Off We Go!

We are down to the last days before Summer is over and school begins. I am excited and sad all at the same time...
Anyway, James and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary in May. I wanted to go somewhere, and we had talked about it, but we just didn't make it happen. It was partly my fault, because I didn't want to leave the girls for more than a night. My Mother-In-Law has been wanting to keep them all summer, and finally just said she was taking of the 8th and 9th and wanted to keep the girls. We thought if we were going to go anywhere, this was our chance. We had talked about Branson or maybe just St. Louis. My husband, out of nowhere, said, "What about the Mall of America?"
WHAT??? Was that really coming out of my shopaphobic husband's mouth!? I couldn't believe my ears! How do you say no to THAT? We got on Expedia, booked a hotel for two nights, and searched around to decide what we would do when we got there.
I feel terribly guilty and a little, or a lot, sad to be leaving my babies, but cannot pretend that I am not about to jump out of my pants with excitement!!! We have only let Hali stay anywhere a couple of times, and we stayed in Des Moines one night before Hali was born. Other than that, the last time we have been away from home, without the girls, was St. Louis when Adi was 7 months old. That was almost 3 1/2 years ago. I will miss the girls, but I am going to enjoy every minute of my husband, and know that we deserve some "us" time!

I Was Doing Cake Balls, Before Cake Balls Were Cool...

Sooo... long story short. I have two blogger accounts. One is personal, and one is for school. I was logged into my school account and wrote a blog to share a recipe, and didn't know it until I published. I cannot figure out how to transfer it, so... www.mrsjonesatschuyler.blogspot.com/2011/07/i-was-doing-cake-balls-before-cake.html

Amazing...

Well, the butt sweat was not the end all. James didn't look like a lobster. Hali's carefree spirit made for some beautiful candid shots, and Adi didn't melt. She got 62 shots and I love all of them! The photos turned out beautifully, and I still cannot get over the fact that the photographer is only 19! What a true gift from God, and I admire that she clearly gives him all the credit, from the verses on her facebook page, t0 the music on her website. If you would like to see more of her work go to http://www.infinitejoyphotograpy.com/ . I would be glad to give friends the password to our session.

Family Photos

Today we had our yearly family photo shoot. We got to do it right here on our own little piece of ground. I am excited to see them. We had them taken by Infinite Joy Photography. I felt terrible for her, because she had her work cut out for her. The heat index had to be about 1000 degrees! Adi was glad to smile, but she was sweating sooo badly. She looked like she had just stepped out of the shower. Hali just wanted to play and pull weeds. I told my husband that he needed to take his hat off for a bit the other day, so that his head wouldn't be so white. Good thing red is his color! As for myself, I was having a bad hair day, and I actually think the humidity helped a bit, but when she said she wanted to shoot us walking away from her I was worried. Believe it or not, at that moment, I could have cared less how big my behind looked. I was a little more concerned with butt sweat.
Here's to hoping for a miracle!

sooo... I made a vow that I would do this at least once a week, and it has already been 7days since my last post. I wish I had excitement to share, but I have just been busy.

I am ready to decorate my classroom! I went to the teacher store on Monday. That is probably not that exciting to you, but it sure is to me! I am going to be doing a Dr. Seuss theme in my room, which has proven to be a great choice. I have been able to find the cutest things, and most of them have been fairly cheap. I will put pictures up as soon as it is finished.

Tuesday and Wednesday I had meetings in Edina. That was not quite as exciting. The. End.

Today I had a couple of extra children at the house, and we had a ball! We painted on the drive and washed off in the sprinkler. We made some pretty flowers for Kelsey, Adi, and Hali to put in their hair. We whipped up some cookies and iced them with the leftover icing that I had from a baby shower cake that I made last night. I think that it was easier having four kids than two. They kept each other entertained. I just made sure there were some fun things to do.

Tomorrow: 1. Decorate my classroom. 2. Become a brunette once again!

To Everything Turn, Turn, Turn..

It is hard to believe that I have been blog free for two years. I wasn't off doing anything amazing, like saving the world, but I have been doing a few important things. I looked at my last post, and there I was pregnant with baby number two, who will be two in September, and just cannot wrap my head around how fast that time has gone. I started blogging three years ago. I can honestly say I am a totally different person since then. I feel like Ihave gone from a naive young lady into a full fledged woman. I know at twenty-three, with a child, I should have already had the woman thing down! I have grown spiritually, emotionally, professionally... I feel like I have surrounded myself with people that love and respect me, and I am proud of what I am turning out to be. I still watch Hannah Montana and laugh when people pass gas, but I don't want to be too prim and proper.

I am starting a new phase in my life.

~ I am no longer the mother of a baby. I have a very independent "big girl," and a toddler that is a riot and a challenge.

~ I am going to be leaving my comfort zone, after four years of fourth grade, and teach first grade which seems to be calling my name! This is a very happy change!!!

~ One of my best friends is leaving our school district. We were two peas in a pod, and I am not sure how my days will be without her.

~ I am developing strong relationships with new and old friends!

I could go on and on about all that has happened in the last two years, but I think that these last four pictures sum it up quite nicely...

Pictures!!!!

We just had these taken yesterday! I LOVE them all, but these are a handful of my favorites. I am sorry they are small. I can't figure out how to get them bigger. Enjoy!!!

For all the pictures go to , www.mrsreplogle.webs.com