Pressing Forward

After some serious consideration, and lots of talking, and crying (on my part, oh to be a woman) we decided to change our move date.  By a month.  So we'll be heading south in a few weeks.  Abandoning everything we have here in hopes of setting up some roots down in Arkansas.  Evan says it isn't abandoning, it's moving on, letting go, starting something new, but it felt strange for me.  I had commitments, and plans, and a timeline I could deal with.  A slow, easy pack up, a few more months to see my friends and say goodbyes.  And now I am down to what, 9 days?  Now that we've both quit our jobs the announcement can be official.  Of course, we told our FHE group on Monday, barely a full day after the decision was made.  As the days go by, I feel better and better about the decision.  I'm grateful to the priesthood holders in my life for helping guide our little family in finding the right path for us.  And you know what? Evan was right, we aren't abandoning our lives in Richmond, we are changing them, moving them to Conway and making the best decision for our future.  The sooner we build our foundation, the sooner we can add on accessories.

Notice the new blog title?  'AR we there yet' seemed like the easiest way to play off of Arkansas, and it also reflects that this is just another temporary phase of our lives.  The newlywed phase, isn't forever.  Graduate school, isn't forever.  Moving around from apartment to apartment to house to house and state to state, isn't forever.  One day we will find permanence- until then, we are enjoying the journey!

The Andersons go outdoors!

Memorial Weekend means a three day weekend which of course means camping!  I hadn't been camping in years, but I sure did love every minute of it.  We went with three other couples and I had a blast with everyone, I hope everybody else did too!  Saturday was spent mostly in town (see my post "Year One" for details) and then Saturday night we watched a bluegrass band perform at the visitor's center for the campsite.  It was ... excellent.  Evan especially enjoyed it- I think his exact words were, "I would trade in my PhD to play banjo for a bluegrass band."

Sunday we hiked, and it was a toughie!  It was well worth it though, we got some beautiful pictures, which only capture a part of what it really looked like.  It was amazing.

 So foggy!  Candice needed a little rest after getting to the top, it felt good up there though, fresh air, calm breeze, ahhh.

The men posing atop some more rocks

The lake across from our campsite, and then of course we had to pose all muscly... yeah!

Then we went to the 'swimmin hole' as Evan called it and swam in the river, played bocci ball, read, and just relaxed.  I great activity to cool down after a long hike!

There were cows in the river, just cooling off.

Then we washed off in the river.  Of course, I had the camera so the men got their pictures taken.  All in one kids shampoo, conditioner, body wash makes for a great river bath! And it was COLD! But felt so good after being extra sweaty.

Camping was so much fun!  I can't wait to do it again!

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.