Always Be Hoppy

from today is the first day back for teachers!

I feel like we are the last district in the universe to start. Even after such a disastrous winter and ELEVEN snow days, parents in my community still wanted to start after Labor Day...

And despite the late start, this felt like the fastest summer since I started teaching. In the past, I was working or in graduate school or traveling, and this summer I did very little of any of those things! Yet some how it feels like it flew by.

One of the most exciting events was this pop up gallery where I was able to show some of my work. It was up for about six weeks, featured over 40 local artists, and provided space for different vendors each week. AND, the night of our end of the year staff gathering, our band teacher was performing with his jazz group. It was super cool.
I think The Gallery was an awesome first step in the right direction for the Arts in my city. I look forward to where we will go and hope that I can be a part of the process.

I did a bunch of other things too:

For a while I tried to walk the beach at the end of my street each morning. Yes, that is the Boston skyline! I am one lucky girl! By mid July my efforts kind of petered out. I'll get back into it, I hope, when the routine of the school year gets into gear. 

I tried a bunch of new recipes including Tofu Banh Mi, being prepared above. Summer cooking provided the great challenge of how NOT to turn on the oven!

We saw the Pixar exhibit at the Science Museum. I stinkin' LOVED it! I was glowing with excitement by the end of our visit. I have always loved the art, but to see the science and engineering and match in action, my art teacher self could hardly be contained!

Going along with my art teacher-ness, I attended my first ever Art of Education online conference! It was an intense day that also went by really fast. Lots of great ideas to consider as we head into the new school year. Really loved the Swag Box and the six month access to the After Pass.

After a super, wedding planning intense week visit with my mom (I bought a dress!) we traveled to the City of Brotherly Love for a college friend's wedding. I wish I had more pictures, but I was too busy eating my way through Old City and Reading Terminal.

The picture above was taken from our hotel window. It was perfect walking distance to Independence Hall and many other attractions.

The wedding was lovely and super cool. We rounded out of weekend trip with brunch with some great, old friends and their little one. 

After all the rushing around traveling and family visits, we snuck up to Vermont for a week. The picture above was taken on a trail at VINS, Vermont Institute for Natural Science. We also did some kayaking, grilling, hiking and painting, well at least I did that last part.

We are very fortunate to have spent some of our free time this summer lounging by our pool reading, planning our wedding or grilling. I've tried to keep the lawn green. I planted a little vegetable garden and put in some new flowers in the backyard. It has been a great first year in our home.

We did give ourselves one goal this summer.

Nothing too taxing or difficult, it was vacation after all...

We attempted to go to a brewery a week, some weeks we doubled up, others we didn't get there, but I am fairly certain that we met our goal in numbers.

Between the two of us, we visited these breweries:

• Nightshift Brewing
• Cambridge Brewing Company
• Samuel Adams
• Harpoon- Boston
• Trillium
• Long Trail
• Harpoon- Windsor Vermont
• Wormtown

I just love this beer and logo. It makes me so happy and I know thats the point, but it was very fitting as the last brewery of the summer.

Thank you summer 2015
I am going to call it now, summer 2016 will be one to remember!
Here's to the new school year!!