Memorial Day and More

 I forgot I had pictures of Caleb opening his mission call on my camera. I love the pictures I have of this special time in my life and so I wanted to make sure I took a second to document it for Caleb.

  Such an exciting time . . . .

And you are always a little nervous . . . . .

It is two years of your life . . . . .

  Caleb had his Utah farewell on Sunday. He did a great job. I was glad he did one in Utah so that I would have a chance to hear him speak. His time in Utah is quickly coming to an end!

I took this cute picture the night Caleb opened his mission call.

On Thursday I had my prep period and while I was entering grades I listened to Sister Monson's funeral. The services were amazing. I really enjoyed listening to the talks and the music. One comment her daughter made has really stuck with me. Ann Dibb shared, "Once when I was having a hard time she calmly counseled that there would be weeks, months, and even longer times in my life when I might not be as happy as I would like to be. That was an important lesson. I remember her loving counsel because she did not sugar coat the truth." I feel like this comment describes me at times, but especially this winter, and it was comforting to know that others feel the same and it is ok. I want to always be happy but I would be lying if I sat here and pretended that I always was happy. I have a great life but there is sadness and regrets and self doubt . . . just to name a few!

 This weekend has been wonderful. I feel like all weekends should be three days long. It is just great. Friday I went to Lagoon with the 9th graders. I love going because I won't pay to go so this way I get to do all the rides and have some fun for free! After I got back I had soccer. I got lucky and scored the winning goal. Off of a header! It was pretty sweet I don't think I have done that before.

The Hancocks are in town so I headed to Jana's to hang out after soccer. I stayed up and visited like I was in high school. WAY TOO LATE. I was worthless on Saturday but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Saturday I layed around and finished my book. By the afternoon I decided I really should be productive. I took Moki on a hike. Squaw Peak. I forgot what a beast that hike is.

 But you have a beautiful view of Utah county. It is 6 miles round trip with a 3000ft elevation gain. Moki didn't seem to mind she just bounced up and then down the mountain.

 On Sundays we have been walking on the shoreline trail. She loves it. I love that she can be off the leash (until she finds human poop and puts her nose in it!!!!!)She also likes popsicles as a reward.

 Sunday after Caleb's talk we had dinner at my house. I only have pictures of Andrew. Man this kid is cute!

 First taste of guacamole

 So independent

 Those killer blue eyes

Today was really nice. I slept in. Biked 45 miles with Amber. Did some mission shopping with Caleb. Hung out with Sam, Amanda, and Andrew. Hit up Aunt Loralie's barbeque.

Funniest thing ever was when Nancy said she wanted to try a little frog eye salad.....

 She came back with a huge pile. In her defense it was delicious and we have all gotten more food than we meant to at times. But for some reason it was hilarious! And she was super embarrassed, probably because I got my camera out.

I had to promise not to put the picture on Facebook. I love Nancy. She is such a good sport and she LOVES Moki.

Well it is 9:40 and I am exhausted. I need my beauty sleep to make it through the last three days of school.

The End is in Sight!

 The school year is definitely winding down, but man May can seem like the longest month. There have been some fun things going on though.

One was that Caleb got his mission call.

He has been called to serve in Phoenix Arizona. He leaves on June 19th. He is excited. It is always nice to know where the Lord needs you to be. I think he was a little surprised he is leaving so soon but luckily I think we will be able to get him ready. He speaks next week here in Utah!

Moki's new favorite past time is looking out the window. This dog cracks me up most of the time.

 However this morning when she ate through my couch trying to get to her bone I wasn't laughing. I wanted to KILL her. I surprised myself at how I handled the situation I was angry but calm and no one was harmed.

I got some Keen sandals and I love them! They are so comfy. I have hiked in them, ran in them, and taught in them everyday since I got them, and I still love them.

 Sundays are the best. It is so nice to go to church and then relax the rest of the day. Moki loves the weekend because she has people to hang out with all day.

Love this cute boy!

I cut my hair off. I am loving it short. I have not had it short in awhile so it has been a great change!

 I thought I would try and get Moki to ride on my scooter with me. Sometimes I need someone to tell me that my ideas are not so grand.

We tried. It was unsuccessful. But in my head it could be a beautiful thing.

 Yesterday I participated in the women of steel triathlon. I signed up for this event probably three months ago. I did it last year and enjoyed it so I was excited to give it another go. I am just glad I didn't bail because I had my reasons: 1. I swam one time before the triathlon. Now the distance is quite short but I am  no swimmer so that had  me a little worried. 2. I did not really train at all. Overall it is a very easy triathlon but still some training would have been nice. 3. I played two soccer games the night before. The 2nd game started at 11:25. And 4. It was raining and cold.

 Friday night when I went to bed I told myself if it was raining I would go and just run the 5K. I woke up and it was clear in Provo. I had not gotten anything ready because I had kind of convinced myself I was going to bail. But I paid $70, way too much, and in the end I knew I could do it. So I ran around scrambling to find all my gear and to load it all up and get to the start at 7:15. As I am driving through Orem it is pouring and I am seriously hating my life.

Luckily it was pretty dry in American Fork and the pool was heated. I am glad I did it. It did rain on me the last half of the bike and a majority of the run but I survived. I didn't break any world records but it was a good reminder of: a) the importance of training, b) the importance of not playing soccer on the eve of other events, c) I can still exercise for an extended period of time if I need to and d) I really enjoy exercise.

The roads were slick on the bike ride and I was going really slow around all the turns because on Thursday one of my co-workers broke his femur biking. His femur. He swerved to avoid an accident and hit the curb. As the road was getting wet I seriously could not get that image out of my head, well the image I created in my head because I did not see it.

I was freezing the rest of the day because it really was cold. I was also super tired but it was fun.

Yesterday afternoon I went and saw this . . . .

I really enjoyed it once I determined to make myself stay awake and watch it. I could not remember the entire story but it all came back. It was fun and surprisingly not to dirty.

After the movie we went to Nancy's and hung out because my cousin Sharee is in town. I have no pictures of our hang out but I do have a picture of me in the grocery store buying treats.

I love these things. It was a great find!

This is the last week of actually teaching at school. I am happy. The school year has not been too bad but at this point in the year I am always tired of all of the little things you deal with everyday. I am ready for a break.

Cinco de Mayo

 I am in no way trying to keep up with the Hancock's or Petersen's and blog everyday in May but I have been feeling neglectful. And I love that they are doing that because I love reading about their lives. I like to blog I just feel like everyday is the same. Well this week there were some different things so here we go.....

This dog of mine is so stink'n' cute. The vet told me I would love her at times and want to kill her at times. Definitely a true statement. I love it when she is so tuckered out that she sleeps in the car. Doesn't happen very often, but when it does it is great. One funny thing about Moki is no matter how tired and asleep she is as soon as I put the car into park she jumps up. She does not want to be left in the car!She has a crate that just stays in the car because she could not handle being out of the crate.

So the groomers did a horrible job on her face. I had to fix it. I actually like cutting her face it is just hard to do by myself. It was world war three, and I am not exaggerating. I was sweating, and mad, and jerking on her collar. There may have been some rolling around on the floor involved. It was a big battle. I was happy with the end result, well except for her ears I kind of butchered those. There was hair everywhere! It was a disaster and Moki always seems a little mad after I chop her hair off. But her face now matches her body. Her tail is still a little nasty but I didn't have the energy to do that as well.

I needed a wreath for my door. A nice summer one and I thought hey I can make one. I found one on pinterest and copied it. It took like 10 minutes to make and I really like it. I will say I think I could have bought a wreath for less, but what do you do. Some people think it looks more like a fall wreath and I wanted a summer one. Might just have to make another.

Now to Cinco de Mayo! Dan prepared an AWESOME meal. Chicken tacos and watermelon. YUM, YUM, and YUM!

 If you are friends with Caleb on Facebook you may have seen a recent post about a job fair at Vivant. There were a lot of grammatical errors. Let's be honest everyone makes them but I am not sure that there is anything worse than some annoying person reading your own mistakes out loud. Sam did that for all of us before we ate. Pretty funny. Caleb was a good sport. I think he may have deleted the said post.

Look at this beautiful flower I bought

It has lasted 3 weeks and still looks amazing. Every time I see it I think of Katie Call which makes me smile. It just brightens up my very boring dinning room.

And since Andrew came to town not post is complete without showing him off:

He is such a handsome little guy and at a super fun age. He interacts, he laughs. It is so fun to watch him learn and discover new things. He was a sweetheart all evening which was really nice.

Best news of all, I have a plane ticket to Hawaii.

I told myself I would go when I finished my masters and I have not. Finally I am going. A couple days on O'ahu and a few more days on Kauai. I seriously can't wait. If you have been and have ideas for the outdoor enthusiast please tell me all about them. If I do nothing else this summer at least I will go to Hawaii! Well and girls camp.

Change?

Sometimes I just feel like I need a change. Does anyone else have that problem? I am not sure if is just because it is the end of the year or what. The thing is I like my job, I love who I work with, but deep down it just feels like it's not enough. So some things I have considered......

A. Get a different coaching job
B. Look for a teaching job in Northern California
C. Get my PHD in either 1. Sport pedagogy, then I can teach at a college The U gave me an unofficial offer i cant stop thinking about. 2. Get a PHD in sport psychology then I could fix all the kids I mess up (kidding). But I think it would be fascinating. 3. Get a masters in administration because one masters degree is not enough.
D. Sit tight and let summer run its course
E. Marry someone who is extremely wealthy and handsome. Retire. Have kids. Live it up!

Obviously E is my favorite option but the others all have pros and cons as well