Aloha! My name is Mrs. Van Fleet.

I wish that were true but you know everyone loves summer. We are all back in school now. Grace and I at Beaumont Elementary and Hanna at Beaumont Junior High. Where Hanna is now a "Pioneer". I guess Pioneers can walk a lot and suffer, so maybe that is a good mascot. My friend in Buffalo said her son was now a Quaker. You know, a fighting Quaker. If there is one thing I know about Quakers and Pioneers, they are really good at fighting. There is a high school in Utah that are the "Beetdiggers" which I think would be awesome. My mom used to dig beets and she is pretty tough. School is going well for everyone. I forget how cute 6 and 7 year old kids can be and I have some cute ones. I also forget how crazy the first week is for kids who have only gone to school for 3 hours in a row previously and had a whole summer off. They are so done by the end of the day. Plus it's been super hot, like the hottest it has been all summer, so that makes everyone extra tired. Also, they are hungry. I had a child ask me at 9:00 the first day, "If it was lunch yet?" They'd been in school for an hour. Just like with everything new, you have to build stamina and we will.
First day photos for everyone!


Grace running away from my photo taking frenzy.



Hanna going to junior high has been an eye opener. She was only a little bit nervous and seemed to get over that quickly. When we went to the orientation night I just walked around with my mouth open. I came from a very small school (graduation class of 45) and this school has around 1100 7-9 students. Ryan kind of took the lead. I felt like I needed a Powerpoint to understand what A and B days meant. Oh small town Shea, so stoopid. Hanna had her first school dance yesterday from 2:45-4. She said she didn't dance with any boys. She said a couple of a boy friends from elementary came to talk to her.

Boys: Hi Smalls! (her nickname)
Hanna: Hi Billy and Bobby. (not their real names)
Boys: Blah, blah, mumble, mumble.
Hanna: What? I can't hear you.
Boys: Mumble, mumble, blah blah.
Hanna: What? I can't... (boys walking away)
Do I miss junior high? No.

I went with a new theme for my room this year. I decided on owls because there is a lot out there right now and owls are wise, right? A coworker told me about an owl wallflower (scent thing we use in our classrooms) from Bath and Body Works. I, of course, had to have it. I was telling Ryan about it and how cute it was, when he turned to me and said, "Are you serious?" Apparently, I was a bit too excited about my owl find.
A couple of my new bulletin boards. Take it easy. Don't get too excited.


On a side note, today is Evie's birthday. I don't really have much to write about that. It's been five years now and time has eased the pain considerably. I've pushed her memories into the back of my brain and try not to think about her too much. Yesterday as I was driving home from work, she popped into my head and I said out loud, "That was so surreal." It really was/is. We'll celebrate her by spending the day as a family. What else is there to say? I miss her.