Where Have I Been?!

Ya'll. I have been a blogging failure this summer. It has been a busy busy summer and I have barely been home in the month of July! Let me give you a quick little update on my life. 

1. Next year I am going back to teaching 4th grade. I'm like 70% excited right now because I LOVED 5th grade but I understand that the STAAR Writing test is a beast that need someone with experience to tackle. (yay...) 
2. Next year is going to be ...challenging. Some of my very best friends are moving schools, moving positions or just plain moving. I'm so sad because I work with some of the best teachers on the planet but I know sometimes you have to share the wealth. 
3. Next year I have new teammates again. Don't get me wrong, I love all the people at my school. I'm not even joking, we have the best staff. But I am going to miss teaming with my bestie. and James. The CKJ trio was like the dream team for last year's group of kids. It just worked. I know I will love my teammates this year but why is change so hard?! 
4. I keep saying "next year" but really it's in like a week...where did summer go? 
5. I know where summer went: I sat in 10,000 interviews, went to various PD, shared at GT PD, applied for grad school, entertained my 2 year old, created new TPT stuff,and traveled. In fact, I'm typing from Mississippi right now on our way to Florida tomorrow. The beach is calling my name, people! 

So there is a little update...check out the pics below for a peak at my summer! 

Also, I have some guest blog posts coming, new products on TpT revealed, a review for ABCteach.com (( Check it out--there are a ton of resources on there! I could spend hours looking through everything.)) :) and of course, back to school pics! See ya soon! 

My girlfriends and I headed to Houston earlier this week to visit our friend Megan who just moved there. We are going to miss Megan sooooo much but her new school is absolutely blessed to have her! 

Car Selfie

Aren't my friends beautiful?! In this pic we have 4th grade, 2nd grade, academic coaches and specialists and admin. I am so lucky to work with my besties.

I'm going to miss Megan so much! 

I led a training about teaching gifted children with these 2 ladies and it was quite interesting! It was one of the largest groups of strangers I've presented to yet :)

My old partner teacher and bestie, Kristin, surprised me with an afternoon visit to the Gaylord Texan (which is like 10 minutes from my house) to see all of the Wizard of Oz art and decorations :) We had a blast on our adventure!

Y'all. I've been coaching volleyball for a summer league and these middle school girls are my favorite people right now. We laugh so hard and have a blast. And they are pretty awesome athletes. I absolutely love these girls. 

We tried to get a family picture and this was as good as it got. Jackson was only interested if it was "exciting"

Just living out of a suitcase. #teacherlife

See ya soon! 

I'm BAAAAACK!

I have been totally MIA lately. I blame back-to-school days...but really, it's because I've been on vacation. And in professional development. And working in my classroom some. 

Side note: Our school floors are being re-done (again..) and we STILL can't officially get into our classrooms to set up. I've been in a few times to organize cabinets and "relove" a bookshelf (check out that on Made It Monday next week!) but we can't do anything until floors are done and classrooms are actually cleaned. LAME. We go back officially (for trainings) on Tuesday. Floors will maybe be cleaned by Monday. 1 day. 1 day people. So all your cute "look at my classroom" pics are making me angry jealous.

Back to this past week: 
I left last Saturday for Myrtle Beach, SC with 7 of my closest friends...who all happen to be some of the most amazing teachers in the entire world. We were missing some of our wonderful friends but we had an absolute blast. Here we are arriving at the airport in SC...

Demesha (Administrative Liason), Mandy (Math Interventionist/Coach), Mary Jo (Reading Interventionist/Coach K-2), Megan (3 rounds of 4th Grade Reading), Danna (Academic Specialist-aka the Literacy Queen), Carrie (Reading Interventionist/Coach 3-5), Esther (1st grade self-contained bilingual), and Me! :) [[I thought you should see how many Reading teachers we had...there was alot of reading done during rainy times on vacation]].

We had a blast eating delicious food, [trying to] soak up the sun, avoiding the rain, chatting in the hot tub, and hanging out on the Grand Strand. 

Pictures on the South Point of Pawley's Island 

<3 

First night out-Broadway at the Beach

Yes we color-coordinated for our trip to Brookgreen Gardens. Please take a second to be jealous of how cute we are. (jk)

I had such a fun time. These girls make going to work even more fun... We loved the place we stayed, Sea Oaks Retreat  and ate at so many yummy places. I even must admit (and this is coming from a proud Texan...) that the people we met in South Carolina were the friendliest people I have ever met. Everyone was so nice and helpful and we couldn't stop talking about how wonderful they were. Southern hospitality is a real thing, ya'll! 

Anyway, we FINALLY get to get into the school building tomorrow. Thank goodness so I'll be back on track with blogging (hopefully, maybe). See ya soon! 

I'm Still Alive...I promise!

I hate that I have been MIA this week but I have been enjoying family vacay with my hubby's family. We went to this beautiful house in East Bernard, TX (also known as the Middle of Nowhere). Total we had 8 adults and 4 children under the age of 3. (If you want to take a moment and appreciate how brave we are, go ahead.) The kids kept us BUSY (apparently they don't know that vacation sleep-in is not 6:30...) but we had a blast swimming and hanging out together. Today we even ventured to the beach (Matagorda Bay) which was horrible draining great. ...Imagine 1000 degree sand and carrying small children, a canopy, towels, toys and food for everyone...then imagine walking at least 100 yards doing so. I.am.beat. 

Anyway, while on vacay I was so sad to miss the last few days of the blogging challenge so I'm picking my fav prompt from the week and answering it :) 

Day 30: Create a Someday List

Professional Stuff:

-Create more fabulous TPT items

-Blog and make connections with other teacher bloggers 

-Present at more staff meetings (I don't love it, but I know its a prerequisite skill for the rest of my list)

-Get my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction

-Become an Academic Specialist 

-Possibly become a ELA or GT coordinator for my district

Personal:

-Go back to Europe (this time taking my hubs and baby) 

-Lose the rest of the baby weight 

-Have another baby

-Coach club volleyball 

I love the idea of putting my someday list somewhere so that it holds me more accountable. I'm sure I have other things on my list but after the beach today, my brain (and skin) is fried. 

In other news: Teachers Pay Teachers is putting on their back to school sale and I can't wait to participate (as a seller and buyer!) 

Big Time Blogging Challenge: Day 6

I am loving the blogging challenge because I am finding so many new blogs to follow! Ok, today's topic: Summer Vacation Plans! 

Y'all. I am so excited about my vacays this summer. We are going to OKC with my fam for a few days, to Houston with my hubs fam for a few days and THEN, right before school starts, I am going on a girls trip with some of my besties to Myrtle Beach (well, technically Pawley's Island), SC. This is our house for the week....

I mean, how beautiful is that? Plus the backyard looks like this: 
So basically....I can't WAIT until August. It is me and 7 other girls I teach with...how fun is that?! We are going the week before school starts because that's the best time to remind yourself to relax--right?! :) I can't wait to hang out by the pool, lay on the beach and eat lots of delicious seafood. Are there any South Carolina bloggers out there who can suggest some MUST GO places? 

PS. If you are looking for a beautiful place to go with fabulous owners, check out Sea Oaks Retreat. The owners have been wonderful to work with and are awesome! 

AND don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin'!