It was the first nice weekend in about a month. Rain and chilly days have taken over most of June. Needless to say, we were excited to spend some time at the beach.
Telula was the only brave one of the family to jump into Superior. I've been swimming there for years, but it's still too early in the season for me to dare going any further than my ankles in the lake of ice cubes.
Saturday:
"Thanks, Dad!"
Sunday:
dodging the spray
We love the beach.
"Why yes, I'd love a chin scratch!" Silly puppy...
...to my Dad. I had so much fun with him yesterday and today. I appreciate that he came to visit me on his special day. We spent last night swinging and chatting next to a bonfire and making stovetop popcorn. I made the King of Crisps (aka: Dad) strawberry-banana crisp yesterday and monkey bread this morning for breakfast. We went to church together and then he took off to celebrate with his father.
father-daughter dance ("Daddy's Little Girl") on four.thirty.eleven
one more hug on four.thirty.eleven
He might have "given me away" a month ago, but I'm still his girl. I am blessed with the father that I was given. I am fortunate to have a dad that I enjoy talking to and spending time with. He strived to fill my brother's and my life with happy memories. I wasn't spoiled it the traditional sense of the word, but my family sure spoiled me with love.
Dad - top row left; George - top row right; Gary - bottom row right
I am also fortunate to have two new Father in Laws! They are both kind and generous people. Christopher was lucky to have them both in his life, and now I am as well.
Today was bittersweet. I'm excited to be on summer break, but I'll honestly miss my students. After teaching fifth and sixth grade for three years, I am moving on down to first and second grade next year. I can't wait to teach the little ones (!!!), but I will miss teaching my wonderful fifth graders again as sixth graders.
We changed this sign everyday this year. Today we were happy about SUMMER!
I'm not taking much of a break this summer. I'm enrolled in a local division of the National Writing Project. I'll be earning five graduate credits by attending class four days a week. The days are actually longer than normal school days, but I'm really looking forward to the class. Every teacher that has participated says it was the best professional development they'd ever taken.
Christopher insisted we exchange wedding gifts before the wedding. He claims he couldn't bring my gift to the wedding... you'll see why!
I made him open my gift first. I got him a set of three Chicago team pictures from this etsy shop. The Bears picture was a real sacrifice for me, beause I am a Green Bay Packer fan. Christopher wants to have a Man Cave (but after seeing Perfect Couples we've decided on The Cave rather than a Man Cave) in our future basement, so that's where these are intended. I grew up a Brewers Fan, but I agreed to change my baseball allegiance to his beloved Sox:
Bears...bleh!
Blackhawks
White Sox
He brought his pictures to work for now until we have a nice basement to fix up. I also bought him a tie clip from this etsy shop. It's hammered finish on the front and our initials and wedding date are engraved on the back.
Not our initials! Christopher's says, "A&C 4-30-11"
I've been telling Christopher since we started dating how I've always wanted a big ol' granny basket for my bicycle. He remembered! My first present was the basket! Then, he led me outside and I found a bicycle! It's a vintage bike from the 1960's! He's been ordering new parts for it and he's going to fix it up for me this summer. How stinkin' CUTE is this bike?! I can't wait to pedal to the grocery store this summer.
TWO DAYS! I'm getting really nervous / excited / anxious! I'm not at all nervous to marry Christopher... just nervous to walk down the aisle and have everyone staring at me. I'm a little shy. :o)
La la la so excited...............................! I'm off to start packing for the weekend and next week. Christopher's got a mini-moon planned for us. Our "real" honeymoon will be over Thanksgiving. We're going someplace warm then!
Bridal Shower #2 (hosted by my maid of honor and my stepmom)
I've been MIA because we've been soo crazy busy with last-minute wedding things. I'm starting to create sub plans for my guest teacher for the 6(!) days I'll be off from school. Considering I've never taken a personal day in my four years of teaching (or at any other job), it seems so weird taking six! Sub plans are a pain in the bum, but it's so worth it. I can't wait!
We're making everything (decorations, flowers, programs, etc.) ourselves and I'm so excited to post pictures of it all soon. We're also doing a photobooth at the reception and I know that'll be awesome.
One thing we didn't make was our invitations. I found them in this shop on etsy.
Only 10 days..... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (that's me squealing while I do a double fist pump and jump). I'm SO excited!
I hardly had a chance to catch my breath this week, let alone see Christopher. My week was filled with report cards, parent-teacher conferences, writing thank you notes to my wonderful friends and family that attended my (other) bridal shower, and applying for a summer Writing Project. Christopher had buddies in town over the weekend. One stayed a few days extra, so he was busy as well.
Tomorrow morning we are headed to Pre-Cana Class. We'll be meeting with a group of couples also preparing for marriage in the Catholic church. I don't know what to expect, but I'm looking forward to it. My dad will be in the area tomorrow, working on the farmhouse. He requested we drop Telula off so he can doggysit her. Too cute!
Though I've been long done with the 30, I'm still trying to finish posting:
