Spring Break

So spring break is coming to a close...or what I like to call spring break is ending. I no longer get an actual spring break, but rather the time I took off during Jason's spring break is ending. It was actually a very eventful break...

We started by making a trip up to IA to see the family for Easter. It was a long 22 hours in the car (that's counting there and back) with the dogs, but everyone survived. The weather in IA was nice, 50s/60s and we were able to get outside, go fishing, try out the new remote-controlled boat on the pond, etc. Blue especially enjoyed the pond and took his turn at chasing the boat, geese and a bobber or two (hooks attached, thankfully none attached to him). Maizie enjoyed running around the pond and barking when Blue did, but she did not try her luck at swimming this trip. We were able to spend some time with my nieces as well (maybe I can get Jason to insert some pictures) taking in horseback riding lessons and softball practices. They loved the dogs and requested to go on multiple 'walks' with them.

Once back home we dove into house projects; re-painting areas that needed it, replacing light fixtures, patching holes in the ceiling that the builder decided to just leave and cover up with fluorescent lights, finishing woodworking projects, gardening... we got a lot done and it's nice to be able to cross some of those things off the to-do list.

Other than that, no news to tell...back to the swing of things next week. Jason just has a few more weeks of work-school left and a couple months of grad-school so we'll be counting down!! He has decided to walk in May, even though they don't graduate until August so if anyone wants to road trip up to cheer him on feel free! :)

hurray for me!

I'm very proud of myself for changing up my background :) I know, a small accomplishment (and Jason will probably hate the feminine touch) but I think it's cool!

Nothing new to report...we're having a wonderful couple days, weather-wise, so I'm sure we'll make the most of them!

I also never realized we had people reading this so I will work on clarifying posts (they have been updated somewhat) for our reader(s)

things....

No baby news yet, though this month isn't nearly as hard to wait through. It's funny how freaked out I was last month, but that's just the OCD in me.

Other news...Jason accepted a position at a new Elementary school that is opening next fall. He'll be the lead special educator and will be able to assume more leadership opportunities. He's very happy about the move and I'm excited for him.

The animals are doing well- well, they're doing well now that we've installed a baby gate at the top of the stairs to give the cats some relief from the dogs. It's working nicely, though Blue lays down on the top step waiting for someone to let him in so he can go lay in his crate, and Maizie thinks you've magically appeared when you come through the gate, but the cats are enjoying it, and we're getting a little more peace now that Blue can't run upstairs barking and chasing.

We're planning a trip to Iowa for Easter weekend and then part of spring break week so that'll be nice. It's been since Thanksgiving since we've been up and we haven't been up during a spring/summer season since I think summer of '07. We'll have to get back down to GA sometime too...maybe once the school year ends...

the waiting game...

So the waiting part of this whole 'pulling the goalie' ride we're on is probably the worst part (at least it's the worst part I've experienced so far...I'm sure that will change as things go on). I mean a month is really a long time when you look at it day by day. And this last week is doubly long as no matter what, one thing is going to happen, and there's no fast track to see which way it's going to go. I guess the only thing left to do is wait...

just another update...

Not a lot has changed in the Dean house since the last blog- we've done a few things, but nothing big has changed.

The middle of November I went to New Orleans for a speech conference. Great conference, learned a lot...now I need to implement what I learned. Everyone keeps asking me what I thought about the city...here is my general answer. I think that if there had been time to take tours and see other parts of the city my impression would have been different, but as it is we stayed just off of Bourbon St, and the rumors that you don't go out on Bourbon after 10:00 are pretty much true. Before 10, it's fairly clean, still somewhat 'family friendly', but seriously once 10:00 hits the climate changes and horse-mounted police come out to patrol the streets as drunk people and strippers hit the corners to try and lure you into their clubs. Thankfully we had 8:00 presentations to attend every morning so late nights were not in our agenda. It was also interesting that in a city that is known for jazz music, we had extreme difficulty finding any to listen to...our best option was a band who played on the same corner every night.

After that trip we headed up to IA for Thanksgiving to see my family. It was a good, short, trip, but nice to see everyone. Mom and Dad head down this Friday for a Christmas weekend, before we head down to GA for Christmas.

And that's about all of the updates on our lives so far...more to come after the Christmas travels! :)