I'm a Triathlete!

Today was the day that Brandon became a triathlete. He is feeling it now, but reached both his goals: He finished (in a time of 2:13) and he is alive ("so far" he says). It was a rough swim and his knee gave him some trouble, but I think all in all he is happy. Nearly comatose, but happy!

It's My Birthday!

And I got a scooter! Yippee!!! I was very surprised and even more excited. It should arrive some time next week so today I took birthday money and went and got my motorcycle permit (I missed none, Brandon missed two on the test!!!) and got us each a helmet so he can ride along, if I let him :)

Here we are, ready to hit the road with our new helmets and permits.
This is what my scooter looks like, can't wait for it to get here, won't I look chic???

Life for Us

Hello Everyone! I realize that it has been a while, to be honest, our life is not that exciting! Some things that have been happening...
Brandon is in full swing at camp now. He has a great (if slightly smaller than he'd like) staff, especially his program staff this summer. That has been a huge blessing to have those few people that he can trust to take control on a few things here and there. Not that that means he is working any less! He is once again going in at 8 a.m. and not returning until...well, I don't really know when he comes home, I am usually long gone into dream land.
The good news is that apparently no one told my professors this summer that this quarter is relaxed and fun, like I was told! I have already cried twice this first week of class, once actually in a class, for no apparent reason other than the stress is breaking me down, finally. On top of school stress I have also continued to receive "we're sorry but the position has been filled" notices across the board for the jobs I have applied for. There are still a few out there, but it is definitely beginning to look like I will be substituting next fall. I'll be honest, that makes it a little tough to get excited about writing papers about my classroom procedures! Oh, yeah, I started this paragraph saying this was all good news...it is, kind of, I don't notice that Brandon works until the wee hours of the morning because I am doing homework and then falling into bed in an emotional exhausted haze.
I am looking forward to reading this in a month when I am done and realizing that it wasn't all as bad as it looked at this point!
Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we try to decipher what all of this means for our life over the next year. We are continuing to argue about who "has" to make the decision on where to live, what jobs we will each be doing, and so on and so on.
On a much brighter side here is a picture of me with my new "niece." My good friends Jon and Briana had their baby girl on June 11th, and I got to spend a week visiting them and Connor in Portland before my summer classes started. She is adorable, but the experience definitely left me feeling unprepared for any ideas of motherhood...even a baby as gorgeous and well-mannered as Kadyn made me feel incompetent and glad to not be the one getting up with her all night!

One step closer...

I am one step closer to being a "real" teacher. I have finished my student teaching! It was a little hard to walk out not knowing if I'd see them again, that first batch of students.

My school went to camp for the first half of the last week. It was a fun way to spend a few relaxed days with the students before the end of the year. Now just one quarter of classes and I am on my way. Still waiting on a job, though. Patience is not one of my strong sides when I am trying to decide how to spend the next year of my life!

Brandon is in full swing with camp, staff training is half over and going well. He is excited about the staff he has and looking forward to the summer. He is still waiting to see what I get offered job-wise before he makes any decisions about the next year might hold for him.

Pictures of the Weekend

Here are some pictures of the weekend I spent with the family!Looking at pictures of Kendall's time in AfghanistanRiding the gondola over Spokane Falls (Kendall especially enjoyed it as you can tell by his face.)An almost-family-picture, just missing Connor :(

Kendall is Home!

Hi everyone!
Well, I guess it is a little late notice, but Kendall got home from Afghanistan a few weeks ago. This weekend he flew into Spokane for the commissioning ceremony at Gonzaga (where he graduated) so Mom, Dad, and I met there as well and spent the weekend hanging out. We didn't do much exciting (but did ride the Gondola over the Spokane Falls) but had a great time just spending time together, looking at pictures from Kendall's deployment, and eating (a lot.)

It was a great way to spend the weekend before my big interview on Monday morning. Yes, that is right I got an interview! It is for the Bellingham school district, which I am really hoping for, but kind of not expecting to get. Either way it will be good experience. I was very wound up on Friday when I found out, but was able to relax in Spokane which was great. Now I am feeling nervous again, but not quite so much that I feel like I might throw up, so it is an improvement!

Thank you to all of you who had Kendall in your thoughts and prayers, we are so glad he is home safe!

A Baby Shower!

This weekend was a fun time to have a small shower for Briana. There were only six of us, but we had a nice time. After the shower Jon, Briana, Brandon and I explored the outdoor sculpture garden downtown in Seattle and then went out to dinner. It was a great weekend and a good chance to catch up with Jon and Briana. At the end of the weekend Brandon was ready to have a baby so he could get some of the cool gear and Carole was ready to be an auntie! We'll get on the same page some day :)Is that natural fibers?? Briana checks out the blanket I crocheted for Kayden.We were incredibly lucky to have a gorgeous sunny day in Seattle, so we caught some rays in the sculpture garden on the harbor after the shower.Later we showed the guys the gifts and Jon tried out the diaper "purse."

A Vacation to Lutherwood?

Sad, but true! We actually had a great time traveling to the "other" Lutherwood in Eugene, OR. Our friend Tyler just took the Executive Director position there so we went down to see him, Brandon gave their staff a little advice on computers and challenge courses, and we took a day at the beach and hiking for ourselves. It was a good time!

And this is spring...

What we woke up to on March 29th!

Happy Easter

We had a fun Easter, taking family photos for a youth group fundraiser. They turned out great, and the youth made almost $1000!

Old Picture, New Post

Ok, so this is from January, but I just got the picture on my computer! From snowboarding on Mt. Baker. We do love the Northwest!!!

The Finished Project

Well, here are a few. It turns out our apartment is still tiny, and hard to get pictures of the effect the new floors have. Let's just say we love them, they don't smell funky, and it is easy to find where Smokey has been sleeping and drooling!

New Floors!

Yippee! Camp got some money to do new flooring in our apartment so it is out with the nasty old carpet and in with pretty oak-colored laminate! We are having some technical difficulties with the pictures, so for now you only get the "in process" ones, it will keep you coming back for more!
The first step was popping off all the trim so that we could lay the flooring under that...
Then it was time to tear up all the old carpet and other random flooring underneath it. We found particle board, linoleum, some other wood product stuff, tar paper, and then, this:
Yes, that is right, giant holes in the sub-flooring. After Brandon went to the hardware store to get replacement boards at 9 p.m. we called it a night! Then, finally, it was time to actually lay the floor! That didn't take too long, it was the prep work that was the real bugger.
More pictures of the finished product to come, I promise!

Christmas in St. Louis

We have had an amazing time so far relaxing and catching up with family. Here are some high
points!

Carole eating meatballs with the guys....

Hanging out with John, Pam, and the little Havecker in Pam's belly!!!!

Stan trying on some Harley gear,

and Carole and Brandon showing their Army connections....

Spending time TOGETHER!

Striking a "Charlie's Angel" pose with the new Marshmallow shooters we got...

Bonding with Gizmo, who is the cuddliest dog, ever! We would take him home (he really likes big dogs!) but Mom and Dad would probably not let that happen!
The three kids gave Mom and Dad a Nintendo DS, and the game "Brain Age" so that they don't get Alzheimers! (They were very appreciative!)

Brandon got a new tool belt and showed off his best side...
All in all we have had a great time so far. We have two more days and then it is back home to the rain. But 11 days of vacation...we won't complain!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!We just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We hope that you and yours are having a blessed holiday season. We have been blessed by being done with finals! Yeah!
We are also going to be an "auntie and uncle." And for those of you wondering which of our unwed siblings went and did such a thing.... none of them, it is my childhood friend Briana and her hubby Jon. Congrats you guys!! We are glad we'll have a way to get our baby fix without actually taking the plunge ourselves :)
In a week we'll be heading to St. Louis for some good times with family and friends and we are looking forward to it. Par for the course Carole is already packed and has wrapped and packed presents for half the city, and Brandon hasn't thought of packing and is out shopping for Carole today!
So, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and lots of love to you all!
p.s. We did have a loss in our family recently...Bandit the fish didn't survive our trip to Montana :(

Prayers

Hey everyone! This is just my request for your prayers for my brother. Kendall found out today that he is being deployed to Afghanistan on December 15th to meet up with his new unit. Thanks for your prayers for his safety!

Thanksgiving 2007

Once again we hosted Thanksgiving at our place this year. We were short the siblings (which made it just a little too quiet!) but both sets of parents joined us. It was a relaxing week, the Scheer folks came in on Saturday and then the Selis arrived on Tuesday

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather we had this week and took Stan and Karen to a park on the Sound. It was a beautiful day, but very chilly, especially if you got out of the sun! We saw seals, and took pictures, and collected driftwood, and watched boats. It was definitely a Pacific Northwest experience (but sunny!)
Of course Stan once again had to strike a "Sexiest Man of the Year" pose somewhere. At least this time he didn't almost fall in the water! As always there were random strangers wondering what the heck we were doing. Brandon and Dad Seli got a bike ride in and Brandon actually survived (just barely!) check out the spandex!!! Or don't, it really is disturbing! .

We Have a Hot Tub!

While he was here Dad Scheer did the electrical so we can hook up our hot tub that was donated to camp. (We thought we should let an electrician handle the electricity + water scenario!) It went off with only one minor hitch and we are enjoying it!

How Much Longer?

Hello! How is it going for all of you that are interested enough in our boring lives to check this thing? We are doing pretty well. Today was a tough day at school for me (Carole), people in class are dropping like flies, sick, personal difficulties, etc. We counted today and there are only six weeks left in the quarter! Yeah! It seems like a long time, but I know that I am going to be so busy it is going to go by way faster than I can write Christmas cards. So, if you don't get one, sorry! We are in St. Louis for Christmas this year, and since I am in school and have a long break we get to go for 11 days. I plan on sleeping a LOT!
Smokey is good, but he has developed a taste for baked goods. Twice in the last week we have come home to him having eaten all the bread products off the counter. Hmmm, he might be eating himself back into the crate again!
I think that about sums up the excitement. Continued prayers for camp and the staff and board are always appreciated as they continue to work to do God's will here. Brandon is doing great and still biking and running when I don't talk him into eating instead. :) Love you all!

Back at it

Ok, ok, I am trying to get back into the swing of updating the blog. I am being massively shown up by our friend Jess who is blogging every other day! Granted, she has a far more interesting life than we do! So, what is going on with us. Well, for me it is pretty much school of one kind or another, all the time. I go to the elementary school on Mondays and Wednesdays (not nearly often enough-one kid pointed and gasped when I walked in last Monday). Then I spend the WHOLE day on Tuesday and Thursday in class. I am not exaggerating. I leave home at 7 am to go catch my bus up to campus, start classes at 8 am and go pretty much straight through (minus a lunch break) until 6 pm. By the time I get on the bus and then drive back to camp it is 7 pm when I get home. Luckily I have Fridays off, so that is when the majority of homework happens. It also generally means I can take some time off to spend with Brandon if he were to get a weekend off.

Brandon is still cranking away, busy as ever. Camp is working on redefining the staff's positions, which we are still kind of waiting to see what exactly that means. Think it will be a good thing. He is also working on training for a triathalon for next summer. He is biking a lot (and wearing spandex, uggh, Dad wore off on him!) and running occasionally as well. I am not inspired to join in!

So, all in all, things are going pretty well. Hope you are all doing great, too!

Carole's School

Here is some information about my new school! I am assigned to a 4th-5th grade split class at Larrabee Elementary School. Their upper grades participate in an amazing "collaborative specialist" model. There are 3 teachers that part of the 3rd grade and all the 4th and 5th graders rotate through, one teaches science, one math, and one technology and literacy. It really works amazingly well because all three teachers (4 if you count the social studies teacher who takes the math slot one day a week) are in constant collaboration. They are all backing each other up, and making connections with learning that is happening in the other portables. The upside for me is that all three are specialists in their area and superb teachers with tons of experience.
Here is a picture of the main building (a slightly old picture!)
There are about 190 students and I think 9 teachers, so it is a small school, but so far everyone has been VERY supportive of myself and the other 2 post-baccs placed there. Here is a picture of one of the three portables that house the collaborative model classes:

Carole & Smokey's first backpacking trip

During our few days between summer camp and school starting back up we went backpacking with our friend Holly. It was an amazing trip and we saw some beautiful country. Plus, now Carole's size 4 jeans fit again! If only she had to carry any food she planned to eat all the time....
All joking aside it was an incredible experience. Here are some photos to prove it!Smokey waits patiently while Dad pumps some water. Smokey did a great job with his pack and definitely slept good at night, snoring so loudly Carole thought there was a bear!
The first 2 days were very soggy, but then it cleared up and looked like this:The view from Grizzly Peak.Carole, Holly, and Smokey hiking along. (Sorry, couldn't get it to rotate)The whole crowd in front of what we think was Snohomish Peak. There were a lot of very big mountains with snow and glaciers all around us, and they didn't seem to all be on the maps we had!

Carole's New Skills

Well, hello there. So some of you may wonder how Carole is spending her time lately. A lot of it is actually pretty lame, but I have done a few fun projects. A couple those of you that know me well (Mom) may be interested in a new link over to the right of the blog. It is titled Carole's Webpage, and it is the new webpage (very basic!) I designed in my technology class. Most of the links are very boring, but if you'd like to see a movie of my life go to the "Portfolio" page and try out "Made Me Who I Am" It is a movie I created about my life.
Pray for me, I'm on the verge of a breakdown, thank God it is Friday!

Summer Life

Well, things are going relatively good, I guess!
Carole is incredibly busy, but usually not too overwhelmed, by school right now. She is now spending some time in a summer-school class and really enjoying it. One downside is that she got an eye infection from a cold (didn't know that was possible, did you? Leave it to Carole!) Hopefully that will heal up soon, because the eyes are already feeling pretty stressed from reading hundreds of pages a week! This quarter system thing is crazy, only 2 more full weeks of school and then a week with only 2 of her classes. Time flies when you are having fun!
Brandon is going full-summer-throttle. This was a super-busy week, starting everyday at about 8 and not coming to bed until after midnight. Feel free to let him know he should be taking care of himself :) He hasn't been getting as much wakeboarding time in as he would like, maybe this weekend!
Smokey is missing his buddy Everest, since Nichol came home and took him to her house. Other than that he is doing a great job consoling home-sick campers. He does so well sitting quietly by the sad kids and making them feel better!