I Heart Fall

I'm sitting here sipping a Campfire Mocha from Caribou (my quintessential Fall drink- yum!), and pondering how much I love Fall. I'm always so glad it's here when it arrives. This fall has had some weird temperature swings, but today definitely feels like Fall-- upper 50's and sunny.

For those who wonder, school has been great! I was initially on a major high from just being back in Middle School. There is just something about that age that I LOVE. The honeymoon is definitely over, but even so, I'm still glad I'm here. Yes, I deal with WAY more parent e-mails and phone calls about grades (thank you on-line grading system), and yes, some days I get frustrated with the kids. BUT, it's still fun to be my goofy self, and it's still fun to work with other goofy people, and it's still fun to try to help kids read better and focus solely on that. And, you'd be surprised at the kids' behavior- I know that this age gets a bad rap, but they're generally much better at school than for their parents. All that said, I still miss some things about Bamber-- especially a certain friend who taught right next door...

So, what else is new? Well, back at the end of August we took a fun family trip to Las Vegas. I know- family trip & Las Vegas? We stayed at a timeshare there and John's sister, Julie, and her daughter, Nevaeh, drove over from AZ to stay with us. Malachi and Nevaeh had non-stop fun the entire time. It really made me wish we lived closer! Last month I spent several weekends putting in some plants in front of our house- landscaping at last! It was a lot of work, but I'll be really excited next Spring and Summer to see everything growing and flourishing. And finally, last weekend we had some GORGEOUS family pictures taken at Northwoods Apple Orchard. Kadi Tiede, a 14-year-old who is friends with some other friends who attend our church, took them. I am absolutely amazed at her talent! We had so much fun wandering around the Orchard while Kadi took our pictures, and Malachi hardly complained at all. It was really some good family fun, and I can't wait to have another excuse for more family pictures! You can see some of them on the video slide show below. Enjoy! :)

Summer's been fun

For those of you who tell me you still pop over to check this out every once in a while- I'm sorry. I guess I needed a hiatus from typing out stories. After a while life gets busy and it's so much easier to ignore the nagging feeling that I need to write about my life. Obviously lots of things have happened since my last post. Malachi's toe healed nicely, and he's been back to the ER only one other time for a bonk on the head. I could go on and on, but instead I'll just move on.

Summer's been really fun for me this year. I've felt very free... I feel so much joy in spending the warm summer days with my son (and in the sun). I've also been pinching myself over my job change. I am finally headed back to Middle School-- what my Elementary adventure taught me was my true passion. While I've loved (and hated) my time in the Elementary school, and I know I learned some important lessons there, I am very pumped to be back where I feel I really belong. I spent a couple of days last week unpacking, and I've even done some professional and fun reading this summer. On top of all of this, we took two wonderful vacations! I really feel like this is the best summer I've had in a long time. It was so good, in fact, that I'm actually feeling ready to go back to work (not draggin my feet because I didn't get enough summer). There's just one week left of the fun, and I think I'll enjoy it. Then off to a happy job! :)