Work? Only sometimes!

I absolutely love my job.  There are some days, as with every job, when I just want to pull my hair out because of the stress.  Others, like today, I feel totally blessed that I get to work with the most amazing team at the most amazing school and teach the most amazing children. 

On Wednesday, we had our first annual "Senses Celebration."  The parents were asked to send their children to school in their oldest clothes so that they could get MESSY while exploring our 5 senses!  We had baby pools filled with cooked spaghetti, oatmeal, tables with shaving cream and playdough, paint that had extract to make them smell yummy, a music center, a rousing game of musical chairs, smelly jars, painting with pudding, and the list goes on!

What's a celebration with out a slip-n-slide?

The kids had a TON of fun...and so did we...

By the end of the day we were all pretty gross...

What other school, or job for that matter, could I do this all day and get paid for it?

Today, I'm thankful...

Old friends are good for the soul...

A couple of weekends ago, I got together with some friends from work for a "reunion" of sorts.  A good friend of ours, Rania, moved to Lebanon last summer for personal reasons and recently came back for a little visit! 

Marla, Rania, Lo

It's funny that sometimes we don't realize how much people mean to us until they're gone.  Rania wasn't gone from this Earth but, because she's so far away, we literally had not seen or spoken to her in a year.  We were such a close-knit group of friends and it really felt like each of us were missing a piece when she moved away. 

After a little pool time, we decided to hit the beach!  It was so ridiculously hot that Marla, Holly and I all squeezed our lawn chairs under the cabana!

That evening, we got ready for a night out on the town!  We had a random beach-goer take group photos of us on the beach as the sun was setting.

Jessica, Holly, Rania, Lo, Marla

I'm not sure when, or even if, Rania will come back to the United States again.  I can only hope...in the meantime, I'm glad she was able to come back and that we were able to create lasting memories together.  I will miss her very much!

Love,

Lo

And so,the journey begins...

Finally, after months of preparation (well, not really, more like months of procrastination), I've decided (more like strongly encouraged by some dear friends) to just jump in!!!

I have so many blog posts in mind and I decided that the best one to start with would be blogging about our vacation this summer.  So, here we go!  I hope you enjoy the ride :)  I also hope that this will be very simple and that I will be inspired to continue on this journey...

Our vacation began in Sterling, VA where we stayed with friends of ours who we've known for years and used to live in Sarasota.  They spent many weekends with us when they lived here and now we're taking up residence in their Casa De Lindemann!  When we were there we decided to give Carter his very first ride on the carousel. 

While we stood in line he seemed fascinated...

But by the time I actually set him on the horse, he had changed his mind...

Can't you almost hear him saying, "Uh, Dad, put down the camera and get me off this thing!" ?  After his turn with me we let daddy take a turn.  He seemed a little more comfortable and at ease.  It almost looked like he was getting really into it!  Giddy up, horsey!!!

After Virginia we then traveled to Philly, PA!  Of course we had to do the obligatory site seeing when we were there.  We all had already seen the sights in Philly back in high school but we decided to get out and enjoy the sun anyway!

We did it!  We climbed the steps! 

Actually, we didn't.  We had to go in through the back and walk through the museum in order to take ramps with the stroller.  But we can pretend :)

It was a little warm out, as you can tell by Carter's rosy cheeks!  Time to cool off in the pool. 

Hope the swim diaper works this time!

Now for some family time in New Jersey!  This is the part of the trip that I've been looking forward to for a long time!  Carter and my cousin really enjoyed each other's company. 

I don't know who is more amused in this picture...

After July 4th we went to Turtle Back Zoo, where I used to go with my dad and grandma when I was little.  Can you spot Carter in this picture???  

And what's a trip to the zoo with out a little train ride?  I think this was a a run-away train!

We spent some time in the park just around the corner from my old house.  Carter was very deep in thought while riding in his hotrod...

Carter's first crawl through a tunnel!  He liked it once he got the hang of it.

Peek-a-boo!

We ended our trip with an evening at an outdoor concert in my hometown.  A little music, wine, family, and catching fireflies.  It was a perfect end to a perfect vacation!

Love,

Lo