Vegas!

I know I've been MIA, but July has been insane! I decided to sell my starter home which I've been renting out for the past five years. It took less than 48 hours to receive a full price offer and we should be closing the first week of August. I'm feel so blessed that the process has been easy so far. Keep your fingers crossed.

Then, my husband and I flew to Vegas. I attended the TpT Conference and we stayed a few additional days to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We had never been to Vegas before.

While I was in Vegas my grandmother passed away. So I returned from Vegas and my sister flew in from Germany. Even though I hate the circumstances for which my sister returned to the states, it's great she is here for two weeks because I get to see her about once every two years. 

Then, this morning, I walked into my classroom for the first day of summer school to find a mountain of furniture in the middle of the room (I had missed the workday to attend the funeral). 

That's the short version. It has been non-stop! 

Anyway...on to the pictures...


I met so may people at the TpT Conference and everyone was super sweet and willing to be photographed for the trillionith time! Here a few of the most recognizable faces. LEFT: Deanna Jump from Mrs. Jump's Class; TOP RIGHT: Cara Carroll of The First Grade Parade; BOTTOM RIGHT: Erica Boher of Erica's Ed-Ventures and Cheryl Saoud of Primary Graffitti

I spent five days in Vegas. My friends told me that was a loooong time for Vegas, but I didn't get it because I had never been. Holy moly, Batman! Vegas is not a vacation. Vegas is go, go, go! I need a trip to a tropical local to recover. 


I stayed at the Monte Carlo, but I tried to take pictures everywhere I went. Here a few.
Top Left: Eiffel Tower Vegas
Beneath the Eiffel Tower: New York New York and Luxor
Right from Top to Bottom: Freemont Street, Bellagio interior, Planet Hollywood, Excalibur


We saw three shows, including Blue ManGroup, and we tried our hand at gambling - slots, Black Jack, and we placed a few bets on the Germany v. Argentinia World Cup Final. We are not very good at gambling. 


We saw lots of famous faces at Madame Tussauds.


And, we walked from our hotel to the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. 

The only thing I think I missed out on is an Elvis impersonator. I didn't see a single one. I'm kinda dissapointed. 

Moving on from Vegas...

Since my sister, Katy, is here from Germany (home of the World Cup Champions!) we got to have little impromptu birthday party for her daughter who turned 3 this week. Leilani was soooo excited to eat cake. Cake here is much sweeter than in Germany and they don't use the same type of icing that we typically use in the states. 


Here's a pic of the birthday girl with some of her gifts. 

I can't believe how fast summer vacation has flown by. I blinked and it was almost gone.  

'Til next time friends!












Workin' On It Wednesday: FLASH FREEBIE for 24 hours only!



I'm linking up with KinderGals for another Workin' On It Wedensday. I'm a day late, but I've been super busy getting my rental house ready for sale, prepping for a Fourth of July party, planning my Vegas trip and more!



This week I've been working on awards for my super readers.

Do you give each student an award when he/she "tests out" of a reading level and is ready to level up?!

My firsties can't wait until their "D" books become "E" books and "E" books become "F" books and on and on, so I created these half page certificates to reward their achievement. Plus, the rewards communicate to parents what level their student is currently reading. 

I included this line at the bottom of each certificate: NOTE: The end-of-year benchmark for grade ___ is Level ___. In my district the benchmark for grade 1 is Level 16, but districts vary so I made it fill-in-the-blank.



Included:
Black & white and color options for each certificate
Certificates for guided reading levels A-N
Certificates for DRA levels 4-28

And, because it's sweet, sweet summertime and we all deserve a little treat, you can download the Super Reader Awards FREE for 24 hours only! July 4th at 9PM the awards go on sale in my TpT store.