NFC North

I think it is worth noting that even this early in the season, the Bears have a better record than the Packers.

Itsy Bitsy

Or not so much.

Fa La La La La-Dee Dah

At our local Wal-Mart, we stumbled upon a couple of aisles of red and green while on a late night roach killer run (which is a whole different story. For now, let's just say that North Carolina must be a entomologist's dream).

Yes, there is Christmas stuff out. Red and green bulbs, strings of lights, and most annoyingly, a 5-foot tall motion detecting, singing Santa is right next to the 10 lb. bags of Halloween candy, face paint and tacky looking wigs.

Let me ask you, who is organized enough to be thinking of Christmas when there's still 93 shopping days left until Christmas.

Rebecca...

Can I share the good (sibling-related) news?? Or does everyone already know?

Recent History

Hey everyone! I was very glad to hear from a few of you when my birthday rolled around and then I saw Rebecca at Lisa Wilson's wedding and it all just reminded me of how out of touch I was with you all. This last year was very crazy for me since I was getting my Masters in Arts and Teaching (MAT) which basically amounted to me being both a full time student and a full time teacher. This summer was spent on the job hunt which finally panned out for me this Monday. I have been hired to teach 7th graders geography at one of the Middle Schools here in Springdale, Arkansas. It is one of the schools that I student taught at last year so I had a few connections, but even then the adminstration didn't hire anyone for the first three weeks of school. This has made things very interesting this first week since the students more or less treated me like just another substitute (they had had two or three in the first few weeks). Luckily I had some of the same students this year that I student taught last year, so they have still treated me like a real teacher. Unfortunately seventh graders usually suffer from rampant stupidity which is complicated by the fact that they think they are smart. The fun thing about being a teacher is recogninzing how much I don't know, but also not ever letting them think that I am not smarter than all of them (even the few who would give you a run for your money!). My wife is currently getting her MAT (in Spanish) and will graduate in May. After she graduates, we will have to see if we want to stay in NW Arkansas, which we probably will for a few years because they pay very well up here. I have also thought of moving to New Orleans simply because they will probably offer very good pay to attract teachers and also have cheap land, but my wife seems to think that I am just being sarcastic and that my idea is full of stupidity (maybe it is...).
I think I'll let that be the main update for now. I look forward to keeping up with you all on this blog!
Mark

Year of the Cyclone

How about those clones?!! Can't believe it.

Now if the Cardinals can just keep up the good play and win the series it would be a completely good year.

Other Big News

Hey everyone. It has been awhile since I've been on. I'll have to remedy that. Its true I am getting married. In 9 days to be exact, craziness. Its been sort of a whirlwind engagement. I met Jamie (thats his name) Zaehring (soon to be my name) last fall when we were all part of a larger young adults group. Started dating in November and got engaged the end of June. He's an systems engineer at Rockwell Collins, working on the new Boeing 787. Thus the temporary transfer to Seattle. He'll be doing customer onsite support for Boeing up there and I'm going along for the ride. My work here is giving me a 12 month leave of absence so I can have my job back (or one like it here in town). Otherwise I'll probably look for something up there because there's the possibility of making it a permanent move. Anyway, we sold his house, moved all his stuff and will probably sell my house in a few weeks. Lots of moving and messes and all the joy that goes with not being able to find anything. We're hoping it will improve in the next month. So thats about all with me.

Congrats Michelle!

Since Rebecca broke the news, I just thought I'd say congratulations! Now, I think I speak for most all of us when I say - details, please :)

Lisa is married! (and other big news...)

hello all! hope you all had a great labor day weekend. mine was nothing if not eventful, and i was happy to have today to rest a little.

well, lisa and ben were married yesterday in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in winterset. lisa is now officially lisa kreyer, and i don't think she could possibly be any happier (until she has a kid or two, that is). she looked gorgeous, and the wedding was perfect. it was a hot, sunny day, and a bit breezy, but the guests and wedding party survived the day. the happy couple are in duluth for the honeymoon this week.

mark and his wife amanda stayed with me (and mark has assured me he will soon be joining in the festivities of our blog), and we had a nice time catching up. other than mark, jake, and me, the only other person from high school was amanda beaver! she and her boyfriend made the trip. it was nice to catch up with her and hear her news, which is....

michelle is getting married! (i have amanda's permission to spill this news, by the way.) apparently she met her husband-to-be at church in cedar rapids, and they're getting married in a few weeks and then moving to seattle. that's really about all i know, so you'll have to bug her for the specifics....which, by the way, i thought she was a member of the blog and might have thought to inform us of these events before now! ;)

well, i guess that's about it, so i'll leave you with a few pictures of the wedding. have a nice week, everyone! go iowa state!