Vegas Adventures!

It's time for me to sweep away the dust, tumbleweeds and crickets that have gathered here over the last two weeks while I've been away! 
But oh, what a time I had in Vegas with my sweet friends Addie Williams and Shelley Rolston.... 

So here it is: I'm not the BEST flyer; I don't LOVE it. You see, I have to single-handedly keep the plane up in the air using sheer willpower, and let me tell you, it SO exhausting! 
Every time we land, Mr. Whimsy says "Good job keeping the plane up again, hon." 

You're welcome.

Once we landed, we somehow (I'm also directionally-challenged) found Shelley, Adria, Valerie and Farrah who had arranged for us to take a limo to the hotel. Super fun! This was an entirely appropriate way to enter the Vegas strip!

We stayed at the gorgeous Venetian Hotel, and enjoyed the amazing Vegas entertainment, including the Beatles LOVE Cirque show, and many of the restaurants. I'd mention each one, but to be honest, it's all a blur now!

Hey, is that Tom Cruise?!?! 

Oh no wait - it's just Mr. Whimsy Workshop.   : )

I had several people on my "gotta meet" list. These are people who I've worked on projects with,  and chatted with over the last year or so, and who have become special to me:

...and so many awesome new friends! If you're not in these shots, then we must have used your camera! 


The TPT opening talks by Deanna Jump and Paul Edelmen were so deeply moving and inspiring, and reminded us all that we are part of something very special. 
It reminded me of how proud I am to be a teacher, and how lucky I am that I can impact not just the darling students in my own class, but those all over the world, even just in some small way. I'm not kidding: we were all clapping, cheering, hugging and even a bit teary-eyed by the end. 

So many new friendships! There's something about these meet-ups that makes you just adore the people you meet; even if you only recognize them from tiny pictures - it doesn't matter. 
Why? Because you have a very unique shared experience, both as a teacher and a TPTer, that most people in your regular life will never fully understand. All the hours spent planning lessons in anticipation of our students' joy the next day, or the extra detail put into a TPT product just before uploading it at 1:00 am. You know what I mean!
The stories, laughs and hugs were genuine and appreciated. 



Now I'm sitting in my back yard at home, with my computer and drawing tablet, thinking that the best part is that I'll get to do it all again next summer! I've already started saving my pennies for the trip, even if I have to personally keep yet another plane in the air to get there!

So I've been home for three full days and Mr. Whimsy says it's time to take my name tag off now.    : )