Friday, April 29, 2011

every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end...

my new beginning - being a first year, first grade teacher - will begin at the end of school this year when I begin making the room mine, sorting through standards and curriculum, and getting to know my kiddos. The other beginning's end? College. Although I graduated last year, I knew that on May 7, 2010 when I walked across that stage that I would be coming right back in June to begin my Master's. I also knew that my best friend, Kaley would be there every step of the way. Even before we began teaching together, we were seeing each other one night per week in the summer and four nights per week in the fall - can you say togetherness? In September, Kaley got promoted to full time four year old teacher at the Campus School and I - through a blessing from God and a little big push from Kaley - took her position as the three-year-old Grad. Assistant. That meant teaching in rooms that were literally five feet apart until May. How could I say no? I was coming to Livingston for classes anyways, might as well be getting paid for it. I have not once regretted my decision to become a part of the CS Family - I get to teach kids who I love everyday and I get to work with some amazing people - and my best friend, Kaley.


I cannot say enough great things about Kaley - she is the kind of friend everyone wants and few people actually have. She is giving, caring, funny, and always there when you need her. She is the one who - even though I am on a diet - brings me Bakery cupcakes when she goes... and I bring her COBs from Church's when I make the stop in York! She is the kind of person who will take the tags off a shirt and let you borrow it - and never think twice (I actually have one of her shirts on as I type this!). She is the one who doesn't care when you - without asking or telling her ahead of time - show up with a bag and tell her you are spending the night. She is the one who - when SHE was on a diet - would sit at Mexico while I stuffed my face - and she watched, never so much as touching a chip (can we say "self-control"). She is the one who I can meet in the hall during a loooooong day with three year olds - give a certain look - and she will laugh or cry with me, whatever the look entails! She is the one who has the carefree soul that I wish I had - wants to adopt all the orphans in the world, wants to teach the babies to love Jesus, and longs to see the world - wanted to start a photography business - DID IT :) wanted to plan a trip to St. Augustine in the middle of one of our first graduate classes - not knowing what September would hold for us - DID IT :) - and it was a blast, definitely one of the most fun weekends I have ever had.


 I say all these things about Kaley to say that (with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat)... it's over. No more meeting in the halls, no more playground talks before my time begins, no more sneaking cupcakes from each other's class parties, no more laughing as we put out cots and question our career choice, no more eating Mexico in 30 minutes so we can rush to a night class, no more afternoon chats with Tammie - who I will also miss greatly, no more texts that say "are you going to class?", no more Bakery cupcakes  let's not get crazy - I still know my way to the Bakery, no more borrowing supplies for that last minute art project we just have to do, no more stats class, no more any class.


Was that a little much? Well, these are all the things that I have gotten to enjoy for the past nine months (really the past four years) and it saddens me greatly to know that, like the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Although our school days are over, our friendship will never be. Like you said, "we are going to have to plan to see each other" - well, in case you forgot, I love to plan and plan we will... Thanks for all the laughs and memories and for making my college years unforgettable.



I wrote the above post last week - today, April 29, I asked Kaley to be the maid of honor at mine and Daniel's wedding next June :) Can't wait to have her next to me on the most special day of my life.

Monday, April 25, 2011

best. weekend. ever.

is a little bit of an understatement. On Friday, April 22, 2011 when I woke up, I never dreamed that that day would be the day Daniel and I got engaged... but it was! The day was beyond perfect. Daniel had the day off because it was Good Friday, we had Egg Day activities at school which meant lots of candy and no stress. When I got off work, I, like every Friday I go home, stopped to pick up sweet Rhett. Amanda was working at Bama Crawfish after she finished working at the bank so I volunteered Daniel and I for some babysitting duties. This was perfect since I wanted to get some Easter pictures done on such a pretty day. I decided since there were so many golfers on the course that we should go to the pond dam in between hole 7 and 8 - this is a great spot for pictures and it's out of the way of any golfers. We dressed Rhett in his "dress" as Daniel called it and headed out.





We took LOTS of pictures, Daddy and Cotton rode down for a few minutes - for taking pictures of a 20 month old, it was really stress free. We finished up pictures, changed Rhett back into his play clothes, and got busy packing everything up. I was sitting on the golf cart when Daniel asked me if I wanted a beer- I said the pictures were stress free but I still needed A beer afterwards :) Anyways, we were letting Rhett run around and play for a minute before we rode back to the club house. Daniel goes back to the golf cart to get us a beer, he is still talking about how good of a day it was since he didn't have to work, etc. When I looked over, he was on one knee and said "I have one question for you... will you marry me and make this the best Friday ever?" - speechless, crying, excited, LOUD (on the golf course) - of course, I was in shock because I was totally not expecting it and because the ring was absolutely stunning. After about twenty seconds of crying and screaming, he told me he needed an answer... and I of course, with a smile on my face and in my heart, said YES! I then grabbed the ring and before putting it on, realized that HE was supposed to do that... I got a little caught in the moment. Poor Rhett - the Lord must have been watching over him
because he was definitely unsupervised for about five minutes REALLY close to the pond.



After drying my tears and calming down a bit, I knew I had to call my momma - I also knew she was not going to be happy because she was in Demopolis. She could barely hear me and all I could hear her saying was that she was so mad at Daniel because he did not tell her. Daniel said he thought he only had to ask Daddy :) I told momma, I knew daddy knew since he had to give permission so I was on to tell the boys. I found Morgan and Sara on number 1 tee - I told Morgan with an excited look on my face that Daniel and I were getting married - his response... "is that so?" - I would later find out that he was not playing the best round of golf... Sara screamed, grabbed my sunglasses off my face to see if I had been crying, grabbed my hand, and knew it was for real. She also cried a few tears. Tyler was still at work because they were preparing for the big tournament the next day... when he didn't answer his cell phone, he got bumped to behind Kaley/Tammie - who were on their way to Fairhope and almost didn't answer the phone. I literally called people for about two hours. Not to mention that we were at the country club which has always been like a second home - there were lots of people there, poor Daniel got told many times that he better take care of me :) and he will already does!

When I finally got around to see my Daddy, he was putting on #4 and I ran up and told him thank you for telling Daniel yes. Daddy looked surprised - he said I told him he could have you but he had to get you today but I was just kidding! The timing was perfect and Daniel said he couldn't hold the ring any longer so he did it!

On Saturday, I was still floating on cloud nine... The annual UA Alumni Scramble was taking place at the Country Club so we rode to watch Sage/Morgan play golf... and to see Baby Rhett when he got there... and of course, share our good news! We enjoyed our first day being engaged :)




Easter was Sunday which was the perfect ending to the perfect weekend. Daniel and I went to Sunday School where we shared the news with everyone - the preacher even offered to marry us then and there - we thanked him for the offer but told him we had some other plans! We enjoyed a great lunch at the house.



Cole hunted Easter eggs that I hid for him and then I hunted Easter eggs that he hid for me. The whole family - Daniel and Sara included, went to Whynot for the annual gathering - after some sitting and visiting, we went to our pond and fished - let's just say that the boys (Morgan and Daniel) beat the girls (me and Sara) 6-2...





I hated to tell Daniel bye yesterday... I didn't want the weekend to be over... the reality of it all is that I have a busy next year - finals this week, graduation, learning the curriculum for my job next year, planning a wedding, whew - I am tired just thinking about it!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

have a six flags day...

whatever that means, we were told it about one hundred times on Saturday when we visited the park in Atlanta. Daniel's cousin Josh and his wife Christy have been dying to go to Six Flags for a long time - Daniel loves thrill rides and I had never been so we decided to make a weekend of it. I was a little nervous out of the gate. The only roller coaster I had ever ridden was the one at Waterville in Gulf Shores. Needless to say, it is a kiddie ride compared to the big boys at Six Flags. The first ride we did was called the "Georgia Scorcher" and it looks a little something like this...
and you are standing up... it was terrifying. Before the ride ended, I was screaming and crying. I vowed to never again ride a roller coaster... that is until I had waited in line for an hour and a half to ride this ride...

the Goliath

Please note the height on that thing... a little scary - like 200 feet. When I finished it, I thought for sure I had ridden my last roller coaster...until I waited in line for an hour to ride this one...

 haha - you thought I rode it didn't you - no. I chickened out on this one. I walked straight through the ride and had to stand where they make the kids who are too short go. A little embarrasing but I wasn't too wild about the idea of hanging from the tracks... UNTIL we stood in line for an hour and a half to ride this one...


All these images are from Google and I this is the only one where you could see how you were riding...


It's a little blurry but do you get the point that you start out hanging from the tracks and then they flip you so you are laying on the tracks? Pretty much flying like Superman. Fun does not even begin to describe this ride. It was a blast and the only one that I held my hands up on. I mean I had to fly a little :)  And the last line I stood in for the day was the line for this one... The Great American Scream Machine.

After all that we had ridden, I knew this rather flat - no loopty loop coaster was going to be the easiest yet. WRONG - it was an old wooden roller coaster that was bumpy and fast. Never again. While Christy and I rode this one, the boys rode the NInja - which Christy and I both know hurts you because it is an old roller coaster with loopty loops yet the boys assured us that it was "like riding on a cloud"... Christy and I also chose to sit out while the boys rode this one...


No, thanks - we took this time to get a cold drink, a souvenir, and people watch - we came to the conclusion that we were the only four normal people in Six Flags on that day.

The boys were also disappointed that Six Flags' newest ride, the Daredevil, was not open... it looks like this -

Let me make it really clear that if I NEVER get to ride this one, I will not lose any sleep!

We enjoyed a nice dinner at Ruby Tuesday's - which I did not know was so nice - and then we headed to the hotel for some rest - mainly for our feet! We drove home Sunday making a pit stop in Leeds at the Bass Pro Shop Place and the new outlets - Banana Republic was having a GREAT sale and I got lots of new clothes for my big girl job next year where I cannot wear blue jeans everyday :(

On a completely different note, I am blinded by the light at the end of teh tunnel. Graduation is so close. At this moment, I have one class and three finals left. Next post... more than likely a sad one about how bad I am going to miss going to school and teaching with Kaley next year :(

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

caterpillar momma

last week, I was walking out of the house when I saw the cutest little caterpillar climbing up one of the columns at our house... the teacher in me saw that "teachable" moment so I told him to stay put, I found a Mason Jar, poked some holes in the top, gathered some sticks, leaves, and a few drops of water and placed him in the window of the science room where he could get plenty of sun... checked on him with the kids and observed that he was crawling, etc. ... now, for the exciting part - went home for the weekend, came back on Monday and found this...
see the little white thing...

close-up view...

I know the original caterpillar I put in the jar did not look like this...

but I kind of thought the cocoon would look something like this...


who knows, maybe the final product will be as pretty as this...

and in case you have been hiding under a rock OR not reading children's books for few years, these are all from the FABULOUS book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (my favorite children's author).


Friday, April 8, 2011

Casper

I finally stole Tyler's phone last night and e-mailed these pictures to myself :)


Casper and Auntie Favorite :)

next post... camping trip.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

random thoughts

I am beginning to love bulleted posts about things that are on my mind...

  • Tyler bought a house and a dog... talk about growing up quick :) He is in the process of buying a house in Butler... who wants to live in a house alone so he bought a dog, Casper, who is the second cutest West Highland Terrier in the world (Cotton being the first) - he is twelve weeks old and came to his new "temporary" house last night! Let's just say that Cotton was a little lot jealous :/
  • Graduate school is inching close to the end... thirty more days until graduation.
  • On this day four years ago, I met the man of my dreams and fell in love :) It is also Sage and Amanda's four year anniversary - Yes, we met at their wedding, duh... where else would you meet the love of your life. I seriously cannot say enough great things about Daniel - he is loving, caring, giving, and so much more. I thank my lucky stars on a daily basis that he is part of my life....
  • camping trip this weekend - I think so - Morgan, Sara, Daniel, myself, hopefully Kaley and a few others are heading to the shores sandbars of the Tombigbee for a little bit of roughing it :) Can't wait to be outside all day and enjoy the beautiful weather that is supposed to be this weekend... I am sure I will be posting about a sunburn next week!
  • Cole - enough said. cutest kid ever, guitar playing is getting better everyday. He is a little shy but I will try to get a video of him playing to post because it is definitely something to be seen!
sorry there are no pictures... Tyler was supposed to send me some of Casper but we all know how that goes - remember this post about how "time does not exist" to Tyler - he hasn't changed... but that is why we put up with his tardiness love him!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

breaking news...

so, now that I have told many of the most important people in my life, I feel like I can finally tell my blog followers - all six of you :) that I have a JOB for next year. I will have my very own first grade classroom at Patrician Academy. One of the best parts is that I will be teaching with one of my best friends in the world, Katie. I was lucky to get to teach with my best friend Kaley this year so I will be a little spoiled to always having someone there when I need it! Most of the precious little ones for next year are kiddos that I have babysat and know their parents - I am so excited about working with this group!

speaking of Kaley, I am so jealous proud of her - she wanted to do something and she did it... Kaley and I both have a sincere love of photography. We love taking pictures, being in pictures, looking at pictures, you get the point? well, she started herself a little photography blog. It's not a "business" yet, but it is a start... people tell me all the time that I need to start a photography business - I have a confession, I LOVE to take pictures but I am not a big fan of the editing process which is a major part of a photography business. Maybe one day, but today, I am just proud of Kaley - as always!

Our church started a new Sunday School class this week for the "twenty-somethings". Today was the first day and I loved it. I have not been in a Sunday School class since high school because there wasn't one for my age. We are lucky to have a young preacher at our church and a sweet wife who both have a passion for getting our age involved in the church.

what would a weekend post be without Rhett pictures - we had our usual Friday afternoon date and I got some super cute pictures...

we shared a sno-cone :) watermelon, Rhett's first and he loved it!


we fed the quack quacks...


and the funniest picture... Daddy, Sage, Daniel and I were standing around talking and not paying Rhett enough attention - and we looked down and he had this in his mouth... I immediately told him to get the ball out - then told him to put it back so I could get a picture... Daddy was seeing $$$ and wanted Rhett to put the ball in where you could see the brand name on the ball :) After getting in trouble, he wouldn't cooperate.

tomorrow starts the downhill slope for my Master's degree - only 25 more days and then graduation. It feels so good and yet so scary at the same time. I am so thankful to have a job for next year and so thankful to have a family that has been SO supportive of my recent decisions that were not so easy to make!