South Padre Island

My family has been visiting South Padre Island since I was in the 6th grade, and this summer we made the pilgrimage back for a long weekend of sun and relaxation. Since I had already tagged along on a multitude of Ernst Family Vacations, Amy was due for a weekend on the beach with the Powells!

My first stop off the plane in Harlingen was Whataburger.... it was as fantastic as always, and I got PLENTY of the "fancy" ketchup I love so much!

The weekend passed by without too much excitement. It was just really nice having time to be lazy!

Some highlights from the trip.....

- Laying out by the pool:

- Hanging with my mom and dad: - Boogie Boarding with my Dad (no pictures... boo.)

- My mom finally found someone who likes working puzzles with her -- Amy! Here's their finished work of art. Unfortunately a bunch of pieces were missing.

- Watching the fireworks over the bay:

South Padre has a fireworks display every Friday night, so Amy and I decided to go out, watch the fireworks, and see what the night life was like. We were sitting at a table on a rooftop bar when a guy came up to us and asked if we'd like to sit with him and his friend. They said they were stationed at Ft. Hood in Austin and they looked like they were about 21. They asked us how old we were and we were silent. "23?" one of them asked.

"No....." Amy said.

"Just don't tell me your older than 25," he said.

"I'm 25," Amy said. When they looked over at me, I said, "I'm 25, too."

They ended up being pretty funny, and at least we didn't have to sit all by ourselves.

The fireworks were really cool, too!

The end of our trip came all too soon. Good thing I have more fun trips planned this summer to look forward to!

Lindsay and Amy Go Back to School

Back in May, I went outside my comfort zone..... and volunteered with Junior Achievement. My "roommate" Trisha is in charge of Junior Achievement Day, and asked if I'd like to participate. I'd never done it before because the thought of standing in front of a class of kids and trying to teach them business concepts for an entire day absolutely terrified me. But Trisha kept telling me how fun it was, and she promised Amy and I could teach the same class together. So I was in!

Amy and I taught a class of third graders. I was nervous at first, but as we got into the lesson, I started having a lot of fun! The kids were great and everyone seemed really excited about our lessons and games. Here I am looking very teacher-ish.

Here's our classroom:Here's Amy decompressing while the kids were at PE:When the day was over, we realized it was only 3:00! These teachers really have a good thing going.... school's out by 3. No summers. What am I doing as an accountant?! Not quite knowing what to do with ourselves, we did what I expect all teachers must do.... hit the bar early!

A few weeks later, I checked my mail at work to find thank-you notes from each of the kids. They were SO adorable that I had to include a few here.

Maybe I need to reevaluate my career path.......