Back to the routine

It's time to get back to my work routine after a very enjoyable summer break. I haven't written anything since late April. I check  other blogs regularly but just haven't taken the time to write on this one.
This summer is the first one in about ten years that I have had the whole summer free. No summer school taking up the month of June. It has been wonderful.
First we took a trip to Rome. We saw all the touristy sights, ate wonderful food, walked, took buses and trains, and generally had a great visit.
As soon as we came back I flew to DC to take part in a test review workshop. I learned a lot about how the tests are constructed and field tested. It gave me valuable insight into how this particular test works.
The last two weeks of June I attended all of the rounds of the International Ballet Competition held here in Jackson. The dancers were incredible. I have tried to attend every time the competition is held here. This year I bought two passes to all the rounds. Different friends and relatives shared each session with me. I was glad to share the experience with them.
Another June activity was researching family history at the archives. My cousin and I found newspaper notices of my mother and her twin brother's birth and their twin cousins' birth.  Just reading about small town goings on was fun. I went back by myself to look for more birth announcements but did not find them.
July was full of sewing, reading, swimming, and yoga classes. I tried all the daytime yoga classes offered at my gym. I read a stack of books that I picked up at IRA in May. When I finished those I started on the Elm Creek Quilters series that my sister-in-law lent me. I will write more about all the books I read this summer in another post.
Two end of summer professional opportunities rounded out summer 2014. MRA Leadership was the last week end in July. I took over as president and was very pleased with the group of literacy educators who joined us this year. We hope to make a difference this year in our state, nation, and world.
Finally, last week I presented three professional development sessions for my district. Not very many people came but I'm glad I did it.
Best things about the summer-sleeping late and swimming every morning.