Life on the Runn...

You don't have to love the theatre or love history to walk out of  Hamilton  loving both the theatre and history.  I've long wanted to check out Lin Manuel Miranda's  Hamilton, and our crew, Team NDR, made it happen.  In fact, we made a whole date out of our evening.    We started our good time with tapas and some really tasty wine at La Merenda and strolled into the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts from our very nearby parking spot (Thanks, Dad!). We laughed; we sighed (and nearly cried); we tapped our feet and sang along (Eliza, you're a true fem queen!!); we strolled out of the theatre well past our bedtimes and entirely in awe!  Team NDR! 

That’s how the saying goes, right? It does in my book. 🙂 After an awesome and inspiring Friday at the WCTE Convention, I scooped up HQ and my parents and joined Mom Sue at Mukwonago HS for the football game against West. It was a really good game, but that was the second most entertaining aspect of the evening. H was a huge fan of the Friday Night Lights vibe — so much cheering to do, school busses to point out, an ambulance to explore (thanks, Nonno), and so much music to dance to! Saturday was all things Runnells women. Mom Sue, Aunt Bec, HQ, and I met for breakfast and then took a breezy but oh-so-fun walk along Lake Michigan. Parking at McKinley Marina meant we had to   stop off for coffee. We had tons of fun exploring - there were levels to collect, surfers to watch, and plenty of bikes to yell, “Pedal, pedal. Yay!” to. Sunday, the moms gathered with H to enjoy some cyclocross and (what a nice surprise) experience Oakridge Farm - cows, donkeys, a bunny, and chic...

No cherry chapstick to speak of - sorry Katy Perry - but lots of good conversation and plenty of laughs - how many times in life do you get to say you know someone who had to rescue a stuffed (the once living now not sort of stuffed) lion from loosing a once valuable appendage? The most recent read for our Reading Between the Wines crew was Jenny Lawson’s Furiously Happy .  And I furiously  enjoyed it.  It took me a bit to really settle into the book, but I'm glad I committed.  In fact, I found much of what I read quite liberating.  While I didn't expect a story about Lawson's daily experiences with mental illness to resonate with me on any profound level (I thought it might be more of a how-to manual when it came to supporting my kiddos), it surely did.  It gave me some freedom as a mom and a partner to really lean into the mantra of one of my heroes - and Lawson's friend - Brene Brown, who encourages people to believe, truly, that everyone...

It was a big summer for the Runnells crew (though absent of any big, overseas plane rides), but fall is a family favorite, and this year it's especially great because we're finally home! Takin' it all in just before closing day Closing week was crazy - we signed all the papers and officially became homeowners on Wednesday afternoon and immediately unloaded our first round of items -  as much as our cars were able to hold.  I headed out of town Thursday after work, but while I was "teaching the youths," as BR likes to say, he was busy transferring the contents of our storage unit to Rustic Court - the garage was already filling up. Then, while I was at an awesome Acadec Conference, Brian met the movers and spent Friday getting things into the house and organizing biking gear and the garage.  After a quick trip downtown for a party with some really great friends in town from Seattle, we spent our first night in our new place and were up early Saturday for wo...

I’ve been a runner for a good portion of my existence, starting around age 12 when I joined my middle school track team. Fun fact: my first memory of BR is a conversation we had at a track practice. A totally is fact: we, the household always dealing with some kind of tweak or injury, we’re discussing a muscle pull.  Last week, during class intros, I asked if anyone enjoyed running like I did. Very few hands rose through the day. Weirdos, right?! One super funny sophomore made me lol with the response,  “Depends on from what.”   Over the years, time and other interests got in the way of running, but once I found my way back to it, I’ve been hooked, even when I added a tag-along and a jogging stroller (amen for the BOB).  Labor Day weekend, I got to do some running with both my sister-in-law and mom-in-law. We did the I Love WI Fun Run.  Becky and I have done some running together. She’s a running legend - just check our HS record books. This...

Today marked the thirteenth time I started a new school year as Mrs. Runnells, the eagerly optimistic literature teacher.  And today marks the eighth time I have done so as a Waukesha West Wolverine.  I cannot believe I have spent twice as long at West as I have at any of the schools I've have called home. Today, it really feels like home. I get to work with a diverse group of teachers and kiddos; I get to see some of my favorite young people during passing time, lunch, and prep, and, if I'm lucky, I get to lunch with my lunch crew at least a few times a week.  This year is all about taking risks, about being vulnerable, and standing in my purpose.  I told each class today a little bit about my high school (and college) English experiences, why I hope theirs are different, and how I am committed to making them their best reading, writing, and thinking selves.  I also - remember what I said about vulnerability - told a few of them about the parent fail the ot...

There's no denying it...summer is coming to a close, and I am going from full-time at home mama (or 'Fun Amy' as Brian likes to refer to me) back to eight hours+ of Mrs. Runnells ('Un-Fun Amy?? Gosh, I hope not). But before I totally succumbed to that reality, I had a bit more summering to do.  I got to practice my intelligent conversation skills (though H surely does have a lot to talk about these days) at Book Club, had a delicious mimosa, and got in a few laughs (what I like to call an abs workout) before the Runnells trio hit the road for Lac du Flambeau. Once up north, we got right to relaxing.  We were met with much cooler weather than we had anticipated, so swimming was a short lived experiment.  Instead, we went for our first family bike ride. Thanks, BR, for pulling the tiny human. And for encouraging the eager chipmunk to run into your foot mid-rotation.  I surely would have lost control and ridden into the lake in a 'Did I injure the helpless...