oh hey philadelphia!

one of my favorite things about being on the east coast is that we are super close to so many awesome places. this past saturday the student teachers took off to philadelphia to see the sites and in the mean time went through 5 states in one day! crazy. virginia, maryland, pennsylvania, delaware, new jersey and even D.C. It still super bizarre to me that im on the east coast, like i drove through delaware, who does that!? what? Philly is about a 2 1/2 drive from virginia so we left super early, but luckily i took a nap both there and on the way back. The city definitely had a different feel and look to it then DC and NYC but i really liked it. I wish I could have seen and done more but we hit some good sites. Here are some of the highlights:

Citizens Bank Park. I have known driven past three baseball stadiums since being on the east coast, and each time i get SUPER excited about it and my roommates make fun of me. Each time ive passed a stadium ive said to myself that one day i will watch a game there. too bad i didnt make it up to philly during the playoffs.

the liberty bell. one of the most iconic symbols of freedom in our country. pretty dang cool.

independence hall. site of the signing of the declaration of independence and the constitution. AMAZING. the chair is the same chair that THE george washington sat in while he was president of the constitutional convention. words cant even describe how much i love george washington and the signing of those two spectacular documents.

eating a LEGIT philly cheese steak. so good.

Christ's Church. site of where most of the men, including my man GW went to worship during the constitutional convention. we sat in the same pew that george sat in himself.

then we hit up some boring museums on ben franklin. sorry ben, you were boring.

the constitution center. a really amazing place all focusing on the significance of the Constitution. we watched a video before going in that talked about the significance of the phrase "we the people" and what that means as it gave a short history of the united states. it seriously made me cry.

at the constitution center they had this recreation of the constitutional convention where you could go sign "the Constitution" mainly entertaining to take photos with the statues.

have i mentioned how much i love jessica?? she is pretty great and we have lots of fun together.

it was a short trip but pretty fun. its always fun to learn about history, see a new city, spend time with some friends, and not have to plan lessons--which is slowly becoming my least favorite activity ever.

good and bad news. only 4 weeks left in DC. im ready for student teaching to be over, but i dont think ill ever be ready to leave the district.

how could i have forgotten??

i dont know why or how i could have ever forgotten to post this beautiful picture....

back in sepetember we went to the national portrait gallery and as soon as i walked in i was on mission to find good ole tommy lasorda. they unveiled this portrait of our old skipper sporting his dodger blue on tommy's bday september 2nd. i wish i would have been there. now that dodger season is sadly over i only have things like this to get me through the next four months until im soaking up the arizona sun, admiring andre ethier and scouting out the boys at spring training.

seth is 8!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SETH!

Today is my little sethers 8th birthday! I seriously CAN NOT believe that Seth is already getting to be so big! He will be getting baptized in Novemeber, and although I wont be able to be there I am so excited for him to reach this big moment in his life. Let me tell you some of my favorite things about Seth. He is obsessed with any and every sport! I love talking to seth on the phone after sporting events becaue he is so into it and knows everything. Although when he watches sports you can not talk to him because he is so involved in the game, he compltely blocks out everything. He loves video games and will always beat me in mario kart and wont let you forget it. I loved when he was just 2 years old and we always played tackle and then we would pick out an animal to pretend to be while we attacked each other. When he was little I usually let him beat me, but now we cant even play cause he is getting to be too big and he really does beat me up! He is such a funny kid, gets embarrased super easily and is so smart! He screams like a girl but will have all of the girls chasing after him when hes older. Another thing i absolutely love about seth is he is such a good big brother! He is always looking out for his brothers and sisters and i was so impressed with how good he was with kate and how he always wanted to hold her after she was born.

I found out that Kelly was pregnant when we were in Ohio visitng one time, and Kelly and Wade said they had to tell us something and the annoying little sister that I WAS blurted out, "what your pregnant?" in which Kelly responded, "Ya how did you know?" woops sorry for taking away the surprise. I was so excited when Seth was born and I got my first nephew. I have loved being his aunt for 8 years and I cant wait for him to get older. He is my little buddy and I love him so much! Happy Birthday Seth!

i always like to post pictures of just me and the birthday kid, but i guess since seth is so big now he has not allowed me to talk very many photos of just the two of us--maybe he thinks thats dorky? and also hes not the best at taking pics. but here are some that i found and a few with the other kiddies as well.

look at those dodger clad kids, i couldnt be more proud

but i did come across these gems....



typical seth. not much has changed.

in other news, here is a little recap of what ive been up to lately. a few weeks back i took a trip to charlottesville and went to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. it was so great! it was an absolute beautiful drive down there with all of the fall leaves, this is the first time I have ever appreciated the changing of the colors and i love it! and i loved jeffersons home, it is one of my faves. and i had great company.

my parents came into visit this past weekend. it was so great to see them and to be able to show them around DC and my new home! we hit all of the main stops plus a few great things like our private tour of the capitol, including catching a glimpse of a senate hearing as well as accidently spying on senator harry reid. we also took a little drive up to the DC temple, i hadnt been there yet and it was so beautiful and peaceful. thanks for coming out and visiting me! it was such a fun trip!

this is my life.

yup. we are jump roping. in our apartment. this fun lasted quite some time, even got a little double dutch action going as well.

some more highlights from this past week at school:

I told my students that they needed to be on their best behavior when my supervisor comes in to evaluate me so that I can look like a great teacher, to which they replied "why do you need to be evaluated, youre a such a great teacher!"

my student mayra told me that she has learned so much since I have started teaching her class

taught my students about Romanticism and compared music today to music during that time period. We listened to music and talked about how it is expressing emotion--just like during the Romantic period. While listening to music my students and I sang and danced. my favorite moment was when everyone was singing and swaying their hands back and forth.

we watched a clip of Nicholas Nickleby to discuss realism, after the clip everyone was asking for more. i must be doing something right.

My students asked me to do The Jerk (youtube it for those that dont know what it is) They didnt believe me that I could do it. So i gave them a little tease and did two steps. Three of the boys bowed their arms down to my while everyone was freaking out over it.

Two of my favorite students said today that they only came to school today to come to my class because it is so fun and they really like it. victory points for ms. robins

this probably takes the cake. found out on friday that two boys in the AP class stole my phone and got my cell phone number. they think they are so smooth.

if you want more updates or more in detail. you will just have to call me to find out more about my exciting life.

oh hey new york city!

this past weekend my roommates and i just took a little vaca to new york city. no big deal right!? it was a little surreal that taking a trip to new york was as easy as just getting in the car and driving a few hours north. my roommate jamie was so great as to get us a ride and a place to stay in queens. she also provided tour guides in the city as we met up with some of her friends. heres a little synopsis and highlights of our trip to new york:

Saturday

First stop--Statue of Liberty! What better way to be welcomed in to New York then seeing Lady Liberty in all of her green glory.

Times Square. this is when i got a little giddy. being in times square with all of the lights and picutres and excitement is definitely the best.

then we hit all the stuff around times square--radio city music hall, rockefeller center, new york public library, and 5th avenue.

Chinatown was a highlight as thats where I got my knockoff Dolce & Gabbana purse. We were led into a store then directed to the "door" that more or less looked just like another wall. then magically, the wall turns sideways showing a secret entrance way to the basement. then we go down to this sketch basement into a hall way with like 5 doors, each opening to a room filled with purses! it was so shady and i was laughing the entire time. dont worry my purse looks legit, unlike the kata spada purses we found as a fam when we went last time. the best though was how you had to leave the basement. heres a photo of jamie trying to figure out how to open the door with the handmade mechanical device.

Memphis. the amazing play that we saw on broadway. lots of singing and dancing and i loved it. i was even happier as i was sitting through this play as i found out about the dodgers sweep. watching a play, celebrating the dodgers and in new york city. could life get any better??

my favorite part of the day: sitting in times square after the show eating cheesecake. a great city with my favorite dessert.

one of my famous vans photos. as you can see my left shoe has a hole in the toe, unfortunately so did my sock for that day.

Sunday

Wall St, New York Stock Exchange and the place where George Washington was sworn in as our first president. Definitely my fave place. I love that man!!

For brunch we stumbled upon this gem: the Manhattan Diner. so good! it was super cute and i had great banana pancakes. and look at jamies waffle! i could go there for every meal.

church in the Manhattan temple. any real world fans? definitely saw chet at church. i snapped a sneaky photo of him. we made eye contact.

central park. beautiful and serene. cha and i enjoyed a new york style hot dog while strolling.

the MET. for some reason i love this building. i remember it clearly from my first trip to NY circa 2000. and what better place to take a jumping photo. there isnt one.

another highlight of the trip--our stop in brooklyn. we wanted to go to Manhattan and then walk across the bridge to brooklyn and get pizza at this famous place called grimaldis. well in true fashion as we are on the subway we realize we dont have an address for grimaldis, nor do we have a map of brooklyn when we get there. then we realize that we missed our stop and we are already in Brooklyn. well that brought about an adventure. unfortunately the pizza place was packed but we did get an AMAZING view of the new york skyline. definitely worth the trip to Brooklyn.

dinner again in little Italy with amazing Italian pizza. and another night stop in times square.

Monday

in sum: crazy crazy morning. we decided to go into Manhattan one last time which meant that we had to bring our bags. so we all had to carry our huge bags, purse(s) and pillow. got the run around on the subway, then had to walk a mile to drop our bags off (at the work office of the girls apartment we were staying at) then we had to hail a taxi to take us to 5th avenue, where we stumbled upon the Columbus day parade which was awesome! then back in the taxi, back to the office, back to the subway with our bags all the way up to Harlem to get in the car and drive back. oh man. it was so tiring! i thought my back was going to break.

it was a way fun trip. i loved being able to take a quick trip to NY with my friends. i loved being able to take the city in slowly and see the big things while missing all of the museums the city has to offer. it made me really appreciate DC. as much as new york is a great city, i really love DC. i finally understand when people say that DC is a big city but with a smaller feel and i really like that. i LOVE the metro and hate the subway. so it made me realize that im at the right spot on the east coast, living the DC life.

my students.

these are some of my favorite students in my world history class. i pointed out to them that they were twiners with their jeans and black shirts and they got so excited. when i suggested taking a photo they got even more excited and replied "ya ms. robins! go get your camera phone!" so i snapped one. they are such fun kids. its so much fun and i love teaching them! just wanted to give a glimpse of my classroom and the fun times im having at wilson high.