A warm Sunday

Today, Matt and I went on a little adventure. He got me some new filters for my camera lens and I wanted to try them out. I have a lot of work to get to taking photos like I want to be, but I will get there. I am so thankful that I have his support and encouragement.  He humored me while I stood taking photos of the same thing (often him) from different angles, different lenses, and different settings.  I hope your week is off to a good start!

The New Year (and some of the old)

Hello Again!

Well, it turns out I took a break from my blog. We went through both Thanksgiving and Christmas without a peep. It was a nice holiday season with a lot of time spent with family. I am so grateful to have them, Matt and my pups. I will post some photos for a recap:

               

                   

                   

So! Did you make any New Years resolutions? I've made a few and I want to look back at the ones I made last year. Here they are:

1. Work out every other day
2. Keep up with my "best of my days" calendar (more on that later)
3. Read 30 books (again!)

1. I did not work out every other day. But I did work out on at least half of the days of the year! That is an accomplishment, isn't it? I always put a little star on the day in my planner if I work out so I can go back and look. 
2. I did this! Check! It was really neat to be able to look back and read through these, as well as to know that I had a whole year written down. It felt like a major accomplishment.
3. Complete! I did read 30 books. Maybe I will put the list up later on. I write these down in a book as well. I have several years listed with all of the books I've read, which is also cool. If you can't tell...I like lists. 

2014 Resolutions!
1. Floss everyday
2. Adopt a healthier lifestyle
3. Think more positively about myself
4. Keep up with my journal-a-day
5. Read 32 books

A lot of these are just coming from my hope to make mine and Matt's lives more healthy and reflective. I am excited about this year and all of the changes that are inevitably coming.

I hope everyone is staying warm and that the new year is off to a good start. Happy 2014!

Fall Favorites

Hi All,

If you couldn't tell, this fall has been pretty busy for us. We did a lot of traveling to a lot of weddings. We also got to see our families and do some other fun things. Here is a list of great memories and then some photos to remember them by.

Visiting Iowa for Labor Day
St. Louis family weekend + wedding
Happy Hours with co-workers
Nashville weekend + 2 weddings
Camping at Finger Lakes State Park with awesome s'mores and friends
Jen and Dave's wedding
Three year wedding anniversary :)
Football tailgates
Homecoming weekend

I think that about sums it up. We are so glad to have friends and family who we love. This fall has been a whirlwind and gone by amazingly fast. I can't believe tomorrow is Halloween! We have been in school for 12 weeks already. It is surely bittersweet. Looking forward to this winter season where we have several other things lined up that I'm sure you will hear about. Happy Wednesday!

Another Homecoming Weekend

Hi there,

I hope you had a good weekend. Mine was pretty special. My parents came into town for Homecoming. Friday night we went to get some good pizza.  Saturday my Mom and I went to the Farmer's Market and some other various shops while Matt and Dad went fishing. They only caught one or two fish, but still had a good time. After a lunch downtown, Matt and Dad went to a tailgate and then the game. My mom and I got a head start of Christmas gifts...but I can't say here what we did yet! Today, we had a bacon and egg breakfast, and then went to Les Bougious winery in Rocheport. It was a beautiful day and I actually really liked a lot of the wines we tried. Now we are watching game 4 of the World Series. Go Cards! This is the 3rd year in a row that my parents have made the trip up here for this fun weekend in Columbia. We are so thankful for them and look forward to seeing them again at Christmas!

St. Louis Getaway

This past weekend, Matt and I had the pleasure of traveling to St. Louis for a family weekend and wedding. It was so much fun! Everyone was able to make it except for Evan, which was a shame. On Friday night, we drove to STL and checked into the Union Station hotel. It was fabulous! We walked to the Cards game and met Meg, David, Mom and Dad. The seats were great! The game went into extra innings, but the Cards pulled it off 2-1!

Matt is being silly

The next morning we had a really yummy breakfast at the hotel. We all chatted and hung out with each other and then got ready for the wedding which was at 1. Melissa looked lovely (and Brian, too, of course)! Between the wedding and the reception, we all went back to the hotel and had some appetizers and drinks. The reception was at Windows on Washington in downtown, which was a really cool place.

I danced the night away with my cousins, and Matt even occasionally got on the floor with me! We had a lovely time. It was so nice to spend time with Cyril and Jenny, who I didn't see much this summer. And of course, it was fun to see Meg and Dave, since they live so far away. Special shout out to Mom and Dad for such a great weekend! I love you all.

Next up on the docket, camping this coming weekend!

New School Beginnings

Hello again,

A month has come and gone since I have written here. It is not because I have not wanted to, of course. This year I am at a new high school in Columbia called Battle. It is really nice. I am teaching two honors block classes, and one regular English 9. It might be too early to say this, but I so love my students. They are really quite lovely and so kind! Here are a few photos of my classroom. This is only my half, it is really twice this large since our biggest class has 58 students in it.

For Labor Day, Matt and I traveled up to Iowa to see my family there. It was such a nice time and I am really glad I get to go up there a few times a year! While there, I ate the best pot roast, potatoes and gravy ever, literally. I am still drooling over it. Matt also got to bond with Grandpa in the shop making a small chair with the woodworking tools. Next time, they plan to make something else!

What else is new?
-I am trying to make dinner for us two nights a week. Matt has evening classes on Wednesday and Thursday, so I am trying to help out. If you have any easy yet delicious recipes, send them my way!
-We have a bunny friend who lives in our front garden who is so adorable! I want to give it hugs and kisses.
-This morning it really felt like fall, and I got pretty excited about it!

This weekend we are traveling to St. Louis for my cousin's wedding. I can't wait to see everyone! It is like a mini reunion, minus Evan. Pictures to come later! Happy Friday, everyone!

Shenandoah National Park

The third part of our journey was camping in the Shenandoah NP, which was lovely!

Sunday, August 4

We left Maryland around 10 to drive South. Once we got to the top of the park, Front Royal, we took the Skyline Drive to our campground. The park is really beautiful and I would recommend going if you are traveling through the area. It is 100 miles long and goes over the mountains, and there are around 75 pull offs and overlooks. We stayed at Big Meadows campground, which is in the middle section of the park. After getting the tent up and buying some firewood, we sat and read in the sunlight. The weather was so nice in the 60's and 70's. We then made dinner over the campfire-hot dogs, chips and then s'mores. Mmmm! The stars were gorgeous and we stayed up late around the fire. It was so cold in the 50's since we weren't used to it! Thankfully we had packed a lot of warm sleeping bags and bundled up.

Monday, August 5

We woke early from the sun rising in the East, and we were on that side of the mountains. We drove to the trail head of the Rose River Falls trail. It is four miles long and I read that it is moderate in difficulty and follows a lot of cascades. We saw a mommy and baby bear-I was in love! We also hiked up off this trail to see the Dark Hollow Falls. The trail was nice and the weather was good for hiking. I thought the falls were not as impressive as others I have seen, but they were nice. After this we napped, showered, and walked out in the big meadow that the campground is named for. There were deer all over the park that were not shy at all and actually would walk through our campsite. Another night of s'mores! This night it rained for several hours straight but we luckily did not get wet.

Tuesday, August 6

We waited until it was just a drizzle to get out of the tent around 7am. It took awhile to pack up, and we headed South again. We made it to my parents house around 4 and had a lovely night. We saw Tommy, Cyril and Jenny and also ate a delicious meal of mashed potatoes and meatballs. It was a fun vacation!