All good things come to an end...

Dear Blog,

I'm sitting here thinking about all the wonderful things I did this summer, but to be honest, I feel like I just started, and I feel like summer has just begun! I think most of this is due to the fact that I WASN'T HERE this summer. So now I'm home finishing up things around the house, getting up late and enjoying my coffee...things like that (you know, summer things). Then, reality hit...summer...is...over. I've spent the last 2 days in my classroom (2 very, very long days) getting things ready for my kiddos (with lots and lots of help from my mom and Rachel - I could NOT have done it without them).

I'll be totally honest, I wish I could have done this at the beginning of the summer so I wasn't so stressed out about it all being done in the next 3 days. I now have to finish the walls (they are almost complete), write a management plan (which isn't too hard, I have one, just not in words), and about a million other little things to do...example, label all my material bins, label all the kids mail boxes, label Popsicle sticks, label...label...label....oh, and finish organizing.

Yes, I have 24 little darlings coming into my classroom in ONE WEEK and I am apparently ready for this. I've spend the last 6 years GETTING ready for this, but now that it's here, I'm freaking out. I know that as long as I look completely confident those kids will never know how nervous I really am. But again, being honest, I'm really awesome and wearing my feeling right on my sleeve.

And guess what project we decided to dive into right at the end of summer?!?! We bought a hot tub off CL and it's now taking up 1/2 my patio, sitting empty. Yea...we bought it, then went to Chicago and spent all our money, and now we get to look at an empty hot tub until we have some extra cash (haha extra) to buy chemicals and build a deck. This really was a genius idea 2 weeks ago, and it will be again when I stop spending all our money on school supplies (which I just can't STOP doing, it's entirely too much fun).

There you have it! My newest adventure. And because I was SOOO annoyed with blogger not letting me post pictures last time, I'm not doing it this time either. Ok...ok...I'll take some pictures of my room tomorrow and get them on here.

Where did my summer go?!?

~~Erin

Oh - and just a fun little tidbit - I'd much rather have an empty hot tub sitting on my patio at the end of the summer than to have just flooded my house and be living in a hotel - because that's where we were last year at this point. Joy, not THAT was not a project I EVER want to do again!

Chicago!!!!

Holy Moly, we made it through ALL our trips this year! I'm not sure how we managed to squeeze all that into one summer, but we did. Between the camping, Yellowstone, getting ready for school, more camping, trying to read as much as possible before school starts, yard work, and Oregon….we saved the most adventurous trip for last!

Things I learned in Chicago:

1. How to ride public transit
   


2. Giant lakes have waves
   


3. 7 Eleven's don't have to have a gas station attached to them (weird, I know)
   


4. People live in buildings that are taller that Idaho's tallest building – I was fascinated by this….
   


5. My body doesn't love humidity
   


6. There is some super strange art out there – like little boy statues with 3 eyes….you'll see
   


7. Peggy is afraid of heights – but took looked down 7 stories in the mall with me anyway
   


8. Anthony loves baseball (ok, I didn't learn this, I just thought it was a great tidbit)
   


9. The Chicago Water Tower looks like a castle…not a water tower
   


10. Someone stole rocks from Idaho to put into a really cool building – I'm just saying…it specifically says to not take rocks from Crater's of the Moon and Yellowstone
    


11. Middle Eastern monks enjoy Marilyn Monroe too, hahahaha
    


12. Peggy is not a true Chiagoian because she eats catsups on her hot dog
    


13. "Chicago food" is DEEEELICIOUS!!!! (says the 8 pounds I gained….)
    


14. Taking a vacation during vacation is a brilliant idea
    


15. Sue – the biggest and most complete T-Rex – lives in Chicago
    


16. Peggy loves owls
    


17. You need to be in excellent shape to enjoy the city the right way…because we walked EVERYWHERE!!!!
    

I'm not sure I learned much more than that, but we did do a lot of fun things….

Alright Peggy – what did I forget??? besides "The Bean"?

I hate blogger right now for not letting me post pictures :(