Wow how long has it been? A long time...What a semester it has been so far. It started out a little rough for me and I didn't think October would ever end, but here we are and it's Christmas Day. Time is flying by and we are already halfway through another school year. Nothing terribly exciting has happened, but here is an update nonetheless. I have a great class this year and Carmen is doing a fantastic job of helping me out. Beau's year is going OK as well. He's looking at moving districts next year, but we'll see what the next few months hold for us. My class is supposed to be moving to a new campus next year as well, but again we'll see what happens. For now things are going quite smoothly. We went and saw Beau's family in Destin, FL for Thanksgiving, we took a mini vacation to San Antonio for Christmas and we have just paid off our Australia trip. I'm looking forward to seeing another country in June, but I suppose we have to finish out the school year first! So for now this is the best update I have and I will try and update more often this next semester! :)

So first week of school is done and over with. It was interesting. I think it will get better as the year goes on. Carmen is great and I think she is really excited to be working with my kiddos. Right now we have 2 kids in the morning and 7 in the afternoon. It's a lot, but we are handling it OK. Only 36 more weeks left! I'm already ready for next summer though. Beau and I are planning an Australia trip and I can't wait! I hope we can make it work. It's so expensive to go there. Beau is enjoying his second year in GCISD. He has already had a run in with the director of special ed and some parents, but they are working on it. Right now we are just spending our days at work and our nights relaxing. Can't wait for our first break! :)

Vacation

Wow summer has almost come and gone. It was a great time though. Beau and I went to California and Florida both this month. His dad lives outside of LA now and the scenery was beautiful out there. We broke in the camera and had a great time! After coming home for a few days from there we went to Orlando in Florida for a week with Justin and Heidi. We had a great time seeing the beaches, Universal Studios, and Sea World. Beau's mom has a condo out there and we got stay in a nice resort and just relax.

So school is getting ready to start back and things are looking good. I'm excited to start the new year and I'm ready for a new batch of kiddos. It's going to be a good start to really teach what they need. Last year I kinda felt like I was stepping into someone else's shoes and this year I know what I'm doing and it really feels like my classroom. I'm also getting a new aide and she is excited to get a change in pace. This will a fresh start for us both!

Wow June has already come and gone. I am thoroughly enjoying summer so far. Beau and I taught summer school for a couple of weeks and that was actually not bad at all. It was just 1/2 a day and very relaxing. The money we got we were able to put straight into our Australia fund. We are hoping to take a trip out there next June. We also just got back from youth camp. For 4 days Beau and I were sponsors for 28 youth from our church. I actually had a very good time. We went to the lake for a day and did a scavenger hunt at the mall. It was a great time to really get to know some of the kids. The other big event for us is that we just bought our first DSLR camera. We choose the Nikon D5000, but it was not an easy choice. We went back and forth on the Nikon and the Cannon Rebel T1i. It basically came down to comfort and few extra specs on the Nikon. It should be coming in today so as soon as it does I'll get some pics up :) We have a few vacations planned for the coming weeks and school will be starting before we know it. Summer is flying by!

AHHHH summer. It's finally here. I feel like I didn't even sit down during May. It flew by and was gone before I knew it. We have been busy lately. Yesterday was our youth breakfast to raise money for our camp. We did awesome too! Saturday I went down to Abilene with my family. Dad grew up down there in a children's home and they were having a reunion type thing. It was really neat to see where he grew up and take a tour of Abilene. Not much down there, but still cool. I've also been moving my classroom the last week, which was a nightmare. I never knew how much stuff was in those cabinets! It's now all in my room and in some kind of order. I'm ready for it to all be organized. However, my new room is so small compared to my old one. I have no idea how it's all going to fit. I know it will all work out though. Next year is going to be interesting in a few ways. I'm excited though. Sarah who was my aide this year is moving so I'm going to be getting a new aide. She is currently our resource aide and knows some of my kids and seems excited to be come in. For now though I'm resting and relaxing this summer. I look forward to next year, but I'm not ready just yet. So here's to summer and lazy days. :)

Tulsa

So we got back around 4 today and it was such a great mini vacation! I got to go to the members only event for Hanson and it rocked! They played 10 songs and most of them were brand new. I'm very excited for the new album. They told us it would be out fall "ish" hahaha I love that! We all know that Hanson is in their own time zone. We were supposed to go in at 8, but didn't get in until 9 and the concert started about 930. I felt like I was back in middle school. I was so giddy. Each row got to take a picture with the guys and I was able to stand right in front of Zac. :)

Beau has a half brother that lives up there. So we were able to meet him as well. It was really neat to meet part of his family I hadn't seen yet. They actually looked alot alike. We also drove by the house that Beau's dad build back before Beau was born. All in all it was a fun trip and nice to miss a day of work. I'm so ready for summer now!

Hanson!!

Oh my goodness it's been such a long week. The kids are crazy and so ready for summer. Tomorrow should be extra busy. I have therapy all day with the morning kiddos, tons of IEP work with the PM kids, two meetings after school, dinner with friends, and frantically cleaning and packing for Tulsa! I'm so excited. I feel like I'm back in middle school when I was a brand new fan. The whole experience is going to be great I hope. It's really rare when you get to see your favorite band in such an intimate setting. :) Beau and I are driving so pray for safe travels. Then when we get back on Sunday it's Family Day at church so we'll be busy all day there too. Whew! Hopefully I can survive and then get through our last full week of school. So excited for summer!! Off to bed now good night. :)