Leaving on a Jet Plane

Our East Coast Adventure is about to begin, and I'm super, mega, ultra excited!!!!!!

Stop 1: Sandbridge Beach with the Rice clan. My mom's side of the family has all communed at a beach house for a week ever since forever. Trips include TONS of delicious food, lots of sun (and sunburn,) splashing in the ocean/pool, crabby toes (a family favorite where we collect as many ghost crabs as we can find, draw a circle in the sand, have everyone stand in the circle, then drop all the crabs and see who can stay in the circle the longest- sounds suicidal, but we have not had a fatality yet,) long walks on the beach, all the freeze pops we can eat, Disney Channel 24/7, and lots and lots of laughs. Relaxation Station, here we come!


Stop 2: Land o' Lakes, Florida to visit our favorite Amy and Jeff. Bryan's never been to FL, and I've only been to D.World, so we're excited to see what else Florida has to offer! No doubt there will be plenty of adventure, lots of fun, and more delicious food. We haven't seen Jeff and Amy since January, so we're extra excited to get to spend some time with them.

Stop 3: Richmond, Virginia to babysit while Mom is at Girl's Camp. It will be rough to take care of Tyler, Bethany, Katie, and Dad. I'm not sure that I'm really needed as a babysitter (especially since Katie is 19) but it was a great excuse to get to go back home! The 2 real reasons I'm going are 1) I think Beth and Ty would starve if Katie and Dad were in charge of feeding them for a whole week and 2) Some one has to take care of Luna (the puppy) and I'm probably the one who loves her the most right now because she hasn't chewed up one of my possessions in 2 months.
Unfortunately, Bryan's Stop 3 is SLC, Utah- back to work so that we can afford this wonderful trip!

Stop 4: Week 2 in Richmond (and probably a visit to Ellicott City, Maryland.) I was going to fly home when they got back from Girls Camp, but I realized that I wouldn't get to spend time with half of my family! So, I'm staying for a few more days once Mom, Jen, and Leslie get back.

I'm sure my travel itinerary is causing all of you to re-evaluate your career options. Having summer off isn't the reason I chose to teach, but it is definitely a wonderful advantage!

Adios Amigos!

blonde moment

I'm a fairly organized person. I'm really good at remembering dates- I write everything down in my planner, and on our calendar on the wall for a backup. I have files to save every little paper I might ever need. My closet is organized by color. But, sometimes I do falter and make a dumb mistake. Like today.
I have Core Academy this week which means I listen to great presentations on how to teach the fourth grade core, get free breakfast, lunch, and all the snacks I want, and get lots of cool stuff for my classroom. Today I left Core Academy feeling pretty great about life, ready to try out my new stuff and start planning some killer lessons. I decided to stop at the grocery store on the way home and that's when tragedy occurred. I turned off the car, locked the doors, got out of the car, then realized that I had left my keys in the ignition! Don't ask me how I managed to make such a massive, dumb mistake. UGH!!!! Luckily the grocery store is only about 5 blocks from home so I was able to walk, and luckily the office was open so I could get a key to our apartment. So here I am, sitting at home, waiting for Bryan to get home in an hour so we can go pick up the car. And, I'm really missing my new Water Cycle Boogie CD that I was going to come home and enjoy...

A Day with the Trips

Today I spent the day with my triplet cousins who are two years old. Hannah, Lily, and Jonny are adorable. We played in their little pool, rode bikes, blew bubbles, and played with the ball. It was fun to play with these cuties, and it made me appreciate how amazing my aunt is- it takes a lot of energy to chase those crazy kids! It also made me think I should enjoy these childless years when my life is so carefree. And it made me hope that having triplets isn't a genetic thing...

These are terrible pictures, but it's tough to get good pictures of such squirmy kids!

Confessions of a Housewife

I love my life right now. Love it!

I love reading in bed every morning.
I love going for a little run every day (almost.)
I love love love checking things off of my to do list.
I love having a clean and organized apartment finally.
I love making dinner.
I love spending time with friends and family.
I love working on fun little projects.
I love scrapbooking.
I love plowing through the list of books I've been dying to read.
I love planning fun vacations.
I love watching all my favorite TLC shows.
I love getting all the laundry done by 11:30 am
I love running errands. Yes, I really do love it.

With the way my summer is going so far, Bryan's going to have a hard time getting me to go back to work in August!

California Vacation

Here are some highlights, but really the whole trip was wonderful!

1. Chad's graduation. It was a little warm sitting out on those bleachers all morning, but definitely worth it. We're so proud of Chad and his great accomplishments. Way to go!


2. Brownies! After graduation we party-hopped aka ate and ate and ate! The last party (and the best) was Chad's. I loved all the food, but my favorite part was the table covered with brownies. We had mint brownies (my favorite) and these delicious brownies that have marshmallow cream, rice krispies, and peanut butter on them. I was in heaven and I ate at least 12 of them over the weekend- not a lie.

3. Beach- Of course we had to make a trip to the beach. Bryan and I drove along the coast up to Stinson Beach. It was pretty cold, but a beautiful place! And, the great news is that we found where we're going to build our beach house- you're all invited to come party with us when it's finished.

4. Lake Chabot- We went to this gorgeous lake to have a picnic and enjoy the trails. Things got a little tense when the boys left Sherrie and me to go biking. A scary homeless man came up to us and when we didn't have any food or money to give him, we were afraid he was going to attack us. But, he didn't.

5. Ice cream- Yes, I gained a ton of weight on this trip. We went to Fenton's and got a black and tan, which I have been craving since we were last there in January. We also went to John's, which is one of the most brilliant ice cream places I've ever been to- Every scoop is $1, and it's very tasty. I'm thinking about opening Rachel's here in Provo.

6. Chad had a surprise for us when we got off the airplane. We had lots of fun using tons of hairpsray to perfect his new hairdo.

It's always hard to come back to real life after such a great trip. Fortunately, my "real life" at this moment involves pretty much nothing- hooray for summer!

Four short years ago...

On June 9, 2004 I graduated from Godwin High School. Chad's graduation over the weekend has left me feeling very nostalgic, so bear with me as I take a trek down memory lane. I can't believe all the things that have happened to me since then, I almost feel like a completely different person.

Since 2004 I have met some of my best friends. I can't imagine what my life would be without my roommates, my el ed girls, my friends from London, my neighbors, my professors, and so many others. Most importantly, I have met my very best friend, and I am so lucky to now be his wife. All of these people have taught me, inspired me, and helped me to become who I am today.

In the past four years I have lived on my own. I have been through some of my hardest times (especially hard because I was so far from home!), and some of the most fun, most inspiring, and happiest times. I've learned so much from BYU, from other people, and just from life. I have been lucky enough to visit so many neat places- London, northern England, Scotland, Paris, Las Vegas, Idaho (very exotic...), all over Utah, California (I can't believe I had never been there before coming to school!), NYC, Philadelphia, and probably more that I can't remember. I have grown spiritually as I learned more about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and have been able to go to the temple. In June of 2004 I couldn't run a quarter of a mile without stopping to take a break (I can't believe I just admitted that.) I'm definitely not the best runner, but I do have 2 t-shirts that prove I can run a 5k.

I have graduated from college, and spent a year teaching elementary school. I still can't believe that I'm done with school and that I'm really teaching. I also can't believe that I've been married for almost a year. I have a new name, and a new family to add to the wonderful family I already had!

So much has happened in the past 4 years, and I'm so grateful for these experiences. Thanks to all of you for the impact you have made on my life. Could life get any better? I would say definitely not.


ps- details and pictures from our California vacation to come

summertime and the livin's easy

So far summer is fabulous. And, it's just going to get better! But, let's rewind. Last week of school was crazy- both the kids and I were totally ready to be done. I cried my eyes out when saying goodbye to my 21 favorite fourth graders. In the end, it was definitely the most difficult year of my life, but also the most rewarding. I could go on for days about all the great experiences I had. It was very difficult to say goodbye. But, I love the free time! I have great aspirations to finally catch up with friends, clean and organize my apartment, scrapbook the past year, read as many books as I can get my hands on, play lots of tennis with Bry (I beat him for the first time last Saturday- yea!), get a great tan, finally cook dinner, use our brand new tent, and get all ready for next year. And, I can't forget all of the fabulous trips we have planned. I'm excited for our first real summer together!

Here's a picture of my crazy kids- love em!

Last night to celebrate summer Bryan had the great idea to have foil dinners up in the canyon. I was excited about our plans all day long. I put together our little picnic (and ate approximately 1/4 of the oreos I bought for us...oops) and got the foil dinners ready. Bry got home at 6 and as soon as he changed and we got in the car my excitement was smashed to the ground by some big dark clouds. It eventually started to rain, which only further led to my depression. But, what can I say, we are dedicated "wilderness people" (I know you're laughing right now because anyone who knows me knows that I am the complete opposite of that.) But I had worked so hard on those foil dinners, and it was then or never, so we decided to persevere. We were lucky enough to find a picnic table and grill that were under trees so we really didn't get very wet. In fact, everyone was completely jealous that we had found the perfect spot. Our dinners turned out great and we had a very fun night. I'm so grateful for Bryan and his great ideas, and for making me the wilderness girl I am today.

Our dinner cooking, happy once the rain stopped, the delicious final product!

Tonight we leave for Oakley to celebrate Chad's graduation from HS. I'm so excited for Chad because he's coming out to BYU with us!!! Chad is an awesome brother- he is so fun and so kind, we can't wait to have lots of time with him next year!