Owl Carnival

That is the theme for my classroom this year. 

Mostly because I got a circus tent from IKEA and some pennant flag bunting from Ebay...but I still wanted to be able to use all my owl stuff. 

It's a crazy mix of cute, but it turned out pretty adorable.

I have 24 (yes, you read that correctly) little kinders and they are absolutely precious...so far! We made it through the first day and I am really excited to teach them for my first FULL year.

Ready or not...here we go!

Cheerio, mate!

I'm a little behind on everything because we've been so busy, but...

Our wild summer of travels landed us in

ENGLAND!

After Daughter's Tour, we had a two day break and then it was off on a seven hour flight to jolly ol' England. 

David was contacted a couple months ago by a man in England who was interested in having him come over and do a short poetry tour at some churches and schools. We both were super psyched, but we just kinda put it on the back burner thinking it would never actually come together. 

But, God had different plans. 

So here we were...flying to England, to stay with people we'd never met, and trusting God that this was where we were supposed to be. 

Let me just say that this trip was INCREDIBLE. 

Several people have asked me what my favorite part of England was and I have to honestly answer that it was the relationships we made with the people there. 

I have never felt so welcomed and at home with complete strangers. 

I love that the church is the church no matter where you are in the world!

There are way to many highlights to cover in one post so I'll just pinpoint a few of them in one of my favorite things...a list!

England was grand because...

-All of the houses are so cute!

 -Everything has so much history

-The people were very receptive towards David's poetry
-They have REAL castles, not just the one at Disneyworld

-Crumpets are DELISH!

-London is a tourist's dream

-I got to fulfill a dream by seeing Les Miserables  

-It was in the 60's everyday

-You have tea with milk and sugar about a 100 times a day.

That just skims the surface...

Warwick Castle

Coventry Cathedral Ruins

Dave and David Boden/Bowden

 

Shakespeare's House

Cream Tea with Leah

More tea!

Hanging out with Abby and Cerys

David is a teacher too!

The Hulley Family

The Boden Family

The Duffty Family

 

 

Best ever.

Daughter's Tour

This past week I was incredibly blessed to be able to go on tour with David and RAVE ministries. 

RAVE is a girls ministry team that teaches about real life issues that every girl faces. I could go on and on about all the amazing things they do...but I'll just let you check out their website. 

David met the RAVE team at Winterfest and he ended up writing a few poems for them to use in their ministry. They decided to go on a tour this summer and they invited David to come and perform a few of his pieces during their show...and I being the lucky girl that I am, got to tag along. 

Let me just say that this tour ended up being the biggest blessing for me.

I got to spend ten days living with ten girls who uplifted me emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. 

It was like reliving the best parts of college all over again. 

We wore matching shirts.

Lived together on a tour bus.

Had some wicked dance parties.

Vegged out on everything delicious until all hours of the morning. 

Laughed a LOT. 

Cried some too. 

Had lots of real talks about life and Jesus. 

Sang, prayed, and studied together. 

AND performed a two hour show every night teaching girls about positive self image. 

Can it get any better?

So even though I was just tagging along with David on this tour, it ended up being the biggest blessing and I think I enjoyed living with 10 girls just a little bit more than he did. :)

He's a good man. 

OH! And did I mention we performed at the church where the Duck Dynasty family worships at? 

We got to meet them and they were just as sweet and funny in person as they are on the show. 

Legit. 

Life from my phone

Sister date to see "Legally Blonde" at the Pollard.

Arts Festival= Indian Taco

Seeestors.

Gettin that chocolate dipped cheesecake!

Dexter likes to watch the Thunder playoffs.

Growin some lima bean plants in Mrs. Bowden's class.

My company while David is on tour.

Paint is a magical thing.

I find it amazing that some sanding, primer, and a bunch of spray paint can turn this table...

...into THIS table!

How fun is that color?

I have been wanting to paint this table since we got married. I had some extra time over spring break, so I bought some paint and went to town.

 Considering we got this table for FREE, I'd say the 30 bucks I spent on sandpaper, primer, and spray paint was worth it.