August & September Update

The past two months have been so chaotic, causing me to take a hiatus from blogging.  In order to keep this post from being a mile long I will condense it to bullet points and pictures!

August:

• I started student teaching/last semester of my undergrad degree.  My first placement has been at a middle school in the mornings, and the high school in the afternoons.  It's been an experience,... more to come later...
• My afternoons and evenings have been spent leading and working with the high school marching band.  This marching band has been awarded 4A State Champions in Kentucky for the past nine years!

• Michael and I decided to get a puppy around the middle of August.  We named her Arya after one of our favorite characters from Game of Thrones.

Arya, 12 weeks old.

September:

• We didn't realize how difficult it would be to train a puppy.  It's been frustrating, but I wouldn't change it at all; Arya has been a joy to have and raise.
• Student teaching is much busier then I thought it would be.  It's much different then any other semester has ever been, I don't even feel like a college student anymore.  Living two hours away from campus and teaching all day without any other course work has been eye-opening in many ways.
• We moved up to the smart phone world!  I've never owned a smart phone until this month,...
• I'm one week away from fall break and my second student teaching placement, which will be at an elementary school.  I've never experienced teaching elementary students, so I am very eager to see what it will be like.
• Graduate school has made it's way onto my to-do list; I've been brainstorming possible degrees and paths I could take.  Although this is an adventure I do not want to begin for at least another year.
• I received my first gift from a student!  It will be going on the refrigerator soon.

Now that the first half of student teaching is over and commencement is less than three months away, blogging will move back towards the top of my priority list!

Band Camp Mayhem

It's been over a month of non-blogging and there is actually a good reason why; marching band.  Near the beginning of July I started preparing for three weeks (two and a half actually) of teaching the percussion section during band camp.  I didn't plan on going so long without blogging, but the only access I had to wi-fi was at McDonald's, so now it's catch-up time.

Percussion camp was first in the band camp series and it went great.  The line I worked with is very young but has so much potential.  Within the first few days I could tell that they were all very determined to learn and practice.  The entire band had pre-camp the following week, in which I was able to get to know more students in the program and help out with fundamentals.  The last week was actual band camp where the band had the opportunity to stay at a campsite and learn the show in a unique environment.

The percussion section alongside me and the other percussion instructor.  (faces are blurred for protection)

This was the second summer I was able to work with this program and I'm still amazed at the wonderful attitudes and discipline the students have.  Each day was a learning experience that challenged me to look at my teaching abilities in a different way.  The student's outlook on marching band began to change as the days passed, they where always striving to become better marchers, musicians, and people.

The awesome band directors and instructors.

I could go on and on about how great the program is, how much enjoyment I get from teaching the students, how fun staying at the campsite was, and just how memorable the entire experience was, but instead I will leave you with some bullet points to sum up the experience.

• Great people to teach alongside.
• Wonderful students.
• The one thing I look forward to each summer.
• Beautiful campsite.
• Great housing.
• Not-so-great cafeteria food.
• 6:00am-9:30pm days!
• New friendships.
• Expanding teaching skills.
• Teaching experience to remember for a life-time.
• #wannagoback (I love teaching so much that I used a hash tag...I despise hash tags)

This summer may or may not be my last summer with this specific band program because of possible career options I may have next year.  If all goes well with future career aspects then I'll be back next summer to work with this band program along with having my own teaching job next fall.

"Creepy" Content Continued

It has been found!  The evil source of our spider, flea, and other pests problems!  All morning our cat Gracie couldn't be found and I would have to coax her out of wherever she was hiding.  Tired of coaxing her I finally decided to try and find her secret hiding spot.  A quick look throughout the apartment led me to our bedroom closet where she was snuggled up in the back corner on a box.  As I went to get her from the corner I heard the faint sound of wind.  Moving the hubby's trombone and a cooler revealed the source; the hole where the dryer hose is suppose to connect, leading directly outside where there is a small field.

I quickly covered it up so no more pests could take shelter in our apartment and went to the office to fill out a maintenance request.  I was so thankful I found it before Gracie could squeeze through it or any more bugs could come inside.  Also because pest control is coming at the end of the week to spray outside, which definitely would have attracted more insects inside.

I'm guessing this was overlooked when we moved in because it was pouring rain that day and we were all trying to get things inside as fast as possible

"Creepy" Content Included:

Rant time.  I've mentioned in previous posts before how much I love our new apartment and town.... What I haven't mentioned is how much I hate the arachnids that have come to greet us and say hello.  We've lived here a little over a month now and I've noticed an uncanny number of creepy-crawlies, everywhere!  I've told myself time and time again that I'm not that afraid of spiders, but this has started to get out of hand.

Today alone, Earlier this night I've found three, let me repeat, three spiders; all of which were different in size and shape.  I'm done! My subconscious is screaming "RUN!", but sadly I keep finding them.  I've noticed probably around fifteen spiders all together since we lived here, but they've typically been spread out over a few days or so, which isn't as bad.  This is ridiculous!

All these sredips, (I don't even like typing the word) are driving me insane, haha.  I know they help with other pests, and I respect that, but I don't like finding numerous ones in a period of a few hours.  This overwhelming occurrence could be caused from the pest exterminator who came by this morning yesterday morning and sprayed insecticide in certain areas of each room... Now it's going on 3am and I'm wide awake because all I can think about is spiders under the bed...End rant.

Anyone else have an deathly fear of arachnids?  I definitely know I am now.

Surprise Visit

Sunday night I received a phone call from one of my best friends, Ashley, asking if she could come visit for a few days.  I hadn't seen her in over a month so the answer was obviously yes!  Within a few hours she was at our apartment and the excitement and fun began.

Blue is mine, yellow is hers.

A brief history of our friendship.  I met Ashley back in high school in our Music Theory class.  She was the "new girl" in the class and no one was courageous enough to go up and introduce themselves, so Ms. Outgoing me skipped over to her and welcomed her to CHHS and the band room.  Our friendship quickly blossomed and grew as we continued to know each other more and more.  Come to find out we were both huge nerds and goofy as could be!  As the years passed by she went from being the friend I knew from music theory to the little sister I never had.

Early week fun.  Back to the main focus of this post... Sunday night was spent playing Mario Kart 8 (ridiculously fun on the WiiU), shopping at Walmart, and catching up on all of the mishaps that have occurred over the past month.  Monday was the only full day we had to spend together, so we spent it like most friends would...doing laundry all day, swimming, walking down the riverfront and having fun!  We read most of the historical signs, took a lot of selfies (I despise that word) photos to capture the memories, and continued to catch up on everything.

Unfortunately our time together was short and she had to go home for their family vacation.  I"m very blessed to have a friend like her in my life.  She has always been there for me, she's been my shoulder to cry on, a friend when times are good and when times get tough, and an overall great person to be around.  It may seem like ages pass between our visits with one another I know our friendship will always remain.

She just started a blog and I'm wanting to help her get some followers!

Her blog is Summer Come True.

She is taking a trip to Arizona in a few days so there will be some great stories posted on there!

New Beginnings

It has been three weeks since we moved to our new town and I love it!  To be honest, I didn't think I would enjoy living here at first, but once we got settled in and adjusted it began to feel like home.  It feels like my hometown but on a smaller scale, and there is a river front!.  Some of my favorite things about this new apartment are: there is a small yard in the front, a pool, a tree, and no parkway right outside!  Yes, I said parkway... Our last apartment was right off a parkway and there was always traffic.  We never heard the birds chirping because of the traffic noise 24/7.  Now we have some peace and quiet and can hear nature.

Along with enjoying the new town and apartment, we have also began seeking a new church.  We really want to find a church that is similar to our old one (The Journey Church), one that is contemporary and geared towards unchurched people.  One that welcomes everyone no matter what background they have, where they come from, how they dress, etc...

For me, trying out a new church can be intimidating, scary, exciting, and so many other emotions all tied together.  That's exactly how I've felt during this transition, but I know God is going to lead us in the right direction.  If you've known me for any amount of time you know that I'm a go-getter and always want to get involved and invested right away.  The downside to this attribute is I don't give myself enough time to fully understand certain situations and get "comfortable" with surroundings.  The past few Sunday's have had me nostalgic about being involved in music ministry, but I realize that I need to take baby steps in getting involved.  You have to walk before you can run, right?

Does anyone else feel like this when trying a new church, or organization?

What are some of the feelings you experience with transitions in life?

Nashville Getaway

Over the weekend Michael, Sara, Kiefer and I all took a trip to Nashville together.  The special occasion was in celebration of our friend Craig's wedding that Saturday.  The weather was beautiful the entire time, and to make it better we were able to hang out in a different town as two married couples!  We celebrated our friend's marriage, caught up with some old friends, and spent the evening in downtown.  It wasn't a long get away, but it was fun and memorable which is what counts!