Summer Recap, June Edition

June

June began with a summer grant writing class that was online. Will got a job working for Mr. Signs, Inc. I transitioned from intern to relief worker at Ray House. Around the 7 we headed home to MI! One of the main reasons we scheduled our trip for when we did, was so that we could go to this guy's open house: 

We're very proud of Mr. Michael Batora :). Duane and Grace are very proud too (pictured here)!

On top of Michael graduating from high school, my mom's birthday fell on the 11th. I was able to be home for this:

63 years young!

I missed her!

And mayyyyyyyyybeeeeeeeeeee there was another very important reason for going home when we did............

Glee!!

Between Sadie, Marléne and myself, we took about 1000 pictures....I'm not even going to bother posting anymore, but most of you reading are probably my facebook friend, so you can check out my album ;). Suffice it to say it was great fun! The only people who weren't there from the actual show were Mr. Schuester, Sue, and Quinn (Dianna Agron was in all the other productions, just sick during this one), so it was very much realistic. They taped Will and Sue's parts so it seemed like the rest of the cast was talking to them. We laughed, cried, sang along, and even got to get our picture taken with one of the Warblers! Definitely awesome!

There were some sibling moments, including a much anticipated basketball game the night before this picture was taken. Look how cute they are ;).

And to wrap up the visit, we had to go to our fav sushi place! I haven't found a place I like as much as AI Fusion here in Portland.......

The depressing after pic....



I won't recap about Anthony again, as many of you know he came back with us. Hopefully there will a post with new details about him coming shortly. :)

One other notable event from June, was that we went whale watching for the first time of the season. We wanted Anthony to have that experience, so Mary came along with us! We did see one, right at the end, but Anthony got a little seasick.......Just a few pictures for you:

June was a great month. It was amazing to go home to see our loved ones, and do some fun things :).

Summer Recap, May Edition

Summer 2011 by the seashore was a success! I'm sad it's over...my tan isn't anything to write home about, and I could always go whale watching another time or two....but overall, it was very full and pleasant. I'm going to break these down by month into separate posts, so that they aren't crazy long with the pictures :).

May

I ended my first year of graduate school, and Will began his job search. At the very beginning Susie and Charlie came to visit, and it was a great time. We're anxious for them to come back! You already got a post about them, so I'm skipping the details and pictures in here :). About a week after they left, my other half Ashley came to Maine! She'd never been, so we had a very busy weekend.

This is Ashley!

Some fun things we did included:

Did Portland things.

Went to the ocean! (these are Ashley's cute feet, not mine!)

Went to Bdubs and watched a playoff game (We didn't win, but we "celebrated" none-the-less)!

After our amazing our first day I woke up to my very first ever migraine...which put a gigantic damper on the rest of the trip, as it included many attempted naps on my part, and then a trip to the Urgent Care. Ash was a great sport, though, and she still did lots of other stuff. Like this: 

Hung out at this place.

Took a trolley to this place.

And most importantly, got a little bffsisterly time in before she had to head back from her long weekend.

Can't wait for her to come visit again!

New School Year...New Internship!

As Will promised, I thought I'd give a little bit of an update about what I've been up to.

Last week I started my very last year of graduate school! I also had my "1 year in Maine" Anniversary. So much has happened in the short time that I've been here, and I wouldn't trade a second of it. 2 years ago I was starting my very last year of college, and still hadn't made up my mind to go straight into graduate school....or to move to Maine for that matter. It's amazing where life can take you.

So enough musing - here's what I've been up to.

After officially deciding last year not to do the Individuals, Families and Groups concentration, I made plans to go full throttle ahead into Macro work. I've always believed it to be at the heart of the Social Work profession, and didn't want to be one of those people who just got into private practice work for the money. Obviously that's not why I got into Social Work in the first place, so I'll never be a "billable hours" kind of girl. Some people are focusing on both concentrations, but for me, that's just not where my heart is. I'll only be two classes short of what I would need to sit for the clinical licensing exam anyway, so if for whatever reason I decide to get it someday, it won't be that big of a deal to go back and take those classes. After making this decision I had to start thinking about this years internship. I've been so lucky, in that out of my 3 internships (my BSW internship was my first), I've not yet had a bad experience. My first at the Guardianship Agency was so incredible that it did set the bar pretty high for everything following...and even though last year at Ray House was great, it can't hold a candle to the amazing foundation I obtained at MMGS. This year, however, I think I'll be having an experience to rival it. I'm interning at Maine People's Alliance, doing community advocacy outreach work - and I've jumped right in with the kick-start of a campaign! Anyone who knows me knows what a really great fit this is for me. All the things about politics that fire me up - I get to actually be on the other side, working for the important social justice issues that I'm passionate about. I really think it's going to be a great year. Also, if I remember anything about my senior year at State, it's that it goes by QUICKLY. May will be here before you know it, and I'll have my Master's in Social Work! BSW at 22, MSW at 24....I have this sense of accomplishment that I've rarely felt about anything before...I'm excited to see where the next year takes me.

I'll try to post more frequently about all the fun and exciting things I've been up to. Also, you're due for a summer wrap-up entry....We had lots of visitors over the summer, and I did a terrible job of updating!

xoxo

Sadie Visits!!!

Sadie came out to visit us over Labor Day!  We hung out around Portland but the main thing we did was a hike up Borestone Mountain.  Here are the pictures from a great weekend!

The beginning of the hike was just a gradually rising road.   This pic is of Sadie, Maureen, and Emerson.  Emerson is the 5 year old son of one of our friends who came with us.  His little legs did the whole hike and he didn't whine until the very end!  The same could not be said for Maureen.  :)

Maureen and Emerson are pretty tight.  

A glimpse behind me at Maureen and her friend Mary.  We were actually in the area that Mary is from so we crashed at her Mom's house and saw some of where she was from.  Good job Mary!

A glimpse up at Sadie.

The view from the first peak.

We started the climb (after the gravel road part) near the lake that is farthest to the left in this picture.

Peak!

Mary and Sadie on the second peak.

Sadie doing her I just climbed a mountain stance.

Me doing mine.  Not as good as Sadie's.

Friends on a mountain!  

Oh no!  Sadie is totally going to fallllllll!  

Just kidding!

Me, Sadie, a great view.

Checked out Spring Point Lighthouse before heading to the airport. 

A dumb kid got in the way here.  That view is back into Portland Harbor.   This lighthouse is actually in South Portland so it is on the other side of the harbor from where we are.

Last pic of Sadie I took before sending her home!!!

So basically we had a blast and it was great to see my little sis.  I hope she comes back soon.  She took a lot more pictures than I did so if she puts them on facebook I'll steal some and do another post.  

Till then!

Way Too Late Update!

It's been awhile so here is some news!

Sadly, I (Will) didn't get a single interview for any teaching positions out here.  Bummer...  However, I also submitted applications for a few Ed Tech (same as a para-pro) positions got some calls and ended up getting hired at Sebago Education Alliance.  It is a school that is funded by lots of school districts in the area.  They can then send kids there who are having trouble functioning in the mainstream classroom.  They come to us and our job is to continue their academics while working to address the issues keeping them from being successful.  There are 2 high school classrooms, 1 elementary classroom, and 1 middle school class which is where I am.  

It is a pretty great situation as far as ed tech jobs go.  There is 1 teacher, 2 ed techs, and only 6 kids right now!  The kids are all great and so far there as really only been one instance of a student displaying negative behaviors beyond the normal middle-school-itis.  (Let me tell you he was kicking the hell out of that door.)  I'm also taking over some of the daily lessons so I am still getting good experience and great stuff to put on the resume for next time around.

In addition to this job I will also be starting work with a company called Mad Science.  They are a company that runs science based after school programs.  It looks I will be working at 4 schools in the area running an hour long program once a week.  I get to wear a lab coat and come up with my own Mad Science nickname and do cool experiments for the kids who come.  Basically I will be Bill Nye the Science guy for an hour everyday!

Maureen is starting her new internship today.  She will be working this year at the Maine People's Alliance.  (She can give you the deets better but...)  They are an advocacy group here in Maine that works to influence and promote legislation.  I knew earlier this year they were working on collecting signatures for a ballot initiative involving voting registrations rules.  Basically she is moving away from the clinical side of social work and looking to get into the nitty gritty policy side of things.  She is still working part time at her previous internship as well and started classes last Thursday.  

That is the major stuff that comes to mind now...

Will

Anthony! Anthony!

My little brother Anthony came to visit for 10 days!!!      

Eagerly anticipating his first ever lobster roll at Fisherman's Grill!! 

Maureen and Anthony!!!

Laughing about clam chowder.

Awwwww yeah!

Like an old pro...

Just some Maine prettiness.  

We were at this little public boat slip we know about and there was horseshoe crabs everywhere.  And I'm pretty sure they were all doing it...

Brothers.

Checking out the crabs.  There were two old ladies there too.  One of them flipped a crab over so we could see the underside.  Thanks old lady!

Mainely Anthony.

He might have been throwing something here.  Either way, cool picture.

Hi! We like each other a lot!

More Maine prettiness. 

This is at another public boat access near Minot Point.  Great view!

Nooooooooo.

Thumbs up for having Anthony here!

Down the dock.

Self pic plus Anthony.

Climbing on rocks.

I think we're looking at snails here.  

Anthony climbing around near Dolphin Restaurant and Marina.

"Should I get another Lobster Roll?  Why yes, I will."

Nice shot Anthony.  While he took this he was moving the camera back and forth saying things like, "Work it." and "show me fierce." 

Anthony by the boats.

"Did I have fun in Maine?  Yeah, sure did."