Washington

I know it's been a few months since I've posted. There really hasn't been anything to post about. School is going pretty well for my first year. There have been both ups and downs, but overall more ups than downs. I'm working at a great school with amazing support.

Anyway...the reason for the blog:

Jonathon and I are being transferred to Washington State. Everett, Washington to be exact. Needless to say I was less than excited on the day we found out. There were tears shed. I kept repeating "I don't want to go to Washington"...eventually Jonny said "Are you saying that you don't want to go to Washington??" :) He can truly make me laugh.

I've finally gotten in the mind set of "This is the way it is and there's nothing I can do about it, so I might as well just start getting used to it."

I've found the Naval Wives Club there and have been in touch with someone associated with it. I have also reached out to a wife of a guy that Jonny was on the Underwood with (the last ship he was on).

He will be on a destroyer in Everett which means that he will be out to sea at times and it will be up to me to create a military family for myself. Mom always said I've never met a stranger and I believe dad once said that I could hold a conversation with a wall...so I'm not too nervous about that.

I won't like being so far from family, but I know everyone will come and visit and of course I'll try to come home as well.

Currently we're keeping an eye out for housing and there is always the option of renting off base military housing. I have also done a lot of research on what I need to do in order to work as a teacher in Washington and have found that it should be pretty easy to take care of the paperwork side.

Anyway...just wanted to update you on lives happenings.

Lots of love!


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My Classroom- The After :)

Ok. Here is my classroom now that I've hung up posters and signs, and put my chair pockets on. Hope you like it.

Obviously this is my Welcome sign. It's official! :)

I changed the sign on the top of my door...this one says "Leap into Learning". The one on my door says "You are responsible for your own actions."

My room is actually clean and decorated! Hooray!

This is my Math bulletin board. We talk about counting to one hundred, place value, calendar, weather, etc. You can also see my behavior chart (the green, blue, yellow, etc) and my "Happy Birthday" banner. Dad is responsible for this board looking so awesome, and Mom made my great Birthday sign (which is felt so I can put each kid's name on it).

My incredible friend Ingrid let me borrow that rocking chair to use in my classroom. She gave me lots of great stuff. I feel so blessed to have all of these wonderful people in my life! The CHAMP sign is something I  had to make and hang...it's part of our behavior plan at Wilkinson.

This is my listening station and my classroom helper sign. (and a peak into my office). :)

This is my library. I plan on getting more books over time. I'm going to start with the Sunny D book give away. If you collect 20 Sunny D labels or something, and send them in they will send you 20 grade level appropriate books.

The yellow is my word wall. When we get a new sight word, I put it under the appropriate letter on the word wall. :)

This is my desk and the pocket chart on the wall has my class schedule.

Last but not least...These are the chair backs that Mom made for me. They will hold my students' library books so that they don't get shoved in their desks and messed up. :)

Can't wait to share more about my class and teaching as the year goes on. Tomorrow is Open House...hopefully most of my class shows up. :)

My Very Own Classroom (the Before)

This is my classroom. This year...and hopefully for many years to come...I will be teaching first grade at Wilkinson Elementary School. I am super excited! This week has been a week of decorating and organizing and although I'm not done yet I thought I'd post my "BEFORE" pictures tonight and my "AFTER" pictures tomorrow or Thursday. :) I hope you enjoy. It's amazing what posters, bulletin board sets, and a lot of fabric can do for a classroom.Thanks to both my Dad and my Mom for all they have done to help me get myself and my classroom ready for this year. I couldn't have done it without them!!!!! Love you both!

This is my classroom door. I'm at the very end of the first grade hall. :)

This what you see when you enter my room. The door on the right goes to my office...which I share with my neighbor (she has a door in her classroom too).

As you walk through the door to my room and turn to your right this is what you would see. :)

This is from in the corner where my desk is (the door to my room is right near the clock. The big window by the clock looks into my office. The door on the (middle of the picture) left of the room is the bath room...which has the closet right next to it. 

This is looking into the bathroom. Part of the shelves to the left are going to be my library...you can see that I've already started organizing my books in this picture. :)

This is my closet! It's huge!! It was left very unorganized...but it'll get there. :)

This is my "Calendar Bulletin Board"...I've already covered it with fabric and added a border...you'll definitely like the after! It looks so good! :)

Progress 4

Finally a new (and the correct) counter top for the guest bath room (see an older post with a picture of the other/wrong counter top), and new granite in the kitchen...partially done. Also note the microwave and dishwasher...Yay for appliances!

Making Progress 3

The tiled areas are practically complete and the sod is being put down.

Making Progress 2

More and More being done! :)

The tile in this guest bathroom is almost done.

Jonny and I think that this is not the counter top that we picked.

The Master Bath Tile is being completed.

The Kitchen Tile is started too.

And look very close...we have some landscaping! :)

Making Progress 1

Here are some new pictures of progress being made in the house. :)

We now have a driveway and sidewalk! :)

Oh and Cabinets too! Yay!

Finally Something New to Post About :)

A House! We are in the process of buying a house. It is being built and I think it will be a great first home for us. :) The neighborhood has a swimming pool and a couple of playgrounds. Here's what it looks like so far:

Looking over the kitchen counter into the living room...kind of.

Convivial Yellow and Dover White. We were able to pick the colors. Jonny picked them, and I think they turned out very nice. :)

The interior color is Clean Linen. I thought maybe you'd be able to see it better compared to the door or the ceiling. :)

We're really excited. The realtor said we should be able to close by no later than March 15. Fingers crossed and all prayers gratefully accepted that everything goes well. :) I will post more pictures as more progress is made.