Alaska Trip

So, we had a family cruise to Alaska. We left from Seattle, WA and sailed north where we stopped at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, AK, and then had a final stop at Victoria, B.C., Canada before returning to Seattle.

It was a wonderful week long trip! It was very cold for me, although some days were better than others. I usually always had my heavy snow jacket with me, because I hate being cold. haha It seems like everyone was either seasick or really sick for at least part of the time, but we still managed to have a wonderful time!

Get ready for picture overload!!!! :)

Arriving in Seattle and getting on the ship. We're all so excited! (Also, Spencer decides to get a cloud tan.)

Seattle skyline and then exploring Ketchikan, Alaska. Jason got attacked by the bear while it just smiled with my mom and Spencer. ;)

More exploring of Ketchikan. It was cold and sometimes drizzled. We saw a waterfall, some totem poles, and went into Dolly's house on the boardwalk near the river.

Saxman village. There were lots of totem poles. Yes, the Spencer one is in there twice. It's just SOOO cute!  Also, Jason really wanted to do a motorcycle tour..... I said no. haha

We got to float close to a glacier through a part of a fjord. (That's where a glacier cuts  parts out of the mountain.) So we watched that, along with the floating ice. And we also played cards. I love the teamwork on this game of Go Fish!

Driving to Mendenhall Glacier from Juneau, Alaska. Us girls walked with the adorable Spencer to the glacier. Kristen and Lala climbed up on a big rock to look at what someone put together in rocks. (It said God is Love.)

Getting pictures at the base of a waterfall. (I didn't get any of Jason and myself on my phone, otherwise I would use that.) The glacier and waterfall were beautiful! And it was great to be with family!  

Our next stop was Skagway, AK. This was where Jason and I got to go horseback riding by ourselves! It was soooo much fun, but it was also VERY COLD AND WET. I didn't have very good shoes, so I had little toesicles. haha

This was our dinners. We had three tables of family and friends in our own little corner. Spencer was very much the center of attention. He loved it! And because it was cold, I had LOTS of hot chocolate. By the end, they really didn't have to ask if Jason and I wanted hot chocolate with our dessert. haha

This was celebrating Spencer's birthday at dinner one night. All the servers in the area came to sing to him. It was so much fun! And he loved the cake! haha Can you tell by the mess on the tablecloth and chair? 

Our last stop was Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We saw a topiary orca, a street artist that did amazing work, a street with my name on it, and our servers from dinner. (They liked Spencer so much, that they asked to get a picture with him when they had their own cameras. haha 

Overall, the trip was a blast! I had so much fun, and it was a GREAT way to kick off the start of summer vacation!!!

SCHOOL IS OUT!!!!!

I have survived my first year of teaching! And sometimes, it really honestly did feel like just surviving.

I was not out sick for one day, although I did take a couple of sick days for doctor appointments.

Over the course of the school year, I did have an allergic reaction to my contact solution, at least one uti, and a bug bite that worried the school nurse (swelling, not reacting to Benadryl gel, and forming a bullseye.

Was it tough? Yes. Was it worth all the stress and hard work? Amazingly, yes. Even with students that would walk out of class in anger, lie, cut their hair, blame everyone else and not take responsibility, shout out their feelings of the current task every time they got upset, and hurting others with rocks and elbows, it was a great experience, and so far, I'm going back for more come this fall!

Even though there are those naughty students, the greatest ones are the hard workers, the ones who hug you and don't want to let go, the ones that write little notes saying "your the best"[sic] and "I love you", and the ones that will do anything to please you and brighten your day any way they can. THOSE students are why I love teaching. On even the hardest days, they always do their best.

The other wonderful part, is hearing from a student that you discipline constantly that you are their favorite. Teaching is a wonderful career, though it's not for the faint of heart!

It has honestly been the best experience of my life so far (besides marrying my hubby, that is)! ;)

And here, is to a GREAT summer vacation!!!! :D

A little catch-up

So, I was allergic to my contact solution. I have not had any problems since I switched! (Thank heavens!) I have started to notice, that my eyes feel a little scratchy when putting my contacts in or taking them out, but that's no biggie!

The past little while..... or since January...... haha Has been super crazy! New passports, planning for a celebratory end to my first year of teaching, getting a log dropped on my foot...... It's been great!

I am so excited for what's coming up! (After this week of testing, of course.) There are only 4 weeks of school left! So much to do, so little time! I don't know how I'm going to accomplish it all..... I know what needs to get done will get done, though. :)

Things are going so well, and I have the best bunch of second graders! Even with all of the grief they give me, I really do like them. I'm really going to miss those sweeties next year!


Hopefully I can get a little better about blogging, but there really are other things that I find more important, like being with my amazing husband, or painting, or even writing (poems, prose, etc.) and now I'm trying to be a better housewife and get better at cleaning. We'll see how it goes! haha

I hope everyone has a fabulous Sunday!

Allergies

So, I have found out what I'm allergic to.

It's one of two things.

My contact lenses.....

Or my contact solution.

Two weeks of wearing my 3+ year old glasses.

Why couldn't there have been a sooner appointment? *sigh*

I will get stronger.

Eyes

You know, you never really appreciate something until you don't have it anymore... Or in my case, it doesn't work properly.

Since the beginning of January, my eyes have been being weird. It started the week back to school. They turned a little bloodshot and pink. Eventually thought I had pink eye, but that wasn't the case. I went to the doctor's office and was told it was allergies. Well, these are the most dang awful allergies ever!

My eyes are super sensitive to light, so driving is fun. They're read and burn/itch.

It got worse in my classroom, then better away, then better with eye drops and then worse. So hopefully we get it figured out soon. The eye drops are no fun to put in, and the whole eye thing is not fun. Was up walking most of Saturday night because I couldn't sleep. Couldn't keep my eyes open because they hurt, and couldn't sleep because they would sting and water really bad. Hoping tonight is better!

I really hope it goes away soon.

I thought I was sick.....

Turns out I took a day off of work to find out what I thought was pink eye/cold is really just allergies.....

Thank you body for absolutely freaking me out! (end sarcasm)

At least I got a mental health day, lunch with my hubby, and stuff done at home (laundry and painted my nails)!!

Haircut

This is what I had been thinking about.

It's soooo short!!!! But I absolutely LOVE IT!!!!!!! :D