Update 2 of 2: Truckin' on into Tucson

Now to the second half of the update, we are in Tucson. Erik started med school the last week of July and I stared on the 2nd of August. I did a week long (in the library) training which was a lot of information to absorb all at once, but it was great to meet all the other new teachers that would be in the same school district as me.

Erik had his White Coat Ceremony. They do this every year for 1st years to signify the step into a long rigorous 4 years. I finally got my classroom set up and we both got all of our school supplies. We both have been learning quite a bit. We have gotten to know some of the people in each of our circles: my co workers and Erik's fellow med school students. They are all nice but we felt like we couldn't relate much to either group.













Then we found Northminster, not to be confused with Westminster :) Northminster is a Presbyterian Church we discovered, when I got lost and missed my turn. We instantly liked it and in fact there is a young married couples group that is made up of some wonderful people. We feel very blessed. It has been great to socialize with all of them.

Also at school, I was approached to see if I was interested in starting to develop an Allied Health/Sports Medicine program at the high school. I was more than thrilled. This was my true genuine dream, right in front of me. I was on cloud 9, but I quickly brought myself back down to reality: I am a 1st year teacher. After talking with several other teachers who have developed programs at the school, they strongly urged me to wait a year and first focus on developing myself as a teacher. I think that what they said was very true. So I am still going to develop a program, but not until next year. I am first going to focus on my teaching and bettering myself as an educator, and then direct my career in the direction I greatly desire to head towards.

To answer the lingering question, YES, it has been hot here! Very very hot!














Most of the time, we are inside so we don't have to deal with it much....except when we get into our cars, watering the lawn, watering the dogs, having to have the AC running all the time and then boxing up our down blankets and any clothing that goes past our elbows and knees. Aside from that, the idea of the heat never really crosses our minds :) We did discover that Sawyer and Wyatt love drinking out of the facet of the bathtub. They coming running every time we turn it on :)

One of the coolest things here are the storms. The thunder is so loud and the lightening decorates the sky on a regular basis. We doubted these so called "monsoons" and then the rain finally hit. They really aren't monsoons, but when you have been surrounded by dirt and sahuaro cactus for a month, you begin to doubt. But when it rains, it is really cool. We open our doors and have the screens bring in some cool air. I love to just sit and watch them. Now they are pretty much gone, so we'll see them again hopefully next June.

Enough about us. While we have been down here, lots of things have happened in the lives of our friends and family. My sister and her fam moved to Boise, Sierra had a baby girl Zoe, Brittney had a beautiful boy Weston and there were lots and lots of weddings! Jake and Rachel, Richard and Amanda, Pat and Anne...Congrats to you all!! Also, Christi is finally back on this side of the world! She has been teaching in South Korea for the last year and a half. I am so happy she is back! Also, my fam is eagerly waiting to see when my oldest sister, Eryn and her family will come back to the states. They are living in Saudi Arabia, where my sister is teaching. Once they get to the states, I plan on visiting them. I haven't seen them in over 3 years. I have met my youngest niece, Ria, and my sister is pregnant with their 3rd! My goodness! I will keep everyone posted on how it goes. They may come in a matter of weeks!

Random pic of a guy riding a weird bike. We saw him when we were driving down from Mount Lemon.






Well that's all my hands can handle typing before they fall off :) Next time I won't wait two months to update. I need to work it into a regular routine. If I haven't posted in a while, ask me about it. Thanks Steph for the motivation :) Below are some pics from Tucson so far.