And so it begins

 I'm now just a day away from leaving for Honduras and (I think) I'm ready to go!  Packing was touch and go for a while, but I think I've made it?!  They sure get you with that 50 pound limit.  Hopefully the airport's scale agrees with mine because I could be pushing it with each of them being about 49.9 lbs.

 This is the haul:

 I've managed to travel the past few years without ever having to pay to check luggage, but they will get me this time!  Actually, I was more than happy to pack a third bag because my wonderful friends and co-workers gave me so many great supplies to use in my classroom.  In fact, I stuffed one suitcase as much as I could, and it's still only about half of what was donated to me.  Hopefully I can bring the rest of it back with me after Christmas.  Thanks to everyone at Rumsey Station for supporting me on my venture into the world of classroom teaching! 

This is the loot my 2nd graders will get to enjoy.  Of my favorite in the stash is a dozen brand new watercolor sets, obviously!

I'm really excited for this journey, and I feel so grateful to have the support of my family and friends.  Thanks to Mom and Dad for not freaking out on me, "going" with my crazy plan, and helping me out during the whole process!  Thanks to my sister for running the show for me while I'm gone, I know I won't have to worry about a thing with your help!  Thanks to Erin for living in my house.  You won't have to worry about killing the garden or grass because it's already all dead.  Thanks to Nikki, Renee, Jill, Kammie and all my other friends to helped put together a going away for me.  You know they are true friends when they start planning the party MANY months in advance.  Or maybe it was just an excuse for a party?  Who cares!  And thanks to everyone else for their kind words and encouragement. 

I will try my best to keep up with this blog during the next 11 months.   I won't always promise a lot of writing (not really my thing), but photos I can do (much more my thing). 

I'd love to hear from you while I'm gone, so please keep in touch:  kristinwilk@gmail.com