Beach Bum

Ahhh...nothing like the sand between your toes...

Andrew and I spent the 4th of July in St. Petersburg. We saw that the Royals were in town to play the Tampa Bay Rays, so thought we'd take a weekend jaunt to see that, and catch some time at the beach.

Unfortunately, the Royals lost both games - pretty badly. The Rays are playing great baseball, and the Royals just aren't hitting. No offense is no good. The other thing is the Rays fans are not the smartest in baseball...so that was annoying. They rang their cowbells every time there were two strikes, but no cows came home. The only thing they accomplished was giving people headaches. We definitely did not have a fever with a prescription for more cowbell...

The nice thing was our afternoon relaxing at Pass-A-Grille beach. We discovered it on our trip last year - it's out of the way, not very crowded, and is close to a very good grouper sandwhich. We did come away with a bit of a sunburn, but that's to be expected...right? :o)

It was nice to get away for a bit of time - and celebrate the 4th in our third city in three years. We'll see where next year takes us. . . but for now, we're off to Waco and Taos, New Mexico to visit with the families!

This just in...I'm in the right profession

Ok, so this has never happened to me, but I definitely fear that it will happen one day. Thought it was funny. Hope you get a laugh from it too. . Also, as much as I love my summer vacations, I'm at the point in the break where I'm ready to go back to work. Am I crazy?!!?? No, I just love teaching. I am full of anticipation and ideas about what my next year of teaching holds. I'm super excited about it! I'll be co-teaching again, but now that I know more about it, am looking forward to what it holds in store. . . Not much exciting has happened in the last few weeks. We've done a lot of house cleaning which is always a good thing! We're not done, but slow progress is good. We got to see R.E.M. for the 2nd time. They rocked it! That was a fun show to be at-it was their "home crowd." We cooked in the sun to see the Braves vs. Brewers game - just typical summer activities. It's been kinda nice to experience summer in Atlanta. The past few years we've been in Michigan while Andrew's in class. Andrew and I are about to venture on a few vacations in the next month. July will be busy, but that's ok with me. We're going to the beach and a few Royals games in Tampa for the 4th. And then our big Texas/New Mexico trip to visit with family. :o)

Celebrating 2 Years of Wedded Bliss in the Windy City

Doesn't seem like 2 years has passed since Andrew and I got married. Time flies when you're having fun. . . . A friend of mine asked if the 2nd year was easier. In many ways, it was, although I never want to go through comprehensive exams with a spouse again, and thank goodness I will never have to! Woohoo! We went to Chicago to help us celebrate. I guess we've started a little tradition of following the Royals for our anniversary. We were in Tampa Bay last year. So, we caught a few games, and it didn't go well. Royals aren't playing the best baseball right now. But, it was fun to experience a new ball park. I wasn't too impressed, though...nothing very special about it. Not a great view of the city (which I totally expected!), the food was not that great, nothing to make it stand out... it was just your average ballpark. But here with our with our smiles after the game. Another thing, we heard that R.E.M. was in town and had to go. It's Andrew's favorite band and, I was totally impressed with them. We saw them play Friday night, and it was awesome. I could've listened to them play all night. Which makes me really look forward to seeing them again in Atlanta! :o) As far as the city, we really just wandered, which is fine with me. There's a LOT to see, and it was free! We walked to Millenium Park the first day and had a picnic. Then we walked the Magnificent Mile to Navy Pier. Very beautiful architecture! After walking the pier, we took a water taxi to Sears Tower. There, we traveled the 103 stories to the top. I was a bit freaked out about the ride down, but we survived. The view was spectacular!! Another one of my favorites about Chicago was the old Marshall Fields. 9 floors of wonderous shopping...Heaven! I was just awed by the size of the place! I have no doubts that the next years of marriage to Andrew will be just as great - and we'll just have to wait and see where the Royals take us next June 3.

Laugh out Loud

As an educator - this got me really tickled. Small groups are being pushed by everyone these days. And yes, I am a huge supporter of them, but this got me laughing out loud for a few minutes. Enjoy!

Letters from Students

So, today was the last day of school. Our school does something called a 5th grade walk, where all the graduating 5th graders walk through the school. Students make banners, teachers cry and 5th graders are congratulated. This was my first year of having students pass by that I had taught. One thing they did this year was write thank you letters to former teachers. I got a handful and all are sweet and made me feel really good. Here are what some of them said. . . "...You taught me how to tell time. I would be lost without time. I remember on the last day of school you were sad that I was leaving. Now I'm sad that I'm leaving..." "You have touched my life unlike any other teacher. You understand all of your students and their needs...You've always been there for me and were concerned for me. And you've always wondered about my personal life." "The memories I had with you are unforgettable!...Remember the time I flipped out of my chair during class? I was embarassed, but you comforted me and from then on I knew you were going to be a great teacher!...I hope it's fine with you that I still call you Ms. Campbell!" :o) Comments like these make all the long nights, meetings, and frustrating days worth it. It means a lot to me that I have left such an impression on them, because each of them has left an impression on me.

The start of something big. . .

Ok, well maybe not big, and definitely not a new concept but alas, here I am world. . .