Another Year Gone

Well tomorrow is the last day of 2009! So much has happened this year, yet it seems to have been a pretty mild year. Here are some of the highlights from our year!

1. I graduated college.

2. Michelle got married

3. The Massie's finally got moved into their home!

4. Pat started his senior year and got an awesome internship.

Like I said nothing earth shattering but still exciting none the less. Maybe it is all the small moments that make up the important things.

Christmas was wonderful of course. I got some much needed clothes for teaching, as well as a mixer and grill for the new house (whenever we get one) and Country Rock Band (I almost have all the songs played on the guitar!) Pat got a tool set, some clothes and other odds and ends. He still has to open presents from my family which will probably happen this weekend.

For New Year's we are heading to Columbus to go out with Mike and Katie. We are going to do a dinner and a movie which I am pretty excited about because I wasn't really looking to do anything to extravagent and this is just perfect plus we usually have a really good time with them.

Well we are getting closer and closer to the deadline of June 19th! I really need to get to making some final decisions especially with softball coming up and we will have games pretty much everyday starting March 31st (weather permitting). The invitations that Pat and I both agreed on (we were shocked too) were a little out of our price range in my opinion. We were hoping to make them but aren't sure that will work and looked a couple other places but they were still pricy, especially when most people will probably just throw them away. So anyways we have been looking at a couple other options but we can't agree on any other ones. After some searching today however I think I have found a solution. There is a cartridge for the Cricut machine (a scrapbooking tool) that has the shape we need. The problem, which of course there has to be one, is that it was only released in a special bundle through Home Depot. Well after more investigating it is being released later in January more globaly so we are hoping to get one then. I looked on Ebay for some and they are selling them for almost $200! These things normally sell for $40 so we will not be bidding on any of those. Hopefully though we can get a cartridge and it will work out and we will get the invitations we want yet!

The other big thing we need to get done is the bridesmaids dresses. The problem we have with that is getting Michelle and Jennifer to both be able to try some on! I know what I have in mind but I would still like to have them try them on to see what they look like. Once that is done it is just the decorating that we need to get pinned down and then I think it will be smooth sailing from there, cross my fingers.

Well I think that is all for 2009, here are some pictures from our Christmas holiday.

The present I made Kristal

Luke opening his tool box with his first tools

Matthew playing at Maumee Bay State Park

Pat & I at the Toledo Walleye Hockey Game

The Cricket County Crew

Pat showing off his "muscles" for Katie

Layton & his new tractor

It's that time again

Well we just arrived back to our house from the Lapp Christmas. It was a fun filled evening of our new tradition of the dice-rolling, present trading gift exchange (for those that are not familiar, it is quite an experience).





Pat just left after spending the past few days here. He came down to see Cricket County(more about that later) and then stayed for Christmas today because in 4 years this was the first time he could be here for the get-together. We got a lot of Christmas shopping done and also got plenty of movies watched. Last night we took Luke to see Princess in the Frog, which we all loved! I love to take Luke to the movies and it is something I think he looks forward to. Pat and I started it this summer taking him to the movies and I would like to continue the tradition. The next movie he has his eye on is Alvin & the Chipmunks so he may get two right in a row here!

This year we decided to make a lot of our Christmas presents and I think I have them all ready to go but one. I have tried to take pictures of them so I will post them once they are all opened. I know not many people read this but knowing my luck I would post them and then everyone would read this and there would be no surprises!

Cricket County went really well this year. There were a few bumps here and there but the actors were great in just going along with it and making it work. If you didn't know what was supposed to happen I'm not sure you would have even noticed the slip-ups. After being in charge of this I realize even more how blessed I am with my church family. None of the people involved even hesitated when I asked them to be a part of this. At such a hectic time of year all of them were willing to help out without a second thought. I think that happens a lot at our church and I think that is something very special. Our Sunday School is also going very well. We are almost through our first book and we have had a pretty good turnout of kids. I feel bad because I haven't been there a couple weeks because of being out of town but the kids seem to understand which I really appreciate. I feel like I should have a substitute but the kids said they would rather just keep the class with us which makes me feel pretty good!

Tomorrow I am getting together with the girls to do our gift exchange. I am so excited to see them. I feel like we go forever without talking to one another but then we get back together and we are back to acting like we see each other everyday! Again I am so blessed to have such good friends no matter how far away we may be!

Well I think that is all for now. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Sounds from a 6th Grade Classroom

So I am subbing at the elementary school currently in the 5th and 6th Grades. I am starting to LOVE this age group. They are so much fun and still very honest. As most of the kids are at recess there are a few straglers that have decided to stay in and are discussing the Vampires from Twilight. Not boys or who did what to who but just about a book they are reading! I love it! I could never understand when I was that age and people said we were growing up too fast but I am starting to understand it now. While coaching, almost all of my girls had cell phones with texting and used them all the time. When I was that age I was the only one that had a cell phone and that was because Dad was known for forgetting to pick me up from practice and that was the only time I used it. I know cell phones aren't the only problem but maybe our kids are wanting to grow up too fast and sadly it will be too late until they realize it isn't that great to be grown-up!

It's Almost Christmas!

I can't believe it is December already! When we went back to school yesterday we counted only 16 more days until Christmas break! Hard to believe it is here already. Thankfully Pat and I have most of our shopping done, or at least know what we are getting for the most part. There are still a few that need to be decided so hopefully we can get those done soon!

This weekend I am headed to Rio for one of Pat's fraternity brother's wedding. I am looking forward to going down and seeing everyone! And as I am writing this I just realized we have not gotten them a present or have any idea where they are registered! Of course Pat's response to this dilemma is "Let's not get them anything." He such a thoughtful sensitive person! Haha, but I love him.

Next weekend we are celebrating the Snyder Christmas weekend. We are doing things a little different and instead of going out for a nice dinner we are all getting a cabin and staying in for the weekend. I am looking forward to it, especially since they have a racquetball court! Pat's dad has challenged me to a game so I will have my racket packed. I am sure there will be plenty of time to read, watch movies and play games! What more could you ever want.

The Cricket County play is going well. We are now practicing twice a week and our "actors" are starting to really learn their lines. I am thinking about taking away their books next week! The production is the 20th and we are having our Cookie Sale on the 19th, so if you are in the area come visit Keene Hill!

We are still on the lookout for jobs so if anyone has any leads on one, please let us know! Well I will hopefully give another update around Christmas time!

I finally did it!

Well now that volleyball is over I figured I better get back into the wedding planning mode! My first order of business was to get Pat's wedding ring. I told him from the beginning since I didn't get a say in mine, he didn't get a say in his (that may be the stubborn side of me coming out). When Pat was up a couple weeks ago we went to the Apple Butter Festival and stopped in and got his ring sized so then I went in and got his ring picked out. One more thing to check off the list!

On a not so good note the OSU Extension Levy did not pass in our county yesterday. What does that mean? Well it will be pretty hard to keep 4-H and all of the other programs that the Extension Office offers our county. It is really sad that the members in our community will not support something so great, especially for our youth. I know it is tough economic times and all that but it is only about $15 a year for most homes. Everyone already complains about how little there is to do in Coshocton and now we just took something else away. It is so hard to think what it will be like without it in our county.

Other than that nothing too exciting has been going on here. Jennifer and Jason are getting ready to put their floors in their house and Luke is having his 7th Birthday on Friday! I can't believe he is that old! Until later....

Where has it gone?

So here we are at the end of October and I haven't written since July! Oops! Well Volleyball ended up taking up A LOT more time than I anticipated but I loved it! There were days that were a little rough but I had a great group of girls and getting to watch them evolve into decent volleyball players was awesome. I had some girls that couldn't pass a ball to save their lives during camp but now they can pass to a target 90% of the time. We ended up with a .500 season and 3rd place in the ECOL, pretty good I think.

Pat has been working in the Admissions Office at Rio and really loves it. Of course he likes to talk to people so going to all the college fairs and talking to people is right up his alley. Maybe something will come from it and he will be able to find a job in a similar field.

We have also started a new Sunday School at our church. Pat hasn't been able to do much with it yet, since he is still down at school but we are pretty excited about it. The Sunday School program has been lacking and so we decided to start one for the 6th grade-12th graders at our church. The first week was pretty successful but because of my sickness I couldn't go the second week. I really hope it takes off and the kids enjoy it!

Yesterday Pat and I went to Cedar Point for our annual trip. We were there for 6 hours and only rode 3 rides. That was ok though we got to ride the ones we wanted to ride. We had to duck out of line for the 4th one because that is when I started to get sick. If anyone hasn't had a chance to ride the Maverick yet, it is a great ride! Really worth the wait!

Subbing has been keeping me busy. Early on it was meetings and professional days that have given me a lot of my time but now that the flu and cold season is here I have gotten a few early morning calls! Overall it has been a pretty enjoyable time. I know now that I am not cut out to be an Early Ed. teacher. The kids are ok for a little while but it really takes someone special to work with them everyday. I still love the Jr. High and even the 5th and 6th graders have started to grow on me. Now I am thinking about getting my Masters is Middle Childhood when the time comes, we will just have to see.

I think that is all the major updates for now. Oh we do want to congratulate Mr. and Mrs. Phil Webb! They were married yesterday! Hope you have a great marriage, we love you!

It's Almost Over!

Well Summer has come and is almost gone! Pat and I have been staying busy with work and trying to sneak in some time to do the stuff we want to do like go putt-putting, batting cages and a trip but it seems like work takes all of that time away. Pat is still working at the Canal Boat and doing some landscaping. He seems to like his jobs and does get a couple days a week off. I am still at the Warehouse but I have been taking a cut in hours because volleyball has started. Yes I took the job of 7th Grade volleyball coach. I have been going to the high school liftings and open gyms as well as the Jr. High Open Gyms so I have been busy with that. Next week we start camp and the week after that conditioning starts and then we are in full swing. I am really excited to get started and get to work with my girls! I forgot how much I really enjoyed playing volleyball so getting to play in the open gyms has been fun, and made me realize how out of shape I am. Maybe I will be doing some conditioning in a couple weeks too!

We have actually started to do some real planning for the wedding as well. Some of our ideas are going into action. Last Monday Pat and I spent most of the day doing wedding stuff, meeting with photographers, checking out possible locations and getting prices. We got a lot of stuff accomplished but somehow still feel like nothing is done! Thanks to Emily, I think we found a photographer that we both like and hopefully we will be able to book her. I am hopefully going to meet with her soon so we can go over all the preliminary stuff and make sure she is really what we want, then at least that can be checked off the list. I am working on designing the invitations right now because since a lot of the stuff we will be making ourselves I would like to get everything planned so maybe we can find some of the materials on sale or at least get the chance to look around and really get the best deal.

Speaking of weddings....Lora and Phil are engaged!! They have decided to get married in October and have their dream beach wedding. I am so happy for them and can't wait to see it all come together.

This weekend we are headed to Woodville to see Pat's parents. We are planning to go to the Ottawa county fair tomorrow so that should be fun. Then we have to get back on Sunday so Pat can work and Fall Ball is starting so I have a game.

Well that is all I can think of now, here are some pictures from our weekend at the Lake this year

Sweet Summertime

Well lots has been going on this summer and that is why there has been a lack of posts on here lately. I am back at the Warehouse waitressing and Pat is at the Canal Boat steering, not driving, the boat. We both work just about everyday so not a whole lot of time to do anything fun but that is ok.

I am graduated from college!!! I now have my teaching license and both diplomas so I am ready to go. Still no word on a job yet but it is still early and if nothing comes up, I am ok with substituting for a year. Here are some pictures from my last week at Rio.

Mrs. Hale and I

Coming into Commencement

Lora and I leaving our room one last time!

The Monday after Graduation, Pat and I headed to Cleveland for another Indians game. This time they won so it was more enjoyable!! This time we sat in right field so it was from a whole new perspective which was nice.

May 30th we went to Columbus for the Sig May Day. We had a lot of fun and I think Pat liked to see some of the alumni. Hopefully they will be able to have it annually and it will be even bigger next year.

The guys singing "For He's an Alpha Sig"

The Actives

And then this past weekend was Michelle's wedding. It all went very well and everything was beautiful, especially Michelle. We are all still trying to recover so we are moving at a slower pace than usual but we will hopefully be back to our old selves soon!

And here is a picture of Pat when we were having our deep fry dinner. We had fish, hushpuppies, deep fried mushrooms, deep fried pickles and onion rings. It was a great dinner!!

Hopefully next week we will be heading to Michigan to go to the family cottage. I still have to see if I got off work, but hopefully I will! It is always nice to go up there and just relax and read lots and lots of books!!

Well I think that is all the updates for now! Hope everyone is having a great summer!

I can't Believe it's Here

Well in one week from today I will be walking across the stage receiving my COLLEGE DIPLOMA!!! I can't believe it is finally here. I finished up teaching Thursday and yesterday the kids got to enjoy Marley and Me (It's a great movie so far, but we aren't to the end). I am going to be sad to leave all my students. Already I have had a couple that have made me cards telling me they are going to miss me.

Finals are next week and Pat will finish up on Thursday. Then just one more year and he will be walking across the stage as well. Classes have gone well this semester and he was elected to be president of his fraternity for next year. Speaking of the fraternity, we will be going to their May Day shindig the last week of May so that should be fun. A lot of the alumni should be there, so it will be an interesting night to say the least.

Here is a picture of us at the Indians game we went to over Easter weekend. Pat and I got Bob tickets for his birthday since he had never been to a major league game and we had a great time. While we were all freezing through the entire game and the Indians lost it was still a great game and it was fun to get to spend some time with his parents. While we were there Pat and I took advantage of an offer they were running and got two more tickets for the May 11th game! Hopefully this time it won't be as cold and they will win. Now that they are starting to play better I think there may be a chance!

Well I need to get to work on the Rio yearbook! This is the first year there will be one in a while and I volunteered to make a video yearbook this year. (I know I am crazy!) I have all the pictures together so now it is just the process of putting them all into the program. Hopefully it won't take too long! (Famous last words)

It's been a while

Sorry everyone! Not only has not a lot happened around here, we have just been busy! Sounds a little like an oxymoron.

Well t-minus 4 weeks until graduation! Student teaching is going great and I love it, although I may complain about all the work that goes into it. The OAT is coming fast upon us and the week after next is when the kids will be completely worn down from testing all week. At least the week after that I will be able to do a fun lesson with them. No clue what I will be doing, but it will not have anything to so with author style, purpose, tone or any of the other things I have pounded into their heads for the past six weeks. It is hard to believe it has been six weeks! I will miss the kids when I am gone, but hopefully next year I will have a brand new class of kids!

Speaking of that.... the job search continues. I would really like to end up somewhere around Coshocton but I am also applying down here around school. Wherever offers me a job is where I will go. I just hate that the hiring will not happen until this summer. At least I know I have a job for the summer so that will help me out. Yes I am going back to the Warehouse even though I swear I will not go back after every year. It is good money and I have heard the new owners are really good so maybe it will be enjoyable.

Pat is still looking for a summer job as well. He is looking all over the place. Hopefully something will come up that he will be happy with. He really doesn't want to go back to the Jet and I would rather he not either. With the gas and the wages he barely makes any money. Plus he hates it there.

Well I guess I have procrastinated long enough, and I better get to work on my paper that is due tomorrow! I have done everything possible but write the paper, even sweep the room!

Oh and Saturday we are headed to Jacob's Field (It will always be the Jake to me!) For opening weekend! I can't wait! I love going to baseball games!! Go Tribe!

Welcome to the Real World

Well this is going to be a quick post because it is getting dangerously close to being past my bedtime. I have decided to stay up a little later because Lora has the Bachelor finale on and the after-rose ceremony proved to be comical in my opinion.

Student teaching is underway and I am about 1/4 of the way there. I have been teaching OAT review, wonderful grammar, and Walk Two Moons. If anyone knows any good grammar lessons please let me know because I am running out of ideas of how to make it interesting for my students. I was pretty excited about getting to do Walk Two Moons because it was my favorite book back in the day. The kids have been pretty good so far. Of course there have been a couple that have caused a little problems but nothing major so far.

Cold season has started and Lora and I are both feeling the effects right now. Lora got the worst but got over it pretty quickly. I just have the annoying cold that will be here forever. Oh well I will just keep taking my Sudafed.

I think that is pretty much all of the exciting stuff for now, oh wait there is one more thing...Pat and I decided to rent a house in Roscoe this summer! We are both pretty excited about it and are trying to figure out what all we need or don't need right now. Well it is off to bed for me!

Winter Wonderland

Well if any of you are not aware last week at Rio was pretty uneventful. Classes were cancelled from Tuesday through Friday so that meant lots of time spent in the dorm playing games and watching T.V. Thank goodness that not all of our electricty was out, only our bedrooms. We did brave the cold and snow one day and went sled riding down Lyne Center hill. It was pretty fun except trecking back up the hill. Lora and I decided that because of all the hard work we did we deserved our favorite indulgence, a package of Oreos!

Thank goodness for Netflix also. We had two movies here because something about one movie not being available but then it came, I'm not real sure. Anyways, we got to watch a lot of movies online because there was no way to send the ones we had watched back because the post office was of course closed.

On Saturday Lora, Val and I went to the bridal show at the Ariel Theatre in Gallipolis. It was pretty nice and we got to talk to a lot of vendors. The only problem is that they were all from down here and I doubt any of them will make a trip to Coshocton! It was our lucky day though because we all ended up winning door prizes.

Well I think that pretty much sums up everything that went on this past week! Just one more week of classes for me and then I start student teaching!

Music City U.S.A

Ok so we finally went on our first vacation! To be honest, I can't wait for our next one now. It was fun just to go away and see some stuff that both of us enjoyed. We started the trip at the Louisville Slugger Museum. We got to see Travis Hafner's bat being made! We also saw Jim Thome's and A-Rod's. We thought about getting a personalized bat made but decided that the souvenir ones that were free were good enough for now.

The next stop was Nashville. We started off by going to Bass Pro Shop and Barnes and Noble so right there made the trip well worth it. For dinner we decided to try an Italian restaurant named Demo's. When we arrived we realized that one of two things happened, either Day Light Savings Time or we were in a different time zone. Well it was the latter of the two and thankfully so. There was a pretty big wait at the restaurant with parties of 22 and 30 going in. I had the most amazing spaghetti ever! It was called Greek style and the sauce had a sweet taste to it. I am now determined to figure out how to make it. After dinner we headed to Ryman Auditorium to see the Grande Ole Opry. We got to see Mel Tillis, Marty Stuart, Ashton Sheppard and a lot of other acts. After that we called it a night.

The next morning we headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. We spent the majority of the day looking through all of the things there. We also got to go to Studio B where Elvis, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Charlie Pride and a lot of others have recorded their music. It was pretty surreal to see the piano that Elvis used when he recorded all of his hits.

That night we ate in a restaurant called the Aquarium. Like it says you eat in the center of an aquarium. It was a neat atmosphere to eat in. Later we took Chase's advice and went to a little joint called Station Inn. I was a little leery at first because it was on the outside of a nice part of town in a little concrete building. Once we got in, it was a bunch of mismatched tables and chairs in a little room, but the music was really good. It was a bluegrass jam night so about 20 people were up front all playing together. By the time we left the place was packed with spectators as well.

On our way home we decided to stop at Jim Beam to break up the trip a little. The tour was free but it didn't have much. We watched a video about how the whiskey was made which was interesting and then saw where the wooden barrels used to be made and the Beam's house and that was it. It was nice to stop for a while and take a break from driving.

Overall the trip was great! We had a really good time and now are back to thinking up ideas for future trips that we probably won't take. Maybe now that we have taken one we will be more apt to take more!

Pictures!

I havn't put any pictures up for a while so I thought I would share some pictures from our Christmas vacation this year! Hope you enjoy!

Layton on his John Deere Buck

Getting ready to go to Christmas Dinner


Matty's hairstyle after Uncle Pat got a hold of him

Making Christmas Cookies

Oh and just to let everyone know, after two years of planning Pat and I are finally going on a trip. The first weekend we are back at school we have a 3 day weekend so we are headed South to Louisville, Kentucky to the Lusiville Slugger Museum then going on to Music City USA, Nashville!! We have to go because we booked hotels so there is no going back now! I will be sure to let everyone know how it goes!

HAPPY 2009

Because of a request, just kidding Katie!, I decided I would write a quick blog before heading to bed tonight. Christmas is now over! Pat and I exchanged gifts as soon as he arrived on Tuesday because if you don't know he is horrible about holding out on secrets. For my ornament I got a black bear, I also got a new pair of John Deere boots that I really didn't think I was going to get because Pat convinced me no one carried them in my size, as well as the new Nicholas Sparks book (I started it tonight) and a Bass Pro Shirt just like his. He didn't realize that part until after he bought it, oh well! He treats me pretty good, thank goodness! I ended up getting him some stuff for his bow, which is what he wanted. He already has his tree stand up and is headed out in the morning. Hopefully he will at least see something while he is out there.
New Year's was spent in Columbus with Katie, Mike, Brian and Andrea. We had a really good time and may be getting old because we went to bed around 12:30. So much for being crazy college kids! Tonight we had the traditional pork and sauerkraut family dinner and then went and played a couple games of bowling with Joe. I sadly did not even break 100 but the boys did a little better.
Now in just a week we will be headed back to school. I am ready to go back but not ready to start my last semester if that makes sense. Oh well I guess I am just going to have to suck it up and face it. Early morning wake up time here I come : ( .
I think that is really all I have for the night. Hope everyone had a great New Year's!! Oh and for one of my New Year's resolution, I have decided to try to write more often so if you see me slacking, help me out and let me know!