Girls Visit For Spring Break!

Me again!

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to have my friends come down and visit me for their Spring Break! It was SOOOO great to see them! We had an awesome time together. I just feel incredibly blessed to have friends who would drive 10 hours just to come see me! Here is the rundown of what we did!

Friday:
Friday was a long day for me! I was so excited that they were coming the school day seemed to drag on forever. Then I had to keep waiting even after school until they got here around 11:30 pm which seemed like forever! When they finally got here, it was a wonderful reunion with lots of hugs! We unpacked their vehicle and got all settled in and stayed up way too late catching up!

The Ultimate Sleepover!

Saturday:
We slept in and made ourselves some breakfast! After much debate, we decided to go check out the lake, Bagnell Dam, and do some shopping at the outlet mall!
I have never been down by the Dam, I have to say it was pretty cool!

Sunday:
On Sunday, we headed to Haha Tonka to do some hiking! I have been hiking there 4 times and it never disappoints. We decided to do the island trail which has a lot of stairs, so our legs were good and sore the next day! On the plus side, the selfie stick got a lot of use!

Later that night, we decided to head to Fort Leonard Wood, which is about an hour and a half away from Eldon to pick up Preston Miller who is stationed there for about another month for dinner. We decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings! It was really nice to see Preston and catch up with him! Plus he probably looked like a stud with all of us girls!

Monday:
Monday was our adventure day! First we made a pit stop at Kohls to do some shopping because who can resist Kohls? Not us!
Then we headed to Brumley to have a picnic lunch and check out some old swinging bridges! I had never been there so I didn't really know what to expect. They turned out to be really cool! We walked across both and drove over one. We were too scared to drive across the second even though we saw a couple trucks go across them pretty fast, they seemed a little bit sketchy. You could even go underneath the bigger one which was pretty cool! After we were done checking the bridges out we had a little picnic!

Driving across the bridge

It was a nice relaxing last day!
After checking out the bridges, we came back to my house to make my roommate Alyssa a birthday cake and hang out with her for a little bit!

We had a great time! I am so glad they were able to come visit! Thanks, girls! :)

Aubrey :)

4 Things I Have Learned from 4-Year-Olds

This week (March 5-12) is AmeriCorps Week! I have taken it as a time to reflect on my service so far. I can’t believe it is already March. This year has seriously flown by! I can’t believe the school year is almost over already. I can honestly say that I will miss the kiddos I have had the pleasure of working with every day as well as the people I have worked with.

I have learned a lot from these little people so far, mostly things I never expected to learn from them.

Here we go 4 things I have learned from 4-year-olds!

To literally dance like no one is watching

During the winter, we were stuck inside a lot for recess. That meant we had a freeze dance party! Watching the kids bust a move and not care at all who was watching them or what other people thought of them made a lot of the winter days bearable. Their moves were unforgettable and unique to each kid. They didn’t care if they looked silly, they were having a great time. Caring what other people think has always been a big issue for me. I never want to let people down or make myself look foolish. My preschoolers have shown me that it’s ok to look silly and dance like a crazy person!

The little things are really the big things

I will never forget our field trip to the fire station earlier this year. For most of the kids, the most exciting part was being able to ride a school bus for the first time! They couldn’t believe how big the bus was on the inside and that we didn’t have to wear seat belts! Seeing how excited they were about something that seemed silly and boring to me really made me think about all the great things that happen on a daily basis that we don’t get excited about!

Another “little thing” that makes my day is all the huge I get! Especially when I am having a not so great day and one of the kids comes running up to me at the playground and almost knocks me over with a giant hug! Even though I almost fall to the ground, seeing how excited they were to see me makes it all ok!

I also get many drawings and scraps of paper on a daily basis. I love getting these pictures from them. Most of the time I have no idea what the picture is but I just smile and thank them for their hard work! Some even make it onto the walls of my room!

They are the funniest people on the planet

They truly are the funniest and most honest people on the planet. You never know what is going to come out of their mouth next. A lot of the time, it’s so hard for me not to burst out laughing about the things that come out of their mouth. Hearing the jokes that they make up on the spot and they think are absolutely hysterical are one of my favorite parts of the day. The best joke I have heard so far is: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To poop on the trucks windshield!!!!” :D

Sitting with them at lunch is quite enlightening. I get to hear all of their nonsense jokes, all about their dogs, their favorite toys at home, and who they are going to marry. Oh to be 4 again!

To be a kid again

I think one of the most important things I have learned from my preschoolers is how to really be a kid again. As a kid, I couldn’t wait to grow up. Now that I am a “grown up” (kinda) I would love to be a kid again! Watching these guys play at recess and run around in their little make believe worlds makes me so happy and really wish I could be that age again. Sometimes they “invite” (more like force), me to play with them. At first I was very reluctant, but eventually I gave in. I have played zombies, zombie dinosaurs, jail, tag, and hide and seek at recess. I have to say it is quite fun to be a zombie dinosaur. Or to play hide and seek with 20 kids in a big open play ground- hiding can be quite a challenge when they all want to hide with you. It’s so funny when we start a game of hide and seek with 4 kids, soon I have 20 kids running behind me looking for a hiding spot. Playing these games has enabled me to get to know the kids from the other classes as well which I love!

There you have it! 4 things I have learned from 4 year olds!

I have to say being in AmeriCorps and working with these 4 year olds everyday has taught me way more than I ever imagined. I am so glad that I made the life changing decision to take the giant leap of faith and move to Eldon for my year of service. It is one I will never forget!  ‪#‎IAmAmeriCorps

Aubrey :)