Life Lately June 2026

June means that the school is done and summer travel time has finally arrived!

While I've always loved the excitement of this transition, it's particularly bittersweet for me this year.

I've spent the last three years split between two schools and I've loved working alongside the teachers at both buildings. The day before the last day of school, I learned that my placement will be different next year...I will be full-time at one of those schools. Absolutely amazing on one hand, because I will be able to devote all of my efforts to the teachers there, and yet heartbreaking at the same time, because I will miss the teachers at my other school terribly. This is the nature of the beast with my particular position, but that doesn't make it any easier after being with those amazing teachers for three years.

I'm not sure it would have been any better to have had more notice, but the last day of school was very emotional for me because I have loved the teachers, administration, and students at that school, and when I left the building for the last time, I cried for the entirety of my drive home. I can't wait to see all of the great things they do there, even though I will no longer have a front row seat, and I know the friendships I made will endure!

Looking forward, I'm eager to build upon the work I've done for three years with the incredible teachers at the school I'll be at full-time and I'm not going to lie...only having to worry about one school's schedule, write one set of reports, and track one set of data sounds pretty great! I always felt like I was vaguely out-of-the-loop at both schools, despite my very concerted efforts to manage meetings and responsibilities, so being able to give 100% to one school is an exciting prospect!

had some PD on using Canva, so naturally
I goofed around with pics of Avalanche and I love
how this one turned out!

the original

I'm highly amused by how happy Canva made Avalanche
look because I remember taking this and he was
NOT particularly happy as C called his name repeatedly
to get him to look at the camera LOL

the original

Other than the life-altering news of my new placement at work, June was just a little bit of a mish mash of things. We traveled on three of the four weekends - went to Las Vegas and Cleveland and then drove Avalanche up to Canada for Summer Camp with his grandparents!

I am always a sucker for a pretty colored drink!

we had a baby shower for a colleague at work and were asked
to bring a children's book to build her baby's library...I couldn't decide
between these two (a Dachshund book and a Husky book),
so I bought both of them for her

the cutest earrings from a dear friend!

renewed my National Parks annual pass
and got the cutest cover for it!

the shoes i dreamed of when I was a kid...
rainbow everything!

went to see Toy Story 5 the night it came out
and absolutely loved it

our outfits were themed :)

I already have way too many mugs,
but Tim Hortons knows how to get me
seeing as they put both the aurora borealis
and Huskies pulling a sled on this one

we had an end-of-year celebration and
made beaded keychains or bookmarks;
this was my creation 

had dinner with one of my best friends that
I don't get to see nearly often enough!

on the one weekend we were home, a friend was
visiting from California and we had an awesome
dinner together

we love our god kids so much!

I'll end with my monthly round-up of Avalanche pics:

this was our last walk together
until we get home from our trip

C's dad took Avalanche out for an early walk
so we could pack the car and sneak away;
we drove past them as we lift, but Avalanche
didn't even notice us!

We are so grateful that C's mom and dad
are watching Avalanche for us again this summer!
They are the absolute best!!!

Happy Tails to you!

Cleveland June 2026

Since we had a long weekend due to the Juneteenth holiday, we decided to take Avalanche on a little driving trip!

This was the first time ever he sat in my lap!
(he wasn't happy at first, but finally relented LOL)

We drove to Ohio on Friday, stopping north of Pittsburgh to have lunch with my dad before continuing on to our hotel. We stayed at Staybridge Suites in Stow and as usual, Avalanche was a perfect hotel guest for our two-night stay.

he really gets confused in an elevator

looking to C for an explanation
of what was happening

he is right at home anywhere that isn't the elevator

checking out the room

a very happy traveler

door magnet to let housekeeping
know that there's a
"Furry Friend Inside"

we;d been to Culver's once many years ago,
just for ice cream, so this was our first real dining
experience there...pretty good for a fast food place
and pleasantly surprised that they offer veggie burgers

On Saturday morning, we went to a local coffee place and then spent some time at Cuyahoga National Park, which is beautiful! Our visit to Cuyahoga brings our current total to 37 out of the 63 National Parks!

we loved the name of this place

the coffee was great!

I am obsessed with Togo, the sled dog who was the true hero of the 1925 serum run in Alaska and there is a Togo statue at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, so of course I had to go! C and Avalanche dropped me off and I went into the zoo on a mission to find the statue, but I did stop to admire a few animals along the way. The zoo was prepping for its upcoming annual Asian Lantern Festival, so it was fun to see some of that decor as well!

After our quick stop at the zoo, we went to Edgewater Park, which is home to one of the Cleveland Script Signs. It was a beautiful day and we spent some time wandering through the park and admiring the view of Lake Erie and the downtown area. Afterwards, we drove past the Glenn Research Center just to take some pictures before going to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner, which was delicious! Our final stop of the night was back at Culver's...Saturday would have been my mom's 77th birthday, so we toasted to her with a turtle sundae, which were her favorite. This has become a yearly tradition every June 20th!

I love him so much!

On Sunday morning, we headed home, arriving mid-afternoon because it was only a six-hour drive. We had such a great weekend...all of our international trips are absolutely amazing, but there's nothing like a fun little road trip!

Happy Tails to you!