The Spring...
I can hardly believe that I was a teacher for an entire school year. Remarkably, I survived and so did all the kids! I certainly wasn't your average, everyday teacher. I would bet I was probably the only teacher who traveled to different cities and states on the weekends. Regardless of if I was a typical candidate for the job, I sure did enjoy every second. My troop of 3rd graders stole my heart in a way I am not sure I will ever get it back. Despite the stress and strife of FCAT testing, we pulled together, buckled down and made it through (and with flying colors I might add)! I had so much fun getting to live life with my youngsters this year. Each one of them has more personality than 1,000 adults combined!!!! Although I never saw teaching as part of my life plan, I couldn't be more thankful that God chose me to meet and influence such an incredible group of young people. After all, I will always be their only third grade teacher and they will always be my only first class. Its crazy to think that I was brave enough to take on the challenge of teaching elementary school, having a background in Broadcast of TV/Radio/Film. Im not sure what I was thinking, but I wouldn't change a single thing! My little munchkins certainly taught me more than I could have planned or imagined to teach them. I cried like a baby the entire last week of school as I knew it was time to say goodbye. Now I take every opportunity I get to pray over their lives and hope that they will make good decisions in the future. I, without a doubt, could not have done it without my favorite friend, Lo Mixon. She is a saint and such a gift to my life in more ways than I could list if I sat here for hours. She isn't one for public displays of affection so in short, "Thank you...as tall as a giraffe and as long as an FSU football field." :) I am so sad that Lo will not be teaching with me this year, but happy that she is thrilled to be moving back to Tallahassee to teach. She is a brave soul to do 5th grade math & science! I may have thrown her a surprise going away/ birthday party. She just moved and I am already having withdrawals.
I can hardly believe that I was a teacher for an entire school year. Remarkably, I survived and so did all the kids! I certainly wasn't your average, everyday teacher. I would bet I was probably the only teacher who traveled to different cities and states on the weekends. Regardless of if I was a typical candidate for the job, I sure did enjoy every second. My troop of 3rd graders stole my heart in a way I am not sure I will ever get it back. Despite the stress and strife of FCAT testing, we pulled together, buckled down and made it through (and with flying colors I might add)! I had so much fun getting to live life with my youngsters this year. Each one of them has more personality than 1,000 adults combined!!!! Although I never saw teaching as part of my life plan, I couldn't be more thankful that God chose me to meet and influence such an incredible group of young people. After all, I will always be their only third grade teacher and they will always be my only first class. Its crazy to think that I was brave enough to take on the challenge of teaching elementary school, having a background in Broadcast of TV/Radio/Film. Im not sure what I was thinking, but I wouldn't change a single thing! My little munchkins certainly taught me more than I could have planned or imagined to teach them. I cried like a baby the entire last week of school as I knew it was time to say goodbye. Now I take every opportunity I get to pray over their lives and hope that they will make good decisions in the future. I, without a doubt, could not have done it without my favorite friend, Lo Mixon. She is a saint and such a gift to my life in more ways than I could list if I sat here for hours. She isn't one for public displays of affection so in short, "Thank you...as tall as a giraffe and as long as an FSU football field." :) I am so sad that Lo will not be teaching with me this year, but happy that she is thrilled to be moving back to Tallahassee to teach. She is a brave soul to do 5th grade math & science! I may have thrown her a surprise going away/ birthday party. She just moved and I am already having withdrawals.
Summer lovin'....
One major perk to my job is having 9 weeks of summer off!!!! Yes, I am loving it. In true "Nomad Newlywed" form, we have been traveling nonstop this summer. We started with a week in Nashville visiting friends and working on some music. On the way back from Nash, we stopped to see family in Birmingham, AL. We got home just in time to go to a benefit concert in honor of my family members who were run over. Oh did I mention that? The summer started with a bang..literally. My cousin Rocky and uncle Tee were hit by a car leaving church the very first weekend of summer. Not cool. Thankfully they were okay, minus broken ribs, punctured/collapsed lungs, broken elbow, shattered hip and broken femur. The benefit concert was beautiful, thanks to Cypress Lake Center for the Arts. We left the benefit concert and went to go see our puppy, Demi, who had been at my parents while we were gone. I am not kidding with you when I say that she literally broke her leg running at my parents house the very night we got back! We were only planning to be in town for 24 hours so we spent about 3 hours at the benefit concert, 12 of those hours at the vet's office, 3 hours doing laundry and packing and 6 hours sleeping. It was a whirlwind. From there we went to Orlando for our annual Vega family vacation at my parent's timeshare. Despite the rain, we got faint tan lines and managed to keep our pup hidden from the maintenance and housekeeping crews eyes.
One major perk to my job is having 9 weeks of summer off!!!! Yes, I am loving it. In true "Nomad Newlywed" form, we have been traveling nonstop this summer. We started with a week in Nashville visiting friends and working on some music. On the way back from Nash, we stopped to see family in Birmingham, AL. We got home just in time to go to a benefit concert in honor of my family members who were run over. Oh did I mention that? The summer started with a bang..literally. My cousin Rocky and uncle Tee were hit by a car leaving church the very first weekend of summer. Not cool. Thankfully they were okay, minus broken ribs, punctured/collapsed lungs, broken elbow, shattered hip and broken femur. The benefit concert was beautiful, thanks to Cypress Lake Center for the Arts. We left the benefit concert and went to go see our puppy, Demi, who had been at my parents while we were gone. I am not kidding with you when I say that she literally broke her leg running at my parents house the very night we got back! We were only planning to be in town for 24 hours so we spent about 3 hours at the benefit concert, 12 of those hours at the vet's office, 3 hours doing laundry and packing and 6 hours sleeping. It was a whirlwind. From there we went to Orlando for our annual Vega family vacation at my parent's timeshare. Despite the rain, we got faint tan lines and managed to keep our pup hidden from the maintenance and housekeeping crews eyes.
Filling in the cracks...
Keep in mind that throughout all of our travels together, Pedro goes off for a few days at a time playing shows in different areas of the country. You gotta love summer music festival season! Upon returning home, we were immediately thrown into the craziness of baby showers, birthday parties, holidays and weddings galore! I am not sure what is in the water around here but everyone seems to be getting engaged, married or pregnant...Crazy! In the midst of everything else, I also had some decisions to make about my employment for next year. I was offered two positions locally to teach and had to choose. All the while, we have been uncertain of if God is even leading us to stay here at all. I decided to accept a position at a brand new school, Tortuga Elementary School, teaching 2nd grade. You never know what God will do, but that is the plan for now!
A Sidenote: Details...
We are loving all the family togetherness this summer has brought. We had awesome Mother & Father's Days this year and are getting to spend plenty of time with the Babyman. He is at such a fun age and we just love watching his adorable little personality come out. He makes everything better! My older brother Josh is in hair school and is my new stylist, so that is fun. It's kind of like having the sister I never had... he does my hair and makeup and everything! (He will probably kill me if he reads this) I have also been auditioning for Disney. Unfortunately, the only parts I can gain in FL are as character performers in parks. I am too short to be most princesses. I could only audition for Mickey & minnie Mouse or to be Tinkerbell or one of her fairy friends. At the most recent audition, I was told, "You are too tan to be typecast as Periwinkle (a fairy friend of Tink's), but you are much too pretty to be hidden in a Mickey or Minnie head." Needless to say, I didn't get the part. I'm not giving up on catching a break as I would love to put my personality and talent to good use!
Keep in mind that throughout all of our travels together, Pedro goes off for a few days at a time playing shows in different areas of the country. You gotta love summer music festival season! Upon returning home, we were immediately thrown into the craziness of baby showers, birthday parties, holidays and weddings galore! I am not sure what is in the water around here but everyone seems to be getting engaged, married or pregnant...Crazy! In the midst of everything else, I also had some decisions to make about my employment for next year. I was offered two positions locally to teach and had to choose. All the while, we have been uncertain of if God is even leading us to stay here at all. I decided to accept a position at a brand new school, Tortuga Elementary School, teaching 2nd grade. You never know what God will do, but that is the plan for now!
A Sidenote: Details...
We are loving all the family togetherness this summer has brought. We had awesome Mother & Father's Days this year and are getting to spend plenty of time with the Babyman. He is at such a fun age and we just love watching his adorable little personality come out. He makes everything better! My older brother Josh is in hair school and is my new stylist, so that is fun. It's kind of like having the sister I never had... he does my hair and makeup and everything! (He will probably kill me if he reads this) I have also been auditioning for Disney. Unfortunately, the only parts I can gain in FL are as character performers in parks. I am too short to be most princesses. I could only audition for Mickey & minnie Mouse or to be Tinkerbell or one of her fairy friends. At the most recent audition, I was told, "You are too tan to be typecast as Periwinkle (a fairy friend of Tink's), but you are much too pretty to be hidden in a Mickey or Minnie head." Needless to say, I didn't get the part. I'm not giving up on catching a break as I would love to put my personality and talent to good use!
The latest...
Making memories is one of the sweetest things in life, so I make it a top priority. For the fourth of July, we were all American and had a barbecue. This week we squeezed in time in Chattanooga & Nashville with friends we just love. The majority of the week we spent time at Toby Mac's Camp Electric, an awesome youth music camp. We also got time in the studio to record a few songs we've been writing. It was a blast-Pedro and I love getting this time together to travel and share adventures.
Coming soon...
As I write, I am in an airplane headed home and Pedro is headed to Minnesota for a show. We will be home to rest and recoup for just about a week before we take off again. We are excited to see our pup, eat home cooked dinners, have time to exercise, sleep in our own bed & see my family. Next Friday we will be heading to New Orleans for a show, then spend the next 10 days between Lafayette, LA, Pheonix,AZ and Las Vegas! Can't wait! It will be a mix of business and pleasure but we couldn't be more thrilled. All good things here & so thankful for Gods provision and protection.
Making memories is one of the sweetest things in life, so I make it a top priority. For the fourth of July, we were all American and had a barbecue. This week we squeezed in time in Chattanooga & Nashville with friends we just love. The majority of the week we spent time at Toby Mac's Camp Electric, an awesome youth music camp. We also got time in the studio to record a few songs we've been writing. It was a blast-Pedro and I love getting this time together to travel and share adventures.
Coming soon...
As I write, I am in an airplane headed home and Pedro is headed to Minnesota for a show. We will be home to rest and recoup for just about a week before we take off again. We are excited to see our pup, eat home cooked dinners, have time to exercise, sleep in our own bed & see my family. Next Friday we will be heading to New Orleans for a show, then spend the next 10 days between Lafayette, LA, Pheonix,AZ and Las Vegas! Can't wait! It will be a mix of business and pleasure but we couldn't be more thrilled. All good things here & so thankful for Gods provision and protection.
Until next time....
Your Favorite Nomad Newlyweds
Pedro & Jessie LaTorre
