Struggling to Come Back By Mrs. Kopp

      This is my 16th year teaching and every August I start to get excited about the prospect of new students, decorating my classroom, and getting back into a routine. This August was the FIRST TIME EVER that I was dreading coming back to school.  I could not wrap my brain around the fact that I had to start again. My friends would ask me, "Are you ready to go back?"  And I'd tell them that I wasn't sure I was going to go back, I might just decide to stay home. 😐

      I didn't really have an explanation for this, I mean I love teaching and I love fall.  My favorite is when the weather turns crisp and I can read on my deck wrapped in a cozy blanket. I dream of the weekends when the windows blow cool air through the house and we can smell the banana muffins baking in the oven.  Pumpkins decorate my house and the anticipation of the approaching holidays warms my heart. (You'll all soon learn I'm a huge fan of Hallmark Christmas movies!  I know they are all the same, but I just love them.) 

     Despite my love of the changing season, I had to DRAG myself to school to set up my room. I avoided all other thoughts about school.  The night before the first day, I found that I needed to plan, since I had tried to avoid it previously.  I was up until almost 11 pm planning, then I was eating ice cream and looking at Instagram until almost 1 am - anything to avoid sleeping- until I finally got 4 hours in before my alarm went off.  I woke up with the typical first day butterflies (teachers get those every year, too!) and off to school I went.  

   Well, after my very first class (shout out to class 1 - 10th grade), I remembered why I LOVE this job.  They came in with bright eyes and smiles on their faces and they were happy and then I was happy.  When class was over, I just took a deep breath and reveled in the fact that I have an amazing career and I wouldn't want to do anything else.  Now I am ready for the year!

Perhaps it was difficult to say goodbye to summer because I love having those months with my family.  It's a gift and I don't take it for granted. Here are some highlights from my summer:

The minute that school ended on June 30th, we were on a plane headed to Houston Texas.  My cousin, Michael, is a chemical engineer there, so we stayed with him. We had a blast. We went tubing on his boat, ate kolaches (which are these little puffs of goodness), and visited NASA Space Center.  

When you're taking a NASA tour and they take a green screen photo, but your cousin is wearing a green shirt! HAHAHA We laughed about this for days! 

Here we are at NASA. Brayden loves science and he was really into this museum. 

The kids next to the "Saturn" rocket in rocket park! Pretty amazing! 

From Houston, Texas, we flew straight to Seattle, Washington! Mr. Kopp's cousins live there so we were doing a summer cousin tour. While we were there we kayaked in Lake Washington, ate lunch at the Puget Sound, hiked Snoqualmie falls, and then we hiked Mount Rainier - the highest mountain in the United States! 

Mount Rainier was one of the most breathtaking things I've ever seen. It was also pretty cool to be hiking in snow, in July.  

This was our whole group!

We took this picture! It's so beautiful, it looks fake!

View of Lake Washington from Gasworks park. Not only a dream to sit there, but it was only about 70 degrees - just amazing. 

Standing in the Puget Sound - it was cold! 

After we finished our cross country trek, we were home for a while and the kids swam on the local swim team and we spent time with family and friends. In August we went to one of our favorite places, Birch creek Lodge.  It's a cabin on 14 acres in the Catskills in New York State and we go there every year with two other families. It's like camping, but in a nice house! Glamping! 

My babies (who are getting big) posing on our last day. 

Our whole group - we take this picture every year! Yes, the man with the wild, white, beard is my husband.  He refused to shave all summer and it drove me crazy! Thankfully, he shaved right after this trip! 


Then, on August 20th, my sister had her first baby! Harrison Mayer was only 5 lbs 11 oz and he's just the sweetest little guy! He is the 6th grandchild in our family and we just love him to pieces!

Look at that little face! I call him my nugget! 

Two weeks old - wearing his first pair of pants! 

I'm getting in as many baby snuggles as I can! 

But, when summer came to an end, I had two children who were beyond excited to start school and I am really grateful for this summer.  The summer gave me the chance to explore, relax and read!  Now I'm going to enjoy my amazing students and the fall!