The Rest of September

Okay, so I'll just hammer out the rest of the month for you, so I can get on to catching up on October! I'll probably go through and add pictures to everything later since they still aren't working. :P

Double Header 9-18 - I played my soccer game, and was asked to help out another team that was playing right after us. I called Daryn to make sure it was okay, and it was. SO I played TWO FULL games of soccer back to back. It was awesome and I loved it. :)

Peaches & Wedding Celebration 9-19

The next morning Daryn and I were going to go to Kati's house so that we could help jar peaches. Kati and I each bought one 35 lbs box of fruit - one pears, one peaches - and then split the jars made 50-50. The pears were ready to can earlier that week, so Kati did them herself (we couldn't fit it in our schedules to come help) and then we were going to help with the peaches.

Well, Daryn was invited to play racquetball that morning, so I was at home with Rebekah when I got a call from Priscilla, saying that Ben's wedding was that night in Phoenix! Merrick and Priscilla had told us about the wedding a few months earlier, and had said that they would give Ben our Tucson info so that we could hear more and maybe get an invite. They gave us the impression that it was just a little get-together, invite by word of mouth or e-mail. But then Priscilla said the wedding was at the Phoenix Art Museum... and that didn't really mesh with what we were thinking.

SO, when Daryn got home, we packed everything to go to Kati's AND go to Phoenix. Daryn called Ben and asked if Ben wanted to hang out that night. :) Ben, of course, had to say "Sorry, man, I'm getting married tonight!" But he checked to see if they had open plates at the dinner, and then invited us to join them for the wedding. That's not *exactly* crashing... right? ;)

So, we went to Kati's and helped with the peaches for a while, and Kati was kind enough to finish up without us so that we could have time to get to Phoenix and not be late for the wedding.

We had a great time at the wedding. The ceremony was beautiful, and holding it in the art gallery was very interesting. We looked at the art while the Bridal Party took pictures all around the museum, and then had a delicious dinner and some very fun dancing. Rebekah LOVED dancing to all the music! :) I was very happy that Daryn had a chance to see so many of his old friends all at once.



I really wanted to get a picture of Daryn and the guys, but I got one on my phone. I think that the wedding photographer got one, but it wasn't posted with these that I stole from the bride, Audrey!

Missionary Experience 9-20

We stayed the night at my brother's house (thanks Kenny!) and went to church with him the next day. That afternoon we went to Kim's house. She's Kevin's mom - Kevin is one of Daryn's good friends from High School (though he didn't actually go to high school with us). Anyway, we were supposed to see Merrick and Priscilla there, as well as Kevin. Kevin was there for a little bit, but then had to go to work. We stayed and talked with Kim, and had dinner with her. She filled us in on how different boys from Daryn's 'group' were doing, and we filled her in on life in Tucson.

She asked us a question about church, and I don't remember what started the conversation, but we spent somewhere between 4 and 6 hours answering her questions and telling her about church stuff. She didn't know that Mormons were Christian and used the Bible, so we were able to clear that up for her, and she was amazed at how misunderstood the Church is. I was happy to help explain to her what we really believe, and so was Daryn. :)

Crazy week of no sleep 9-21 to 9-25

Haha. Yeah, the next week of school was CRAZY. I had 2 tests and a project due, so I stayed up late working on things and studying. Wednesday night I stayed up particularly late, and then had to get up early on Thursday to meet my Cooperating Teacher for my Practicum.

Preparation for Practicum Drama 9-24

So... yeah. I met the teacher, and she was nice, but somewhat distracted. I figured she just had a lot to do. I asked a lot of questions, she gave me really short answers, and then I was gone. I had worn a t-shirt and jeans, b/c I wasn't staying long and it was before school started - for Practicum I dress up much more.

Later, though, she sent me an e-mail basically saying that I had better dress nicer for Practicum b/c boys are hard enough to control as it is. She pretty much implied that I was dressing inappropriately intentionally. I was mortified and offended. Also, we spent several e-mails talking about which class I could come observe. I wanted to see her 3rd hour, because it fit my schedule best and meant that I wouldn't have to leave Daryn with both Cairn and Rebekah on Mondays and Fridays for a very long time (the school is 30 min away). But she made it sound like she wanted me to go to a different class for MY benefit, and I checked with my Master Teacher, who said I was fine, but when I said as much to my Coop Teacher she said - without saying - that she just didn't want me to drag her down with her accel kids. :P If she had said so from the beginning, I would have understood. I did not like that she tried to hide behind other reasons. So, not a pleasant experience.

That weekend was nice. We went to an Elder's Quorum party, and then my soccer game, and Saturday was stress free! :) Sunday we had Fajita's with the Strattons at their house.

Very Cool Sunday School/no sleep Sunday 9-27

Sunday was my turn to teach the Sunday School lesson. (Did I mention I was released from being Primary Chorister? Then Daryn and I were called to teach the 12-13 year olds.) I'm sorry to say that I'm not clear on all the details, but the kids were VERY inquisitive. I generally try to keep them on topic, but if they have a question that's still fairly gospel centered, I try to answer it. This particular Sunday they had a lot of questions about the pre-mortal existence, as well as Heaven. (Do lizards go to Heaven?)

I'm sad that I don't really remember things well enough to tell you all about what smart kids I'm working with, or how things ended up, but for being "off topic" for so long, it was a GREAT discussion. Those kids are awesome.

So! My Master Teacher/Professor encouraged us to sign up for the Rodel Foundation Teacher Initiative program. I kept meaning to fill out the application and write the essays, but with so many tests and projects to do for school I didn't get around to it. Then they extended the deadline to Monday, Sept 28. They decided on that Monday, because the gentleman from Rodel was coming on Wednesday to interview those applicants that the Math Ed Professors felt were qualified for the position. So, I stayed up Sunday night and wrote the essays and reviewed them and re-wrote them until I was too tired to care much anymore (notice, I never decided I was satisfied). Then I dropped the packet off to the math dept to pass it on to Dr Anhalt, who was to review the forms.

On Tuesday I got a call and they scheduled me for an interview. I also had a good conversation with my Master Teacher Dr. Weinbrug, about how I had a terrible first impression with my Cooperating Teacher, and while things were fine now, I wasn't entirely happy with my situation.

Wednesday came, and I dressed my nicest for the interview. It took around 40 minutes. The gentleman from Rodel and 3 Professors in Math Ed asked me questions like "Why Math Ed?" and "What would you do if you heard someone say..." etc. Then they sent me out of the room for about 10 minutes, and called me back in and said "Congratulations! You're a Rodel Scholar!"

Wow! I was totally surprised for things to happen that quickly. I told Daryn later that I suspected I was the only one to complete the application, but he and others reminded me that they would have chosen No One over me, if I were not qualified. :)

What this means is that I'm placed with a specific Exemplary Teacher, recognized by the Rodel Foundation for their OUtstanding work as a teacher, for my student teaching. AND, Dr. Weinburg decided/suggested that I should do my Practicum with this teacher, so I could get a head start on getting to know her and her students. :) I love how she slipped that in to get me away from the teacher I wasn't happy with.

3 year job security 9-30

Which brings me to what the gentleman from Rodel explained. He says that their student teachers frequently have a letter of intent to hire from the school they wish to teach at by sometime in the middle of student teaching. Schools all over Arizona call Rodel Foundation and request a list of the student teachers they're working with, and the schools line up to hire us. :) (Rodel works with all areas of education, not just math, and not just secondary.) And, since Rodel awards their teachers that work in high poverty schools for the first 3 years of their career with a $10,000 Savings Bond, I can see how they'd be working with me for those years to place me in a school. :)

This was very encouraging because I'm all about having a plan, and lately we've been kind of up in the air about life. Daryn would like to get into Grad School, but we're not sure where or if that will happen immediately. If he does, I would need to work to put him through Grad School, and if he doesn't, then we have to decide if I'll work anyway, or if I'll stay home with Rebekah. Most people are suggesting I work for a year or two just so I can have the experience and if I ever need to go back to work I can say that I've taught in a classroom, and not just done all the theoretical work.

Ah, life decisions! We'll see where life takes us! :)