Group Shots

 Amber was kind enough to share some pictures with me from the cruise. I wanted to post some of the group shots because otherwise they may never get printed.

Our first meal on the ship and one of many ice cream cones for me!

If you have been on a cruise than you know they take a million pictures of you. I did one of two things in the majority of the pictures they took: 1) imitate my passport picture or 2) hold up my fingers to count the number of pictures they had taken. Method two got tricky after 10 but I was creative. My passport picture turned out very special because they don't let you show your teeth anymore. What the heck??? Apparently when I don't show my teeth my eyes get really big. Below is a pretty close replica of my passport picture.

 On the shuttle boat to Catalina Island

 Our first picture on Catalina Island.

Now I must go exercise. It is 9:30pm. No putting it off any longer. Made some cookies, relaxed, blogged but now it is go time. I mean I did sign up for a triathlon.

Accomplishing the little goals in life

 I had a little goal over spring break to learn to french braid my own hair. My students do the coolest things with french braids and some of them have their moms do them and some of them do them themselves. I asked that is how I know, if you were wondering. I meant to take pictures everyday because I have pretty much been wearing them everyday. Sometime I part it really far on the left and do one braid or really far on the right and do one braid. My favorite, which I just mastered yesterday, is to use my normal part and braid the hair back and then put it in a bun. Two braids ending in a bun. It is great for teaching and playing sports because my hair is out of my face the entire time. It still usually takes two or three braids before I get one that I think is presentable for the day but really that isn't too much time. So it has been fun to acquire this new skill.

Organizing my crawl space....YUCK! I have gotten in the habit of just putting junk in the crawl space. Out of sight out of mind. In my head I have been consciously planning on cleaning it out this summer. About 4 weeks ago I noticed a leak in the crawl space and so I had a plumber come fix it. Well first I used a bucket to catch the water and emptied it twice a week for a month before I actually got it fixed. In order for them to fix it I had to move a lot of stuff out of the way. So $400 later I have no leak and I organized the crawl space. YAY! I will say my back was a little sore this morning from trying to move heavy boxes across the floor while on my hands and knees. Just a little awkward.

Not using my car for work. Well today I failed at that but it was supposed to rain. I have mainly been biking to work the past three weeks. I actually really enjoy it once I get going. As I wake up I do tend to dread it but then I usually suck it up and do it, except for today. On the few days I have not woken up in time I have used my scooter to get to work. It has been awesome. I think I have only driven my car to work 2x out of the past 14 day and rode my scooter 2x as well. Today I mentally made excuses like, I need to take in the track stuff in the back of my car, I will take all the books I am donating to the school, I need to go to Costco after school, I need to go to Hobby Lobby, I can work out on my way home (let's be honest that probably won't happen but I brought my stuff just in case.) As you can see there were a lot of reasons I really needed to drive my car today:)

I have wanted to get into triathlons again for some time. I swam a little before my cruise. But thought about it a ton. Bought a couple of books to inspire me. Bought some goggles, which I love. My other goggles were lame and so that alone was a good excuse not to swim. I hate hate hate swimming indoors. This is my biggest obstacle. Running and biking I do all the time but swimming not so much. So in order to actually get my butt in the indoor pool I just signed up for a triathlon. I maybe lost my mind. It's in three weeks so no records will be set on this one. But it is The Women of Steel Triathlon. Only women so that is good. And it is a sprint length, another thumbs up. Oh and best thing you only swim 300 meters, now you are talking. My only complaint this far is that it cost $70. Are you kidding me? That's an expensive price to pay for exercise.

Track ends next Wednesday. HALLELUIAH!  I have been so tired and I have a student teacher. It seems silly but I am still really active outside of work so maybe that is the reason. I am just so pumped to go home right after school. That is how I roll, leave at 3:30pm. Oh and maybe hang out with people.

Sundays

I take my day of rest quite seriously. I love Sundays. I actually have even really enjoyed having late church. I sleep until I wake up. I go for a 40-60 minute walk. I take my time getting ready for church. And I love having dinner plans. I really do love to cook and entertain. It is just a matter of finding the time to do it, oh and actually planning. Today I made some scrumptious food (stealing Aunt Nancy's adjectives) and loved every minute preparing it.

Salmon must be washed and preferably not eaten raw!

I like salmon but have never found a great way to cook it. My sister in law Amanda had the answer: butter, Montreal steak seasoning, and lemons. Delicious.

Homemade lemonade (I might become an addict) and fruit salad.

I love this time of year when all the fruit starts to be in season. Katie made some yummy honey wheat rolls, Amanda grilled vegtables and we had baked potatoes. I mean can you really have too much good food.

No meal with guests is complete at my house without homemade ice cream. We tried orange sherbert tonight and I was pleasantly surprised.

After dinner we took turns riding my scooter.

So fun and it is just so cute. I must admit I am not looking forward to having to actually wear the helmet once I take it out on the road. Not so fun but I realize it is necessary.

And then we played ticket to ride (Loralie won) and watched The Secret Life of Bees (I forgot how sad that is)

Sundays are just so nice. Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he commanded us to keep the Sabbath day Holy and to rest from our labors.

I have to go to work tomorrow....shoot me now, seriously!

I so didn't have time to buy an Easter dress. BUMMER! But my Aunt Nancy let me borrow two dresses she made back in the day. I love them both. The white one with green polka dots worked for Easter! (I love this dress I want to see if she still has the pattern and try to make one, I would eliminate the pleats, too complicated for me, oh and the embroidery)

Obviously I didn't pay much attention in church on Easter Sunday because I totally missed the fact that today was stake conference. I remember them announcing that but I didn't make a mental check because I missed it today. LAME! Although the Sacrament meeting I went to was really good.

So my trip started out like this:

Text from Dan with a picture, "So comfy!"

Yep that is my bed he is laying in. I test back, "you are so fired." To which he responds, with a picture, "Sorry, I didn't hear you I was sleeping."

I was laughing so hard sometimes my brothers can actually be funny. And you know if there was an open queen size bed in the house I was living in I might sleep in it as well.

Da ship ........

So the cruise was great for so many reasons but I am not sure I am sold on them.....I know I know. Maybe my expectations were too high because people LOVE them so much. I had a great time but it was not like the best thing ever. I would go again though, especially somewhere with warmer water.

My favorite part was when Katie and I snorkeled. How have I never been snorkeling before? I loved it...so fun.

I can only imagine how cool it would be to snorkel in a place that has a lot of things to see.

And who knew that kelp was ginormous? I sure didn't but it was and I did not want it to touch me.

Look close at this next picture and at the front of the boat you can see the dolphins.

This was my first time seeing dolphins in the wild and there is something magical about those creatures. They were sure fun to watch.

We saw Catalina Island via a golf cart. It was fun and easy. A self guided tour.

From the top of the hill.

Catalina was my favorite stop. I wish it had been a little bit warmer but overall it was a good day. The water was amazing, the little shops were fun, and overall it is a cute little tourist trap.

Formal night...Katie was too busy chatting it up with the neighbors.

Ensenada was alright. I would have had more fun had my kayaking excursion not been cancelled because of the weather. It was raining a little but I didn't care. You are in a wet suit anyways. I was a little bummed about that. So we shopped and found a beach but didn't do anything too exciting this day.

Well I took a picture of the largest flag I have ever seen!

The streets of Ensenada. And can I add that it smelled a lot like the bad smell you would get in Taiwan. Yuck!

The next picture is an example of mission get rid of the biker tan. You might think oh she has a coat on. Yes it was chilly but those upper thighs need to see the sun. I would post a picture of how burnt they were after the boat day but that would be a little inappropriate.

I read "Heaven Is Here," by Stephanie Nielson. Loved it. Recommend it to anyone. So sad, like crying sad, trying not to sob because that would be awkward in front of my friends sad. But so good. And very happy in the end!

We are in Mexico.

The boat day was actually really nice. I lounged around and read and layed out. It was super relaxing which is always good.

So things I liked about this vacation:

1. Slept as long as I wanted to every day. I love not waking up to an alarm.
2. The sun! I wanted to come home tan and I totally did.
3. Snorkeling
4. They had a gym on the boat...I made good use of that especially after the first day when we toured the boat and the gym guy told us people gain an average of 1-3 pounds a day on a cruise. Um, no thank you. It was an extremely weird sensation to be running while the boat was moving.
5. Didn't have to worry about food or where I was sleeping
6. The traveling all happened at night. You wake up and you are at your next destination.
7. I read a ton which I love to do.
   

Things I would change:

1. Save more money and do multiple excursions everyday and cut out the shopping. I could shop for 30 minutes and call it good.
2. Find ways to experience the things I love in a different place, more snorkeling, rent a bike, kayak...overall be somewhere a little safer and with warmer water
3. I was not impressed with the food. I really didn't think it was good. Except the soft serve ice cream which you can get anywhere.
4. fly instead of driving. I hate being in the car that long. And really all I do in the car is eat and that is not an exaggeration.
5. Try a different cruise line. We went cheap but I think there are probably some nicer ones if you pay the money.
   
6. Take more pictures!
   

Easter! Spring Break! What more could a girl ask for?

The Easter bunny only brought minimal candy because Heaven knows I would eat whatever was brought. But you can't have Easter without a little candy.

The weather is so beautiful today. Perfect Easter weather. I enjoyed a very nice walk this morning.


What a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the resurrection of the Savior? To know that like Him we will all live again. While I can't explain how it all works I know that it is true. Christ lives and because of Him we will all live again someday. And the best part is that we will be with our families.

In a moment of weakness I may have bought this. I blame Kelsey Robertson because she just talks up her scooter anytime I see her. So I am going to see how much gas money and car mileage I can actually save.

It will be delivered to my door step next Saturday...yo yeah!

Did I mention I will be MIA this week. I am going on my first cruise. Me and some friends are headed down to LA this afternoon to catch our cruise ship. Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico here I come. This could possibly be the best spring break ever!

Conference

These pictures sum up the weekend nicely. Eat, watch conference, eat, play some games (big boggle, dice, ticket to ride, skipbo), watched a movie (Dolphins Tale) eat, some more conference. Definitely a weekend of lots of hanging out and eating. I feel like I ate a ton. But it was all delicious. We had homemade ice cream, aebleskivers, salmon, salads, vegetables, Easter candy, homemade cafe rio. YUM!

We played some games, ventured to the park for a walk, shopped a little, but mostly hung out. It was relaxing and nice. I love general conference and it is so fun to spend the time with family.

It was so great to take it easy after last weeks crazy work schedule. So glad the only crazy thing this week is a track meet. Oh and a really late soccer game but playing sports late is way better than working late.

Remeber when . . . .

• I wasn't going to buy anymore Easter candy
• I was going to stop drinking diet cherry pepsi
• I was going to fast for 24 hours (but I had to make ice cream for a dessert)
  

You probably don't but I sure do and I failed at all of those this week. My conclusion = I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL!!!! Awesome.

I now have the Kindle fire. That really is awesome. My other Kindle stopped functioning but I bought the extended warranty and so I got a gift card in the mail for the original price and it was only $40 to upgrade to the fire. That was pretty exciting.

I have a headache just thinking about this upcoming week. Monday=teacher meetings until 5, Tuesday and Wednesday=parent teacher conferences, and Thursday=tri-track meet. Can I take Friday off? This is going to be the longest week ever. Good thing I bought some diet cherry pepsi I am so going to need it.

Definitely starting the countdown to spring break. I am pretty sure I am going on a cruise. So excited, can't wait. I just want to soak up the sun.

The weather has been amazing. Friday I hiked the Y, Saturday I played ultimate frisbee and biked. That is something I have been loving:)

Boston: AAPHERD Convention

uss constitution
I was selected with some others from the school district I work in to attend the national PE conference. The conference is held every year. I have been one other time, my first year teaching when it was held in Salt Lake. It is a huge conference and I was excited to go as a veteran teacher and also to see Boston.

We flew in late Tuesday night and were met at the airport by a shuttle and the news that two of the city transformers had blown up in a hotel close to wear we were staying. Luckily it was not our hotel so we weren't evacuated but not so lucky there was no electricity for a 2 mile radius which happened to include our hotel.

It was midnight by the time we got to the hotel. They moved me from room 30 something to 1304 so I only had to haul my luggage up 13 floors:) Let's just say I am not a light packer. The thought of not being prepared makes me nervous. I hauled a very heavy suitcase 40-50 lbs, with a backpack stuffed to the brim on my back, up all those stairs. I was slightly winded when I got to my room. My phone was almost out of power so it made for an interesting first night. I just slept in the clothes I traveled in.

The next morning there was still no power. I was one of the lucky few that woke up early and got a hot shower...yo yeah! Once the reserve was gone it was cold showers for a few days. All meetings for the day were cancelled so we headed to explore the city.

We walked the freedom trail.

State Capital and Bunker hill

It takes you through lots of historical sites: The capital, numerous churches that were used for meetings during the revelution, the church where the Boston tea party was planned, the Boston massacre site, Paul Revere's home, two really old and cool graveyards, past the USS constitution, and then finally Bunker Hill.

We stopped along the way at a famous Italian Pastry shop: Mike's Pastry and bought cannoli's. They were huge and delicious!

The walk through Boston was 7-8 miles and took the majority of the morning. After we went to The Oyster House, one of the oldest restaurants in Boston. I had clam chowder and it was delicious.

Wednesday evening Emily came and picked me up and showed me around Boston. We went to the Harvard campus and walked around for a while. She was an excellent tour guide.

We touched John Harvard's golden shoe for good luck. I am counting on it now!

Emily also drove me by the Boston Temple so I could have a look.

It was super fun to see Emily and catch up for a few hours.

Thursday morning there was still no electricity. I started the day by a slow jog on the freedom trail. One member of our group missed it the day before so we guided her through all the sites. It was a great way to start the day.

We got back to the hotel and everyone in our group was headed to Fenway for a tour. We took cold showers and then jogged much more quickly over to the park to join the tour. It was 2 miles. By this time I was a little tired of running and wondering why on earth I felt like I needed to shower before going...remember the shower was very cold.

But we caught up with our people! Oh and this is the point where we found out the conference was cancelled.


Fenway Park. I am no Red Sox fan but it was cool to learn the history of the park and see the oldest baseball stadium in the country.


I was so happy Robyn was around this day. She teaches at a high school and she has sooo much energy and she is super fun. We really annoyed the tour guide with all of the pictures we wanted. But for $12 per person you should be able to touch the dugouts. (We got yelled at for this)

One entrance to the park.

We posed in front of every spot you could.

Good times. Then we headed over to the Garden and looked around at where the Celtics play. After that it was naps and meeting everyone for dinner.

Friday we jogged along the Charles river. It was a really nice jog and we got to watch all the rowers. The we showered and headed to China town.

They had a cool entrance. Then we walked to the bay so we could eat at The Barking Crab!

Featured in man vs food and drivers, diners, and dives. They have 12 pound lobster.

The 12 pounder costs $289...what the ????

I stuck to fish and chips which were delicious by the way. I think the best I have ever had. I could only eat half of the meal.

Overall it was a crazy week. I didn't count the number of times I walked up 13 flights of stairs but it was more than 10 times. Finally Saturday morning full power was restored. My legs were exhausted by the time I got off the plane last night. I am seriously too tall to fly. My legs hit the seat in front of me the entire time. Very annoying.

Dan welcomed me home by saying, "On behalf of the Utah tax payers I would like to welcome you home from your paid vacation." A little crazy. Luckily we went on a grant. I was actually sad we missed the conference because there were some things I was looking forward to. I am also ticked I could not get anyone to go to Les Miserables with me. No one in my group was interested. LAME!