Summer 2013 Recap

As the 2013-2014 school year is quickly approaching (I go back on Friday...Yikes!), here's a recap of our summer.

To start with, I always make a to do list in the spring of things that I don't have time to accomplish during the school year, and to make my husband feel like I'm accomplishing something over my break (not that he asks for it, but it makes me feel better). This summer's to do list changed a few times due to the unexpected move. Here is what ended up on the list:

1. Organize photos - DONE! I downloaded all my photos and videos off my phone and organized those into folders. (If you are an iPhone user, you know how time consuming that job is! When you have 500 some odd pictures, it takes a bit of time to organize.)
2. Update Lincoln's baby book - sort of done...this is really an on-going project through his first year.

And that's it. What I didn't have down was the obvious when you move to a new place...unpack, organize, put up pictures, etc. The list is pretty sparse this year, but I give myself a free pass since we moved.

Now, for the fun part...what did we do this summer? Usually, we go on at least one vacation away from home every summer, however that did not happen this year. With moving and Dylan starting a new job, it just wasn't in the cards. So, we spent this summer at home. (We are going to Denver in September though, so I'm super excited about that - sans Lincoln!)

We started our summer off right by visiting my brother's family in Texas. The whole family made it down, and we had a fabulous time!

Lincoln meets his cousin, Presley, for the first time.
 

Lincoln's first trip to the zoo. He loved looking at the animals, and then got tired and took a snooze.

Fort Worth Zoo
 

I moved out of my home away from home classroom at Washburn Rural Middle School. This was a sad moment. I worked with the BEST group of people and loved every minute of my four years there. I became a better teacher because of my colleagues who constantly pushed me to improve!


We also moved out of our first home as a married couple. This was a bit sad as well. This was the home where we became a family.

the last picture in front of our Topeka home

We went to the pool in the new neighborhood. Lincoln loved watching the little kids splash and jump in the pool.

Lincoln started solids! He loves his food!

Sweet potato mustache

We went for lots of walks around the neighborhood and park.

On July 4th, we went to Lincoln's first Royals game. You can see that post here.

Kaufman Stadium

Dylan's family came to visit before Adam and Nicole headed out to Ireland. This visit corresponded with remodeling our new kitchen. (Phase 1 and Phase 2)

Aunt Nikki protecting L's ears from the loud noises!

We spent time at Sea Life Aquarium. Lincoln was absolutely enthralled with the fish!

And last, but not least, we played.

It may not have been the summer of exciting trips, but it was the first summer where I got to be a mommy to my little man, moved to a new house, and tried to enjoy the small moments of summer.

Shawnee Mission Park

When Dylan and I were looking at houses, we realized over time that the Shawnee, Kansas area was more our style. We didn't like the hustle and bustle of Olathe, where we spent most of our house hunting time. It was just too busy, too trafficy (yes, I made that word up), and too populated. So, we geared our attentions to the north a bit and fell in love with the quiet of northern Johnson County, specifically Shawnee. We have really enjoyed our little area of Kansas City, and yesterday we checked out Shawnee Mission Park for the first time.

This park is a little gem in the middle of the city. It has pretty much everything you'd want in a park...nice walking trails, a small lake, biking trails, hiking trails, and a dog park. I do have to mention that poor Sadie does not frequent dog parks. We're afraid that something will happen or she won't listen to us. They make me nervous. The poor girl will have to live with going for a walk with us instead.

Shawnee Mission Lake - you can catch up to 50 crappie at one time!

Lincoln and I in front of the lake

walking trails

If you're in the area, I highly recommend checking it out!

Kitchen Renovation Phase 2

The kitchen renovation phase 2 is complete, or at least almost complete. We got our new countertops installed last week, and I love them!

tore out old counters

cut off the raised part of the island

Before

After - new countertops!





a better view of the granite

Obviously, we need new stools. I go pick those up from Nebraska Furniture Mart on Friday, and I got them on sale! Score!  

 

 

 

The reason I said almost complete is that the installers have to come back to readjust the counters so the overhang is consistent all over. Also, they cut the island an inch smaller than we requested, so we're deciding if we'll take the money off he said he'd give us or get a new slab. Why can't anything go smoothly the first time? Such is life, I guess.

 

Phase 3 is new backsplash. We haven't decided when we'll get around to that but considering there's a half inch gap between the existing backsplash and the counters, it might need to be pretty soon. More to follow! 



Day 22: Rant About Something

I'm skipping around on my days because I'm pretty much over the blogging daily thing (as most of my friends have also stated). I wasn't even going to post this one but after spending 5 minutes trying to post a comment on Chelsea's blog, I have my inspiration...

Is anyone else fed up with the stupid letter, number combinations that you have to enter to prove you are not a computer? I mean, come on! First of all, they aren't real words which makes it difficult to decipher the uneven font. Then, in a very hazy picture you get random numbers. Ridiculous!

And by the way, this one looks easy but the four I tried before this weren't.

The Bracks' Visit (aka Daily Blogging Fail!)

So, I'm not that far into my adventure in blogging, and I've already failed at blogging every day. But, I feel okay about it because I've had company this past week. We've had a great time, and I just haven't had a chance to sit down and blog. (Plus, we've been dealing with the install of our countertops and redoing plumbing...that's a different post later on.)

Before my brother and sister-in-law are off on their adventure to Ireland, they came up our way to visit. Yes, you heard me right, they are moving to Ireland for two to three years. How cool is that? We'll be visiting them in March of next year, and I can't wait! I've been wanting to go back to Europe for ages.

Anywho...we've had a great week of hanging out and catching up.

Lincoln's 7th month picture (a little late)

riding Maddie like a horse (not frowned on in this establishment)

Our first time at Sea Life - Lincoln was fascinated!

Sadie and Maddie were pooped

Aunt Nikki protecting Lincoln's ears from the loud noises

Great-Grandma Birdie even made it down!

Selfie!

Kitchen Renovation Phase 1

I didn't like today's topic so I made the executive decision to start blogging about my kitchen renovation. When Dylan and I bought our new house, there really wasn't much we had to do to it. The people who lived here before us actually had pretty good taste. Hard to believe, I know! (or at least similar taste to ours...I consider that good taste.) When we bought this house we knew we needed to do two things...put in a fence - done! and revamp the kitchen. Now, Dylan just thought that would include new countertops. I had other visions in mind.

Phase 1 of the kitchen reno is painting. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, Dylan LOVED the red walls.

Before

 Of course this was not brought up until I had already primed them and painted part of the kitchen (and after I had already brought home paint chips, by the way).

primed walls

the first color - Autumn Fog

The first words out of his mouth were, "Oooh." I knew then that he hated the color. Then, "Doesn't it look baby blue?" Baby blue??? That was not the look I was going for. I wanted a cool gray, blue color, more gray than blue. Apparently, this one had way too much blue. I did agree that it just wasn't the right shade (and of course...I bought a gallon of the paint when in actuality I only needed less than a quart...typical).

So, two more samples later, and repainting a few times, I we settled on Urban Sunrise...no blue at all.

After

Phase 1 is complete! Phase 2 is new countertops which will be installed next Thursday. Updates to follow!

Day 12: Something I miss

The first two things that enter my mind immediately are my family that lives far away and college.

First, my family. Since I've grown up with a military family, we were always used to moving around often and living all over the country (and world, for that matter). So, it's no wonder that as we got older, my siblings and I decided to live all over the country as well. I settled here in the Kansas City area and luckily my parents retired here too! My sister has lived all over but is pretty settled in North Carolina because her husband is in the military and is stationed there. My brother is living in Texas because his wife is from there. You know those people from Texas that can't imagine living anywhere else?

A funny side story to this is that when my nephew was born here in Kansas City, my sister-in-law's father sent up soil from Texas so that Logan would "be born on Texas soil." Now that's commitment to Texas! I love them and think it's great that you have that kind of passion for a place!

I desperately miss them all. While it's fun to go visit them in these different places, it doesn't make up for the day to day life that we miss.

Summers Family circa 1997

Nate, Nichole, and me in Germany

The second thing I miss is college. This is more of a nostalgic miss. I miss the idea of not really being a real adult. You don't have responsibilities other than to get your butt out of bed and get to class (and how many of us weren't all that great at doing this one?). You can do what you want when you want. My husband and I will reminisce about our college days sometimes, and we both agree that it was a wild ride! But, life goes on and we grow up to the next phase in life.

Day 11: Sell yourself in 10 words or less

Devoted, compassionate, loyal, life long learner, stubborn, loving, quick to judge. That's 11, but oh well.

Day 10: Things that make my heart happy

There are so many things that make my heart happy. Where to start? Well, obviously my little family makes me extremely happy.


Easter 2013

My big families also make me happy.

Summers Family May 2013

 

Brack Family July 2012 (yes, I was pregnant in this photo)

 

I also have to mention my fabulous friends. Of course there's so many other things, but to me, the people in my life make it worth living!

 

 

Day 9: A moment in your day

I often feel like the life of a teacher is one with a split personality. During 9 months of the year, you are constantly busy with lesson planning, working with students, being a wife and a mother. Then, the summer comes and life changes a bit. Don't get me wrong. I'm still pretty busy over the summer (especially now that I have a little man to take care of), but life slows down a bit. You see, teachers need downtime. They need to recharge. (I'm sure most people need this in their job but we also need an emotional purge.) We put so much of our heart and soul into our job and our kids that we need some time away to recharge and be ready to give it all once again for that new crop of kids to come.

So, what's a moment in my day like right now?

It's a little bit of this...

and this...

 

and even some of this.

  While my summers look a little different these days, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Fourth of July Fun

Since moving to Kansas City at the beginning of June, Dylan and I really haven't had a chance to have, what you would call, fun. Every spare moment has been unpacking, rearranging furniture, putting furniture back where you originally had it, staining a new fence, and the list goes on. You know, it's all part of moving to a new house.

So, for the Fourth, we decided we needed to do something FUN! We settled on a Royals game. Lincoln has never been, and we hadn't gone in over a year, so it was past due. After all, part of the reason we wanted to move back to Kansas City was for all the great things to do. Even though we still had chores looming, we decided to leave it behind, even if it was for just one day.


Lincoln and I before the big game!

Dylan and Lincoln in front of the fountains.

 

The family at the K!

Lincoln was a trooper! He was fascinated by all the sights and sounds.

 

But, like all good things, they must come to an end. By the time the 8th inning rolled around, Lincoln decided he'd had enough. The fact that he was tired, and the Royals just hit a grand slam home run did not help his disposition. We did something that Dylan has sworn NEVER to do...leave a game early! Well, I guess life changes when you become a father.

As an added bonus, we came across a free concert at Park Place in Leawood.

Lincoln was jamming out!

Even though Lincoln didn't get a chance to see any fireworks, we still had a great day! It's kind of hard when you go to bed at 7:30. Maybe next year he'll be up long enough to see the fireworks, but I'd say this was a great first 4th of July! Happy birthday, America!

Day 8: A piece of advice you have for others.

There's so much great advice out there. What advice would I give to everyone? Well, one that seems rather timely in my life right now. Ready? Here it is:

If you don't love what you're doing, it's not worth doing.

I'm speaking in terms of your job. With Dylan's decision to change jobs, we talked a lot about what would make him happier in his profession. I think he made the right decision, which wasn't the easiest by any means.

There are so many things in life we must do that we may not love. For example, I must do laundry or poor Lincoln would be running around in his diaper all day (and that's a bit WT for my taste!). I mean that you should love what you choose to do for your job. We spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week doing whatever this happens to be. I don't live in a fantasy world where I wake up every day and LOVE my job. There are days when the kids are snarly, when I'm grumpy, when I wished that I had a job where I didn't have to be constantly "on." (My teacher friends know what I'm talking about.) Teaching is a difficult job for  many reasons. However, I can honestly say that I do love my job. I love that I get to mold young minds. I love that I get to be a positive role model for these kids. I love to learn and share that passion with my students. It's a wonderful job, and I love it!

Day 7: The thing you're most afraid of

This one will be a post on it's own. I realize I'm actually on day 8, but thought this one deserved its own post. I'm going to get serious for a moment. Some things in life deserve to be talked about seriously and frankly. The one thing I was most afraid of (and didn't realize it was even a fear until it smacked me in the face) was not being able to be a mom.

I had gone through life always knowing that I wanted children. It was never a question of if but when. I watched numerous people have the joy of becoming a parent...my brother, my sister, my friends. I got married and we started talking about when would be a good time to have a baby. In the meantime, I'd seen a few friends struggle with infertility, never contemplating it would happen to me. After all, no one in my family had any problems. My dad swore that he looked at my mom cross-eyed and she got pregnant. How could I possibly have any issues?

Well, Life likes to throw you curve balls (more like a cannon ball straight to the gut). When I realized it was not going to be easy to get pregnant, I went into a state of shock. How could this be my life? How do you completely change your entire idea of what your life was going to be like? Not easily, let me tell you. My friends and family know that I struggled. It was hard to see friends getting pregnant; it was hard to be happy for people when all you want is to feel the same happiness. It was hard to muster the joy required at yet another baby shower that is not in your honor. (Those of you that have gone through this, know exactly what I mean!) However, life must go on. Thanks to the best husband a girl could ask for, we decided that if we were not blessed with children, we would move on and still be happy with our new idea of what makes up a family.

Needless to say, I now have my blessing who is peacefully sleeping upstairs, and I thank God every day for him. I still have friends who are struggling to conceive and I know that fear. That fear you feel in the pit of your stomach that your life will always be missing something. The women who have experienced this fear or are living with it daily, I commend you.

Blog Every Day Part 2

Day 5:  Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends. What makes them great? Why do you love them? If you don't have blogger friends, talk about a real-life friend or even a family member
I want to profess my love and devotion to all my wonderful friends and, can't forget, family! I have so many wonderful people in my life, and I count myself so lucky to be surrounded by inspiring, committed, and loving people! You know who you are and I love you!


Day 6: If you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the question, 'what do you do'?
What do I do? That's an interesting question because I feel like part of my identity is my job. I am a teacher. It's part of me and who I am. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, and a sister. But I digress, because the question is: "What do you do?" not "Who are you?" 

Right now, I've got a pretty sweet life. I'm on summer vacation so I play with my son, hang out with my husband, family, and friends, run errands, clean house, do laundry, lay by the pool, read, and just enjoy the summer! This will all come to a close soon, so don't be too jealous!

Blogging every day in July!

One of my friends challenged those with blogs to blog every day in July. Here's the link to the topics:

Blog every day in May (but really July)

I love this idea because it gives me topics to write about daily. Since I'm getting started on day 8, I've got some catching up to do. So, here's my shortened version of the first 8 days (part 1).

Day 1: The story of your life in 250 words or less

Well, I was born in Savannah, Georgia. I have the best mom and dad a girl could ask for! I have a big brother and big sister, which means I'm the baby of the family. Some would say that fits my personality. I beg to differ! I moved 10 times before I went to college thanks to my father being in the military. We lived all over the country from Virginia to Texas to Colorado, not to mention Europe (Germany). By the time I graduated, I decided I liked Kansas and went to college at KU (Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU!). My first teaching job was in Liberty, MO where I learned a ton and met some wonderful friends! I met the love of my life in 2007, married in 2009, and moved to Topeka that same year. Again, I was blessed with a wonderful place to work! In December of 2012, I had Lincoln and life has never been the same since! We are now living in Shawnee, KS and I'll start my new job in Olathe as an 8th grade Language Arts teacher in August. There it is, folks!



The fam in Texas

                                                          
Day 2: Educate us on something you know a lot about or are good at.

Gosh! I'm a bit at a loss here. I feel like I'm decent at a lot of things but one thing I'm really good at...how about accepting change? I feel like my whole life I've had to go with the flow. Since I moved about every couple of years, I had to be able to pick up and start a new life somewhere new. I've learned that you have to take those changes in stride, let what comes, come and try not to over analyze and stress. (I know, easier said than done, right?) Change comes to us all. We have to adapt and not fear it!

Day 3: Things that make you uncomfortable

1. Flying (I realize I'm 32 and should be over this by now, but I just can't stop being nervous.)
2. Insects (gross!)
3. Pants that are too tight (Right now, that's more than I'd like to admit thanks to my baby boy! Still trying to lose that baby weight.)
4. Riding in a car minus my seat belt (if you know me, that never happens!)
5. When my house gets too dirty or cluttered
6. Talking to complete strangers

I'm sure there's plenty more but that's all I can think of for now.


Day 4:Favorite quote (from a person, from a book, etc) and why you love it

"It's not the number of breaths we take, but the number of moments that take our breath away."

 

I love this quote because it's all about living life to the fullest. Often times we get stuck in our same routines and never get out and experience something new or appreciate what we have. I often remind myself that I don't have to go somewhere exotic to live a life well lived, I simply have to look around and see the small things and appreciate those. (Of course, those exciting trips are pretty wonderful too!)  

 

 

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

I'm new to this whole world of blogging. I know, I know...a little late to the party, but better late than never! I decided that after reading some friends' blogs, that it was time to start my own. If nothing else, than to chronicle our journey through life.

So, for my first blog, I decided to write about changes. I would have to say that the last 6 months of my life have been life-changing. Here's the short version...in 6 months, Dylan and I welcomed our baby boy in December. Dylan had a job change (and started commuting to Kansas City every day). I resigned my job in Topeka and accepted a new job in Olathe. We bought a new house in Shawnee, and sold our house in Topeka. Whew! For someone who is such a planner, life can really throw you some curve balls! It's funny how things have a way of working out, don't they? Thank the good Lord that He has a plan and is always watching out for us!
 
So, here I am. Life has settled down a bit after the craziness of the past 6 months. I'm enjoying my new house, being back in Kansas City, and being home with Lincoln. We've settled into a great routine. I'll start my new job in August. So for now, I'm enjoying what little down time I have playing with my son and getting the new house fixed up. It's a perfect time to start a blog!