So sleepy...I hate having a class that lasts until 9pm. Boo hoo.

This long break is a killer.

5 more to go...

I'm almost done with my first quarter, can you believe it??? Next week is the last of my first quarter of school. 5 weeks down, 47 to go.

I'm finishing up 2 huge papers and 2 crazy presentations for next week so I feel like I am miles away from a break. Plus this "break" is only 3 days. hah!

Student teaching starts Wednesday and then I will actually be in the classroom. I'm excited, but also totally nervous. I met my cooperating teacher briefly last week and will be going into her room again in the next few days to help her set up.

If I am ignoring anyone, I apologize. I wish I had more free time. I miss not having gobbs of reading every night. I think that is the hardest part. It is unrelenting. Oh well.

Reunited!

...and it feels so good.
This weekend I went to my first ever official family reunion. It was with my maternal grandmother's family, the Ferguson clan.

The weekend actually started on Thursday night with a dinner to celebrate my great uncle Bill's 80th birthday at Michael's on Main. 25 Ferguson (or descendants of them) chowed down on yummy food and wine and got to know each other. Some of us had never met since some of them live in Ohio and Minnesota.

The next day, Friday, we all trekked to an estate in Watsonville for a family jam session. It turns out that every branch of the family besides my immediate relatives is very musical. We have professional musicians everywhere. The day was spent enjoying the wonderful views as well as listening to this abundance of talent perform.

Saturday the party moved to my house in Soquel. Even more family came for a BBQ. We all chatted while the kids swam, played croquet, set up ping pong and challenged each other to bocce ball. The festivities ran late into the evening when we gathered by the fire pit and shared wine and stories about the extended lines of cousins that we had just met.

Sunday, my first cousin Julia stayed behind and we decided to hit the beach. I went in the ocean for the first time in years, realizing that it isn't nearly as cold as I had feared.

All-in-all it was an excellent, if exhausting, weekend. I was annoyed at first that there would be 100+ people invading our house for several days because school has been so intense, but now I realize that it was a much needed break. There's something to be said for getting to know people you are related to, if only distantly.

We have all promised to not wait 30 years before we see each other again.

DLV here I come!

I got my placement! I will be in a 4th grade class at DeLaveaga in Santa Cruz. I'm psyched because that's the school I worked at last the year for CKC. I know a bunch of the kids and I am familiar with the layout and staff. YAY!

School in general is kind of kicking my ass. There has been a lot LOT of reading and tons of group work. It is a challenge to coordinate everything and find time that fits with everyones' schedule. I have been overwhelmed several times and I am only 3 weeks in. That being said, I'm already 1/2 way through my first quarter. I'm hopeful that with the beginning of the school year and student teaching I will really get into the program and feel connected to the kids.