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! :)