Fourth of July!!

A week ago, Ryan and I were finishing up a fantastic weekend up north for the 4th of July!

We took off on Thursday, right after my grad class (or maybe a little before it finished..hehe). Ryan picked me up in Grand Rapids, and off we went!

We had quite the crew up north! There were ten of us staying at the cottage (2 in a tent), and it was a cozy, busy weekend. It was my grandparents, mem, dad, Jeff, Jen (Jeff's girl), Ryan, me, Scott, and grandma Betty!

We got to do most of my favorite things...boat ride to Bay Harbor with a 82.5mph ride on Lake Michigan, bike rides every day, dinner at Red Mesa Grill, puzzle making, swimming, grilling out, 3 mile walk (although I didn't find any golf balls), walk up Avalanche mountain, reading, and of course, napping. :-)

We also had a LOT of fun seeing close family friends that we go WAY back with (to the days in Pennsylvania), the Peters family. Their family has grown and it was so much fun to spend the afternoon with them!

Here are some pictures of the weekend!Top of Avalanche Mountain - looking down on Lake Charlevoix/Boyne City

Jeffrey Daniel...

Mem and dad...still loving on each other... :-)

Getting ready to go on our 3 mile walk...

Jeff and Ryan taking dews for hydration... :-)

The Peters and the Parkers :-) FUN group!!


Check out these festive people!!

Happy 4th of July!!

Summer fun, a wedding, a vacation (soon to come :-))...

Well, it has been almost a month - true to form, it has taken me this long to post an update. There hasn't been anything really big going on, just a lot of random fun stuff as we get summer started!!

What Ryan has been up to...
Ryan's been playing LOTS of softball. Games on Monday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, and then some weekends for tournaments! I love the excuse to sit outside and be able to watch him play. Work is still going well at Haworth (a blessing to be sure!), and though he likes his job a lot, he is not complaining about having next week off of work due to a mandatory week-long shut down. I get to have Ryan home for a week during summer break, yay! Although he is making himself busy by playing 18 holes of golf with work people, a few house projects, of course softball, AND the best part is a trip up north to finish off the week for 4th of July, there will still be time for bike rides and ice cream runs. :-)

What I have been up to....
I am on my third summer reading book already! I am currently reading the Dara Torres book - Age is just a number...makes me want to get in the pool and race, again! I have one grad class that has been running since May, but I added another one that meets in GR on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The good part about this class (pretty much the ONLY good part) is being able to catch up with my good friend, Jana. She is a hoot and makes the drive up worthwhile, and the class much more fun. :-) I also started teaching swim lessons! It has been SIX years since I have officially taught lessons, but it has been fun to get in the groove, again! Other than that, just biking (Tuesday Night Rides and Friday Morning Bagel Rides are always on the agenda), running, swimming, mowing, cleaning, watching softball games, and spending some quality time in the backyard on my lawn chair! :-)

June Pictures so far...

Erin's wedding... (Erin and Joe tied the knot - beautiful wedding!)
This is Carrie, Sarah and I...we were all dateless for the wedding (the hubbies had prior engagements)....so we went with each other... :-)



An evening out at Laketown Park on Lake Michigan (as the rain was coming in across the lake - the sky was quite ominous)...


More to come later after our annual trip to Charlevoix for the 4th of July!!

School's out for summer....

Three years done! I can't believe that over three years ago I got hired for my first teaching job! These past three years have not gone like I would have expected, but I would not trade the experience for anything! Here is a little recap of what my working life has been like as a teacher...

**April 2006
- graduated with an elementary teaching degree
**April-July 2006
- many, many resumes sent out, many, many rejection letters
**August 2006 (two weeks before school started)
- hired as an RTI parapro
**August 2006 (three days before school started)
- offered a different, very last minute, position - hired as a 1st grade teacher! The most stressful Labor Day weekend of my life...
**March 2007
- notified that due to budget issues, myself and 12 other teachers would be laid off for the next year
**June 2007
- a position opened up - I would be a 1st grade teacher again! (in a different room)
**July-August 2007
- taught summer school
**April 2008
- notified AGAIN that I would be laid off due to budget issues (along with 14 other teachers)
**May 2008
- interviewed in different district
**June 2008
- hired in a different district as a part-time kindergarten teacher!
**August 2008 (2 wks before school starts)
- old district calls up, offers me another temporary job - but ha, ha! I already HAVE a job - and my new district has not had to lay off teachers for the past 20 years - I was very excited to say NO to the old district
**September 2008
- picked up additional hours as an RTI helper in the afternoon for a Y-5's class
**April 2008
- sudden cancer diagnosis of colleague, who I shared a room with, changes my teaching position to full time, took on new class in the afternoon for the remainder of the school year
**June 2008
- still have a job as a kindergarten teacher, not laid off, and VERY excited about being able to continue in this awesome district


This school year was great. I have never felt more supported by administration, parents, volunteers, than I did this year. Example? I took my two classes to the zoo for our field trip and I had 45 students, and 40 chaperones!!!

And the icing on the cake for this year? (Literally!) One of the mom's of one of my students, made me this beautiful cake - that was decorated all Life is Good!! I feel truly blessed!!

Birthday...

One more fun thing in May - my birthday. It always falls around Memorial Day weekend, which means I get to see my family to celebrate! It was a very fun birthday. I got lots more Life is Good stuff. I now own...three more pairs of Life is Good socks, another hat, and a little Life is Good wall hanging. I also got a new Charlevoix shirt, a gift card to Best Buy (in the form of a slap bracelet, thanks Jeff! Anyone remember those from elementary school?), and some FUN money to spend WHEREVER I want! Yay!

Here is a picture of my birthday "cake" - it was really, really tasty. Thanks, mem!

Memorial Day Weekend!

It was officially another GREAT Memorial Day weekend at Lake Charlevoix. Jeff, Scott, Mem, Dad, Ryan and I hung out for three days, and really enjoyed relaxing, taking in some sun, going out in the boat, and making a campfire and s'mores.

We even met up with family friends from way back for dinner at Red Mesa Grill on Saturday night.

It was a fabulous weekend. :-)

Want to buy a house??

Our house is officially for sale!! We are one of.....well, more than a few....houses that are for sale on our street right now. But we think our house is a really nice starter home, and that somebody, somewhere, will think so, too! Know of anyone looking for a cute little starter home on the southside? :-) Let us know!

A place where happiness is never-ending...

It has been 8 long months, and 8 months is too long! After rescheduling over and over again since January, Ryan and I finally made it for a weekend together up north. In case those of you reading this weren't aware - I LOVE up north. I love the drive up, which takes us farther and farther from normal routines of life and work. I love seeing the shoe tree along 131, the sign with our favorite insurance agent, Marc Patrick, and the first sightings of Lake Charlevoix as we get closer to the cottage. I love the winding road along the lake that provides a constant view the clear blue-green water, and I truly enjoy when we see the sign for "Ye Nyne Olde Holles" golf course, because that means we are moments away from our driveway down to the cottage. At the point where our cottage is built, you can no longer see houses or the lake from the road, only trees. When we see our name post, we turn onto a driveway covered with stones - I love that sound - the tires rolling over the stones as we drive through the trees to the houses below. And then one of the best parts of coming up north... opening the back door and looking through the house to the dock, the boats and the lake. Did I also mention that up north has a certain smell? Outside it is fresh and cool, with hints of campfire smoke in the evenings. Our cottage has a certain smell, too. It is a familiar smell, and I love it. It maybe the wood walls, or the cleaner my grandmother uses, but whatever it is, it is part of what makes me smile when I open the door for the first time. I LOVE up north. :-) So anyway, Ryan and I came up this weekend, and enjoyed a very relaxing, surprisingly sunny day (the weather forecast called for rain all day!) today - and have decided to stay longer tomorrow before heading back to reality. Here are some pictures of our early May visit to Charlevoix. :-)


The cottage (can't wait until there are more people - and beach towels drying on every available railing! :-))


The dock - hooray! It is in before Memorial Day! (Thanks, mom and dad - this means more time to play in a few weeks :-))

The empty shopper's docks...can't wait to get out on the boat!

Ryan at the harbor - the boats are starting to come in!

The new landscaping, waterfalls and fountains in Charlevoix by Round Lake


The Landing - our FAVORITE place to eat on the water

Hanging out in the car on the ferry back to the cottage

Two happy people on vacation - with no one to take a picture! :-)