Labor Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful 3-day weekend!!!
Before I begin this blog entry, I need to say "Congratulations" to my beautiful cousin, Cori!!! Cori got married last weekend in Hawaii. Although Ryan and I were unable to make it, we were there in spirit! We love you, Cori!!! XO

The Newlyweds- Cori and Campbell:

Many of my family members attended Cori's wedding. Below is a pic that I stole from my brother's Myspace page of my cousin Tommy, John, Grandma Genie, my brother Garrett, Tutu and Papa:Here is a pic of my brother in Hawaii last weekend.... My dad, John and Garrett on a dinner cruise in Hawaii!!! Love and miss you guys- glad you had a great trip!!!Indiana does not have a professional baseball team, which is fine with us, because we will ALWAYS be loyal to our CA Angels!!!! We do however have a minor league team...

Our Labor Day weekend began with going to the Indianapolis Indians game. Victory Field is in the heart of downtown Indy. Ken Griffey, Randy Johnson, Larry Walker and Roger Maris all played for this team at one point....

We had the BEST weather...high 70's-low 80's!!! It was a beautiful day! We had a BLAST! Check out our new hats!!! Gotsta represent- woot woot!!!!
The Indians played the Louisville Bats. We were up until the 9th inning....then we gave up 3 runs and lost it all!!!! Too bad.....soooo sad! :(
Doing the wave....
Ryan enjoying the game!!!

On Sunday, we took the pups to Morse Lake. Again, phenomenal weather!!! We were surprised to see parasailing going on!!!


There were quite a few boats out on the water, but not too busy for a holiday weekend!
We love to take the kids out with us...they love their dad! They are so happy here!!!
I know I say this in every blog, but I can't get over how pretty it is here! Seeing all these trees when I drive into my neighborhood makes me smile!
I'm so disappointed that I can't be around for everything! My nephew Dylan is turning 1 on Wednesday (yep, he shares his birthday with Uncle Ryan). He is walking and talking up a storm!!! It makes me sad that I can't squeeze those chubby cheeks! Happy Birthday, Dilly!!! Auntie Brooke loves and misses you!!! XO

Until next time.....xo

Getting the Ball Rollin'....

We are soooooooooooooooo EXHAUSTED from this past week!!! Ryan FINALLY got his room assignment on Monday, and after our teacher inservices, we both went to his classroom and decorated it. We stayed until 9:00pm rushing to get it done. It turned out pretty good don't you think? Ryan likes his room. The only bummer is he doesn't have a lab, so he will have to rotate with another teacher when his class is doing an experiment.
Ryan's first day of school was Wednesday. He spent the last 3 days going over his syllabus, getting to know his students, and doing a couple demos. He will begin teaching the actual curriculum this week and he is very excited to get down to business!!! My first day of school began on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I spent ALL day in my classroom completing paperwork....I thought I was going to go INSANE!!!! I could NEVER work full time in an office...I would DIE of boredom!!! On Friday, I assessed a few students and went around to a few classrooms to observe. My partner Alissa and I will begin servicing the students on Monday!!! I can't wait...I am so much happier interacting with the kiddos...

We spent some of our time creating a "push-in" schedule....that was a pain in the butt!!! I have new respect for all support teachers who have to do this....it is a NIGHTMARE!!! I'm sure we are going to have to change it several times to accomodate all of the teachers...

Here is our work in progress:


On Saturday we slept in and decided to get out of the house. We took the doggies and went 5 minutes up the road to check out Potter's Bridge. Potter's Bridge is the only covered bridge in Noblesville. It was built in the 1800's. This pic reminds me of my favorite movie..."The Bridges of Madison County."

Potter's Bridge goes over the White River. We just found out you can rent canoes and paddle down the White River. The canoe company will drive and drop you and your canoe off up river...we are going to do this before the weather changes...We also discovered that there are hiking and biking trails along the river as well. They are absolutely gorgeous and are engulfed by the most beautiful trees!!!If you walk along the trail far enough, it will take you straight into "Historic" downtown Noblesville. You can see the Hamilton County Courthouse in the background....

After our walk, we got out a blanket and let the doggies run around at the park....All and all, it was a very realxing weekend- EXACTLY what we needed to prepare for another week of work and adjustment!!! Frodie refusing to give Ryan the stick...Sammy in his usual position...Here is a picture I took on our drive home from the park...Have you ever seen a sky so blue???Is this the GROSSEST thing you have ever seen or what??? This spider was on Eric and Liz's porch...I think it was pregnant...look at the egg sac on that thing!!!! EEEEWWWWWWWW!!!!!

Until next time.....XO

Happy Days

Our last week before school starts was actually quite eventful. I attended a 3 day training for work Monday-Wednesday and new teacher orientation on Thursday and Friday. Ryan had new teacher orientation for his district Monday-Thursday. Ryan lesson planned and prepared his syllabus, while I finished up some final touches on my room and met up with my partner, Alissa to prep for the upcoming week.

My desk:

My classroom:

Another shot of my classroom. Alissa's desk is the one on the left that is neat and tidy...mine is the one to the right with all the "clutter."

Ryan came with me to my class on Sunday to work on his lesson planning...too many distractions at the house....Ryan is supposed to get his classroom assignment tomorrow...his school has changed his room 3 times already!!! I will take a pic of his room and post it on next week's blog. Good thing he is so mellow....I would be a total wreck if I got assigned a room 2 days before school started!

Friday night, I rode with my my neighbors Liz and Sabrina about an hour away to the town of Greensburg. Liz's mother-in-law owns a scrapbook store there. I was in HEAVEN, as scrapbooking is one of my favorite hobbies. We scrapped in a room adjacent to the store, but had access to any and everything in the store we wanted. While we worked, we watched the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics. I like my neighbors...it is so fun to have people around my age to hang out with!

FYI-Liz is in the braids, Sabrina is the blonde. You can see the store through the window in the background:

While we were busy "making memories," Ryan was hanging out with Liz's husband Eric and our neighbor Zack...they played Corn-Hole (a game similar to horse-shoes or washers), jammed on their guitars, played the Nintendo Wii and drank beer...a total manly man night for them!

Ryan and I went for a walk around our home and took some pics we thought you might enjoy.

We also were able to snap a pic of this beautiful sunset surrounding our home.

Sometimes I still feel like we are just visiting- that living here isn't real. This probably sounds silly, but my surroundings make me feel like I live in a storybook. It is better than I imagined...

The only thing that would make it better is if you lived here with us...we LOVE and MISS everyone!!! Until next time...xo.

P.S. Think of us on Tuesday (I start my new teaching job) and Wednesday (Ryan starts his new teaching job). Oh, and to all my fellow friends and family that are teachers...I wish you a very happy school year and hope you have delightful students!!!

The Calm Before the Storm

Well, we have one more week left before we start our first school year in Indy. Ryan's first day of school is August 13th and my first day is the 12th. Ryan had the entire week off- LUCKY!!! He spent most of the time enjoying some MUCH needed R&R (He had summer training for the last 5 weeks). However, in between his "off time," he installed the garage door opener- Hooray!!!

I attended a training on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then was fortunate enough to spend all of Thursday and Friday with Ryan! We went to the teaching supply store and bought stuff to decorate Ryan's classroom. We also got to drive around and explore more- which is my FAVORITE thing to do! I cannot get over the beautiful wildflowers that grow here. I see them EVERYWHERE! The white ones are called "Queen Anne's Lace." When I see these flowers, I ALWAYS think about my first graders back in Cali and the story we read, called "Fireflies for Nathan." The main character is a little boy who visits his grandparents for the summer. He catches fireflies and watches the butterflies land on Queen Anne's Lace. I know that is corny...but that's what I think of!

The open land also makes me think of Moreno Valley and what it used to look like when I was a little girl. I think of how Garrett, Alyssa and I used to run and play in the field off of Redlands Blvd when we were kids. Again, corny as ever...but the nostalgia warms my heart.

The cornfields are a sight too!!! I can't believe how many corn crops there are within 10 minutes of our house- it is unreal!!!

On Saturday afternoon, we went and saw "The Dark Knight" with our neighbors Eric and Liz. It was not my kind of movie, but Heath Ledger did a phenomenal job as "The Joker." After the movies, we all hung out and ate dinner together. Eric and Liz are really nice. They are about our age and live on the cul-de-sac behind us. They are both graphic designers and met when they were attending Purdue University.

On Sunday, we went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought valances and hardware for around our sliding glass door. Ryan and I negotiated and we made a deal that if he was kind enough to hang the valances, I would go golfing with him. That sounds fair, don't you think???

Ryan doesn't like the valances...he says our house looks like "Aladdin" and he dances around the house like a Genie....I know, I know...what a DORK!!!

I love the valances...I think we needed some color in that room. Maybe they will grow on Ryan- maybe not....
Do you see what is outside our window??? Yes, we are going to have a neighbor in the back of us...we knew this day would have to come...bye bye open land! :(

Tomorrow we are getting our blinds! Yay!!! They have been on back order for almost 2 months! I feel like we have been living in a fish bowl. It will be sooooooo nice to finally have some privacy!

Okay, so I had to keep up with my end of the bargain and accompany Ryan on his trip to Fox Prairie Golf Course in Noblesville. He played 18 holes and shot 84, which is pretty decent considering he never played there before. He was soooooooooooo excited to play!!! He has been wanting to golf ever since we moved here.

I love riding in the cart. I NEVER drive- I usually bring a book and relax. I'll watch Ryan once in a while, but I usually just keep to myself and enjoy the quiet and the beautiful surroundings.

There's that "Queen Anne's Lace" again...

We saw more geese...gosh, they are such lovely birds. They are EVERYWHERE in Indy!!!

I love Ryan. I am so blessed to have him in my life. I don't know what I would do without him. We are TOTAL OPPOSITES, but I need him to balance me out and vice-versa!!!

We are excited to start working. Being off all summer is great, but we are ready to begin the "daily grind." This week we both have to attend more trainings and begin lesson planning!!! Then, we have our last weekend of "calm before the storm."

I had to add this last picture in...
What could be better than watching your childhood friend on ESPN? I think this picture is so neat. Ryan is watching Ryan Madson pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals. For those of you that don't know, Ryan Madson and his wife Sarah went to Valley View high school with us and played baseball with Ryan all through little league and high school. He has played for the Phillies for the last few years.
Until next time...xo