South Mountain

Saturday Brandon and I packed up and headed to South Mountain. We packed our water, lunch, blanket, snack, and Bella Rose. I had never been to South Mountain before, but Brandon had. When we arrived at the state park we went to the welcome center and got a map. Then we were on our way.

We started hiking the trail to the water fall. At first it didn't seem to tough. As we walked it got harder and harder. The trail was straight up, climbing rocks and stairs. So needless to say we had to take a few breaks. Bella Rose was a pro! She acted like she had hiked her whole life. We went to the top and took some pictures and then had a picnic. We sat for a few minutes and ate our lunch and got some energy. After lunch we packed up and finished the trail, which circled back around to the beginning. We had such a great time. I posted some pictures so everyone could see how we spent our Saturday!
Brandon and Bella Rose on the trail. The beautiful waterfall, which was definitely worth all the hard work.
Family portrait, I think something scared BR, and Brandon setting up our picnic!


Bella Rose enjoying the creek! Bella Rose and me after climbing up a hill, that was not on the trail, to look out over the mountain!

Wednesday Happenings!

Today Brandon had the day off, so we enjoyed spending the day together. The day started off with breakfast at the Lincoln House. It was yummy! Then we came home and waited on the people to come install our dishwasher! I am so excited about having a dishwasher! I have been waiting a year and a half for this. As you can see we had to take the tile off the top to get the old one out. Brandon worked super hard on our tile, so I know it broke his heart to pop this off, but he says it is easily fixable! So I can't wait to dirty up some dishes to use it. I actually took some clean dishes out of my cabinet just so I could use it, I couldn't contain my excitement!


After the dishwasher was put in we ran a few errands and met my dad and Amber for lunch at Taco and Tequila. We then went and bought some tomato plants for Brandon to plant. So here is a picture of our garden in the beginning stage. I can't wait to pick some veggies this summer!

Spring Break So Far...

So far Spring Break has been wonderful! The weather has been beautiful and I have enjoyed the fresh air. Although, I have been having some major sinus/allergy problems all weekend.

Saturday Brandon and I spent the day outside. We planted some new shrubs in our front yard and some flowers in our planters. Sunday we went to my mom's house for brunch and then my in-laws for dinner. We had a great weekend.

Monday began with a walk, as promised to Bella Rose. I then came home and majorly cleaned my house, which no longer looks that way. How do two people get a house so dirty? I just don't understand. I then went and ate lunch with my dad and sister at Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut is a favorite of mine and Amber's. Anytime we go eat somewhere without our husbands that's usually the place we pick, they aren't as big of fans as we are. After lunch I did a little running around. My plans were to go to Zumba at the gym, but they weren't having any classes. So Hope and I went walking...again!

Tuesday began with a walk, Bella Rose is loving me being home. After that I came home and showered and went to lunch at Shake Shop, yummy, with my in-laws and sister in law. We then went to see The Last Song! Wonderful movie, but not as good as the book. If you go see it, which I recommend, take your Kleenex! It is an extremely sad movie. Also, Carmike Cinemas has $1 popcorn and drinks on Tuesday! So we got the entire movie experience with some buttery popcorn and a Diet Coke!

Tomorrow Brandon is off. So I can not wait to see what the day will bring!

Spring Break!

It is official...I am on Spring Break. My Spring Break officially started yesterday at 3:15. It was a huge relief to see 3:15. After spending 4 days with 23 9-10 year olds who were super excited about the warm weather and break, this was a much needed break.

I do not really have any plans for my break. I do know that Bella Rose and I will go for a walk every morning when we get up and play outside a lot! I am going to try to get some sun on my pale body. And Brandon has taken Wednesday off, so we get a family day! Of course I will have to also do the usual cleaning and laundry.

This really doesn't have anything to do with Spring Break, but we got a dishwasher today! We have an extremely old dishwasher in our house now that does not work. So for the past year and 3 months I have patiently waited to buy one. We went to Lowe's today and got a really good deal on one! I am so excited about it...I can't wait for it to be installed!

I am sure I will be posting again soon about my wonderful, relaxing week and about how wonderful it is to have a dishwasher!

What I am Thankful for!

So here are a few things that I am extremely thankful for!

• Brandon: My wonderful/amazing husband! I love spending time with him. I enjoy our little chats every night about our day and our future. I thank God for him every day and I don't know where I would be without him.
• Bella Rose: I love her more than any person should love a dog! She is my baby and I treat her like a real person.
• Amber: My sister/best friend! I love having a sister that I can talk to about ANYTHING and she completely understands me and always listens!
• Mom: I love my mom! I don't know where I would be without her. She is wonderful!
• The in-laws: I love the Tipton family!
• Dad: I love my dad! I enjoy hanging out with him and I love it when he brings me lunch to school!
• Granny: There is nothing like talking to my Granny! Gossiping about everything and everybody...I just love her!

Valentine's Weekend

Valentine's weekend was a fun yet tiring weekend. We began our weekend by heading to my dad's parents house Friday night. We started that way just as the snow was beginning to stick to the roads, and of course Brandon chose back roads to check everything out. We had a good time hanging out with family.

Saturday Amber and Andrew came over to hang out and brought Pizza Hut for lunch, yum! Of course the boys had to play video games so Amber and I took a trip to Wal-Mart. We decided to go to 131 Main for dinner, which of course was an excellent choice. We had a great time hanging out.

Sunday morning all four of us, Brandon, Amber, Andrew, and me, went to South Carolina to see my mom's parents. We met them at one of their favorite restaurants, that they eat at most days for lunch, along with our aunt, uncle, cousin, and his wife. We had such a great time hanging out with family. Of course I love seeing my grandparents because we don't get to see them often. I also love catching up/gossiping with my grandmother. She is such a wonderful lady and I love being around her. Of course we all spent most of the trip trying to talk my grandparents into moving to Lincolnton. On our way home from SC we ate dinner at PF Changs. Once again a wonderful choice for dinner. We finally ended our weekend about 9:30 Sunday night. We had such a great time catching up and hanging out with family.

Life as a Teacher

So I was sitting here tonight reading blogs, of course, and came across another teacher's blog. Reading this blog really made me think.

As most of you know, I teach 4th grade. Teaching is very rewarding, yet very draining. This week has been a rough, yet short week. We were out of school Monday and Tuesday and had a 2 hour delay Wednesday. On top of that we are supposed to get some kind of wintry mix tomorrow, Friday. Just imagine how excited we get as adults about snow. So imagine dealing with 23 9-10 year olds who have spent 4 days playing in it and expecting more. It has been rough to get students motivated and myself motivated. I have been so whiny and complaining with my co-workers about how hard this is and so on. I struggled to teach/work all day yesterday and today. It is super hard to get back into a schedule.

Then I began thinking...I am so fortunate to have my job. I teach 23 students every day. But more than that, they teach me so much. I learn so much about how life is so different for kids today than just a few years ago. So many children come in to school and just want to talk. In my mind I am thinking, "Why are you talking so much when you should be doing morning work", when I should be saying "Tell me more"! Life at home for children is so different today than when I was in elementary school.

I have a very rewarding job! I see students learn something new, and watch their eyes light up with excitement! I also do not have to work weekends, except Saturday snow make-up days. I have summers off, which I LOVE! There are many days throughout the school year we have off, holidays and workdays. So I am going to try my BEST to have a positive attitude every day. Instead of being "lazy", I am going to put forth my best effort. After all, not many people have the wonderful job that I do!!!!