Summer Vacation Part 2

Well now that I've been back in the UAE for a week I guess it's about time to finish describing my summer vacation!!

After returning from my awesome long weekend at various Lake Michigan beaches with Amy, Alexa, and Mason I quickly unpacked, did laundry, and then repacked for my trip to North Carolina.  It was a whirlwind day and a half before I boarded the plane to NC to visit friends from different parts of the state.  I arrived in Charlotte to spend the time with Mariglee and Jake.  It was great to see them and spend the time with them.  They kind of adopted me my first year in Millers Creek and became my North Carolina parents, and since it had been 3 years since I'd seen them I wanted to make sure I got to see them.  While in Charlotte we went to the Raptor Center, did some wine tasting, and took a trip to Millers Creek to meet up with fellow teacher friends and a few surprise guests.  We had lunch at Monte Del Rey, the best Mexican restaurant in Wilkesboro, with Shirley (my assistant for 2 years), Barbara (a kindergarten teacher), Diana (the library assistant), Erica and Jeremy (two of my former students from my favorite class ever).  It was awesome to see Erica and Jeremy; they have grown up into quite mature young adults.  I can't believe that they have graduated high school and are in their second year of college; I taught them in 4th and 5th grade.  Time goes by way too fast.  I really wanted to be there for that class's graduation, but I was still teaching in Ammoryiah and the school year wasn't over yet.  I really enjoyed seeing old friends and students from Millers Creek; it brought back great memories and it was great to reminisce with Erica and Jeremy.

I also got to see some friends from Balfour; Kristen (3rd grade teacher) and Lesha (my assistant for 2 years) came to Charlotte so we could have lunch together one day.  I hadn't seen them since my last trip to NC 2 years ago so it was nice to chat and catch up.  Dee (ESL teacher) came to do some wine tasting with Jake, Mariglee, and me.  It was wonderful to spend time with so many good friends and although I didn't get to see everyone, I'm thankful that no matter the time that passes and the distance between us I'll always have great friends in NC!



One of my favorite parts of the end of my summer was being able to spend some one-on-one time with Mason and Alexa.  They are both growing so fast and it was a joy to be able to spend some quality time with each of them independently.  I started with Mason, seeing as though Alexa was in Tennessee with her Me maw, and we had an amazingly busy day!  My original idea was to do whatever each child wanted to do, but that slightly changed with Mason.  He wanted to go to the zoo, but it was quite cold (only in the mid 60s), windy, and overcast and I thought it might rain.  He was OK with not going, the joy of only being 3 is that you can change your mind quickly and it doesn't effect you too long!!  So we ended up going to the park, Chuck E. Cheese for lunch, ice-cream (with gummi bears) after lunch, and a surprise trip to a circus that just so happened to set up their tent 5 minutes from where they live!  He didn't really like the circus all that much.  He had more fun playing in the bounce house and riding the horse.  He got scared by the fire thrower/breather and the clowns that were pretending to cut and hit each other with construction equipment, so we left at intermission.  My little man is quite the boy!  He loves to wrestle and play rough and tumble.  He is extremely active, curious, lovable, and willing to try just about anything.  I had a blast and truly enjoyed the entire day.  It's all about making memories! 

My day of memory making with Alexa happened the following week.  She called the night before and informed me that she wanted to go to Poppy's house and the zoo!  I probably should have vetoed her zoo idea since it was 85 and humid but it's slightly harder for a six year old to change her mind once she has decided on something so we followed through with her plans for the day.  The day began with a quick trip to Poppy's so I could get lunch packed for our zoo trip.  It was a good thing that we got to the zoo as early as we did because due to the weather we left quite early.  In addition to seeing the animals we went on a motion simulator ride (never again with Alexa - she got sick and we had to stop the ride before it was over) and the merry-go-round.  We had fun walking through the kangaroo exhibit and the big hit was the prairie dog exhibit; they are always out and active and Alexa could go "underground" and experience being a prairie dog in a tunnel.  Fun!  She didn't want to come out!  As soon as she started complaining that she was hot we left.  I didn't want to force her to walk around the entire zoo if she was hot; plus I was getting hot myself!  We drove back to Poppy's so we could check out the pool and go swimming.  We quickly changed into our bathing suits and drove to the pool.  Unfortunately they have limited hours for kids and it wasn't that time when we got there.  We were informed by a lady that no kids were allowed and she was going to enforce it, so we had to leave.  Alexa began to cry and I had a difficult time persuading her to do something else (see what I mean about changing her mind once she's made it up?).  Eventually I convinced her to see "Planes".  She was happy about this so we changed again and headed to the theater for "free popcorn Tuesday!"  My baby girl is no longer my baby girl:(  She is quite the little lady!  She is creative, independent, has her own sense of style, loves to giggle, questions just about everything, and is beginning to think critically.  She is growing up and it is evident in her behavior, speech, and attitude. 

Somewhere in the last part of my vacation I got to play tourist in MI.  I went downtown with my parents and walked along the River Walk.  Detroit has done a really good job transforming this part of downtown, although it was quite funny that where Detroit is on the map they have painted is a light with a broken sign; how ironic since Detroit is now bankrupt!  It was a nice day to spend outside and I loved being able to experience this for the first time with my parents.  I love the fact that they were willing to show me around and spend the day with me!  They are awesome and I am blessed to have such a loving set of parents who enjoy spending time with me and encourage me to be the best I can be. 

I was also able to see my very good friend and college roommate, Michelle.  We had a great dinner and spent time catching up as we walked through the MSU Childrens' Gardens.  The Childrens' Garden was an appropriate choice since we spent many nights there during our college years.  Oh the sheep!  I missed seeing Dave and the kids, but enjoyed being able to talk to Michelle. 

After looking back through pictures I can honestly say I've had one of the best summers I've had in a long time.  It was long, but not long enough, and I was busy with family and friends for the majority of the time.  My family is amazing and I loved being able to be there for family dinners, birthday parties, and just plain hanging out.  I am so thankful for God's grace and blessing of my wonderful family and friends!