new addition . . .

We have added a member to the Berra family!!

*Bruce*

Meet our betta!  His name is Bruce.  We now have Bill Berra, Jackson Berra, and Bruce Berra. 

We brought Bruce home and introduced him to Jackson. . . 

*not interested*

Rethinking it. . . 

*is gunna eatz this latr*

Bruce in his home

Pretty Bruce!!

Bruce lives in the library as he's rather intellectual.  I suspect he will begin with the Twilight Series and then move to the collection of Hemmingway's. 

:-)

recap. . . part III.

the third part of the trilogy . . .


On Sunday morning we woke up and went to breakfast at an adorable  country breakfast buffet.  gavin had to have his chocolate chip pancakes!  It was next to an adorable place that Aunt Mary would love...

It was GORGEOUS outside so we took Gavin to the park.  I think we had more fun than he did!!

*swinging is fun!*

*farmer kyle*

i totally love how gavin is making "moo" noises!

Here is Matt trying to hold it all together.

We had so much fun!  The Schmidt's are fabulous hosts and I couldn't have had a better time.  I hope they have as much fun when they come to visit us!!!

:-)

i before e except for Budweiser...recap part II 1/2

The Brewery. . .

*wow*

Please hear me out . . . The Budweiser Brewery has a history here in St. Louis. I had NO idea! Here I thought it was simply a brewer of delightful refreshments- it is in fact- a historic landmark! We took a long tour and learned so much. I now like Bud Light over Miller Light. (methinks there were some subliminal messages in all of the tour components).

First we visited the Clydesdale's. They were so cute!

*and giant*

Inside the stables....

*we took this for Billcat*

The process:

*fermenting over the aged beechwood*

*hops chandelier*

*filling and packaging*

Then they let you taste . . .

after you taste they drop you off at the gift shop where you buy this . . .

*and start making faces like this*

*my game face*

Never let me go to a gift shop after a beer. Not.Good.For.the.Wallet.

I tell/whine to Matt, "No- I NEED this for the marathon!!!"

The most interesting thing I learned was that Budweiser stayed open during prohibition. They made soda called Bevo... here is the mascot....

Cool huh? They made Bevo the mascot as he was in the Brother's Grimm stories. His character enjoyed fine food, fine drink, and good times. Sounds PERFECT! If we get a dog or a kid we will name him Bevo. :-)

This part of the trip was SUPER fun!! We still had one day left- I'll fill you in on that one later...

:-)

recap. . . part II.

Day two in St. Louis

We work up at our leisure as found Jami making the BEST blueberry muffins EVER. She said they were a Contessa recipe. I'm going to have to look that recipe up. They were delicious. We enjoyed muffins and got ready to go to the Arch and the Budweiser brewery.

Driving up to the Arch was so cool! I didn't know it was so shiny.

We parked next to the Mississippi (!!). I've never seen it before so I had to stick my toe in...

*it burns*

We fooled around taking pictures of the Arch:

Pretending we were Arch's:

Running from the East to the West:

Making lame jokes about being in "Central America" and the "Middle East."

Then it was off to lunch where I stuffed my face with FRIED MASHED POTATO'S!!! Srsly. Yummers.

After Lunch we headed to the Budweiser Brewery (I before E except in Budweiser). Are you surprised? No? Well, you'd better get that "Michelle, Matt, and Kyle going to a brewery-shocking" look off your face because that place is FULL of history!! Who KNEW??

I'll fill you in later!

:-)

recap. . . part I.

I know you have waited with breath that is bated so here is the first of the three part St. Louis recap!

I had a full day at school on Friday, August 22. I left school a little early and went to Ft. Lauderdale International. I was SO excited. I know people say you get tired of traveling but I LOVE flying. I love the excuse of buying new books and magazines. I love that no one can call you for the duration of your flight. I also love the adventure!

So, I was ALREADY excited and then I boarded the plane. In my aisle seat in row 15 I see something in front of me on the seat.

HOLYSH*TITWASDIRECTTV!!!!!!

Direct TV on a flight is the only way to travel. I watched multiple Friends episodes, Food Network, Animal Planet, and CNN. BEST.FLIGHT.EVER! Thank goodness it was my long flight.

I got off at Cincinnati and found my way (quite easily I might add- great airport) to my new terminal where I checked my carry-on (you heard that right) and boarded this...

normal right??

wait for it . . .

*smallest plane ever*

I sat next to a guy who was cussing the whole time. It was funny- he was SO worried that we wouldn't land in time (or wouldn't land at all maybe?). We actually landed 30 minutes early. I don't know how and I shudder at the thought.

I waited for Matt and Kyle next to a shady guy from FLL who had to "take his meds" when he found out that his sister was picking him up. I don't know about that. . . I just nodded. Usually it's just children that talk to me all the time, I guess adults have started too. I must give off a vibe or something. So I smiled and nodded at him and was SO thankful to see Matt and Kyle.

We drove to their house and met a WIDE awake Gavin!! He was happy with his gift of crocodile poop from Florida.

He was very confused at the whole Michelle brought him poop to eat gift as most almost 3 year olds would be. (This is after Matt got him gummy crocodiles). We stayed up late reading Gav books and eating poop and drinking a nice wine. It was SO great to catch up with Kyle and Jami!!!

We had to go to bed to prepare for the next day at the Arch and The Brewery!!

:-)

Stay tuned . . .

back . . .

FINALLY!! I have been exhausted. I know it's my ninth year teaching but the first couple days of school DRAIN a person! I have it very good this year and I'm not complaining at all. I love love love my job and I have a great school. Like I've said before- teaching music is FUN!

Added to my life this year is a commute... WHA?

*Notsofun*

Seriously- a loooong commute. I think it will get better as school gets in the swing of things and not every parent in South Florida is driving their kiddo to school instead of letting them take the bus. I've heard it's like this every year so I'm crossing my fingers. Before school started it took me 20 less minutes so it HAS to be better than this.

There are a few things helping me on this commute:

1. Google Maps app for my blackberry. Srsly, best ever. I can see where I'm at and where I'm going. It's too bad that I have to wait until stoplights to read the screen (no txtndrv) but it's great for learning a new area.

2. Xm/Sirius radio. Howard Stern, top 20, 90's, Opi and Anthony, weather, traffic, the Blend, the 80's, alternative... pick your poison!

3. I have the New Testament on a CD to listen to in the car. I figure I can listen to trashy pop radio for one length of the commute and the other is listening to the Bible. I know- that sounds weird but I made a resolution to read the Bible this year. I've done it before, but that was 10 years ago. I thought I'd have a different perspective being 29 (for 3 more weeks) than 19 and Catholic as opposed to Baptist. So far the age has helped with wisdom (somewhat) but the Catholic vs. Baptist hasn't affected anything. Hmm... methinks I should ponder this at some point. ANYway, I have a commute, and a husband, and cats, and a house, and a really hard training program for multiple half marathons and a full marathon....so I'm re-learning how to manage my life. This is good! I like a challenge! I promise not to slack too much here (I like this).

4. Caffeine. I limit this to mornings only.

5. My cell. Thank you Mom. Thank you for getting me through my long commute.

If any of you want to reach me... please call me on my longass commute at the following times:

5:00-7:00 Monday

6:00-7:00 Tuesday

4:00-4:45 Wednesday- Friday.

:-)

St. Louis recap is coming soon!!! I LOVE the Schmidt's and St. Louis so much that I want to make sure I have half a brain to talk about it. If you REALLY want pics you can see them on facebook.

leaving tomorrow . . .

I'm off to St. Louis to meet up with Matt, Kyle, and Jami!! I can't WAIT!!!

I'll be back Sunday night, then ready to face the first day of school on Monday!

I'll tell you all about my trip when I return.

:-)

where i play . . .

I mean work, of course, work....

:-)

I have a FABULOUS job! I teach music to beautiful, wonderful, darling, and amazing children every day! This is my room. I'm very lucky to have such a great space and a variety of instruments. It's a music teacher's dream.

*view from the door walking in to the room*

*view of the instrumentarium*

*view from my desk*

Each morning my homeroom (6th grade this year) comes in and sets the room up for first period, Upper Academy Chorus. That class is a combination of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. I love teaching Middle Grade Chorus because they get to start the day off on such a positive "note."

:-)

They are pretty easy in the morning as they are tired and they can't really talk back as I keep their mouths pretty occupied with singing... lol!!

The rest of my day is 2nd through 4th grade. The 5th graders will have the other teacher this year. I love the little ones. I get very irritated when people think that the little ones can't be very musical. If they aren't being musical it's because they have a bad teacher. Honestly, I've seen the most beautiful music come from the littlest of people.

I can't believe that I get stressed out some days. I mean, how on earth can I get stressed out teaching such a great subject? I have to remind myself to have the joy of a child and enjoy that I teach something that they enjoy! Beauty- every second of the day. That's what my focus is this year.

Balance, Joy, and Beauty of the little moments in each day... please remind me when I forget.

:-)

are you ready for some football ? ? ?

Brian can TASTE the win!!!!

Ah, Monday night pre-season football. Me likes. :-)

Brian and Jen (the couple married on the cruise that I posted about) were so kind as to invite Matt and I to the first Miami Dolphins pre-season game at Landshark stadium! We had SO much fun!!

First we ate at the Char-Hut. I highly recommend this establishment for the best chicken sandwich ever. They had some killer black beans too! Yumms!

We headed off to the stadium. Here are some pics . . .

*stadium food in Miami*

The cheerleaders . . .

*There are more brunettes this year*

*Matt thinks that she looks smart*

Aside from the cheerleaders (what's with the implants this year gals, srsly?) the game was getting a little boring (sorry Brian) and we saw something interesting...you can tell that we weren't the only ones taking advantage of the opportunity . . .

*to see more of what they were taking a picture of I will need to see proof of age to see rated R material. Seriously kids- hilarious and completely inappropriate*

Here's a taste but know that dude is only half of the pic. . .

no game is complete without rain!! Thanks for bringing the ponchos Brian!!

*view from inside my poncho*

This is a start to a beautiful season!!

:-)