Lazy Weekend...

Steve and I have had another lazy weekend on the couch and enjoying our company together. Saturday we woke up early and saw the movie "Oceans" which was very different from what I had expected it to be. I was expecting a sort of educational documentary like the Planet Earth series, or the Discovery "Life" TV series. Oceans was more like a story of the ocean and how it came to be. Pierce Brosnan narrarating the movie was a little wierd for me too. After the movie we enjoyed Chipotle with our dear friends Jeremy and Kaylon who are about to have thier new little baby Gunnar at the end of May. We really wanted to stay in Tucson at least until the baby came so we could be there for one of the most precious times in thier lives.


Today, Sunday, we are taking it easy...currently I am watching "The Hills" reruns and I feel as though they are numbing my brain power. I really want to read my book I'm reading currently, The Poisonwood Bible, but unfortunately the TV has been winning the battles. Today I also have planned to clean house since my Dad and my stepmom are coming to visit us on Tuesday. We are very excited to have them visit with us since we have not seen them since last summer. A little gelato will also be nice to have around the house as well...:)

Steve and I are starting to get our moving process underway as well. In two weeks we will be having a garage sale and we will be weeding out several things that we need out of our house. Several things in our house just do not fit our current lifestyle and they need to go so we have less stuff to pack for the big day. We've also decided that we need to have our house packed up at the end of May so we can start the big painting extravaganza. When we first moved into the house we had a grand painting idea, and now we can't stand all of the different colors! Next house will be all neutral, earth tones. So we'll be painting our current house completely white for the new renters. We'll also be putting our house up for rent next month, and I hope someone will want it quickly...it's just too cute to pass up. Steve and I do love this house and all of it's quirks....it was our first house together and we will always love it unconditionally.

Steve and I have also continued to seek out jobs in Seattle and are doing all of the paperwork and researching as much as we can. I've started the process of getting my Washington Teaching License which has been an expensive affair. I don't understand how they can charge us so much, yet we get paid so little compared to other careers in the world. Steve has also continued his EMT-B class and is almost finished with it. He has been doing clinicals at hospitals around Tucson and is getting great hands on experience with the ER.

Well I only have 19 days left with Walker Elementary school as a Teacher and I will miss my time and all of my co-workers dearly.

There are only 40 days left until we are actually moving as well!!! How time flies by so fast.....

I hope you are all blessed in positive ways in the upcoming week!

2 1/2 months until the move!

This past Tuesday, we finally came back from Seattle. We were in Seattle for 6 days job hunting, and getting acquainted with the suburbs of Seattle that we would like to move to. We spent a lot of time with Steve's family and friends and had a wonderful time.

During the trip I visited 18 elementary schools in two days! I am absolutely so thankful for Abby, Steve's step-mom, for driving me all around Issaquah and Maple Valley in search of the perfect schools to work at. I was only able to visit with one of the principals at the schools and he told me that he wouldn't know if they would be able to hire until May-June. The typical school year in Washington ends in mid-June and then starts again in September after labor day. So I will have quite a long summer this year! I probably won't be going on any interviews until we move up there, so that will be better.

As well as me looking for jobs, Steve was also able to take another firefighter test, and was able to go on another ride-along for 24 hours with his cousin Mike. Mike's station is in Auburn, south of Seattle, and Steve had to work alongside the other firefighters for 24 hours straight. He was able to speak to the station's fire chief and got a positive outlook on his job search. He hopes that he had scored high enough on his test he took, and hopes to get a call soon about a fire department that wants to interview him. People have been telling him that he is the perfect age to become a firefighter, due to his experience in the working world.

After we came back from our trip I went back to work, and Steve had more studying to do for his EMT class. He will be done with his class in early May, and then will take the national EMT test at the end of May. Steve has also booked our Uhaul for our big move. We will be moving the week of June 10th so Steve can take another firefighting test to give himself more options for prospective jobs.

It will be very sad to leave my school and my mom and mike behind in Tucson. I have really grown attached to my co-workers at school and the community feeling I have every morning when I go into work. I have never worked with such a tight-knit group of people that are so humorous and accepting of everyone. I will miss them all dearly. It will be also sad to leave my mother who has been my back bone through so much of my life.

On the bright side, I hope everyone has an enjoyable Easter weekend spent with loved ones, family and friends!

Spring is here...3 months till the move!

Spring Break is almost over for Steve and I, and we go back to work tomorrow (Steve is subbing for 3 days). We had a nice Spring Break visiting San Diego and La Jolla, and I will post some pictures for you to see our nice 3 day vacation. We did a lot of walking around the town, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and we even got to see lots of oceanlife. It was a nice and relaxing mini-vaction, except for our sunburns we are now paying for.

The other days of Spring Break we stayed at home for most of the time and I worked on applications for Seattle schools. Yes, everyone Steve and I have come out....we are moving to Seattle mid-June. We have been thinking about this decision for a long time, and we decided it is the best financial decision that we need to do so we can be better off with our lives. Seattle is continuing to hire for many fire departments, and Tucson is not hiring any firefighters until the end of 2012....Seattle is also hiring for teachers so yay for us! We are ready to be back in a thriving urban city that has seasons, we miss snow very much. We are also looking forward to living by Steve's family which are such caring and supportive people.

Because of our decision Steve and I have a lot of preparing to do for our move....we are both going through our application processes and we are deciding the best ways to move cross country. We will probably have a garage sale to get rid of our unnecessary items in May so we can start clearing out the BS. Every day I was not in San Diego I was working on the applications. I applied to Northshore, Lake Washington, Issaquah, Kent, and Tahoma School Districts so far...and believe me it was quite the effort. Each district wants different information, including totally different essays! It has taken a lot of effort and stress from me, and I am so gracious to have such a loving husband cheering me on to get everything done. Yes, he edited my essays and didn't complain toooo much about my lack of grammar. We are going to be up in Washington this week so we can start visiting schools, and so Steve and test for some of the fire departments up in Seattle. We will be gone from Thursday the 25th to Tuesday the 30th. That means 4 days I miss school which is nice....but also more work for me to prepare for my sub...and it's hard enough that AIMS testing is coming up and I have that to also practice for with my students.

Well I hope we have another wonderful trip coming up this week, to visit family and to seek out jobs, and I hope you all have a nice, wonderful week as well.

Here are some pictures of our San Diego Trip:

Is it already summer?

The title of my post goes along with Tucson's current weather. This week has been very sunny with the highs in the mid-high 70s. I feel as though we only had a 2 week winter window this year. But this is typical for the desert.

School is going ok so far, I have the usual students who always want to please and do everything right (about 2 of them) and then there are my students who I have to constantly watch over and force them to complete any assignment (about 6 of them). This usually makes my weekends very worthwhile with all of the pressure I have during the week with my troublesome students....and AIMS testing is coming around the corner in April. We did have a nice field trip last week to Sabino Canyon in Northeast Tucson. We went on a long hike around a mountain, sifted for garnets in the creek, and learned a lot about geology and how Tucson was formed. Below I will post pictures of some of our trip.

A few weeks ago, around my birthday weekend, Steve and I also went on another snowboarding adventure. We went to Sunrise ski resort which is in Northern Arizona just north of Pinetop. It was a zoo that day on the mountain. The area just got dumped on with snow and all of the ski bunnies decided to join us that Saturday. Steve and I only got to go on 5 runs due to the longest lift lines of our lives. The lines literally took us about 45 minutes to 1 hour to get through. It was also extremely hot for us because of the blazing sun on us (even though it was only like a high of 35 degrees that day). I am progressively getting more confident with snowboarding....I am falling down less, even falling down on purpose is getting less. I just need to work on connecting my turns to get down the mountain faster. I will continue to try harder and hopefully Steve and I will get to go at least one more time before the season is over. Below are some pictures of our trip.

I am thoroughly enjoying the olympics right now. I just love watching all of the sports and I love seeing all of the scenery of Vancouver and Whistler. Steve and I absolutely loved Whistler when we went up there last March, and it is cool to see all of the places we've been to on TV. The country of Canada is just breathtaking. It was fun to watch snowboarding as well....and I wish I could actually have that kind of talent! Shaun White is practically the God of snowboarding and all of his competitors are his servants. It is amazing how someone can dominate in a sport so well. I was also loving how Evan Lysacek took Gold for figure skating. On a side ntoe, it is really neat how my cousin Nicholas is also at the olympics as a journalist. You can read his blog here if you wish to keep up with what is going on with the press and his releases.

As of now, I am currently at home watching the Ski Jumping/Ice Dancing competition waiting for Steve to come home. Today he got the privilege to go on a "Ride-Along" with Northwest Fire and gets to see close up what it would be like to be a firefighter. So far in his EMT class he is doing excellent: Test #1 he got a 91, Test #2 he got a 92....most of the class averages are in the 70's or failing...so he's doing fabulous!

Enjoy our pictures!!!

It's been a long time.....

Hello All!! I know haven't written in awhile, but life is starting to calm down and get back to normal. We spent a wonderful two weeks in Seattle over Christmas break, and started to settle back into our working lives. I started back to school on the 4th, and Steve has just started his EMT classes. His classes will be a little more intense than they ever were in college....he actually has to read the books this time around and study hard!! Steve is also going to be substituting soon with my school district.

Over the break, I conquered my fear of snowboarding and I am excited to go back next weekend to Sunrise Resort by Pinetop, Arizona. Steve is so excited I am now committing to this, that he went and bought me new snowboard attire!! What every girl wants right? So we'll see how next weekenend goes....

Alright I will leave you all with 19 of my favorite pictures from our Seattle trip to entertain you......

The Drive...

Thank goodness tomorrow is the last day of school as well, and it's a half day! Yes!!! Most of the day the kiddos are going to make gingerbread houses, usual Christmas activity, and watching a video....oh how I love our short Thursdays at school!
Tomorrow we are finally leaving for Seattle. I haven't packed just yet, so I will have to do a lot of it tonight (it will be a lot to do since we are going to be up there for a full two weeks!)Steve is going to pick me up right after school and we will begin the drive. Tomorrow night we will probably stay in Bakersfield, California...an 8 hour drive. Then we will be getting into Seattle around Saturday night. I am looking forward to different weather...and snow! Steve's dad is now going to take us cross country skiing. It will be fabulous.
Alright I will try to blog again before Christmas...hope you all have a fabulous week and have safe travels if need be!

Leftovers...almost gone.

Thanksgiving is finally over and we are almost out of our leftovers. This year we went over to my mom's again and spent the whole day cooking, watching the parade, the dog show, and various football games. It was a very lazy day mostly laying on the couch, or going to the kitchen to get cooking up something. I was very proud of myself this year and I made two new pies. I made an apple pear pie and a peanut butter chocolate pie. I was very proud of my apple pie this year...I had made one when Steve's family came in town in October and it ended up a little too sour for my liking. This new one is soo good! I think the pear added a new flavor that added a new dimension to the pie. The peanut butter chocolate pie was a little rich, and I will probably add more chocolate to it next time.

Since Thanksgiving is over Steve and I are now looking forward to our Seattle trip for my Christmas break. We are leaving on the afternoon of December 17th and we are going to be driving all the way there! It will be nice to see a new part of the country, and we get to bring the dogs. We haven't had the dogs around with us for the past few Christmases so it will be nice for a change. We are going to be spending the first week there with Steve's mom in Lynnwood, and the second week with Steve's dad in Maple Valley. During our trip we are going to be doing lots of exciting things like Christmas shopping, visiting Pike Place market, looking at Christmas lights all over the beautiful city, playing in the snow and....snowboarding....eek! My last experience snowboarding was a little bit terrifying for me. We were in Whistler, BC and it was a very gargantuan mountain filled with professional skiers/snowboarders...or close to it. I was scared to death from falling off the mountain. The whole way down the mountain I went backwards...backside facing the bottom the whole way down...my calves were killing me all week. This year Steve promised to take me to a smaller mountain that has more "beginner" runs...(Whistler's greens were more like intermediate blues on most mountains...can you see why I was terrified, my very first time snowboarding??) So this year I am going to be more positive and practice actually turning the board this year. Wish me luck!!

I hope you all have a wonderful week and that joy finds you in many ways!
Countdown to Seattle trip: 19 days!!

Snoqualmie Ski Resort
Seattle, WA

Almost Thanksgiving!

Hello All! Well the time is almost here for us to stuff our turkey and ourselves. Steve and I have a lot to be thankful for this year. Unfortunately, we're not very thankful that we both are starting to get sick...I feel that I'm getting a sinus infection and who knows what Steve has. I'm so happy I only have 3 days of school this week and a 5 day weekend. In the spirit of Thanksgiving here is a list of 20 things Steve and I have been thankful for this year....

Top 20 of what we are Thankful For:

1. Having each other through the good and bad
2. Having such wonderful dogs
3. Our wonderful families that are so supportive of us
4. Visiting our families that live in such fabulous places (Seattle,WA, St. Petersburg, FL, Texas...)
5. College Football
6. NFL
7. Our lazy Sundays...being in our pajamas for most of the day
8. All of our friends
9. Our dear friend Jon who is doing well serving our country in Iraq
10. Our Whistler trip....me surviving snowboarding
11. Through Steve's unemployment we are doing very well financially
12. For me being at a wonderful school with great co-workers
13. Our health (not at the moment but overall)
14. My new and improved cooking abilities
15. Our families who come and visit us in the hot, dry desert
16. The ability to have patience (my students and Steve bring this upon me everyday)
17. We have a nice comforting home to come home to everynight
18. Steve's musical abilities (he's helping my students with the music in their play this December)
19. Our drive up to Seattle, and our 2 week vacation there. (I'll get to see a new part of our country I've never seen before...so will the dogs!)
20. Christmas is coming soon! :)

We hope you all have a blessed and relaxing Thanksgiving Day!!

Lazy Sunday

Tex Relaxing....

I can't get over how the weekends come and go so fast. Every Sunday seems so depressing...work the next day is what you have to look forward to...me getting back to waking up at 5am...ugh. Mostly my Sundays are consumed with work i.e. lesson plans and grading, and watching a lot of football.

At the moment Steve and I are at my mom's house watching the Seattle/Cardinals game...and I'm procrastinating my work as usual. Last night we had very exciting news about our two close friends, Jeremy and Kaylon....are pregnant! We are so very excited for them and we're looking forward to when the baby is due. The baby is due next May and we are ecstatic to welcome the new baby into the world.

Since Steve and Jeremy's friend from college was visiting, Alex, they decided to tell us the happy news. Most of the weekend, Steve golfed and enjoyed the cooler weather we are pleased to have. Hearing the news about the baby made Steve and I heavily think about our next life choices as well...where we will be living soon, and when we will start having kids. Steve and I are still having the same thoughts of waiting awhile to have kids. I at least want to be 28-30 and finished with my master's program (which I haven't started yet, but hopefully will soon).

Steve and I are very happy with our lives right now...we have two great dogs, we have a nice house, and loving people in our lives. We would love to travel more and have a little more time to just be with ourselves, without children.

Looking onto the week ahead of us, I hope everyone has a fabulous and relaxing week, and you find joy in whatever you do.

Day Off

Today I had the day off and it was wonderful! Steve and I took the dogs hiking up Mount Lemmon. The hike was very strenuous but I am so happy I made it up. I've been trying to go to the gym more often...so hopefully that helped me make it. The dogs absolutely loved everything...of course marking their territory on every tree, leaf and rock available. The weather was much more bearable on the mountain than down in Tucson. It was in the low 60's compared to down in the city being 93 degrees. It is just so weird to have such high temperatures in November. We didn't even have this extreme weather in Texas.

After we got home from hiking, of course I procrastinated the work I had planned to do on my day off, and watched a movie and napped with steve instead. Yes....productive as usual.

Here are some other pictures from hiking today...