Dream Come True!

A few months ago I mentioned that I applied to do a summer institute at the Biosphere 2 in Oracle AZ. I was nervous, pacing, checking my email every ten seconds for weeks. Obsessed? Just a smidge. We were told that we were to hear from them the week after spring break, and when no news showed up, I feared the worst. I assumed that I had not gotten in. It took me a couple of days to accept the fact that I was not going to be living on the Biosphere 2 campus for two dream filled weeks. When I was least expecting it a friend of mine who also applied informed me that she had received an email stating that, unfortunately, had not gotten accepted to the institute. I flew back to my computer to check if I had received anything, my hope renewed and my fear sparked once again.

Nothing...

Bummer! But, my hope grew stronger since I had not received a rejection letter. Within the next fifteen or twenty minutes my husband came running up to me with his phone, telling me that he received a letter saying that he was accepted and that I should check my email to see if I had been accepted as well. My nerves were in a frenzy! Little did he know that I would be the deepest shade of green he ever saw if he got in and I didn't. I mean, how would it be fair if I didn't get to live my dream and he, who didn't really know what the Biosphere was before I introduced it to him, did! I slid into my desk chair and pulled out my phone...

ACCEPTANCE!!

My ear-piercing scream ricocheted through the classroom and, I am sure, could be heard down the hall! To say that I was ecstatic would be an extreme understatement. The hopes and dreams of the twelve year old girl inside of me were coming to fruition!

As time wore on, emails were received, laptops purchased, meal preferences stated (I only said no pork, are you proud of me!?), ning's joined and plans were made. Now, in just under two weeks I will be driving down to Oracle, AZ and living on the Biosphere 2 complex for TWO WEEKS! I am in heaven. This is proof that God does listen to your frantic prayers and hopeful dreams. I am extremely thankful for this opportunity and will update as much as I can while it is happening.

For now you can watch this video to kind of get an idea of what it is we will be seeing/doing while I am there!

As for before the Biosphere 2 institute, I will be running my second 1/2 marathon in San Diego this upcoming Sunday! I am not in it for time this time, due to some pretty spotty training, but I will definitely be in it to do the best I can and finish! Not only do I get to run a spectacular run, I get to spend a fun filled weekend with my amazing hubby and our friends! I can't wait! I will update on that as well. I need to get better at being up to date! Thanks for hanging in there and not giving up on me! Summer is here and there will be much more to come!

Fingers Crossed

When I was 12 my family came to Arizona for Christmas break because my dad was selling Christmas trees in Sierra Vista. One of the places we went to visit was the Biosphere 2 complex. For those of you who don't know, the Biosphere 2 is a lunar environment that was built just outside of Tucson to see if it would work if we ever decided to colonize the moon. The base of it is metal and the top is all metal and glass structure. The inside has multiple environments from tropical rain forest to grasslands. It also has the largest man made ocean in the world. (Or at least to that point.)   The Biosphere 2 got its name because the first Biosphere is Earth, making this the second one. When it was first built they had scientists that specialized in each environment live within the facility for two years, conducting experiments and observing the successes and failures of each area so that they would be able to adjust and make it better should they build it on the moon.

Anywho, I became obsessed with this place. I even had a poster framed in our TV room when we got home and I swore upon all that I had that I would be the marine biologist who got to take care of the ocean. I just knew that I was meant for that path. Unfortunately, when I was in high school we went to Hawaii and I tried snuba diving. I learned that I can not go under the water more than about 10 feet without having horrid ear pain. I can't regulate my ears to save my life. So, I followed my second love and became a teacher. However, my love for the Biosphere 2 has never faded.

I learned recently that they do a STEM institute every summer for different grade level groups. My grade level group is up this summer and I have applied to attend. It is a 15 day institute where I would go to the complex and live in one of their casitas and they would teach me how to effectively teach my classroom to fit the STEM model. (STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering and Math). Not only will they teach it, they allow us to try it and give us all of the materials to take home. We also get to conduct a research project and take that home with us as well. I was beside myself when I found out about this opportunity! The application deadline was last Friday and we are supposed to find out in the next couple of weeks whether we got in or not. I will definitely let you all know the outcome, but as of now, I am anxiously waiting, saying some pretty hefty prayer and keeping my fingers crossed. I have never wanted any experience as badly as I want this one! It would truly be a childhood dream come true.

Random side note: They are designing a biosphere that will be built out in the ocean! Soooo cool! (I am such a science geek it isn't even funny!)