We really didn't have much of a summer as Stephen started a new job in a year-round school in Cedar Rapids. He is now the Instructional Coach at Polk Elementary just minutes from my office. I am loving the lesser drive time and he has enjoyed the new challenge. He's already been in session for a month or so. He will be getting an "intercession break" the last 2 weeks of September. His job as best as I can describe it is coaching teachers on new instructional initiatives the district wants implemented in the classroom. He still works with kids sometimes but typically in smaller groups. He is always doing something different and spends a lot of time emailing and coordinating different things. The nice thing about Polk is there are a lot of kids there who look more like Lydie and Samson. He's come home with some very cute stories and it's been a nice change for him to be in a more diverse building.
A couple weeks ago my whole family got together to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. It was definitely a highlight of the summer. My sister was able to fly home and surprise mom and spend a few days here which was a treat. Mom had nearly 4 days of one surprise after the next and I think by the end of it she was a little overwhelmed! We fished, got pedicures, had a campfire, talked, laughed, sang together, swam, ate and loved on our beautiful mama! It was so wonderful. I always have a hard time recovering after times like those. It's hard to get back to reality and the daily grind. It's times like those that you wish time would stand still for a little while.
On Tuesday, August 16th, Stephen and I traveled to the Iowa State Fair with his parents so the Probert Farm could be honored as a Heritage Farm. This means the farm has been in the family for 150 years. It was a wonderful honor for the Proberts and I was so proud to be a part of it. Of course, when you go to the fair, you have to eat! And boy did we eat!
At the end of June/first part of July Stephen and I took a vacation to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We drove to Chicago and caught a Cubs game then drove up the eastern side of Lake Michigan to Mackinac Island. We discovered on our trip the most of our vacations have always been to visit family members and this was the first time we were actually just vacationing as just the two of us. We knew this may be the last chance before the kids come and that's okay! The weather was perfect and we had a great time together. It was a healing time for us as the last school year had been pretty rough on Stephen. He had also taken some classes after school had ended and this was the only time we had before he had to start at his new school.
And of course, summer is never complete without volleyball. Every Thursday night we piled into the Reed van and headed up to St. Lucas (one hour north of Independence) and played. On the last night of tournament play (we won our bracket!) Stephen's elbow caught my forehead and the bridge of my nose. For a split second I was afraid my nose had broken. Thankfully it wasn't and I didn't even get a black eye!
It was a great summer. Our last summer of freedom so to speak! But we have had 14+ summers of just the two of us, time for a new chapter. I'm ready!
