Away

While the husband is away, the wife will... let's see... suffer from lack of good food, watch Oklahoma upon his suggestion, work 11-12 hour work days, and miss him dreadfully.  Yep, Brian is up in Washington visiting his family.  His grandmother passed away so he flew up to be with his family.  While I wish I could have been there with him, I am here because the teaching must go on!

Today was a long day, however, my kids continue to amaze me.  We are working on a unit on length and my students were asked to measure multiple items with cubes.  Usually, math is a pretty quiet time but today called for academic talk and discovery!  My students greatly enjoyed measuring their markers, paper clips, books, and yes, even their chairs.  It was neat to see them working together with an academic focus and enjoying it thoroughly.  Those are my favorite moments because learning comes alive and you see it in the students expressions that they are completely soaking everything in.  It is weird to think that we are already on our last trimester. 

I'm ready for Brian to be home, but I'm not ready to end this year with my kids!    

ramblings

I have entitled this blog ramblings because there isn't one moment to focus on for the week but I want to keep my blog updated so I will try to go through the week and see what happened.

Monday- These are always the hardest because I have to roll out of bed and get ready for the day with Brian still fast asleep.  However, this Monday we had a field trip.  I left home in the pouring rain, but thankfully it managed to clear up by the time it was field trip time.  We went to the Science Discovery Center in Santa Ana and the kids had a blast!  So much to see and touch. (I even had to experience a few things for myself). 

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- Back to school routine. Teach, meetings, planning, brainstorming, professional development.  All the good things teachers do.

Saturday- I slept in until 10:30am!!! This was amazing, however, I did wake up feeling really groggy but it was worth it.  Brian and I did our usual clean the apartment and then watch a quick show before we started work and homework.  In the evening, Brian had friends over for dinner and their game 'Axis and Allies.'  Brian's team won!

Sunday (Today)- Church in the morning.  We had banana bread in the morning with butter, yum! After church we came back and fell asleep on the couch. (I'm thankful to have these days.) Then, we went on a nice walk around our apartments. Currently, quiche is in the oven and we're going to enjoy breakfast for dinner.

Ramblings for the week.

Sunday Drearies...

After Brian and I got home from church, the 'Sunday Drearies' have set it.  What is this you may ask?  Well, every Sunday I realize all that I have to get done to be prepared for the week ahead and I realize that unfortunately my weekend is quickly coming to an end.  It is very upsetting to my relaxed state of mind.  Yesterday, all I could do was laze about and enjoy the bliss of letting myself be unstructured for the day, then Sunday afternoon kicks in and the structure must come back in order to have a successful week as a teacher.  Monday we have a field trip so all the little details must be well managed, plus for the rest of the week, there are many lessons that must be ready to go!  Plus, all the extra details and pressure that you don't realize until you have become a teacher.  Being a teacher has a lot more do it than just teaching... Anyways, so now I'm just trying to shake off the drearies, but have so far been unsuccessful.   I just want to relax and enjoy what is left of my weekend!

A Bride's View

A few weeks ago this arrived in the mail...

Our wedding photos!  We just adored the beautiful packaging by Session Nine Photography.  I've posted our wedding photos up on facebook but I thought it might be fun to write a Bride's View of the day... selecting just a few of my favorites.

When I woke up on Dec. 20, 2010, I could not have been more excited.  I couldn't wait to get the ceremony over with so we could finally be married! However, just a few details had to be taken care of before the ceremony could take place.  While all my friends and bridesmaids helped to put together the favors, I had to pack for the honeymoon.  And let me tell you, I felt like I did not know where to start... my brain felt like mush.  Thankfully, Jodi took over and helped talk me through all that I needed to bring and Kristen helped me to pack it all in.  And someone else, I think it was Allie brought me a breakfast burrito to eat... all I remember is being at a complete loss of how to pack my things (ridiculous, I know). 

Photo by Session Nine Photography

The favors turned out beautifully!  And I finally got packed, with the help of many hands.  I still wanted to put together some music for walking down the isle and while the guests were waiting so Kristen helped me put together a playlist.  Then, my mom and I drove to go get my hair done.  While I missed getting ready with all the ladies, it was so nice to have some time for just my mom and I.

Once I got back with my hair all finished, I quickly threw on some makeup and headed to Shenandoah Mills (our wedding and ceremony site).  The ladies arrived first so we could get in to our dresses. There were no nerves, only excitement.  I stepped into my dress knowing that our wedding day was finally here.  And I was surrounded by many that I loved. 



Photos by Session Nine Photography

Soon thereafter, the guys arrived in their tuxes.  We spied on them from our dressing room which looked down on them.

Photo by Session Nine Photography

Brian always looks so handsome in a tux and I especially loved the brown on him!  Eagerly, I waited until they said I could come down for our first look.  Brian and I decided to do a first look before the ceremony so we could do photos before the wedding.  It was a special moment between the two of us to just spend a moment being together before the events of the day unraveled.

Photo by Session Nine Photography

I felt so giddy being in his arms and knowing I would get to stay there for the rest of my life!  After our first look, we took some photos with just the two of us posing for the camera.

Photos by Session Nine Photography

Next, we moved on to taking photos of the bridesmaids and groomsmen along with many wonderful family photos.  Before we knew it, it was time to be 'hidden'.  While guests arrived, we waited in the Mill until it was time for the ceremony to start.  During this time, Allie and Melinda (two of my really good friends) came rushing in with my garter... which had been bought in advance but misplaced throughout all of the events, so Allie and Melinda went out on a mission in their heels and dresses to find me a replacement.

Photos by Session Nine Photography

Thank you Allie and Melinda!!  You saved the day!  Then, it was time for the ceremony (Wahoo!).  Slowly, the bridesmaids and groomsmen trickled in... my music came on 'Love and Some Verses' by Iron & Wine and I started to lose it... my eyes got all watery as I started walking.  I wasn't a babbling brook but my face was definitely scrunched up fighting the tears as I came closer to Brian.  I was wrapped up in the moment, our moment.  Once I got to him, the tears in my eyes dried and all I could feel was immense happiness.  He is my love.  We said our vows: Promising to share our love, our hopes, and our dreams.  Then with a kiss, we secured our promise as husband and wife and I was all smiles coming back down the isle!

Photo by Session Nine Photography

We walked out to 'Happy' by Never Shout Never and it was perfect!  We spent a moment together before we joined with everyone else to celebrate.

Photos by Sessions Nine Photography

We could finally say, "We're Married!"  A joyous moment and then we got to share it with close family and friends. We entered the Mill and everyone cheered.  For our dinner, we had pot pies, salad, fruit salad, and huge rolls with strawberry lemonade in mugs.  We enjoyed our meal and then walked around talking to our guests.  And before we knew it, it was time to give toasts and cut the cake.  I had told Brian not to cake me, but he was very quick and I was hit before I knew what was happening.  I attempted to get him back but he was able to hold off my efforts, thus, when he went in for a kiss, I got him!!  I know his weakness.  We proceeded with the bouquet toss, garter toss, and dancing.  It was a fast evening and then Brian wisked me away through the sparklers...

Photo by Session Nine Photography

I truly had the wedding of my dreams thanks to family and friends!  All of the details came together from flowers to favors to the glass mugs to the barn feel wedding to the love that was shared.  I wanted to give a Bride's View not only to share but so that I won't forget the little details about what made this day so special aside from the fact that I married the man I love! 

Getting Caught Up

This morning I woke up with no one next to me... I survived the first night without my husband as he was out on a one-night camping trip with the guys.  I hope there are not too many of these nights.  I prefer him sleeping right next to me and knowing I can snuggle on over when I get cold.  I missed having him here when I can home.  Usually, we chat about our days, go on a walk, go out somewhere, or stay in and watch a show.  I just like being together.  I'm glad the trip was only for one night!

But what I was really going to say is that I need to get my blog caught up, several things have happened and I have a few pictures to share (conferences are over and I'm finally feeling like a have a tiny bit of energy again and motivation). 

So I do have to go back to February to show you pictures from our Super Bowl party...

Before the game started, the guys all began a game of Axis & Allies (their new favorite pass time because of course the goal is to take over the world!):



And while the guys were busy taking over the world... the ladies played True Colors. 

Then, the game started and the boys were still dreaming of taking over the world.  However, we did eventually settle in to watch the game.

We immensly enjoyed having everyone over to our place.  Friendship is a very nice gift to have.

What else do I need to get caught up on sharing... Oh, the day after my birthday, Brian and I drove over to Jeff's house (Jodi's boyfriend) and we enjoyed dinner and a bonfire with his family and friends.  On the way back, we past by the Reagan library so we decided to stop by because Brian has been talking about visiting some of the presidents' libraries for a while. Here are some pictures of what we saw:





The last one is a piece of the Berlin Wall.  Everything was very interesting and Brian greatly enjoyed the Air Force One.  I'm glad we got to stop and we are hoping to visit the Nixon library soon while we are living in California.
In an earlier post, I shared about my birthday.  One of my presents was tickets to Beauty and the Beast the play at Pantages in Hollywood.  The play was very well done!  I loved all of the songs and it was fun for us to get all dressed up and go on a date.  It reminds me of how many fun things there are to do around LA.  What an exciting place to live!  We snapped a few photos before we left.

This one didn't turn out... but it was kinda artsy.

So there is the update on us.

A snippet of the last two weeks...

Wow!  The last two weeks seem to be a blur.  Late evenings at school, bringing work home, lesson planning on weekends, and enjoying moments with Brian.  Yes, I guess I am a first year teacher and I was told this was to be expected, but I am a little tired and the weekends never seem long enough lately.  The worst part is I cannot make my mind stand still and relax... it is constantly going, even at night (Yes, I am constantly waking up).  Oh well, I suppose it will only last for a season or at least until conferences are through.  I've been told spring is the busiest time of the school year and I believe it. 

I keep wanting to blog and then think, I'm too exhausted and I'm not sure what to write about... so this is the update on my life.  Exciting, huh? lol.  On another note, Brian's birthday is tomorrow and we celebrated by buying a BBQ.  I'm excited for the benefits of this investment.  I plan on making a special dinner tonight: his grandma's chicken curry and maybe a dessert to go with it!  Then, he can open a few small surprises tomorrow.  Unfortunately, tomorrow is a work day for both of us, so we plan to do most of our celebrating today.  I cannot wait!