Hurricane Ike...Oh and a Little Wedding Update

Oh my goodness! Was THAT an experience I NEVER want to experience EVER AGAIN! I can only imagine what the victims in Galveston feel like. As a lot of people already know, we had a hurricane come through a couple of weeks ago that sent the eye of the storm straight up over
I-45. Tyson and I are right on I-45. Right before the storm, Tyson was called to duty for 12 hour shifts everyday, with no days off, until everything settled a little bit. I "hunkered down" at my parents. The storm was AWFUL, knocking down trees on top of houses and blowing debris EVERYWHERE. I happened to walk outside while the eye was right over us and then a little after, and the wind and rain was unbelievable. During the storm, power went out EVERYWHERE. That was the devastating part for me. We were without power for almost a week and a half. THAT WAS THE MOST MISERABLE EXPERIENCE EVER!!!!! Warm drinks, no air conditioning, no connection to the outside world, cold showers, dry foods, sitting in the dark with nothing but a candle and flashlight, I could go on and on!

I returned to Tyson and my apartment after spending the weekend with my parents only to live with two dogs, no Tyson, no power, and no connection to the outside world for almost 9 days straight. Tyson was constantly at work (spent the night a couple of times at the PD), and I refused to drive around because I was hearing that there were almost 7 hour lines to get through gas stations, no food places open, NOTHING! It felt like "War of the Worlds." It got a little crazy and it was almost like a ghost town.

Humble (where Tyson works) was lucky enough to get power in a few places so he was catered food at his PD........LUCKY DUCK! As for me, the hurricane was my best diet! You get a little skinny after living off of dry cereal, granola bars, warm water, crackers, and dinner mints. Once things started to open up around here in The Woodlands, I finally gave in and had fast food.....EW! But, I just wanted a hot, decent meal. One of the nights, I drove up to Humble to get gas because Tyson was manning the station, and he would be able to cut me in if there was a line. But, we waited till almost 11 at night before I drove up there, and I was able to get right in to the gas station for gas. We both went back to the PD and we enjoyed ourselves a warm chick-fil-a sandwich and a cold Dr. Pepper. It never tasted so good!

After days and days went by with no power, it was starting to get a little depressing. It made me think of how grateful we should be to have everything we have these days. I don't know what people back then did. Sitting in the dark, alone with no Tyson, was driving me CRAZY, and it was driving me crazy to have no access to T.V. and news to know what is going on out there in the world. Also, I was sort of getting tired of reading the same magazines over and over and over. Also, I was tired of Tyson being gone at work all of the time, and he was kind of getting tired of constantly working. The experience was exhausting! On the ninth day, Tyson and I ran to the store (which was finally open) to get some necessities. When we returned home, POWER WAS ON! I squealed and almost cried with joy! We both hugged each other so tightly because we were so happy! The whole day it felt like I was living a different life. Tyson and I both felt wierd to have power back. Also, we were sort of scared and hesitant because we were so scared it was going to go away.

I cannot explain enough what a miserable experience this hurricane had brought us. The only way anyone can understand how it feels is to experience it themselves. I would never wish this on ANYONE. Like I said, if my experience was horrible, then I can only imagine what the people of Galveston are going through. Next time this happens, I'm taking the dogs and driving to Austin to be with family. I never want to go through this EVER again!

I'm happy to report that Tyson finally got a day off and is back on regular 8 hour shifts.
We are both so much happier!

As far as wedding plans, I'm hoping to select my bridesmaid dresses next week. Also, SURPRISE!!!.................I think I have changed my wedding colors. I think I FINALLY have a thought in my head that gets me excited. My old colors weren't thrilling me that much. I'll keep everyone updated, but I'm not going to say what my new colors might be just yet. I'm currently looking at wedding invitation options and trying to decide what I want. That is a difficult process in itself. Ugh! So many options.........................................that I'm NOT liking. Yeah...I'm quite picky.

Anyways! I hope everyone is doing well. Tyson and I are so happy to be back on a normal routine after this hurricane mess! Yay for things getting back to normal!

Wedding Update, Big Rosco, and Science Eyes!

Ah ha! I told you I would post soon! There are three things on the list to discuss.......Here goes:

1) WEDDING

I called the "cake lady" yesterday (who was SUPER nice when I spoke to her) and the verdict is that we will call her back at the beginning of January to set up an appointment to choose cakes mid January. She brought up a good point, which I had been thinking about, and that is she likes to wait closer to the wedding because she has girls that change their mind on the whole design, color, etc. of their wedding and their wedding cake choices. Also, she'll have more design options for me later on, which is FABULOUS! That was what I was worrying about. When our reception location told us to contact the "cake lady," I was worried that we were going to have to come to a decision on color, design, etc., and I wasn't ready for that. I'm still not 100% sure on my color choice for the wedding. Within the next couple of weeks, I want to go bridesmaid dress shopping with my sister, and hopefully we'll nail down some color choices. BUT! I am almost 95% sure on the colors and style I'm going for. Now for a second but........BUT.....You never know if I find a dress for my girls that I ABSOLUTELY love, and it's TOTALLY not the color/design/whatever I'm going for.

2) Big Rosco (My love)~~~~~>Keep in mind....Precious is still my #1 lovey!

Our baby boy is getting SO BIG. He's now 7 months, and seems to be having random growth spurts here and there. Both Tyson and I will wake up and have to ask each other if we notice that he got bigger overnight. I've taken some pictures of the new big Rosco, and they're posted on my Picasa Web Picture website. I'm hoping he'll get even bigger than this. I want my big dog! :) I encourage everyone to take a peek at his old baby puppy pictures and compare them to the new ones. You'll definitely see a difference. Whew! It's so hard to look at him and think that he is still a puppy. He sure is a BIG puppy! The link to my Picasa Web is below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/reannins


3) Science Eyes

Ok....I said in my last post that I would explain this. In my "Integrating Science into the Classroom" class, my professor believes in the term, "Science Eyes." It was actually started by one of her mentors back in her college years. Science Eyes are eyes that look at the world through discovery. Everything is changing and science is all around us. We, as teachers, need to look at our classrooms through "Science Eyes." We need to see the potential in every student to be successful in learning, and watch them change and grow. We need to look at our class through science eyes to help our students learn through discovery. Anyways, in class, we got to make some "Science Eyes" by using all kinds of crafts. You'll see what I'm talking about. My professor has finally posted the pictures of our "Science Eyes." Here they are:

I'M THE GOOF ON THE FAR LEFT....HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM? HAHA!

GROUP SHOT WITH ALL OF OUR "SCIENCE EYES.Have I told you how much I LOVE my major and my profession?!??!

Update...

Sorry for the lack of blogging. There really hasn't been anything new. This last month was very busy for both Tyson and I between vacations, visits, work, etc. etc. etc.! So what's new?

I've finally quit working for a while to focus on graduating and the wedding planning. I officially started back with school......BLAH!!!! BUT! It feels so good to only have to go school and not have to do both work AND school. I'm getting pretty antsy, and I'm ready to graduate. This semester, my classes are focusing on teaching us how to teach the subjects math, science, social studies, and technology and how to intergrate them into our classroom. Then, they send us out into the school and we teach lessons in all subjects. Bring it on! I'm soooooooo ready! The start of the semester has been interesting. It has been a little bit disorganzied with all of the professors switching their class days with each other, and then, hiring two new professors to teach the subjects. Basically, it has been a pretty slow start. I feel like I should really be doing something. So far, the classes have been fun. I get to be a kid again by playing with manipulatives, and making "Science Eyes." When my professor post the pictures, I'll try to show you. It's too hard to explain. Overall, I'm excited to finish up this semester to start student teaching in the Spring!

Tyson recently was able to make it up to the Austin/Georgetown/Round Rock area to do a ride along with Round Rock PD. He fell in LOVE with the area and the police department, that he is tempted and already ready to start applying. I'm having to pull on the reins a bit to slow him down. His problem is that they have only 5 spots to fill, and then, after that, there is a possibility that they will not be hiring for a while. That worries Tyson since he knows I want to wait till after I have graduated and the wedding is finished. So, he wouldn't really be able to apply till the middle of next year. He thinks he won't be able to get the opportunity to try for it, and, he's too impatient to wait till the next time Round Rock is hiring. So, now he's thinking of Georgetown PD. He might scope them out. All in all, he wants to promote and go further in his career, so this is why he is searching for alternative PDs. We'll see what happens. I'll keep everyone posted, and I'm sure Tyson will too.

Anyways! The dogs are great, and Tyson and I are great. Rosco is still doing K9 training, and is doing an impressive job. Precious is still a princess and spends her days being cuddled by me and chomped at by Rosco. A playful chomp that is.

I'm sure I will be posting something new REAL SOON. After last months craziness, I think Tyson and I will possibly tasting some cake next week. Yay for cake!