Back to work...

The time has finally come...going back to work! I knew it would be here any day, I just didn't know how quickly it would come. When I walked into school the other day, I felt like I had just left in June. I am trying to have a positive attitude, and enjoy these two weeks to work in my room before my new students arrive. I feel really refreshed, and excited to start a new year off! I've had a lot of time to think over the summer about things I'd like to do this year in my room regarding lessons and behavior plans. Last year was my first year teaching first grade, and I was really just trying to survive. This year will be a little different. I'll have the curriculum under my belt, and I'll be able to be more creative in my approach to teaching.

To all you teachers out there...HAPPY 2008/2009 SCHOOL YEAR!

I have the world's BEST husband!

I wanted to take this opportunity to tell everyone how incredible my husband is! I am married to the funniest, most handsome, intelligent, insightful, and genuine man ever. I am always grateful for him, but especially when we are separated because of work, I find myself thinking about him all the time. There are so many things I love about him, but I'm going to list my top 5.

5. John's eyes. They are a beautiful shade of brown!
4. John's artistic side. He always sees things from a different view/ angle.
3. John's motivation. He is driven and motivated more than most.
2. John's sense of humor. He can make me laugh, even when I don't want to.
1. John's ability to love. He loves me for me, without exceptions!

I don't brag on you enough, and I thought it was time that I did. I am so blessed to be married to someone as wonderful as you!

More Sound of Music Pictures...

The church where Maria and Mr. von Trapp got married in the movie.

Beautiful building.

Look!

At the fountain in Mirabelle Gardens

Mirabelle Gardens where Maria and the children sang, 'Doe a deer a female deer...'

Me with Salzburg as the backdrop.

John and I in front of the mountains.

The gazebo where 'I am 16 going on 17...' was sung.

Here are some more pictures from our Austria weekend. Many of them are from places of where The Sound of Music was filmed. The captions below will tell you about each picture. If you click on the photo, it will enlarge so you can see it better. Enjoy!

Austia photos

The mountain at the beginning of the movie.

John and I

A view from the road, on our way to Austria.

Side of the road picture.

Downtown Salzburg.

A view of the city from the top of the fortress.

On top of the fortress, with the city behind.

* If you click on the photo, it will enlarge to see it better. *

We took a weekend trip to Salzburg, Austria where The Sound of Music was filmed. The first day we were there, we toured the city, and a fortress. The architecture is so beautiful, and dates way back. The second day we were there, we took The Sound of Music tour. It was 4 hours, but it didn't seem that long at all. The bus took all to all the different sites the movie was filmed at. I can't imagine living in Salzburg where you're view at any place you stand is absolutely beautiful! Here are some photos from our Austria weekend!

Photos from our trip

We went to a German festival, and found they know how to party.

John enjoying some good German beer with this guy.

A Bavarian hat.

This is the same girl who read us the menu earlier in the week in English!

The town center in Weiden, Germany

The only had 'Cola Light', no 'Diet Coke'

A nice German girl who read us the whole menu in English!

All the vegetables have condoms. Interesting billboards in Germany!

A room with a view...

I arrived home last night, and everything went pretty smoothly. It was my first time flying internationally on my own, so I was a little nervous. The first thing I did when I got home was pay some much needed attention to my dog. We missed each other so much! It was good to play with her, and love on her! I got a great night's sleep, and am ready to enjoy my last day before returning to work tomorrow (grrrr). I'm going to post our Germany pictures in a bunch of different posts, since one won't hold them all. If you click on the picture, it will enlarge so you can see it better. I hope you enjoy looking at these.

Nazi Museum

John and I went on Trip Advisor to see what things we could do while staying in Nurnberg the last few days of our trip. The # 1 rated tour was the Nazi Party Rally Grounds. We went this morning, and it was intense! Thankfully, they had an audio guide, so we didn't have to worry about interpreting the German language (as we've done our whole trip). There were many different levels to the museum, and each level had panels with photos and information. The audio guide would walk you through each panel, and the information given. The info given was a little bit about Hitler himself, but mostly about the Nazis, and how they came into power. It was very interesting, but a lot to take in! We toured the museum for a little over three hours, listening to endless amounts of information. Towards the end, I felt as though I had sat in a three hour college lecture. Not because it was boring, but because there was a lot of information to take in! There were short films on each floor of the museum as well that showed footage from the Nazi regime. The films were quite full of emotion, and John and I both walked out of the museum drained! We talked to some people at the hotel here who said they have gone to the museum a few times, because once just isn't enough to retain all you learn/read about. If you are ever in Nurnberg, Germany...take a day to visit the Reichsparteigelande Museum.

Off to Nurnburg

I only have two more full days here, today (Thursday), and tomorrow. I'm off to VA on Saturday :(

When we got to our hotel last night, we met about ten people who are from Virginia...Yorktown and Smithfield to be exact. What are the odds?! I thought that was so cool! We spent an hour or so having dessert and drinks with them. It was really fun to meet and hang out with people from home, and people who spoke English.

We are going to drive about an hour to Nurnburg, which is a large city to walk around and tour for the next two days. There is a Hitler museum that we're interested in going to. Let me just say that this is NOT a museum which praises him, but rather educates people on his life. We have been using www.TripAdvisor.com during our time here to find interesting things to do. It's a great web site if you want to look up recommended hotels, restaurants, tours, and what not. It's helped us to maximize our time here.


I will be coming home to VA Saturday night, getting some things done on Sunday, and then back to WORK on Monday :(

John is actually staying through next Thursday. That will make a total of three weeks for him in Germany. Not bad!!