Go Bulldogs!

This past weekend, AJ and I were both down in Tipton for the first wedding shower of Matt and Amber. We were excited to be able to spend the weekend together. AJ started his orientation on Thursday of that past week and had two in-service days before the first day of school on Wednesday. On Monday night, the staff of Riverside School District has a supper and spouses and families are invited to attend. AJ had asked if I could come, knowing it was a long shot. Originally, I didn't think I could get off work because I was suppose to be in St. Louis for part of that week, but when that meeting got canceled, I decided to take the vacation day and surprise AJ. So on Saturday afternoon, when discussing when he was going to leave on Sunday, I told AJ I would be following him to Council Bluffs. He was ecstatic! :)

So, on Sunday after lunch, we headed back West. We ran into a bit of a delay however. Just outside of Grinnell we came to a dead stop on I-80. Finally, we slowly made our way (two cars at a time) off the Grinnell exit. For cars ahead of the exit, they were having some of them turn around and come back off on the on-ramp! Well thank goodness for our GPS! When AJ turned it on, it had already picked up that there was a delay. It routed us on a gravel road parallel with I-80. We could see trucks and cars just sitting on the highway. It took us to the next possible on ramp but before we got back on, we drove on the overpass to see if we could see anything. Well, we could see it all. It was a huge accident - a camper driving eastbound had lost control and hit an SUV heading westbound. It was a mess. Thank God no one was killed! 

We went back on our way finally ahead of the traffic but it wasn't long before we drove past some of the flooding that had occurred near Baxter. Luckily, that didn't slow us down though. We finally made it back to Council Bluffs and it was nice to be back at the apartment, even if it was for a short time. 


On Monday, AJ headed off to his in-service day at the school and I stayed back at the apartment and did some work. That evening, I drove to Carson to meet AJ at the middle school and then we drove to the staff dinner together. The dinner was simple, but everyone was so friendly! AJ had originally told everyone I wouldn't make it apparently, so they were all glad to meet me! And I finally got to meet some of the people AJ had been telling me about. We had a great time meeting new people and getting to know some of AJ's co-workers. The superintendent introduced all the new staff and there were 14 total. While it was pretty low-key, it was exciting to be a part of it. AJ finally belongs to a school district and so far, all signs point to the fact that he's going to fit in great and really enjoy being there. I'm also excited to get some Bulldog clothes so I can start to support the district! :)