Books, Beaches, and Summer Sun!
I can’t believe that summer is almost over! We have been so busy that we were honestly barely home. I wanted to take some time to share with you what we’ve been up to this summer…I decided to take a little bit of a self care summer to not only better myself, but to become better at my jobs. With that being said, this was my first full week home so we have been running around to all the appointments and things to take care of before school starts in a couple weeks.
First Stop: Disney World (of course!)
The week after school let out and the dance recitals were all over, we headed to our happy place and spent a week at Disney’s Riviera Resort. This has quickly become one of our favorite Disney resorts and we learn something new every time we stay. The girls love the kids pool space, the “elephant playground” as they call it, and they enjoyed being able to the scavenger hunt around the property. They even got a little prize!
I think the highlight of our trip was being able to see all of the characters again. When we were there previously, character meet and greets had just started again and this time they were in full force! I underestimated how exciting it would be to be able to hug them again (and yes, I am an adult…don’t judge lol).
Second stop: Marco Island, FL
This is our little staycation spot. We only live about an hour away but it feels like we are in a different world. Since we own a unit at The Charter Club resort, we get access to the non-motorized water sports, which we took full advantage of. The girls all learned to paddle board and absolutely loved it! They also got to try the kayaks, which basically means mom and dad do the work and they lounge in the front lol. We also got to go sailing a couple times…my husband’s goal for next year is to learn how to sail it himself :-)
Third Stop: Celebrating in Captiva Island, FL
Back in April, I was awarded a Golden Apple Teacher Award through the Foundation for Lee County Schools. This was an INCREDIBLE honor and as part of being a recipient (other than giving a scary 4 minute speech in front of a million people) was heading to Sanibel/Captiva for a week to receive professional development training and a few little surprises.
I met several amazing people/educators and I was so happy to be able to celebrate with all of the recipients.
Fourth Stop: Teacher Self Care at Get Your Teach On
I cannot say enough about this conference. You think “teacher conference” and most people thing of boring training rooms that you are sitting in for 8 hours a day…let’s be real thats most professional development these days. BUT, GYTO is literally a way to rejuvenate your teacher soul! If I could bottle up the energy and love you feel radiating from this experience, I would carry it with me wherever I go. Trust me I try to maintain the excitement all year but its hard lol. I was lucky enough to attend this conference 2 years in a row and I don’t know what I would do without it!
Last stop: Back to Marco Island for the 4th of July
When all the crazy teacher fun was over, we headed back to Marco for the 4th of July. We spent more time in the water perfecting our paddle board techniques and we got to watch fireworks from our balcony. We were lucky enough to have some family come with us this time. I loved being able to have some quality time with them and I know they loved being able to spend the week with the girls, even if they lose their mind every now and then!
With all that happening, you can imagine this summer has been crazy and amazing! I have loved every minute of it. Now it’s time to get back into the groove of having a schedule and routine when school starts back. Now to look forward to fall break!