let the countdown begin

Each year seems to go faster and faster.  At the start of my school year, I said "It will be summer before we know it" and here it is.  The students have grown--they are older, wiser, smarter-- the temps are warmer and life goes on.  I truly am going to miss quite a few of my students this year.  I know they were handpicked for me and I am grateful that I got to care for and teach them this past year.  There parents trusted me with them each day, trusted that I would teach them, be sensitive to their needs, and nurture them.  I am thankful that I get the chance to be a role model to my students, to these sweet young inquisitive minds.  I will miss them but in a few months I will get new little children, new minds to mold and teach.

IN THE MEANTIME.....

I will be relaxing and traveling a little.  I must start a countdown to Fredericksburg and Austin.  I love friend time and spending time with them.  I was just reminiscing earlier today about college and those times that I met some of my dearest friends.  I have been out of college without those dear friends down the hall from me for almost 10 years.  It's hard to believe.  Those were some of the best years of my life and I wouldn't trade them for ANYTHING!  I can't wait to spend quality time with those dear friends that mean the world to me, that bring out the best in me.

So....let the countdown begin!

a little planning

Our Itinerary 

With summer fast approaching, I know my mom and I will begin planning our Australia/New Zealand vacation.  I keep thinking about how I don't get a big vacation this summer but it's OK because I get a really big vacation in 7 months.  I'm certainly OK with that.

I've been looking at shore excursions a little bit and I get more and more excited each time I look at them.  We have booked a few excursions the other day.  In Dunedin, we booked an excursion to see the penguins....as soon as I saw the description, I knew that was the one we had to book!  In Tauranga (Rotorua), we are doing an excursion called Hell's Gate & Rotorua Highlights.  It includes going to Hell's Gate Geothermal Reserve.  The description of the excursion sounded interesting.  We shall see.  Then in Auckland, we are doing an excursion on the America's Cup yacht.  We've heard good things about it.  There are a few other ports that either don't have excursions available yet for us to book or we haven't decided which excursion to choose.

We did have a change in our itinerary that we were informed of last week.  Apparently Christchurch is not allowing any ships to dock there the remainder of the year, so we will be docking in Akaroa instead.  It's 75 kilometers from Christchurch and apparently the same types of excursions are available but since they never had available excursions shown from that port, I'm not sure what types of excursions will be available.  

We've also booked all of our airfare.  We've got a bunch of different legs of the trip BUT almost the whole time we will be in business or first class, thanks to many many air miles.  We have one flight that is no longer than 4 hours in coach, so I think I will probably manage just fine :)  We have several 10+ hour flights.  I've only been one flight that has been that long, so hopefully I'll be OK.  I can usually sleep on flights and it shouldn't be a problem seeing as how we will have lay down seats most of the time.  We skip a day in there on the way over and then on the way back, our day is like 48 hours long and seems like it's going to last forever.

We've got our hotel booked in Sydney.  Thanks to Capital One Rewards, we were able to book one night before leaving on the cruise using points.  To book the hotel after the cruise, we weren't able to use points but we wanted to stay at the same place, Shangri-La.  We also have to overnight in Shanghai on our way to Sydney.  My mom looked and looked for a good place and finally came up with a nice hotel that had good reviews so she was able to book that using Capital One Rewards.

So, things are coming together and I know it will be here before we know it.  Now if I can just manage to get through the next 4 days of school, then I'll be another year closer to retirement!!! :)  I really don't view teaching that way...I do love it, but it's been a tough year and I will be glad when it is over!

New Friends

Today I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner.  I've linked up with Kelly a handful of times and I felt like this one was totally a great idea.  It's new friends day.  Who doesn't love having friends...good, honest, genuine friends?   I'm a little more on the reserved side.  I initially started this blog a few years ago to document my traveling adventures which is a huge passion of mine.  I was born and raised in Texas and went to college in Arkansas.  I spent 3 summer working at Sky Ranch during college which became a huge part of my life.  I got to lead young girls to Christ...such an awesome experience.  There are a few girls that I will never forget that still hold a special place in my heart.    

A few more things about me.....

1.  I'm a Dallas area kindergarten teacher about to finish my 9th year.  Most people's jaw drops when I tell them I have been teaching that long.  If you were to see me on the street or at the mall, you would easily guess that I was fresh out of high school or quite possibly still in high school.  I just have the young genes which I will certainly appreciate later in life.  I love kids and have a passion for them.  I don't have any of my own, but I am honored to be an honorary aunt to a few precious children.  I love them and would do anything to help them or their parents out.

2.  I LOVE to travel!  When I'm not teaching, I am usually traveling.  I go on at least one big trip each year.  Most of the time I take a small trip or two in between.  A few of my favorite places I have traveled to include Alaska (most beautiful place in the US), Colorado (close second), NYC, Italy, and other parts of Europe.  My next big adventure is to Australia and New Zealand.  I love to travel with my friends and my mom is my favorite travel buddy.

3.  I love being outdoors any chance I get.  I don't get too many chances around here because I usually have free time in the summers and Texas is notorious for the hot summers where the pools are too hot to swim in.  So I tend to get out when it is bearable and make due until I go on vacation.

4.  Photography is another huge passion of mine.  I haven't done many photo shoots lately until this evening.  I did a newborn shoot with Landree and she rocked!  I got some great pictures of her before she got fussy.  She just wanted her mama to hold her.  Last summer I entered two photos into the State Fair of Texas photography contest and places in both categories that I submitted the pictures in.  I'm hoping to get back into photography soon and I would say this summer but outdoor photography and Texas heat to mix.

5.  I like to think of myself as a genuinely kind person but sometimes quiet and reserved.  I have a few friends that could tell you otherwise about the quiet and reserved.  They've known me for quite sometime and they know that I am only quiet upon first meeting.  I'm the kind of person who is always willing to help out and wants everyone to be happy.  I also must add that I am a follower of Christ.  He is my everything and my rock!  Without Him I am nothing.  I am eternally grateful for my college years in Arkansas where I met some of my best friends.

I'd love to meet some people in the area or even across the country that have common interests.  I have a good base of friends around here, mostly from college and some true friends from work that I have gotten to know very well over the last 4 years.  Very few that actually blog.  They don't get it and don't have time for it. But it's something I love doing.  Hopefully I'll meet some fun new genuine people!

trip advisor

I just recently started reviewing things on Trip Advisor.  I travel as much as I can and see a lot of different places but I never review the places.  However, when I am looking at a place to stay or something to do, I always read reviews.  So why not give back and help other people out that are looking to stay a certain place or visit somewhere I have been.  So with all my free time this summer, I guess I can do something useful and write some reviews of the many places I have been.

So here is your chance to help me out.  Anyone been to Fredericksburg, TX?  Any recommendations of places to eat, must sees, etc?  We are checking out the wineries and staying at a cute B&B place.  Send your recommendations my way and in the mean time I'll check out Trip Advisor.  Thanks!

texas summer

I'll be staying close to home this summer due to the fact that I'll be going quite a distance at Christmas for a vacation.  This summer I'll remain in Texas.  I'm excited about the trips, BUT not too excited about the potential heat.

Trip #1 is to Austin to see some of my besties!  My college friends are near and dear to my heart.  They are my Golden Girls.  We've been through a lot together and seen each other through the best and the worst of times.  When we get together we never skip a beat.  They are a group of girls that I remember blogging about in my "thankfulness" blogs.  We try to plan a reunion at least once a year.  It didn't quite work out last year.  I saw a few of the girls randomly throughout the year but never all at once.  I'm not sure it will work out this year for all of us to be together.  Anyways, I'm looking forward to some good bonding and fun times to be had in Austin.

Trip #2 is to Fredericksburg with some work friends.  We don't have all the details but it's gonna be a fun trip.  Just think...shopping and wineries and eating.  What more could I ask for?  I'm just hoping that the heat will be a little more gentle than last year.  I cannot handle the brutality.

I might try to sneak another random fun trip in there.  I'm not sure where and if I'll come up with anything, but hopefully I will and it will be fabulous!

finally...my alaska memories

Today is the day I have been waiting for....I waited a while to make and order my Alaska Shutterfly books. The main reason was because my computer used to be terrible. I waited and waited and tried to figure out how I was going to be able to swing buying an iMac. Keep in mind that I have expensive taste and I like getting the best, or the best that I can afford. I knew they I would be getting a tax refund but I knew I needed to wait to see how much I would be getting so that I could see what I could comfortably afford. I wanted to pay off my Canon and then go from there with my refund. I decided to use my refund to pay off my camera with some left over and then open a credit card through Apple to get 1 year no interest. I know Dave Ramsey says don't do credit for things but sometimes that's how I roll. I am very disciplined when it comes to paying things off in the allotted time so I know this won't be a problem. I love my new computer and I'm so glad that I have now crossed over into the Mac world. Moving on.....I realized that I had a code to get a free 20 page photo book from Shutterfly that would be expiring at the beginning of April. I knew that I needed to get the computer fast so I could get to work and make my book. I knew that 20 pages wasn't going to be enough but any amount of free helps when I'm making something like this. I started on the book and new it was just going to be average because of the time I had to make it. I think I started on it one day and did some the next day. Then the next day at school I got an email from a coworker with a code for another free Shutterfly book. I knew I needed to buy two. I always get two of the trips I go on with my mom. She needs a copy too. So the day I got the code, I put the code in my Shutterfly account and went home and quickly finished my book. It took about 4 hours that day but I'm glad I finished it. I put the order in and got free shipping and some other freebies too. The book arrived today and I LOVE IT!!!

Shutterfly is probably my favorite place to make books. It's probably because that is where all my pictures are and it's easy to use. They have added a bunch of new features (well I guess they did last year) that allow you to do lots of "scrapbooking" type stuff. I'm totally not a scrap booker but I'm a technology lover so that makes it easy. My next big book will be after my big Australia/New Zealand trip. It will be here before I know it and I am so excited!!!

the day landree claire was born and tornadoes hit north texas

Let me preface this post by saying that it has nothing to do with traveling. It has nothing to do with any sort of upcoming trip of any type. It however is a major life event that I would like to document. So many people have been anticipating this day for quite some time. Landree isn't technically due for another 3 weeks but the doctors wanted her to be induced today. She has been a stinker from day one and we should have all guessed that some sort of major happening would be taking place today because it is Miss Landree's birthday. Today started like any other day. I always check the weather to see if we will get to have outside recess or not. That's a big deal for an elementary teacher (and the students). Believe me...it's tough having a long day without any time to run around and play...I"m talking about the kids, not me. So anyways, I saw that there was some storms in the forecast but I figured they weren't going to be a big deal. I anticipated that they would hit after dismissal or sometime right before afternoon recess. Sure enough I was partially right. Well, those storms started right before recess. We were lining up for recess and I looked out the end hallway door and knew we would be having inside recess. My students said, "I thought we were going outside." They didn't know it was raining because there was no thunder and the blinds were down and have been all day. So they just know the routine is to go watch 15 minutes of some sort of "movie" when we have inside recess. Well I also happened to get a text from a dear friend telling me to make sure that I let her know if I'm ok when all the mess passes. I had also checked Facebook to get an update on Landree to see if she had entered the world. Sure enough I see NBC updating saying that there were confirmed tornados on the ground. I start to freak out a bit but then quickly compose myself because it has to be nothing that will affect me. Well parents started checking their kids out early. I had about 6 leave early so I just brought my kids back to my classroom because the tornado sirens were starting to go off. That's when the announcement was made that we all needed to have our students get to an interior wall in the classroom. We did just that and the kids started questioning "why" just like 5 and 6 year olds do. They were so good. I do have to brag on them. Yes they asked questions like "why are we here?" and "why can't we leave?" Some of them were afraid that no one was going to pick them up. I assured them that someone would pick them up. The art teacher came in our room to and was with us so I had another adult. We were on tornado lockdown for about 45 minutes before they let kids leave. In the meantime, there were parents filling the library and teachers lounge. They did allow parents to come be with their child if they felt it necessary. Thankfully we just had 2 parents join us. All in all I would say that it went as well as it could have gone for a "tornado drill" or what they thought was another drill. They were very very ancy but what can you expect when you request children to be still and silent for 45 minutes. I got word when I got home that Landree had entered the world and she is just as beautiful as we all knew she would be. She is lucky to have such a wonderful family that will love and cherish her with their everything. I can't wait to see what big sister AB says. Of all the days to be born, we should have guessed that it would be the day that multiple tornadoes touched down throughout North Texas. Let's just hope she is far from the tornadoes that took place this afternoon and she is the calm after the storm. I can't wait to take some newborn pictures of that sweet girl!

Here is a picture taken 10 miles from Forney where I few of my friends live and teach.  Scary!!!  I would have completely lost it if I saw this....I don't do storms and I certainly don't do tornadoes!