As excited as I am for our next adventure, I might be even MORE excited to hold over Craig's head the fact that I was right to tell him to go to that job fair. Think of all the leverage that buys me in the "always listen to your wife" department!
Do you think t-shirts proclaiming that I'm always right would be overkill...?
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Friday, April 24, 2015
Whirlwind
So if you're friends with me on facebook you already know that we're moving.
If we're not facebook friends, you just read that sentence and said, "Wait, wha--????"
Yes, we're moving! This summer! To Charlottesville! Mind if I tell you all about it?
It actually all started with a job fair at George Mason University, in the middle of March. Craig had mentioned it to me, but figured there wasn't any point in going. He was feeling somewhat pessimistic about the whole job search thing. I told him of course he should go, why wouldn't he go? So he took the day off work and went. He met with an HR person from Albemarle county, and when he explained that he was looking for an assistant principal position, she encouraged him to apply for this position as the "dean of academic affairs" at their vocational school.
When he mentioned it to me, I asked him where Albemarle County even was, and when he said that that was where Charlottesville is, I immediately got excited. We've only gone there a couple times, but it is an utterly charming town. I remember going there several years ago and thinking it would be a great place to live. Right away I was on board!
Craig got home and looked up the job description on-line and laughed about it to me. It was about a mile long and, as Craig noted, "There's no way I can do all that stuff." But he sent in an application anyway. And a week later, they emailed him to set up a screening interview over the phone. He did the interview the day we were flying out to Seattle, so while we were excited about it, as soon as he got off the phone we were busy trying to fit all our suitcases into the car and getting to the airport, so it was quickly forgotten.
We had our lovely time in Seattle (more on that to come, still), and then the day after I got home, Craig got another email saying they'd like to do a formal interview. This would involve a panel of 8 or 9 people sitting in asking him questions, and would begin with him giving a 10 minute presentation introducing himself, his background and leadership experience, and then explaining his vision for the school. In the process of preparing for this presentation, Craig did a lot of research on the school. In a nutshell, Catec is a vocational school that draws students from the surrounding four high schools, and they can study cosmetology, culinary arts, auto mechanics, construction, fire fighting, audio engineering, and probably some other things that I'm forgetting right now (and possibly calling by the wrong name-- sorry, Craig!)... The school has struggled with their image in the last few years-- they've gotten a rap for being a school for kids who aren't college-bound, even though they have some really great programs. So the task before their new administration team is to make it a school that doesn't have that stigma so they can get really good students enrolled in their programs.
So Craig worked really hard on that, and practiced it for me the night before his interview. And I have to say, he did a really good job. I was so proud of him.
The interview seemed to go well. They kept him a bit longer than planned, so I took that as a good sign. I figured we'd be lucky if we heard back in a week or so.
They called back two days later, on Friday, saying the two superintendents wanted to meet with Craig Monday night. Craig asked what he should be prepared for, and the HR lady recommended that he be ready to defend his lack of leadership experience. That's a tough one, so Craig had to spend some time brainstorming for that...
Monday afternoon, he headed down to Charlottesville again.
He called me two hours after his interview was scheduled to begin. He'd gotten the job.
Not only had he gotten the job, but it was higher ranking than we'd been figuring. We'd been hoping to find an assistant principal position, but it turns out he'll have an AP working under him here. How did this happen?
We are excited and terrified. We are happy and sad. We are nervous and thrilled. We are bouncing around trying to decide whether to rent or sell our home, when to move, what to do with the chicks we just got (that will have to be another blog post)...
When I think of all the good friends I have here, I want to cry at the idea of leaving them. But then I look at my very crowded little home and think, This might be a good thing. And I think of all the hours and tuition money we've put into Craig getting his administrative license, and I think, A very good thing, indeed. As sad as I am to be leaving, I'm so proud of Craig. I'm excited to see what he can do with this school. I'm excited to live in the beautiful town of Charlottesville and see what it's like living in a University town when I'm not in college, but herding around all my children instead.
When I was a kid, I thought you reached grown-up status and your life sorted itself out and got stable and boring. But I see now that that seldom happens. There is always something just around the corner, whether it's a new calling at church, a new job, a new baby, a new home, ... Life is always an adventure. Always.
And I'm excited for our next adventure.
If we're not facebook friends, you just read that sentence and said, "Wait, wha--????"
Yes, we're moving! This summer! To Charlottesville! Mind if I tell you all about it?
It actually all started with a job fair at George Mason University, in the middle of March. Craig had mentioned it to me, but figured there wasn't any point in going. He was feeling somewhat pessimistic about the whole job search thing. I told him of course he should go, why wouldn't he go? So he took the day off work and went. He met with an HR person from Albemarle county, and when he explained that he was looking for an assistant principal position, she encouraged him to apply for this position as the "dean of academic affairs" at their vocational school.
When he mentioned it to me, I asked him where Albemarle County even was, and when he said that that was where Charlottesville is, I immediately got excited. We've only gone there a couple times, but it is an utterly charming town. I remember going there several years ago and thinking it would be a great place to live. Right away I was on board!
Craig got home and looked up the job description on-line and laughed about it to me. It was about a mile long and, as Craig noted, "There's no way I can do all that stuff." But he sent in an application anyway. And a week later, they emailed him to set up a screening interview over the phone. He did the interview the day we were flying out to Seattle, so while we were excited about it, as soon as he got off the phone we were busy trying to fit all our suitcases into the car and getting to the airport, so it was quickly forgotten.
We had our lovely time in Seattle (more on that to come, still), and then the day after I got home, Craig got another email saying they'd like to do a formal interview. This would involve a panel of 8 or 9 people sitting in asking him questions, and would begin with him giving a 10 minute presentation introducing himself, his background and leadership experience, and then explaining his vision for the school. In the process of preparing for this presentation, Craig did a lot of research on the school. In a nutshell, Catec is a vocational school that draws students from the surrounding four high schools, and they can study cosmetology, culinary arts, auto mechanics, construction, fire fighting, audio engineering, and probably some other things that I'm forgetting right now (and possibly calling by the wrong name-- sorry, Craig!)... The school has struggled with their image in the last few years-- they've gotten a rap for being a school for kids who aren't college-bound, even though they have some really great programs. So the task before their new administration team is to make it a school that doesn't have that stigma so they can get really good students enrolled in their programs.
So Craig worked really hard on that, and practiced it for me the night before his interview. And I have to say, he did a really good job. I was so proud of him.
The interview seemed to go well. They kept him a bit longer than planned, so I took that as a good sign. I figured we'd be lucky if we heard back in a week or so.
They called back two days later, on Friday, saying the two superintendents wanted to meet with Craig Monday night. Craig asked what he should be prepared for, and the HR lady recommended that he be ready to defend his lack of leadership experience. That's a tough one, so Craig had to spend some time brainstorming for that...
Monday afternoon, he headed down to Charlottesville again.
He called me two hours after his interview was scheduled to begin. He'd gotten the job.
Not only had he gotten the job, but it was higher ranking than we'd been figuring. We'd been hoping to find an assistant principal position, but it turns out he'll have an AP working under him here. How did this happen?
We are excited and terrified. We are happy and sad. We are nervous and thrilled. We are bouncing around trying to decide whether to rent or sell our home, when to move, what to do with the chicks we just got (that will have to be another blog post)...
When I think of all the good friends I have here, I want to cry at the idea of leaving them. But then I look at my very crowded little home and think, This might be a good thing. And I think of all the hours and tuition money we've put into Craig getting his administrative license, and I think, A very good thing, indeed. As sad as I am to be leaving, I'm so proud of Craig. I'm excited to see what he can do with this school. I'm excited to live in the beautiful town of Charlottesville and see what it's like living in a University town when I'm not in college, but herding around all my children instead.
When I was a kid, I thought you reached grown-up status and your life sorted itself out and got stable and boring. But I see now that that seldom happens. There is always something just around the corner, whether it's a new calling at church, a new job, a new baby, a new home, ... Life is always an adventure. Always.
And I'm excited for our next adventure.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Remember Kendra?
Kendra had a birthday two months ago and I never got around to saying anything about it. I think I'll blame Camille for that one...
All you need to know is that, unlike last year, she was not sick at all for her big day. We actually celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa just a few hours before Camille came, so that made it all very memorable. She got many lovely presents which she was very excited for.
And on her actual birthday, Aunt Tracy made her a cake and I did my best to draw a horse on it, but it turns out that the frosting I was using squirted out of the can like cheez-whiz, so that made it pretty hard to draw with. Kendra liked it anyway, so I guess that was all that mattered.
My friend Jackie took these portraits of Kendra and each time I look at them I gasp at what a beautiful daughter I have.
My little baby is getting so big.
And more astounding than that, her personality is actually sweeter than her face. Contemplate that for a moment!
All you need to know is that, unlike last year, she was not sick at all for her big day. We actually celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa just a few hours before Camille came, so that made it all very memorable. She got many lovely presents which she was very excited for.
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| The "big" present |
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| I love this picture |
My friend Jackie took these portraits of Kendra and each time I look at them I gasp at what a beautiful daughter I have.
My little baby is getting so big.
And more astounding than that, her personality is actually sweeter than her face. Contemplate that for a moment!
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
More Bainbridge
The next day we mostly spent at Battlepoint Park and taking turns visiting my Grandma. Battlepoint has always been a nice park, but a few years ago they completely re-did the playground and now it is AMAZING. I want to play at this park. There's just tons of stuff to do and run around on. If you're ever in the area, definitely go and check it out!
Anyway, the kids ran around having fun, the babies slept, the grown-ups stood around chatting. And during it all, groups would go visit Grandma. Finally the whole gang went together then to sing to her together, which was great. We didn't all fit in the house where she lives very well, so we just stood out on the porch and she seemed delighted.
AND, that night we got take-out from the best Thai food place ever, Sawadty. We got enough to feed a small army-- it was really too bad I couldn't take all the leftovers back to Virginia with me! Actually, it's probably good we don't have Sawadty here in Virginia-- I'd weigh 300 pounds!
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| L-R we have Eliot, Bentley, Kendra, Colton, Ryder, and Samuel all playing in the sand. I love the miniature version of Frog Rock here! |
Anyway, the kids ran around having fun, the babies slept, the grown-ups stood around chatting. And during it all, groups would go visit Grandma. Finally the whole gang went together then to sing to her together, which was great. We didn't all fit in the house where she lives very well, so we just stood out on the porch and she seemed delighted.
 |
| One of the small inside groups |
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| Singing on the porch |
AND, that night we got take-out from the best Thai food place ever, Sawadty. We got enough to feed a small army-- it was really too bad I couldn't take all the leftovers back to Virginia with me! Actually, it's probably good we don't have Sawadty here in Virginia-- I'd weigh 300 pounds!
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Bainbridge!
While I was playing with my friend and we were taking pictures of our cute babies, Craig and my sister were left with the remaining seven children. Normally I would say that this was cruel and unusual punishment, but playing with your cousins (who you haven't seen in six months) is always awesome:
Once I finally returned, though, it was time to drive to my parents' house on Bainbridge Island!
If I've never said so before, I want it on the record here that I absolutely LOVE Bainbridge Island. We moved there when I was 5, and I'm sure I never appreciated it growing up. I mean, I liked the island just fine, I certainly never had a problem with it. But it took going away to college to really understand what a lovely place it is. Most of the homes are tucked out of sight in the trees. Any time you go anywhere, very specific directions were required or else you were sure to be lost, picking and choosing long gravel driveways (usually with multiple homes along the many branches of that driveway) at random and hoping that luck would help you find your destination. You'll catch glimpses of the Puget Sound all around, and occasionally Mount Rainier or the mighty Olympics (which manage to be covered in snow pretty much year-round, rendering them much prettier than any non-snow-covered mountain), and of course, downtown Seattle with its skyscrapers and ...
It's one of my favorite places in the whole world.
So it was delightful to be returning.
We mostly just ate dinner and went to bed. But the next day we managed to walk all of the kids down to the park closest to my house, Faye Bainbridge. It was a bit chilly, which was unfortunate, since the weeks before had been quite warm, but it was still nice to be on the water again!
And finally, my favorite picture from that day:
It was good to be home again.
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| Caleb and Ryder are totally engrossed in their trains |
 |
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| Bentley tries out Samuel's ninja costume |
Once I finally returned, though, it was time to drive to my parents' house on Bainbridge Island!
If I've never said so before, I want it on the record here that I absolutely LOVE Bainbridge Island. We moved there when I was 5, and I'm sure I never appreciated it growing up. I mean, I liked the island just fine, I certainly never had a problem with it. But it took going away to college to really understand what a lovely place it is. Most of the homes are tucked out of sight in the trees. Any time you go anywhere, very specific directions were required or else you were sure to be lost, picking and choosing long gravel driveways (usually with multiple homes along the many branches of that driveway) at random and hoping that luck would help you find your destination. You'll catch glimpses of the Puget Sound all around, and occasionally Mount Rainier or the mighty Olympics (which manage to be covered in snow pretty much year-round, rendering them much prettier than any non-snow-covered mountain), and of course, downtown Seattle with its skyscrapers and ...
It's one of my favorite places in the whole world.
So it was delightful to be returning.
We mostly just ate dinner and went to bed. But the next day we managed to walk all of the kids down to the park closest to my house, Faye Bainbridge. It was a bit chilly, which was unfortunate, since the weeks before had been quite warm, but it was still nice to be on the water again!
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| Ryder wrapped his blankie around his neck for warmth, and it ended up looking quite debonair... |
And finally, my favorite picture from that day:
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| Kendra throwing rocks into the water |
It was good to be home again.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
When You Visit a Photographer...
First thing the next morning, after not nearly enough sleep, I got up and showered so I could go visit my friend Kathy. She was one of my favorite roommates at BYU, and just happened to have a baby just a few weeks after I had Camille. We already have it all planned out that our daughters will be roommates at BYU, also, and have the time of their lives. So it made sense to introduce them to each other as soon as possible.
Kathy's Dad is a photographer (he shot our wedding, actually), so the first thing that happened when I arrived was that they did a photo shoot with the two babies. Kathy's Mom had set it all up and had matching outfits for them and everything. Her vision was that they were busting out of jail together-- I LOVE it! (In case you can't tell, Camille is on the right, and Kathy's baby Hailey is on the left.)
If you were to scroll through all the pictures really fast, it would almost be animated.
After much hanging out, talking, and eating of pizza, we decided it was time for another photo shoot, this time with an Easter theme!
And a pretty pink bow...
And this owl hat that I nearly swooned over, even though I thought I had completely resisted the owl craze...
Somehow in all that I didn't manage to take any pictures of Kathy and I. But rest assured, we had a great time catching up!
Next, it was on to Bainbridge Island to see the rest of my family!!!
Kathy's Dad is a photographer (he shot our wedding, actually), so the first thing that happened when I arrived was that they did a photo shoot with the two babies. Kathy's Mom had set it all up and had matching outfits for them and everything. Her vision was that they were busting out of jail together-- I LOVE it! (In case you can't tell, Camille is on the right, and Kathy's baby Hailey is on the left.)
If you were to scroll through all the pictures really fast, it would almost be animated.
After much hanging out, talking, and eating of pizza, we decided it was time for another photo shoot, this time with an Easter theme!
And a pretty pink bow...
And this owl hat that I nearly swooned over, even though I thought I had completely resisted the owl craze...
Somehow in all that I didn't manage to take any pictures of Kathy and I. But rest assured, we had a great time catching up!
Next, it was on to Bainbridge Island to see the rest of my family!!!
The Journey There
When Craig and I went to buy our tickets to Seattle, we discovered that all the flights were at TERRIBLE times. They were all red-eye flights, or involved ridiculous things like 14-hour layovers in Denver. (Just for the record, if it's longer than eight hours, I don't think it qualifies as a "layover" any more.) Factor in trying to do this with five kids and we knew those flights just wouldn't work. And the few that might be feasible were so incredibly expensive we just couldn't stomach it (even though my parents were footing the bill!).
So rather than leaving the first Friday or Saturday of spring break, we finally decided we would have to leave on Monday. This led to a series of other consequences: because we were leaving later, I wanted to stay later. And because Craig couldn't stay as long as I wanted to stay, we decided he would need to return home sooner than I would. And because I was terrified of trying to fly with all five kids on my own, we asked my sister Tracy to if she could fly back to Virginia with me to help out. And thank goodness, she agreed! So we had our very strange schedule all set!
But even then, our flights were still a huge pain.
Going to Seattle, we departed at 6:35pm. That doesn't sound so bad, except when are you supposed to eat dinner??? Airlines don't serve food any more, so that wasn't an option. And I knew the kid wouldn't be ready to eat at 3:30 before we left (plus then I'd have to clean it all up or else return home to dishes that had been sitting in the sink for a week-- gross!). I finally figured out that what we needed to do was leave even earlier for our flight, and then eat dinner at the airport. Fortunately there was a Chipotle right near our gate, and our kids LOVE quesadillas, so we were all set there. I also went ahead and had the kids wear their pajamas in the hopes that it might encourage them to sleep on the plane (this worked for the second flight, from Denver to Seattle, but I think it was due more to sheer exhaustion than it was to their apparel). (I originally was going to make them wear their matching sleepers from Christmas, but then I realized that Bentley was probably too old to make him do that, and the thought of letting Ryder use an airplane bathroom with his sleepers dragging on the floor made me want to puke, so we didn't go with that route after all.)
Unfortunately, even with all this brilliant planning going on, we were still arriving in Seattle around midnight (which you'll note is 3am, Virginia time!), then having to go through the whole process of collecting our luggage (five suitcases and three carseats), transporting it all to the rental car place, renting a car, and then driving it somewhere. We figured we'd be too exhausted to deal with the ferries, so we instead went to my sister's apartment and crashed there. She already has a family of five in their 3-bedroom apartment, so all 7 of us were a bit overwhelming to the place, but we made it work. I'd packed one suitcase that was just the stuff we needed for that night and the next day, so at least we didn't need to bring ALL our luggage inside her place!
We got there at 2am and crashed thankfully into the beds, couches, and sleeping bags she'd prepared for us.
We were exhausted.
But we'd arrived!
So rather than leaving the first Friday or Saturday of spring break, we finally decided we would have to leave on Monday. This led to a series of other consequences: because we were leaving later, I wanted to stay later. And because Craig couldn't stay as long as I wanted to stay, we decided he would need to return home sooner than I would. And because I was terrified of trying to fly with all five kids on my own, we asked my sister Tracy to if she could fly back to Virginia with me to help out. And thank goodness, she agreed! So we had our very strange schedule all set!
But even then, our flights were still a huge pain.
Going to Seattle, we departed at 6:35pm. That doesn't sound so bad, except when are you supposed to eat dinner??? Airlines don't serve food any more, so that wasn't an option. And I knew the kid wouldn't be ready to eat at 3:30 before we left (plus then I'd have to clean it all up or else return home to dishes that had been sitting in the sink for a week-- gross!). I finally figured out that what we needed to do was leave even earlier for our flight, and then eat dinner at the airport. Fortunately there was a Chipotle right near our gate, and our kids LOVE quesadillas, so we were all set there. I also went ahead and had the kids wear their pajamas in the hopes that it might encourage them to sleep on the plane (this worked for the second flight, from Denver to Seattle, but I think it was due more to sheer exhaustion than it was to their apparel). (I originally was going to make them wear their matching sleepers from Christmas, but then I realized that Bentley was probably too old to make him do that, and the thought of letting Ryder use an airplane bathroom with his sleepers dragging on the floor made me want to puke, so we didn't go with that route after all.)
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| Craig documented stuff, selfie-style |
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| Colton was so excited! |
Unfortunately, even with all this brilliant planning going on, we were still arriving in Seattle around midnight (which you'll note is 3am, Virginia time!), then having to go through the whole process of collecting our luggage (five suitcases and three carseats), transporting it all to the rental car place, renting a car, and then driving it somewhere. We figured we'd be too exhausted to deal with the ferries, so we instead went to my sister's apartment and crashed there. She already has a family of five in their 3-bedroom apartment, so all 7 of us were a bit overwhelming to the place, but we made it work. I'd packed one suitcase that was just the stuff we needed for that night and the next day, so at least we didn't need to bring ALL our luggage inside her place!
We got there at 2am and crashed thankfully into the beds, couches, and sleeping bags she'd prepared for us.
We were exhausted.
But we'd arrived!
Friday, April 10, 2015
I'm Baaaaaaaaaack!
Wow, I did not realize it had been so long since I posted anything. We flew to Seattle over spring break, and between getting ready for the trip, actually experiencing the trip, and now trying to recover from the trip, this poor blog has fallen by the wayside.
But I'll work on getting caught up over the next little while, so check back. I'm sure I'll have more than enough photos, too, so beware.
For now, here's one great picture for you:
The MAIN reason we went to Seattle was to celebrate my Grandma's 100th birthday. Doesn't she look fabulous???
But I'll work on getting caught up over the next little while, so check back. I'm sure I'll have more than enough photos, too, so beware.
For now, here's one great picture for you:
The MAIN reason we went to Seattle was to celebrate my Grandma's 100th birthday. Doesn't she look fabulous???
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