What a great week!

Derek has been gone for almost two weeks now...less than two weeks until he comes back! Unfortunately he will only be home for a few days and then is taking off for a few weeks again. However, I think we will get a few whole weeks together in September, which is great!

I have been spending my week with my awesome new friend Crystal and her amazing kids, Emma and Lily, and her husband, Jeff.

Crystal and her husband, Jeff. Such great people and an awesome family!

Their beautiful (but sometimes rotten) girls, Emma- 3 years, Lily- 5 months

They have treated me like one of their family and I am truly blessed to have met them and become so close so quickly! We've already had a few sleepovers and lots and lots of play time with the kids! It's given me a nice taste of what it will be like when Derek and I have kids of our own.

Crystal and I have been encouraging each other to get in better shape and have been working out quite a bit at the gym. She and I ran a total of 13 miles this week. This is a huge feat for me, as I have always despised running. But I have to say it feels so good to know that I'm working on getting back in to shape. And who knew...I'm not half bad at running! We've also been doing weight training and have tried out a few fun classes. It's a very nice facility with tons of options. Crystal and I run in a room called the Cardio Cinema. It's a room with lots of cardio equipment and it's dark. There is a big movie screen and they play a different movie every day of the month. It's nice that it is dark so other people can't see you huffing, puffing, and jiggling all over the place! It's also very nice to have the movie playing to take your mind off running.

Students do not come back to school until after Labor Day, but I start new teacher training the week of the 23rd. So, I will be going in to school quite a bit this week to get some things done. I'm anxious to get into the routine of the school year. But I am definitely enjoying the summertime!