Catch up....Austin's home!

It is time once again to try and play catch up. Since school started, things have been moving at a fast and furious pace, and I've not stopped to update this blog. Life is good....

School moves at a frantic rate, but one day, they tell me, I'll catch up. I still have a wonderful group of students, with the occasional crazy behavior to keep it interesting, and for the most part the year is going well. Our school didn't make AYP this past year, and are really paying attention to NCLB for the first time this year. Translate to mean endless meetings for staff, with little hope of making AYP this year as well, at least as far as I see it. After a year in the system, I can safely say that this "dual school system" doesn't work. I love the school and love the job, but I see trouble ahead!

Emery is growing up very quickly. I need another Emery fix again, but the airlines aren't seeing things my way. We will definitely be in SC in December, but I'm not sure if I'll make it before then.

Mark and I worked at a crazy pace in September and October to get his house ready to put on the market. His agent insisted that it needed to be listed before the tax credit ended in December. We exhausted ourselves painting, spackling, planting, decluttering, cleaning, washing, polishing, etc, and finally got it listed right before we left town. So far there have been a few showings, but nothing interesting, and they have now extended the tax credit till April. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it is what it is. We've also paid the downpayment on the log home, downpayment with the builder, and started that process. We may end up with two homes, but hopefully not!

Most importantly, Austin is back on US soil! He arrived at Fort Bragg at 2AM on Sunday morning and soon after met his niece for the first time. He also celebrates his 21st birthday today, making me feel old!

And yes, we took a small vacation to a place called Galapagos. I'll post more about that later, along with pictures. I'm still weeding through them all!