Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!! We have had a great weekend so far! Thursday was my last day of school and it was bittersweet... well more bitter than sweet. I can honestly say if they had some kind of summer program- I would be there in a heart beat! I am going to miss being around those kids! Well, I could talk on and on about that, but I don't want to get emotional again ha!

I love these kids more than anything

When school was out on thursday, we went straight to summerfest. It is like a huge carnival- they have a dj, games, bouncy houses, face painting... really anything you can imagine! I stayed until about 5:30 and came home to see Mitch before he left for work. Friday, I went up to the school for a few hours to clean out the classroom and prepare a little for next year and you would think pulling up to the school with no kids it would be a relieving feeling and it was just plain depressing.

Hadley and I

My two favorite boys-- Luke and Brady

A lot of you have been asking about what I am doing next year and I think I am going to do the same thing as I did this year.. and there are many reasons. I will be taking all my tests this summer, so hopefully I will be a certified teacher by the end of the summer. But Jenks West, has already hired all their new teachers for next year and I REALLY do not want to leave my school. I could brag on how amazing it is and I would rather do what i'm doing again and be able to stay there. Even though it would be August before I am done with my tests, if I moved schools I would most likely be able to get a teaching job, but I am hoping to either score something at my school or just enjoy another year of what I did. Also, because of my job description... If I was just a typical aid and doing the boring stuff.. laminating, cutting, etc.. I would re-think. But they have those TA's already and I am actually in a classroom at al times. I was not expecting that when I started last year and it was the best experience I could have received for wanting to become a teacher. I learned so much and the kids don't know any difference. They think they have two teachers, you get the same treatment as a teacher. I get to do just as many lessons and honestly maybe more because the teacher is trying to get "housekeeping" stuff done. I am with the kids more hours a day alone than the actual teacher is. I just don't have to deal with all the "background" stuff most people don't see unless they are a teacher. So to say I am happy with where I'm at and what I'm doing would be an understatement. I am getting great experience and feel completely ready to be a classroom teacher when the time comes. We are also a little unsure on our status in OK because of Mitch's school... that is a whole different topic :)

Well, I wasn't really planning on writing all that.. I was just going to tell about our fun memorial day weekend. But there ya go ha!

Friday night since I was officially done with school- Mitch took me out to dinner at the Gaucho. It is a Brazilian Steakhouse and honestly we didn't really enjoy it.. we were really surprised because we had a few family and friends tell us it was so good. We had a coupon and we both thought we wouldn't go back without a coupon. It was just average and I don't know if we went on a bad night or what. Also, we have kinda been on a Brazilian Steakhouse kick lately and we have ate at Texas de Brazil and Fugo de Chao and they are so incredibly nice and have lots more options. So maybe we were comparing to those. Their salad bars are huge and lots more stuff beside just salad- soups, sushi, etc and they also both bring you unlimited garlic mashed potatoes and grilled bananas, the Gaucho did none of that. But none the less, it was a fun date night we had a good time!!

Saturday- I was lazy all morning, went to the gym that afternoon and then that evening we went out for my best friend Natalies birthday.

Sunday, we went to church, Mitch took a long nap... I went shopping with my mom and ended up getting a us a new comforter! I loved our old one, but it was just starting to look bad and I found a set for a really good price. It looks more like a quilt and it is a lime green with brown pillows. We had brown one with green pillows, so it is basically the same, but it brings a little more color to our room and i just love the fabric and quilt look so much better! I got it at Stein Mart and they have every color imaginable if you are looking for a new comforter.

Its not completely finished yet.. I am getting some more pillows and a different brown quilt for the end of the bed. That was just there to see if we liked it. 

We spent the rest of the day out at my parents pool. The had a cookout and we just laid out and swam all afternoon.
And thats exactly what we are doing again today ha! I am going back out shopping with my mom today- I have just a few little things to do to our house and I think I will be officially done decorating it. And now that I have all summer off- I have lots of ideas for projects! So hopefully I will get some of those started today!  

Crawfest, Storms and Summer Break!!

This past weekend was so nice and relaxing! I was in need of a weekend to do absolutely nothing and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. Although we didn't have anything planned-- we had some unexpected circumstances occur.  

Mitch worked Friday night and I went and hung out with my parents. We rented a movie and stayed in. It was so nice. Saturday, I slept in and did a lot of nothing. I ran some small errands around jenks, I may have made a stop in at Cookiedoodle. I was needing to get some prices and I saw they had a hog cookie! Well I just couldn't pass it up... Anything arkansas related gets me every time, especially cookies :)

Saturday afternoon we went to Crawfest! We have been looking forward to this for about 2 months! It was a festival in tulsa and it was so fun! Mitch LOVES boiled crawfish and let's just say we got our fair share. It was a blast! But that night after Mitch went into work-- the night got a little more interesting. 

I ended up staying with my parents that night bc we had a party for my grandpas 75th birthday- and I am glad I did. I woke up about 1:00 because the storms and the wind was so bad!! Sibce Mitch was at work, I text him and we talked for about 20 min and I said I was going to try and go back to sleep. Last time I looked at the clock, it was 1:50 then I was out. Well I could hear my phone going off.. I kept getting text messages and finally after the 5th one in a row, I was able to wake up and I saw it was 2:10 and they were all from Mitch. I knew something was up. Before I could read them, my phone started ringing and it was from a number I do not recognize. I ignored it and went to read my messages. Mitch had said our alarm company was going to call me- he said they called him and said our alarm was going on- and he thought I was home and forgot to turn it off to take Bella out. I text him back and told him I was not home and them we both went into panic mode. I listened to the voicemail from the alarm company and they said they had conformation the alarm was set off and the sensors it detected were in the hall and in the living room and if I was not to answer they were sending the police. So after talking to Mitch- he was relived I was not home, I went and woke up my parents and my dad got up to go meet witht he police. They stayed there for about 30 min checking everything out and then said they did not find any forced entry and they thought with the storm being so bad, it may have something to do with that. I was confused becasue the storm had stopped about 40 min before that all happened. So I was up until about 4:30 dealing with that. I got up early enough to meet Mitch at home in the morning-so we could go through the house together. Although we knew most likely nothing had happened- it was still an erie feeling having to walk into your house after that happened and not knowing what really happened. We noticed everything was in place and the same as we left it. We were both exhausted, so we were getting ready to go back to bed and realized nothing was working in our room. Long story short- we were struck by lightening. We soon realized our air was messed up, our tv's worked but not in the outlet they were plugged into and anything that was plugged in was completely fried. Our cable box, modem, all phone charges, apple tv, lamps, etc were all fried. It was a bad feeling. And on top of that our alarm is all messed up, it goes off all the time now, so we constantly have our security people calling us. We were both very frustrated, we added it up and it was about 100 short of meeting our deductible for claiming it on our insurance. We are not quite sure what we are going to do, but after this week and all those tornados- our situation seems to be very small. I was so mad and now I am so so grateful we were safe. Especially since that same Moore tornado was headed straight towards south Tulsa. I am still in awe of what happened and just pray everyday for those people. I cannot imagine being at school and having to try and protect my kids. I would have done anything to keep them safe and I went to school hugging my kids a little tighter the next day. Also- if you know about The Vintage Pearl- if you buy an OK necklace all proceeds go to Moore. I had been wanting to go get one forever and I thought this was a good time! You can also order!

On that note- we have our last day of school tomorrow and I am having so many emotions. I still have not grasped that I get ALL summer off!!!! I don't think it will set in for a while. I will love having the break, but I cant describe to anyone how much I will miss my kiddos! They have stole my heart and especially with them being my first class, I have fallen in love with teaching and loving on sweet 6 year olds all day!! I am not an emotional person, I don't cry often-- but I can guarantee  there will be tears tomorrow. Some of those kids, I think of as my own and would do anything for. As excited as I am for them to move on to first grade and continue to grow, I secretly want to hold them back with me. I had a rough day today- we had an unfortunate circumstance and it reminded me both why I am need of summer break, but also how much I love my class. These past 9 1/2 months have changed me as a person and I credit that all to a bunch of kindergarteners. I could go on and on about each one of them and how they have changed me, but I will spare you :) Straight after school, we have SummerFest- our big festival and I am working it. I am so excited! Then... hello summer break!!!!! 

Have a good rest of the week!! 

Weekend Fun

We had a wonderful weekend! We have been so busy lately and even though we were "doing stuff" this weekend, it was nice to be with friends and family.

Friday, Mitch got me tickets to Jake Owen and Jason Aldean! I love love love Jake Owen and he really only got me the tickets because he knows my love for Jake Owen, but Jason Aldean was actually great! He put on an awesome concert! Since it was so last minute and the fact that we sat pretty high up, the tickets were a great price. This was my second time to see Jake Owen and he was just as good! I saw him a few years ago at Cains, and it is hard to beat that atmosphere of Cains, but even though he was the opener for Jason Aldean, he played for over an hour and it was just amazing!
We didn't get home until after midnight and we were exhausted because to had to get up Saturday and drive to Bentonville.

We spent all day in Bentonville with Mitch's parents for Mother's day. It was so good to see them and celebrate. We hung out in the morning, went on a hike at Tanyard Creek in the afternoon. We love hiking, and even though this isn't your intense "real" hiking, it is a fun and pretty trail. We would always go up there when we lived in b'vill. There is a pretty waterfall at the end of the trail and with all the rain they have gotten it was crazy!!! It was so pretty!
That evening we had an early dinner. Mitch's dad grilled out steaks and we ate outside, it was a gorgeous day!!

We got home around 9 and had some friends over. Katie, Tom, Jamie and Taylor came over and it was so nice to be able to visit with old friends. We love each one of them and are blessed to have them in our lives. We don't get to see Jamie and Taylor often, so it was nice to catch up.

Sunday, we went to church with my mom for Mother's day. My brother played in church for her and it was so neat! She loved it! After service, we went back to their house, grilled out, ate by the pool and watched golf. It was another pretty day! I am loving this beautiful weather!

This evening we finally finished our front flower bed. We did the trees about two weeks ago and were holding off on the flowers due to the weather. But we finally got them planted and all the mulch down. We are only missing one rose bush and it will be complete.

This week we are busy, but we have some fun things planned! It is my last full week of school!! I cannot believe summer is here. We have some fun activities at school this week and a field day on Friday. Also, Mitch got THUNDER PLAYOFF TICKETS for the game this wednesday!!! We are so excited! We have a list, kind of like a bucket list of things we want to do together in our life... some are big and will have to be done later in life and some are just little small things.. like run a half together. But anyway, going to a thunder playoff game is on it and we are so excited! We are now just hoping they pull off a win Monday or it could be a very stressful game wednesday night. We are also going to a drillers game this week with Katie and Tommy.

We are also trying to nail down an book a small trip for our anniversary. We have several ideas and can't decide what to do. We are going to be gone sooooooo much this summer, we were thinking something small and close. We are actually going to be in Vail, CO on our acutal anniversary, but we want to celebrate just the two of us when we get back. We are deciding between a few places.... Branson Creek- it's always fun, but we were kinda wanting something "new". There is a golf course in TX we have both been dying to play and it is called Tour 18. It is in Dallas and it is a replica course where each hole is a replica of a famous hole from a golf course. It is super neat and we are thinking that might be something new and fun to do. Also dallas has a Top Golf and we want to go there as well.  Another is to just stay here in Tulsa, golf, go to a nice dinner and stay at the Mayo Hotel, which is where we stayed after our wedding before we left for our honeymoon. We have always talked about making that our tradition, staying at the Mayo, but I don't know that we will always be in Tulsa and able to do that. But since we are traveling so much, I am leaning towards that idea. Starting on May 29th through June 13, we are not going to be home but one night! We are going to New Orleans and then the day after we get back we are going back to Bentonville for church camp. Then when we get back from that we will only be home 1 week until we leave for 7 days in Vail and the day after we get home I have having 9 girls from school coming over for a girls weekend!! Lets just say the month of June is crazy busy! So the first week of July is when we will celebrate our anniversary! We are doing a lot already, but we both think it is important to always make time and celebrate our anniversary.

Let me know if y'all have any fun little trip ideas. We are always open to new and fun things!
Hope y'all have a wonderful week!

Lately...

Well it has been about a week and half and we are fully recovered from our race! It is amazing how I just trained and ran 13 miles and my first time back out I could only make it 2 ha! My legs were so worn out. Every time I go to the gym now I am so confused on what to do ha. I was so used to "having" to run so now I am trying to find new classes and things to do. 

This past weekend Mitch worked so I caught up on some much needed rest and ran LOTS of errands. We also finally celebrated Mitch's birthday with my side of the family on Sunday afternoon. My mom threw him a Thunder party and it was a lot of fun! And I finally got to wear my new Thunder necklace.

This week at school has been super busy. We are not only trying to do our normal work and activities, but we are trying to finish up assessments, going on field trips and all the fun end of the year activities!

Speaking of field trips- we went to the zoo Tuesday and it was a blast!!! Jenks has never let kindergarten go on a field trip before, so we talked them into letting us try it and it was a complete success! It was perfect weather- 70s and no wind. The kids loved it. They are still talking about it! I was so glad I was able to experience that with them. 

Over the past week we have also been landscaping our front yard! We didn't want to start anything until the cold was over so we have been digging up out old trees and planting new ones. All we have left is to plan our flowers! It looking so good!

Bella also had her 2nd birthday!!! We took her to Freckles Frozen Custard because they have a doggie cone and she loves ice cream!!!! 

Last weekend, my good friend Katie and I went to the PAC to see West Side Story. I love seeing musicals, but this one wasn't my favorite. I am glad I go to see it and I did enjoy it, it just wasn't one of my favorites. 

That's about all that has been going on around here! I have less than 2 weeks left and I am so bitter sweet about this. I love the part of teaching where you get a summer break- I need it super bad, but I can't imagine not getting up and going to see my kids. I am really looking forward to all the fun trips we have planned this summer, but I don't know that I am ready for school to be out. My emotions are all over the place. I am excited and sad all at the same time. Ha. I have gotten so close to a lot my kids and I am sad to see them go. I am hoping my class next year will be as good as this one. I have had many people tell me this was a very unusual class because all the kids were so good! They said normally its not like that, so I am for sure going to miss that!