Spring Blogger Meet-Up BLOG HOP!!!

I don't really know if I'll ever stop talking about all the fun we had that one time when we went to French Lick.  If you ever have the chance to participate in a meet up, DO IT!!!

We started off the weekend at the beautiful French Lick Resort and Casino.  My family and I are regulars here, so the hotel's beauty wasn't anything new, but entering the lobby always takes my breath away.  If you have kids, I very highly recommend going at Christmastime for The Polar Express train ride.  All of the local hotels have packages that include tickets to the event, and the train ride itself is my favorite family tradition we have.  Seriously, you should check into it.

The meet up was best described as legend... wait for it... dary.  (Sorry for the How I Met Your Mother reference.  I'm still in mourning.)  Holly is Super Woman.  Should she ever leave education (which she definitely should not), I can see her making it big as a party planner.  From the beautiful decorations from Schoolgirl Style, to the swag, to the communication, she is on it! 

The meet up started off with a Teacher Tool Swap.  We played a fun game to get a random teacher tool.  In the end, I was THRILLED to get my favorite FLAIR PENS!!!  

Not just a small pack, either... But every. single. color.  Love everything about these things.

Then, Holly turned into Oprah and gave away tons of GREAT things!  I was lucky enough to win a gift certificate to Crystal Springs Books, which will come in handy if I get to go to VEGAS!!!

This weekend was wonderful for SO many reasons, but I want to share my three favorite takeaways for the weekend.

First of all, I needed this weekend.  Teaching is my passion, but let's face it... sometimes it's easy to get really close to burnt-out.  Not only was I surrounded by rock stars all weekend, but I also got to spend time with great friends.  

(From left--Lindsey, Tiffany, Jena, Marissa, and me)

Professionally, a takeaway from the weekend was the amazing POOL NOODLE!  One of the bloggers gave pool noodles for her favorite teacher tool, and not because she's an avid swimmer.  Basically, you cut pool noodles into pieces to represent tens and ones.  I have an entire blog post devoted to this very thing coming on Monday!  Check back for how I am using these in my classroom!

Finally, this meet up was an amazing opportunity to network.  I don't have aspirations of becoming a millionaire from this gig, but I do have high hopes of showcasing the amazing things my students do on a daily basis.  Meeting all of these rock star bloggers gave me lots of insight to how to get yourself out there.  Greg gave so many great tips during his "blogger talk", and I walked away feeling very motivated to blog more often.  Sure, life gets busy, but there is ALWAYS time to blog! :)

Now... for the good stuff!  All of my BFFs (Blogging Best Friends) and I are giving away lots of great stuff from some of our meet up sponsors.  Here is a look at what you will get:

(Mega Pack from Creative Teaching Press, an amazing Vera Bradley tote, Scentos overload, and Jamberry extravaganza!)

(A gift pack from Kaeden Books, Dry Erase boards from Crayola, Boogie Boards, and an Erin Condren gift card!)

ONE PERSON WILL WIN ALL OF THIS!  

All you have to do is follow along on this amazing blog hop until the very end, and enter to win in Rafflecopter.  You won't be sorry!

Now, hop on over to THE Mel D.'s (otherwise known as Seusstastic!) blog to read about her experience and get one step closer to winning some SWAG of your own!  You won't be sorry!