Never Bet on Canadian Soccer

Being Canadian has lots of perks, and Luke is very proud to call himself Canadian... until it came to the Honduras vs. Canada World Cup qualifying match.  Some of Luke's students thought it would be fun to bet Mr. Martin that if Honduras won, he would have to shave his head.  I am not sure what the other side of the bet was, but Luke, being the optimist that he is, gladly took the bet with his students.

He wasn't too optimistic when he learned that in the first half Honduras had score almost 5 goals and Canada had nil...  that's right, nil!  Luckily, Canada scored at least 1 goal but it didn't matter.  They were creamed with a final score of 8-1 and Luke took the razor and lived up to his end of the bargain.

Owen was very confused as he watched his father shave his head but decided he was more interested in the dogs.

The entire school had a good laugh the next day including all of my elementary school kids who somehow found out about the bet overnight.  Luke became a Mazapan Twitter phenomenon! 

Rio Zagate

Luke and I have tried to make it a point to go out on the weekends and make sure we experience Honduras as this is our last year here.  One of our favorite past times has been going to all the amazing rivers here and swimming in the nice cool water.

A couple weekends ago, one of our teacher friends posted some photos of her and her family going on a hike that I had not heard of and was very intrigued.  We inquired about it and she told us the hike was great but it can be tricky to find as you have to drive through a Dole pinapple field, find a house and then get to the trail head.  Well, the other weekend Luke and I were feeling lucky and decided to strap Owen in his backpack and try to find this awesome hike.

We drove around for a little while before we decided to stop and ask some workers on the road if they knew which unmarked road we should drive down to find this 'house'.  Well, we were lucky to find that they were working on the road that we were supposed to turn on!  We headed down past millions of pinapple plants and finally made it to the house.

We paid 5 dollars and proceeded to drive into the park.  We parked and strapped Owen in and set off on a hike to find a waterfall on this river with no water or camera aside from our phones.  Maybe not the smartest but oh well.

We hiked for about an hour and a half on really well maintained trails (for Honduras).  It was so pretty and we heard lots of birds and saw lots of fun frogs and lizards.  Luke reminded me that I couldn't chase after them like I normally do because I did have Owen strapped to my back.  Oh well.

We ended at a fantastic waterfall that was really breathtaking.  We, of course, were the only ones there and hopped in for a swim (taking turns of course so Owen wouldn't be left alone).  He also really enjoyed himself as he laid on the rocks and felt the cool water mist his face.  We stayed there for probably 30 or 40 minutes before deciding we shouldn't press our luck with O and head back.

When we got to the bottom we checked out the other waterfall and swimming hole.  Owen had fallen asleep and we were able to bring the car seat with him in it and swim at the same time.  We still managed to be the only people at this amazing spot and quickly plotted coming back with food, friends and most importatantly, water.

Overall it was a great day and we can't wait to go back!

Fun in First Grade

Well it is crazy to believe that we are almost done with the first quarter of school here in Honduras.  I have loved my class this year and feel that I have grown so much as a teacher.  My goal this year, was to make sure I spend more time on projects and making sure that I FINISH them!  All of you teachers know that when you start a project at school - it is crazy hard to finish it or to make sure you actually spend the time that should be spent on something.  Sadly, we are pushed to stretch our students and I have made it a point this year to make sure that they really understand the material instead of being able to squeak by.

 1st graders making a habitat for our 3rd grade buddies tadpoles!

Another thing that I have been adding to our routine is author studies.  Each month we are reading books from one author and creating different projects to mimic them.  Last month we looked at Baby Owen's favorite books by Richard Hargreaves aka the Mr. and Mrs. Books.  This kids loved these and really enjoyed making their own Mr. Men.  We have moved to Eric Carle and so far have made a 'mixed-up chameleon'.  The kids had a great time making these and also loved reading the story.

We also celebrated PEACE Day here at Mazapan and the new third grade teacher (Mr. Segall) and I decided to work together to make a bomb dot com photo collage of the song Imagine.  It was really great and the kids had a great time working with their 3rd grade buddies.

We also celebrated my 28th birthday.  It is still hard to believe that I am 28 but so far I am loving my life.  Sadly, the day after my birthday, Luke traveled with some kids to Nicaragua for a leadership conference for 5 days leaving me by my lonesome with baby O for 5 days.  When he came back he surprised me with Flor de Cana rum pajamas and a bar mat.  We promptly put the mat and pajamas to use and I couldn't be happier. 

We have a 4 month old!

Happy 4 months little O!  I know I say this all the time, but how do we have a 4 month old!  Owen continues to grow and become more OSMM (awesome) everyday we know him.  At four months he is getting better at standing and following movements with his eyes.  I think he is starting to hear better as well and can follow sounds more.  He has started to kick which is fun but hurts!  He kicks when he is excited, he kicks when he is sad, he kicks when he is hungry and well - you get point.

We took him to the doctor for his 4 month shots and his monthly check up.  He weighs 15 pounds and 2 ounces.  He is 27 inches long and has a head circumference of 42 cm.  He is pretty low in weight, and surprisingly, his head is also on the small side - but the kid is long!  Tall and skinny is what I say.

We are also enjoying the start of football and Owen has been loving watching the games.  Even Luke has finally started watching them with me and it is fun to make them a family affair.

Happy Honduran Independence Day!

Another year has come and September is upon us.  September is the month of Honduran independence and the school always throws a huge celebration with different kinds of foods and performances from different grades.  Kiddos get to dress up and show off their Honduran culture.  I love it because my kids are stinking cute - and even more in their outfits.  Baby Owen also got to make his first appearance at school and all of the kids were super excited.

Along with the holiday comes our first four day weekend.  Luke and I were not sure if we were going to go anywhere but decided that we would regret it if we didn't.  So, we packed our bags (and Owen's) and headed to Lake Yajoa which is about three hours away.  The drive itself wasn't bad but because it was the holiday our three hour drive turned into more of a 4.5 hour adventure with different traffic stops along the way.  We did well and had a good sense of humor about it.  It also helped that Owen was a rock star and slept most of the way.

We ended up staying at the Hidden River Hotel which was nice but just had a weird vibe to it.  We were next to the brewery which was fun to go and try different kinds of beer.  After a couple samples, we went back to our signature rum and cokes and found that beer is still just not for us.  Our hotel had a nice pool and a great patio with some hammocks to hang out on and chill with baby O.

The lake was beautiful.  It was so nice to be around fresh water rather than just the Caribbean.  I know, I sound like a snob but sometimes a girl just needs a little fresh water!  We ended up taking a day trip to the famous falls in Honduras which is called Pulhapanzak Falls.  We had a great time and loved hiking around.  Luke actually took a separate trip and was able to hike behind the waterfall and had a great time.  Owen and I hung out at the top while different people continued to come and admire him.  He is getting a pretty big head (literally and figuratively).

We ended up cutting our trip short because Owen was not feeling well.  We were able to make it back at a decent hour and spent the next two days relaxing at home with the dogs.  You can't ask for anything better than that.

Overall, we had a fantastic holiday weekend and look forward to visiting the lake again.

Happy 3 Month Baby O!

I cannot believe that my baby boy is already 3 months old!  We have had lots of fun getting to know him and are loving everyday as he learns more and more things.

We went to the doctors and were told we have a healthy baby.  He is now 14.3 lbs. and growing.  He is really tall and can't fit in to the three month closed pants because he is too long for them.

He loves to be sung to which makes me believe that he is hard of hearing since neither Luke or myself are musically inclined.  :)

We also officially received Owen's passport and certificate of birth abroad.  Baby O is officially a registered American citizen which is a huge relief.  We bought our tickets home and are ready for Owen to meet all of our family and friends state side!

Here are some pictures to entertain you!

A New Start to a New Year

Well summer is over and it is the start of a new school year!  I am very excited about starting this new year with 30 new bright and smiling faces.

Last week I was able to get into the school and set up my classroom.  I was really excited because of Pinterest (aka teacher crack) and had a lot of really fun ideas for the classroom.  I had asked to have new tables ordered versus the old desks that we had last year.  The school also ordered me new chairs which were a lot nicer and really colorful.

Here are some photos around the room and soon it will be filled with more art from the kiddos.

Our carpet area

A view of the board from the back of the room

 Our supplies area/mailbox area

Our Flat Stanley board (so excited for it to get filled with his adventures)

Listening center

Computer center and some of the tables

The back wall which is now our calendar/math area

The back of the classroom

Our new behavior chart (thanks Pinterest)

Our classroom library - thanks for all the donations!

An example of our tables

As a last hurrah before school starts we flew out to Roatan to meet up with Jessica and David Horowitz to enjoy our last weekend of summer.  Tropical Storm Ernesto was in town and caused some really cool lightening strikes.  Luke was a champ and managed to snap a really great photo - even though he took about 2,000 total.

We took them to the two restaurants that everyone has to go to Roatan (Thai food and Gios).  Both were a huge success and Owen was a rock star.  His and aunt and uncle brought him some really cool shades that he rocked on the boat and I think we all appreciated how awesome he looked in them.

School is back and after meeting the kids I am so excited for this year!  I am transitioning from a mostly boy class to one that is mostly girls and I am going to be honest - it is much easier!  Although I have three new kiddos, I am super excited and love how nice all the kids in the class are to each other.  I still have to be a hard ass at the beginning of the year, but I am super excited for all of the fun things that I have planned for them!