Sooooooo tired!

It always amazes me how starting back to school gets to me! I mean summer is only 2 and a half months long, but by the way I feel, you would think it has been 5 years! School started back on Monday, but it feels like it started back like 3 weeks ago! I think part of the reason I get so tired is because I teach sixth grade. It is their first year in middle school, so they are sooo needy.

"What period is it?"
"Where do I go?"
"How do I get there?"
"My locker won't open"
"When do we get library books"
"I don't have a planner"
"I don't have school supplies"
"Can I go to the bathroom?"
"I forgot that in my locker"

Over and over and over and over. I am usually pretty patient with them, but by the end of the day I am so mentally and physically exhausted from answering all the questions and standing up!

We also started a 7 period day this year, instead of 6 periods, so that has been interesting. Especially since my clock isn't working, and today was the first day the bells actually rang on schedule all day long! It has been pretty interesting using my cell phone as a clock and hoping it was timed with the bells! Since we have more periods this year, my classes are only 50 minutes long instead of an hour. It goes by so fast, it is crazy! I don't know how I'll get everything taught, when I already left things out as it was! But on the bright side I have two conference periods, which is sooo nice!

We got a new principal this year too. I really really like him. He is such a nice person, and seems to always be out and about helping and getting to know the kids. He seems really positive so far, so I am looking forward to working with him.

So anyway, it has been a crazy week so far with all these changes. I just wanted to give a quick update so you knew I was still alive, just incredibly exhausted!

Mam Maw Williams

Casey's grandmother, Eunice (Mam Maw) Williams, went to be with Jesus on Sunday morning. She has been suffering from dementia and other things for awhile now. I feel like I never really got to know the real Mam Maw, but I know that she was a wonderful lady. She means a lot to all of us, and she will be missed. We are so happy that she is not suffering anymore though! I am so thankful that she got to meet Kailey and spend time with her before her dementia got too bad. Her funeral will be on Thursday morning at 10:00am in Shreveport, so please keep us in your prayers.

Also..

I started back to school this week (inservice), so I will be leaving after lunch tommorow to head to Louisiana, and then heading back to Temple on Thursday afternoon to make sure everything is ready for school to start on Monday. I am very anxious about getting everything ready in time, since I will be gone for 1 1/2 days this week. If you think about adding that to your prayer list, I would appreciate it as well!

Day Three: Boston/ Cape Cod Trip

I like to call this day Rush-around-and-try-not-to-kill-each-other-day. :) Our flight was leaving at 4:00pm, so we had to get as much done as possible as quickly as possible! Our first train stop for the day (in Boston) was at Harvard University. It was the most beautiful campus I have ever seen. It had gorgeous iron gates all the way around it. So beautiful!







After looking around on the campus and in Harvard Square, we hopped back on the train and headed to the Boston Public Gardens. It was the most beautiful garden/park located right in the middle of downtown. They have swan paddle boats that you can ride,and the most gorgeous flowers. They also have a statue of George Washington riding a horse. We figured out pretty quickly that Boston is a city of many statues!







We then headed to finish the Freedom Trail. We saw the USS Constitution, or "Old Ironsides" from the Revolutionary War and the Bunker Hill Monument.





After we were done there, we rode the Charlestown Water Ferry back to downtown Boston for lunch.





Then, this is where Casey and I decided to do a trial run for "The Amazing Race" TV show. By the time we finished lunch (which was at Durgin Park, a place that serves Boston Baked Beans. Which by the way, are not all they are cracked up to be..) it was 1:15. We really needed to head back to the hotel to pick up our bags, but Casey really wanted to grab a couple more cannolis. After he did this, we got lost, but ended up making it to a T station. We rode two trains and a very crowded bus back to our hotel. Casey then ran 2 blocks to grab our bags while I waited on the bus. He made it in about 7 minutes! We then had to ride the buses and trains all the way to the airport. I was VERY stressed out, and Casey was having the time of his life. We made it the airport by 3:30, and made it on to our flight by 4:00. It was craziness. We decided we definitely could NOT be on "The Amazing Race" because we would kill each other.

On our flight back to Chicago, we saw Niagra Falls! It was very tiny of course, but we saw it. It is in this picture. But I can't tell where.



We had a 2 hour layover in Chicago, where we had a nice calm dinner, for once!




It was a wonderful trip! If you want to see all of my pictures (there are TONS more) you can check them out on my facebook page!

Day Two: Boston/Cape Cod Trip

Day Two:

We started out day two bright and early. We decided to rent a car and drive to Plymouth and Cape Cod. It was very rainy all day long. For the most part, we still got to see and do everything we had planned.

First, we stopped in Plymouth. As you probably know, Plymouth is where the Pilgrims set up one their first colonies in America. Here are a few pics of the things we saw.

Plymouth Rock



Mayflower II. This is a replica of the Mayflower. Tiny, huh? Can you believe that over 100 pilgrims sailed over to America in this thing?




Plimoth Plantation. This plantation had a 17th Century pilgrim village, as well as an Indian village. It was really cool because the Pilgrims were in character the entire time.






After we were done looking at things in Plymouth, we began traveling through Cape Cod. The first town we stopped in was Sandwich, MA. We went into the glass museum to see a glass-blowing demonstration, which was pretty cool. We also drove past a grist mill that is still in operation. As you can see, it is pretty tiny and they charged $3.00 per person to go inside, so we just took pictures!






Then we headed off to Dennis, MA to eat lunch at Captain Frosty's, which we had read about ahead of time. This was the best meal we had all week, and definitely the best fish we have ever had! We decided to try fish and chips (cod), a lobster roll, clam fritters, and clam chowder. The fish was so fresh that it fell apart. It was AMAZING and neither one of us is a big fish eater!




After we were stuffed to the gills, we kept driving until we reached the Cape Cod National Seashore. Originally we had planned on swimming, but the weather changed our plans! It was still beautiful, and unlike any beaches down here in the south. The water was SO COLD! It was unbelievable.







We also got to see several lighthouses along the way. They were so pretty to look at. We even went up inside one, but it was so foggy that you couldn't see very far out. It was still a neat experience though.







Our last stop on the Cape was the very tip, Provincetown, MA. This is where the Pilgrims actually stopped before they headed to Plymouth. It was a quaint little town. Unfortunately by the time we made it there it was pretty much pouring down rain, so we just had dinner. We ate at The Lobster Pot, and had our first Lobster dinner ever. We even turned them both into "clambakes" so that we could get clam chowder or lobster bisque, salad, steamed mussels, corn, and potatoes. We were STUFFED! It was sooo yummy though.








After dinner we began the 2 hour drive back to Boston. Needless to say, we were full, but exhausted!