Vegas...with a Dual Purpose

Quite a few months ago, my friends and husband encouraged me to take the trip out to Vegas to meet all the fellow bloggers out there that have helped me to learn and grow.  Honestly, I went back and forth on this idea for weeks.  I am a quiet girl--eager to learn and try but not quick to jump into a crowd.

But I also love a challenge.  And this was a personal challenge for me, just like blogging and selling on TPT have been.  Putting myself out there.  Jumping in.

I booked the tickets.  Registered for the conference.  And then my parents and sisters decided to go. WHAT! An adult family vacation....no kids, no husbands.  Just two parents and their three adult daughters.
Vegas just turned into a trip with two missions: spend time with family and meet some amazing bloggers (and can I throw in--win thousands of dollars!)

Well....I am so happy to say that my mission was accomplished on both accounts (but not the money winning)!  I met so  SO many people and walked away with such a great understanding of the community within the blogging and TPT world.  I feel honored to say that I am a part of these worlds.  They have changed me.  Helped me to grow.  Pushed me out of my comfort zone.  And resulted in me becoming a stronger educator--my ultimate goal!

I wanted to share some of the people that I had the pleasure to finally meet face to face. 

I am in the middle :)  But Amanda is on the left.  She is from A Very Curious Class and I could NOT wait to meet her!! We have been sharing and communicating for months now.  I had to hug her the moment I saw her!  And Jenny, on the right, is from Luckeyfrog's Lilypad.  I was very happy to see her--she is a fellow Cincy blogger and we get to have lots of fun together!

Lisa from Growing Firsties has been a blogging buddy of ours from day 1!  I couldn't wait to finally see her face to face!

Catherine is another blogger that I have been reading since I discovered blogs.  She is from The Brown Bag Teacher and I am excited that she will be joining the first grade world this upcoming year!!

Jenny and I got to meet Susana from Whimsy Workshop and Shelley from The Write Stuff.  This was a big deal because I really admire the work they do.

Molly was one of the last people that I met!  She is from Lucky to be in First and I have enjoyed reading her blog along the way!  And I can't wait to share about her new app she let me try out!

And this is Elizabeth, my new blogging friend!  We spent much of our TPT conference day together!  She is from Seconds at the Beach and I can't wait to hear about her journey in first grade this year!!

These are my fellow Ohio bloggers!  I am so happy to have met them!  I am proud to be an Ohio teacher along side all of them.

As a side note...SDE had 4 different conferences going on at once.  I could not go.  But seeing ALL the teachers collaborating, going to sessions, collaborating, going to sessions, repeat...it was killing me not to be along side them brainstorming and learning!  Okay...side note is done. Maybe next year.

First purpose to Vegas-meet blogging friends...CHECK!
Second purpose to Vegas-spend time with family...

My parents took us to Vegas 13 years ago.  My sister found that old photo and we compared it to our trip this year!

We really enjoyed our time together eating good food, seeing "Love," eating cupcakes, gambling (not a big winner!), Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, eating more cupcakes, and relaxing!  So here are a few shots from our little adventures together!

I also have a few Vegas "favorites" now! 

 I could have stared at the glass flowers all day long!

 Sadly, Gordon's burger was not better than my husband's burger.  But I was still excited to go there!

Yep!  I went to this cupcake place, Sprinkles, 4 times. I'm not ashamed :)


First purpose to Vegas-meet blogging friends...CHECK!
Second purpose to Vegas-spend time with family...CHECK!