Year 1

We made it through the first year!  It was a great year with a lot of memories.  It feels like it's been so much longer, I mean, we both graduated, we did applications for graduate school, we looked for houses in Arkansas, ahhh so many things!

We celebrated in the middle of our camping trip by going down into Buena Vista / Lexington and walking around town.  We had some delicious pizza at Salerno's and then window shopped in downtown Lexington, it was a wonderful day overall.  We didn't take many pictures, but still a blast.

The fog was CRAZY thick that morning.  This is actually one of the more clear parts of the drive.

Evan standing next to his Eagle Scout Project.  Still there!

My new sweet shirts I got for a dollar each at the goodwill.  Yes, they are awesome.

Happy Anniversary number 1 to us!  Here's to an eternity worth of more great years!

Graduate? CHECK!

I for real didn't think I was ever going to graduate.  There was a point I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I just knew I had to keep on pushing through.  And finally, I made it to graduation day!

Six years of school and I felt like I earned the right to tote my parents and husband around campus for six hours and make them sit through two long boring ceremonies.  So I did.  And they loved (or at least pretended to love) every minute of it.

The day started with us leaving at 7:30 so we could drive out to the airport to get my parents, then driving downtown to be there by 8:30, like VCU asked, so I could stand in the basement of the coliseum for an hour and a half.  In heels.  Also, it smelled like elephants.  Pretty sure they didn't do a very deep clean after the circus left last month.

Then the processional of thousands of graduates out onto the coliseum floor.  Lots of talking, lots of PhD students, and a plug for alumni support.  I got to stand with the six other people that braved the morning commencement from my program and look for my parents among the thousands in the stadium. 2 hours later, the recessional back into the elephant smelling  basement.  I had exactly 5 minutes to get from the coliseum to the Siegel Center for my next ceremony.  And I made it!  Only a few minutes late, but at least I didn't have to stand around for so long.

This time, I got to hear MY name, followed by Cum Laude, walk across stage, hear my family cheer for me, shake the hands of my professors (as they complimented my shoes- which matched my hood thank you very much) and see the look of excitement on my family's faces as I returned to my seat.  I held in my hand my diplomas. Yes, two of them.  Knowing I am a graduate still feels unreal, but I'm sure it will set in about August when I don't have to buy textbooks or sit through lectures.

To celebrate, we had a small barbecue with the family and some friends.  Followed by a night of Wii playing.  My graduation gift!  My family loves me.  And now I am sore from dancing too vigorously during multiple rounds of Just Dance.

Happy Graduation day to me!!

If you're gonna stir the pot, be prepared for some splatter

So here's what happened.  I may or may not have been in a placement (student teaching) where I felt slightly, taken advantage of (used more for my ability to run a copier and other errands than to teach).  I may or may not have then expressed these concerns to my advisor, who may or may not have forwarded those concerns to the head of internship placements, who may or may not have called said cooperating teacher in for a conference to discuss her future position with VCU.  And she may or may not be calling / e-mailing me multiple times to try to cover her tracks and figure out the best way to make herself look like she did what she was supposed to do.  And I may or may not have been instructed to ignore her.

I did not expect for it to become such a large ordeal.  Then again, I don't know what I expected to happen when I requested they rethink sending any more student teachers to this classroom.  Pretty exciting for the week before graduation!!

3 more days!

Hip Hip Hooray!

The Andersons are in for it now!  We visited Arkansas, saw some BEAUTIFUL properties, and are still on the quest to find the perfect house for us to OWN.  In three days my family will be here to celebrate with me because on Saturday I am FINALLY GRADUATING.  It feels so wonderful to have made it this far.  I would say it has been one great first year of marriage, and the second year is planned to start out even better.  You better believe there will be hundreds of pictures commemorating the entire weekend.  I think I've earned it though :-)

GO TEAM EVRAH!

BURN!!

Today was field day at Short Pump, and what an event it was.  There was a dance, running of the flag, National Anthem sung by a tiny little girl, history of Short Pump, then activities like putt putt, Tug of War, relay races, and other outdoor stations.  The weather was perfect too, just warm enough you could feel comfortable in a tee, but with a breeze to cool you off and keep you from getting too warm.  With 22 kids in a class, and kids coming and going for various appointments, and leading them around the school, and finding lunches, and calling parents, I was pretty proud at the end of the day when all of the children were accounted for.  The one thing I forgot?  Sunscreen.  I thought about it as I was driving over to the school, but then thought, "Mehhh... I'll be fine."  Guess who got lobsterfied?  This girl.  My ears, my part, my arms, my nose, my chest, and my shoulders/back of the neck.  Oh, and backs of my calves.  What in the WORLD!  I thought I would get a little pink, but not this bad!!!  It just keeps getting darker and darker... I guess I will never fully understand how dependent I am on SPF 50.

The Andersons go south

It finally came.  The acceptance letter we have been waiting for made its way to our mailbox and we officially will be moving to Conway, Arkansas.  As soon as Evan got the letter he called me, then said, "I think we should go for spring break."

So we packed up the car and headed down to Arkansas.  The drive was not that pleasant going down.  We decided to leave Friday night after work so we could get there in time for a job fair for the local school districts.  Well, we both worked all day and were exhausted which meant two hour driving shifts in the middle of the night.  However, the drive back (when we left in the morning after a full night's sleep) was much better.  Tennessee is a beautiful state to drive through and comprises at least 10 of the 15 hour drive.

Anyhow, we spent a long weekend in Conway looking at houses and apartments, and the school, and of course trying out local restaurants.  We discovered there is a lot of real estate available, and many houses for rent as well, all within a reasonable price, especially if I get picked up by a school district (fingers crossed!)  Conway is a small city, but it's cute, and clean.  I think we will be able to make a good life down there for the next five years.

It's still surreal that we have just over three months left in Richmond, but so exciting that we will be able to move on to the next chapter of our lives!!

Patience

Every day for the last week, Evan has run in asking about the mail.  Specifically, is there any mail from Arkansas?  The only interview Evan has had so far went better than we could have planned, but we are still in the waiting game to find out if we will in fact be moving to Arkansas.

I'm 6 weeks from graduation, and at the point where I feel like I am also waiting.  Just biding my time until student teaching is over.  Filling out applications in two different states, a dozen different districts, just waiting to know which I should be putting more work into.  My upper placement has not been going as well as kindergarten.  The teacher I am with is known for using student teachers as personal assistants.  My supervisor said, "Hang in there.  You're almost done, and her opinion matters nothing in your final grade." This took away all of my motivation.  I am weeks behind on lesson plan write ups- even though I've been teaching reading and math.

Patience is something we are both learning at this moment.  Spring Break couldn't come soon enough for the Andersons!