The wait is over!

It's summer time! And folks, I am one happy girl. 

I apologize I have been MIA from the blog lately....it has been a cuh-razy past few weeks - end of year school celebrations, weddings, graduations, birthdays, house renovations, oh my. I'll try to give you all the juicy details, while also keeping it short and sweet. 

Over Memorial Day weekend (I know, it feels like forever ago) Robbie and I ventured to Fayetteville to see this sweet couple say "I Do"

I went to school with Morgan and she is just the sweetest! The wedding was absolutely perfect, they are so in love, and she looked stunning (like Wedding Day Barbie!) 

I of course had a wonderful time with my sweetheart, and it was a nice break for us both from all the work we've been doing on the house. 

How is the house going, you ask? Well....we're getting there. I feel like I've been painting trim for the past one hundred years. 

We've started laying the floor, which is the last BIG step before we start moving in. Yay!

The last two weeks of school were pure insanity. I miss the days when school was out before Memorial Day. Between EOG re-testing, threatening tropical storm warnings, an Awards Ceremony, an end of year Talent Show, and all the fun end-of-year Pinterest-inspired activities, it's all been kind of blur. 

One thing I did that my kids LOVED was a Summer Time Countdown. I had seen the idea on several different blogs and kind of combined it all to make it work in my own classroom. I put different treats and activities in a basket and, starting with 10 days left of school, we drew one strip each day. I'll see if I can put some of the different activities up here for y'all, but they were super simple things that the kids went crazy for. (Like lunch in the classroom, bubble gum, extra recess time, etc.) It was a lot of fun, and a great way to promote positive behavior. Only those who made good choices got to participate in the activity. 

I also made a video for my kids that we watched on the last day of school using pictures I had taken throughout the year. It was a great way to remember allllll the things we had done together and to see how much my sweet babies had grown!

Of course they got a little summertime treat.

(idea found here)

Kool-Aid, crazy straws, and a wish for a "Krazy Kool Summer". 

We also made this for my part-time teacher assistant (who has been a HUGE lifesaver this year.)

*Both of those gifts were Pinterest inspired. I can only wish I was that creative on my own.

Then my kiddos were sent home to enjoy their summer and hopefully not forget all their multiplication facts before fourth grade next year. My classroom got packed up and semi-cleaned, ready for the cycle to begin again in August. 

And I got ready to enjoy my summer, spending lots of time in one of these...

(Target)

out on the beautiful Trent River.

But the official end of school/start of summer hasn't been the only thing worth celebrating recently. My baby brother Carter graduated from high school last weekend.

New Bern High School Class of 2012

And as we do with most things in my family, we celebrated all weekend long with delicious food, lots of laughs, and great company.

It was also my sweet Memom's 80th birthday which only added in the celebrations. 

Like I said....it's been an eventful past few weeks. I would like to say things are going to slow down soon, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I promise to try extra extra hard to keep up with the blogging so I can share my exciting news with you as it's happening instead of days and weeks later. Here's to hoping!

Hugs,

Marianna