Ich bin zurück, ja wieder zurück

So I haven’t updated the blog in over a year because frankly I don’t really think that anybody actually reads it. However, due to my recent obsession with other people's blogs… I think that it is high time that I start posting again. No, I don’t have anything exciting like European adventures to write about this time, but I do have daily ramblings, random thoughts, and the ridiculous things that middle schoolers to tell all of my non-existent readers about. Let’s start with a life update…

I graduated last December from UGA. I started teaching Family and Consumer Science (a.k.a. Home Ec) at a middle school near Athens in January. I was also told that I would be the FCCLA sponsor and that they would like for me to take kids to competition. (Quick fact.. Region competition is in February). We threw together two projects and off we went to competition. One of the projects was a speech about the need for special training in order for kids to babysit children with autism. For the other project, we planned a wedding.

Little did I know how good of a job we did on those projects. Both projects advanced to state competition. Now, I'm not going to lie.. I found this very stressful. Now that meant that I had to take 4 kids to Athens for 3 days, get a hotel, stay overnight in a hotel, as well as work on these projects for another month. I was very happy that my kids were experiencing success but I, as a brand new adviser who was faking it til I made it, was stressed. Just stressed.

March and state competition rolls around and my kids compete. At some point during this weekend my kids learn that if you win state you advance to national competition.. WHAT?! There is a national level?! I certainly didn't know about that, but I wasn't too worried. I told myself there was no way that a project that had been thrown together in 2 weeks would win state. These FCCLA people are pretty serious about their STAR Events and I was the new kid on the block. Well.. we won! Chicago here we come...

I ended up taking one of my middle schoolers and two of the high school girls to Chicago for a week this summer. While I found being 22 and responsible 24/7 for two 16 year olds and a 12 year old in a city the size of Chicago just a little bit intimidating, stressful, terrifying, etc., the girls and I both had a fabulous time. We got to do lots of sightseeing, eating, competing, and WINNING! My little middle schooler ended up winning nationals!! Here are some pictures from our adventure!

We have arrived!...and we had a very stylish ride to pick us up from the airport!

Dinner at Rainforest Cafe with my arch-nemesis. This is us making a mends but just a bit before I had turned around from giving our name and this thing was looking at me and it darted its tongue. I literally fell back and screamed. Needless to say, the kids though this was hilarious.

Bike tours! My favorite way to see a city!

Competition time! This is the cake I made to be a mini replica of the cake we chose for the project. We also had fresh flowers for the bouquet and I made a wedding dress to go on my American Girl doll to show the dress we chose. What can I say? We are winners.

Sears Tower Sky Deck... 133 stories up!!

Me with the girls at the Taste of Chicago in Bryant Park. Please notice the American Girl bag.. That belongs to the high schoolers. They bought a doll.

More about the new living situation and our family vacay to Veiques later. Stay tuned all you imaginary readers out there!

Here, There, and Everywhere!

Since I am kind of here, there, and everywhere this summer, I thought that a blog would be a good way to keep all of y’all up to date with all of my adventures!

To catch y’all up to this point..

Early in May, I went out to Searcy, Arkansas for Chelsie’s wedding. It was great getting to catch up with Leah, Blas, and Lindley (some of my friends from high school)! I hadn’t seen Blas or Lindley in TWO years! Chelsie was an absolutely beautiful bride! It is crazy how fast we are all growing up!

About a week after I got back from Arkansas, Don and I left to drive up to Wisconsin to meet his cousins! After driving for 16 hours and braving rush hour in Chicago, we arrived! Stephanie, Don’s cousin, was incredibly hospitable!! First, we spent some time in Oshkosh. We toured a cheese factory and got the low down on cheese curds and rennet! (For my FACS ladies… I swear it was like a Brigman lecture! I knew all about the stuff he was talking about from food science!) Then we went to the local Oshkosh Zoo where we got to feed llamas! Stephanie’s parents came down and we had lunch with them. Don finally got to meet his mom’s brother, Uncle Bob.

Then we went to visit her sister, Don’s other cousin, down in Racine. We toured the Sprecher brewery in Milwaukee, went to Six Flags down around Chicago, toured the Jelly Belly factory and bought entirely too many jelly beans, and then we shopped a little! Racine was such a cute little town! It is right on the water and it really felt like a New England town! We went to the Racine Zoo also which was a little bigger than the one in Oshkosh. There were giraffes, rhinos, lions, tigers, and bears…oh my! There were also kangaroos… Don and I always wondered what sound kangaroos made and we found out! There was not really a barrier between the kangaroos and the walk way. They were just free to hop around the whole little area. Well one was really close to the walk way and the guys were standing kind of near it, so I walked up to take a picture of how close they were! Well, Mr. Kangaroo apparently was not a fan of me… he GROWLED at me!! In retrospect it was hilarious, but at the time it was terrifying!!! However, I still got a picture! After my close encounter, we went down to the beach and Don dipped my toes in FREEZING Lake Michigan! We had a great time in Racine! Thanks Amanda and Jason!

We then headed back up to Oshkosh to celebrate Stephanie’s 21^st birthday! We grilled out some brats and watched Disney movies all day while playing cribbage! Then we went and played some putt putt. I got a hole-in-one!! That night we went out to eat and then went to the campus bars! I was crazy seeing their bars (all three of them) compared to downtown Athens! I can’t wait for them to come down here and see Athens!!

Then it was time for me and Don to head home, but we couldn’t pass up a chance to stop in Chicago for one night to celebrate our three year anniversary! I had set up lots of stuff for us to do in Chicago! First we hopped on the double-decker tour bus and rode around Chicago hearing about all of the cool architecture and random trivia about the city! Then we hopped off at Millennium Park to grab some good old fashioned Chicago style pizza for lunch! We then walked the 10 bocks to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago for Mr. Economics to explore! I’m not going to lie… even I had fun there! We got our picture taken with a million dollars, we got to identify counterfeit money, and we left with a whole bag of money, shredded of course! I had also bought us tickets to the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry. The trolley to the museum left at 3:40… We were having such a good time at the Federal Reserve we completely lost track of time! We looked down at our watches and it was 3:30! We had 10 minutes to go 10 blocks… we SPRINTED back to the trolley!!!! Running after eating Chicago style pizza is NOT a good idea, but thankfully we made it to the trolley in time and we were able to enjoy a nice trolley ride down to the museum. On the way, we saw the heavily guarded street that Obama’s house is on…

The exhibition was AMAZING!!! I was sorted into Gryffindor, of course! Then we got to see all kinds of props from the movies, even some from the one that is coming out this summer!! Words can’t describe how cool it was! As mad as the movies make me, it made me feel a little bit better to know that SO MUCH detail is put into the props! While most of the stuff we weren’t allowed to touch or even take pictures of, there were some interactive elements! We got to pull mandrakes out of their pots (however, they did not give us earmuffs), we got to sit in Hagrid’s chair, and, our favorite of course, we got to toss the Quaffle! Don and I both would definitely be Chasers! It was SO COOL!!! I managed to sneak some pictures with my phone…

My Aunt Judy met us at the museum and we went to Navy Pier for dinner. We ate at Bubba Gumps which was amazing and it was so great to get to catch up with her! We then headed back to the hotel to call it a night! The next morning we got a little shopping in and we ate lunch in Water Tower Place at the coolest food court we have ever been to before heading home. On the way home, Don convinced me to stop at White Castle!

We had such an amazing time! Thank you Stephanie for being such a wonderful hostess! I can’t wait until y’all come down here!