two very different moments

There was a moment yesterday where it was 81.8 degrees in my classroom, I was feeling extremely pregnant, piles of half-packed books and files were everywhere, the kids were running wild, and the third student in two weeks had just thrown up all over his desk. At that moment, I thought "I am SO READY for the school year to be over."

There was another moment, just today, when I was handing out superlative awards to my students. You know - everyone sits in a circle, then I call up students one at a time, they sit in the hot seat and spin around slowly while I say good things about them, and then I give them their award (most likely to be a billionaire!) and they sit down. And do you know what? My cute kids sneakily made me an award, which they all signed at recess. So they called me up, made me sit in the hot seat while they said good things about me, and then gave me my award (most likely to be the best mom ever). At that moment, I thought "I will never ever be ready for this school year to be over."

And then I got a kleenex and pretended it was allergies.

That's how this week has gone, and that's how the next two days will be. Crazy, chaotic, hot and sweaty, but also amazing, sweet, nostalgic, and so so sad when I leave. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, here are a few quick pictures from my vacation last weekend. Somehow, the stars aligned: none of the 5th grade teachers have little kids at home, we had a free place to stay, and our schedules were mostly open that weekend, so we took a quick trip down to St. George. It was short, but so great! 

Gorgeous gorgeous red rocks

Bear Paw for breakfast! Already dreaming of my next visit...

 New pedicures for everyone

 Fastest way to clear a pool: get 5 teachers in their swimsuits, and then stick 'em all in the water and have them play a weird hand game their students are obsessed with. Works like a charm ;)

the gorgeous view out our back porch 

I'll be back after school's out with lots and lots of belated posts (St. George! a baby shower! etc!). In the meantime, thanks for sticking with me anyway. Two more days, and then I have a stack of books and a fresh supply of otter pops that are calling my name...