2011, Week 28

Week one of my vacation - I headed down to Orlando, FL to meet up with my good friend, Amie, who I hadn't seen since I left Scotland 4 years ago. She was temporarily living in FL, so it was a perfect opportunity to see Amie and get to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, something we were both anxious to do. I arrive in FL on Monday afternoon and we quickly went to see the final HP movie - I really enjoyed it, Amie wasn't too pleased but she's never been a fan of the movies. On Tuesday morning we headed out to DeLand, FL to have brunch with my seminary friend Nicki and her two boys, 8-month-old Micah and nearly-5-year-old Jonah. I've been following Nicki's blog about Jonah since I was in Scotland (she jokes that I'm a stalker). After brunch, Nicki and Jonah joined Amie and me at New Smyrna Beach, where we played in the waves, walked on the beach, caught up with one another, and refreshed in the pool. It was an amazing day with two good friends and one adorable little boy. The next day was our WWoHP experience at Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure. Let me tell you, it was HOT! and crowded! To be completely honest, at some points it was rather miserable. But the Harry Potter part of the park was so cool, and I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect. Overall, my vacation in FL was a brilliant success - I got to visit an amazing theme park, meet two precious boys, and catch up with two amazing women who I am blessed to have as friends.

2011, Week 27

It was a week of preparation and anticipation. I knew that on Friday I was finally leaving on my summer vacation, and I couldn't wait! I worked hard at school Monday thru Thursday, finishing as many major projects as I could, trying to make things as easy as possible for my time away. But the whole time I was just biding my time til I could drive out of town. The first stop on my vacation was going to be my grandparents' house in Alabama, which meant that I would be taking a completely new 11-hour route for me, through Memphis. Brodie and I headed out about 7:00 Friday morning and made really good time, making it to Mamaw's around 6:00 that evening. Brodie was a great travel buddy, chewing on his toys and sticking his head out the window when I would roll it down in the small towns. We had lots of sunshine, some heavy downpours, and even a rainbow on the drive, and arrived in Madison to a steady rain and mid 70s - downright cool compared to the 100+ Texas days. Mamaw was thrilled to meet Brodie, and he quickly fell in love with her too. I love this pic of them (of course he had to wear his Bama bandana to meet his Bama-loving great-grandmother).

2011, Week 26

Oooh, what a busy week! It started out celebrating Independence Day down in Ft. Worth with my friends and church family. We spent all Sunday afternoon having a blast at Hawaiian Falls waterpark - my church rents it out for the Sunday closest to the 4th of July and it's so much fun hanging out with church members young and old, riding the waterslides, and fellowshipping in such a casual environment (even if it is awkward to be around my pastor in a bathing suit!). On Monday I was supposed to spend the 4th with the Holmes family, but Genny was sick, so instead a group of us hung out for a long time at Rachel's pool then had a spontaneous cookout at Amy and Amanda's. Burgers and hotdogs on the grill, flag cake, and watermelon were on the menu - and the result was a watermelon seed spitting contest in the backyard. Hilarious! The rest of the week was insanely busy at work. Since our registrar resigned, I've had to pick up a lot of her work until Dr. Wolfe hires somebody else. I didn't do anything this week that was my own job, and I was constantly busy, even bringing work home two nights. I am so looking forward to my vacation at the end of next week!

2011, Week 25

Not much exciting happened this week. I spent the weekend writing, worked Monday, and went to a regional training for Edline/Gradequick (work stuff) on Tuesday and Wednesday. The training was actually helpful, especially given that we still haven't replaced our registrar so I'll have to handle many of the beginning-of-the-school-year details that I have never done before. And I learned about some add-ons that would be very helpful for the school, so I requested we purchase those and Dr. Wolfe agreed. Yay! Other than that, Shawn and I took the dogs to the lake twice because it's too hot to be outside if you're not at the water and the dogs really needed to run off some energy. They swam and had a good ol' time - I tried out Brodie's life jacket for the first time and he loved it and had much more confidence in the water. Oh, and I took a few cute patriotic pictures of my boy. He is too cute in his peace-spangled glasses!

2011, Week 24

This week was much the same, but what was nice was not having to work until Thursday - I had almost a full week off in a row! I spent a lot of the time writing, though I will admit to taking a little time to hang out at the pool and go shopping. Really, there's not much else to say about the week. Here's my boy helping me write -

2011, Week 23

Well, summer has arrived in FULL FORCE. We've had 4 days of 100+ temperatures this week, and it's only JUNE! Ugh... The heat severely limits outdoor activity. Brodie's walks have become minimal, and spending too much time outside is unbearable, unless you're at the pool. Rachel came up on Saturday and we spent several hours at the pool. Brodie and I also hung out on the balcony with his little swimming pool almost every evening. He loves the water - I got a hose and connector so I can hook the hose up to the kitchen sink, which makes filling up the pool so much easier. I also spent a lot of time writing this week. I moved from discussing the Exodus/ wilderness to the Conquest, which feels almost symbolic. I am making progress, pushing out of the wilderness of low motivation and toward the conquest of this project. I can do it! As for pics, photography this week has been rather slim, but I love this photo I snapped of my lounging puppy enjoying a lazy morning on his mama's bed. This pic just screams "total relaxation."

2011, Week 22

My, what a week! Summer arrived - and by that, I mean the end of the school year as well as near 100 degree temps. I enjoyed a long Memorial Day weekend by grading final exams, writing, and soaking up some sun at the pool. I even took my exams out to the pool to grade - I figured if the wind blew them in the water, I'd just give the students a 100, and we'd all win. But that didn't happen. :) The lovely weekend was followed by a rather horrible week at work - teacher inservice, my coworker resigning, and other frustration plus a wretched headache that would not quit. It was quite miserable. In the evenings I just came home, tried to relax, and prayed for the headache to ease. Brodie and I spent lots of time on the balcony enjoying his new $10 Walmart swimming pool. It's one of the few ways I've found to stay relatively cool on the balcony in these hot summer days. And Brodie loves it. I anticipate lots of time out there this summer.