Ready or Not

Well, here it is...the eve of my first day back to work.  I've spent a lot of time this morning thinking about what a fun, albeit short, summer vacation I've had.  You see, my district sufferred through an unbelievable winter which resulted in 18 SNOW DAYS!  Our state forgave a handful of them with no penalty, but the rest were left to make up...as in go to school two weeks into what was supposed to be our beloved summer vacation.  Oh well, even with two less weeks, I enjoyed so many wonderful things.

The Highlights

Attended a leadership conference as a panalist (very surreal and cool)

Road Trips!

My beautiful family ready for the road trip!

Spent some time splashing at a waterpark

Bought a boat

Boating

Boating

Boating

My middle, Bubby.  Adorable...and the only one of us with a boater's license!

Spent one week in the Smokey Mountains

Swam in the "Dirty Dancing" lake

Lake Lure, NC- This is where Dirty Dancing was filmed

Seven mile hike in the Smokey Mountains

Got stung by a bee on a seven mile hike in the Smokey Mountains

Maybe got stung by a KILLER BEE on a seven mile hike in the Smokey Mountains

Seriously, it really hurt!

I must admit, the hike and the sting were worth it!

Soaked up so much family time I was gushing

Welcomed my new nephew into the world with 1,273 hugs, kisses, and cuddles

Tell me you don't want to kiss those cheeks- dare ya!

Said goodbye to gluten- darn thyroid

Spent a week at a cabin in Northern Michigan 

Mullet Lake- Northern Michigan

More boating

Sunning, relaxing, floating

Campfires, crashing waves, one with the world...Ahhh

Dunked my hubs for a good cause

My husband is in a dunk tank on the other side of that little slugger!  Dizzy is ready to dunk his dad to raise money for Special Olympics!

Pre-season volleyball and football for my oldest kids

Got invited to a Def Leppard concert, and...well...we went!  This concert provided me with enough material for an entire post. Maybe I'll get to that eventually! For now, I'll just smile and shake my head.

Look at us...all dressed up like we are headed to Micheal Buble concert.   The entire time we were there, I just kept thinking, Wow, at one point in my life these were my people!

University of Michigan FOOTBALL tailgate and game!  Go Blue!

Wore athletic shorts or yoga pants almost every day!

Enjoyed [and reheated the same cup of] coffee all day long.

As I reflect on all of this, it's hard to feel even a tiny bit unsatisfied.  I soaked up all of what summer had to offer.  I made so many memories with my beautiful family.  Yup, I think I'm ready to go back.  Of course, it helps that I'm going back to this place...

This is a picture of just a small part of our outdoor learning area.  The water in this pond starts waaaay in the back of this picture from an amazing waterfall that travels under a small footbridge.  What a beautiful place to learn and grow!