Drinkalls (try to) do Kansas City...

Ahhhhhh!   Summer is finally here.  What have we done to celebrate, you ask?  Well... for starters, we took an "All American Family Road Trip" (To Kansas City).  How'd that go, you ask?  Let me share!

The trip started off exactly as planned.  We made a trip to the bank to deplete our life savings (Just kidding...sorta)  ....

...and got on the road 3 hours past our departure goal...

...after driving more than 5 hours with a boy who stopped talking only long enough to shovel gas station snacks in his mouth and a girl that was in a "mommy, look at me!" mood... we pulled up to our final destination.. The Great Wolf Lodge...  Check it out!

The only difference between THAT Great Wolf Lodge greeting and OUR Great Wolf Lodge greeting was that we weren't welcomed with over-sized wild animals....more so a VERY angry husband....  Upon check in- we found out our room was booked Sunday-Wednesday.  Problem?  Today was Friday.  We showed up Friday and planned to stay until Monday.  So..... since we had kids in tow.. .and there weren't many bars near us, we decided to solve our problem over BBQ...

Luckily for us, we were able to get a different room and go about our business.  First up a dip in the pool and then story time at the big clock tower.

  We got to wear our complimentary wolf ears (that of course i had to ask a pool worker for because we don't ever easily score complimentary items!)

Each night, a character would show up with an awkward human, and read a story to the kids.  Each night, the awkward human and character would have the same skit.    Yeah yeah, lady...we came for a book.  No No, lady.  We didn't bring our own.  Yeah Yeah, bear.  The book is in your bag.  Please tell me,you won't make her do a tango dance to retrieve it again....

Anyhoo-  if you haven't figured out by now, we mananged to make story time each night.  The kiddos enjoyed it ;)

We also spent quite a bit of time at the Arcade.... you couldn't miss it.  It was strategically placed across from the elevator we had to take each time to get to our room.  Clever...

I'm not sure how much money we blew here but I feel it's safe to say the kids enjoyed ring pops that ended up costing more than a trip to Siebke Hoyt Jewlers ...

and the "prized" prize of the Whoopee Cushion?   

Well... they just don't make them like they used to...

Everyone goes shopping to the zoo on vacation, right?  We hit up Cabela's...  

Got our (stuffed) animal fix...

and stopped to grab a cheap lunch.... 

...because we found out our less than mediocre breakfast buffet cost over 44 dollars that morning!

We spent much of our time at the pool / water park:

 ...I realized that my "mom suits" were not suitable for water parks...  they aren't meant for physical activity toddler hands pulling on you....  I'm pretty sure everyone at the park was flashed by me a few times.  Hey swim suit makers.... Just because the bottom half needs to be large and flow does NOT mean the top half has to!

Besides a lopsided body, water time was going quite well! 

...Unil this happened....

...nothing a 12 dollar box of band-aids and off-brand antibiotic cream can't fix, right?!

After Bozo Reese was tended to, we decided to rest a bit in our room.... 

You know the one we almost didn't get?    

The one that now has ONE bed... 

...but at least had a jacuzzi tub for Max to use...

As you can see, Great Wolf Lodge offered many exciting activities... 

Max obsessed over the Magi Quest game...

Reese and I?  Not so much....  

It gets boring and tiring chasing a boy with a magic stick up and down flights of stairs!

Magi Quest creeps me out a tad... look at this bossy thing!

I guess it wasn't completely boring... It was a great chance for people watching!

lots of wedgies...

...even a lady wearing a shirt with a nipple-sized baseball strategically placed ... 

you guessed it....

on her nipple

Just when you think you've mastered the Magi Quest... 

you find out you must beat the dragon... and other things...??

We couldn't leave until the dragon was tamed....

We had already checked out and still had not beat that pesky dragon. 

I went around and found some Magi Quest Experts and begged them for help.  Score.  

It's not what you know.. just who you know harass...

Here's a pic of them.  I didn't want to be creepy and ask for a pic.. 

...so I was creepy and sneaked a click :)

We managed to escape Magic Questing for a day and head out to Lego Land.

Reese enjoyed the kitchen the most...  she has got this "short person accommodation" thing down!

Max enjoyed the "play place" best

Max and his daddy spent quite a bit of time building a race car (that they never even completed!)

...while Reese and I kept telling other kids, "No, it's not paint... it's blood"...

Reese asked for a bathroom break from all the humiliation of the red-nosed questions...

She just couldn't take anymore!

So we decided to go.... and not before spending millions in the gift shop.  Thanks, daddy!!!

....which lead us to a late lunch at Fritz's, a train restaurant... super fun! (once we found it!)

All in all, the Drinkalls "did" Kansas City quite well...

We made and captured (quite accurately) family memories...

We even set milestones....

Reese's first time EVER sleeping in the car since birth...

We had a "thumbs up" time :)

Love,
Lis :)

End of School Year BUSYness

I feel like I can speak for all teachers out there.  The end of the school year can be (quite) busy and overwhelming....

After correcting a million tests taken by sweaty children that are already mentally on "summer break", you must record them in your grade books, online for the district, then calculate them into grades for those dreaded report cards...  This is how I spent many of my evenings and weekends toward the end of May:

                                            

Wrapping up this particular school year was more difficult than those in the past.  We were told our principal was leaving (not by her choice) right after she gave me the opportunity to "spread my wings" and fly from my 2nd grade nest to FIFTH GRADE!  A little unnerving to have so much change all at once!!!  

I am sure you are all thinking, "Mrs. Drinkall, how did you deal with all this stress?!"  A picture can speak a thousand words, right?  Well, here you go:

Leftovers?  What leftovers?

                       We tried to party like "desperate for summer" rock stars with pizza parties, chalk parties, etc.  As you can see, I volunteered to hand out the pizza.  

Don't forget our backyard bash celebration...  Theee Mrs. Martin provided proper attire for our 2nd grade team:

Dealing with "A Minion" gnats...

                                                  

I swear.  I'm ONLY frowning because it was hot, the gnats were getting friendly, and I was wearing jean shorts to match my minion outfit and felt sorry for all those around me blinded by my iridescent jumbo legs.

Moving along....  The last day of school did (finally) arrive. Some kids gave gifts.  Notes, drawings, gift cards...  My favorite gift was from a kiddo('s mom) helping me achieve my lifetime goal of receiving 37 pieces of flair.  (Office Space anyone?)  

don't ask about the meaning of this particular piece of flair ;)

My favorite note from a kiddo?

Is she saying I act like a monkey?  That I spent too many hours in the sun?  That I am in need of some anti-depressants?
Whatever it is she is saying... I think it's adorable and I like it :)

I compare the last day of school to my wedding day.  I spent a million hours planning for my wedding and experienced many emotions such as happiness, sadness, excitement, nervousness, failure, and success.  All this lead up to one big celebration and then BOOM.  It was over.  The same thing goes on in my classroom each year.  Hours of planning.  Many tears of sadness, frustration, and joy. Lots of laughs.  Some failures, many successes.  Just when you feel you are in a good spot and truly made a difference in your students' lives...BAM!  It's time to send them on to the next grade level.  Both situations leave you feeling somewhat empty.  

My "empty" classroom.

By this point I'm sure you are feeling a bit sad for all teachers out there as they are saying goodbye to their last student and about to enjoy a whole three months off with NOTHING to do start their summer "break". How do we deal with the sudden quiet?  Lack of routine? Allow me to show you what MY team does....

We go to Burger King.  

We actually SIT DOWN.  INSIDE.  

No more racing to sanitize hands, waddling (especially in those icy months) to a car, gambling on which side will be fastest through drive through, eating in the car, hopping curbs like THAT'S our job, and arriving back to the classroom with heartburn and grease stains on our jeans right as the kids are racing back to our classrooms.

The BEST team.  EVER.  Mrs. Manley and Mrs. Martin <3

                                        

We scope out what others have left behind during their "end of the year clean out sessions".  This year we found some comfortable chairs/step stools and captivating reading material.  

It's true what they say.  

"One teacher's trash, is another teacher's treasure."-Carol Martin ;)

                                               

                                    Yes.  We really found toilets outside our school..                                       

We were able to cut next year's supply spending in half thanks to Mrs. Martin's keen eye for diamonds in the rough junk in the dump.  

Get out of town!  Red Envelopes?!

   

 They say exercise helps reduce stress.  We found some ways to "work it" out:

No tetherball?  No problem!

 Good news.  We survived another great year.  Report cards were finished on time.  Kids left with smiling faces.  And us teachers?  We managed to get over the "lost and empty feeling" of the "End of the Year BUSYness" through food, retial therapy dumpster diving, and exercise.

If you think my next blog post will be all "swimming pools, and picnics" due to my summer break... think again.  I'll leave you with a few clues as to how my break has started off...

1.  Gasless dental work

2.  "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WHAT?!"

3.  "Hot Cop" to the rescue

Hope your summer (break-if you have one!) is off to a great start!

Love,

Lis