My first week home.....

Well, I got home Sat. pm and Sunday night my great friends from IA were here for a visit. Tom and I spent the next two days looking for a car. We found one!! I'm now the new owner of a 2011 Subaru Outback! :) I couldn't have done it without Tom! He was great!! THANKS TOM!

Finally on the third day Carol and I got to play and go for a hike. It is spring time in the Rockies. The snow is still melting and everything is so lush and green. It is awesome!

The water in Spring Creek is a little out of it's banks as you can see here. But we walked around the water places and thoroughly enjoyed the hike that morning!

On the way home from Spring Creek Trail we saw this sign in a neighborhood. Carol was bummed that we didn't see any bear while they were here. Rats!

Each meal was soooo delicious!! I guess I'm still on a high from just getting back, but the food in America is SOOO good! :) We even had a banjo player entertaining us while we ate at the Creek Side Cafe. Tom enjoyed singing along with the guy! It was lots of fun!

We had to share Fish Creek Falls with Tom. It was amazing this time of the year. The sound was so loud and the water was rushing at full steam!!

And of course we couldn't have them leave Steamboat without sharing a drink at Sunpies! We sat along the Yampa and watched the kayaks go down the river. What a great way to re-enter the USA! Great friends and back in my lovely Yampa Valley!

Finally home!!!

When I arrived at the airport I was tired and grungy and a little discombobulated......but there came Elise running toward me with a huge hug! What a wonderful friend!!!

Elise drove 3 hours to DIA to get me and then turned right around and took me home because she knew I just wanted to get back to my little condo and sleep in my own bed. 

After talking for 3 hours straight we arrived at my condo. She had left flowers and balloons and even a pink flamingo waiting in the condo for me!!! What an awesome homecoming!

Elise's hubby, Jim, had just had surgery on his ACL two days before so she had been up every three hours the nights before changing the ice on his knee. Is she a great friend, or what??!!

Well.....no make up, looking icky, but SO happy to be home! I'm still loving the fresh mountain air, the green valley and everything else about being home!

A 7 hour layover in Frankfort, Germany.....

Quite a few of us left Casa at 2am and arrived in Germany at 6am. Then we split up and went in small groups to head home.

Anna (one of the third grade teachers from Canada/Texas) and I had a long lay over. We left the airport and headed in on a train to see a little of Frankfort before heading on.

What we saw of the country was beautiful! We were there early in the am, so not a lot of people were around and not too many businesses were open yet. But we found a place to have our first taste of wonderful food!!! :)

Then back to the airport and get ready for my 9 hour flight to Denver. I actually slept quite a bit of the time and the food was great! AND....I have taken Dramamine EVERY time I fly since I was 18 years old, but I didn't this time and I did GREAT! :D

The last day....

The last day of school included a talent show. This is one of my little girls playing the piano. Boy did this bring back memories of listening to many concerts for my own boys. She did a wonderful job!

Yasmine came back then and sat in front of me. She was beaming at her performance!

Some of the teachers got up at the end and did a little dance for the kids! The kids loved it!!

Then the big tears started..........Yasmine is the sweetest little girl! It was sooooo hard to see her cry when we said good bye that I started to cry too. Her little sister rushed over to be in the photo too. Then I cried again when the mom hugged me and asked if I could please just stay three more years and teach her little sister too!

Another mom and with her daughter, Sarah. they were so kind to me and gave me beautiful gifts to bring back to the states with me.

Silly Gail! (I miss her soooo much!) This is Gail getting her last cous cous for lunch and showing me her hand with the fancy henna painted on it!

This is where we got lunch every day and the lunch guy. He always had this huge smile and was the sweetest guy!

Last recess.....two of my girls....Sarah F and Lila (check out those cool horse riding boots!)

LAST recess! Yippee! Although I will miss our time to chat (Illegally, of course! We were not suppose to chat. We were told we should be separate and watching the kids at all times! RIGHT!!)

Saying good by to another student...Yahia. I will miss the kids!

No school can function without a secretary. Zakia was a special lady and a good friend.

Paying our last bills!!!! Gail had to pay $100 for lost books. I had to pay $20. Ya....bummer! Gail is conveniently pointing to the sign above the gal that says that she had a 2 1/2 hour lunch that day!!! (Must be nice to work in the office instead of the classroom) We had to come back multiple times whenever paying a bill because you would never know the exact office hours. Right....CRAZY!

The guards and the cleaning ladies were definitely my favorite! They greeted us each day with a big smile and said "Have a good day!" They knew very little English, so when they said these words each day it touche my heart!

Some last minute photos to remember the places. This along the Cornish where people walk along the ocean. This guy is pulling a small horse all decked out in a fancy saddle. These were for children to pay for a ride along the Cornish. I would see them especially on the weekends when the families would come to the Cornish.

These displays of assorted beach toys popped up this last month along side of the road headed to the beach!

Another good bye to my Canadian friends, Dennis and Shirley. I will miss them greatly!

We are standing in front of the wall that surrounded their house. The flowers were beautiful!

There is the little lady along the side of the road selling mint for their tea again!

This is a place I drove by every day to work. They always have a display of the tile work they sell out front. Always some gorgeous pieces! A little too large and heavy to bring back with me though! :)

Another little shop off the main road selling bamboo dog houses, baskets and the like. I NEVER saw one dog in a dog house the whole time I was there.....

The sign to lead me to my work every day!

These young gals are SO clever. Here they are helping Judy and me "hide" our "extra" $$$$! Right...in a Kotex pad....they said security will never look there!! :D  Thankfully security didn't even ask! (In Morocco, you are legally only allowed so much American money to leave with you.)

More good byes....

The last week of school we had 1/2 days and all play....crazy waste of time if you ask me, but no one asked me! :) So here are two of my boys (Fahd and Salaheddine) playing with the modeling clay.

These were my first big tears......saying good bye to the Sunny Beach gang. I went to this part of the beach to relax and regroup sooooo many times that they were like family. This is the bar tender/waiter and the waitress that were there almost every time. VERY sweet people! I was so thankful that Judy went with me that last night because they both speak French and Arabic and I speak neither. Judy speaks French so she translated my thank yous and good byes!

I drove by this funky looking apartment building on my way to Sunny Beach. So, this time, I stopped to take a photo. Interesting style and colors!!

Saying good bye was hard....

This is Ivana and her pet turtle named Terry. My landlords (Ivana and her husband Mohammad) invited Judy and me over for dinner that last week. Dinner is at 8pm. We returned home at 11:30. (a little late when I have to teach the next day, but.....they are very sweet people.)

We had mint tea first! We had it out on their beautiful deck overlooking the ocean. It looks like a park with all the plants.

Next we came inside on the deck to eat the meal. This is Judy and Mohammad getting ready to eat.

They have these amazing painted ceilings in their home. The are a beautiful work of art!!

The three of us posing for one last photo. They were wonderful landlords and good friends. I will miss them.

It was evening, so you can't see the view out the doors behind us, but the wall is covered with these doors and they look right out to the ocean. The view is spectacular!!