ode to the weekend

Summer break is so close I can taste it. Today was the last day of school for students! 2 workdays stand in between me and summer! I even survived my first year of EOG testing. I will miss those sweet faces, but I love summer break!

 Cleaned our desks with shaving cream .. the kids love it!

In the meantime, enjoy some Spring snapshots from our weekends!

On Memorial Day we went hiking with some friends to Moore's Knob at Hanging Rock State Park. This is quickly becoming a favorite destination because there are numerous things to do at this park. This particular hike was a little more strenuous with hundreds of stairs, but at least we had mountain laurel to enjoy along the way.

We made a very quick trip home in May to meet our new niece Addalee!

We've taken a few trips to the local creamery .. and you must go if you are local! 

 We spent a Sunday afternoon on the Deep River trail.

Took in a Greensboro Grasshoppers game with friends.

And a few home projects of course.

This past weekend we made another quick trip, except this time to Athens, Georgia, where Justin performed a wedding for some friends. Athens is a neat town and is home to Georgia State University.

What have you been up this Spring?

easy pleasing strawberry pie

Last weekend the hubs and I spent Saturday morning picking strawberries at a local strawberry patch. It is one of my favorite Spring activities!

That afternoon I used some of the strawberries to make a homemade strawberry pie. It was delicious and easy! Check out the recipe below!

Easy Homemade Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 in- I used the deep dish)

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbs cornstarch

1 cup water

1 3oz package of strawberry gelatin 

3 cups sliced strawberries

Directions:

1. Bake pastry shell at 450 degrees for 8 mins.

2. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and water until smooth. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin. Cool in refrigerator.

3. Arrange strawberries into pie crust. Pour in cooled gelatin mixture. Refridgerate until set.

4. Enjoy with cool whip!

What is your favorite dish to enjoy with fresh strawberries?

cold days, warm hearts

Today is a snow day! Or more accurately, a winter weather day. And it is the perfect day to catch up on chores, reading, and lounging around.

But what else have we been up these last few weeks? Vitamin D and an effort to move more have been at the top of our list to help fight the winter blues. We actually had a few warmer days as well that really had me wishing for Spring.

Take a look at some of the highlights ..

1) A Sunday afternoon hike on a new trail. My friend at work highly recommended the Nat Green trail in northern Greensboro. It was a great find .. and there are many more nearby trails for another day!

2) An NC State basketball game.

3) A coffee date in downtown Greensboro. For one of our January dates we decided to check out Green Bean Coffee. It was perfect on a cold winter day!

4) Used an I Tunes gift card to purchase my secret pleasure .. the new Taylor Swift CD!

5) Enjoyed Winter Jam in downtown Greensboro with my hubby's youth. We stood outside for hours, but it was worth it.

6) Valentines date to Ruth Chris Steakhouse and red velvet pancakes at home! Plus, sweet valentines from my kids at school.

 

7) And of course, a whole bunch of every-day-ness that includes starting on our bathroom updates, free coffee from Chick-fil-lay, beautiful drives in the country, and some super cute scarves from Old Navy that I got for a great clearance price!

Another snow day tomorrow .. I'll take it! (I just hope this isn't my Spring Break!)

a summer farewell ..

September .. welcome! welcome to the month of the pumpkin debut and of course my birthday! 

It has been a super busy last couple of weeks with the start of school and trying to settle into new routines. It's always hard at the beginning of the school year to find the right balance between all the different responsibilities again!

But I am loving my new school and new coworkers and new kids! They really are superb ... such a different environment and it has been a much better start then any other previous school year. Plus I get to enjoy a beautiful drive out into the country. I pass farm after farm and have literally watched the sunrise every morning. Basically I want to stop every few feet and just take pictures.

Of course there has been a few more summer adventurers left ... and one last farewell camping trip!

Frozen yogurt with the hubby after bowling and glow in the dark put put with friends!

Friday nights at the 5th Quarter at church. Late night for a teacher who gets up at 5am!

And part of Labor Day Weekend at Hanging Rock State Park! We had a fun time camping and hiking. There was so much you can do there- swimming, rock climbing, waterfalls, and some fairly strenuous trails.

farewell summer .. until next year!