We're married! And have been for 44 days now. I just haven't gotten around to writing on here since before the last minute wedding preparations began. After a night in a beautiful B&B that Peter picked out for us, we spent several days in the Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, TN for our honeymoon. Before the wedding, I had the greatest intentions of doing a good bit of hiking while we were in the mountains. In reality, we watched a lot of movies and spent a great deal of time relaxing in the air conditioning. We did venture out every so often to view the surrounding area, and did some mountain exploration in our car. I am proud to say that we did see a black bear. It showed up right under us when we were on the sky lift in Gatlinburg. At the top, we met a cute couple who were celebrating their fortieth wedding anniversary by visiting their original honeymoon destination. They informed us that the town has changed quite a bit since their first visit. Now, it's extremely touristy. Then, you couldn't find a restaurant open after dinner time.

On our way back, we took the scenic route, stopping in Bowling Green, KY to visit the Corvette Museum. Even though I'm not a big car person, I have to say that it was pretty cool to read about the designers and see how much the car has changed. When Peter reads this, I know he's going to be thrilled by the above sentence.

Then we came home and real life began. I'm now working at the Early Childhood Development Center at Notre Dame and Saint Mary's. I spend the mornings teaching Spanish to 3-6 year olds at both ND and SM. In the afternoons, I'm usually in the 5/6 year old room at ND. However, I sometimes go on field trips with other classes or fill in for other teachers when they go on break. I'm really enjoying teaching Spanish to the little ones. It's a challenge each week coming up with something new and exciting, which I'm fully embracing. Along with the directors at ECDC, I decided to center my Spanish teaching on Eric Carle books. I basically pick a new book each week and choose a set of words to read in Spanish. I then create some kind of game or song that will aid in the comprehension of the vocabulary. It's really exciting when children are obviously absorbing the language, and are able to use parts of it freely in their conversations. One other plus to working at ND is that Peter and I get to carpool every day. Going to work every day with your best friend makes getting up easier in the morning.

A couple of weeks ago, we decided it was time to buy a new car to replace one/or both of ours. Peter did a lot of research and we finally decided on a 1999 Volvo v70. We sold the mini van to Peter's parents, but we're hanging on to my vehicle for the time being. This wagon has a turbo engine in it, which makes it awesome to drive. And that's coming from the girl who doesn't really like driving. Peter is standing over my shoulder and smiling right now.

Besides spending some time at the dunes and hanging out with family, Peter and I also completed a 1000 piece puzzle this past weekend. It was quite a bit of fun.

new things

This has been such a busy and eventful weekend!

I had my interview Friday morning, which went really well. I was interviewed by the principal of Moran Elementary in Osceola, IN. I'm not really sure if he was interviewing people for openings at his school or just doing interviews for the Penn district in general. At any rate, the interview went well and I'm glad that I at least know what to expect from interviews now. He also gave me a teaching application which I will be filling out sometime in the next couple of days.

The Bethel Graduate dinner was Friday night. My Mom & Dad, Breagan & Abby, and Peter and I went together. It was fun to reminisce on the four years I've spent at Bethel with my fellow classmates. It was also just a nice time to hang out with part of my family and relax.

Saturday morning, around 8 a.m., Peter and I began packing up our stuff at Breagan's house. All of our shower gifts were there. I had some of my stuff stored in his basement. And of course Peter had his stuff there because that's where he's been living. And let's not forget the huge dresser and desk we had in his back room. Breagan and Abby were gracious enough to help us move our belongings into our apartment. I can not imagine trying to load and unload everything without their help. As it was, we spent the entire morning and part of the early afternoon hauling stuff to our apartment. Peter and I decided to try out the Sonic right beside us (woot!). We were in Peter's van and the back was completely empty. So, we decided to sit in the back while we ate so we could stretch our extremely tired legs. The people beside us gave us some weird looks, but that didn't deter us from having a wonderful Sonic picnic.

With renewed energy, we set out to unpack some of our many boxes. I had a wonderful time washing down the cabinets and figuring out with Peter where to put everything.

We took a break around 6 and headed over to Breagan & Abby's house for an end-of-the-school-year party. It was so wonderful to sit! After the party, we took one last load over the apartment. On our way, we had to stop at Meijer (also right beside us) to pick up a shower curtain. It's amazing the things you don't think about until you're on your own! It was about 1 in the morning before I was able to head back and crawl into my bed. The day was very exciting, but extremely exhausting as well.

Sunday was graduation day! Part of my family came in the morning for church. This was their first time in our new church building, which was pretty cool. Also, Peter was playing, which made it even cooler :) After church, we all had a wonderful meal of McDonald's cheeseburgers and fries and subsequently all got cheeseburger breathe. From there, the afternoon was a whirlwind. Picture with the Education graduates at 1:20. Graduation rehearsal at 1:30. Commencement at 2:30. Mingle with friends, family, and professors at 4. Fun party with family at 6.

After the party, Peter and I took a few more vital things, such as our microwave, to the apartment. We traveled separately so I could get back home. On his way, Peter stopped at Meijer to get a plunger (another necessity) and a cute apron I had seen a couple of days before. He gave it to me as a graduation gift when he got to the apartment. The apron of course :)

And now, the only big thing approaching is our wedding! 19 days!!

Of course, between now and then there are a million little things to do. Like apply for my teaching license. Apply for multiple teaching positions. Find a summer job. Finish all of the little wedding details. Figure out what things I'm leaving at the apartment and what I'm taking home. These next three weeks are going to be fun!