I Survived...

This is going to be a quick post...as I am getting ready for new teacher inservice while doing this. I survived two-a-days (well actually three-a-days most days). After two weeks of at least 2 practices a day we are done!!! Today we have new teacher inservice, then three days of work days/campus meetings, then a district welcome back on Friday, so we have changed to one practice a day. We did very well in our scrimmage against Sunray on Saturday and it was so good to see quite a few of my old students. This week we travel to Wheeler on Thursday for a scrimmage and our 9th grade scrimmages Bushland on Friday.

I finally got into my classroom on Sunday. I've got a lot of work to do in there this week and I am definitely going to miss my whole wall of windows I had in Sunray. I am having to start from scratch on EVERYTHING becuase I can't find all my old files from Sunray. I have NO IDEA where they are. I know they should be on a cd or something somewhere, but neither my mom or I can find them anywhere. So I have a lot of work to do.

Well I better finish getting ready. Just thought I would give everyone a quick update!!!

Where did July go?

I can't believe it is already August!! I feel like all I did during July was travel. I did get to catch up with my friends and family so I can't complain about that at all. I started work last Monday. We had to get everything ready for two-a-days and we also had our volleyball/basketball camp Tuesday-Thursday. I spent many hours at work trying to get the training room ready. I finally got my bids done and hope to order all my supplies that I need on Monday (yeah I know it's late, but better late than never). I have most of the necessities but hopefully my shipment will get here fast! Two-a-days start tomorrow morning. We have both of our practices in the morning and are done at 1. Luckily, once I am done, I don't have to go back. They do have "special sessions" in the evening, but I don't have to attend these. We start taping at 7:15 so that means I am out the door between 6:15-6:30 to get there and get everything ready. This means I am going to bed early!!!! (Hopefully anyways). School starts the 24th. I can't believe it is already that time again! I still haven't seen my classroom, but I did meet the principal and got to see my schedule. I am teaching 4 sections of geometry and then a section of honors geometry. I have some long days ahead of me. I am ready to get back in a routine, but know I will be longing for time off as soon as it starts!

This weekend mom and I went to Dallas to Lindsay & Luke's wedding. She was a beautiful bride and it was so great to see my friends from Breck. I think Mom enjoyed seeing people more than I did. She had a mini-high school reunion with several of her good friends from high school. It was a quick trip but well worth it!

Photoshoot with the Sister

Emily got to come to Texas for a few days for a wedding and to see family. While at my PawPaw's house we went on another photoshoot. I asked her to bring her camera becuause I wanted pictures in my boots and she immediately replied with, I want to wear some boots too...do you have some that I can borrow? This comment really surprised me because I do not see Emily as a "cowgirl" at all...me on the other hand I LOVE my boots. So being the nice sister that I am, I let her borrow a pair. I absolutely love the way the pictures turned out, espeically Emily's becuase we found an old truck that matched her dress EXACTLY!!! Hope you enjoy the pictures.

(Sorry the pictures are so big, I realized about half way through they were set to large and I wasn't starting over)

We tried to get some pictures by the pile or tires, but couldn't really get a good pose, a few of Emily's turned out cute.

The barn that I absolutely love at my PawPaw's house. The sun was going down and sining right in our faces so we had to adjust the colors on some.

I thought this picture was pretty funny...while jumping up on the pickup I went a little too far and nearly fell into the truck (those of you who know me well, know that whatever direction my butt is going, that is where my body is going!)...Emily missed it but had me reinact it for her.

Time Off??????

Whoever said teachers have it made because they have summers off is horribly wrong! Ok so most of my stuff doesn't have much to do with actually teaching, but it some of it does have to do with coaching and what not. I have a busy few weeks ahead of me and it's not even time for two-a-days to start yet. Whew...

Today I finished my 20 hour course for school bus training. THANKFULLY, our instructors were awesome and we didn't have to go through 20 hours of lecture. We got out early the first day and then the today we just drove the bus and got out really early. It was so nice. I was a little apprehensive about actually driving the bus, but I overcame my fear and actually did pretty well. We didn't get to train on the best bus by any means, but I definitely learned a lot. Now I just have to study up for my CDL test and pass it and I will be all set. (I am going to have to practice my parallel parking a little more before the skills test though.) Tomorrow I get to hang out with one of my best friends Elaine and her precious little girls. I am so excited to see them, especially becuase I haven't seen them since Jenny's wedding in August. Thursday Emily gets to Amarillo for Brandi's rehearsal and then her wedding on Friday. I've got a to-do list that will take me most of the day of things to get done in Amarillo. Gotta get a new phone, open a bank account, fill out all my paperwork at River Road, etc... Saturday and Sunday we are headed to Breckenridge to see my PawPaw. I can't believe he is 96!! Monday we are going over to Abilene to see my cousins and aunt & uncle. After lunch sometime the girls' coaches from River Road are picking me up in Abilene and we are continuing onto Austin for TGCA Coaching School. It's going to be a scorcher of a week in the ATX, but I am excited to get to meet the rest of the coaches and hang out with them. We come back sometime on Friday, so that wipes out all of next week. Picnic and the Swisher County Ranch Rodeo are on Saturday so that is a full day in itself! I do have a few days to recover from that the next week, but gotta get my tv & internet connected sometime during those few days and maybe go couch hunting. (I really really need a paycheck!)

The weekend of the 24th-26th the Texas Millers' are hosting the Miller Family Reunion at Fort Phantom so I am going down there for hopefully a relaxing weekend at the lake. Work officially starts July 27th. We have a work week and a few days of camps as well. That's really when things get into full swing. First day of 2-a-days for football and volleyball is August 3rd.

Oh yeah...I am going to Dallas on August 1st to one of my childhood friend's, Lindsay, wedding. It's a friendship that runs 3 generations deep. Our families are actually so close that we share a family cemetery....kinda creepy I know, but that's just the bond we have. My PawPaw and T.C. live just down the road from each other and have been friends for who knows how long and have farmed and ranched together for decades. My mom & Aunt Karan grew up with T.C. & RosaLee's sons, Mitchell & Scott. Lindsay is Scott's daugther and we are the same age. We became friends when we both lived in Breck and have remained good friends since. Then I actually ended up student teaching under Mitchell's wife at Shallowater. It's crazy how small of a world it is. I am so excited to go to her wedding and see so many friends from Breck and to witness Lindsay marry her Prince Charming! Then it's back to the grind of football. Before I know it school will be starting on August 24th. It seems so far away, but I know the time will fly!

Well there's a run-down of my life for the next month. Whew, I am just worn out thinking about all of that. Guess I better get back to studying for my CDL test. Have a great week and if I don't blog for a while, maybe now you will understand why!

I Made It!

This post is a little late, but hey better late than never right? Dad and I left Missouri on Friday morning around 8:15 or so. Talk about an emotional morning with lots of crying. Thursday night began the really emotional time. Rex threw a going away party for Adam (another GA who left today) and me that all of the athletic trainers were invited to. It was a great time. Of course we left there and decided we needed to make a trip to the Deuce. One last go 'round for me. (Even though we had a going away party there on Tuesday night...haha). My dad went with us anf finally got to see the infamous Deuce. We had so much fun. Around 11:30 Dad and I decided we needed to head to bed, so we left. I had shed many tears by the time we walked out the door. Saying goodbye to all the GAs who have basically been my family the past two years was so hard. And of course it was hard saying goodbye to all of our friends that work at the Deuce...there are so many people there that I will miss. Friday morning I got up early to go to the facilities to tell Tara bye because she had to work soccer camp and couldn't make the festivities the night before. Saying goodbye to Tara & Casey were two of the hardest things to do. Tara and I aren't really sure how we are going to survive living 11 hours apart. Needless to say we have done lots of chatting via phone, text & chat over the past 5 days and I don't see that slowing down at all. We were inseparable while at Mizzou and I know our friendship will last a lifetime. Casey is like a big brother to me. Just ask his mother, we definitely fight like brother and sister. He calls me his 2nd wife. We have been through so much together in the 8 years that I have know him. It started with him living 13 hours from home and then me moving 12 hours from home. I've been through his engagement, been in his wedding and seen him start a family and he has two of the most adorable children I have ever seen. I am so sad to leave him and his family. After saying goodbye to them, I headed back to Carolyn's house (Casey's mom) to catch Neisha dropping off the kids. She had me crying the night before and that morning wasn't any better. She has cooked more meals for me than anyone (well Carolyn may be close or right above her) in Columbia, and I think both of their grocery bills may go down now that I am gone. I think Harper finally caught on to what was going on when she saw both Neisha & me crying. We have been telling her for a few weeks that I was going to go bye-bye for a long time like J. (Harper is super sad that Jmac moved to Philly. Now when you ask her whose girl she is...she answers "J's girl." It is so cute!) When I hugged her bye she didn't want to let go. And just kept snuggling up to me. Of course I lost it at that point again. My last goodbye was Carolyn. You would think at that point I would have been cried out, but not at all. She's my Missouri mom and always will be.

The first part of the drive was awful. I would be ok one minute, then bawling another. Finally after about 4 hours of driving I quit crying near as often, just a few tears every once in a while. I got great news right before I got to Joplin though--Tara was hired as a full time assistant athletic trainer at Mizzou! After a long few months of waiting, wishing, being confused and so many more things, she finally got hired on. I am so proud and excited for her!

After stopping in Amarillo to eat at Rosa's (LOVE that place), we finally got home around 9:30. We could have made it by 9, but chose to eat in at Rosa's after a long day on the road. Sadly the first thing I did when I got home was look up River Road's football schedule and compared it with the Mizzou Football and Soccer schedules. I was so excited to see that RR's open week for football has changed and Mizzou DOES have a game that week. I think Dad, Mom & I are going to try to go to the Furman game that weekend at Mizzou. Then the next month Mizzou plays football at OSU, so I am hoping to be able to drive over to that game on Saturday and then Tara's girls (soccer) plays at OU on Sunday so I will detour through Norman to go see her. She will be in California the weekend of the Furman game, so I won't get to see her then. Hopefully it all works out so that I can see everyone.

Being back in Texas is great as well. I really miss all of my Missouri friends, but catching with my Texas friends has been so nice. Saturday night I went and hung out with Tate, Malisah & Evan. We had such a great time. I graduated with Tate & Evan and we have all remained close since graduation even with all the different directions we have gone & have all ventured back close to home. I have really missed hanging out with them! They were two of my best friends all throughout school and you would never be able to tell that we have spent time apart. Both of their families are basically like another set of parents to me and have put up with me a lot throughout the years. I am so excited to be back close to them. I still have to get together with so many different people. I really need to find time to go see Jenny, Elaine & JJ. Tulia's Picnic Week (it's a BIG deal in Tulia) is July 13-18th and I hope to see tons of friends that weekend. This is when everyone comes back home for the parade & ranch rodeo on Saturday. This is also when all the graduates have their class reunions. Lots and lots of people come back home this weekend so it is always a great weekend to see everyone.

Monday we took the moving truck to Amarillo and unloaded it into my apartment. I have a HUGE living room and the bedroom is a nice size. I definitely need a bigger closet, but I am working on how to make everything fit. I unpacked all the boxes but still have to finish decorating and stuff. I saved that for another day when I am bored in Tulia. I'll take pictures when I am done with everything and post for everyone to see. If you are ever in Amarillo give me a call!

Well that's all for now. I really thought if I waited a few days to write this post it would be easier, but it wasn't. I still teared up in the beginning but ended with smiles thinking about catching up with all my friends that I have known for so many years. I can't wait to see all my family as well when Emily comes in the weekend of the 11th!

ESPY Awards

I copied this post from my sister's blog, but the Campbell family is a family that is very dear to our hearts. Every vote helps!!!

My friend, Jeremy Campbell, that I previously blogged about after he won the gold medal & set the world record in the Pentathlon at the Paralympics has been nominated for an ESPY award! Please help him out by going and voting for him!!

(For you Tulians, Jeremy is the son of Gregg Campbell - Kay Sturgess' brother & Nancy Hamilton's son)

Go to:

http://www.espys.tv/

Click "Vote Now"

Click "Register".

Create an account. (you have to do this to vote...it's free)

Once created, click "vote now" again.

Scroll down to "Best Male Athlete with a Disability" and click on his picture. (the first one) Then click "Vote"

You can vote for all the other categories too!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the greatest Daddy in the world! You have been my hero since the day I was born. I could not imagine having a better Father than you. Thanks for everything you have ever done for and taught me!