Anniversary Edition

I know that this is belated for some, and premature for others, but I'm doing one shout-out for all the October anniversaries:

Scott and Kim Keene
Bill and Cathy McCullough
Carl and Susanne Medley
anyone else my mind is blanking on at the moment...

Some of you might not realize that I'm a collector/packrat/someone who keeps momentos and stuff...(the title depends on your point of view). Anyway, Andy and I have been talking about going through all our old photos. So I went in the closet where that stuff is and realized...WHOA - there's a LOT of stuff in there. Christmas pictures of everyone, cards from special occasions, invitations to events, lots of ticket stubs, napkins, and other memorabilia. I could do an entire blog just on that stuff. But it did make me a little teary (not a shocker)... So here are some pictures from our wedding... Many of you were there, and for those who have met us since, yes, that really is us...

Yup, if you were at our wedding and under 35 (with a couple of exceptions) you should be somwhere in this shot... we have an 11 x 14 hanging on the wall.Look at that handsome bunch of guys...

I get 2 Moms...

and a really great Dad! (He maintained his sense of humor about the hotel, the road, the golf course...)I don't mean to brag, but what a family...(where's Justin, anyway?)This was worth all the other stuff...Andy and I wanted an outside wedding (hence October - Phoenix, remember?), at sunset...picky, picky!

The other great event was Leona's birthday, 90 then - 101 this year - for which we sang...Other notable October birthdays...(I'll try to make this a habit...)
Ivy
Mike (another great dad)

and, Sarah

Back from the land of busy...

Hello - is there ever enough time? Today, as Andy and I were doing a "big" clean, he remarked, "there's really not enough time to work a full job and keep the house clean, huh?" Truer words were never spoken. It was a good day, tho'. Andy let me sleep in and took the pack for a big bike ride (they LOVE that phrase now). Then when I woke up and realized he was gone and had taken my paint (more in a minute), I geared up and rode to the fire station. He very sweetly helped me paint the CERT signboard (I've been promising for 3 months to get that done...see? never enough time). Then I rode home and when Andy got back, we decided to clean house. A big clean involves dusting everything (except blinds - that's its own job), cleaning granite, bathrooms, sweep (for dog hair), vacuum (for all small dust), and mop. We've got this house down to 4 1/2 hours...and then the dog shower so she can come in! I temporarily misplaced my retainer...and had flashbacks of 6th grade. But, all's well that ends in the retainer case soaking in mouthwash.

Anyway, got an email from Mom and Dad by way of Michelle and Jarvis (Brethour's surrogate parents/grandparents). Katie got a Women in Business award from the city of Pasadena! Way to go Kate! I think this is a great shot of her and Mike.

Speaking of family, Andy and I are looking forward to Brooke's wedding in March. The only difficulty with coming to Phoenix is all the people we should see....

Don't you just love weddings? Here are some pics I found recently. We have been digging out some old pictures to load on the computer, so I'm including some classics - see the Compatible Dyad - oldie but goodie!

Gotta go - there's a bathtub calling my name!

Will wonders never cease?

Hello! I am home for approximately 30 hours in between conferences, so I thought I'd take advantage of that pause...
Check out those fingernails...now, anyone who's known me for longer than 6 minutes, knows I can't seem to grow a fingernail to save my life. And yet, look! They are all about the same length, no major defects, and it's been like 1 1/2 weeks! I did paint them, then of course, the paint wore down, so I took it off and am repainting tonight. I'm not holding my breath tho' - they'll disappear as soon as I'm not careful.

Speaking of beautiful, how 'bout them bikes? Andy's is the one with the red wheels and pedals, it's called a Pivot. Mine is an Ibis. Whatever, I like it. My butt's adjusted (I did break down and buy some padded shorts - ugh!). Now as soon as my thighs adjust to going uphill.... The dogs love the exercise.

Everything else is good here! We're having chicken enchiladas (Andy slowcooked the chicken all day...mmmmm). Take care!

Thoughts...notice I didn't say they were deep...

1) Back from being out 4 days, isn't it nice when you have a great sub? Everything was organized, my room was neat, probably having the PTA president for a student's mom and my sub helped, but hey... you never know.
2) We bought bikes...pictures to come later...Why does the seat have to be so uncomfortable? I don't want to buy shorts with extra padding...but my rear end hurts! Why?
3) I know everyone's heard about the California wildfires, but the day we bought the bikes from the local shop, they finally decided to start fighting the one that had been burning for a month on Pine Mountain (N of St.George). Andy went to fight it and called to tell me that one house had burned. Then he called the next day and said that it was the bike shop owner's. I don't know about you, but the one thing I think would be nearly impossible to recover from (besides a death), would be your house and everything in it being destroyed. We really like Quinton and DJ...
4) So now that I'm back and on a roll, my principal says she got me (and a small group of others) into the PLC conference - in 2 weeks! I just gave up and started planning until Christmas. It looks like it's going to be one of those years...but I got the great sub!

I HATE BEING SICK!!

I have strep throat!!! Do you believe it? So now I'm going to be out at LEAST 3 days, if not 4, from school. Fellow teachers - - - - feel my pain!

THIS SUCKS!

By the way, Happy Birthday Katie!

New...

New teeth, new hair, new clothes...must be time for SCHOOL!






Seriously, here you go, Mom.



School's good...kids are good...not enough sleep...

Ah, the End of Summer...

This will be a long post, I have tons of pictures here...
Andy took his test for his math class on 7/28, so we headed out for our camping extravaganza on 7/29. Since we had a shortened time frame, we stayed "in Utah" for this year. We had a great time and found some new spots to return to... Here are some of the highlights:
First camping spot - Fish Lake - Mackinaw Campground, Site 18. (Site 16 is ROCKIN' for tents, but there was someone there before us. Our site was great tho', at the top of the circle, back in the trees.) NOT Sarah's favorite, just because she had to be on her leash. We were there Wed-Mon and did some great hikes, took Sarah swimmin' a lot, and found some awesome dispersed camping and trails.Monday - we pulled into Torrey, UT, just outside of Capitol Reef National Park/Monument. Having been there at Halloween, we had found a motel that is pet-friendly. So we showered, did laundry, had pizza at the Patio, and shakes at Slackers (also great burgers for lunch). Slept in a bed for one night, then off to Hell's Backbone Road.
Second half of camping - Blue Spruce Campground, just off Hell's Backbone - The road is great...better than our own dirt road for most of it. Andy took pictures at the bridge (WAY high up). We found the campground around noon, 6 spots, one site with people (who were packing up). Latrines, water, bear cabinets, lots of trees, a running creek, and a fence around the whole thing! (we think it was to keep cattle out) Sarah loved it, she "logged" the creek, and ran around the whole place since we were the only ones there. We did some over-the-road exploring, and took Sarah swimmin' every day (ask Andy about the kids who caught a duck), and survived a LOUD thunderstorm Thursday morning.
We headed home Saturday through Tropic and Bryce and Coral Pink, watching everyone else going the opposite direction. We got everything unpacked, checked email (seriously people, 80 messages in 10 days?), checked snail mail, did laundry, SHOWERED again, and had a house full of dogs. School starts tomorrow for me, so I'll probably MIA for a little bit. Happy August! This adventure was brought to you by Moose Drool... [it tastes MUCH better than it sounds ;) ]