The Penns

Here we go again....

2011-05-19T22:02:00.001-07:00

So here we go again!!! Let's do a quick review of the year thus far....

January: Rhett started working and learned very quickly which age groups he enjoyed more than others! I adopted a furry little guinea pig named Cody. He currently resides in my classroom, where students are more than happy to feed him carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, celery, and whatever fresh veggies that he is allowed to have in his diet. He does not complain about it! He also doesn't bite, and has adapted well to our classroom environment!

February: Valentine's Day....that's all I really remember.

March: Spring Break was spent in Tucson visiting family. Rhett only had a week off, whereas I had two, so the second part of my break was spent getting errands done, working out, and relaxing.

April: Um....other than AIMS testing for a whole week and a bunch of practicing for it before that, there's really nothing going on too much.

May: Rhett had his first choir concert and survived!!! It was very successful as well! :) Also, we had to get rid of our Pontiac and upgrade to a Chevy Cobalt. The repairs were getting to be to expensive on the Pontiac, and we were tired of putting money into it, when it wasn't worth what we were paying. :( It was a good car while it lasted! Meanwhile, we are enjoying our new shiny car, and hope that it lasts us longer than the Pontiac did!

Also in May, we will be celebrating our third year anniversary in a few days!!! Crazy times! Rhett will also have survived his first semester teaching tomorrow, and I will be done next week (these last few weeks have been sooo slow!)

Rhett's sister, Katie also announced that another niece or nephew will be arriving come November. That will give us five nieces and nephews for Rhett's family! My family still has the ever-so-cute Zoe. :) Needless to say, we are excited to be an aunt and uncle yet again! :)

Well, that is the quick update that I have thus far! I'll try and be good and be a better blogger! :)

November/December

2011-01-17T13:38:00.001-08:00

Well here I go trying to catch up again! November and December flew away like crazy! November was spent spending time with Rhett's family in Tucson. We got to spend time with his sister, Katie, her husband David, and our adorable little nephew, Ethan. He's growing like a weed. It was a pleasant visit, although I got sick Thanksgiving night (after the dinner fortunately). There must have been some bug going around because a couple days later, after I was feeling better, Rhett got sick. That wasn't too fun.

Now here's the month view of December:

Birthday: I had my birthday on the 12th. I turned 27....'nough said!

Graduation: Rhett finished his student teaching and graduated from NAU! The weekend before Christmas we went to visit his family, and we had a graduation "ceremony" for him! To my surprise, I was "graduating" too! I didn't walk when I graduated from ASU, so I was surprised by getting a cap and gown and walking with Rhett. His brother Mike was the "guest speaker," his dad directed the ceremony, and Mikah, our sister-in-law handed us our "diplomas." The ceremony was attended by family and friends, and it was very appreciated. :)

Job: The day before Rhett officially graduated, he was hired on as a music teacher for a K-8 school with the Peoria School District. That week he was called in for a screening interview (on a Wednesday), interviewed by a principal the following day, and was offered the job that same afternoon. It was such a blessing and crazy how it all worked out! We just know that someone is watching out for us!

Christmas: The same weekend of "graduation" we spent time with Rhett's family. Mike and Mikah came down with their two little girls from Pennsylvania. It was a short visit, but very much enjoyed. We also found out that we will be and aunt and uncle again. Mikah is due in June! :) We were glad to see Leora and Audrey! Christmas day was spent with my family. Our good friends Mike and Amanda spent it with us, and it was a good day of opening presents, watching movies, and playing games.

New Years: My niece, Zoe, spent New Years Eve with us and New Years day was spent playing games and eating lots of junk food with Diana's (my sister) in-laws. It was fun!

Well that about wraps up the past couple months! We've been very blessed! I'll let ya know how January turns out! So far, it's been doing well!

October/November

2010-11-13T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well it's now getting colder! Finally! Although I don't like being woken up to chilly weather! Still, there's the feeling of holiday fun in the air!!!

As for what happened last month....

Family: My older sister, Alisha, turned the big 30. We celebrated by having a small family party for her. Meanwhile, on the same weekend, Katie had one of her bridal showers. Diana and I took the liberty with our good friend Holi to go shopping and make a nice basket for her. It was a fun bridal shower!

Katie went through the temple and got her endowments, and then the weekend after we all traveled to Lake Havasu to have an Open House. People got to meet Ryan and play games. We also had the opportunity to go the the Trunk-or-Treat at church that night. Rhett and I stayed with his parents in Parker, which was a nice visit! Zoe also turned 4 that weekend! There was a lot going on, but we had fun spending time with our loved ones!

Wedding: November 5th was Katie's wedding. We went down to Thatcher. She looked beautiful in her dress! She and Ryan were married in the Gila Vally Temple that evening. The next day was the reception. Alisha took it upon herself to decorate. She did a fantastic job, and it turned out beautiful! We were all super exhausted at the end of it, but we are very happy to have a new member of the family with us!

Cari: I got to see my bestest friend in the whole world! Cari got off her mission a few weeks ago and was able to come to AZ with her family. On our way back to Glendale, we were able to stop by in Mesa to see her. She looked amazing! Made me want to get back on the weight loss. She got so skinny! It was good to see her. I missed her!

Well, that's about all that has happened! I know we still have some of November to cover! I will post more updates as time goes on!

July, August, and September

2010-09-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a slacker. So here's what we're catching up on!

July: Around the middle of July we packed up our junk once again (luckily this time most of it was in boxes), and head off to Glendale! It was quite an adventure, let me tell ya! We got to work unpacking our belongings and getting my classroom set up for the new group that I would have. We had a good visit from our friends Mike and Amanda at the end of the month, and went to the temple with them. Good times!

August: The second day of August I started school. Rhett started the week after I did with student teaching. He is now at a high school out here, and I am attempting at teaching 29 rowdy eight and nine year olds. I am enjoying my new school! Rhett had his birthday on the 11th, as did my mom on the 17th. Rhett got together with some friends in Tucson and played at a battle of the bands. The band got asked to come back. It was tons of fun, and we're excited to see him play again. Can I tell you he looked HOT? :)

September: This month has flown by like no other. Where in the heck did it go???? I can't even begin to think of anything exciting that happened this month, other than the fact that I went and found an outfit yesterday with my mom, grandmother and my older sister, Alisha for Katie's wedding. I just know that the next few months are going to be nuts! I'll try to be better at updating.

June

2010-06-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness where do I begin? So much has happened! Let's see here....

-Moving: At the end of May we packed up all our junk (and yes, it really is junk!) and moved to Lake Havasu. We had such good help from the Elder's Quorum in both our Flagstaff ward and the Crossman Peak Ward. Since I still was working at the time I went back to Flagstaff for two more weeks.

-Job: I finished my job and said good-bye to my first teaching assignment. It was difficult. I knew I would miss my kids and the friends I made there. I also knew that I didn't have a job lined up just yet (the interview I had didn't fall through). So off to Havasu I went to be with my hubby. Well, I had a week off to relax and enjoy my time off, as well as send in a few more applications. I went back to Flagstaff once again for a class I was taking for professional development, even though I didn't know if I'd be using it. Well, as luck may have it (actually it was more than luck of course!) I got a call that Monday while I was in class to interview with another school. We set it up for the following week on Tuesday, so I finished my class, said good-bye to my friends that I made, and off I went back to Havasu. Three days later I was in the car with my hubby heading to Glendale. I studied interview questions like a crazy person, and despite my preperation felt really nervous. On Tuesday I got up, studied some more, got in my new interviewing outfit, and went with Rhett to the school. The interview went great. All the questions were what I studied and I walked out of it feeling like a million dollars. The next morning I was back in Havasu and got a phone call from the school. They offered me the job to teach third grade. Rhett and I laughed and cried (I think I did the crying mostly), and immediately called our family and friends. So....blessings do come and I am now employed! Phew! No more applications!!!

-New Addition: Nope! Sorry guys! Not us! We'll get there! However, Rhett's sister, Katie gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on June 4th. His name is Ethan Michael. We are actually in Tucson visiting with him and his proud parents. He will be getting blessed tomorrow and we're very happy to have a nephew! Rhett still says we need to have a boy to carry on the Penn name. We'll see what happens!

-Utah: We had a chance to go visit some friends up in Utah. Our friend Chris had a birthday, and his wife, Rachel, wanted to surprise him. So...we snuck up there to help with dinner and decorating and then hid from him when he got home from work. It was sooo good to see them again! I wish all our friends weren't so far away and that we didn't have anything else going on in our lives so we can see them all the time! Darn those necessary evils (money, jobs, school, etc.)! Such is life! We'll have to make more of an effort to see them!

Well that's about all that is going on so far for June! It's been good to be with family. I'll update in July! Moving time again!!!

Quick add on....

2010-06-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

So Rhett has officially moved out. We ended up in Havasu on Memorial Day weekend. The majority of my family decided to come up to celebrate my twin sisters' birthday. They turned twenty-four on the 30th. Craziness!

As for job hunt....I'm hoping for an opportunity that just arrived. Last Tuesday I got a call from a charter school in Glendale. They asked if I could come in to interview on a short notice, that Thursday at 2:00. So I asked for the afternoon off, brushed up on interview questions, and said a million prayers. I feel like I did a decent job, my nerves didn't get the best of me this time. So now...it's the waiting game....I'll let ya know in my June update if I get it!

May

2010-05-16T18:46:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness May is flying fast! Here are some of the happenings or soon to be happenings!

-Moving time: So we are getting ready to move from beautiful, cool Flagstaff to hot, wonderful Havasu. Rhett will be leaving ahead of me. He'll be taking off on the 22nd. I will be finishing up with the cleaning and what-not that needs to be taken care of. Our lease is up on the 26th, and I don't finish work till the 3rd. So while Rhett looks for a summer job in Havasu, I wlll be staying at a friend's and former employer's house, Dee. She has been so wonderful to let me hang out there until I can leave!

-Student teaching: Rhett finally heard about his student teaching! We have yet to find out when we are moving to Glendale, but he will be student teaching at a couple of schools there! We are super excited! Now all I need to do is find a job! Keep your fingers crossed and the prayers coming! Proposition 100 is coming up on the 18th! Please vote yes if you haven't done so! This will help schools from dropping important programs and letting go of teachers!

-Two years: Rhett and I will be celebrating our two year anniversary on the 24th. Sadly, we will be spending it apart, but we will be together on Memorial Day Weekend. We are going to see the Gila Valley Temple and see a good friend of Rhett's get married there to his sweetheart. What a good way to remember what we promised to each other two years ago!

Well, that's about it for May. Again, if anything does come up, I wlll be sure to update! We'll keep you posted about Lake Havasu!!!!

April....

2010-04-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

It's coming to the end of April, and now I have to think of the goings ons with this month.....

-No news: Rhett has not yet been given confirmation about student teaching. The College of Education told us that we would receive news sometime after Spring Break. Well....it's been over a month since then and still no news! We even contacted them, and was told that the school district has yet to send back the paperwork. Grrr.....this hasn't been helpful at all. We even found a great deal on an apartment, but couldn't commit to it because we are not sure if we'll even be in the area. So....there went the deal. Part of me wonders if the school is waiting for Prop 100 to pass. Prop 100 will raise the sales tax to one cent. Two thirds of that money will go to education. A lot of schools will be laying off teachers and letting go of Music an P.E. programs if it doesn't pass. So who knows when we'll know! That also means I'm not hearing about any jobs yet either. I hate the waiting game....

-Jeff and Feybrah visit: My cousin and his wife came to AZ for a few days. They live in Georgia and we haven't seen them in FOREVER! It was sooo good to see them again! Rhett and I took a trip down to Sedona and met up with them, my mom, grandma, Uncle Mitch, Aunt Lisa, Alisha, Victor, Katie and her new boyfriend, Ryan. We went hiking a little bit, then went walking around town at the shops. Afterwards we traveled down to Phoenix, ate dinner at Black Canyon City, and stayed the night over at my mom's and Alisha's. Then we said our farewell on Sunday, both to Jeff and Feybrah because they were flying out, and to the rest of our family because it was time to go home. It was too short of a trip, but it was good to be able to catch up with my cousins!

Well, that's about all I can think of....if anything else happens within the next few days I'll be sure to add it! For those who are reading this...please keep us in your prayers!

March....

2010-03-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

What's been happening in March thus far.....

-Job Fair in Peoria: I took a half day off of work to go to a job fair in Peoria. I studied possible interview questions, made sure I had all my paper work ready, got an appointment on when I should come.......I did all I could. I went down to the fair feeling confident but nervous. When it came time for my 20 minute interview....the nervousness took over. I feel that I could've done better, but I know I did all I could. We'll see what happens. They said they weren't offering jobs at the moment anyway. Keep me in your prayers!

-Rhett's recital: That same week Rhett had a trip down to Tucson for a choir convention. He had to drive up Saturday night because on Sunday he has a performance. It was a crazy week, and he didn't get home til 4 o'clock Sunday morning. It snowed all night and all Sunday. Unfortunately, his parents were unable to make it up because of the weather. I'm glad he got home safe. He did his Junior Recital and did great! I was so grateful to those who did come to support him. He and another friend of ours, Casey, sang various songs. She did a fantastic job as well!

-Grandpa Penn: Tuesday, March 9th we got a phone call from Rhett's aunt and dad. His grandfather was in the hospital and they didn't think he'd make it through the night. The next evening, on the 10th, we received the call that he had passed away. It's been difficult. Rhett really wanted to go to Texas for the funeral, but we couldn't afford it. One thing that we are grateful for is the fact that we went to Texas over the summer to see his grandparents. We knew that his grandpa had been sick and that time was running out. It was a great visit, and I'm glad that we were able to see him one last time.

-Spring Break: We got to visit some friends in Tucson this past week. It was so fun! I also got to go to Rhett's sister's baby shower (Katie). She's due at the end of May and we're excited for the new baby!

Well, that's about it! I'm still filling out applications and crossing my fingers and toes! It's a tough economy right now. For anyone who's reading this, please keep me in your prayers! Thanks! More updates to come!!!

February....

2010-02-13T20:18:00.001-08:00

So my goal is to post at least once a month. Here are a few updates of what's happened and what will be happening....

What's happened:

-This past week I buckled down and told my employers that we might be moving to Glendale. I was sooo nervous for some reason. This year has been a difficult one as far as work goes, mainly because of the overload we've been given and how unorganized everything is with communication and what not. Going to another school would be nice....I want to see if teaching is worth staying with or if I need to pursue another career. So when I told them I might be leaving because my husband would be student teaching, I was a little worried about their reaction. Let's just say, they were very very understanding! The superintendent even said he'd be happy to write me a letter of recommendation and gave me advice on applying. Of course, if I don't find a job I can keep the one I have, but I have time yet to figure things out. Our prayers to find a job in this economy are going to be more and more fervent. I'm also looking forward and hoping for a chance to see what it's like to be at another school.

-Rhett and I are going to see "Mary Poppins." As a Valentine's Day gift, he gave me yellow roses and a card with two tickets inside it! It's just going to be the two of us, which will be nice! We haven't had many moments for the both of us because of the craziness of school and work!

-Next weekend, the same weekend as "Mary Poppins," we will be going to visit a high school in Glendale. Rhett has been in contact with the choir teacher there and is possibly going to be her student teacher. We're going to meet her and see her choir perform. Rhett will also be observing her class. We're excited about the new change and just hope that everything works out well!

That's about it for the moment! Knowing my brain, I'll think of something else to put in later! Thank goodness for the edit button! I guess I can add more if something changes! But for now, that's about it!

Snowy Days

2010-01-22T21:04:00.000-08:00

Ah Mother Nature!

So this past week I started coming down with a cold. I knew it was coming sooner or later. We ended up going to Havasu this past weekend despite what I was feeling to go see family. I saw my dad, Paula, Diana, Zane, and my niece Zoe. We also went to Parker to see Rhett's parents and go to church with them. It was a good visit. We wanted to stay til Monday since it was a 3 day weekend...but then the snow happened.

Now we're not talking about only a few inches here. Oh no! We're talking like 5 feet! We had three different storms come through, each bringing a little more than the first one.

Well, my three day weekend ended up turning into an entire week of no school. It's been nice getting over a cold without having to stress about everything else, but now I'm ready to go back to work! Cabin Fever!

A New Year with New Goals

2010-01-10T09:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!

So I decided to write down some of the things Rhett and I talked about for the upcoming year. One was losing weight. We already began on that journey before the new year, so we thought it'd be good to continue it. I've been watching calories and working out. It's a bit difficult at times, and I haven't been perfect, but I'm going to keep trekking!

Another was going to the temple once a month. We went yesterday. We took a day trip to Mesa to go, and although it was a tiring trip, it was worth it! We already have plans to go President's Day weekend.

Those were the main resolutions that we decided to make. We felt that they were achievable and that we wouldn't feel overwhelmed with accomplishing them!

Hope everyone else has a great 2010 and that you can reach the goals you set out for yourself!

It's been awhile

2009-11-13T18:32:00.000-08:00

So..I realized that's it's been FOREVER since we've updated this! I should do it regularly! As for what has been going on....hmm....
Well, I've adjusted to my third graders. They drive me crazy, but that's to be expected with teaching! Rhett is almost done with this semester and will be starting his last semester of classes this spring. He will be student teaching come next August, and it looks like change may be in the air as far as living arrangements......more to come once we know what will be happening!

This semester has been a busy one though! Back in October, the Shrine of Ages Choir at NAU was invited to sing a couple songs at a Star Wars concert. There was an orchestra playing music from the movies, with a HUGE screen displaying footage from all six episodes. The narration was performed by Anthony Daniels, C3PO himself, without the costume. It was an amazing experience for him to be able to perform there.

We also celebrated my niece's 3rd birthday back on Halloween. We had a Pirate Party at a park in Lake Havasu. She had lots of fun, and my sister, Diana, did a great job at being the hostess and keeping tons of little kids entertained! We also got some cute family pictures with my parents, Paula, Grandmother, and sisters. It was fun to be with the whole family again!

I'll keep things more updated as time goes on. Life just gets away!

The New Batch of Third Graders

2009-08-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

As of Thursday I am now officially a second year teacher. Compared to last year, these last couple days went a little more smoother. I did have a kids try to cut his hair (his mom told me that she got him a hair cut in hopes he wouldn't do that), another punch a kids in the chest, and some boys that are really trying to see how far I will go when they push my buttons. Oh this year is going to be grand! But in reality, I had over planned activities for them, which was good. I didn't get everything in, but they were kept busy and the day flew by. Next week we start the real work! Muhahahaha! Now they will see how crazy I really am! I do miss my other kids from last year though. It's a little difficult getting to know a whole new class!

As for other things, Rhett just had his 26th birthday this past Tuesday. It was fun! I got on facebook and texted about everyone I could think of that lived in Flagstaff and invited them to come eat with us at this yummy deli place and go see GI Joe. About everyone showed up! It was great to see everyone come to celebrate with him. I was grateful that they came and that Rhett enjoyed his birthday! GI Joe was decent. Not the best movie ever made, but it wasn't the worse either, so we couldn't complain.

Other than that, nothing really new has been going on. I'm just glad it's Friday, but I have soooo much to do! There's lots of lesson plans and what-not. I really don't get paid squat for what I have to go through! Although I love teaching, I feel like eventually I'll be moving on to something that I'll enjoy more and won't have to bring work home with me. We'll see how this year and the next will play out. I'd love to do something with Spanish. Again, we'll see where life takes us! Meanwhile, it's off the computer and getting stuff done!

Summer has come to an end

2009-08-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

I survived my first year teaching! I thought it would never end and that summer would never come. Then it did, and now it's ending as well. :( I had waaay to much fun! Before we officially started summer, Rhett and I celebrated our first year of marriage. We took a trip to Sedona, rode on a pink jeep tour, and got lots of pictures of the beautiful images of the area. It was so fun! A week later my Dad and his wife, Paula came to Flagstaff to visit and see the Grand Canyon. We joined them in seeing the sites of one of our Seven Wonders of the World. We even got to see an elk, munching away, about 10 feet away from our car on the side of the road. I'm glad my dad has good photography skills, because he took a wonderful picture of it! When school was finally out, and I was set free, I got a chance to go to Phoenix to see one of my friends, Brittany, get married. She sure looked gorgeous! Then a couple days later my other friend Britney (totally different person), had a baby shower in preperation for Bridger, who was born three weeks later on July 3rd. Near the end of June Rhett and I flew to Texas. We met his sister, Cassie in the Houston airport then drove to a little town called Hemphill. I got to meet his grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousin for the first time. It was such a good visit, and Texas is soooo green! At least where we were it was! We even got to drive across the Louisiana border (which was a mile away from our hotel) and had breakfast our last day there. So now I can say I've been to two more states! It was hard to go back home, we were only there for a few days, but it was worth the visit! When we got back to Houston, we met up with my sister, Katie, who just happened to be flying into Houston from Guatemala. Ironically, with no planning at all, she ended up flying to Phoenix on the same flight that we were! It was good to hear about her experiences! Near the end of July we had the privelage of meeting up with my family and went to see "Wicked!" It was AWESOME!!! When we weren't traveling, I spent time working in my classroom and getting things done around the house. It was a good summer, but it ended too soon! Now I'm back to getting things officially ready for when the kids come back on the 13th. It was a good summer overall!

The Day and the Life

2009-01-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

So I decided to go with the crowd and start a blog.
Everyone else is doing it, why shouldn't we? As for life, well nothing is going on that's new right now. Rhett and I have been married for about eight months now, and we're living in our cozy, one bedroom apartment in Flagstaff, Arizona. Rhett is attending NAU and pursuing a degree in Choral Education. I am teaching third grade at a charter shcool here in town, and ma enjoying my first year for the most part! Other than that, we're just living life and trying to survive!