InnEdCO Conference in Keystone ~

 Several of us headed out to the InnEdCO conference on the 12th...4 whole days of innovation/technology training with educators.  It was at the Keystone Conference Center, the same place I used to go for EMT conferences, but what a different atmosphere when you're surrounded by teachers instead of EMT's and firefighters.

 Our condo was walking distance to the conference, and it was huge!  Several bedrooms and lots of living space.  Very cozy!  7 of us shared the condo, so the price was totally reasonable...but our principal decided to cover the cost of the hotel so that made the trip even better!

 There were all kinds of cool education technology booths with fun learning tools for the kids!  I'd love to get my hands on some of these for the classroom!

 Haley is the 2/3 teacher at Stove, so it was nice getting to know her since we'll be working together next school year.  Here she is working on a grant for Stove Prairie!

 Sarah is always a blast to hang out with...she's incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to technology, so I love to pick her brain!  She just ordered a bunch of these dash robots for her school so she is learning how they work.

 There were some opportunities to take breaks, but most of the time the schedule was so full of cool classes it was hard to choose what to take and you never wanted to miss anything.  I did enjoy this short corona break sitting in the sun though. 

 They served us lunch every day so we didn't even have to leave the conference center.  We also enjoyed cocktails out on the patio one night and that was wonderful!

 These librarian ladies taught a very cool class!  They inspired me to really dig in when I get into my new library space at Stove Prairie!

 On the last night there was an 80's party hosted by Discovery Education...here's Scott Burns himself, dressed as Elliot with ET.  He is so much fun!  The party was an absolute blast!  Lots of teachers totally cutting loose!

It was a great conference, but I'm definitely on overload!  Four days is a bit much for me as far as classes and trainings go, but I learned a lot and got lots of inspiration for the new school year!  Now I'm done with work stuff and ready to bring on summer!!!

Wasp Sting ~

 Well for someone who is allergic to bee and wasp venom, this poor girl seems to get herself stung every summer (at least once...usually twice).  She was stung on the arm recently, and so I was reminding her that its very important that she not get stung in the face or throat just in case she has a bad reaction, and sure enough, she got stung by the eye the next morning.  She fell asleep in the chair by the window and a wasp landed on her face.  She was half asleep and went to brush the "tickle" off her face and thats when he stung her.  The first picture is of her face after 2 1/2 hours...the second photo is after 7 hours...and the last photo is the next day.  Thankfully after the second day the swelling went down fairly quickly, but I felt so bad for her...she could hardly see out of her right eye and her left eye was swelled shut.  I'm just thankful we didn't have to use the epi-pen. 

Fun with Neighborhood Guests ~

There are no kids that live close by in the canyon, so when our neighbors grandkids come up for a visit, Jordyn gets a visit too!  These two boys, Brody and Bryce, have been friends with Jordyn for many years now, so they always have a good time together!  Thanks for loaning us your grandkids for the afternoon Shirley :)

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Bruen ~

 Frank and Pat rolled in for a couple of days in their new camper.  They plan to stay for 3 nights and then continue on their adventure, and then come back through in August.  They drove Jordyn to her first pottery class today and she loved it!  They had to restock their supplies, since the bear raided all their food last night :)  He actually got into their car and helped himself to the cooler and all the goodies....so tonight, with new supplies, they made us dinner!

 I had to work the entire time they were here, so it was nice to enjoy dinner together for a visit.  Meanwhile, check out my new crocs...complete with empire bling!  Now all I need are socks to wear with them and I will be the ultimate nerd! :)

Pool Fun ~

The last few days the sun finally came out and made it feel like summer...so what better way to kick off summer than going to the pool :)  Thanks for inviting us Tabby...we had a blast!

Last day at Red Feather Elementary ~

 Well it was Jordyn and my last day at Red Feather Lakes Elementary School.  Jordyn will be moving on to Middle School, and I'll be moving on to Stove Prairie.  I am sad to be leaving this school...it was like a second home for Jordyn and I, but now that I know I'll still be a part of the mountain schools, I'm not as sad.  I will occasionally get to work with these incredible people and that makes my heart happy!

 The silly string tradition on the last day of school was started in 2014 by me and a couple of other parents.  We thought we should add a little something extra to the "car wash" we did in the past.  We got busted by the bus driver one year because of the mess it made, so we have to be sneaky about it now.  In fact, I didn't bring any this year, cause I didn't want to get busted...but Stephanie Franklin stocked up and supplied the teachers :)  Thanks Stephanie!  I love this shot of Ms. Horna blasting Kaisen in the face!

 This little guy, Zak, asked if we could have our photo together, and he let me know he would miss me next year!  His older brother Tariq also wanted a selfie together on his phone, and asked if he could email me sometimes!  These kids made my day!

 And here is the wonderful crew responsible for my daughters fabulous time at RFLE!!!  There are no better folks around!  Thank you for all you guys did to keep my daughter safe and give her the superb education she received at RFLE.  We will miss you all very much!

Meanwhile, Mr. Ross promised Jordyn he would give her a piggy back ride when she became a 6th grader...so here it is!

 And here is a photo of Jordyn on her very first day at RFLE on Sept 1, 2009 and her very last day at RFLE, May 26th, 2017.  WOW!

Virtual Reality Goggles, a Canoe and a Job ~

 With only one more day of school left, the kids are pretty antsy, so what better way to spend the last technology class than with a virtual reality tour of some cool places they've been learning about!

 These were a big hit with the kids as well as the teachers, and I was thrilled to offer this to the class...especially since I wasn't able to get the 3D printer for printing.

 Meanwhile, the 5th graders worked on their legacy project.  Each year the 5th grade class chooses something they want to make or create to leave at the school for future kids to enjoy and remember them by.  This year they decided to replace the old canoe that used to be on the school grounds.  They painted it, filled it with dirt, and planted some plants inside.  Then they all signed their names on it.

 Look how cool it came out...what a great project!  

Its still hard to believe that Jordyn and I wont be returning to this school.  We've spent many years here, and I will miss everyone.  This place is like home to me and I love all the people I work with.  But speaking of jobs...in January I told the principal that I was looking for full time work.  After all, if Jordyn is going to be heading down the mountain, theres no reason for me to stay here unless I can get full time.  Well, today I was offered the Media/Tech position at Stove Prairie.  But besides that I will also receive para hours to make my shifts 30 hours a week which qualifies me for full time/benefits, etc at Stove.  I was hoping for 40, but I will also receive mileage, so that sort of makes it all worth it in the end.  So even though I'm sad to be leaving Red Feather, I'll still get to work with this team on occasion, because I'll still be in one of the mountain schools.  (There are 3 mountain schools with one principal, so I'll still be in the same group, just at a different school.)  I'm thrilled to be chosen, as our old principal, Matt, is leaving, and I didn't know if I would get an opportunity with the new principal, so I am excited to still be in the Poudre School District.  Anyways, I went home, talked it over with Justin, and then when Matt called that afternoon I told him I would take the job.  So new adventures on are on the horizon!!!  For both Jordyn and I.