I put together these cute little gifts for my roomies. They each got a mason jar glass with their blog name on one side and “Keep Calm and TPT On” on the other side. Inside it was filled with Jamberry goodies!
I had been to Vegas before but this time I was a nervous wreck. I was flying across the country to stay in one of the nicest hotels in Las Vegas with three girls I had never met before. It was by far one of the craziest things this Texas girl has ever done. When we finally met, it was like I had known them for years. Let me introduce to my sweet roommates! Going from left to right…
Here I am at the airport the next day. EKKKKK! I was so nervous here!
We stayed at the fabulous Venetian Hotel and Casino. I’ve never been in anything this fancy in my entire life. It was absolutely beautiful. Here is what you see when you first walk into the hotel.
We stayed in a suite and it was so pretty. Again, I had never stayed in anything so nice before.
On Wednesday night Ashley, Angie and I (Dixie didn’t arrive until Thursday) attended the blogger meet up hosted by the Blog Hoppin’ gals! We came a day early just to attend this meet up. There were over 600 fabulous bloggers at this event. Talk about over whelming!
Pics from left to right. The first picture is me and my sweet roomies!
Then I got to meet sweet Carol from The Super Sparkly Teacher.
Jessica from 1st Grade Nest is the sweetest thing.
The last picture is the best group of ladies. I spent most of my time during the week with them. We have Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd, Carol from The Super Sparkly Teacher, Sarah from A Rocky Top Teacher, Nicole from All Things Apple in 2nd, me, then Angie from Lucky Little Learners.
I also got to meet some of my teaching inspirations. These fabulous bloggers need no introduction. Pictures go left to right. April from a Modern Teacher approached ME and said “you’re a fellow Red Raider right?” My jaw almost dropped to the ground. YES, I’m a fellow Red Raider. We chatted awhile about our time spent at Texas Tech. She is a doll.
The next photo is my roomies and I with Mr. Mustache himself, Greg from Kindergarten Smorgasboard. We were so nervous to meet him. I think Angie, Ashley and I argued for a good 5 minutes about who was going to ask him for a picture. I eventually stepped up to the plate and asked!
Then there is Sarah Kirby from Permanently Primary. My best friends name is Sarah Kirby too! We chatted for a while and she is just the sweetest. I really wish I could have seen her present at the SDE conference. Next year right?!?
Last but not least, the lady who paved the way for us all, THE Deanna Jump from Mrs. Jumps Class! Her story is amazing and I couldn’t have been more blessed to meet her. She is such an inspiration.
The next day Ashley, Angie and I explored the Venetian while we waited for Dixie to arrive. This is INSIDE the hotel! We at brunch in “Venice” and chatted about all sorts of things. It was so nice to talk to others about blogging, clip art, TPT ideas and so much more!
The next day was the big day. The day we had all been waiting 6 months for. TPT CONFERENCE DAY!!!
It started out with the Keynote and it was beyond inspiring. It almost brought me to tears. Literally! Amy, Paul and Deanna all spoke.
“Success doesn’t just come and find you, you have to go out and get it.”
“Lord, if you show me the way, I will do the work.”
If that doesn’t give you goosebumps then I don’t know what will folks!
I attended some awesome sessions. I’m going to share what I learned in another post so look for that later this week. Do your recognize any of these AMAZING people?
My roomies and I with Mel D from Seusstastic! She is just as awesome in person as she appears on her blog! I just love her and can’t wait to share all things pinterest that I learned! PINCH ME MOMENT!
Pinch me! Really, pinch me! Did I really meet Cara Carroll from First Grade Parade? OMG I did!!! She is hilarious and so inspiring. She said “use your own voice, be yourself, and if nobody likes you, who cares!”. Love her!
After the conference we headed to happy hour with 600 other teacher friends. Here are few snap shots!
Here I am with Paul, the founder of TPT. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am today. This man has changed my life and I am forever grateful.