week of downs, then ups

Last week (my first full week of summer vacation) was a whirlwind. Monday, some awful news arrived. My coworker has been battling Cervical Cancer for months and passed away that afternoon. We all knew it was coming, but it actually happening was so sad. She has two young boys and it just breaks my heart - she was one of the nicest people I have ever had the chance to meet and interact with. Good has come out of this awful situation though...I for one have been more appreciative of life and those around me. I have realized how much I need to cherish each day. Plus, heaven has an amazing angel now.

The day after that, on Tuesday, I had to go to the OBGYN for a procedure following an abnormal pap smear. They had seen abnormal cells that could have been high risk for...cervical cancer. Not exactly the procedure I want after what happened on Monday. It hurt, but only lasted about 2 minutes in all.

Tuesday evening I was hanging out at my parents and got a phone call from my real estate agent. We had bid on a house about 2 weeks ago, but didn't get it. Turns out something fell through with the person who won it and we were next in line! We won the house!!!

I had 48 hours to turn in a bunch of paper work. I was running around town like a crazy person, high stress, but got everything submitted Thursday. There is so much that goes in to getting a house, especially because we are also doing a 203k loan, which means money is factored into our mortgage for repairs that need to be made. This house is a fixer upper. It needs paint in every room, new carpets/floors, repair the fence, and ideally new sinks in the bathrooms and countertops in the kitchen. I am so excited for all of the DIY projects to occur! Now I need to find a contractor, inspector, home insurance, and gather a bunch of documents ASAP. So much for a stress free summer! Fingers crossed, we should have the house by the end of August.

turning in the last of my forms and celebrating with Starbucks.

I babysat on Wednesday and Thursday (luckily mom was there to help me through that and the house craziness) and my older sister got me pretty congratulatory flowers :)

Friday I got a call from my OBGYN and my test results from my procedure were normal. Huge relief! I also became a member of the YMCA on my sister's family plan and went to the pool with the kiddos.

After Josh got off work on Friday, we headed up to the mountains to his parent's cabin. We had a wonderful weekend of antique shopping, eating out at new places, going to the play Oliver!, relaxing, eating delicious vegan food (prepared by his dad...so good), hiking, and canoeing. I am so sore from canoeing! It was a lot of fun. I took a lot of pictures on a disposable camera I have, but I got a few with my phone as well.

attacked by the biggest moth I've ever seen

mini vegan donuts!

cool vase we bought at an antique store

gorgeous mountain views

I never wanted to leave!

Today I am heading over to pick up some FedEx things for my house from my mom's, working out, hanging with the kiddies, and probably doing a bunch of cleaning once I get back here. I realized we need to start organizing and packing because 60 days will go by quick and our beach week/getting ready for the school year to start will cut out a big chunk of time.

Cute snuggle buddies to start off the day :)

Dad's Day

Happy Father's Day to my pops.

the G-Man.

I am especially thankful this Father's Day because of my dad's bike accident a few weeks ago. He was in a bike race and the guy right in front of him went down, causing my dad to crash his bike as well. He broke a few ribs and his lung collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital and I was so scared when I read the text from my sister. Luckily, everything turned out fine. I feel blessed because I know it could have been much worse. He is back to doing light work outs already but says he's still in pain often. Hopefully he'll feel better sooner rather than later. He is so strong and determined, I very much admire that about him!

We went to my mom's for a "linner" (lunch/dinner). My aunt and gramps were in town as well. It was a very nice afternoon with the family with delicious food, including made from scratch veggie burgers and a strawberry salad I helped put together. We looked through old pictures and gramps told funny stories from his past. It was a very nice Father's Day.

Josh and I got frozen yogurt this evening and are currently watching the NBA Finals with the animals (go OKC! even though it isn't looking too promising for them in this game)

Pepper looks hilarious.

Tomorrow starts my first full week of vacay. I'll probably hang out with the kids a bunch, clean, stay active, look up healthy recipes/food, etc. I have a doctor's appointment Tuesday and I want a hair cut sometime this week, but overall I just want to enjoy everything about this time.

:)

back again

Wow, where has time gone? It's been about 2 months since I posted. The last few months of school are always the most hectic it seems, but I survived my 2nd year of teaching! I am already planning for next year (dork) and I was named Kindergarten Team Leader.

I need to forget about my job for a while though because it's summer vacation! The only other perk to being a teacher besides getting a fantastic deal on a house (PS, still house shopping. we are the most unlucky people ever).

I suppose it is best to recap the past 2 months with pictures, naturally.

Cinco de Mayo + Kentucky Derby

found a huge snake

Teacher Appreciation

reunited with old friends

adopted a kitten

Cayenne (kitten) and Pepper became best friends

named team leader for next year

cabin beerlympics with my loves

best friend puppies

celebrating summer with my coworkers

saw Owen Wilson!

Those are the highlights of life the past two months. Today was my first official day of summer. I slept in, perused Pinterest forever, had lunch with Josh, went to Mom's, worked out, and cleaned a bit. Tonight I think we are starting season 3 of Weeds. We got Netflix and are addicted. We watch shows all the time. I have seen the first 3 seasons of Weeds, but years ago; I forgot how much I liked that show! Then we may watch a movie. Who knows! I am loving having no responsibilities after a hectic and stressful 10 months. Have to enjoy it while it lasts. As for the blog, I will write when I can and it will probably be random :) Happy Wednesday!