Summer Break 2018

 Favorite Highlights and What I Wore

JUNE

A broken foot is not my idea of a good way to start off my summer break!  It’s my first break my entire life!  I think it got broken when I fell off my flatform sandals!  HA!  The crazy thing is that I broke it the first Friday in June and walked on it for a month (in heels) before finding out it was broken.  It never swelled or bruised!  Grateful I only needed this boot and not a cast and crutches!  I’m pretty sure none of you are interested in a “post op” shoe so no links here!

Many have the misconception that teachers have three months off.  Not true!  I work off and on most the month of June reviewing the past year and planning for the upcoming year.  These pics were taken days after my break – remember I didn’t know.  You’d think a flat shoe would be fine but I hobbled around.  My boss and I planned a half day presentation for all of our administrators…the theme:  Kindness is My Superpower!  Every Child Needs a Champion!

SHOP THE LOOK – Click the Image:

TIME WITH MY FAVORITE GIRLIE

This little cutie loves to fence.  She has practice on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5:30, which is impossible during the school year for me to get into the city from work!  Finally, got to watch her at practice!  So impressive and her love for the sport is amazing!  Truly a highlight for me!  Love her to pieces!

SHOP THE SILVER SLIDES:

They’re on sale for $10.00 come in black, white, silver and blush!

Any extra time we get with our favorite girlie in the summer is always great!  We try to take her on an adventure and create special memories!

SHOP THE LOOK:

These shorts are great for my body type even though I’ve lost weight the cut of these fit my slimmer, curvy girl figure and won’t break the bank!  We did a whole blog post on shorts:  HERE

MORE MOM TIME

My mom likes me to do more things with her while I’m off in the summer – lunch dates, playing cards with her and her friends, shopping, etc.  Together we host an annul “Girl’s Night Out” for the woman in our neighborhood!  We often show up in the same color palette even though we hadn’t previously discussed what we were planning to wear!

SHOP THE SHORTS:  

JUNE & JULY

We left for vacation at the end of June and into the first week of July.  July is my favorite month of the year for many reasons!  It’s typically hot! The hotter the better in my book!  I’m off for almost the whole month!  My birthday is July 4th!  Yep, I was born with a bang!  What do you mean the fireworks aren’t for me? HA!

VACATION ROAD TRIP

This year we headed out on a road trip, which I love every so often!  Len is a true road warrior and LOVES to drive!  He did all the driving!  Thank goodness as I dislike driving immensely!  We ticked off a bunch of bucket list items this trip: 8 days, 5 states, 2 national monuments, another Hard Rock checked off of our list, 1 TV show destination, amazing country side complete with wild animals, super friendly people all with a broken foot = fantastically fun birthday week!

SIOUX CITY, IOWA

Hard Rock Cafe and/or Hotel is always on our travel list of places to stop if there is one where we’re going!  We made this particular hotel/casino our first destination as it was about a 7 hour ride from home and half way to our final stop.  Why do we like Hard Rock so much?  It offers lots of music memorabilia.  Len is passionate for all things musical!  Together we enjoy looking at the artifacts that once belonged to various musicians.  The attention to detail at the Hard Rock is what I most enjoy!  This particular Hard Rock hotel had GREAT attention to detail!

We finally made it!

Guitar door handles!

Each elevator had song lyrics on the hand rails! Oh no!  Let’s go!  Love me some Prince!

Guitar pick room numbers and check out the doors to the rooms…  Each door was different!

Our room…

Loved that the pillow cases had embroidered guitars on them!

Every item in the room had a song lyric associated with it…even the laundry bag!

The lobby…I want one of these chairs!

The memorabilia…Michael Jackson and many others!

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA

As we drove for miles and miles and miles, we were reminded that our country is beautiful and expansive and many wide open areas still exist!  The wind turbines really grabbed my attention as did the cows and how the huddle together and seemed to cluster all up in a corner despite having much space to roam!  I found myself wondering how they knew how to return to where they came from…inquiring minds wanted to know! HA!

My Road Warrior…

My “Road Warrior” was ecstatic that Sinclair gas stations still exist.  Apparently, it holds fond memories for him as a child!  He was more than happy to have his picture taken cleaning his windshield at the Sinclair!

WALL DRUG

“Wall Drug has a rich history in the state of South Dakota. Nestled in the city of Wall in the western part of the state, Wall Drug has grown from its humble beginnings in 1931 to a thriving oasis. Wall Drug offers dining, activities, gifts and souvenirs, visitor information and, of course, free ice water. Many road-worn travelers stop at Wall Drug and leave awake and refreshed, just like they did more than 80 years ago.” 

“But it wasn’t always a thriving business, attracting 2 million visitors each year to the small town of Wall. Ted and Dorothy Hustead struggled to make Wall Drug successful in the early days. The city of Wall was somewhat affectionately known as “the geographical center of nowhere” back then and, to compound the challenges, the Great Depression was taking hold across the United States. But the story of Wall Drug was a story of success because one simple idea took root: Offering road weary travelers free ice water. Soon travelers would make a point to stop at Wall Drug to enjoy a refreshing break and they haven’t stopped coming to Wall Drug since.”

CRAZY HORSE

“Born in 1840 along Rapid Creek, Crazy Horse rose to become one of the most powerful and most recognized Native American figures of the Lakota Indian Tribe, second only to Sitting Bull. Cemented in history as a Native American war leader and fearless defender of Native American culture, territory and life, Crazy Horse has come to represent the freedom of the Native American spirit and the historic, continuing effort to preserve Native American culture within American society. His is an intriguing and vibrant legacy, inspiring the world’s largest mountain carving, currently in progress, in the Black Hills of South Dakota.”

We usually bring home sea shells from our travels.  This trip we brought home chunks of granite that have been excavated from the site!

A Lakota woman and her niece shared some of their history, language, customary clothing, music and dance!  I was thrilled to be able to participate in a “circle birthday” dance!  The Native American museum had many wonderful artifacts and history!

CUSTER NATIONAL FOREST & BLACK HILLS NATIONAL FOREST

Wild donkeys, prairie dogs, deer, and buffalo were a few of the animals we spotted roaming wild!  I was most intrigued by the prairie dogs as they communicated with each other sending warnings that people were near by!  My pictures don’t really do any of the beauty justice!

Prairie Dog…there were lots, and lots and lots of them every where!

Wild Donkeys

Tried to get this lone bull to raise his head for the picture…he didn’t want to cooperate!

DOWNTOWN RAPID CITY

Lots of fun things to do and see in downtown Rapid City!

Old Fire House converted into a terrific brewery and restaurant!

You can apply for space in this alley and create alley art/graffiti!

Bronze presidents on every corner!

MOUNT RUSHMORE

Fun Facts:

• Thomas Jefferson was originally started on George Washington’s right. However, after 18 months they realized that it was not working. Jefferson’s face was dynamited off and carved on the other side.
• It took 14 years to complete Mount Rushmore.
• No one died while building Mount Rushmore.
• The sculpture cost $989,992.32 to build.
• There is a cave behind the carving called the “Hall of Records.” It was intended to house the story of Mount Rushmore but was never completed due to lack of funding.
• George Washington’s face is 60 feet long.
• 90% of the heads were carved with dynamite

Avenue of Flags

As the United States Air Force Heritage Band played patriotic songs, military personnel both current and past were acknowledged, Mt. Rushmore was lit up.  A truly patriotic experience!

JULY 4TH

It was recommended to us to go to the parade in downtown Piedmont!  I love a marching band, floats, kids…it felt like it was going to be a “baseball, Chevrolet and Apple Pie” kind of day! Oh … and Happy Birthday to me!

There weren’t any marching bands or floats…mainly cars – lots of cars, farm equipment and emergency vehicles.  Not what I imagined for a July 4th parade but we still managed to have FUN!

I think I need a pink ’57 Chevy!

This was Len’s first car, which he brought home in a bushel basket and had to put together!

DEVIL’S TOWER WYOMING

“Devils Tower is an igneous rock intrusion. The rock formation formed when magma from an underground volcano cooled within the earth’s crust during the Triassic period, between 225 and 195 years ago. Eventually the softer rock around the formation eroded away and left behind the 1,267 foot tall natural rock monument. It is believed that this occurred between 56 and 66 million years ago. Devils Tower was declared the first United States National Monument in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Devils Tower is located in the Bear Lodge Mountains, and it is also part of the Black Hills. Devils Tower was not the original name. A misinterpretation by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge’s interpreter in 1875 during an expedition led to the name Bad God’s Tower, and eventually Devils Tower.”

We drove through Sturgis on our way.  More unbelievably beautiful country side, which slightly reminded me of Arizona expect much greener.  Stopped in Deadwood on the way back!  My broken foot kept me from hiking the path around the tower.  We did enjoy listening park ranger tell us both the facts and the Native American version of how the tower was formed.

Not sure of the attraction for all the motorcyclist to travel to Sturgis?!

Another state visited – Check X

DEADWOOD

The discovery of gold in the southern Black Hills in 1874 set off one of the great gold rushes in America. In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills. That’s where they came across a gulch full of dead trees and a creek full of gold and Deadwood was born.

Practically overnight, the tiny gold camp boomed into a town that played by its own rules that attracted outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers along with the gold seekers. Wild Bill Hickok was one of those men who came looking for fortune. But just a few short weeks after arriving, he was gunned down while holding a poker hand of aces and eights – forever after known as the Dead Man’s Hand.

Calamity Jane also made a name for herself in these parts and is buried next to Hickok in Mount Moriah Cemetery. Other legends, like Potato Creek Johnny, Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen, created their legends and legacies in this tiny Black Hills town.

A must stop at Madame Peacock’s for two of my favorite things – Beer and Bling!

Daisy Dukes and Cowboy Boots…not a good look for me!  HA!

OMAHA, NEBRASKA

Another state visited – Check X

We stayed in downtown Omaha!  We were only there for one night so didn’t see a whole lot.  Stayed in a gorgeous Marriott.

LAST LEG OF THE TRIP HOME:  LE CLAIR, IOWA

Le Clair, Iowa is home to the American Pickers show, which we’ve watched for years.  While I’m not much into antiques, I still knew it would be an awesome experience.  The stop did not disappoint!  It’s exactly as I imagined; and we saw many items in the shop that we’ve watched Mike and Frank pick over the years.  In addition to our granite rocks from Crazy Horse, we brought home some “smalls” from the Antique Archeology store.  Frank likes to pick “smalls”.  Smalls are tiny items like antique toys and tin cans.  We picked up a small metal car and three metal tins.

We didn’t get to see Mike and Frank. Apparently, they were on the road picking more antiques to preserve America’s history!  Len did pose by their pic!  Danielle comes in before and after hours or else she doesn’t get any work done because people like me want to talk with her and pose for pictures!  Go figure!  HA!

The Antique Archeology Store in LeClaire, Iowa is only two hours from home!  Traveling is great but there’s nothing like sleeping in your own bed!

OTHER JULY HIGHLIGHTS

ANNUAL POOLSIDE CHAT

College roommates annual poolside chat.  Except the weather was too bad and we never got to the pool.  This is only the second time we’ve stayed home and drank, ate, laughed, cried and repeat for hours!  We are so in the moment that we tend to forget to get pictures!

Friends since Freshman Year in College at N.I.U. – 39 yrs!  Love my Gal Pals!

CONTINUED MY WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY

I was going to try and get away with wearing some of my old swimsuits but when wet, they were hanging on me.  Had fun shopping for new suits!

SHOP THE LOOK

SHOP THE LOOK

Click the picture:

FEATURE IN VOYAGER CHICAGO

Click here to read the article!

PARTICIPATED IN MY SECOND CHICO’S FASHION SHOW

To read more about the fashion show click here!

MORE SPECIAL TIME WITH MY FAVORITE GIRLIE & GREAT NIECE

Our special adventure included wild animals, balloon creations, face painting, troll hunting and pool lounging!

AUGUST

Early August is always our annual Fundraiser for Scleroderma.  You might have seen my recent blog post on the event as well as how the disease effects me.  Click here to read the post!  We actually spend months preparing for it.  This year we raised over $17,000., which will continue to support research and hopefully a cure one day.

LAST DAY AT THE POOL

I always spend my last “official day off” of summer, which is the Friday before I go back, lounging at the pool!  That is when I feel as though my summer break is over and the “proverbial fat lady has sung”!

The remainder of my August is pretty much spent in meetings and preparing to return to work.  Our first day back was officially August 13th with teacher institute day.  My colleagues and I presented to over 120 staff similar to the start of this post!  We challenged them to be sure every child has a champion!  I love my job and am blessed to work with staff in a district I care about greatly!

NO MORE BOOT

I thought I’d end where my summer started – talking about my broken foot!  The good news is I’m back in shoes! It might take up to a year to fully heal, but so happy to be able to throw that boot away!  As you know I’m as passionate about fashion as I am about education!  Blessed to be doing both things I love so much!

So how was your summer?  What is your favorite highlight?  Leave us a comment!