fun-filled few days

This past weekend was full of Taulman fun! On Friday night Nathan and I stayed home and enjoyed making home-made pizzas together and then fell asleep on the couch(surprise surprise). We were up early on Saturday to head to his parents to help them move a few more things. This time we went through Nathan's stuff- talk about really cool. It is always fun to take a walk down memory lane together. He showed me his old t-ball uniforms(we kept some just incase we are ever blessed with a little guy), he had all of his elementary school papers that we looked through, then came to basketball stuff....wow- talk about cool. I loved reading the paper cut-outs, seeing his uniforms, looking at his trophy's and listening to him tell stories of his 'basketball days'. It was really neat-and meant alot that he would share that with me. I even told him that he MIGHT have been cool enough for me to wear his Taulman shirts if we would have went to school together..haha ;)
 After we finished boxing up stuff that we wanted to keep we went for a run together and watched a little bit of the t-ball games that were going on at the park. fun times.
 Later that evening we drove to our good friends Shad and Saras house. They just finished building a beautiful house in the center of the state so they invited us for a little dinner and fishing. When we got there we headed out in their gator and road about 2 miles to a piece of their land where they hunt and fish. It backs up to a beautiful creek. Talk about a blast!!! It was so fun riding in that thing through the shrubs, over trees, down HUGE hills and finally into the creek!!! I was loving it. Nathan and Shad got out the poles and did a little fishing and Nathan caught a pretty good size bass. We could have stayed out there all night but Saras parents called and said a bad storm was blowing in so we should get home. Well....that would have been the smart thing BUT instead we piled back into the gator and headed to another part where there is a pond so they could get a few casts in there too. At this point her parents called again and said 'you have 7 minutes before the storm hits so get home!' We  decided we better get going and got back into the gator and raced home. I felt like Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz.... it was crazy. We pulled into the garage just in the nick of time- the winds picked up, the clouds opened up AND it was one wild storm. We enjoyed the rest of the evening by candle-light and the lights of the lighting bugs outside. It was perfect.
 The plan was to drive back to his parents that night but Shad mentioned fishing in the morning and that was all it took- hook, line and sinker...we were staying until the morning. :)
 The boys were up and on the water around 6, while the girls enjoyed a little more shut-eye. When they got back Nathan was beaming from ear to ear. Who wouldn't be after spending the morning with a  professional fisherman taking him out on his sweet boat! They got back to the house around 10 and we made the trip back home.
 Sunday the school had a going away party for me. It was VERY nice and I was surprised how many people took time out of their day to come. It was really nice talking and having the opportunity to say good-byes.  It really meant alot! I sure will miss them.
 Today I went into school and cleaned out my office. That was really bitter sweet. I had to just keep focusing on the future and what God has instore because I was about 1 thought away from loosing it. It seemed like just yesterday I was taking all of my stuff in and making it my own. Some wonderful memories. :)
 Nathan is back at work.. they are doing a store re-set tonight so I am catching-up on a few things around the house- tomorrow I have another fun day. I am going on a Chicago Photo Shoot! :)

smell????

Yesterday Nathan offered to take me out for dinner :) so I was very excited! We headed out the door and I just happened to get in the car first. We were pulling out of the drive way and I smelled something that reminded me of bleach. Now there are many times that Nathan has to transfer things from one store to another so my guess was that he had left something in his car- and it was starting to smell.
 I was sniffing and looking around and said 'do you smell that? it really smells like bleach!' He just gave me this look and said....'Well, that would be my cologne, honey.' Talk about open mouth insert foot!!! opps. We just both started laughing and he quickly reminded me that I bought it for him! good thing he has such a good sense of humor.

wow-ed

'WOW-ED'
 ...if that is even a word it is how I have been feeling the last two days!

Here is the story...ok so you know I LOVE photography and how my wonderful husband has been pushing me to pursue my dream of being a 'photographer'(that word just freaks me out sometimes). I have been testing the waters with friends and family(thanks so much to them) and have made the BIG decision to take the leap. man, is it scary but I am doing it and not going to look back! BIG SMILES!!
 On Tuesday I went drove to Cincinatti to spend the day with an AWESOME photographer. She graciously said she would be my mentor...how cool is that! I sent her 4 pages of questions(I think she might have been questioning herself as to why she said yes to this after she got the email) and counted down the days until it was time to meet with her, when the time came I couldn't sleep the night before because I was so excited.
 Tuesday was the big day! We meet @ 10 and spent the first 2 hrs. going through questions and I took notes(LOTS), then we meet one of her friends to do a photo shoot where I got to watch her work her magic. After the shoot we went back and I asked more questions, she showed me her workflow, editing tricks and before I knew it my head was spinning with excitement, fear, questions, answers, and millions of other thoughts.
 I got in the car to drive home and was in total awe. After I called my hubby and my friend Bridgette to share my excitement, I did alot of talking to God and my dad. Anytime you try something new its scary, it could fail,OR it could be the best decision you could ever make. I know this adventure will be hard, take alot of work, not going to happen over-night and challenging at times but I am 100% confident that I can do and I can't wait! With the help from God, my husband, my wonderful family & awesome friends I am taking the leap..............................................I am in tears with excitement!
  off to work :)

gav's

Yesterday afternoon we headed to Gavin's new apt. to enjoy dinner and give him a little help unpacking! :)
  The poor guy has had a rough couple of weeks @ work so we thought we would give him a little company and a helping hand. I was so glad we did!!! When we got there it was a mess...it looked like a tornado went through! The guys grilled out while I started on his closet(oh, dear), they were nice enough to come check on me to make sure I wasn't lost a few times! They got a great dinner fixed and we sat down at his new dinning room table and enjoyed great conversation and a yummy dinner.
 After dinner the boys enjoyed a movie(The HangOver) while I finished up the apt! I had a great time just hearing them laugh so hard in the other room! It was so worth all of the cleaning!
A few loads of laundry, a little TLC, some rearranging its safe to say...his apt. looks pretty sweet now!  We have bets to see how long it will stay that way!! haha

here are the boys enjoying a little wine and grilling out...i took it with nathans phone, not really sure why its so grainy but its the thought the counts! :)

SCHOOOOLLLLS OUT...

FOR SUMMMERR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YIPPPEEE.

Ok so it was a little bitter sweet today when I left, however, the 'blues' quickly went away when I walked outside and saw the beautiful sunshine and realized I was on vacation.Time for picture taking, reading, laying by the pool, a zoo trip or two, a mother/daughter trip, a brother/brother fishing trip...just to name a few.

I usually don't post about my students however, there is one family that has been on my mind for a long time and I am asking for prayers for them.  Quick background- the older brother is an awesome kid- good student, kind, athletic, fun and happy- but this past year he has been different and the younger brother- another great kid, just a little spunky but tons of fun, has been getting into trouble more then normal for a second grade boy. One day I ask the older brother if he was ok and he said 'No.' period. that's all, just NO. I was shocked and it broke my heart. I told him he was always welcome to come and talk and it wasn't a day later that he was in my gym in tears.  Their dad has been cheating on their mother for some time now, he is into drugs and is not a nice guy to the boys, but the mom continues to let him back into their life. Lets just say that everyday when I ask the 3rd grader how things are going, I see his eyes swell with tears, and he says 'not good'. The dad is in and out just about every other day.  He comes by my gym each week and stays after his class to chat. Man, it amazes me how strong he is- such an inspiration. It is a rough rough road at home but through it all the boys are GREAT kids, despite the fact that their dad is not. There story breaks my heart and I wish so much I could just bring them home with me.Please pray for them, I know I will be LOTS! thanks.

We have LOTS on our plate for the summer... I will blog about that soon :)  It's going to be an adventure that's for sure but we can't wait!

Indy 500

It was hard to believe it is that time of year- man how time fly's. The Indy 500 is one of our 'Railing' family traditions that I hope to carry on for a long time to come. We are not huge 'racing' fans however, this is one race  that we LOVE and really look forward to each year. This year was full of wonderful memories for the 'Indy 500 record books'. We invited our good friends Mike and Bridgette to join in on the fun too!
   Things were a little different this year because we were able to spend the night in Indy with mom which meant no 5:00 am wake-up call(big smiles). But everything else was normal as usual: Mom was up early chomping at the bit to get going, our coolers were overflowing with the traditional fried chicken, turkey sandwiches, chips, cookies, veggies and beer- lots of beer, Gavin and his buddy Jay were giving us plenty of morning entertainment, Nathan and Mike were running out to get the ice and newspaper, Bridgette and I were looking for the tickets that mom 'lost' :) all while thinking that we were crazy! After we found the tickets we loaded up and headed for the track.
 We parked at the same house as mom and dad had for 25 years, loaded the boys up with the coolers, then made the walk to to track. Always fun to see all of the 500 crazies out there!
 Once we got to the track it was time to relax and take it all in. It is always fun taking friends that have never been, I love seeing them take it all in and the look on their faces when things get started. Here are a few pictures from the fun day.

the winner and his crew celebrating!!

Although the day is wonderful, it is definitely missing my dad. He was a HUGE fan and we missed him so. I looked up during the race and saw this beautiful sky and knew that he was enjoying it with us.

All in all, it was a great day full of fun and lots of memories...until next year- God Speed!

Field Day

Being an elementary PE teacher only means 1 thing when it comes to the end of the year...FIELD DAY!

I was actually really looking forward to it this year- I love seeing the kids excitment, all of their smiles and watching them have so much fun. The hugs at the end are pretty sweet too. :)

A little idea of how our day went:
 There were 24 stations full of fun stuff like a leaking water bucket challenge, teamwork tug-of-war, an obstical course, beach volleyball, wet sponge races, hurdle races and hula hoop contests- just to name a few. I was blessed to have 60 parent volunteers to come and help. They were awesome and such a help. Funny story:  one of the mom's who I have seen at our church and teacher her two (great)boys- came up to me and said 'I did not realize you were the PE teacher...I thought she was an old fuddy duddy lady!! I just laughed and laughed and said well I am sorry to dissappoint you! haha.  She came up to me at the end and thanked me for not being one and for the great day for the kids. It was great!!
 All of the students (654 to be exact) were outside visiting each of the stations for 10 minutes getting as wet and sweaty as they possibaly could. Since it was a beautiful, HOT, sunny day we treated them to a Popsicle at the end of the day. Everyone got wet(ok, soaked)...included me! I got dumped on at the end...the students LOVED it and so did I. Overall, the day was great and I was even a little sad to see it come to an end. I really have blessed with such a wonderful school.

One of best parts of the day was that my wonderful husband came out to help! It was so sweet of him and made my day. I was so glad to have him there. I think he had fun too! He is the best.

After everything was cleaned up(not put away...that will have to wait) we headed home and both just chilled on the couch. We finally got up to get some dinner a little bit ago and we have found ourselves back on the couch again- I think its all catching up to us. Needless to say I think it will be a pretty early night for us.

I will try and get some pictures from the day and post them later. Hopefully someone got the bucket being dumped on my head! :)