Taking Care of Business

Okay, so the most exciting event this week was getting our Indiana Driver's Licenses!!! Man, that written test was HARD!!!! We thought we'd be okay, considering we've both driven for 12 years, but we had 3 of our friends tell us that studying was mandatory....we uploaded the manual and studied for over an hour....The questions were INSANE!!!
We both passed on the first try (thankfully or I would have felt like a dummy and cried- the people who know me well can envision this I'm sure), but while we were in there, we heard the lady tell 4 different people they failed. Thank goodness we were informed on how difficult it was. We had to relinquish our California licenses...so sad. Hasta La Vista Cali! We are officially Hoosiers now.
As you can tell from the pic, Ryan thinks taking this picture is cheesy....but we had to capture this moment on camera-

The BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Indy) is in Historic Downtown Noblesville. There are several buildings that were built in the 1800's. Downtown Noblesville has many "mom and pop" stores and family owned restaurants. Noblesville is the County Seat for Hamilton County. It kind of reminds me of Redlands. The homes in this area are older, Victorian style and very well kept. This is a picture of the Noblesville Courthouse. The architecture is just amazing. Our kitchen is done! We ordered granite and a tile backsplash about a month ago and it was completed on Thursday. We are so excited!!! We had to go through an independent contractor because the builder did not offer granite as an option. The company did a great job and we are extremely pleased with the outcome! Now I need to learn how to cook REAL food- not boxed casseroles and frozen lasagna...heehee.

We ordered our faucet and sink from Faucet Direct and Ryan did all the plumbing for the new fixtures by himself- he hooked up everything!!! I am so glad he can do these kinds of things.. He learned a lot about handy work from his dad, Terry. I on the other hand am TOTALLY clueless!!! I try to avoid putting things together at all costs- I'm challenged in that area.

This last week, I attempted to set up my classroom. I didn't take any pictures of the inside yet, because it is still a work in progress. I have to share my room with the other EL Specialist and 2 Instructional Assistants. I will be doing most of my work in other teachers' classrooms. I will be "pushing in" to service the 1st and 2nd graders who are learning English (I am sooo glad I was assigned the younger students, since I taught first grade for 5 years in California). In the afternoon, I will be "pulling out" a newcomer group (students new to the United States) to work with them on their language development. The rest of my day will involve inputting test scores into a database and keeping EL files for the district up to date.

Here is my school:

I will miss having my own classroom, but I am excited to try something new. Pushing into other teachers' classrooms will allow me to meet people faster and become involved with my school community right away. Also, I think it will show my versatility as an educator, which may come in handy later on down the road.

My teaching partner's name is Alissa ( pronounced just like my sister's name, Alyssa- but spelled different). She is 22. This is her first year teaching. She will be servicing the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. She is very hip and fun. She will keep me youthful in my old age...LOL!

My school has a "Butterfly Garden" and pond. It is maintained by the Eagle Scouts. It is absolutely darling! I almost cried when I saw it...I know, I'm an emotional BASKETCASE...LOL. It is the cutest thing ever!

When I went outside to take pictures of my campus, I saw several geese out on the school lawn. It was so amazing. Last week, I had to stop in the middle of the road and let a family of geese cross the street- It was the sweetest thing ever!!! Did I mention I LOVE it here??? I am AMAZED by everything!

Ryan finished his summer teacher training on Friday....Yay!!! The next time he is in the classroom, he will have his OWN class!!! He will be teaching 3 periods of Physics and 2 periods of Chemistry at a high school in Indianapolis. I am soooo proud of him! The school year starts for both of us on August 13th.We visited Noblesville's new outdoor shopping mall, called Saxony this weekend as well. It is really nice. There are TONS of shops and restaurants and a brand new IMAX Theater. We ate at an Irish Pub called, "Mo's." It has a great atmosphere and live music. Our friend Amanda (she went to high school in Michigan with my co-worker Emily from Bear Valley) joined us. She's lived in Indy for 2 years. We met her in March of 2007 during one of our many trips to Indy. She is a sweetie.



The above picture shows a "round-about" at the mall. They have those EVERYWHERE in Indiana!

We are fortunate that this shopping center is only about 10 minutes away from our house.
There is another outdoor mall called, Clay Terrace that is only 15 minutes away as well. It is in a town called "Carmel" ( pronounced like the candy- not like the city Carmel in California).

We have been working REALLY hard on training Frodo and Sammy. We really want them to be in the house but are terrified they are going to mark their territory (a.k.a. pee on our new furniture). We let them in for "supervised visits" when we are home. We will probably build a fence in the next 6 months or so. In the meantime, they stay in the garage with access to a small temporary fenced off portion of the backyard when we are not home. We also walk them around the neighborhood every afternoon. We are enjoying our new home and Indiana immensely. We love it here and are so glad we made the move. We miss you all and hope everyone is enjoying their summer!!! Until next time...XO