Doug is Home

I am so excited because Doug's boat pulled back into Pearl Harbor this week.  I am glad to have him home after so much time at sea over the past few months.  He has been working really long hours but we have been making the best of his free time.  Or, even his work time!  The other night while Doug was at work I went down to visit and took dinner with me.  We decided to crawl up into the sail to watch the sunset.

It started to rain a little bit while we were up there.

**Spoiler Alert** Surprise trip to Levi's Graduation!

Surprise!  I successfully planned a last minute (two weeks in advance) trip to Washington to see my baby brother Levi graduate from high school.  I arrived late Friday night and Jameson picked me up from the airport.  He drove me to Olive Garden where Levi, my mom, and aunt Colleen were having dinner.  Levi was so surprised and excited!  It was so nice to see everyone and I was so proud to see him graduate from high school today.

Congratulations, Levi!!!

All the kids minus Doug (we missed you!!)

Levi and me at his graduation

Visit to San Diego

As I mentioned in my last post, I finished up my spring courses in mid-May and began the new courses the next week.  I was lucky enough to have five days off in between that lined up perfectly with Doug's boat pulling into San Diego.  Since he has basically been gone all spring (I figured out that in the past four months he has been home approximately 20 days) I decided to make a trip out to visit in San Diego.  First off - we both LOVE the city and the area.  The weather was gorgeous and there is so much to do.  I am sure that spending time together added to the list of pluses but really - we could both see ourselves living there (at least temporarily).  While in San Diego we went to Old Town, the Gaslamp District, spent a lot of time around Point Loma (where we were actually staying and where the submarine base is located), visited the San Diego Zoo (both loved it), and my prince took me on a trip up to Disneyland!  I have pictures from a few of the highlights of our trip.

The happy couple in front of the Disneyland Princess Castle

Doug trying to remove the sword in the stone

Yay! Happiest Place on Earth! :)

San Diego Zoo

Doug and the Rhino's

School Update

It has been a little while since I updated the blog but I wanted to write a little bit about school.  I successfully completed my first semester of classes in mid-May.  I had taken three education courses including one field course.  For my field course I went one day a week to a first grade classroom to observe and teach the students.  The classroom I observed in was actually at a private Catholic School which was completely new to me.  I learned a lot (about private schools and about the Catholic faith in general) over the semester.

My program is a year round program so I actually started summer classes the week after my spring classes ended.  I am taking two accelerated summer courses, a psychology course and a course on Hawaiian history and culture.  My psychology course is really interesting for me because that isn't my major or really even one of my strong subjects.  I am learning a lot and enjoying the process.  For that course I will be volunteering a few hours per week at the local Boys and Girls Club.  My second class which we fondly call our "field trip class" consists of the 30+ elementary and secondary education candidates that are enrolled at HPU.  We have been traveling around the island on a big yellow school bus....

Our first week we traveled up to the North Shore to Camp Erdman.  We spent the day learning about native habitats, plants, and animals.  The next week we went to a local Botanical Garden as well as some Hawaiian fish ponds.  This past Saturday we got to visit the Bishop Museum in Honolulu.  All of our trips have been really educational and enjoyable (I am learning a lot!).  I think one of the best aspects is really getting to know my classmates and develop friendships with them.  We range from 22 and just out of undergrad to late 40s.  With such a wide variety of ages we also bring so many different experiences and perspectives.  I am enjoying getting to know everyone quite a bit. 

I think that the biggest thing I am learning from all this (besides the fact that I wish I was already done with the program and teaching) is that I actually AM EXCITED about it.  I sometimes worry that I am pursuing a profession that I don't care that much about or won't succeed at.  I know that the first few years will be tough as I sort of get the feel for teaching but I am quickly realizing how much I love going to school.  For this past semester I was working with first grade students which was a lot of fun.  But,  I was asked to volunteer a few times with the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students and absolutely loved it!  The kids seem to respond well to me and I enjoy my time with them.  I guess this must be a good sign because teaching middle school always seems to be the underdog that no one wants.  But, I find myself thinking "I wish I had my own class because they would love learning about X," or "Wow!  What a fun game, I want to play this with my students!"  It is exciting for me to find my passion.  I know, I know - I am sure that it won't always be fun and I probably sound naive by not mentioning all of the downsides to education (low pay, standardized testing etc etc) but I am excited which is a great sign in my book.

Day the Pool

While Noelle was here we decided to have a day at the pool.  We went and swam and relaxed at the Hale Koa pool in Waikiki.  My good friend Emma (fellow DG and submariner wife) came down to join us for the afternoon.

Three DGs at the Pool

Tea Time

 This past Friday Noelle and I enjoyed a delicious tea in Kailua.  We got dressed up and enjoyed some big-little bonding time.

More Sharkies

 So it might seem a bit  crazy to look into the water and see this.....

 

And still decide to get in....

DG Anchor Salute (Shark to my left)

Sharks swarming the cage

But, we did it!  We swam in the cage with around 15-20 sharks swimming around us the whole time.  It was really exciting to see them so close to us.  At one point I remember looking down and realizing they were even below us. 

Swimming with Sharks

My DG big sister and dear friend Noelle is here visiting right now.  Today we went up to the North Shore and swam with the sharks!  It was so much fun!  I will post more about it later but I wanted to share this picture of proof!

Change of Command

I realize I have been a bit MIA lately as far as the blog goes but, I wanted to post this picture of Doug and me from the USS North Carolina change of command ceremony that happend in April.