The Baker Beat: Spring Break 2010

A great perk about being a teacher is the ten week break called 'summer vacation.' A student last year gave me a plaque that said '3 Reasons for Teaching: June, July, and August.' I didn't quite know how to respond to that considering it came from a student (nor where I was supposed to hang it - certainly not in my classroom).

However, besides the 10 week long summer break, there are 4 additional weeks of vacation that come in the course of the year. One of those is the greatly awaited Spring Break! March always seems to be one of the longest months of the school year because it is the only month that we get NO days off. I know, sounds ridiculous because in every 'real' job that is a reality for almost every month of the year. But, I think that teachers need days off because the students need days off. When the kids don't get a break, they start going crazy...especially when Spring hits.

All to say, I was definitely ready for Spring Break this year and eagerly awaiting my 9 days off of teaching. Last year I spent my Spring Break in Taiwan.

While that was a great trip (but no, I don't need to be going back to Asia anytime soon), it was also somewhat exhausting due to the long hours of traveling (and being in a completely different time zone). This Spring Break, I was excited to stay local. And, I had a lot of fun things planned. Here are my Spring Break 2010 highlights.

1. Easter Tradition Resurrected - Ever since I can remember, we spent our Easter with a handful of close family friends from our church. It was something that I always looked forward to. Unfortunately, that tradition took a three year hiatus from 2007-2009. But, we officially resurrected the tradition this year, and it was so fun to celebrate Easter with great family friends.

2. Pebble Beach at the Valdez House - My dad has a connection to a house in Pebble Beach, which we spent time at during my 2008 Thanksgiving Break and this past July. We went back again last week for two nights, and it was a great get away. I LOVE this house! It is right off of 17 Mile Drive and just a few minutes walk down to the beach. The house itself is adorable, with an amazing backyard. I would love to live in this house if I could! Here are some pictures from our time in Pebble Beach.

With my niece Kate (above), niece Claire (right), and Jason (below).

3. Monterey Bay Aquarium - See my post about this. Of course I'm all about checking another item off my '30 Things Before 30' list.

4. A's Game - While I'm no huge A's fan, Jason's mom has AMAZING season tickets. We literally sat in the two best seats in the stadium - no two seats are closer to home plate. It was incredible. We were directly behind the A's dugout. You can practically hear their conversations. Too bad I'm not a bigger fan (I'm more of a Giants fan, but the A's are one of the only sports teams that Jason and I at least both somewhat like. He's a Dodgers, Cowboys, and Lakers fan. Seriously?)

The pictures above are from Rajai Davis' home run hit.

Picture taken at our seats - practically on the field!

5. Jason's brother's wedding - I finally got to meet a majority of Jason's extended family. They are great, and we both had a lot of fun at the wedding - apart from the BRIGHT red vest Jason had to wear as a groomsman...