High Five For Friday!

I have been completely out of the blogging loop with the busyness of school!

Not promising anything, but I'm hoping to post at least once a week. 

So here's a quick update!

1. It's Halloween time!

 I decorated a little bit as soon as October hit!

I just love Halloween!

2. Team planning meeting have really helped us to get our stuff organized.

I'm hoping that this will make the next quarter go much smoother. 

I've been feeling completely unprepared.

3. Stephanie and I have been meeting weekly to plan our newest Bible Study. 

It's been wonderful getting closer to her.

Plus, who can say no to Pumpkin Spice Frapps and The Lineage of Grace?

4. I tried making Taco Chili in the Crockpot for the first time and loved it!

Coming home to hot soup always feels like fall.

5. We got these super cute school shirts for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 

Probably the only time you'll ever catch me in pink!

Summer Days

This summer was one of the craziest, busiest ones I can remember. 

I was so thankful that we both had the time off that we could do all these wonderful things. 

Our July:

1. 4th of July was spent BBQing and hanging out at the pool with the family.

2. Julia and Robbie's Wedding.
The following day we spent an extremely short, whirlwind weekend celebrating my best friends wedding in Colorado. It was absolutely gorgeous.

3. I had my first experience with jury duty.
Thankfully there were too many jurors and I got to go home almost immediately!

 

4. 7/11

 

5. Orlando Weekend

One of Kyle's best friends came down from Iowa to visit. 

So we made the trip up there to see them. 

The last time we saw them, his wife was 6 months pregnant. 

When we saw them this summer, they had a 4 month old. 

 

 

 

 

  Of course, no Orlando trip is complete without a stop at Harry Potter World. 

6. Boender Annual Colorado Trip.

The following weekend, it was back to Colorado for a week long stay.

 

Totally met Clark Duke on the way home!

7. This cutie turned 1!

As you can see, July was insanely busy, but full of wonderful memories.  

Pinterest Fails

This past week in our bible study we talked a lot about how women are the heart of the home. 

One thing we discussed was how easy it is to let household chores slide. 

With free time this summer I decided to try and get better at this. 

On pinterest, I found some great ideas for daily chore schedules. 

I love to check things off so this seemed right up my ally. 

After combining a few different ones I finally made one that I think will work well for us. 

 I found the graphic online, I honestly don't remember where, then added all the words.

So this week I've tried to do a really good deep clean.

Hopefully after this week I'll be able to only need a short time each day. 

I turned to pinterest to find some simple homemade cleaning supplies. 

First, I tried this oven cleaner. 

 Here are the before and after pictures. 

I followed the directions and then ended up scrubbing and scrubbing and there's still only a small difference!

Anyone have a better homemade cleaner?

Then, I tired this idea for the microwave. 

It didn't need to much of a cleaning, but I figured less work is always better.

Nothing "easily" wiped away. I still had to work to clean it out. 

Clearly I'm 0/2 on new pinterest cleaning tips this week. 

At least the house is looking good!

High Five for Friday!

1. This week was what I deemed my first official week of summer. 

No obligations, no travel, no anything!

2. My women's bible study is off to a good start. 

We're reading through The Power of a Praying Wife.

It has already lead to some great discussions and a new mindset on how to truly pray for your spouse.

3. We finalized vacation plans finally. 

I always feel so much better once everything is finalized. 

4. I spent a good chunk of my day on Pinterest this week and came away feeling super productive.

Pinning = Productivity?

For real, I found some great things for my classroom for next year!

I can't wait to start making some of the projects I've found.

5. I successfully made ribs in the crockpot this week. 

I've always been nervous to try them, but they were on sale this week so I decided now was my best bet.  

Ready for some more butterbeer!

Not too much going on around here, but I'm okay with that!

Hello Summer!

Between switching over computers, trips, and the end of the school year there just hasn't seemed to be any time!

However, it officially is summer now and I actually have time to post. 

Lots has happened since I took my unplanned break. 

1. My niece lost her first tooth!

It fell right out of her mouth after dinner one night and we had to search the sidewalk in the rain for it. Lucky for her, we found it and the tooth fairy was able to make her first appearance.

2. Right after that, she celebrated her 5th birthday!

We went to Legoland and Sea World to mark the occasion. 

Sea World has gotten way better over the years, Legoland, not so great.

       

3. It's been the beginning of wedding season around here. 

The following weekends were filled with bridal showers, including my beautiful best friend's!

4. That brought me right up to the end of the school year.
I'm so thankful my first year is finally over and can't wait to dive into next year!

Some lovely parting gifts!

5. Right after school ended, we left for a family vacation to the beach.
Despite Kyle and I getting slightly burned the first day, we had a lot of nice relaxing time hanging out on the beach.
           
6. We left vacation early in order to get back for my best friend's bachelorette party.
We stayed on the beach, and luckily it was gorgeous weather!
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