TOY Journey

 I never in my life thought I would be at this point in my career. This year I was named WFHS Teacher of the Year for 2022-2023. It was an amazing process!!! One that I will never forget. It was also one of the most stressful years of my life, but it was the biggest honor. This one journey has opened so many doors for me and my career. It has allowed me to network and meet so many people. I am forever grateful for what is has given me and I look forward to pushing the boundaries even further to see what I can do for my school and my students! <3 

It all started with being nominated by my school! That was so fun and it was honestly what I thought was the top! Little did I know....

We had to submit a portfolio with essays, resumes, and even a video! Each TOY from each school in WCPSS had to do this portfolio! The portfolios were then graded and WCPSS would select the Top 20 Semi-Finalists for WCPSS. Yeah right.... how could I be one of those narrowed down!? I NEVER thought that would be an option! And it was!!! I got to be a Semi-Finalist!!! 

As a semi-finalist I was honored at the school board and given a laptop and some other fun stuff. I thought that was the top! Little did I know....

I then went through a series of observations - where a whole committee came to observe my class; including an area superintendent, a principal, a teacher, and a parent/community leader. Talk about intimidating!!! I was so nervous!!! But I did my thing and I stayed true to myself. Believe it or not, I was selected as a Top 10 Finalist! AHHHH!!!  The Superintendent herself came to my class to honor me. I was shocked! Joyner even knew about this secret for a whole weekend and didn't tell me! I was so furious with him for that! This by far is one of the top moments of my career life! 

As a Top 10 Finalist, I was paraded around, videoed, announced in the news and everything. It was a whirlwind! We ultimately had to go to a ceremony where we were all honored and the final Teacher of the Year for WCPSS was announced. I sadly did not win it all... and yes, I was heartbroken. But I know all things happen for a reason. Being Top 10 has allowed me to now open the door for being my schools English Dept Chair and a major leader in my school community. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and everything it has taugh tme about myself. I am still not sure I deserve it all... but I will take it! 

The Feathered Farm

 Everyone knows that my favorite thing about Spring is the BABY GOATS!!! Haha. Last year for my birthday we found a farm with baby goats and I fell in love. This year we decided to check out a different farm that had a variety of farm animals. The Feathered Farm had baby goats, bunnies, cows, and chickens. Kinsley LOVED the baby animals as well. She was a little timid around them, but she adored looking at them. Blake had a blast feeding them. I think we all loved holding the baby goats... and we were all terrified of the chickens. They were a little aggressive. Blake also may have screamed loudly and ran when one of them tried to peck him for food. HAHA! We had the best time! 

Strawberry Picking

 We continued with our annual strawberry picking fun! Every year we go to the Collard Patch and enjoy picking buckets full of strawberries. Kinsley really got into it this year when she realized that she can also eat them! Blake was a great taste testing teacher! :) This is usually our kick off to Spring/Summer and it makes me so happy to enjoy this day with my family! I love that we have this moment every year! 

Small Business Owners

Joyner and I are excited to announce that we recently purchased a small business - Yard Party- from our great friends Susan and Shannon! 

They created Yard Party during Covid. For 3 years they have met SO many people all over WF by putting up these Yard Signs for basically any milestone or occasion - mostly birthdays. This came around in perfect timing. Joyner and I had been discussing finding some extra income to help with vacations, savings, and basically a general rainy day fund. Yard Party fits perfectly into our schedule and our creativity. 

I am happy to do the advertising, the client communications, the paperwork, etc while Joyner does the actual installation and taking down of the yard signs. Our garage has also been transformed into our Yard Party headquarters. Haha. 

We are so excited to say we are small business owners now!!! 

Kinsley is Two

 I can't believe our baby girl is TWO!!! Time really is flying! 

We had a little party at our house with our family and she was the star of the show! It was Frozen themed because she loves the Frozen movies. She also is not a fan of us singing - usually tells us to "sshh and hush" but this time she enjoyed it and even blew out her own candle! We love you, KK! 

Kinsley at TWO...

• She is still super shy, but is starting to come out of her shell
• She loves singing and dancing!
• Her favorite person is still Blake or "Buh Buh" - he makes her smile and laugh like nobody else
• She likes school and enjoys her class/teachers.
• She is obsessed with dogs...especially Ziva. 
• She loves to give hugs and will often come to you with arms wide open!
• She has a crazy sweet tooth! Especially loves ice cream and brownies. 
• Kinsley loves watching Dora, Frozen, Cocomelon, and Elmo
• She still loves to snuggle at night
• She weighs 25 lbs and us super tall (shocker)
• She is really starting to like the water so we can't wait to see what she does this summer at the beach and pool! 
• She loves anything outside - especially her little bike and the trampoline. 
• She loves to go to her brothers sporting events and cheer him on! 

Atlanta Spring Break

 Normally we go to Great Wolf Lodge during spring Break, but this year I wanted to explore a new vacation. Especially since Blake is older and I want to make some new adventure memories with him! We decided to go to Atlanta. I remember going with my dad while I was Blake's age and I thought he would enjoy it as much as I did! 

Of course we stayed near Centennial Park! We spent all this money on Atlanta attractions - but I am pretty sure this park was the highlight for both kids. They loved playing on the playground and throwing the football here. We had to walk thru the park for most of our adventures and they loved it! 

We also went to the aquarium! The Atlanta Aquarium is on of the biggest and best in the United States. Blake and Kinsley loved watching the sea lions and the sharks. Everything in that aquarium was 360 degrees - you constantly had to look up and around bc you were immersed in all of the aquarium space. It was so cool. Kinsley loved it! 

Our family is a Pepsi family, but we had to stop in the Coca Cola Factory while we were there. Not our favorite thing, but it was still pretty cool. Blake and Joyner had a blast trying all the different flavors! 

Finally a HUGE highlight of the trip was going to the Braves Opening Weekend Game! WOW!!! It was amazing. Blake got to see them warm-up and caught a practice ball. He also got to see a homerun with all the fireworks and tomahawk chops. The vibe was insane! I hope he remembers that for a long time! 

We had a blast in the big ole city of Atlanta! Way different than the normal lives we live, but it was so cool to explore as a family. We love Spring Break time!