I'm a Teacher and I am in LOVE with Our School's Principal!!!!!

 As a teacher I must be forthright. I owe it to my students and posterity (oh,  my students ARE my posterity.) So, I admit it. I AM IN LOVE WITH OUR SCHOOL'S PRINCIPAL!!!  (Who also doubles as my amazing husband!!!)

We are in the stress of finishing up three weeks of school curriculum in less than two weeks and I've been a bit overwhelmed. We've been pushing hard through the recent heat wave and spending the majority of our day with our noses in the books, pounding out our lessons. We must finish through week 20 in order to be in tandem with the other family with whom we will be participating in school once we arrive back at New Hope in Uganda in October.  With all that business going on Geoff made an executive decision and whisked us off to the beach today--albeit with some books in hand.

At break time around 11 a.m. he told the kids to change their clothes and they were confused--it was only 11 a.m. and they'd been studying hard--they hadn't even had a chance to get dirty yet, why change?  When they realized he meant to change into their swimming suits the whoops and hollers almost kept me from hearing their feet pounding as they excitedly ran around the house! In less than 10 minutes we were out the door and on our way to our own little piece of paradise in Laguna Beach. But, we kept the kids in suspense. They guessed Seal Beach, Sunset, Huntington (notice they are listed in south-going order?? That's because once we passed the "guessed beach" without stopping, they adjusted their guess.) Newport . . . "WHERE are we going, DAD?" Finally, they saw the Laguna Canyon sign and we had whoops and hollers all over again!

General silliness along the route to the beach

Focused excitement when they realized we were going to Laguna--our own little corner of paradise!

some leisure reading for the teacher

a little rest for the body surfing boy

snacks for the famished

mmmmm, smoothie on the go!

The beloved principal

This is what qualifies it as a school field trip .. . reading school books at the beach

And I had a revelation at the beach today. It's not very deep, but it's a revelation nonetheless. I had to use that word because it's a big word and apparently teachers use such words, and apparently I'm a teacher, although Tim Hawkins would probably beg to differ since I'm a HOMESCHOOL "teacher".  He wouldn't be surprised, I suppose, that we spent half of our school day at the beach--it fits right in with his frequent comedy jabs at homeschoolers and I'm happy to oblige him.  Sooooo, anywaaaaay, while the kids were jumping in the waves and trying a little body surfing, Geoff and I snacked on some Athenos Spicy Three Pepper Hummus. Here's the revelation, Athenos Spicy Three Pepper Hummus is simply Spicy Bean Dip in a can repurposed for today's hipster. I know, you're welcome for my assistance in helping you to identify why you like it sooooo much.  

Our time in the states is coming to a close and it is days like these that I will truly miss! Yes, we had cancer. Yes, our set plans had to be adjusted and tweaked. Yes, it wasn't what we wanted. AND, YES, we are thankful!

Everyday we thank God for our gifts of life.  Today, we thank Him for the extraordinary beauty of His creation!  To see it up close--to touch it--to feel the pounding of the waves and the intensity of the sunshine!   mmmmmmmm, very good!

mmmmm, so beautiful!