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!

Oops!

Sorry! I just realized it's almost been a month since I last blogged. WOW! Nothing is really new. The wedding planning is still progressing............slowly, but surely. I FINALLY got my wedding dress! I'm so excited!!! I'm ready to get married now! Ha! Ha! So ladies....if you want to see a picture of it (on a model) email me (reanninm@yahoo.com) and I can send you the picture. I need to go get pictures of me in it, but, everything looks too loose and long on me right now. Alterations are going to be interesting. I hope the alterations place can do what I want. Yay for me being in between sizes and being short!

I've been meaning to set up an appointment with the cake lady and D.J., but I've been so........................how do you say this....................tired!!!! I can't motivate myself to do much lately. But, I have till October to take care of this. BUT!!! I plan on trying to get it done this week. This Friday is Tyson and my 8th year anniversary since we've been together, so maybe we can spend our day together cake tasting. I'm sure he doesn't mind! I know I won't! :) Bring on the cake! Let me just add that I think it is SO NEAT that our 8 year anniversary lands on the date 8-8-08!!! Now THAT worked out perfectly......didn't it?!?!?

Otherwise, nothing new in the future Sutton household. We're both still busy working while I'm enjoying the time off just doing work instead of school AND work AND internships!!! YIKES! It's all about to start all over within the next couple of weeks......DOUBLE YIKES!!!

Tyson is still working with K9 dogs and training our handsome Malinois puppy. Recently, Tyson has been talking about moving to Round Rock (just outside of Austin, TX) and becoming a police officer there. He's thinking about making the switch in a year...........BUT.........this is him THINKING. He's still weighing his options, doing his research, and really thinking it through while I'm finishing up college. After I'm graduated and we're married, we might know what the final verdict is. I'm kinda excited. I think this is a WONDERFUL option! We'll be closer to more family, and that makes us both very happy! What's interesting is that Tyson initially was more interested in Round Rock police department before he went through the police academy. The only reason why he didn't follow through after he graduated the academy was because I needed to finish college, so he settled for departments here. Now that I'm about to graduate......the idea is starting to brew again. But, anyways, I could go on and on about this, and this is a long story in itself. We'll just keep everyone updated as time passes and more "research" is done.

Otherwise, we hope everyone is doing well! I promise it won't be another month until I blog again. Maybe my next one will be about all of the yummy cake Tyson and I got to eat! :)

Exciting Week

This week was busy, relaxing, exciting........ALL OF THE ABOVE! I had Friday off from work for the 4th of July and then my typical weekend off. Both Tyson and I were off from work on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday because his parents were coming in. It was nice to see Tyson have an extra day off.

First off, my long weekend started off with a ride along with the police department that Tyson works for. I rode with one of his buddies/fellow police officer on Saturday night. The night was slow. We pulled over a couple of people, which, by the way was SO FUN and funny at times. Let's just say that some people are interesting. Then, we get a code three call about a weapons disturbance and we "rode hot" from one side of the city to get to the other. Riding hot means to drive at 100+ MPH with the lights and sirens on to get to a call. Let me just say that that was the most fun, yet scariest experience ever!!!!!!! We drove really fast while dodging other cars for a good 3-5 minutes. All I could think was, "If a car is going to plow through us while were racing through an intersection......please do it quick so I don't feel a thing." When we finally made it to the location, my body heat had raised to about 100 degrees. I was fanning myself from my adrenaline running so high. Overall, I got to see what the police job is all about, and, YES.....I can see why some people get into it. It can be exciting and unpredictable at times....which is fun.........BUT..........I got to experience how dangerous it is. But, BOY was it an experience! I'm ready to do another ride again!

After that, Tyson's parents came into town and we pretty much hung out, did some wedding planning stuff, and they got to come to K9 training with Tyson and me to watch the bite/narcotics work with the other K9 dogs and officers. They also got to see Rosco in action. Tyson and I were really glad that they could come out to watch what this K9 business is all about. I know Tyson was more than overjoyed to share this experience with his parents. Tyson's mom took me to get started on looking at wedding dresses and that was FUN! It just started to feel so real when I was putting on those dresses and veils. I was excited that I was able to get some ideas on what looks best on me and what doesn't. I can't wait to take my sister and stepmom with me to see what they think. UGH! I just can't wait to get the dress! To me, this is a very important decision. I was one of those girls who dreamt up my wedding dress ever since I was a little girl............LITERALLY. Now my day has come and I have GOT to choose the perfect one. It's such an overwhelming, yet, an exciting experience.

On a final note, about four weeks ago, I took my TExES teacher certification exam to become certified and GUESS WHAT........................................TODAY I FOUND OUT THAT I HAD PASSED!!!!!!!! Wooooo!!!! I was so worried. It took me FOUR HOURS to take that thing and I remember thinking to myself that it was so hard and that I didn't think I would pass it. I have been biting my nails for the past four weeks worried over the darn thing, and now I know I passed it. I'm so relieved!!!

Well that's all that's new in the future Sutton household. Tyson and I are still busy as ever working, planning our wedding, and spending as much time as we can together. We get more and more excited as these months pass by and we get closer to the wedding.

Long Time, No Blog

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I've been super duper busy these days. I'm going to try to encourage Tyson to write up an entry one of these days so you can hear what he has to say.

Summer is going great for me, especially since I don't have summer school anymore. This is my first summer to not have to do school and it is very nice. YAY for almost graduating!!! Since I don't have school, I'm all about work work work with the kiddos at the center. The field trips have been fun this summer. I got to go to Splashtown for the first time in years and I felt like a kid again. I'm so tired though. A summer full of hyper kids has left me coming home every day barely being able to keep my eyes open. Just ask Tyson. I love my kids though. They are a fun bunch this summer.

Tyson has been doing okay lately. This has been a long week for him though. Over the past few years, his stomach has been bothering him constantly throughout the day......enough to cause some anxiety for him and effect his daily routines. So, he went to the doctor (FINALLY) and they decided to do a colonoscopy and another procedure (don't remember what is is called) to check and see what could be wrong. Monday night (the night before the procedure) started out a little rocky with all of the laxatives, etc. that he had to take. We ended up staying up all night with him having all sorts of problems. Pain, fever, and all kinds of other stuff. Let's just say that both he and I spent part of the night sleeping on the bathroom floor together. I refused to leave his side, so we set up shop on the bathroom floor. Tuesday he had the procedure and they found a few things that causes his constant upset stomach. Nothing major. We got medicines for it and now it will be taken care of. For the rest of the week, Tyson just couldn't seem to get up to snuff, so it was a week of aches and pains still. I'm just glad he took care of this situation, and now we know what is going on so we can ease it. Tyson is now doing well and has finally returned to work. Today he said his stomach isn't aching as much as it has been, so we're making progress.

On another note, the save-the-date magnets have finally been sent out. Since Tyson was off for most of the week, he kept himself busy by putting together and addressing all of the magnets and getting them sent out. Thank goodness I have a groom that is fully involved in this wedding. I'm hoping to find my bridesmaid dresses and my wedding dress this summer. That's the next step we're taking with this wedding.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this summer. Shoot Tyson and/or me an email some time to say hi.

Summer Kiddos and a Canine

This week is the first week we have the afterschoolers FULL TIME since school is on summer break. All I can say is that Friday can't come fast enough. At the end of my day on Monday, my body and brain checked out for the rest of the week. Sad, but true. It was a rough start. Monday was the first day of this whole summer program, and we have a new routine along with some new kiddos. It's exhausting to get everyone situated and teach them the new routine along with going over as much as we can with the parents. I have been run ragged. Every morning, I'm there with another teacher at about 7:30 a.m. and we will already have about 45 hyper kids between the both of us where you don't have the control like a teacher does in a contained classroom. At the same time all of this is going on, we deal with all of the madness that occurs when getting new parents and kids situated, making sure everyone is checking in, making sure the kids are staying out of trouble, talking with parents about their questions or complaints, paperwork....blah blah blah....I COULD GO ON FOREVER!!!! You DEFINITELY DEFINITELY DEFINITELY need to know how to multitask and think on your toes. That is where it gets pretty tiring.

The first week is always the hardest because there are a lot of new children along with getting the children used to the summer routine of field trips, or just the day overall. It is Wednesday, and I'm so tired that I drove home, parked, and just sat in my car to listen to music and stare off into space. I just needed some peace with myself. I have tomorrow and Friday and then it is the weekend where I can recuperate. I'm so ready for it. I hope next week will be a little less difficult. Actually, I know for a fact it will slowly get easier. I just have to get the kids adjusted and then it will hopefully just become second nature. But, I do love my kiddos this year!

About a couple of days ago, Tyson's dreams of starting up the K9 program sort of got shot down by some of his fellow officers. They believe that Tyson won't be able to start up the program with the current Chief. They think Chief won't budge on his opinions about a police dog. He was a little upset last night, but, he woke up at 6:30 this morning and still took Rosco to training on his day off, just like he does every Wednesday. He is determined. He tells me that he doesn't see a reason why his police department wouldn't start the K9 program up again. To everyone, I'm so proud that Tyson is so passionate about this. He takes time out of one of his days off to go to training and not get paid to do it. He works so hard and he wants this so bad! I sure do hope that when Tyson and Rosco are ready to prove to Chief that the program isn't such a bad idea and that they aren't a bad idea, the Chief will keep and open mind and see that Tyson will have spent over a year and a half on his own time and his own money to train this dog for the department. I hope he sees how professional and resposible Tyson is and how they can trust him to get the program up and running. Tyson knows that this is some serious stuff and is more than willing to put his whole heart into it if given the chance. That's all he really wants, and that is a chance to prove that he can handle being the K9 officer. Whew! I'll get off of my soap box. It's time I went and sat down to enjoy what's left of my night.