Summer '08...Oh what an adventure!

In my previous post, I tried to give you a quick overview of the craziness that has been this summer. I am officiallly home for more than 5 days so I am ready to fill you in on what has been an amazing and wonderful summer. There is much to share so this might have to be in multiple posts...come to think of it, you all might not want to know that much about my summer, but oh well here it goes!

School ending this year was a bittersweet time for me. Of course, I LOVE summer vacation...I think every educator needs that time to regroup, refocus and reflect before they can start up the new school year. But I was very sad to have this group of kids move on. I looped with this group of students and for those of you who are not familiar with this, it basically means that I was blessed to teach these students for 2 years. And yes I would consider myself blessed. I have never clicked with a group of students quite so well. They challenged me as an educator and as a person, they taught me countless things including how to do the Soulja Boy and blessed my heart beyond measure. Needless to say, the last day of school was full of all kinds of emotions. Here is a peek at this fabulous group of 5th graders!



Once school had ended and everything had been moved to my new classroom, I set off for 2 wonderfully relaxing weeks at the beach. The first week I spent some good time with the McSwains and Harwoods, two families who I happened to have taught their children over the past couple of years. We had a blast. It was so much fun interacting with the kids outside of the school environment. They are a great group of girls. And I absolutely loved getting to spend time with Heather, Kathy, Sharon and of course Grandma Brown. I love how God puts people in our lives that encourage us and uplift us. The trip was then followed by a great week at Surfside Beach with the McSwains and my mom and brother. Again, just a very low key and relaxing trip that provided so much rest and relaxation. I enjoyed long walks on the beach with mom and fun times at the pool and ocean with Zach and the girls. I highly reccomend two week trips to the beach...who is in for Summer '09?

Here are a few pics from our trip...






So there is a little taste of what June had to offer...be looking for a post on July which includes...camp craziness, farewell party, not NY trip, Billy Mac and Tennessee visit! Get excited!!