Homecoming: Voted "Summer's Best Event"

Homecomming was, by far, the most exciting event of my summer. I was glad to be busy in the weeks leading up to Tim's return, as all of the excitement of having him home would have driven me crazy if I hadn't had something to keep me occupied. The date for Tim's return was estimated, guestimated, and finally determined to be July 27th in the evening. Several days before his return, I reactivated Tim's phone so he could call me as soon as he got into the United States. So, on the afternoon of the 27th, I got a phone call and a text from him, letting me know that they were safely stateside and would be departing soon for the final flight of their journey home. We asked our friends the Roisums to be a part of our homecoming celebration by joining me at the base for the event. After finishing last-minute touches on the house, to make sure it looked great for Tim, I got all dolled up, and went to dinner with the Roisums at TGI Fridays; after that, we headed to the base. It took a minute to get Anne & Mark through the gate, but we were soon in the Pride Hanger, waiting on the edge of the runway in anticipation of the incoming flight. We didn't have to wait long. In the evening sky we soon saw a small light that grew bigger and bigger as it approached. The anticipation was high as the plane touched down on the runway, causing a series of applause from all of us watching. The plane taxied and soon stopped right in front of us. As the plane doors opened, another chorus of applause, hollers, and whistles was accompanied by the sirens of the fire trucks and police cars that were parked to welcome home the troops. The sun was beyond the horizon by now, and as the troops deboarded the plane, it was hard to see who was who...after all they were all in miliary uniforms of some sort. Anne was the first to spot Tim, then Mark. As Tim made his way through the crowd, Jack and Noah asked where he was, and I was on my tiptoes to try to spot him. Finally he came into view, and I ran forward to meet him, rushing into his arms for a hug and throwing mine around his neck. He was HOME, finally!

We spent a few minutes talking with Mark, Anne & the boys, and then the Roisums had to leave, to get the boys to bed. Mark, Anne, Noah & Jack, thank you for being a part of our "Summer's best event"! We are honored by your friendship and grateful for the homecoming videos and pictures we have from you!

Tim and I had to stick around the hanger until all of the luggage was unloaded. We had a good time walking around saying hello to old friends, giving and receiving hugs, and enjoying the reality that we were now together again.

Summer 2011

Since it's been so long since I've updated this blog, I figured I better do the summer months in one big chunk so that it doesn't take so long. I'll try to include some of the highlights and lowlights of the months, and maybe some of the details will explain why I haven't sat down to update!

May---

May was a busy month with school ending. We brought teaching new ideas to a conclusion, reviewed concepts the students learned throughout the year, did a bunch of end-of-the-year tests, and after it was all done, cleaned out our desks, drawers, and said a fond farewell to our fellow teachers, wishing each other a happy summer. I wanted to especially get a chance to say goodbye to all of the teachers that I taught with because I knew I would not be coming back to Knollwood. The end of May marked the conclusion of school and the beginning of summer for me. The weather even cooperated somewhat and began to warm up a bit. Below are some snapshots of things I enjoyed.

Our end-of-the-year school field trip to Mt. Rushmore. The two boys in the picture were my "buddies" for the day.

 Ellie & her friends, Gus & Daisy -ready for a ride to the dog park to play.

Ellie sat still, but didn't smile for the picture!

 Riding the 1880 train with Dane & Lisa Rumpf. It was a nice ride, but Dane wanted to walk around a lot.

Ellie babysitting Lucy O'Halloran! Ellie sat faithfully by Lucy while she played with her toys, and Lucy thought Ellie was very fun!

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June---
I thought the start of summer meant that I would have some time to relax, take my days easy, and get to some long-neglected projects. Uh...nope! I think time sped up with the onset of summer, or maybe it was just that I was packing my days with lots of little things. I spent a lot of time outdoors running with Ellie, biking, hiking, and getting as much sun-time as I could.

Surgery---
There's always a first for everyone, and for me it was the first time to have surgery. I had my sinuses corrected so that I won't have sinusitis constantly, which has been my history. Even though the surgery was not major, it was still a bit unsettling for me. My good friend, Sydney Brueggeman, took excellent care of me since Tim was unable to be with me. She took me to the clinic, stayed on call while I went into surgery, greeted me with a smile, card, bear, flowers, and balloon when I was discharged, took me home, and spent the rest of the day and even stayed overnight to take care of me. And apparently, I'm quite the baby when I am anesthetized! She caught me saying some pretty incomprehensible things, and had to help me focus my thoughts. Lauren brought dinner for us, which was delicious, homemade mac-n-cheese. I'm SO grateful for caring friends!

This was me post-op...with the teddy bear Sydney bought me as a get well gift. I was still a bit groggy at the time.


House for sale: 3410 Bunker Drive---
Our home went up for sale with our pending move on the horizon. McKay Moore came over to help me make the house look beautiful ---and she ended up doing all the work! I was still under the influence of anesthesia, and couldn't hardly think straight. So McKay went through the house clearing off flat surfaces, boxing up personal trinkets, and situating furniture so that the house looked spectacular. Thankfully, the only thing I had to do to keep the house looking nice was clean it up and keep it clean. But it took a lot of brain power for me to keep it clean all summer long with my coming and going...and a dog who doesn't quite get the "clean" memo.

Yep, that's the house for sale. Nice, isn't it? Would you like to buy it?

Cali---
My summer also started with an amazing trip to California to visit my friend Shaylor Billings. It's been a few years since I've seen Shaylor, so it was a wonderful opportunity to take a week and visit her, and the California sun! She was graduating from Test Pilot School, and invited me, some friends, and her family to celebrate with her. While I was there I got to visit with some other friends, the Fergusons, meet Shaylor's "California Family", and, of course, soak up some sun. Shaylor took all of us land sailing, which was an AWESOME and FUN experience. If you have an ounce of adventure-hankerin', I strongly suggest land sailing should go on your bucket list.

 Shaylor and I at her TPS graduation. It was quite the formal (and fun) event!

While in Cali, I got to spend some time with the Fergusons -a family I met when we Wagners lived in Germany growing up. The Ferguson kids have grown up so fast -it makes me feel old!

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July---
July was a fun-packed month and went by quickly. I was very grateful to have friends to keep me company as I counted down the last weeks until Tim returned home. Here are some of the highlights: spending 4th of July with my friends, the Roisums, and experiencing my first hometown 4th of July parade! I took a trip down south, first to visit my family for a few days, and then on to San Antonio to look at houses. Our good friends, the Hollos live in San Antonio and let me stay at their place -it is SO nice to know that we will have friends once we move down there. I didn't find a house, but the trip gave me a good understanding of the local area. Finally, the best part about July was Tim's homecoming -but I'll detail that in a separate post!

 Noah, me & Jack at the 4th of July Parade -it was hot, but the boys got soaked by the fire trucks that came by with their super-soaker hoses!

Mark & Anne Roisum with me at the Parade -it was a fun time!

 Ellie and I spent a lot of time running along Rapid Creek...after running, we would stop and get a drink of water -yes, Ellie does drink out of a water bottle!

Sleepy Eli...no, he's not mine, but it sure was a treat to get to carry him on our M-Hill hike. I went with friends Tara & Amy, along with their little ones, Maggie, Zay, and Eli. Each of us gals had a kid on our back by the end of the hike!

 Dane and Ellie are good friends...they shared lunch and a nap together.

July is a month notorious in the Black Hills for it's precarious and varied weather...afternoon thunderstorms/hailstorms are somewhat common. On this July afternoon, my friend McKay came over to visit, and we put her car in the garage along with our 2 vehicles for a total of 3 cars in the garage. It's not technically a 3 car garage, but I guess it works in a pinch! Thankfully, we didn't get hail at our home, but many of the southern areas of Rapid City got a lot of hail damage.

 McKay and I went to visit Bear Country one busy afternoon...it was a fun time to see the animals, especially since McKay had never been to the park.

Yep, that's a bear in front of our car. We felt like calling, "Here Teddy, Teddy..." But we didn't!

Photo Book

Is it terribly lame that I'm just now completing our 2010 yearbook? I started on it a while ago, and have been working on it slowly...waiting for a chance to get some discounts on the book rather than pay full price. But, still...the end of April??? I'll have to start on our 2011 yearbook right away, if it's going to be finished any sooner next year! I hope you all enjoy browsing through our 2010 adventures.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Colorado Weekend

As silly as it sounds, Rapid City school district does not have a spring break. Technically, we have a "spring break" which consists of a whole Friday through Monday off over Easter weekend. Most schools get that. However, there is no "spring break week" on our school calendar. Bummer.

My sweet sisters teaching at Emmanuel Christian School in Enid, OK, do have a spring break. Every year for the past 6 or 7 years, it has been the family tradition to do a skiing trip to Colorado for Spring break. The family has kept that tradition every year, except for 2009, the year I got married, when my family graciously offered to move my belongings up to Rapid City over spring break. I didn't get to join my family last year, because I was student teaching, but this year I was invited to join them. Remember: there is no "spring break" for Rapid City schools -so I just took a day and a half of leave to be able to join them for an extended weekend on Colorado Springs.

We had such a great time! We got to hang out together, play games, watch movies, go skiing, shop at some unique stores, and enjoy the beautiful Colorado scenery.

On Saturday, we went to Garden of the Gods and took a walk around the park. We saw a bunch of rock climbers going up the sides of the rocks.

On Monday, we all went skiing at Monarch Ski Resort. It was a gorgeous day! We had such an enjoyable time skiing!

While we were there, we stayed at the Air Force Academy, which holds many memories for us...Mom and Dad met and fell in love there, and Tim and I got married there. It was memorable to drive around and see familiar sights that reminded me of past visits.

Crazy Horse...or Crazy People???

On Tuesday, I got to join 2 first-grade classes on their field trip to Crazy Horse Memorial. I so look forward to field trips because of the "alternative" education that they provide. Sitting in the classroom all day isn't my cup of tea, so I like the opportunity to get out and learn new things from places. Tim and I visited Crazy Horse in the fall, and I enjoyed getting to see the memorial, and the amazing, crazy-huge mountain carving. The memorial was started in 1948 when sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski was commissioned by Native American Tribal Elders to build a monument in rememberance of a great leader, Crazy Horse. The monument is not yet finished, but the head of Crazy Horse is completed. Unfortunately, it's a bit difficult to see in the pictures I took. We actually went on a snowy day...imagine riding a bus through snowy mountain roads with 50 kids inside! It was quite an adventure. While visiting the memorial, we got to do a scavenger hunt for a number of items around the museums and workshops. It was fun to get to browse through the many documents, cultural pieces, and pitures that display Native American livestyle. The children really enjoyed it, and I was thankful for the chance to go with them.

After it was all done, I must have been really tired -I fell asleep on the ride home!

New Addition

I'm sure I've told a number of you that we have a new addition in our home...she is delightful, beautiful, friendly, and very helpful! Callie, Tim's sister came to live with me recently for a while. I'm SO excited to have her here. She is busy doing schoolwork during the day, as she is enrolled in correspondence college at Liberty University. She also got a part-time job at a Christian coffeeshop downtown that the is really enjoying. It is wonderful to come home to someone at the house. She is a big help too -sometimes she cleans the house before I get home, or does the dishes after dinner, or just sits and listens to my endless ramblings of the day! I hope she gets to stay for a while. Spring is just around the corner, and the Black Hills are a wonderful place to explore when the new life starts budding. It will be fun to do some outdoorsy things with Callie.

Go Pack Go!!!

Noah, Dane, Christi & Jack

Anne, Lisa, Jack, Carol, Dane, Mark, Noah & Lauralee

I'm becoming more of a sport's fan each year...this football season, I watched many of the Green Bay Packers' games with Tim. So for the Super Bowl, I threw a party. Unfortunately, Tim was not able to join us, due to being on deployment...he was even flying during the big game. :-( Poor Guy. So the party was thrown in his honor. We had both Packer and Steelers' fans in our midst, so both teams had cheering. Mark, Anne, Jack & Noah Roisum and Lisa & Dane Rumpf rooted for the Steelers; Lauralee Holsing, Carol Stastny, and myself cheered for the Packers. It was a great game to watch, and the company was UNBEATABLE!!!...it was also really great that the Pack won!