End of the summer...

This last week completely FLEW by!...which is good and bad in itself. Good because it means Derek will be home sooner, but bad because it means it's closer to getting started with school. I oficially start my new teacher training on Monday. That is every day this week M-Thurs. Then the teachers start back to school on August 30th. We have 5 days of preplanning/professional development. Then, the kids start back the Tuesday after Labor Day. It will be here before we know it!

My mom will be traveling to Virginia with some friends around Labor Day weekend. I will get to see them for a few days and will hopefully get to do some fun, touristy type things while they are here. It will be great to see her before school starts!

I've been able to email lots still with Derek and he even got the facebook chat to work today so we actually got to talk! (sort of) It was really great, but made me want to talk to him in person even more. That day will be here before I know it though!

He has been doing awesome things out on the ship! I don't know all of the terms and jargon, but basically he's been working his butt off getting all the qualifications he had to for this short trip and his supervisors are noticing his hard work. I'm sure that will pay off for him and for us as he continues to work his way up the food chain. I'm proud of him!

I've been continuing to go to the gym with Crystal and been running. We are thinking of signing up for a 5K race to give ourselves a goal. There is a cool one the first weekend of October that goes through Back Bay (a really pretty, scenic area). Of course I've been spending time with her awesome kids as well! Just love them!

I attended a meeting for the ships Family Readiness Group (FRG) this week. It is basically the families and spouses of the sailors. There are monthly meetings to discuss business and questions, but also social events for fun and to keep us busy while our boys are away. I got a ton of helpful information (which made me realize that I have more things to add to the to do list) and met some very fun and sweet people! There are a handful of girls around my age who are also newlyweds and new to the area, so it's going to be great to have them around!

I am very anxious to get started back to work. I am hoping to learn a lot of things about 5th grade here and all the different language arts programs that are used. I feel like I still have so much to figure out and learn. But I know, from experience, that it will all get figured out and I will do just fine!

What a great week!

Derek has been gone for almost two weeks now...less than two weeks until he comes back! Unfortunately he will only be home for a few days and then is taking off for a few weeks again. However, I think we will get a few whole weeks together in September, which is great!

I have been spending my week with my awesome new friend Crystal and her amazing kids, Emma and Lily, and her husband, Jeff.

Crystal and her husband, Jeff. Such great people and an awesome family!

Their beautiful (but sometimes rotten) girls, Emma- 3 years, Lily- 5 months

They have treated me like one of their family and I am truly blessed to have met them and become so close so quickly! We've already had a few sleepovers and lots and lots of play time with the kids! It's given me a nice taste of what it will be like when Derek and I have kids of our own.

Crystal and I have been encouraging each other to get in better shape and have been working out quite a bit at the gym. She and I ran a total of 13 miles this week. This is a huge feat for me, as I have always despised running. But I have to say it feels so good to know that I'm working on getting back in to shape. And who knew...I'm not half bad at running! We've also been doing weight training and have tried out a few fun classes. It's a very nice facility with tons of options. Crystal and I run in a room called the Cardio Cinema. It's a room with lots of cardio equipment and it's dark. There is a big movie screen and they play a different movie every day of the month. It's nice that it is dark so other people can't see you huffing, puffing, and jiggling all over the place! It's also very nice to have the movie playing to take your mind off running.

Students do not come back to school until after Labor Day, but I start new teacher training the week of the 23rd. So, I will be going in to school quite a bit this week to get some things done. I'm anxious to get into the routine of the school year. But I am definitely enjoying the summertime!

We've made contact!

The last few days have been different now that Derek has taken off on his ship for a few weeks. I realized that this was the first time since we'd met that we had gone for more than a day without communicating in some way with one another. Luckily I didn't have to wait more than a few days. I got a few emails from Derek today!! It was such a nice surprise. I wasn't sure when I would be able to hear from him.

It sounds like Derek is doing well out on the ship! No sea sickness and he's able to get a good amount of sleep. He is enjoying his time familiarizing himself with procedures and the people he works with. Hopefully I will get to hear from him most every day, so I can keep everyone else updated.

As for me, I am doing what I can to keep busy. I have spent the last two days at school working on bulletin boards and sorting through my boxes. I am waiting for the custodians to move the other things (that are from the old literacy roon) out so that I can start getting unpacked and organized.

Yesterday I got to spend some time with Crystal, who I will be teaming up with teaching 5th grade. She is awesome! I am really blessed with the school I got placed in. There are great people so far who are going out of their way to make me feel welcomed and at home here in an area where I know no one. They have invited me to a couple 'gatherings' this weekend and next and we might even go see Zac Brown Band on the 12th! I'm glad I am able to find things to keep me busy while Derek is away. I can't wait for him to get home!

The apartment is pretty much unpacked and organized, minus a few little things. If I had a working camera, I would take photos and post, but mine is dead and Derek has his out on the ship. So, photos will have to wait. Or maybe I'll go buy a new camera....;-)

A few photos...

A few photos to go along with the last post and from other events this summer!


Playing some beach volleyball in my mom's pool!


Driving into the Cumberland Gap on our way to NC!


We stopped in the mountains to see the B-K clan. Me with Lily and Cassidy! Love this family!


Derek and I before our zip line tour in the mountains!


Getting ready to hike the Profile Trail. (Hence my profile shot!) There was a sign posted at the bottom of the trail that a mother bear and 2 cubs had been spotted. Yikes! Luckily we didn't see them!


Derek stopping on the trail for a photo op! I think he got a little tired of me stopping to take pictures all the time.


Derek and I enjoying a boat ride on Lake Norman at his parents' house!


Derek's parents, Chad and Wanda

Watching the Robinson boys play some golf!


Derek on the golf course!


First dinner in our first home together!


Bella got a new toy to go with her new home!





Derek talking with Bella after a long walk. She was so tired and Derek was having fun talking with his 'new' doggie!