Number 25!

Um... I'm not sure if I should be feeling old yet at 25... I mean, it is half of 50, lol. The good news is I just feel old when I'm sick and I haven't been sick very often these last 6 months, so I think I'm pulling through my 20s, haha.

I hadn't been home for my birthday in 7 years, so this was kind of a big deal. Kallie was home sick for the day so we watched an America's Next Top Model marathon (talk about culture shock for me...) and laughed at the girls' drama. Then we ate a Thanksgiving feast for dinner (not kidding -- turkey and potatoes and stuffing... YUM! Mom said we were making up for me not being stateside for the last two Thanksgivings).

 Austin and me with the cake and smoke :)

 Austin spelled ''25'' with candles... but there´s not 25 candles :)

Addy helped me open presents. Kallie made me promise to not put any photos on here of her bc she was sick, so I'm sticking to my promise... although I am tempted :)

All in all, a great day! Thanks to all for the emails, phone calls, and Facebook messages (new record! 141!! :)).

Top 25 Things to Do on Christmas Vacation (2010 edition :))

25. Apologize to my family and friends for not posting for nearly a month!!! (Sorry, I was on vacation! :))

 24. Review Central America geography from the plane window... I think the above photo is Belize (I think :)).

23. Enjoy my parents' warm fireplace and the huge Christmas tree.

 23. Realize that water towers are very commonplace in the U.S. Water towers are included in the 5th grade science curriculum for the water-cleansing process... but my students didn't know what water towers were! Now I have photos to show!

22. Eat mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, cream cheese, and ice cream to my heart's content :) (I think I gained 10 pounds, lol)

21. Enjoy catching up with Kewanee friends: Rosie, Chelsea, Erin, Lisa, Jori, Liz.... and Elgin friends: Chris&Christina, Sean, Ian, Natalie, Sarah, Brian, Jenny, JeanaLe, the Gum family, Aaron&Maria, Todd......... and Costa Rica friends that are now here in the States: Yoji, Tara, Tricia G., Eddie............

 20. Take photos of my beauuuutiful sister! Kallie is growing up really fast!

 19. Take silly photos with my siblings *at night*. Here Kallie is sitting on us :)

18. Google Spanish churches in the Elgin area, pick one, and visit on a Sunday morning. Translate for the gringo family sitting next to me.

 18. Christmas Day with the Siscoe grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I feel more like an aunt than a cousin to my youngest cousin Collin (in the red shirt on Austin's lap).

 17. Capture Dad's serious face. (You're welcome, Dad! :))

 16. Realize that Austin is taller than all of us, but Wes can still pick him up (sort of).

15. Stay warm with my new winter coat and boots (Thanks Mom! :)).

14. Sleep in... until 10 or 11 at least.

 13. Capture Mom's loud laugh in action, haha. :)

 12. Witness cousin Collin´s cake-eating skills at his first birthday party.

 11. Spend New Year's Eve dancing with Tricia Gaumer and brother Wes at Tricia´s sister Tori's wedding. Congrats Tori and Bobby!

 10. See Tara Reilly (who I met in Costa Rica at Sojourn Academy) at the New Year's wedding! Here we are wearing silly hats at midnight.

9. Cook for friends and family! Yuuuum :)

 8. Take Kallie to Chicago for free day at the Museum of Science and Industry.

 7. Say hello to Eddie (who I also met in Costa Rica) while in Chicago.

 6. Wonder how an airplane was maneuvered to move inside the building...

 5. Admire Kallie´s texting skills on her new phone... and borrow her phone for a few days to try out my own skills :) (Thanks, Kallie!)

 4. Visit my 5th graders' pen pals in Rockford, Illinois, and use a SmartBoard for the first time in my life in their classroom!

3. Campaign for a job in Elgin, Illinois, with classroom presentations and a day of resumé delivering (Pray for an opportunity to open up for next school year! ;))

2. Play in the snow for an afternoon with the Gum family. Abby and I buried ourselves in the snow. Don't worry, I stayed warm :).

1. And of course, enjoy being home with the other Siscoes! :) L2R: Kallie, Austin, Dad, Mom, Wes, me

Christmas Gifts!

Now that school is finished for the semester, I actually have time for packing and preparing for the blustery Chicago winds and good ol´ family time :). Here's a peek at my suitcase... all gifts! :)

Dogs

Since moving to Escazú, I have 6 extra non-human roommates... dogs. Yup, that's right. 6 dogs.

Camila lives in the backyard. She loves to help during my attempts at pilates by sitting on my towel. The few times I have laid out in the sun, she comes and lays next to me... like, so close that she is touching me. When you are laying in the sun and already sweating, the last thing you want is a (smelly!) dog touching you. One time I was laying face-down while sunbathing, and she walked over and put her paw on the back of my head, letting me know she was ready for attention. I shoo-ed her away and she sneezed on my head!!! Ewwwwww.

Kuma also lives in the backyard. Don't get in the way when he's eating!! I think he's the strongest of the 6 as he could easily pushes me over when he jumps on me!

Negrito is the third member of the backyard club. He joined just a couple months ago and is very ... elderly. We thought he was going to die a couple weeks ago when he was panting and laying on the ground for days in a row... but now he's looking better, but still really thin.

Kiwi is spoiled... he lives in the house and eats the food scraps off the floor. When he wants attention, he also sits really close to your legs or licks your hand.

Tisha is also spoiled as she lives inside... She's the only one that I think doesn't like me.

And my favorite... Lua lives in the front yard. She greets me every time I come home with a big wet kiss. I attempted to play fetch with her once, but she demolished the tennis ball. She sleeps on a bench outside the kitchen window, so she keeps a close eye for available scraps.

From what I understand, most of my new roommates were homeless at one time... most were taken in from the street about 10 years ago. Negrito is the newest addition as he's only lived with us for a couple months.

Christmas Emails

I've been receiving several emails from past students for Christmas! What a great surprise to hear from the twins Rebecca and Christina who are now in Honduras and from Calla who is now in New Jersey.

Hey! How are you and your students? When does your winter vacation start? Are you going to the states for Christmas? We aren't. I wish we could. On Christmas morning we are going to call are grandparents on skype and open presents. I got all my Christmas shopping done. Our mom has been talking about how she doesn't get much for Christmas and in her stocking. This Christmas we got her alot of things. Dad got her a wok! He let me wrap it. He doesn't like wrapping gifts. Last night we went to the mall and He gave me and Rebecca 25 dollares to spend on her. We spent like 2 hours in thier bedroom wrapping presents. It doesn't feel like Christmas sometimes though. It needs to snow.
Sincerly,
Christina 
 
 
 
Hi Miss Siscoe,
When are you having Christmas break?
I can't wait til' Christmas!
I hope you have a great weekend and a wonderful Christmas!
Are you going back to the States for Christmas to see your family?
Just Wondering.
Talk to you soon.
- Calla
P.S. How's school going? Is it crazy because of Christmas break? How are you?
Right now I'm at my Youth Group. It's practically right down the street from my house.
Feliz Navidad! Early.

Christmas Medieval Fun

Castle Building! :)

Jenga... a somewhat (not) Medieval game

Painting a castle

Debating what to do with the castle

She taught me a game today called ''Slapjack'' where it was basically ''War'' with a deck of cards and when you see a jack card, you have to slap the pile. I was very enthusiastic in my card slapping and she was very timid... I slapped her hand pretty hard to win the game! I'm not sure she'll want to play with me again!

Teaching me how to play Backgammon

and the food committee busy at work. Menu: cabbage soup, rabbit stew, juice, and bread with my mom's apple butter :) (Thanks Mom! :))

See you next year, girls!

Until next year!

And a few gifts... flowers

a glass pendant necklace

and a silver ring.

All in all, a great day!

5th Grade Field Trip Tomorrow :)

We have been reading the book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis, preparing to go to the movie theater to compare and contrast the book vs. the movie. Nothing like turning a movie into a literary criticism conversation :).

So tomorrow's the day! 5th graders were very excited today...

The current debate with me was whether or not they had to wear their school uniforms. Yes.

''Can we leave after the movie without our parents and walk around the mall?'' No.

''Can I bring extra money to buy snacks?'' Nope, sorry, we already asked your parents for $9 to go on this field trip!

''What about sneaking in my own snacks?'' Nope.

''Can I save part of my lunch to eat during the movie?'' Nope, although that's a very creative idea.

We're working on respecting the teacher's authority with decisions while also learning to express our individual opinions... a tricky balance!

''Miss Siscoe, I've never gone to a movie theater with a teacher before!!''