2 years in Washington in a nutshell

After many late night conversations, phone calls, and moving arrangements, I was set to move up to Washington. Here are some snapshots of uprooting to the Pacific Northwest...

My very first year of teaching ended and I had to pack up my classroom... That was hard.

Brandon flew down to help me make the long drive from southern California to the Seattle area. We regretted writing "or bust" on the sign because right before the Washington border, Zippy (my car) did. Reality hit hard when I arrived... Awkward roommate where I rented a room, no job, mean girls... I was so thankful for Brandon and good friends.
The POD arrived... Time to mix my stuff in with Brandon's.
Even with a very bumpy summer, Seattle was starting to grow on me. I loved going to fun little spots in Seattle and taking picnics... well, when the weather wasn't against it.
Then, the big day finally arrived!!!
We had a fantastic wedding and honeymoon. But all things come to an end. It was tough to leave paradise, but it was wonderful to know we were returning to our home!
Getting our first Christmas tree:
Photos of our first Christmas together:

After a very cold winter at our first apartment, we moved to a cute townhouse in Redmond. We also found a gym together. Finding our mutual enjoyment of working out played an important role in making me feel more at home and fighting seasonal affect disorder.... Seriously.

By our new place, I was introduced to the lush green Washington spring time... well spring of 2010 was nice at least.
I learned what all the talk was about the mountain being out...
Photos of our 2nd place:
We found the joy of hosting friends and family at our place. Here's an early Thanksgiving meal we hosted:
Then, wrestling season started. As well as taking a full load of graduate courses in addition to working full-time. Winter 2011 was tough.
We made another family visit to the Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach Camp. That was fun.
Life got even more exciting with our newest addition!

Right after the new year, we adopted Buhner...
It was fun to give him a home while I still felt like I was trying to make one...
Brandon and I also discovered a healthy love for cooking together...
We did the 40 day challenge with our trainer at the RAC. It was incredible! Definitely a great thing for us to go through together for our relationship and our health.

We planned many adventures around the northwest during the past several months...
Leavenworth...
Skagit county...
Seattle for Mother's Day...
...and finally (further afield) our big summer adventure to Europe!
This time is coming to a close... I'm not sure what to expect in our next chapter. At least we'll be going through it together.

A new view

It feels so eerie to look back at previous posts and think about how much has changed in two and a half years.

I live in a different state with my husband of 1.5 years and our little dog Buhner. I am an experienced special education teacher, having taught in a wide range of classrooms.

It's a very welcome change. My life feels so much more full and balanced. I can't believe how lucky I was to find Brandon, my husband. If I had to summarize our life in single words it would go like this:

talking. travel. play with the dog. church. Mariner's. family. cooking. sit with me. friends. avid sitcom watching . little adventures. let's go out. beautiful. messy. learning. frustration. what should we do? prayer. together. discovery. hope. late nights. work. ugh work. planning. what's next?

iep #1

So I'm writing my first IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for an annual review tomorrow. For those of you who didn't know, IEPs are a huge deal in special ed. They are legal documents that are used to drive instruction and assessment for students with exceptional needs. They are one of the main reasons special ed. teachers have higher starting salaries than other teachers.

Anyway, I basically describe the student's current levels in all levels (academic, social, communication, etc.) and write goals for their areas of need. As I write and describe one of the most delightful students in my class, it nearly brings me to tears because of the sheer privilege of being his teacher--to be the one on the receiving end of that bright smile and hug every morning. This is certainly a human enterprise.

I knew this would happen.

It's been three weeks and I simply adore my students.