feet at the top of Mt. Mauna Kea. The pictures speak for themselves :)

Summertime

Matthew, or should we say Lieutenant Scott, graduated from his Air Force Commissioned Officer's Training last week. He has been away for 5 long weeks. The training was challenging, but he learned everything he needed to and became good friends with the other men and women in his flight group. It seems to have gone as well as it could have, although I've been sitting on a beach for most of it so what do I know? He joins me in Hawaii tomorrow night and we couldn't be more thrilled. I'm so proud of him.

As most of you probably know, I have spent the last 3.5 weeks in Hawaii with my family. The first 10 days of Matt's training overlapped with the end of my school year, so I was on my own in Houston while I finished up teaching. That was kind of a bummer, but I couldn't feel too sorry for myself knowing that I had two months of freedom ahead. It feels good to have my first year of teaching at Taylor behind me, and I'm looking forward to my second! After a few more weeks at the beach of course . . .

Here is a quick overview in pictures of my time with my family so far. It's hard to live so far away while my siblings are still growing up; it's such a treat to be here for the day-to-day! And can you believe this is their day-to-day?? Those lucky ducks.