California

We had a wonderful trip to California with Josh's family. We spent some time at Disneyland, Newport Beach, and the Dodgers game. Here are some pictures to prove what a wonderful time we had!
Josh and McKayla before a fun day at Disneyland! (sorry - I don't know why it is sideways)

A family tea party...

Josh and his little sisters...

Splash Mountain...pre-splash

and post-splash. We made it almost through the entire ride and then we got caught in a "log jam." We had to wait for a bit then climb out of our log and walk out the secret entrance. The ride closed for "an indefinite amount of time." I'm glad we made it through before it shut down!

Josh and Layla after a long day at Disneyland!

The BEACH...I really could stay there all day and play in the ocean, watch the ocean, listen to the ocean...

The DODGERS game...you should have seen Josh for his first time at Dodger Stadium, he was like a little boy!


We got to sit in the All You Can Eat Pavilion. It was a HOT day - so we didn't eat as much as we drank. Here are some of our spoils: (between the 3 of us)
5 Dodger Dogs, 2 bags of peanuts, 2 bags of popcorn, 2 nachos, 10 sodas, and a million bottles of water.

It was a good day, but we wish the Dodgers could have pulled off a win after 11 innings.


Thanks Genny, Charlee, Jamie, and McKayla for a fun time in California!

Thou Shalt Not Covet

Let me start out by saying that I am not a jealous person. However, I have not wanted something this badly since Jake Kingston got the game Mouse Trap. What is it that I want so badly, you ask? It is my neighbor's lawn mower.
Now this isn't just any lawn mower. Well, actually, our lawn mower isn't just any lawn mower. His is pretty sweet, but ours is more pathetic than his is sweet. Now I knew a long time ago that his lawn mower was a lot fancier than ours, but I haven't actually coveted his mower until today.
Why today did I begin to covet? First, let me give you some history about our lawnmower. We lucked into this baby, buying it used and rebuilt from a guy in our old ward. The price was definitely right and I am certainly glad that we have it. (it won't seem like it if you keep reading, but I really am glad that we have what we do).

Reasons I want my neighbor's mower: (all things that I noticed today)
1)He doesn't have to avoid the puddles from yesterday's rain and worry about getting stuck in them.
2)He doesn't have to mow over the same spot at least 3 times before it cuts completely.
3)He doesn't have to kick the top of the blade guard to get the stuck grass to come out.
4)He doesn't have to turn his mower in a really big circle to get it to turn around to mow the next line.
5)Its mid-speed setting is at least twice as fast as our fastest setting.

To make matters worse, while I was taking a break because our mower got too hot, our neighbor was completely finished with his lawn. He washed his mower, dried it, and then sat lotioning and oiling, lotioning and oiling while I waited for our mower to cool down enough to drive it to the garage. I still didn't get our entire lawn cut, but Al was able to weed eat his yard and probably watch American Gladiators before I gave up and came inside.


And I thought it was bad when I wanted Mouse Trap. At least I could go across the street and borrow that if I wanted to.
(Sorry about the bad picture, I didn't want to seem like a creepy stalker taking pictures of our neighbor and his mower! Ha, I took it anyway, but I didn't have time to zoom in and focus! Notice the difference in his lawn and our lawn, you can see where the property line is for sure!)

and the winner is. . . .

Believe it or not, I'm going to stay at the middle school to teach 7th grade math. Don't ask me why. I never thought I would turn down 2 elementary teaching positions to teach middle school (one last summer and then this 4th grade job) but I did. Josh and I decided this would be the best decision for us at the time. I had a bugger of a time learning to enjoy the school and teachers and curriculum, but now that I've got the hang of it, I'm going to stick around for another year. I feel good about the decision, and when my principal found out, he was thrilled. Honestly, he called me just to tell me how happy he was that I decided to stay. (I just turned the other principal down and he passed the news on.) He told me that he stressed about me leaving the whole weekend and he was sure that I would take the other job. I told him I was sure I would too, but for some reason I didn't. It was the hardest decision I've had to make in a while, but like Josh told me yesterday, we are fortunate that we had a decision like that to make. . . choosing between two good jobs. I will let you know when my regret sets in. . .
Also, for your information, Josh got a tick just under his eye at the Elder's Quorum Campout last weekend. He didn't feel nearly as violated as I did when I got one, but I don't think it was his favorite thing ever either.
Countdown to California: 2 days!!!

What to do?

So I've been offered a job teaching fourth grade at the local elementary school within my same district. There are definite good things and bad things and I can't decide what to do. If this opportunity had come up 8 months ago...I would have jumped at the chance. However, I have learned to like my school, I'm comfortable around the other teachers, I would have the same curriculum, and the thought of staying at the same school for more than one year is so appealing.
On the other hand, the thought of having less than 20 kids in a class, reading out loud to my kids, singing songs in school, and not getting dirty looks from 13 year old girls makes me excited with the chance to teach elementary school again.
It looks like I've got a decision to make. . .

Let me know your vote. 7th grade math vs. 4th grade. Vote quick - I should probably let both principals know by Monday.

I'm leaving on a jet plane. . .

2 reasons for my title:

1) I have begun playing my guitar this summer. I got it for Christmas and haven't had much time to get too into playing it. (not to mention the fact that I don't know how and I need ample time for web-based instruction.) Despite my sore fingers, I have successfully learned 2 songs: a) I'm leaving on a jet plane (I know the actual chords) AND b) Edelweiss (I made up the chords by playing by ear). Doesn't seem like a very big deal, does it? Well it is. I will continue to list more songs as I learn them. If there are any suggestions or requests, let me know as well.

2) At the end of the summer I am leaving on a jet plane to go visit my parents in AFRICA! I got my vaccinations this week and am slowly completing all of the necessary steps that need to be completed before such a trip. I'll be going with my sisters Jamie and WendiLyn - and it should be a great time. We obviously have some layovers (as trips of such magnitude usually do) so we scheduled a particularly long layover in Paris so we could spend some time there too.

Frog soup, anyone?

See this little guy? Well, he's actually a pretty big little guy. I spent a fair amount of time mowing the lawn, weeding the gardens, and just generally working outside this week. This particular frog (or is he a toad? I don't really know the difference.) lives in our front yard, near our flower garden. He has a special talent for jumping at the exact moment that I will notice him and get really freaked out. I'm not scared of frogs (or toads) but I do get a bit jumpy when something fairly large jumps relatively close to where I am, thus putting me in a state of frog (or toad) awareness. If it happens once, shame on him. If it happens twice, shame on me, right? Well after he would jump and scare me, I would be on the lookout. I wouldn't want to be close to him and not know it - or that would be putting me in a vulnerable position. But he has a natural talent for camouflage as well. In fact, he blends into lots of different backgrounds so well that I can't hardly see him unless he is jumping.
If you are looking for a pet, (or dinner, or some skin to make some leather) we've got a plethura of frogs (or toads). He's not the only one - so it wouldn't be like you would be stealing my pet if you were interested. In fact, they are everywhere up here - but be careful, they jump!

D*Day

Since it's June 6 today, the 64th anniversary of D-day, Josh and I decided to take one for the team and spend our day remembering those who fought for our country back in WWII. To celebrate this day, we have had a Band of Brothers marathon. For those of you that aren't familiar with Band of Brothers, it is an HBO mini-series that is about the 101st airborne unit, otherwise known as Easy Company. It is a great movie, that follows the book by historian and biographer Stephen Ambrose. If you appreciate a good war movie, and you have 10 hours to spend watching it, I would highly recommend Band of Brothers. (It is, however, a war movie and is quite detailed in its account of certain events in the European Theatre of Operation. Therefore, I wouldn't watch it with children or the easily offended due to the violence and language.) It has helped me to appreciate the many heroes that have served our country, particularly during World War II.

Temple Trip

We got to go up to Winter Quarters with our branch for a temple trip yesterday. It was worth the 3 hours up and 3 hours back for 3 hours at the temple! It was our first time at that temple, so we checked out the Visitor's Center, the cemetery, and the monuments as. It was a beautiful, well-spent day (even if our lawn didn't get mowed)!