Michelle's Bachelorette Party

My cousin Michelle got married the end of July and we had her Bachelorette Party a few weeks before the wedding in Pottsborough Texas. For those of you who have not the slightest clue where Pottsborough is, don't worry you aren't missing much. Pretty much we hung out in a cabin just off lake Texoma for a few days, drank a lot and spent the day on the lake. I took so many pictures that weekend, but here are a few of my favorite.

The "Backseat Concoction" and Wedding Manual. Both of these are only the beginning of many great stories.

The first group of girls to arrive! We were the fun bunch for sure.

Michelle and I showing a little cousinly love :-)

Erin and I enjoying a cold beer and the lake.

New School Year, New Beginnings

It's hard to believe that I'm already 3 weeks into a new school year, and each year seems to go by faster than the one before it. I'm always amazed at how life just keeps on going and before you know it, you enjoying a new day. Other than staying busy with work, nothing else is really going on with me. I started making plans for Brad's (and Mandy) graduation in May today. I can't believe that in 8 short months my brother will be graduating with his doctorate and I'll be finishing up another school year.

2012 seems like it's going to be another busy year for the Andersen family with lots of things to celebrate. Jared and Kristi are getting married in April, Brad graduates in May, and Alex and John get married in June. It's not like we're a family that needs a reason to celebrate, but when we have one, a good time is guaranteed by all.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

WOW... I can't believe how time flies when you're having fun. Eventhough I haven't done anything specific this summer, my days just seem to be going so quickly.

I have managed to get in lots of pool time and did spend the last 2 weeks at my mom and Johns. The first week I was there Brad was there. It was so great to see my little brother and get to spend some time with him. I just love him so much, even when he's "mean"/picking on me. I had every intention of taking some pictures while I was there so I could post them, but the camera never managed to make it out. I do have a few on my phone from the 4th of July with me and my feet hanging out on the float in the pool. Too bad I haven't synced my phone yet so they aren't on my laptop either.

While I was home I got to spend some QT with my daddy and Leslie. Brad and I went over there and dad grilled us some tasty ribeyes. While the boys were outside grilling, Leslie and I were in the house chatting it up. I always get excited when I get to spend time with her just talking about anything. She's such a sweet person and I couldn't have picked out a better person for my daddy.

Brad had to leave the Saturday before the 4th to go back to Lubbock so it was just mom, John and I for the last week I was there. We spent the 4th floating in the pool and drinking various frozen concoctions. It was such a great day just relaxing and laughing. The rest of the week was a whirl wind, but still so much fun. I finally came home this past Sunday evening. Monday I had a leadership meeting that lasted from 8:30 to 5 and Tuesday I slept all day. I guess my body was trying to tell me something. Now I'm starting to get back into my relaxing summer life. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th and are managing to keep cool.

Happy Summer

So, I've been on summer vacation for almost 3 weeks now and I'm loving every minute of it. I got to spend most of my first week off at my moms with her, John and Slash. I love how I can go there and we don't have to do anything, but we always have so much fun. I did manage to squeeze in a hair appointment. I couldn't tell you the last time I got my hair done so to finally get a cut and color felt great.

My second weekend of vacation involved a family reunion with the wonderful Andersen clan. When we had our last one 3 years ago, my cousins and I agreed to take on the challenge of planning this reunion. At first I was a little intimidated by the idea of planning everything, but doing it in a group worked out great. Everyone kept saying how wonderful everything was and what a great job we did. It really made me feel good to know that all of our hard work turned out so great. I love my family. They are just AMAZING!

Since the family reunion, I've been spending my time at the pool, in trainings and with my friends. This weekend, I'm planning on going to my cousins brial shower and then maybe a girls night with some friends from work. Tuesday I have a GT training all day :-( but after that I'll get to go see the family again. Brad will be down there for the week and I'm so excited to see my little brother.

I hope everyone is having a great summer and staying cool in all this heat!

M.I.A

Well the last time I tried posting something, my computer wouldn't let me so I'm going to try again.

It seems like these last few months have been so busy that it's hard to believe. I feel like I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off for the last 5 months. Despite being busy all the time, things are going great for me. I'm still loving my job more and more every day. I work with the most amazing people in the world and love going to work. Now, don't get the wrong idea, everything isn't always butterflies and roses. I, like everyone else, have those really rough days. My kids still drive me nuts at times and I still get stressed out. The difference it that the good days seem to always be so much better than the bad. Now, enough about work.

Summer vacation is just 2 weeks away and I'm so looking forward to some much needed time off. I can't wait for the toughest decision I make each day being what time to get out of bed and when to go to the pool. As of right now I don't have much planned. I know I'll go spend some time with mom and John and I hope to travel to Pittsburgh again this summer and see Becky. Eventhough I say I have nothing planned for the summer I know that can all change with the drop of a hat.

Hopefully I'll get better at updating this thing. I'm also going to attempt to start a new bolg with ideas and lessons that I teach/use in my classroom. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Let it snow, Let it snow,Let it snow

This has been the CRAZIEST weather week for us here in DFW. A week ago we were basking in the wonderful sunshine and temperatures near 70; today is day 4 of being iced and now snowed in. I will admit that the snow is beautiful, but it's so dry you can't make anything with it :-( This morning I got up all excited to go play and make mini snowmen only to be disappointed that the snow wasn't even wet enough to make a ball. I ended up just playing around and making footprints instead. After about 15 minutes I decided I had had enough of the cold so I came back upstairs, took off my layers of clothes and took a nice HOT shower.

Hopefully all this stuff melts and life will get back to normal soon. Last year we had our record 13 inches of snow the week after the super bowl, this year it's the week before. I think someone is trying to say something; the days before and after the super bowl should be holidays :-) I hope everyone is staying warm!

Gotta love this time of year....

They always say, "Anyone can teach in the fall, but it takes a special person to survive the spring." Let me just say, we're not even through January and I'm barely keeping my head above water. Since coming back to school from a wonderful 2 week Christmas vacation, life has been a whirlwind. I am determined not to let my job rule my life. (I say this every year, and each year I get a little better at it)

As I mentioned earlier, I had a wonderful 2 week vacation, and for the first time since I started teaching, I spent the whole 2 weeks at my parents. It was so much fun hanging out with everyone and spending some quality time with them. Brad was there the whole 2 weeks as well, but he had to work just about everyday :-( I did get to spend some time with my cousin/brother from another mother "Slash". He went to the grocery store with me a few days before Christmas because everyone else was at work. When we got back to the house, we had a Christmas cookie decorating throw-down. In his mind he won, but we all know that I really was the champion. He did have some pretty creative cookies though ;-)

The week after Christmas mom and John were both off so we spent lots of time hanging out around the house and shopping. Mom and I decided the middle of the week to come up to my apartment and put up all my presents. Thank goodness we did, or else I never would have made it. We had a car FULL of stuff; yes, I'm spoiled, but I'm greatful for EVERYTHING I have. That night Robin came over and the 3 off us had a girls night.

New Year's Eve Mandy came to see Brad and the rest of the family. I was so glad to see her. Even though she only lives about 30 minutes from me, I still never manage to see her or my brother when he's in town. I think there is seriously something wrong with that picture. We had a pretty low key night drinking and popping fireworks. Around 11 we all decided to "take a nap" and set alarm clocks to go off at 11:55 so we could all be awake at midnight. Yeah, not a good idea. I evedently kept hitting snooze on mine while I was crashed on the couch and Brad and Mandy didn't even get out of bed. Slash said he heard my phone keep going off, but he thought people just kept on calling me. So, as you can tell New Year's Eve wasn't very exciting, but it was perfect because I was with the people I love most.

I hope each of you are having a wonderful 2011 and that it brings you everything you hope for.