All By Myself!!

I remembered to upload the pics first and I actually did it in order! I'm proud!! I did a project today start to finish ALL BY MYSELF!! I am pretty proud and think it turned out dang cute being that it was made by me!

These are the materials I started with.

Lumbar=51 cents

Paint=99 cents

Paper=$6.00 for 36 12x12 sheets

I calculated the amount of paper used for the project and that rang up at 32 cents

Total= $1.82

Pretty cheap project if you ask me!!

Here I am using Chad's handy dandy new tool sanding the cornersHere I am using a skill saw to cut my blocks. Funny story I wanted to be a big girl and do the whole project all by myself without even Chad's help. Well I've never used tools before but I thought I'm smart I can figure it out. So I got the saw and the battery and went to work. Well I couldn't figure out how to get the safety piece out of the way and that's when I realized...I could really hurt myself so I better wait till Chad gets home to show me! Just then my phone rang and it was Chad. He asked what I was doing and when I told him he about had a heart attack! He said whatever you do don't touch my tools until I get home. You're gonna cut your hand off! When I told him I wouldn't cause I couldn't figure out how to get the safety piece out of the way he really lost it and was very adament that I stay inside and not touch anything!haha Good thing I listened cause the way I was gonna do it was NOT the right way at all! But now I know how to use a skill saw all by myself!

This is my 'Oh ya I rock at this face!!'

Painting the blocks brown

Getting closer...notice I now have pj's on and my hair taken out! I'm definitely not the fastest project doer!!

And voilla!! Only about 4 hours later here is the finished product! I even drew the letters freehand and cut them out! I think it turned out really cute! Thank you thank you very much! Now I really need to go to bed!

Thanksgiving!

Aaron being 'Army Strong!'

Austin getting the harnass on

Clint, Erin, Jon, Kensey, Leslie, Kendra, me, and Chad

Running the Turkey Trot

You know you're in Pima when you ask someone to take your picture and they can't even get the whole sign in the pic. Did he really think we just wanted a pic of us and the turkey??

Look at me it's only a week past and I'm posting about Thanksgiving! Chad went to bed at 7:30 so I'm bored!! We went to Safford for the weekend and had a lot of fun. We started the morning off with a nice Turkey Trot! I signed us up the week before so we didn't have much time to train. Chad's been going to the gym 3 times a week this semester and I've well I've been sitting on the couch eating chocolate! So it wasn't a surprise when 30 seconds into the race Chad left me in the dust...literally! Chad finished all 3.1 miles in 26 minutes or something close to that and I was right on his heels at 32 minutes!!haha Enough time for him to get the camera...oh well I finished it and I ran the whole way so I was proud. It was also FREEZING and windy...2 conditions I did not train for!!haha We had fun though and plan to make it a tradition!

I don't think I'll ever learn to upload the pictures first cause I can never figure out how to move them around after they're uploaded. Oh well at least I'm posting! After Thanksgiving the meal...we took everyone rock climbing. It was really too hard for the kids but they had fun anyways! It was fun to watch everyone rock climb. The first pic is Aaron trying to show off for his girlfriend!!haha No he had to be good he's in the Army!! The next pic is Austin getting ready to go up. And that folks concludes the pictures I took at Thanksgiving! I blame China for using up all my desire to take pictures!

A few weeks ago Chad's sister Kensey went through the Temple. We are so glad we got to share that experience with her and the family. It's always so fun to be in the Temple together. The picture is everyone who was able to go through with her. We're proud of you Kensey and need to go again with you!!

Update!

Well I did it again...made it to the bottom of your blog lists because it took me so long to post!! That's my new goal I decided! I haven't been in the blogging mood or the sharing my life with the world mood lately. Probably because I don't have much happy to share and everyone just shares happy right? I do have lots to be grateful for they just get covered up sometimes by trials making them hard to see. But I am starting to see my blessings now so life is good!

We got a new camera for $70! We were pretty excited about the price! It's a Nikon 1omp and a 5x zoom. We got the warranty this time just in case Chad drops it again it's all covered! So here's a few things we've been up to lately...I say few cause we really haven't been up to much! I don't think you want to see any pictures of me on the couch eating chocolate! We're excited for Thanksgiving and excited that Chad only has a couple more weeks of school for this semester!

This is what I look like now!!haha Chad got me this cute dress for a

fun date to Legally Blonde the Musical! I love my romantic husband!

We went to Safford 2 weekends ago well cause I wanted to! The Temple looks so pretty!

I can't wait until it's finished! It's so fun to drive into town and see the spire.

We went rock climbing while we were in Safford just the two of us and my mom. We had fun although we are out of shape!

I know I know...

I know it's been forever since I posted but get over it I'm posting now! I finally got a teaching job so I finally have fun news to share!!! It's not exactly what I wanted but at this point I'll take it! I'll be teaching the ELD class for 4-6 graders. The bad part is it's only part time. But it sounds pretty stress free with only 9 students never at the same time. It's kind of like a special ed pull out program but just to tutor them in English. I'm excited and hope my experiences in China will help me. Oh it's at Ishikawa which is the school I student taught at. I absolutely love the school and the principal so I'm really excited to work there. Hopefully this will open some doors for me and when a full time position is available I will get it.
Currently I've been working at the Child Crisis Center in the family resource part. I really like it and hope I can keep working there part time. We'll see. Since I just got the teaching job yesterday and it's a long weekend I guess I won't know till Tuesday...and that's when I start my teaching job so it should be interesting!! They've known from the beginning that I've been looking for a teaching job and are very supportive so that's good.
Chad just started this semester and is liking it so far. He's in all upper division classes now and even a graduate course. He loves sharing all his new knowledge with me and I LOVE learning it all!!haha He's going to be a great engineer. The current plan is to continue on with his masters which will only take a year. So he'll get his bachelors in May 2010 and then his masters in May 2011. Should be a good plan considering work is still very slow in Safford. He was in school all summer taking 14 credits. He did amazing and got 2 A's and 2 B's. I'm so proud of him and all his hard work. Sometimes I wish he didn't care so much about school but I'm also glad he is dedicated and works so hard.
We just keep on keeping on and are trying hard to enjoy the ride! Life isn't always easy but the good times make it all worth it. Hope you enjoy our little update! I will try to do better...maybe! Our camera broke after it suffered a hard fall on our cruise so it's not as fun to post without pictures. Maybe Santa will bring us a new one!!

BAHAMAS

We had an aboslute blast on our cruise to the Bahamas! I love travelling and can't get enough! I will tell all about our trip through pictures!

This was our first ever taxi ride...in the US that is! Our taxi from the airport to the seaport after flying all night! We were exhausted but excited!!

Sailing away from Miami. We got on the ship about noon and ate some lunch. Then we had to wait until 2 to go to our room. Once they let us in we crashed for a few hours until we started sailing! Boy did that nap feel good!

We decided this is our future house!haha Right on the ocean with a huge yacht parked out front!

I loved all the coconut trees and island foliage! This was in Freeport right on the beach. We weren't too thrilled with this stop. The snorkeling wasn't great and the water was pretty cold. We stayed a few hours on the beach, did some shopping, then headed back to the ship to eat and relax by the pool.

This is our beautiful ship docked in Freeport. Aren't the flowers cool?haha The ship was so pretty on the outside but man it had a funny smell inside. Chad was allergic to something in our room which gave him a sore throat and flared up his asthma. Thank goodness he's tough and pretended he felt great!!

Yes, I'm super white but try to just look at the beauty of the beach! We walked and walked and walked out to this spot because they told us this was the best place to snorkel. Ya totally not worth it. I don't know what the deal was but we only saw about 5 fish. It was neat to feel like we had our own private beach though! We took a jet ski taxi back and it was definitely worth it!!

My HOT husband figuring out what to do next in Nassau. See the huge hotels in the background... ya that's where we walked from!! We had to work off all that cruise food!!

We walked through the Atlantis Resort until we got caught! A day pass for the waterpark was $110 per person! Crazy! We saw some neat stuff before we got caught though. This was a pond with huge turtles in it! I wanted to snorkel with turtles! They must've caught them all and put them in the pond cause they were nowhere to be seen in the ocean!

They had a tunnel through the sharks! That was pretty cool! I am glad we didn't snorkel with the sharks!

This is Atlantis. The entire resort is like a mile long! It's HUGE! The arch is a 5,000 square foot suite that costs $25,000 per night and you have to book at least 4 nights! It's booked solid for 5 years! I can't believe people spend that much money just on a room! It was a fun resort though and would make for a fun vacation!

This is Paradise Island, the big hotels in the back are all part of Atlantis. All along this little island are houses of the rich and famous. Land on this island costs $1000 per square foot! I'd prefer my own private island!!haha This is all part of Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas.

Our towel elephant in the cave! Never again will we get an inside room! It felt like a cave! We slept with the bathroom light on just so we could get up in the morning. I don't know if we will cruise with Norwegian again. The service wasn't as good as Carnival. We didn't like the Freestyle part as well either. We liked having things organized! The food wasn't as good either. Probably because they had 5 specialty restaurants and wanted you to spend money to eat there. They didn't make any money off us! Considering we don't drink or gamble!! We were tempted to play some blackjack but didn't give in!!

This was our favorite place! Great Stirrup Cay. This island is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line and is completely a private island. There were a couple dorm like housing for the crew off in the distance, but other than that it was just island. It was absolutely beautiful!! We liked it too cause everything was included on the island! Free food, beach chairs, and hammocks! At the other islands just a beach chair was 10 bucks.

Isn't this such a cute picture! We loved relaxing in the hammock!

The view from the island to our ship.

This spot reminded me of the song, Do you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean? We snorkeled down by these rocks. This was the best snorkeling. We saw an octopus and some really pretty fish. I was dissapointed we never saw any dolphins! Overall we had a wonderful time! It was the best graduation present I could've asked for!!

Guess how much?

We just went shopping!! We got 47 boxes of crackers for a total of about $3.00! That's counting the money we spent to print all the coupons at ASU. Then we had to pay 18 cents for tax for every 10 boxes! I'd say it's a steal of a deal though! That's what we do all day when we have no work!!!

We got the coupons from coupons.com and kraft.com it will only let you print the coupons once from a computer which is why we went to ASU so we could use a different computer each time.

Say WHAT?!?

We just booked a cruise to the Bahamas!! AaAaAaHhHhHhH!! We are so excited and can't even believe it! Thanks to mom for the graduation present and Richard and Stacie for the flight miles!! We leave in 9 days and definitely are counting down! We are so blessed to have such wonderful family that loves us and looks after us! Someday we'll be able to repay you for all you do for us!! THANKS SO MUCH!!
I'm trying to stay focussed on reality a little bit though because I really need a summer job and a teaching job for that matter! I thought I had it worked out for Kid Zone but it didn't happen. If anyone has any leads that would be awesome!! Thanks!
Chad finished school this semester and we are so happy! He had a very heavy stressful load. His hardest class was Structures and he pulled out a B! I am so proud of him and all of his hard work! This trip is just perfect during the short 2 weeks he has off before starting summer school. Yuck but worth it! Another reason why I really need to find a job since Chad will be in school all day! Anyways that's the little update on us! Now we are off to get all ready for my graduation party tomorrow! Everyone is invited stop by if you can it's at 7 on Saturday at Stacie's house!!

Graduation!

I'm officially a college graduate! I had such a fun day going up to Flagstaff for my graduation. Walking made being done feel real! Thanks mom for driving up with us we had so much fun! Thanks to Lorie and Aaron for coming to support me! After graduation we drove back and met my dad at Red Lobster. It was fun to be together and celebrate mother's day, Lorie's birthday, and my graduation. Here's some pictures that captured the moment!!

My super cute pink flower and pink heels!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

Happy Anniversary to us!!haha Today is our 2 year anniversary! Wow how time has flown right by! I still can't believe I'm a grown up and married!! I love being married and am so lucky to have the best husband in the world! I love you Chad and am so excited I get to be with you for Eternity!

Congratulations Chad!

Chad got a scholarship last week and I'm so proud of him! We got to go to a special banquet with a room full of smart engineering students. It's nice to get paid for all your hard work babe! Every little bit helps at this point! I love you Chad and I'm so proud of you!

My not so graceful dune trip!

We went to the dunes last weekend and I thought I had to add a little excitement to the trip. I went up the wall (really really steep hill) on Stacie's quad. The first time I made it up no problem, so I went again. Second time not so good... I was going too slow and wasn't gonna make it so I decided to turn around...bad idea...I started tipping and that was the end of it! I fell off and rolled then spider crawled out of the way and the quad rolled past me. Luckily I am quick as a cat and didn't get smashed by the quad. I felt like a complete idiot though since everyone was at the bottom watching! Everyone but Chad! Chad was off in the dune buggy stuck! It's probably a good thing he didn't see it. Although Stacie got it all on video. All my nephews think it is the funniest thing watching it over and over! I'm glad I didn't get hurt... just scared silly. I don't think I'll be riding up the wall anytime soon!

What a GREAT day!

I had a great day today! Good enough to blog about!!haha I had my screening interview with Mesa Public Schools. I felt it went really well and I nailed the questions. Seeing that this wonderful economy has not provided a lot of teaching jobs for the coming year I am doing my best to rise above the rest and get hired! The interview was an hour long...which seems long for an interview...but it actually went really fast. The principal that interviewed me was very nice and seemed to be liking what I was saying... but who knows she could've just been being nice!

After school I rushed home to check my email...can't check hotmail at school which gets annoying at times like this! My AEPA scores were in and I was dying to see if I passed. And I.....did!!! YAY! I know it's not that big of an accomplishment but I am so happy I passed and don't have to spend money to take it again!! Plus I would feel retarded if I didn't pass!

Chad finally called after his class so I could tell him the great news! He said he had a surprise for me! Oh do I love surprises!! He wouldn't tell me of course but when he got home he had the best present ever!! Girl Scout Cookies the best kind in the nation Samoas!! I was in heaven and truly believe these little cookies will be a part of my heaven!! Too bad they are stinkin expensive! Well maybe it's a good thing or I would weigh 300 pounds!!haha

Then to continue the celebration of a good day I used some birthday money (Thanks Jon and Leslie) to go pick up dinner... Panda Express!! To finish off a great day I watched 24 (my new favorite show since The Unit is very unreliable!) Now I am just excited I can go to bed!! What a fun day!

Here's a super cute picture of my adorable first graders! We are doing the month macarena!

Magic Mountain!

So my amazing sister Stacie and her husband Richard took us to Six Flags! Basically they wanted to go but not alone so they asked the coolest couple ever to join them!! After a few babysitting deals were made we were in!!! We had a BLAST! We left Sat. at 3:30am yikes I know! Good thing Richard is awesome and drove the whole way why we slept in the back! We went to the park all day Sat. then stayed the night and came home Sun. It was a quick trip but way worth it. The rides were insane!! The longest we waited was for X for about 30 minutes!!! Lots of wierdos there but luckily it wasn't crowded at all! It was just fun!!Stacie and I getting ready in the car in the Starbucks parking lot! We forgot we gained an hour going to CA so we had extra time before the park opened. We decided to eat at Denny's then head to the park! Riding X first after just eating was not such a good idea!! That ride is insane and it scared us silly!! I wish we would of got the picture from that ride because Chad looked like he was so scared and wanted his mommy!!!

The only characters in the park! I bumped with Tweety and I think he/she liked it!!haha Good thing he/she is so stinking short! We debated if he/she was a midget but the legs were too skinny for that!!
Right at the entrance to the park with the pretty waterfall. The orange rollercoaster is Tatsu another insane ride! You hang face down so you can see the ground the whole time! Scary when you are so high up!!

This is in front of Scream. Richard and I rode this one like 3 times in a row without getting off because there was no line. It was pretty fun. We had to stand in that exact spot to block out some nasty lesbians sitting on the bench. YUCK!
Chad's cat nap after lunch! He wasn't feeling good after not sleeping at all in the car and then riding all those intense rides. This was his first time to 6 Flags and it was intense on the tummy! You know if there's still food on Chad's plate... he's not feeling good!!haha

Me and my pal Batman! I loved this ride and Chad hated it cause it made him sick! This one your feet dangle and it's just fun!!

Waiting in line and realizing we hadn't taken any pictures yet!!
Richard and I riding Viper over and over and over again! This is us getting off the ride and then right back on!! After about 3 in a row you get kinda sick though! The other 2 were too sissy to keep on riding so they waited for us on the bench!!



This is us by the famous roller coaster! Who knows what show it's in?? I told Chad about a million times and he got sick of hearing it so we just had to take a picture! It looked so pretty all lit up although you can't really tell. By this point we were FREEZING and reading to sit down in the warm car!

Good times at Magin Mountain!! If you haven't gone you should definitely go! So much fun and such a great getaway from reality! Thanks Stacie and Richard... you're the best!!

Tag You're It (Thanks Nicole!!)

Here are the rules:
Go to your documents/pictures
Click on the 6th file
Click on the 6th picture
Blog about it
Tag 6 people

Not a very good picture but kinda cool! This is my super sweet moves rock climbing! Yes, I do have clothes on!!haha Chad and I love to go rock climbing and Chad has taught me some sweet skills! We haven't been in forever because we are so busy and I'm not sure I could get up any rock I am so out of shape! But we have fun doing it! Let me know if you ever want to go rock climbing and we'll take ya out!!

I tag...

Stacie, Mary, Heidi, Misti, and Krista

Shout out to being happy!!

I don't know about you but I'm sick of all the depressing talk about the terrible economy and all the stinkin budget cuts! I guess it's the truth this world revolves around MONEY. I was talking to Chad the other night about money and how we have none... I told him you know what we may be poor but we are happy! How grateful I am to be happy!! It's proof that although money rules the world it does not rule me and I can be happy no matter what my financial circumstances are. Yes, it would be really nice to have money to pay the bills and such but I'd much rather be happy than rich! I am grateful I have a wonderful husband who brings so much happiness to me. I'm grateful for an awesome family who does so much for us ALL the time. I'm grateful for my testimony and all the blessings I receive. Well maybe it's just all the endorphins flowing after an hour on the treadmill but I'm just happy and grateful for the wonderful life I have! (I'm gonna be feeling that hour on the treadmill tomorrow seeing that I've been fat and lazy for way too long and this is the first day back!!) Thanks everyone for helping us along this journey and let's all just forget about the terrible economy for one second and be grateful for all that we have! Sorry that was random, but sometimes it feels good to be random!!

Dune Trip

I get so frustrated that I can't keep up so I just don't blog at all! I am facing my fears now and just doing a few updated posts! We went to the dunes with my sister and her family over Martin Luther King weekend. We had a lot of fun and enjoy our trips with the Harmons! We celebrated Chad's birthday Saturday and I'm a terrible wife and did nothing special for him. I'm bad I know, but the dune trip was his birthday and he had more fun doing that than anything we could've done at home.

Me being super cool on the quad. I don't have a helmet on for the picture and it was super windy!

Look at these cute boys! Logan was scared so Carson put his arm around him. Then look at Logan's cute little hand linked through Hunter's! Oh and look at Logan's hand gripping Carson's pants! (from left to right... Hunter, Logan, and Carson)

Don't worry this is just the great wall of Mexico! It goes on forever along the border of the US and Mexico. That's a lot of steel!Chad and Hunter being silly boys! Hunter kept us laughing all weekend! Funny kid. Hunter colored a picture for Chad for his birthday and Kiersten made Chad a card. Such cute kids!Megan and Riley performed a song for Chad's birthday. Let's just say so cute and hilarious! They did it to the tune of We Will Rock You! Megan knew all the rap words at the beginning which was hilarious! Megan is so sweet! I told her I was a terrible wife and didn't make a cake or anything for Chad's birthday so she thought she better come up with something to make it special fo him! Way to go Meg!