Currently: September

Currently living/working in: Teaching kids environmental education at Fenton Ranch in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. We've finished up the fifth and fourth graders and have moved onto our last unit with second graders! This season goes lightening-fast! 
I’ve taken the kids wading in our backyard creek about 15 times this season! This is a shallow area, but it gets up over my knees in some parts. 

Current mood: Happy, although sick (see “not excited about”).

Currently excited about: I mentioned that J & I accepted the position of caretakers for Fenton Ranch through the winter. So starting Nov. 1, I am diving into full-time book-writing!!! I am hopeful I will be able to finish the writing process of my book by Christmas! 

Currently not excited about: Kids’ germs. I’ve been told that working around kids means constantly fighting off their fierce germs. I typically have a rock-solid immune system, but it has been seriously compromised! I even had to get on an antibiotic, something I haven’t done in 10 years! 

Currently worried about: Our newfound cat, Mrs. Gibbles. She is the sweetest “barn” cat, and we are trying to domesticate her since we live in such a wild area. We are afraid she will be eaten by a coyote, owl or something bigger since she spends the majority of her time outside and she already came home with a bitten tail. We are working on getting her to a vet, but living in a remote area and working from sun up to sun down makes that a bit challenging. 

Currently thankful for:  Our van is currently taking a rest, but I still can’t believe we put about 10,000 miles on it across 18 states in less than 2 months. Can't wait to do it again next summer and add more states. 
Currently proud of: I love all these side writing projects I obtain writing on different blogs. In one of the latest on Cloudline’s blog, I was able to feature our oldest nephew and our Alaskan adventure with him. 

Currently amazed by: These kids we are teaching. We don’t really have a comparison to teaching in a public school setting, but this group of private school kids blows our mind with their knowledge and integrity. 

Current guilty pleasure: Justin purchased an antenna to put on our roof to be able to watch football. Yes, they still make antennas. However, we are so shrouded among the mountains that we can only receive Fox and a static-filled NBC. Better than driving 45 minutes to a small town bar that has one single TV with a cracked screen, I suppose. 

Currently reading: Just finished Thru Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail by Carrot Quinn. At first, this book was a little slow to get into. Just the mundane details of a PCT hike. But then, it picked up with more emotions and I really admire Carrot’s honest writing style.  

Currently watching on Netflix: We still have the Netflix DVD plan, but we’ve been watching the 11-22-63 mini series. This 8-part DVD is based on Stephen King’s book, 11-22-63, one of our favorite books. They definitely altered the TV show from the book—in some ways we dislike—but it is still good. 

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