Big Moments of 2014 Part I

2014 has already been an eventful year for the Maynard Family.  Starting the year Pamela and I were wrapping up our coaching seasons, Wrestling for me, and Cheerleading for Pamela.  We also had some health issues arise early on this year.

One thing that was really fun for Xander and I was going to a park in Fountain Hills, Arizona.  The park was set up for the celebration of Chinese New Year.  We walked all around as Pamela and Jane went shopping.  As we were exploring Xander made several dozen attempts at going swimming, but I wouldn't let him.  The signs around the beautiful pond explained that it was reclaimed water.

This is my favorite picture from that trip.  "Uh, Daddy, not that I don't trust you, but um, why am I the one next to the carnivore?"  Here are some other photos from our Daddy Son Hike.

My wrestling season went out with a bang, I took 8 of my 16 wrestlers to the NAIC competition and 8 of them placed in the tournament.  A great way to end a great season.

My coaching ended just in time, Pamela got sick with the flu and had to go to the hospital.  They decided to let her go when she started having contractions.  The next morning they again decided to let her go when the baby's heart rate started doing something funny.  So they decided to keep her until Feb 10 when they would take the baby.  Pamela's cheerleaders performed for the final time while she was still in the hospital.

On February 10 our Curtis arrived.

Curtis and Xander have so many things in common and are such different little boys in so many ways.  Looking at them you can tell that they are brothers but you can also see such vast differences.  Curtis grew fast and by the end of 2014 he had almost caught up to Xander in size and weight.

One of the really great things with this birth was that my parents planned on coming out and being with us in Flagstaff.  Along with my parents my wife's dear friend Emma also came to visit.  Since Curtis had come early it turned into a mini vacation with my family.  We did many things with my parents including watch the Winter Olympics, play games, hold the new baby, play with the brand new big brother, go on walks, take Xander to playgrounds, and more.  Jane and I were able to take Xander on a nice long walk at a nature park in Flagstaff.

Xander has had to make some big adjustments this year from being an only child to a big brother.  Some days he is so sweet to Curtis that it makes us very proud like when he feeds his brother and helps take care of him.  And many days we are find ourselves scolding Xander, "You can't play with him that way, you'll hurt him."

Pamela and I had several big moments in our professional lives after the arrival of baby Curtis.  I was given the opportunity to teach several classes in the then upcoming school year.  To juggle so many subjects was going to be a huge challenge and so I started planning very early on despite the criticisms of some of my peers.  I also spearheaded an ultimately successful effort to get the school district to adopt new textbooks for World History.

Pamela made a significant contribution to our school as the Academic Advisor by helping several students graduate.  Her efforts were highly appreciated by students who often thanked her privately.  Her hard work and professionalism earned her yet another promotion, Dean of Students at the Middle School.  During it all Pamela had been in school with Capella University earning her Masters in Psychology.  Now as a graduate of a Masters Program Pamela started to prepare for a Doctorate.

Graduation was a very special event for Pamela and I.  We started working in Pinon when the 2014 class was a freshman class.  We had worked with some of these students for all four years of their stay at Pinon High School.  It was a very emotional experience to be thanked by these students.

We had a fantastic summer this year!  We were able to see a lot of family!  We were able to spend a day in Knoxville with Pamela's Grandfather and then we were able to go to South Carolina to visit with my parents and my sister.  We were also able to take Grandpa back to Pinon with us and show him the beautiful Canyon de Chelly.  Unfortunately we all got sick after we arrived at home and that took a lot out of us.

Well, that gets us about half way with the year.  Hope you've enjoyed this first installment of our big family moments of 2014.  Until next time...

Pinon Unified School District A Great Place to Work

If you're a teacher and you're looking for a Job, Pinon should be a place where you submit an application, here are some reasons why...

Student population
We have a very different population of students here in the Navajo Nation.  I have taught students who are Sac and Fox, Hopi, Apache, Filipino, White, and of course Navajos make up the majority.  Here you have the opportunity not only to teach but to be taught.  Where else are you going to have a population like this?  These students want to be motivated they want someone who is willing to come here and stay here for the long haul.

Professional Community
Pinon Unified School District has many great staff members from many backgrounds who are dedicated to student success.  New teachers will find that there are many people here who will welcome them into the schools and offer cultural advice, help with the classroom, and friendship.  Collaboration and professional development are very important to the district.

Beautiful Area
Pinon's greatest natural treasure is the night sky.  Being so remote gives us a great view of the Milky Way that most areas just can't compete with.  Also since we are in Northern Arizona, we have a higher elevation.  This means we get snow every winter.  The gorgeous ski resort in Flagstaff is only two to three hours away, depending on the route you take.  I will admit, there aren't many trees, but come out here and see the sunrises and sunsets for yourself and you'll agree that Pinon is a beautiful place.

Quiet Area
Pinon is a safe place to live.  Let me repeat that, Pinon is a safe place to live.  I have lived here for four years, it is a quiet community where I take my son out on walks almost daily and I feel safe doing it.  Does Pinon have problems?  Of course it does but so does every location.

Crime in Pinon
Pinon has been described by some people to be a rural area with urban issues in a third world country.  It's actually a pretty accurate picture.  The closest Wal-Mart is over two hours away, along with movie theaters, nice restaurants, and many other businesses.  Being so remote and having a lack of economic opportunities means that the area has a higher poverty level and high poverty tends to mean high crime.  Crime happens here, however, Pinon is much safer than many other small towns I have been in.

Monetary and Job Security
Pinon Unified School District is offering a 13 percent raise next year to all teachers who stay here.  Pinon is also giving a 10% raise to new hires.  That's right, to people who are brand new at the district! Our district offers some of the highest salaries in the state of Arizona and is in great fiscal shape, unlike many public schools in the state.

Baby Curtis

Curtis Emanuel Edwin Maynard was born February 10, 2014 at 6:19 PM, he was 19 inches long and 6 pounds 12 ounces.  He is such a sweet little man.

Curtis shortly after he was born.

Little guy is so different from Xander in so many ways.  He has darker hair and lighter eyes.  He is a night owl whereas Xander likes to sleep through the night.  Like Xander he was very aware and alert from birth.

We are so happy to have our new little addition to the family.

Xander has taken time to get used to being a big brother.  I introduced them shortly after Curtis was born.  Xander waved to his new little brother and then proceeded to ignore him, occasionally he would pat him on the head.  For awhile the only time Xander would acknowledge his brother is when Curtis needed something.  Xander would point this out to us.

Recently Xander has discovered that Curtis has thick soft hair.  He likes to nuzzle his brother.  Last night when Jane was taking care of the boys on her own Curtis started crying.  Jane was busy getting something for Xander so he went to the fridge and opened it up.  Jane tried to tell him that she was working on it when to her surprise, Xander handed her Curtis' bottle and said, "Baby."