NICE! *grin*

Have you ever had a day when so much happened that you wonder if you can remember it all? That was my day today! It was a REALLY cool day, and one I don't want to forget.

First, it began with our staff meeting. Our students had the day off while we had Professional Development. And honestly, the Professional Development in my building is ALWAYS good. I ALWAYS walk away with someone new to use in my classroom, which is amazing! It was fun.

At the tail-end of our morning meeting, we had a team builder. Normally, when a person uses the word "Team Builder" to educators, they groan. I will openly admit that I am a geek and love team builders!!! In our instructions, we were told to predict what music the people at our table listen to regularly. The two songs that were given to describe me/that I listen to were "Don't Worry Be Happy" and "I Can Only Imagine." It made me grin ear-to-ear! How cool is that?

Tonight we had our school carnival. I'll be honest, I don't recall school carnivals when I was growing up, but what we had tonight was AMAZING. Our PTA is an AMAZING group of people who work hard to bless the students at our school. We had games, inflatables, horse rides, ticket redemption, food, and a Silent Auction. It was so much fun to see the parents and kids at the carnival, having a fun time.

Many of our staff had donated things to the Silent Auction. Most teachers donated seeing the new Harry Potter and getting the book. I debated and decided that it would be fun to do something interactive with a student, so I donated a round of Mini-Golf with me at Paradise Park! While I wasn't a high bidding item, a family paid $15 for their child to play mini-golf with me! That made me grin ear-to-ear.

I attempted to buy a pizza pass for a free pizza each month for a year from Waldo Pizza, but one of our fifth grade teachers out-bid me. It really was a competition between us for a while, but I lost! I tell ya, that would have been PERFECT for me. *grin*

At about 6:30, I went to the Redemption Center to work my shift. The kids brought in these little red tokens and could exchange them for prizes. I wound up putting on a goofy hat and playing a silent toy guitar. I tell ya, I got some weird looks, but even more smiles. It was FUN.

After my shift, I went to the cafeteria to hang out with our P.E. teacher, and a guy tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, and a man began signing to me! It was SO COOL! After he signed the basics, he started talking to me, and we both used our hands a lot to sign as we talked verbally to each other. (It's a habit I'm into now that I'm in Signing Class!) As it turns out, he is a parent of one of our 5th grade students, and he and his wife are interpreters! It was SO MUCH FUN! He taught me some new signs and really encouraged me to learn more. It was definitely one of the highlights of my day!

The highest moment though came tonight when I got home and there was a message from Ronni's Mom saying I can see her next weekend after the Barn-A-Break! (Ronni isn't attending, as they already have a family outing for the weekend!) I get to see my favorite camper next weekend! Woop!

What an amazing day!!!

*grin*

Life.
Is.
Good.