Broken Heart.

I try to keep the subject matter of my blog somewhat peppy and lighthearted. However, I just got some news that is breaking my heart. A student I had in my class last year lost her mom last night. She drowned at the lake while swimming with some friends. As a teacher, sometimes you don't realize how much these kiddos affect your life. My heart is broken for her and her two siblings. My heart is broken for their family. If you are a praying person, please pray for this little girl and her family.

Goodbye Summer.

It was brought to my attention that I have not blogged in a good little while (Thanks to the Jenny). Today is my official last day of summer vacation...where has it gone?!? I am back to work tomorrow for meetings and all the back-to-school hoopla. I didn't get much of a break because I spent my summer wrangling kiddos around (and dealing with their parents) all summer. The only reason I did it was the money. I am not ashamed of that. Mama needs a brand new house (which equals work and lots of money). This summer has not been full of exciting moments, so I now present my top FIVE moments of the summer (I was going to do top TEN but I'm not sure I can come up with ten. Alas, there are definitely five.)

FIVE: Vacation at the lake with mi familia. The lake is probably one of my favorite places in the world and my family is probably some of my favorite people in the world so it made for a good week. Funny/somewhat dramatic and angering vacation moment: We took both of our dogs with us. We were staying in a cabin on the lake that allowed dogs but they had to be kept in a kennel when they were unattended. Well, if you know anything about my dogs you know that Missy has never been in a kennel in her life and nor will she ever be. We don't even own a kennel for her. When she was a puppy my dad tried to keep her in a fence. She jumped it. The girl cannot be contained. Anywho, we got back to the cabin after spending a few hours swimming in the lake to find the resort owner in our cabin fixing a door...with an unkenneled (is that a word?) dog. He came angrily marching out to our car to inform us that the dog "pissed all over the carpet"when he walked in. He insisted that it is their "policy"...blahblahblah. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the week toting our 60 pound dog around with us in fear that we might encounter another "surprise visit." So, yeah, that was fun. On the upside we got some pretty awesome family photos taken. Here is one gem.

FOUR: Game nights at Taco Bell. Probably the most random part of the summer. Why Taco Bell you ask?? I have NOOO idea! It worked though.

THREE: Mission Trip to Omaha. This was the first week of the summer and it was a great week. We spent a few days working at a food bank and then a few days working on Habitat houses. One of the most inspiring moments of the entire trip was meeting a man (our Habitat supervisor) that was a firefighter in NYC on 9/11. Our leaders asked him to share his story with us and it might have been the most chill inspiring story I've ever heard. He told us of how he ran into the first building before it fell and grabbed two people. As he was running out of the building with one person under each arm, the building started to fall. He saw a FedEx truck ahead and decided the only option was to hideout under the truck. So he laid on top of two people under a FedEx truck while a building was crashing all around him. After that, he spoke of all the horrendous things he saw while going into the second building. He was a very rough and tumble kind of guy, but seeing him break down into tears was a very humbling moment. He left NYC after that day and moved to Iowa (after throwing a dart at a map) and now helps build Habitat houses for a living.

TWO: Fourth of July! I hosted a small little party with some good friends for the 4th. There was food, ladderball, fireworks, and a swimming marshmallow fight. Probably the best 4th I've had in a loooong time!

ONE: Float trip on the Buffalo River. I love floating. My first time on the Buffalo and it is a beautiful river. We flipped once and were rescued by a drunken young gentleman. Thank you. I'm planning another float/camping trip in late September. Never fails to live up to expectations!

Overall, I would rate this summer a 7 out of 10. I was too busy to REALLY enjoy the typical guilts of summer, but I still got my fair share of sun and fun. Now back to the world of first graders, shoe tying, and nose wiping!

P.S. Jenny, I hope this is what you had in mind! :)