The Kinder Garden: Arizona Blogger Meetup with a SWAG Bag GIVEAWAY!

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Arizona Blogger Meetup with a SWAG Bag GIVEAWAY!

Blogging and TPT has been such a blessing to me in many ways. When I started blogging back in 2011, I could never have imagined all of the amazing things that have transpired throughout the last 3 1/2 years. Hands down, one of the greatest things that has come from all of this is the connections I have made with fellow teacher bloggers. I've gained new ideas, inspirations, and most importantly, friendships. I first connected with fellow Arizona bloggers in January 2014, and I was SO nervous when I went to my first meetup - I didn't know a soul! But then I found myself carpooling with 2 bloggers I didn't know and driving to a restaurant in downtown Phoenix to meet another group of teachers who didn't know me from a hole in the ground. To make matters worse, I am always kind of shy when I meet people for the first time, so I wasn't sure what to expect. And you know what? It. Was. A. Blast. Everyone was so nice and made me feel so welcomed - it was like I had known them all along! Since then, our group has gotten together multiple times with more people added to the mix each time as we continued to connect with more AZ bloggers and I am proud to call them my friends.

This past weekend, my friend Ashlyn over at The Creative Classroom planned an amazing blogger meetup - AZ Brunch and Bubbly - for everyone at her house! She was an amazing hostess and decorated everything so adorably.

I mean, come on. How cute is the table setup?

We had a blast hanging out, meeting new friends, and stuffing our faces (or was that just me?!)

(L-R: Annie from The Red Brick Road Teacher, Jamie from Not So Wimpy Teacher, Keri from Happy to Be in K-3, Debbie from Crockett's Classroom, and Jennifer from Jennuine Teaching)

(L-R: Pam from Little Bird Kindergarten, Ashlyn from The Creative Classroom, and Cassandra from Mrs. 3rd Grade)

Keri, Annie, and Ashlyn with Janae from The Sharpened Pencil

Clearly the 2 kindergarten teachers have to talk with their hands.

Me with Linda from Around the Kampfire, Pam from Little Bird Kindergarten, and Callie from Teach-a-Roo!

Ashlyn and Jennifer with Maribel from Learning in Wonderland!

I loved seeing old friends and meeting new ones, too!

We also had some photobooth fun!

Love these two!

One of the totally amazing highlights of the afternoon was having a Google Hangout with Amy Borrell Berner from TeachersPayTeachers! She was so warm and friendly and fun! She took some time out of her busy schedule to chat with us about some upcoming TPT stuff, answer some of our questions, and listen to new ideas! I can't tell you what an amazing feeling it is to be a part of a business that cares so much about their seller community.

Hi Amy!!

We also were very blessed to have a ton of amazing sponsors for our meetup that sent us a ton of AMAZING products to give away!

Let me give you the rundown on these incredible sponsors and donations:

These great companies were kind enough to provide prizes for us to give away!

Here are all of the lucky winners!

I was so excited to win the Teacher Anchor planner from C Jayne Teach! This planner has everything: calendar, notes, standards, data forms, contact logs, and more! It's going to be amazing for keeping me organized this upcoming school year.

We were also lucky enough to have some of those sponsors - Lakeshore Learning, Creative Teaching Press, GoNoodle, and Remind101 - provide products and prizes for all of us bloggers to take home an amazing SWAG bag! And guess what? YOU can win one of 3 of these incredible prize bags! Here's a peek at what's inside: