Happy Holidays!

So immediately after school on Friday, December 18th, Jer and I headed out to spend time with some family for the holidays. We made a quick stop at his parents' house and celebrated Christmas Swedish style. Then we headed out to St. Louis and spent time with my family and friends. It was a great visit! We've been home for the past few days... just relaxing and spending time with Kirsten, whose in town and staying with us to ring in the New Year. I have some extremely cute pictures (especially of Riley) from Christmas, but I can't get blogger to upload them. I'll keep trying, but in the meantime they're on Facebook if you want to take a peak.

Things I am thankful for...

First and foremost, my handsome husband...

Family...
Friends...

A wonderful home...
The perfect career...

And many, many more things... Happy Thanksgiving!

Family Fun!

We had a great weekend with my parents! They flew in Friday night and headed home today (Tuesday), so it was only three full days, but we managed to to explore three National Parks! Here are just a few pictures from Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park, and The Black Canyon of the Gunnison:

A Wonderful Saturday

This weekend I really wanted to get in a good hike... and what a hike it was! We broke out my Ouray Hiking Guide and looked through a few options on Friday night. Jeremy suggested Bear Creek, because we always see a lot of cars parked at the trail head, and according to the book it is a local favorite. It's even designated as one of the very few National Recreation Trails.

There was a warning that it would not be good for children or those who are not sure footed, but we were a little taken aback by what we encountered! Not only was there a 1600+ foot elevation gain (we were prepared for that), but the majority of the trip was made along what looked like goat trails on the edge of extremely sheer cliff faces! Jeremy and I almost turned back a few times, but Rex urged us on, and in the end I'm very glad we did it. There were some cool mine remains and great views of the mountains. I was proud of all of us!

Nearly four hours and 1500 calories later, we were eating a delicious dinner in town. Then we soaked in the hot springs to keep our muscles from tightening up too much and wrapped up the evening reading by the fire. Enjoy the pics!

Photo Safari Over Read Mountain Pass and Through Mesa Verde

Last weekend Carl came down and hung out. We decided to take a "photo safari" through the San Juans and down to Mesa Verde. The fall colors were pretty vivid, but I wasn't sure they were at their peak. But then, this past week some EXTREMELY strong winds came through and took care of many of those beautiful leaves, so it's a good thing we went last weekend!

Update

The first week of school was great! My kids were fabulous, just as I expected... it's so much easier when you already know 16 out of the 17 kids in your class from last year! We hit the ground running, and I can't wait to see what all we will accomplish this year. I'm implementing a new literacy program that I read about this summer and fell in love with. It's quite a bit different than what I've done in the past, but it makes sense, and so far, the kids are doing so well with it!

This weekend Jeremy and I had the chance to see some of the movies at the Telluride Film Festival. We saw Up in The Air, which is by the same director as Juno. It was excellent! Well developed characters, clever humor that elicits laughter without references of a sexual or bodily nature, and George Clooney... what else could you ask for? Being in attendance at a screening introduced by Jason Reitman (the director) himself made it all the more interesting. It felt like a pretty main stream movie, so I'm sure it will be in theaters soon!

The second film we saw was The Road, staring Viggo Mortenson. It was INTENSE! Both Mortenson and the young boy in this movie did a superb job of acting, but the post apocalyptic struggle to remain alive despite gangs of cannibals, little food, and death's presence around every bend, as well as the journey south to find a place fit for human existence was a bit overwhelming. I think it was in the aftermath of nuclear war, but I'm not quite sure. I'm glad I saw it, but it's not one I will be watching again any time soon. Prior to the film screening, Viggo Mortenson was on stage right in front of us receiving the Silver Medallion Award. This man is an artist is so many ways... he speaks at least four languages fluently, is an exhibited photographer, a jazz musician with three albums, and much more...a true Renaissance man. He was soft spoken, but extremely genuine during his discussion with Ken Burns. It was very cool to see both of them in person.

A relaxing Labor Day, and then it's back to school! So much to do before summer break hits!

Back into the swing of things...

We're officially back at home, and we've even spent a day at work already! It feels great to be getting back, and I am so excited about this school year! Same great room, same wonderful kids, and a second group of amazing colleagues. What more could a teacher ask for?

Below is the link to view our wedding pictures through Shutterfly. You can also order prints through the site if you want some. Sorry it took so long to get it posted!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0FZs2zdi4Yupg

Home, Sweet Home!

We are finally back to sleeping in our own bed, reading next to our very own fireplace, and taking in the grandeur of our little mountain town. After everything and everyone we've seen this summer, I was afraid home may be a little too quiet. But driving into the San Juan Mountains was just as amazing as I remembered, and the weather has been just as wacky! I forgot that in the mountains it can be raining and hailing one minute and sunny the next!

We've managed to get about 75% of the living room full of wedding gifts & STUFF, camping gear, and suit cases put away; I've spent several hours reading for enjoyment; I've coaxed my computer back into functioning fully (with the help of software from my friendly school district tech guy); and I've finally hit the treadmill again while watching Card's games. It's time to burn off those honeymoon calories! Most people don't have 46 days worth of calories to worry about :)

I'm looking forward to some relaxation and task completion before school starts at the end of August. Tasks to complete:

1. Name Change... Who knew changing my name was going to take forever to do? It seems slightly ridiculous that no one has yet invented a singular "name change form" that can be sent via the internet to absolutely everyone to get this job done. Isn't this the age of instant information? Shouldn't changes to said information also be instantaneous?

2. Wedding Pictures... Still waiting for the CD of pictures from the official photographer. Then I promise thank you cards will be ordered, written, and mailed out! I may be a bit tardy with the thank yous, but that doesn't mean I'm any less appreciative! Wedding albums and prints after the thank yous are completed.

3. Get ready for school... a bit of shopping, digging into two literacy related books I picked up, organizing, and deciding what to do about my wiki.

4. Read, read, read...

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Evansville, IN (7.21.09)

Hanging out with Jen, Tyler, and Riley for a few days!

US Air Force Museum - Dayton, OH (7.20.09)

Three HUGE hangers chalk full of historic aircraft. It was amazing!

Put-In Bay, OH (7.19.09)

Cool little seaside town on an island in Lake Erie... took a ferry and rented a go cart to run around and visit shops and wineries. We even got to check off one more National Memorial we hadn't expected to see... Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial!

Johnstown, PA (7.16.09)

On Thursday we headed out of Gettysburg, PA and into Johnstown, PA where Jeremy was born and has quite a bit of family. Spent some time with several relatives and then went up the Inclined Plain. It was designed to get cars and people out of Johnstown quickly should the river ever catastrophically flood again (which had apparently done frequently prior to this contraption being built).