Where have the nine years gone? Happy Anniversary to my hubby across the miles...

June 28, 2003…Nine years ago, I was 21 years old. It was a dreary day in Michigan, and it was our wedding day.

Today, is our 9 year wedding anniversary. Sadly, I am almost 300 miles away from my hubby. I know it is just a day, and I will be home this weekend, but it is not the same.

This is actually the second anniversary I have missed for my job. (This is for people who thought teachers had so much time off in the summer…yep, teachers still work in the summer!) This year I have training in Tyler, Texas.

One of my favorite pictures from our wedding day.

In 2006, I missed our three year anniversary as I was here in Texas. I was working summer school and trying to find a teaching job.  My husband was preparing our house to sell and was planning on coming to Texas at the beginning of August.

In 2003, when, we got married we were living in Michigan. I was working almost 60 hours a week for Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and my husband was working for a promotional company that has since gone out of business. I actually picked June 28^th because, one, I wanted a summer wedding and, two, I had such a limited amount of time off from work, that I needed every day I could get. The 28^th would allow us to get an “extra” day off for the 4^th of July.

We went on a honeymoon to Hawaii. It was awesome! My parents gave us a hotel room at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Oahu. We drove about 2 and half hours the night of our wedding to get to the airport in Grand Rapids…because it was cheaper to fly out of Grand Rapids. We got about 3 hours of sleep before our plane took off.

If you would have told me nine years ago that I would be living in Texas, that both my husband and I would be teachers, and I would be pregnant with our first child—I would have told you, you were crazy.

It is amazing how life changes in nine years.

Even though I can’t be with my hubby today, I am one of the happiest girls in the world.

I am so blessed.

I am so thankful for my wonderful, amazing, smart, funny husband. There is not a day that goes by that he doesn’t make me laugh out loud. I am so proud of him—and I can’t wait to see what the next year holds in store for us, and then the next 60+ years after that.

I guess the best way to end this blog post is….To be continued. I know the best is yet to come!

Of course, I didn't think that bite was as big as it was. He still gives me a hard time about that!

How I spend my summer vacation: Gateways to Technology Specialization Training-Week 1

Do diodes mean anything to you? What about DC motors? Electromagnets? How about airfoils?

Do you know how to use a drill press?

I am not an engineer, electrician—nor do I work in the field of aerospace.

These topics are what I have been learning week at Project Lead the Way—Gateways to Technology Specialization training.

I have already learned a ton. I would say in four days, we went through about 20 weeks of material that we would teach in our classrooms.

Oh, and I learned how to use a drill press. Yep, I was scared at first--even one of the shop teachers in my class complimented me on how I "drill like a professional."

Our training goes from 8-5 everyday. Today at about 4pm, my brain was DONE. I absolutely could not think about any more circuits.

Thankfully, it has been so much easier than last year’s training--Gateways to Technology Foundations training was brutal. (The hardest part was learning 3D modeling. My brain simply did not work that way. It required a lot of patience for me to learn Autodesk Inventor.)

I have not had a ton of homework. (We have been warned that Monday will not be fun.) But, I will say, I have actually been in bed most nights by 11. My pregnant body is thankful for that.

I am adding some pictures of projects we have made this week.

Teacher Training in the Summer-80 hours in 2 weeks

Let’s talk about being a dedicated teacher. Who else would give up two weeks of their summer to study topics such as: aeronautics, electrical circuits, chemistry, and physics?

Yes, me, and apparently 30 other people. And, there are another 80+ others that are here studying even more complicated topics.

I am at Project Lead the Way’s summer institute at the University of Texas at Tyler. Over the next two weeks I will receive 80 hours of professional development so that I can be certified to teach the Gateways to Technology Advanced course to middle schoolers.

But, I think I am the only person here who is 5 months pregnant. I haven’t really played the pregnancy card—unless I am at home with my hubby. I also haven’t really started to look pregnant until the last few weeks. Today, I am feeling pregnant.

I drove by myself to Tyler, TX. Tyler is about a 5 and a half hour drive from my house. It is a place that I had never heard of before I became a Gateways to Technology Teacher.  Last year, (yes, this is my second summer here) driving to Tyler was a complete disaster. I had a GPS and an Iphone—and I made one wrong turn and neither was working/getting a signal. It was by the grace of God that I made it to Tyler. No Joke. I was so stressed out. Then, when I finally got to Tyler, I could not find the university.  I was in tears multiple times on that trip.

This year, I stressed about the drive all weekend. When I had a “bad” look on my face, hubby knew that I was stressing. To avoid the issues I had last year, he hand wrote me directions on how to get to Tyler.

 I am proud to say that I did not get lost.

I made multiple stops along the way. I kind of had to, since my pregnancy urge to pee was constant.

I made it into Tyler by 12:30 and I even had time for lunch. I found a Schlotzky’s Deli, and it was absolutely delicious. I was glad to find out that many of the people I met last year are here again this year! I am so happy that I don’t have to do this all by myself.

It is not easy. These trainings are very challenging. It is a lot to be away from home for two weeks.

But, I know that I can do it—5 months pregnant or not.

I will keep you posted on all that I learn in these next two weeks!

20 week gender scan...it's a....

Caution: Some of this may be TMI/obviously very unscientific....

We had our gender scan scheduled for over five weeks, and Monday was FINALLY  the big day. My husband and I had anxiously been awaiting this appointment. We are people who don’t like surprises/can’t keep surprises from each other. It is our first baby and we are so excited!

The doctor’s office had already changed our appointment from 9:00am to 1:30pm and then they called AGAIN on Monday to change the time from 1:30pm to noon. Ok, earlier is better, so I can’t complain too much. But, let the record show we are accommodating people.

We arrived and we got called back to the room fairly quickly. Everything is all set up. The nurse and technician came in. The technician says, “Sorry, we have to use this to measure your cervix.” UGH. Not the “wand.” I hate the wand…aka the transvaginal ultrasound.

(Hubby did promise that we could go to lunch at the place of my choosing due to the fact that the wand was used during this appointment.)

Then, they put the goo on my belly. The technician asks us if we want to find out the gender.

“YES! We can’t wait.”

She asks, “What do you think it is?”

“Honestly, I think it is a boy. But, my grandmother is fairly sure it is a girl because of how low I am carrying this baby.” (Really, I have no idea.)

So, she starts measuring and pushing on my belly to get the images she wants to see. She starts with the brain. Everything looks good. Then, she moves t o the spinal cord. Everything looks good. Heart has four chambers.  Next, she takes pictures of arms, legs and feet. Everything still looks good.

After about 20-30 minutes, the technician still has not told us if we are having a boy or girl. She hints that she knows what Baby Campbell is. Finally, I can’t take it anymore.

“What is it?” I ask.

“A……..girl.”

Wow. So much for mother’s intuition. However, I could not be more excited!  Girls are awesome! And, I can’t wait to see my husband holding our beautiful baby girl when she arrives in October.  That will be the coolest moment of all time.

We can’t wait!

Baby Campbell...Reveal yourself!

Tomorrow is the big day. It is the day of our 20 week ultrasound/gender scan. We have been counting down the hours. We are so excited and just want to know—pink or blue? Honestly, since it is our first, I don’t care if it is a boy or girl. I really just want them to be healthy.  (I know--that is what everyone says, but seriously….just a healthy baby!)

I woke up this morning and thought for sure it was Monday. But, no, it was only Sunday. Darn it. I couldn’t even go back to sleep.

Last week, the doctor’s office called and had to change the appointment from 9am to 1:30pm. Since we are on summer vacation, and really don’t have anything pressing—we could change the time. I just didn’t want to.

 Ok, I guess you can make us wait a whole four and a half hours later.

Today, I was chatting with my sister. She began to question me.

 “What if they can’t tell if it s a boy or girl? What if Baby Campbell is shy?” (OMG. Seriously…this hadn’t really crossed my mind.)  I tried to come up with some bull s&*t answer about how technology is pretty reliable these days and most technicians know what they are doing.

But, now she has me freaking out.

Today, I bought some orange juice. I read somewhere that would make the baby be a little more active.

They just need one good shot, right?

Then, I was also thinking about how we don’t actually see the doctor tomorrow. She is out of town for a wedding. We have to go back the next day to see the doctor. What if the technician gets a clear shot of the “goods” but, the technician can’t tell us if the baby is a boy or girl…what if only the doctor can tell us? Then we have to wait a whole additional day?

UGH. I think I am starting to go a little crazy. Can I blame this on the pregnancy hormones?

Please, Baby Campbell, reveal yourself. Tomorrow. On time. And please let the technician be able to tell us if we can buy some pink or blue stuff!

Family Party: Grandpa's 80th Birthday Weekend

You don’t realize it until you move away…the little things you miss from your childhood.

My dad came from a pretty big family. He is the oldest of 5 kids—he was the only boy.  

When we lived in Michigan, two of my aunts lived within a half an hour from us. We would get together for holidays, graduation parties, various life events, and parties in general. I have 17 cousins on this side of the family and seeing my family was one of my favorite things to do.

This weekend was my grandfather’s 80^th birthday. His kids decided to surprise him in Texas. (Where he, one of my aunts, my parents (are in the process of closing on a house) my sister and I all live.  He and my grandmother did have a heads up that something was going to happen. They didn’t know when most of the girls would come in, and they really didn’t think their youngest daughter would be able to make it in from Colorado.

Koegel's Pickled Bologna....yummy! (And I usually hate bologna)

On Sunday, my aunt from Colorado came in—one of her sister’s picked her up from the airport and they went over to my parent’s new house. My grandparents were already there and they were so surprised when my Aunt Dawn walked in the door.  My dad had champagne and little plastic wine glasses.

Then, people came over to our house for dinner. My aunt from South Carolina called me on Thursday and told me they were bringing lasagna, salad, dessert, etc—could they come over and cook the food up and we could all hang out? It was more like a-- we are already planning this—so even if you say no, we are coming. It was totally fine, but I was stressed out about cleaning my house.

 As everyone showed up, no more than five minutes passed and the appetizers were out…chips had already fallen on the floor. Our dog, had drooled relentlessly, water was spilled, and by the end of the night a full wine bottle was broken and shattered all over the kitchen.  My aunt from South Carolina cleaned it all up, and a little part of me was curious how long it would smell like wine in my house. I am sad/glad to report it is all gone now.

Yesterday, we went out on Lake Travis rented a “party boat” had Koegel’s hotdogs and Coney Island Sauce from Angelo’s. (Brought to us all the way from Michigan.)  It was a pretty perfect day.  

There was a part of me that was sad that it all had to end. I love seeing my family.

I feel pretty lucky that I got to be a part of it.