It's Sunday. We've worked the past couple days at outdoor festivals, so maybe it's the heat talking, but...we are SO done here! Our apartment is so small. So small that there's not enough room to change our minds. But seriously, folks, we've outgrown the space, and the neighborhood (of this sixteen unit building) is going downhill. Beer is a staple and it's an expectation to smell weed if you take a walk outside at night...sometimes during the day. I'm not against hanging out with a few friends, or partying, even. It just shouldn't be your everyday goal in life. And these people are not college kids - they're semi-employed adults with kids. Some days I pick up the trash on the grounds because I want the place where we live to look nice, at least. Some days I pass by and refuse to pick up the trash that these people so disrespectfully leave in the yard (and are teaching their kids, by the way, that this is ok). A lot of them hang out together, so they...

This is the first morning since before Memorial Day that we've woken up at the apartment. It's amazing how much stuff we accumulated at the in-laws house since we began our stay there! So, over Monday and Tuesday (yesterday), we brought back our stuff and de-Roberts their house :) Two busy days of packing, cleaning, and moving. It was an awesome stay, and made us realize how much we really, really want our own home...more specifically, our mini-farm barn home. The apartment is a harder place for us to be now, as more people move in - the type of people who want to party and leave the remains of their party in the front yard. The type of people who seem to have low expectations of themselves and their lives. Our apartment is even more temporary now, and we are more anxious to move on now than ever before. Destiny is pushing us into the ready position, against a door that has yet to be opened, making us claustrophobic and restless. We are hoping for an upgrade in Shelby's job...

Busy, busy, busy! Well, a relaxed kind of busy - no alarm clock and the days have lost their names, but not their purpose. We are on holiday at Shelby's parents' house, which is a wonderful break from not-so-homey apartment. We love drinking our coffee on the patio in the mornings, grilling out in the evenings, and not having to deal with the drama of our neighbors...for the time being. I am in the middle of getting my motorcycle on the road again, finally. I renewed my insurance and tags after letting them lapse over the winter (my bad), and my battery is getting tested and charged as I speak :)We're getting ready for my graduation on Saturday (Hoot!), and the picnic celebration on Sunday, which will both be awesome events marking this transition in our family's life! This is as much of a celebration for my family, the support and sacrifices that they have made, as it is about my accomplishments in obtaining my degree. Next week will be my first week teaching a camp pr...

I've always wanted to try the blog thing, so I guess now is as good of a time as any... Today is my last day of student teaching in my third-grade classroom. I am very excited - the excitement has been building over these last few weeks - but I am also a little sad. I've spent the entire school year with this class, learning more about teaching and more about kids than I ever could have in a college classroom. It has been an awesome experience, both professionally and personally, and now I feel that I'm really ready to try it on my own. I've made friends that I hope will be around after today, and I've built relationships with so many kids who will be moving on - hopefully smarter and more prepared for the lives ahead of them. I will miss them all. I graduate from Wright State in ten days - wow! ten days - after six years of my mid-life college experience. I am forty-six years and old earning my bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education, Summa Cum Laude, thanks ...