Wedding Season

So the last couple of years... my summers have been over run by weddings. It is insane! At least 3 or 4 weekends a summer are spent watching another friend tie the knot. I love weddings and by no means hate having to go to them, it is just it has become kind of a game to see what year we break the record for weddings in a summer.

This summer we have 4, and luckily they are spread out a good amount. The thing I love about weddings, other then having a good time, is just really seeing a lot of hard word pay off for two special people in your life and watching them begin this new chapter together.

The first one of this year is one of Rich's old college roommates. It was a lot of good college friends and it was a great day for a wedding. The groom is in a band so even came up and performed at his own wedding for a couple songs! We all had a great time and I know Jim and Liz did!

Weddings do make you realize one thing... you are getting older and more mature (hopefully). They show you that you are starting a new chapter, this life not as a child, college student, single college graduate, but now you are married... part of a pair.. life partners. It is touching!

As much fun as we have at weddings, you know that for everything that goes well, it took a lot of planning! And as each wedding I go to, I see more and more amazing things that I would never have thought of at a wedding.

With one down, three to go. Hopefully each continue to have a great day and start this amazing new journey together!

Getting ready to say their vows

You may now kiss the bride!

Just relaxing before the reception

There goes the wedding party

Let the dancing begin

And let the new band take over :)

Mt. Washington

It has been a bad summer for me and blogging. Between job searching, trips, work, and all the weekends being filled with planned activities... finding time to blog has been hard. I am also simply at a loss for words right now to write about. It has been an emotional summer and I feel almost drained of a lot of my more inspirational words. So for now, I will highlight points of my summer that have been good.

July 1 a group of us went up to hike Mt Washington. Bennett, Rich, and I had done it two years ago and made it in record time. It was a sunny say, which is very very RARE at Mt. Washington so we did not really know what to expect this time. This year we added Greg and Laurie to the trip and decided to head up the mountain from a different side.

During the morning we had comfortable weather with great views and enjoyed some of the sights. There were beautiful waterfalls and just plenty of pretty photo opportunities.

We got to the Lake of the Clouds and felt we were getting there. We were in the Alpine zone, and we finally were out of tree cover. The clouds were rolling in, so it became harder to see at the top but after about 4 hours we finally made the last couple of steps to the summit.

Then it became the trek down. Now as hard as you might think going up a big mountain is, sometimes coming down is even harder. You must stop your self from just trying to continue moving down and down. Watching each step, it is challenging. But about 20 minutes into our descent, we felt the beginning of rain. Now earlier in the year Rich and I had already been stuck in a storm on a hike and I was not excited to have this for a 3 hour trip down. Luckily we all had items prepared to wear if we encountered some rain.

After about 30 minutes of pretty bad rain and no real thunder, the rain started to clear. Good thing it got warm again and we were able to dry out most of the way down. Towards the bottom we did have some thunder but it seemed distant enough that we weren't too worried and we were pretty low at that point.

Once again, I realized how beautiful the mountains on NH and VT are. It doesn't matter how in shape I am, it always sees to take a lot out of me as well. Everyone should get up to the Presidential Range in the White Mountains. They are gorgeous and I hope over the next couple of years to get some of the other peaks done.

The group before we got going

One of our first water sightings

Bennett looking for his inner zen

Water fall, but higher up

Don't push him in

The boys and the fall

Looking out over the Valley

Told you, this was the path to go to see waterfalls

Looking out at the view again.. finally in the alpine zone

The clouds are moving in

Oh man it is going to rain...

Still good thoughts as we make our way down

And it is already clearing up

Hanging out on the bridge, almost there

Back at the bottom

We did it!

Another day, another mountain down :)

A Dedication to the Best Man I Have Ever Known

Over a month ago, a day in my life happened that has changed me forever. For 26 years, I have always looked up to my father, the dad who was goofy, a sports fan, dedicated in everything he did, but most of all a family guy. I thought I would have him around to walk me down the aisle, to be the grandfather who would be more energetic at times with his grandkids then his parents would be, and to see both of his daughters settle into careers and family lives that he would be so proud of. But sadly on May 7, 2012, there was a different plan set in place for him. My dad lost his long battle with cancer just two days after seeing me receive my Master's Degree from the University of Connecticut. Never would I have imagined that a weekend I was looking forward to for so long would turn into a weekend I would never forget for other reasons. I knew that he has struggled with his treatment and that the last 6 months had been rough, but each day I had talked to him going up to that weekend, I felt that we had reached a better side, a side that would have him around for another family beach vacation, another birthday, another Christmas, another Father's day...

For a month I have known I wanted to write about my Dad, but every time I sat down to write it I just could not figure out what I wanted to say or remember. He meant so much to many people, but to me he was everything. I always was a Daddy's little girl. From the first kicks of a soccer ball, to the first place finishes at swim meets, my Dad was always my biggest fan. No matter what I got myself into, he wanted to learn about it and see me compete or participate. He loves hearing about my sports career, since he was such a huge athlete when he was younger. When I joined rowing in college, he had seen it but I don't think he really understood everything about it. When he first came up to see me at UConn my freshman year, and he got to visit the boat house it was so nice to see how he just really wanted to learn about this new part of my life. That is how he was about everything. He only got to see 2 of my rowing regattas but the two he saw he loved. He always talked about going back to the Dad Vails about how much fun he had there. Even though rowing is not the most exciting sport to watch, a quick 7 minute race that you can't even see us the whole time, he was truly happy to be able to be there cheering me on. He loved hearing about training for my races, my new love in tennis, and how everything was going. He was so proud of all the sports and accomplishments I had.

Other then my sports, my Dad loved hearing about my friends and wanted to know how they were. There was no conversation where my Dad would not ask, "How is Rich doing? How is work? How is his family?" or even when I was in college he always asked about roommates or teammates. He always wanted to know how Zukis was or Heath (Gates) was. He took an interest in them because when he wasn't with me in CT, he wanted to know who I was being able to turn to. My Dad was like that though, he cared about so many people above himself. He took an interest in their lives and also wanted to check up and make sure that they were doing well. When friends had troubles in their lives, or family situations, he would always want to check in to see if things were better. He might get confused with names here and there but he always knew who he wanted to talk about or ask about. Those small tokens about my family made him truly amazing. He was there for so many more then just my mom, sister, Molly, Kirby, and me.

Growing up with my father was a blessing. When we were younger, he worked 2nd shift so he was able to spend time with us in the day before we went to school. As we got older, he was working further away and also in the evenings or nights which was tough but he was always available on the weekends for the soccer tournaments or swim meets. Having two very active daughters did not make their lives easy by us always being away from home but he was by our sides giving us little pep talks before races or meets and being our biggest fans. My Dad played video games with us, and sometimes even beat us, and even though he might lose he would always be there to joke with or talk about the game. I loved being able to sit down and play Mario Golf with my Dad and just for hours sit there and share something with him that we both enjoyed and we had such happiness doing it. I never saw my Dad really upset, other then when his own father passed away. My father was always happy, he loved his family, he did love his job, and he loved everything he had. It was such a blessing to have in my life.

My Dad has taught me so many things. He taught me how important it is to care for my car especially. My Dad was a mechanic through and through. He did his job outside of work, and was Mr Fix It at our house. I don't think I remember my Dad ever calling "the man" to do something for us, he always wanted to do it himself. He took care of all the cars in our family so well that I mean we never really paid for oil changes or maintenance until I was away from home. He loved his Honda's and he has me hooked too. My Dad was a great cook, he loved manning the grill or making lunch that we would come back to after a long morning at a swim meet or morning at church. I did not start right away, but now I have that same appreciation for cooking. He taught us to be frugal and not settle for just buying something to have it but make sure it has worth and it was a deal. We did not get a lot of stuff in our house when we were younger until it was on sale, and I see now being an adult how important savings really is. He always taught me the appreciate for laughing and just being true to people and everything in your life. He never said a bad word about someone and really had no enemies. It is hard to imagine that in todays world, but he was someone everyone liked in any way they knew him or interacted with him.

Each day I think of you Dad. You are with me, I know that. You are watching me as I search for my new teaching job, you are there when I cook a new meal that you would enjoy, you will be there each week when I watch the Panthers hoping that they show them the chicken. It won't be the same having you to talk about when the Big Dance comes around but I know you will be picking your bracket up there in heaven and seeing if you can beat me this year. I will always think of you when I see Dirty Dude on TV for commercials or racing and always enjoy being able to go back to some of your favorite restaurants. Every time I go to Dairy Queen, I know you will want to get your twist cone or even a hot fudge sundae if it is a good day.

I hope that I can be half the person you are as I go on. I hope that my kids love me as much as I know Colleen and I have and always will love you. I know that on my first day as a teacher you will be there watching me. When I walk down the aisle you will be by my side even if it is only in spirit. I know I should not shed tears everyday for you but when you were such an amazing man, it is hard not to. Mom, Molly, Colleen, and I will always love you and miss you. I know you and Kirby are up there playing ball now like you used to. You are with your parents and Tracy and just getting to watch all of us live on in your legacy. You have made me SOOO much of who I am. You will be a part of me for the rest of my life. I love you so much Dad, and I hope I continue to make you proud. I hope that if I have battles in my life I hope to challenge them with such amazing strength as you did for the last two years. I will cherish all 26 years I shared with you. I wish I would have had 26 more but the memories I have I will never trade in.

Thank you Dad for everything you taught me. I know there was more you wish you could have taught me but I am always learning and I will continue to look for your guidance. I am glad that we got to share your last weekend here together and that you got to finally meet some very important people in my life.

I love you Dad........ always your sweetheart

You were always so proud of your girls

Always a family guy

And the Dog was now always front and center

You always were a joking goofy "zanny" Dad

 The best parents a girl could have ever asked for

You sure did love your snakes, not always sure why

I will always remember this weekend

Interviews

Interview season is upon us, and from the first couple I have been on, I have learned a decent amount.

1. You can not prepare for everything they ask you.
Depending on who is interviewing you and what their position is, each person in the committee could ask you so many different questions. My first interview was with just a science coordinator. I thought that would be the easiest one because we had so much common interest, well little did I know that has turned out to be my hardest interview. He was very specific in little details as aspects of science teaching that I was not prepared to answer. It was a very laid back interview but at the same time, I couldn't help but think that all my preparations for that interview did not really help me out too much.

2. Demo lessons help the interview flow.
I have now given a demo lesson at a school before having an interview and I think it was the best way for the process to work. They were able to see a little bit more about me, other then a cover letter and resume before asking me all of these questions. It felt more like a conversation than an interview. I enjoyed it  because I could use a tangible example that related to what they saw in my lesson that I think helped them understand more of what I was saying and how I would approach my own classroom.

3. It isn't as nerve wracking as I thought
Between student teaching, defending your master's thesis and other things, interviews are pretty small on the radar of things that I should get really worried about. Yes they make a big deal in the scheme of things but at the same time, you just have to be yourself. If you don't know how to be yourself after this many years of life then I don't think you should be trying to be a teacher.

4. 30 minutes goes by FAST
Interviews I always thought would drag but when you start talking about things you are passionate about or experiences you had, time can go really fast. Once about 3 or 4 questions are done, it seems like 30 minutes are getting close depending on how detailed your questions are. Seems crazy that talking in school seemed so long to speak for 30 minutes but now it can go by like that. Just make sure to use those 30 minutes to your advantage and get everything in you wanted to say.

In all, interviews now that I have some under my belt are not feeling that bad and I mean I can only do so much. I show them who I am and who I want to be as a teacher, the rest is up to them.

We will see how it all plays out :)

Trip Home

It always feels good to go home, no matter how short the trip is. My sister and I got home in early June for my mom's birthday. There has been many years since the both of us were home for her birthday and we made sure she had a good time.

First we got to go to a wedding for a family friend's son out on a lake in North Carolina. It was a great day for an outdoor wedding, even a little on the cool side for early June but in all it was very lovely. The brides dress had a shade of blue in it which was different but very elegant too. My mom enjoyed catching up with friends that have been with the family before my sister and I were even born. Even though it was more of an all the day hang out type of wedding, after lunch was served we decided that we would enjoy some more family time at home. Had to get back to Molly of course :)

Here are some photos from the wedding...

For my Mom's birthday we actually had her favorite... well a family favorite.. La Caretta. There isn't a trip to NC that doesn't include Mexican. But in any circumstance, it was tasty! 

The next day we took Molly to go hiking up at Hanging Rock State Park. It was a place my parents had been to but my mom said she had never taken us. It was a great day for a hike and the trail we took was not very crowded so Molly could roam freely. There was lovely scenic views and also some interesting terrain. In all, we had a great time, got a good workout, and got to then come home and enjoy a lovely home cooked family dinner. 

It was a short weekend but at the same time, my mom said it was one of the best birthdays she has ever had. I am glad we could make your day special Mom :)