{Going Coastal: Part 2}

Behind on my posting, but here are pics from days 2 and 3 of our vacation!


Crepes for breakfast at Cannon Beach

 My view for most of the day... 

Which explains why my legs ended up sunburnt and I took very few pictures.

We drove to Seaside for dinner and caught the final NBA game, completely by accident.  

Enjoyed people watching those who actually knew about the game and came to watch it.

 

Friday, we traveled to Silver Falls State Park before heading to Lebanon to meet our friends. 

We saw 8 waterfalls in about 5 miles... A gorgeous and easy hike.

Behind the waterfall

Random "Eve of school" thoughts

Tonight is the last night of summer vacation.  Tomorrow, my children will head off to school they have never gone to before.  I will enter my very own music classroom...something I wasn't sure I would ever do, to be honest.  We are all excited and a bit nervous, but mostly excited!  The backpacks are packed, the clothes are ready, lunches are ready; all the things we need for a successful tomorrow have been prepared, including the most important ingredient:  prayer.  Over the last week especially, I have found myself in constant prayer for my children as they prepare to enter uncharted territory.  I have prayed for myself, that I can be an effective music teacher, that kids will like me (selfish, I know, but hey), that I can make some small impact on students from my school who live in poverty (over 90% free and reduced population) that will make a difference in their lives.

Prayer is something that often does not come easily to me in formal situations, yet I find myself talking to God throughout my days, which leads me to these verses from 1 Thessalonians:

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.  Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  (14-18)

This section speaks directly to my teacher heart, and my mama heart.  I plan to hold tight to it over the course of the next few months.  I will pray for my children and strive to help them with these transitions however I can.  I will also pray for my students, and I know that my prayers will not be in vain.

{Summer}

I so can't believe summer is almost over. It has been a whirlwind! It's also been a TON of fun. And while I'm looking forward to getting back into a bit of routine, I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to summer just yet. That's why tomorrow will be a computer free day, and we will play in the sun (if we have any) and enjoy our last day of summer as a family.

Last day? Yes, Jon is heading out of town for a few days, and I am going back to work this week, and then we have church on Sunday, and I have PIR days starting Monday and then the kids go back Wednesday. So, even though we technically have a week and a half before school starts, tomorrow is our real "last day" of summer all together as a family. I think the summer of 2010 will go down in our family history book as one of the busiest on record, but we enjoyed ourselves a lot, we spent time with wonderful friends, we enjoyed each other and we didn't go crazy. All in all, I'd say that's a good summer's work.

'Til next time,

Mrs. Meek

3 weeks...

That's it. That is all there is left of summer for my kids. Three weeks from today, they go back to school. I am down to 2 and a half. Bummer. We will be squeezing every summery sunshiny drop from those 2 1/2 weeks that we can.

{so many pictures...}

So little time. One of my big goals this summer is to get somewhat caught up on my scrapbooking. I have pictures from when we first got our digital camera that are on the computer that have never been printed! They are stuck on the computer, just like that commercial a few years ago. I'm really hoping that I'll find some time this summer... in the middle of all the rest of the chaos!

busy, busy, busy

Oh, my, the last couple of weeks have gone by in a blur! We had Bethany's birthday, which I already posted pics of, we had the church's 32nd anniversary, which we celebrated by having a big celebration at Caras Park, complete with a community carnival! It was awesome! Jon and I celebrated our 13th anniversary, the kids went camping with Grampa, came home for a day, and then Gabe left for Scout camp. He'll be gone for 9 days!! Yikes. I'm already missing him and can't believe that my boy can really survive without me for 9 whole days! (The fact that I left him to go to England for longer than that last summer is completely irrelevant!)

Today we had a great time playing with my sister and her kids visiting from Oregon. Papa treated us to lunch, an afternoon at Splash, and ice cream afterwards! It's always so fun to see our kids hanging out. They are the perfect ages to play with each other. I always find myself wishing they lived closer, so that the kids could hang out more often than once a year, but I guess I will just have to be content with how things are, for now. We are headed their way in a week and a half, though, so we'll hit twice this year! Of course, I forgot my camera, so I have no pics to show, unless Papa actually uploads his and emails them to me!!

Well, that's all for now. We've got a busy couple of weeks ahead of us. I have another job interview on Wednesday, and am still waiting to hear on another one. We go to Oregon, then we have Fair Week (and the food!!!) and then two weeks until school starts for the kids! Whew, where, oh where did my summer go?

aahhhh...summer!

We (the kids and I) spent a wonderfully relaxing afternoon playing at a local pond. I didn't take the camera, so I have no pics to share, but we played in the water, we laid in the sun, we snacked on Cheez-its and Oreos. Summer bliss.

We are headed into a busy weekend, with Bethany's birthday coming up, and then Jon and my anniversary, but it should be fun. My Dad is taking the kids camping starting Monday for a few days, so Jon and I will have free babysitting for our date night for our anniversary!! (Woohoo!!)

Things have been a little hectic around here lately, even though it's summer, with Gabe camping with the Scouts, Jon taking on more responsibility at the church, me with applications and interviews (I had one this morning!!) and painting the kitchen cabinets (ugh), and the girls with playdates, so it was especially nice today to spend the entire afternoon sitting in the sun, enjoying a good book and good friends, and remembering why we live where we live.