A couple of months into the school year and I'm finally ready to update :) (Funny to think my first year of teaching this month -October- was considered "dark" and almost impossible to get through). Now in my 5th year of teaching, there are definitely challenges, especially with my crazy group this year, but at the same time I appreciate the fun aspects of fall to help me enjoy each and every day!
There's no need to say things have been busy, they always are. Mark and I ended the summer by attending our annual camping trip (yes it's only been 2 years, but it will be annual!) on Lake Pepin with our friends Charley and Shelby Bruce. This year was a bit hotter than last, but we spent a couple of nights and were able to enjoy swimming and shade to help us cool off!
Shortly after that the school year began! My group this year is... NUTS. The first month of school I literally had 1 of two kids crying every moment of my day (my teaching in KC really prepared me for this!) Needless to say, things have gotten better, but I have to be much tougher on this group than I was last year. I am still enjoying my school, though being in our new house and my commute changing from 9 minutes each way to 40.... has been kind of rough. I am nervous for our first big snow to say the least!
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| My kids learning to walk in line |
As the school year began we had a couple of events take place! First baby Ella was born! (Our 8th niece/nephew!)
AND my brother and his fiance (pregnant with our 9th) moved to Minnesota! Susan (fiance) has a job here and they felt like it was a place that had a lot of things they enjoyed doing, and Mark and I couldn't be more thrilled! They stayed with us for a few weeks, and then they found a cute little apartment in South Minneapolis! We are enjoying spending time with them. Yesterday we explored a park in St. Paul/Minneapolis we had yet to visit, Minnehaha Falls and today we are going to the apple orchard to get some fresh apples!
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| Carrot Cake Cupcakes (Sans frosting) |
We've also really been enjoying our new home! We've gotten a little more furniture to fill it up, and of course because it's October, I've got Halloween decorations out! I've also managed to bake a few times using Halloween decorations of course :) Last weekend we had our House Warming Party, about time I suppose, and it was fun to host lots of our friends in our larger home. We are excited as fall continues to rake the leaves and have some bonfires in our back yard, and enjoy the last few days of warmth before winter :)
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| Halloween Treats |
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| New Dining Cabinet with Fall Decorations |
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| Den Reorganized |
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| Den Part 2 (Still not finished) |
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| Living room with new Coffee table and rug (of course Cici is posing) |
Next weekend is our Fall Break. I was hoping to make it home to NC to see family and friends, and go to WFU homecoming game, but I never found plane tickets for less than 700! On the bright side, Mark's sister Sarah is coming into town to celebrate our growing families and spend time with baby Ella, so we are excited to get to see her! I guess I'll just have to wait a few more months to see NC (and I'm sure by then I'm going to be excited for a break from the COLD!)
