First, my fellow 3rd grade teachers and I left our closing day faculty luncheon and hit the road for the Smoky Mountains. We stayed in a cabin in Sevierville, TN that I would definitely recommend...I would also recommend packing motion sickness medicine for the drive up the mountain to the cabin! Trust me.
Gorgeous views! I could have sat on our porch and stared at the Smokies all day.
Delicious eats! The Smoky Mountain Brewery and the The Apple Barn were my favorites.
Good memories with great friends! We hope to make our trip an annual summer occurrence.
As soon as I arrived back in town, I high-tailed it to a surprise baby shower for Micah & Kate, given by their church friends.
I love that my McNugget is already adored by so many people!
Two days later, the baby celebrating continued at my friend Erin's shower. We were asked to wear blue or pink to indicate what we think the baby will be. I went with blue!
Once again, I used receiving blankets to wrap the gifts.
Jenny and Ellen planned the shower's theme around Erin's love of ice cream - so cute (and delicious)!
White shades will cover this baby whether its a boy or a girl. Can't wait to meet him or her in August!
Memorial Day weekend always means one thing for our family: pool time! My parents opened their pool and in honor of this glorious event, Pete broke out his new life jacket.
Truth be told, he'd rather be doing anything else than swim, but it was super cute to see him paddling around. Summer always means fun in the sun with my family and friends, and I wouldn't have it any other way!
It's hard to believe, but it's already been a year since my friends Ruthie and Richard become parents for the first time! Anderson has a special place in my heart, and I was so happy to celebrate his first birthday with him!
Cupcakes & swimming - what else could a boy want? Here's to many more summer birthday celebrations to come!
The next thing I knew, it was time to pack my bags again and head to the lake! We are so fortunate to spend each summer with my uncle and his family at their lake house near Fort Wayne, IN. Whether we're cruising on the pontoon, tubing on the lake, or just sitting on the dock, we always have a good time!
While on our trip we were also so fortunate to be able to celebrate Mom's 5 year anniversary of being kidney cancer-free!
After our lake trip, I unpacked my bag so that I could repack it for a trip to Illinois to visit my grandma for her 83rd birthday!
She is the best person I know, and I hope we celebrate many, many more birthdays together!
While visiting with Grandma, I also got to visit with my cousin Heather and her children, one of whom is my goddaughter Hannah!
For the first time, Hannah came to stay with me for a week. To say that we were busy is definitely an understatement!
We went to Hobby Lobby and stocked up on craft supplies. I created this little masterpiece for my classroom by gluing crayons to a canvas and then melting them with a hair dryer. Thank you, Pinterest!
Between pedicures, and trips to the zoo and Holiday World, we managed to squeeze in some pool time and even a little sleep. A special thanks to my cousin Angie and my friend Joey for helping make Hannah's week a memorable one!
Whew! Looking back on all that has happened these past 4 weeks certainly makes me smile, but it also makes me want to take a nap. Here's to catching up on my sleep, and slowing down to make the most of the next 4 weeks of summer break!
I hope you are loving your summer as much as I am!
Stay tuned for "Summer Part 2".
