Mr. and Mrs. Chizek...

Last weekend I had the honor to spend a beautiful May day with some of my best friends from high school. We were together to celebrate Ashley’s wedding. Although packed full, the trip to Kearney allowed for a much needed break from school work. We headed out Friday afternoon with just enough time to check into the hotel before heading to the rehearsal dinner. 

Saturday started bright and early with hair appointments followed by changing at the church and then pictures. Free time before the wedding allowed for a few fun pictures and a little spring sunshine!

Me and the beautiful bride!

My beautiful mom even made a weekend of the wedding and headed out to Kearney!

After the wedding we headed on the trolley around Kearney to take a few more outdoor pictures. Amy, Amanda and I were lucky enough to have our own personal photographers to commemorate the day…

All in all it was a great weekend…great friends, great food, and lots of fun!  Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Chizek for everything!

13.2

Exactly one week ago today I ran the Lincoln Half Marathon!  And yes, I know a half marathon is technically 13.1 miles, but according to the GPS watch, we ran 13.2.  Despite every effort to take the inside corner, somehow an extra tenth of a mile was added on!  Leading up to the race I was, for the first time, actually excited to run a race.  I was hydrated, loaded with carbs, had a Marathon Mania playlist ready to go on my i-pod and shot blocks in my pocket.    I’ve never really been a long distance runner, but I love the feeling of accomplishment when I am done. Therefore, I run! The Lincoln Half is awesome because there a people cheering you on the whole way.  Complete strangers cheer for me as I run by and eagerly high five them if they extend their hand.  I could be completely exhausted when some shouts out, “You’re doing great!  Almost there!”  and I suddenly get a little burst of energy that makes it a little easier to put one leg in front of the other. 

This year, as I was running I was completely overwhelmed with emotion.  I was excited, happy, proud, tired and sad, all at the same time.  Even with my i-pod, there is a lot of time to think while running.  This year my biggest thought was, why are all these people running?  All 10,000 people were out there running for a reason.  I read their t-shirts and signs discovering why many of these people were running the race.  It wasn’t necessarily because they were avid runners and competing to win.  Most were competing to finish, maybe beat a personal best and a lot were running in honor or memory of someone or to raise awareness for some cause.  I ran the race as part of Team Jess, in honor of my friend that was killed by a drunk driver.  I felt proud to be running in her memory and to see all of the others out there in Team Jess shirts.  It was such an awesome experience.  There was absolutely nowhere else that I wanted to be last Sunday morning.  Therefore, I ran 13.2 miles in 2:05… with a smile on my face!

Now, for some pictures from the race!

Ready to Run!

 Part of the fan club...

 All done and full of smiles...

 The Whole Gang...

Happy Easter...

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

 

I was listening to this song tonight and thinking about the Easter season and how Christ died for my sins and imperfections. I am anxiously looking forward to church tomorrow morning with hopes of sunshine beaming through the church windows as a cheerful reminder of the Resurrection.  It has been a gloomy few days and I am ready for sun and warmer temperatures!  

The Easter season also brought inspiration to create spring crafts to give as Easter gifts.  Check them out below!

The tools to create my crafts…

 Before…

After...an Easter bucket for Lainey filled with Easter goodies…

Painted tins turned into flowerpots…

After a whole Lenten season without candy or chocolate….the Easter Bunny did some shopping for some sweet treats for our Easter basket.

Dessert for Easter dinner…Fruity Pebble Easter Eggs

Finally, I had an itch to dye Easter eggs.  The first time in many, many years!  It was an experience all in itself.  My first time ever to hard boil eggs…only broke one.  Trying to perfect my designs and color patterns…a little tricky.  Dropping and cracking eggs…only one hit the floor and had to be thrown away.  Now, if only I liked hard boiled eggs!

Trent came home just in time to help with the last few. 



Until next time...Happy Easter!

Coffee...

Where does time go? I cannot count how many times I have done something and thought, this would be perfect to write about in my blog! Christmas, birthdays, weddings, and many other things have happened since my last post, but I will start with where I am.


I spent four years of high school, four years of college and several summers since I started teaching working at a coffee and ice cream shop. The one thing I could not get past was that I didn’t like coffee (good thing I love ice cream)! I tried it in nearly every variation, but could not tolerate the taste…hot, cold, black, with cream, blended, latte, mocha…nothing. I was a Diet Coke drinker and nothing could change that. Until, gradually I began to like iced lattes, but nothing hot. Now, I LOVE coffee! Hot, cold, blended, but not black…it has to be fancy! I look forward to it as a treat after a long run with Jamie, on vacation or before a big day.

Aside from loving coffee, I am also obsessed with Caribou, not only for their coffee but the quotes on their cups! Their cups have the ability to brighten my day without even tasting the coffee inside. Here is a sampling of my favorites.



Life is Short…

DREAM BIG, ACT BIGGER

plant lots of trees

GROW OLDER WITHOUT EVER GROWING UP

hold hands, not grudges

LAUGH SO HARD YOU CRY

do something that scares you

Compliment a stranger

make time for silly

MAX OUT YOUR PASSPORT

Get your hands dirty

WALK, DON’T DRIVE

Skip, don’t walk

BE THE FIRST TO APOLOGIZE

Thank a teacher

STAY AWAKE FOR IT!

Inspiration...

First things first…Halloween was just a week ago.  I don’t usually dress up, except for our Halloween parade at school.  Each year the first grade team spends a substantial amount of time deciding on the “perfect” Halloween costume.  It needs to be a theme that can incorporate all four of us.  We’ve been the four Aces and even the four seasons.  This year began no differently…at a loss for what to be.  However, after some brainstorming we decided to be Pinkalicious.  Check out the picture below!



Now…on to my main purpose for blogging today. It’s been awhile, but what can I say? Life has been busy. I am taking advantage of my extra hour today to relax and write. I have been inspired. The store Hobby Lobby has inspired me and this is why…

I have decided that I like love Hobby Lobby! I could spend most of my paycheck there if Trent would allow. I could also lose hours each week wandering the aisles and envisioning the most wonderful things I could create. Stickers, scrapbook paper, ribbon, flowers, paint all could be used to create home décor and other crafts. Hobby Lobby also has great sales. I went in last week and couldn’t believe everything on my list was on sale! Ribbon, scrapbook paper and stickers were all 50% off.


My most recent craft that I am working on is greeting cards. It is a work in progress and takes a lot of time, but they are a gift from the heart!


 Baptism cards for Lainey & Ellie...

Birthday Cards for Upcoming birthdays...

Until next time…and I promise it won’t be as long as last time!

Back to School...

While many celebrate the New Year in January, I consider August to be the start of a new year…school year that is. I start getting butterflies in my stomach in early July when I walk through the aisles of Target and Walmart and see the well-stocked shelves full of new crayons, binders, pencils and every possible school supply under the sun. It is definitely an exciting time of year. I absolutely love back to school shopping. I carefully plan my back to school shopping list including supplies for my classroom. The trip always includes a stop at the best teacher store, Playtime/Schooltime in Omaha. Although not a necessity, new borders, bulletin boards and stickers are any teachers’ dream! And of course, it’s not back to school without adding a few new school wardrobe additions.

Then comes August…time to get into my classroom and start getting it ready for the new school year. It is really like starting from scratch each year considering bulletin boards are taken down, desks and chairs are stacked and literally everything is moved together in the classroom in May. It is chance to once again attempt to create the perfect classroom ready for seventeen eager first graders that will be joining me shortly. I thought I would include some pictures I took in my classroom as I got ready for the new school year...a day in the life of Mrs. Laune! Now, seven days into school, I can look back with a sigh of relief that I have survived another start of school!

The "blank canvas." Everything is stacked to allow carpets to be cleaned along with a deep summer cleaning to prepare for the new students. Sparkling Clean has the amazing talent of removing crayon from desks and carpet!

Another view of my classroom awaiting a magnificent change.

Organizing is always a big back to school project for me. Sometimes I am so ready for summer vacation in May that I start to stuff things into closets...

Then, in August, it's time to organize! A work in progress, but the colorful tubs from Walmart were a big help. I also moved my big filing cabinet into my closet because my new Smartboard took up part of the space where it use to be.

Lots of name writing to do at the beginning of the year, but an easy task to complete at home while watching Big Brother!

And now, some views of the final set-up!

A back to school survival pack I received on back to school night..I was so excited about it all. They are definitely all necessities in the classroom.

Finally, check out my Daily 5 I-Charts. I am very excited about using the Daily 5 again this year. New to my classroom this year, the Cafe Menu...under construction.

Here is to a happy and safe school year!!!

Colorado or Bust...

Warning...lots of pictures!

Finally on the road and Colorado bound! Bags are packed and car is loaded with way more than we would ever need, but hey, it's vacation!

Trent checking out the snack selection. Mental note...Trent prefers iced not frosted animal crackers!

130 miles left to Denver. However, the GPS failed me on the way home and left a very grumpy driver trying to navigate from Arby's to the interstate in Sterling, Colorado.

Day 2 in Colorado: After telling Trent not to fall in the river with my camera, I proceeded to carefully step on the rocks to get my own view of the river when....SWOOSH! I slipped on a wet rock and fell right in. Thankfully only my foot got wet, but was it cold!

Day 3: White water rafting...I was so nervous, but the Colorado River is actually quite calm in August. By the end I actually could have handled a little more adventure!

Huge rock along the trail of a ridiculous hike...

While most of a were in agreement that this hike was ridiculous, the view at the top was pretty cool. There was a lake surrounded by more mountains.

Day 4: More hiking...Trent likes to choose the most difficult hikes, but again, worth it at the end!

Looking down at the 100 foot waterfall...don't fall in!

Day 5: Per my request...Starbucks in Beaver Creek! My mocha smoothie was delicious!

Day 6: Welcome to the Good Life :)

Home sweet home!

6 days, good times, lots of laughs, amazing pictures and 1,520 miles!

Next, it's back to the real world and back to school.