The City that Never Sleeps

Jamie's bachlorette party was a success! I had fun during our three nights in Vegas, and I'm pretty sure the other six girls did as well. We did lots of sight seeing as well as a bit of gambling and partying. Although gambling isn't really my thing, I can't wait to go back!

Today's Weather

Woke up this morning to beautiful blue skies and a comfortable 65-70 degrees... As usual it lasted until approximately 2pm, when the clouds began to roll in. It happens at almost the same exact time every afternoon. And then approximately five minutes ago, it took the following pictures! Lightening, thunder, and hail...

Field Trip!!!

Today mom, dad, and I went on our field trip to Kansas. The Tall Grass Prairie was beautiful and interesting, but I think it would be even more spectacular in the spring when all of the wild flowers are in bloom. Then we backtracked to Topeka to squeeze in the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Landmark before it closed. It's in an old elementary school building, and the exhibits were both compelling and very impressive. Not only was the information and media informative, but it was presented using more technology (videos that surrounded you with different perspectives, interactive kiosks, etc.) than I've ever seen in any other national park or monument. Overall, a very nice day considering I had to get up at 6am for the first time in weeks!

Fishing with Dad

Dad took this afternoon off to hang out with me, which was awesome. We went to lunch and then took the kayak and fishing pole out to the lake. Now you have to remember this was the first time I've been fishing in nearly two decades, but I managed to catch FOUR fish! Granted...a couple of them looked like gigantic minnows, but one was pretty impressive (see pics below).

Sunset in Plattsmouth, NE

Omaha

So I've been in Omaha for just over a week and have loved being able to sleep in , relax, read, and just hang out. Of course it helps that my parents have an entire gym in the basement, so I'm also able to get in a really good workout each day.

Before my parents and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie last Friday I had time to reread the book, which was great. Of course they can never put everything from the book into the movie, but just having it at the front of my mind made the whole movie experience better. Then I proceeded to reread the sixth book in preparation for the release of the final Harry Potter book on Saturday. I can't wait!

Besides the Harry Potter books I have been reading others as well. I had already started a book concerning Educational Reform and the need for raising teacher salaries. At first it was interesting, but I think it must have been written for nonteachers...personally, it just made me depressed, thinking about all the things I'll never be able to do or give my family unless I marry someone with money. So, alas, I had to put it away. Maybe I'll pick it back up at later date when I'm back among my inspirational friends and coworkers.

The next few day are pretty full, but I'm definitely looking forward to them. Tomorrow dad is taking the afternoon off and we're going to a Triple A baseball game between the Memphis Redbirds and Omaha Royals. Then Saturday we're all taking a road trip to some yet to be determined point of interest (most likely the site of Brown vs. Board of Education in Kansas), and Sunday mom has a bunch of ladies from the neighborhood coming over to make projects for Project Linus as her service project.

On Monday I will finally make the long treck back HOME, a place I haven't been since June 13th. I can't wait to get back! I'll have just a few days before heading out to Vegas for the next weekend, but the month of August should be MUCH more low key than the rest of my summer has been.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Kayaking with Dad

Telluride, CO --> Berthoud, CO --> Omaha, NE --> Fort Knox, KY --> St. Louis --> Somers, MT --> Yellowstone, WY --> Berthoud, CO --> Omaha, NE. Nearly 5,000 miles!

The four week stretch of travel has finally ended. We loved seeing everyone and enjoyed our time in each area of the United States, but we were happy to be close to home yesterday evening. As we were driving from Yellowstone back to Jeremy’s parents’ house near Denver, I got a call mentioning some issues with Telluride. Apparently, smoke from the wild fires in Utah has been blown into our little box canyon and is filling the town with smoke. According to the people in charge, “It’s not dangerous as no chemicals have been burned, only brush. It just doesn’t look or smell good.” Not great news for someone with asthma who loves to hike out of doors! Of course, we tried to glean as much information as we could from the Telluride Daily Planet’s website, but found little helpful news. And, since it is summer and we are only friends with other teachers, everyone we know is out of town! I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in that situation, so I am currently in Omaha visiting my lovely parents again and Jeremy is preparing for a fishing trip with his dad. I’m looking forward to two weeks of calm, sleeping in the same bed for the entire time, and not having to haul my suitcase in and out of the house more than once! Of course I am available by email and phone should anyone wish to contact me… I’m not sure, but I may just get bored while my parents are slaving away at work each day…

Yellowstone National Park

Mammoth Hot Springs...




Beautiful Lower Falls...



Bison up close and personal...



Good Ole Old Faithful...

The Wild West

After driving through endless fields of….boring landscape, we finally arrived in Somers, MT on July 3rd. It only took us approximately 30 hours of drive time! We stayed in a beautiful log house on Flathead Lake with some friends. Being on the lake was a ton of fun, although it was hotter than in St. Louis… high 90s and even up to 103! Luckily, it was a dry heat, instead of 98% humidity. This lake is massive…five miles across!




We also made a trip to Glacier National Park, which was beautiful of course. We made it up Going to the Sun Road, but were unable to hike due to the thousands of other people traveling over the Fourth of the July Holiday…. There was no parking! The mountains were awe inspiring, even to me, who lives in a beautiful mountain town, with several waterfalls and view that extend for miles.

Gateway to the West

After visiting Jen & Ty in Kan-tuck-eee, Jeremy and I retraced our steps back to St. Louis, where we were able to see just about everyone on my list. We were also able to do some sightseeing, which was great considering Jeremy had never been to St. Louis before. We managed to do Cahokia Mounds, the Arch, and the Art museum. Since I had only been to the Art museum in the last decade, it was an almost new experience for me as well! My favorite was seeing the new Cardinal stadium from above!