First Weekend of April. Birthdays and Conference

On April 4th My father Dad came into Salt Lake to visit and attend a session of conference. We went to dinner and watched "Leatherheads". Katie and Dad share the same birthday so we celebrated that jointly with a Biscuits and gravy breakfast and not much else. Sunday we went to the morning session and then took my dad to the airport later that night. It was good to have him here and we look forward to the return with the rest of the family later this month. Also, Thanks to Kristen for getting the Tickets so we could go. You are a gem!

Anouncement!!

As of today Katie is 8 weeks pregnant! After two miscarriages this is very exciting news. We were informed today that the due date is November 4th and that all is going well. Katie is working to complete her degree and will student teach starting in July. She will finish a month before the due date and will be resting and purchasing baby shiz.... I am in the midst of finishing my philosophy degree. I have a teaching assistant opportunity in the fall along with a graduate study course. The semester will be busy but I look forward to the baby and the study. We are trying to decide our future and have been in deep consideration of a graduate degree in Philosophy. The Job market is horrible so we are also trying to guarantee our security while I work on it. Much is in consideration. We will almost defiantly move to Santa Fe during the Summer of '09. Decisions, Decisions.

We love Santa Fe

On Presidents day weekend we went to Santa Fe, NM for a short 2 day vacation. While there we tried to eat our fill of real Mexican food and relaxed. Brad helped his father add boxes in his ceilings so that he could hang some fans in the rooms and Katie helped Tia make a grand Valentines day feast. It was also wonderful to wake up to the birds singing and be free of the usual work schedule. Although we did little it was great to get out of the Motel and see the home town. We came home with a resolve to take vacations a bit more liberally in the future. It was also really nice to be able to see my parents new home. Other than the large stacks of things that no longer fit, the house is great and very comfortable.

Visitors

For Katie's class we get to care for a couple of Madagascar hissing cockroaches named Mike and Ike. According to the places I did research they are the most child friendly pet. Why? they don't bite, they are easy to care for, easy to handle and weird to look at. Right. Anyways we get to watch them off and on for the rest of the semester. I admit that we both like the idea of having them, It is a new experience. We have also been offered a Ball Python to keep. That is in the consideration box. Have you ever seen one eat?

Concert Night

On the second of February (happy Birthday Mom!) We went to Park City to see Duncan Sheik and David Poe. We went early so Katie could see the city and walk down the streets. It was fun and we got a really simple dinner at Red Banjo Pizza. The concert was very beautiful. Sheik brought a quartet and pianist to play some essential parts of his songs. We also heard a song from an up and coming band called "THe I Love You" a band formed by Sheik and Poe. We also got to meet and talk to David Poe. It was a nice night...

Katie's Manifestation of Disapproval

There is a time in all of our lives where we want a certain someone to know what we think. We wish for the opportunity to pull them aside and expound upon matters of injustice and error. I think all of us experience that at one point in life, some at home, some at school but most of us...while we drive. There are human inventions to which the race owes great appreciation. Cars have brought our country closer together, making trips to the grocery store quick and easy (although I'm sure saddling a horse and being saddle sore had its own advantages). On the other hand, these same inventions are responsible for more deaths than murderers and even whole wars. For this reason man contrived another idea to create order and safety in the driving process: traffic Signs. Lights and brightly colored signs have functioned well in their time and have saved many a man from fender-bender-dom. Like most things however, they can be ignored. This is where Katie and I come in. As mentioned in the previous post, we have a bowling class that we attend every Tuesday and Thursday. After one such class we were driving home near the BYU campus. When crossing an intersection we saw a blue SUV beginning to move forward through a large, nicely colored stop sign. As I heard myself begin to try and talk my way out of a wreck, Katie acted. In the moments that counted Katie was able to slow down, turn and avoid certain cosmetic damage to our car. While praising her quick thinking and controlled action, Katie decided to make an uncontrolled action. The car that had nearly hit us was now stopped behind us, I gasped as Katie raised her right hand, curling the four outside fingers to form a common gesture of insult. I grabbed her hand and pulled it out of site but it was too late , the deed was done. With her innocence lost and her feelings expressed, we continued home. I never saw who it was that was driving, and I don't think Katie did either, but that person whoever they are, knows that the female driver of a gray Toyota Camry doesn't approve of running stop signs.

Bowling 101

Brad and I are taking a bowling class Tuesday and Thursday evenings. It has been such a blast. We were both amazed how a knowing a few simple rules has made bowling such a fun and easy game. Last Tuesday I bowled my best game ever, I got a 149. Brad also bowled his best game ever scoring a 172! We're pretty much amazing. It's also been really great to be able to get out of the house twice a week and go on dates after class!

Nog on the Blog

The holiday season is nearly over, surprisingly enough I didn't cry the day we took the tree down. Brad and I enjoyed this holiday season trying to out-gift each other. I got a Toshiba laptop, several good books, lots of yummy chocolate treats, an alarm clock that I love, and a funky teal cover to keep my laptop safe in my backpack. Brad got a playstation 2, xbox, yummy treats, and an "I love Katie" t-shirt. Brad's parents came up to spend Christmas time with us. Julian and Ashley also came up for a pre-Christmas gift exchange. Christmas day we had Brad's parents, Kristen, Nate, Joey (my nephew not brother), Brian, Tia, Lydia and Ben all in our two bed-room apartment. It was slightly overwhelming but nice to have someone around for the holiday, unlike Thanksgiving.

To fulfill my promise to Brad I will now retell a story about egg nog during this holiday season. One evening after Christmas we were all sitting in the living room playing some of our new games. We decided to take a quick break to get some snacks to finish off the game. Tia asked Brian to get her a big cup of nog while she changed Ben's diaper. Brian poured Tia a cup, but also added a bountiful helping of Tapitio sauce to the cup. Tia drank a bunch of it before she realized that her nog was burning on the way down. Brian then took a drink after being accused of the debachery. He said you couldn't taste it. Then Brad took a sip and also proclaimed that the Tapitio did not kill the taste of nog. I finally took a drink to settle the dispute. Surprisingly enough you really couldn't taste the Tapitio! The only way you could tell there was Tapitio in the nog was by the red flecks and the strange burning in your mouth after you swallowed it.

Katie's Adventure at Southland Elementary!

So my first day of being at a real school was on Halloween, 2007. It was wild. I dressed up as a waitress. Most of the first graders didn't get my costume, they thought I was dressed up as a teacher. (Part of the confusion is because one of the kindergarten teachers wears an apron every day at school.) I have learned so much during my stay at Southland. One of the biggest things I've realized is that the personality of the teacher sets the mood for the classroom. Some of the classes I've been in I have just hated, but I realized it was mostly because the teacher was putting off a weird vibe that affected all of the kids. I have one more week after the Thanksgiving break and three more lessons to go. Overall my lessons have gone really well. I've been told by two of my observers that I am a "natural teacher" and that my lessons are really well prepared with good ideas. Everyone has been impressed with Liz and me. (Liz is the other cohort student, we carpool to the school and have the same mentor teacher so we're in the same class everyday, teaching and observing together.) Liz and I have also had a good time getting to know each other during our daily commute. It's been really nice to have someone to talk to on the way up and back each day about how my lessons went and different things that we notice in teachers and our new situation in general. The month of November has been wild because of this wonderful experience. I'm so excited to be done with school and start teaching! This picture is of me on my second day of school, notice I'm not wearing an apron.

Thanksgiving Day!

Today Brad and I had our own Thanksgiving meal. I made the turkey and green bean casserole, and Brad made the mashed potatoes and stuffing. It was a fantastic meal, but a strange feeling to have so much food and only two bodies to feed. Of course after cooking for so long and eating such a fine meal we did what most feasters would do, we napped for 3 hours. We were lucky that after we got people checked out of the motel no one came in or out while we cooked, ate, or napped...lucky us! I've included a picture of us and the gang during our delicious meal!
In other exciting news, Brad has decided on a major and "graduate" program. Brad is now majoring in philosophy which will only take him 3 more semesters! YAHOO! After that we will be moving to Phoenix, Arizona so Brad can attend a mechanic school called UTI. It is the best mechanic school in the country and is very prestigious. Since we know that Brad will be done in a year and a half, we've also decided that I will do an internship. This is also really exciting because it will give me some really good experience as a teacher and refine those skills I've been practicing. Then after Brad and I graduate we'll move to AZ the summer of 2008. We are way excited and both feel really motivated about school and work.

Preparation and more waiting

The latest occurrences in our family are not very happy. We have spent the last month looking forward to being pregnant. We are excited to have children but this pregnancy was not meant to be. Katie had a miscarriage last Saturday. Although we understand that it doesn't mean we won't have any children, it was still a sad and draining experience. We are on the bounce back now however, and have the opportunity to watch Lydia, our two year old niece and Joey, our one month old nephew. This adds a little light to the house and we enjoy playing with them. Lydia will pick up or leave on the floor anything she can reach. She also refuses to eat vegetables even with the enticement of a cookie. Joey does little but look around and make little noises. He looks just like his father Mr. Nate Nevins. Other than that we are both enjoying school and do little else. So I close this.

The Beach

To end our wonderful vacation to Oregon we all headed out to the beach! We stopped in Lincoln City, stayed on the beach in a house called Festivus at Depoe Bay, and frequented the streets of the wonderful Newport bay. One of the best days was spent in Newport. Brad and I both got to pick up live crabs and then chuck them back into the bay. This old man was crabbing and every three minutes he'd pull in his load of crabs. But most of the crabs ended up being too small to keep so he'd throw them back into the water. Brad and I watched this and were fascinated with the way that the little crabs scuttled around and raised their pinchers at imposing shoes. So we walked up behind a couple crabs and nabbed them, along with wonderful pictures to remember the moment. After that we went to see the Sea Lions that hang around below the raised docks; they're huge! I really enjoyed watching their interaction. Most of the sea lions were sun tanning on floating docks. However there were two of them that were in the water, and every time these two sea lions tried to get up onto the docks to join his fellows, the others would bite and hoot and holler. It was really interesting. And after all this we had the pleasure of visiting one of our favorite restaurants, THE CHOWDER BOWL! When Brad and I got home we walked down to the beach where we flew our kites, found a dead seal, and built a small sandcastle. The next day we got to go to the aquarium where we saw the awesome crab exhibit and posed for a picture in a sharks mouth! To top the whole experience off, the last night we spent at the beach we all went down at sunset to start a fire. We roasted marshmallows to make smores and talked and laughed till late. It was perfect.

The Falls

Shortly after our return from Seattle Matthew took Brad and I on a trip to some hidden water falls. Unfortunately after we had picked up our Little Caesar's pizza to eat up there, we realized that there were tons of other people who had discovered the falls as well. After eating our pizza we headed over to the falls to get a closer look. It was great because we could walk right up under the falls and get soaking wet. It was great fun, and only a little treacherous on the slippery rocks!

Trip to Seattle

Tuesday and Wednesday August 21 and 22 Brad, my lil' bro, Matt, and I went to Seattle. It was a pretty good time. The first day we went to the top of the Space Needle, meandered through the EMP and Science Fiction Museum, wandered around Pike's Place a little and went on an underground tour of Seattle. We also stopped at the Seattle temple for a few pics and then drove out to Wallace Falls to spend the night camping. Camping was only great because it cost $20. Other than that it was not an ideal way to spend the night, especially since our tent is technically only a two person tent. Needless to say it was cramped and HOT. The next day we got up and our first stop in Seattle was at the Olympic Sculpture Park. It is an outdoor museum of modern sculptures, definitely worth stopping to see if you spend any time in Seattle. Then we started to walk over to Pike's place again, however, before we got there we stopped at Anthony's. An expensive but delicious seafood restaurant right on the boardwalk. Brad had salmon pot pie, Matt had shrimp linguine and I had halibut covered in pineapple-kiwi salsa. YUM! After an early lunch we continued our trek through Pike's place market. This is truly a magnificent place to wander around. All sorts of vendors line two sides of the street. Brad and I ended up getting a really great Japanese painting and Matt bought a cool turtle thing. After wandering around for a couple hours we grabbed some of the best macaroni and cheese on the planet from Beecher's Handmade Cheese and then walked over to catch a ferry ride to Bainbridge island. That's pretty much it for the highlights, it was a great time and we all would like to go back again.

Moved and Working

We have moved and started our new motel management Job. At first it seemed a little overwhelming but then we realized that it is really easy. We are paid now to sit in our apartment and attend to occasional customers. Friday was the first day we sold out and the next day we found a broken window! (picture below) It has been very interesting. It isn't a top of the line establishment and as a result you don't shelter top of the line people. They leave us alone though, so we only sit here and enjoy ourselves. The job makes it possible for us to go to school and get paid well,We are very grateful for it. That's all we have to report.