I don't know where I've been for the last six months...The last time I wrote was June and just starting my job. That seems forever ago! At work I write for our blog and so I guess the idea of having to write and manage TWO whole blogs, got overwhelming. Well and so did life, so I took a break. I'm happy to be back :)
Well so much has happened, as you could probably guess. Since June, Derek officially started Student Teaching at South Jordan Middle School (around the beginning of August) and taught two subjects, Spanish and PE. He had two great mentor teachers, both well educated and experience in their field, so Derek really learned a lot. He loved his time there! The students adored Mr. Astle ... maybe more than I would have liked ... and they seemed to have learned a lot from him as well. He finished up around the second week of December and is now a graduate of BYU-Idaho! I am so proud of him. He has recently started subbing back in the Jordan District and is coaching part-time on the side, the 9th grade West Jordan Boys Basketball team. He practices every M,W,F and games generally on Saturday. He is such a natural at coaching. He knows his stuff and is brilliant at adapting his plays during the game, in order to get the ball/score. I love watching his on the court and for that matter, in the classroom. To me, that's when he's his sexiest :) During his student teaching, I got to shadow him for one whole day and see what he did. It was fascinating and a confirmation to me, that I picked the right career :) I love kids... but wow! No thank you everyday. So Derek is staying busy. He also just got called to be second counselor in our Elders Quorum so we are happy and excited about his new responsibilities and opportunity to serve.
So in addition to starting to sub and coach, Derek is also looking for a full-time teaching job. So if you know of anything, I'd love to talk :) We're thinking more openings will come in a few months when the current school year ends and schools start to look for teachers for next year. So right now we're just working on getting into the districts and making connections.We are praying something comes soon!
As for me, I am still working at Have Party Will Travel. Recently, we have had some changes, allowing me to move downstairs to the front office and take on more responsibilities. There are now just two of us in the office working to book and coordinate the parties, so that's been an adjustment. Luckily we are slower in these winter months which gives me more time to train and really learn my new duties. I still cater events and enjoy doing that. I'm getting more chances to decorate at events with some of our more elaborate decor, so that's fun. Overall love the job, hate the commute. It's been a really good learning experience for me, fresh to event industry and I feel like I know so much more about how to plan and execute a great event. I look forward to learning more at my time there!
In other news, we moved from SLC (at beginning of October), into my parents basement in Orem. They recently bought a 4000 sq. foot house in an HOA suburb and offered us their basement. We love it! We have lots of space and our own mini living room downstairs. It's perfect for us right now until Derek gets a job and we can move out. We are truly blessed to have such supportive parents!
One of the hardest things we've had to deal with this year was our car accident. I'm sure most of you heard or saw on FB, so I won't go into the details again. Basically we ended up with a totaled car but with the help of our insurance, we got it worked out. They covered the cost of the car and we were able to get a nice check for what it was valued, pay off the loan and put a good amount down for another car. We ended up getting a 2011 Kia Optima in black and we love it! It's a great commuter car for me and gets around 35 MPG on the highway. I give all the credit to Derek because he's the one who did all the research and found it. We are happy with our purchase :)
Well that's us in a short review. We are happy and healthy and working on setting new goals for 2013. We hope to become more settled this year, in a place of our own and hopefully in this area. We love Orem and being so close to family and friends. We also love our new Ward! We have felt so welcomed and befriended. It's amazing.
Hope you all are well and happy. Here's to a great start to a new year!
D&R
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