Weeks 27-30

 Days 184 - 211

As you can see, I have taken a hiatus from the blog for a few weeks. I decided to just enjoy the month of July and just be present without any actual responsibilities. This is the first summer I haven't been in school in a very long time, and it has been such a gift. I continuously preach to practice self-care and to do what makes you happy so...... 

Greg and I have enjoyed late nights with the kids, late nights with friends, and late nights with colleagues - what a wonderful and busy summer it has been. I will share some highlights of our month or moments that moved me as we traveled a bit.

Holiday cookies for the 4th of July.

Medora was much quieter this year as Landen was the only one that was able to make it home. We still enjoyed our annual gathering at Chimney Park in Medora, took in the parade (they give out much more than candy - we got beef sticks, koozies, fly swatter, & a frisbee), ate Jack's chicken, and went to the musical. 

Then our adventures to us to the cities for a night before flying out to Asheville to see Ireland and Jack. 

First stop of the day was at a local coffee shop (cannot remember the name) but the chocolate croissant and coffee were pretty amazing. Aiden (small cup), Jenn (big cup), Macy (water - not sure how this girl fits into our family - can you believe she doesn't drink coffee?). 

?DOES LIFE REALLY GET BETTER THAN THIS?

As we were flying, I looked out the window and noticed the circular clouds. I had never seen a storm from this vantage point, and it looked pretty cool. What a blessing that we can fly around the storm and it not affect our flight. 

Due to the cost of flying this summer, we booked three one-way tickets to get from point-A to point-B to point-C and then back to point-A. Of course, we worried with all of the cancellations that we would be the recipient of one of them. We got incredibly lucky; every flight was mostly on time and didn't alter our trip. That is quite a gift considering the 1000's of flights that have been canceled across the US. 

We started in Minneapolis and flew to Asheville, NC where Ireland and Jack met us from their hometown of Raleigh. We rented an Airbnb for the long weekend with Aiden and Macy, explored the mountains, went to lots and lots of breweries, and saw a real bear just walking past the home we rented.

We came upon this bamboo forest on one of our hikes. 

Nothing like a leg lamp in a basement brewery.

Gosh - I love these people!

Hey bear, hey bear!

Unfortunately, Aiden and Macy flew back to Fargo and we drove to Raleigh and hung out with Ireland and Jack for a few more days. We visited several more breweries and went on a lovely hike right by their home. 

And of course, we couldn't leave Raleigh without another coffee stop. I imagine we spent more on coffee and beer during this trip than on our flights.

Then, onto the next leg of our adventure, we flew to Louisville, KY for a principal's conference. 

Lots of learning for me and lots of drinking bourbon and local tours for Greg.

We spent our evenings hanging out with others from ND and had a great time. 

One of my favorite activities from this conference was the volunteer work day where a group of us built a playground. I love working with others who have the same mindset of helping others. I mean, I would assume all teachers become teachers because they want to help others, but this is a different kind of help. A work that is physically demanding, sweaty, stinky, hard, and technical (which is different than teaching) but it is work I love to do with others. I met some amazing educators from across the nation, and we were all there to make life a little better for those who live in the community. 

We won't make the national news or receive a special award for this work, but that doesn't matter because all that matters is hundreds of students will show up on the first day of school and be so excited to climb, slide, and crawl all over the pieces we had a hand in building. If that isn't purpose, I don't know what else is. 

Lots of speak easy type bars in the area.

In KY and cross this bridge, and you are in Indiana. Such a lovely walk even with the heat and humidity.

All good things must come to an end, and we must head back to Minneapolis. One more night in the cities and then back to ND. 

 

Can't leave the city before finding a new coffee shop. Most people focus on where they will fill gas and get lunch, not the Jungs; we just find a new place we haven't been and back on the road we go.

Love this hipster coffee shop!

To round out July, we spent a weekend at the lake with some of our best friends. Our gracious hosts, the Wilsons, opened their cabin for us and fed us all weekend. 

We had a dress-up night where we had to dress as something that began with our first or last name. I went with the theme, jazzercise, and Greg (who by far had the most outrageous costume) went with a term that I would rather not mention on the blog (I'm sure you can figure it out - only Greg would come up with this). We played a great new game of liar's dice and had many cocktails to go with our themes/costumes. 

All had a great time, and we are already thinking of themes for next year.

July has treated us very well, and we are so grateful that we have been able to partake in so many fun and memorable activities with family, old friends, and new friends.