(Hopeful) Summer Vacations

Todd and I have been teaching for 6 and 5 years, respectively. We have worked hard to take classes to move across the pay scale since we have graduated from the master's program at EOU. Most of these classes have been taken during the summer. Contrary to popular belief, teachers do work during the summer! In addition to classes, we also rework our curriculum, get prepared for the school year, and other various work-related stuff. But this summer-- things are a bit different. We are all done taking classes to move across the pay scale and we are settled into the groove of things with work, so we have WAY less to do this summer. That means that we can actually take full advantage of the time we have off and go on some family vacations!

Vacation #1: Wallowa Lake/Joseph/Enterprise/La Grande
The end of May, we will be taking a trip to my old stomping grounds in the most North-Eastern part of the state of Oregon. I took my first teaching job in the small, beautiful, and extremely friendly town of Enterprise. While there, I taught Kindergarten through 12th grade art. I loved the students and the people I worked with. It felt like a second home to me-- my home away from home. After Todd and I became engaged and after lengthy conversations about our future, we decided that I would have to quit my job at Enterprise and move to La Grande where there would be more job opportunities for me in the future. To date, quitting my job at Enterprise is in the top three most difficult situations I have ever been in. I loved my job, the kids, the people, the community. I find myself yearning for the mountains, the lake, the crisp air, the people, Bee Crow Bee, and much more since I have left. Needless to say, it left a large imprint on my heart. I have a feeling that we will be taking an annual family vacation to Wallowa Lake with the kids from this summer onward!

Okay, enough back-story.

On May 28 and 29, we will be staying in a quaint, cute cabin at the lake. We will visit with my old friends and see their kiddos. I hope to make a visit to the school, too. I will stock up and soak in the vibe at Bee Crow Bee. Rocco will play at the lake and look at the deer. It will be relaxing and rejuvenating.

Then... we will go down to La Grande and visit our other home-away-from-home!

Since Todd and I lived in La Grande throughout our college years, we have a group of close friends who have settled there and made La Grande their home: The Burrights, The Wolcotts, and Kenny Mace are among the friends we consider family that we will be visiting on our trip. Mostly, we will be hanging with them, but I do have some favorite places I have to visit when we are there: Yia Yia Nikki's for a gyro is a MUST, maybe a stop to the weird clothing/accessory store with Katie, and check out any new stores downtown.

Of course, depending on what time we are going through, I might need to stop at Barely Brown's in Baker to pick up a growler of Hot Blonde beer for Jason... and maybe another one for us, too :)

Vacation #2: Tour de Oregon
Our family is so spread out. It makes it difficult to visit everyone. But-- depending on how Vacation #1 goes-- we would love to do a Tour de Oregon to visit everyone!

In June, we would love to hit the road and head towards Condon going through Baker and La Grande. We'd like to stop and visit the Lantis family in Boardman before heading down to Condon to stay with Todd's parents. From Condon, we would like to go to Vancouver to stay a night there and visit the Dearborn clan. I would love to explore Portland a little more than I have-- maybe a trip to VooDoo Doughnuts? Maybe a trip to the Portland Zoo for Rocco?

From Vancouver, we would like to head down to Lincoln City. Rocco loves the beach, I love the beach, it's time for a visit! I want to indulge on fresh seafood, hit up the outlet mall, soak up the ocean breeze, let Rocco dig in the sand, and listen to the waves. Hopefully, my mom can be there with us and other family members who can swing some time off of work.

Completing the last leg of the trip would be a night spent in Bend with the Telfer family. We'd end our trip going through Burns/Juntura/Harper.

Whew.

Now-- that is our DREAM vacation, but it's a lot on little kids, so we will re-evaluate after our first (much-shorter) trip!

Vacation #3: San Diego
Todd's sister, Stephanie, and her husband, Jim, are expecting their first child, Jillian Marianne, in the middle of July. We would like to make a trip down to sunny California to meet her. Some other things we would like to do while we are there: San Diego Zoo, visit a beach, and shop at Lush. We're hoping that we can catch Steve and Rhonda (Todd's parents) while they are there, so we can spend some time with them, too.

Keep your fingers crossed for us that our kiddos travel well (mostly Ruby!) and we are able to enjoy our summer break by trekking across Oregon to visit all of our loved ones near and far! I will blog about it and share our adventures with you, of course :)

"Terrible" is Not an Accurate Description...

Google "my toddler is a brat" and see what comes up...

...it made me feel better after I did.

The following excerpt from Parents.com relieved most of my first-child stresses: "Things get decidedly murkier when a child hits toddlerhood, and tantrums over everything from socks to sandwiches become an everyday occurrence. But this behavior is not the earmark of a coddled child; rather, it's a perfectly normal part of child development. In such outbursts, kids assert their independence and vent frustrations when they're unable to express themselves effectively." 

Murkier? Um, let's try clear as mud.

Here's the positive: "perfectly normal"... PERFECTLY NORMAL!

Despite Todd's urging to send our child to a baby psychologist, I can now rest assured knowing that despite that fact that our patience is being tested beyond all limits, our child is perfectly, terribly, miserably normal. 

I hear that 3 is even worse.

So... what can I do to survive? Find awesome stuff like this to help me learn to laugh when I feel like crying...

http://messagewithabottle.tumblr.com/post/3929765331/the-50-best-messages-with-a-bottle

Sigh of relief that my child is normal. Terrible and normal and wonderful and two.