2010 Review

What a year! It doesn't seem like 2010 is almost over. So many things happened this year, and I can't wait to see what Mike and I have in store for 2011. Here are a few highlights from 2010:

To start the year off, we had some major snow! Mike and I enjoyed 3 lazy days off work together at home. I can't wait for more snow!!!

After losing our first dog, Lola, we found Bella. She is a precious border-collie mix with SO much energy. She turned 1 year old on December 20th.

Our fabulous PTA sent all teachers aboard the Arkansas Queen Riverboat as a thank you. What a fun celebration! I love spending time with my co-workers - exhibit A - we did the Thriller dance on the boat :-)

In May, Mike took me to Eureka Springs to celebrate my birthday. It was beautiful and very unique. We were able to visit the historical Crescent Hotel, and stay at our first bed and breakfast.....so fun!

We had originally planned to cruise to Alaska, but because those plans fell through we chose to visit Dallas and San Antonio. We were able to stay with wonderful friends in McKinney and Flower Mound. San Antonio was amazing - the Alamo and Riverwalk were so neat, and I can't wait to go back.

In October, my co-workers and I walked together in Race for the Cure to support one of our own. I also walked to support my mom who is a 5 year survivor!

Finally, I spent a weekend in Branson with some of my favorite co-workers! These girls are so much fun.

I can't wait for 2011 and what's in store over the next 12 months. I know I will become an official aunt (I say official, because I like to think of Elias and Ada as my nephew and niece), and I will hopefully pass National Boards in 2011. Only the One knows what will happen, and His plan is best of all. Let's get this new year started!!!

1st Annual Branson Trip

I must say that I have some of the BEST co-workers ever!!! It is truly a blessing to have found a school where each and every teacher is outstanding! I am so grateful that I have found some amazing friends in my co-workers (and 1 sister of a co-worker). Since I've been dubbed the official "Crestwood Event Planner", I planned for an all girl getaway to Branson at the beginning of December. What a great idea it was! We had so much fun on the very much needed vacation. It was so much fun getting to know these girls even better, and out of the school setting. Here are a few pics from our Girls' Weekend.......enjoy!

After sleeping in and shopping at Tanger, we ate lunch/dinner at Joe's Crab Shack...yum! Crestwood 4th Grade teachers. I absolutely love working with these girls!

4th grade teachers with one of the 3rd grade teachers, Lindsay. Our classrooms are across the hall from each other, so we visit each other frequently throughout the day.

With Lindsay, 3rd grade teacher, and her sister, Natalie. We first met Natalie at Race for the Cure and she immediately fit into our group! She will be joining us on our next Girls' Weekend!!

The Quiet Cottage where we stayed in Hollister. This house was located in a new, nice, and quiet subdivision. We loved it!!! It was nice to be away from the Branson strip and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Sabra and I shared the master bedroom....the king bed had a feather mattress - SO comfortable!

Kitchen - where I made chocolate gravy for everyone...yum!

View from the living room of the upstairs.

Our next Girls' Weekend location - Hot Springs. We plan on enjoying the races and hot spas! We're also talking about going to NYC next Christmas since so many of us have not been.

Save the TaTas

Today I celebrated a wonderful cause...finding a cure for breast cancer. I walked in the 5k with our team from Crestwood - Sisters for Slattery. One of our teachers was diagnosed this summer, so we walked to honor and support her! It's crazy how many people I know that have been diagnosed in the past 5-6 years. It seems like it's becoming more and more common. I walk to honor all the women who have lost their battle with breast cancer, those who have survived (including my mom, granny, & Judy Wingfield), and those who will be diagnosed. The following pictures are from an amazing race with amazing friends:

The "Sisters for Slattery" team! We're ready to go!!!

With Sharon, Grace, and Lindsay before the race...love them!

The crowd headed through the starting line...amazing!!

Little Rock firemen handing out beads

Towards the end of the race, I ran into my family while they were passing out beads...My mom finally wore her survivor shirt! She's a strong survivor...I love you mom!!!

New Purchase

I FINALLY found a mirror to go on my mantle!!! I have been searching for months for the perfect one, and I found it today! I went to Pier 1 after church today with Mike, and I fell in love with the Amber Dazzle mirror. It's now resting sideways on our mantle :-)

Now, I just need to find the perfect entryway table and dining table and I will be set! This is all for now, but I was just so excited that I had to share. I'll put more pics up once I've put some fall decor out!

Weekend Review

Things are CRAZY right now! I feel like I'm finally getting into the groove of school, and yet there are still a TON of things that need to be done. I'm starting to wonder what my year will look like once I start National Board stuff??? I will definitely need a lot of prayers. This past weekend took my mind off of everything that I still need to do at school & all the stresses and "to-do's" to come.

First, on Friday night I got together with several co-workers for a CAbi party. It's like a Premiere Jewelry party, but with clothes!!! My wonderful co-worker, Brandy, hosted one last year and I fell in love with the clothes. Brandy hosted it again this year at her new house...it was beautiful! While the clothes are not the cheapest, I still couldn't resist :-) I bought the "Ballerina Skirt" which is a super soft silver skirt that can also be worn as a dress. I will definitely be wearing it as a dress!!! My second purchase was a pair of amazingly comfortable black pants (the "Cozy Pant"). I can't wait to get them!!! I'm also hopping that the super cute ruffle cardigan I put my name on to get 50% off works out!!!!

My co-workers that went to the CAbi party. The hostess, Brandy, is the one with cereal all over her. This was not at the party...this was taken at our school's Halloween carnival a few years ago. I love my co-workers!

On Saturday, I spent the afternoon with one of my besties, Laura, at War Memorial for the Razorback game! This was the first Hog game that I'd been to since I graduated 3 years ago...so sad! After paying $20 to park right next to University on the golf course, and walking FOREVER in the sweltering heat, Laura and I enjoyed running into old friends & people watching! We sat on the 50 yard line to watch the Hogs defeat ULM!!! We only managed to take one picture, and it was after we had been sweating for a good 5 hours.

I am so excited that I got to spend so much time with Laura because she has to go back to Colorado on Friday :-( Arkansas is ready for you and Phillip to come back!

After such a great weekend, it's been hard to get back into the groove of school. Maybe I'll be there by Friday :-) I hope everyone else had a great weekend, and that this coming weekend will be even better!

just because

I haven't really had much to talk about lately since I've been busy getting my classroom ready for the new school year...which is going fabulously!!! There's really not one thing I can talk about, so here are a few things that I'm looking forward to before the end of the year....

1. Seeing my 3 best friends all together for the 1st time in a year. We haven't all been together since Laura's wedding last August, so I can't wait to hang out with them again!!!!

2. Hog football season!!! I haven't been to a game since I graduated, but I will be going to the first Little Rock game with Laura...so excited!!!

3. Having a great 1st semester at school. So far, things are going smoothly, and I have a great group of kiddos. I just hope it keeps getting better!

4. Starting the National Board process. This is something I've been mulling over for months, and I finally get to start this fall. It's going to be a stressful year, but the payoff in the end will be worth it.

5. Joining a community group through Fellowship. Mike and I have been looking forward to plugging in to the group that the Lord leads us to so we can meet new friends, and grow spiritually. We should be finding out in the next few weeks which one we'll be in!!!

6. COLD WEATHER!!! I HATE hot weather. I'm so looking forward to the fall/winter weather...bring on the snow! I love being able to snuggle under a blanket, next to a fire, drinking hot chocolate...CAN'T WAIT!

7. Thanksgiving...of course! I love Thanksgiving food..everything about it! While I'm counting calories now, you can bet that I won't be on Thanksgiving :-)

8. Last, but not least, Christmas! I love this whole time of year. It's the time we celebrate our Savior's birth...there's just a feeling of happiness in the air that I love.

This list probably doesn't interest many of you, but it's all I've got right now.

Happy Daddy's Day

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful daddy! My friends have always described him as a "Teddy Bear", and they're right. He is such a sweet man! He may look intimidating (according to Mike the first time he saw him), but once you talk to him, you see that he is genuinely kind. He's the type that can talk to anyone about anything. I'm glad to say that I have found a man similar to my daddy! Thank you daddy for always being there for me...for sitting through the 8 hour recitals and jumping with me on the trampoline.

Here are a few pictures of my wonderful daddy...

Sitting in my daddy's lap! I still remember the day that he finally shaved his mustache :-)

Playing with Lauren and me at the beach.

At Melissa's wedding in 2007.

Dancing to "Unforgettable" at my wedding. This was our second dance to this song because he was a trooper and did a father/daughter dance with me to the same song....love you daddy!

An Ode to Friends

My all-time favorite show would have to be Friends. It's the one show that can make me laugh out loud no matter how many times I've seen the episode. I've been asked several time who my favorite character is, but it's way too hard to choose! One of my favorite things about the show is that you can relate any quote, character, or action to a real-life circumstance. I don't know how many times I've quoted the show or make the infamous gesture Ross made up to "give the finger" to her parents...hahahaha!!! While watching a few episodes tonight, I started thinking about my best friends - Katie, Laura, and Lena. These girls have been there for more for as long as I can remember. They are truly like sisters to me! Even though we all live miles away from each other, we still make time to catch up. I have WAY too many memories with them to list them, but a few include Sunday School with Mrs. Karen, spending the night at Katie's and dancing to NKOTB, church camp, visiting Katie in Dallas, and all of our weddings and births (only from Lena). I thank the precious Lord for blessing me with such wonderful, Godly friends that I will have for a lifetime. I pray that my children have the same blessing. I love you girls!

With Katie at Chili's while visiting with Mrs. Karen who was in from Milan, Italy! I can't wait for Katie to move back to Arkansas with her hubby and puppy :-)

One of the many times Laura visited me in Fayetteville. Please come back from Denver really soon with your hubby and chubby puppy!!!!!

Lena and I at TCBY (I think)...the momma of the group :-) Can't wait to have my own kids so we can have play dates with Elias and Ada!

Enjoying the first baby of the group...Elias!

Supporting me during my wedding festivities...love you girls!!!!

Dog Show

The 5th grade students put together a dog show to help benefit the Humane Society. Students could enter their pup in the contest in several different categories: best wag, cutest, friendliest, best dressed, best trick, most macho, and best bark. The whole school got to enjoy watching these adorable pups walk the runway. There were only a few tiffs between dogs, but the highlight was when the school's regular stray dog appeared and wanted to be apart of the action. It was hilarious watching the 5th graders try to get a hold of the dog :-) Here are a few pics...there are more on the Arkansas Democrat website.

this puppy reminded me of my old dog, Penny

Mystery the dog

pretty golden retriever

This was the "Most Macho" dog :-)

Some of my students enjoying the show

Showing for "Best Wag"

Max and Molly

Hannah with her sister Kaitlyn and dog Bella

Abby with Daisy

Lauren and her dog Thurman

4th grade teachers enjoying the dog show

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day mommy! I have a wonderful mom who has been there for me through so many ups and downs in my life. My mom has not only made an impact on me, but so many others through her job at the high school. I don't know how many people have told me how much they move my mom because of how much she has helped them. Hearing those comments always helps me realize how special it is that I can call her "Mom". Thank you mom for being you! I know I can always count on your for advice or just for a partner to shop with :-) I love the picture of mom holding me in the hospital after I was born!

I love this pic of mom helping get into my Hound Dog costume for a dance recital. This was a huge part of my life, and she was always there to support and encourage me...with video camera in hand :-)

With mom at Melissa and Drew's wedding!

With mom at one of my wedding showers...love you mom!