Lehi's flood

I've never actually been in a flood before, but this was a first time experience for me. We were at Lee's playing games and the phone call came saying Lehi was flooding. We went on our way. We sand bagged and it was a ton of fun on a Sunday night. Jenn ruined her skirt a bit. Take a look at the pic!

California...

I went on one out of state vacation (excluding the family reunion) to California. I visited hna O'rullian and Ken. It was a great time. Ate a lot, went to the beach and realized that I really am barely 60 inches tall, which equals 5 feet exactly.

Demolition Derby

I won tickets off the radio (surprise, surprise) to the demolition derby. I have always wanted to go to one and it was a blast! I loved it! We each chose cars we were and battled it out! In this picture I was the shrek car. It was a blast! I laughed a lot, but that is a common occurrance with Erin, Tracy and Cooper.

Summer...

Well it's been a realy great summer. I've been busy, busy, busy. Teaching swimming, going to college again and all the other stuff! Went and supported Tracy in her half marathon which inspired me to do my first half marathon which will be in a little over 2 weeks! We met a cute old couple that have been married 66.5 years and are 90 and 92 and a few guys from Spain. It was great to speak spanish to natives. Tracy did really good on her race, trained correctly and didn't pass out...Jimmy, not so much!

Dinner and awards

I just spent like 20 hours making awards for my kids! I made them individualized with a picture of the kid and what their award was for! Man I'm a nice teacher! But it is the end of the year and so I have the slideshow and the awards ready for manana...let the countdown begin. Only 4 days left of school! Then one day of teacher meetings on Friday and then freedom...and off to the pool and college for the rest of the summer.

life

well...life has been interesting lately. I love life and it is so good to love it again! I have been sad and in pain for the longest period of time that I have ever experienced half wondering if i would ever find joy and be happy again. Well, this week was the continuation of the growth I have been seeing. Each day gets better and now i can see a future; a future of happiness and me being me again.

I have changed in so many ways, but not changed enough yet...but now there are things I know that I needed to learn from this. Everyone has their "things" they have to go through in order to become who they ultimately want to and need to become. I have learned so much in the last little bit that I wouldn't have learned otherwise. There were moments that I wished the pain would just pass and there were moments that I chose to not let it pass, because that meant that I had to move on, but now I know that it is easier to cling onto pain, live through it and allow yourself the time and space and tears needed to learn what you need to and move on, all the while keeping that part of you that learned so much in you tucked away for the moments you need to be sympathetic to others or to get through another hard thing.

How good it is to know that there is a God in heaven who guides us if we will only trust in Him. I wouldn't be the person I am today if I didn't know the truths I know. I am grateful for growth and for pain and for a Savior who allows me to not be alone even when i have felt that i couldn't get any emptier. He is real and He is my Savior.

I know we all go through the things we need to in order to grow and become what it is we are supposed to be and unfortunately those things are hard. sometimes so hard that we think we won't make it, but I often think of the story in the Bible with the apostles and the storm and the 4th watch, that they needed the storm to calm...He didn't come to rescue them until it seemed they would perish. I'm grateful for a Heavenly Father who trusts me enough to let me row on (sometimes feeling so alone) even until the 4th watch and just when i can't do it anymore, he swoops in and rescues me and I am found brighter than I began. That is what truth does to you. It makes you find out who you are and what you believe and then when you've passed through the fire you are that much better for it.

Those are a few thoughts I have had and things I have learned in the last 5 months. He never ever leaves us alone (even when we feel like it) but is always there to cast our burdens upon and to help us stand when all we want to do is fall. God is good! He is merciful and kind and tender and ever there. I know Him to be our Creator and our Master and I'm so thankful to know these truths that pull me out of the ruts of life that would otherwise leave me to perish.

Wordle-life

This is a really cool thing that I was told about by a friend of mine. All I did was put in my blog address and it randomly made it from the words on my blog. Pretty cool! if you want to do one, just go to www.­wordle.­net

spring break 2010 the california adventure

So spring break consisted of many wonderful things including :
• magic mountain
• me throwing up after the second ride (I'm not as resiliant as I used to be!)
• reading a lot (but still not finishing my book(s))
• Erin and Kevin fakely getting engaged (see pic)
• All of us wearing blue to magic mountain without meaning to
• Kevin and Cooper wearing red without meaning to, but a lot of great photo ops on that one!
• a lot of eating
o cheese cake factory, denny's, Norm's (Bu-Tar's request), Mc Donalds, Burger king, sizzler
• kryssi almost getting bit by a seal
• a crazy lady letting her kids play right by the wild seal
• taking a picture with the seal (he looks like he totally knew he was posing!)
• arguing
• seeing dolphins (completed the whole trip!)
• losing Kryssi twice
• laughing in the water
• hitting my head on the bottom of the ocean as a huge wave took me down with it
• boogie boarding (apparently known as sponging)
• sleeping in!
• burying Kevin and Cooper in the sand
• eating chocolate muffins and lots of candy
• giving away brownies
• reading (did i mention that already?!)
• digging free cups out of the basura
• annoying Michael by taking a lot of pictures (some really cool ones I might add)
• laughing at Cooper and Kevin's childish ways
• going to Hollywood
• Rodeo drive baby! (pretty woman hotel)
• Almost getting bit by a pelican (I heard that Kryssi did…guess she didn’t learn with the seal!)
• Laughing
• Driving
• Sleeping
• Reading
• Swimming
• Hot tubing
• Electricity going out on the morning we left
• Drinking too much soda and caffeine
• Eating way too much
• Playing hang man on my phone with But-ars on the way home
• Getting gas
• Figuring out where we were…thank goodness for Iphones and GPS
• Going to Target to get lemonade
• Swimming
• Erin only getting burnt on one side of her body!
• Kryssi getting way burnt everywhere.
• Me not getting burnt at all
• Cooper’s face matching his red shirt
• Michael hoping I was wrong…but not to worry I was right once!
• Shopping at the Farmer’s market
• Getting parking validation
• Paying parking garage fees
• Switching cars
• Going up and down the elevator
• Watching Shrek 2 and 3
• Paying for movies we didn’t watch in our room
• Drinking really expensive water in the room
• Bringing a lot of stuff to the beach and leaving half of it there
• Getting talked to by the lifeguard 3 times
• Watching the seal get hauled away…sad
• Taking more pictures
• Getting water showered on me while fully clothed (thanks Kevin)
• Saying “hi, how are you?” to a man walking with a walker by the beach and him saying “Hey thanks for talking to me.” I wanted to go back and give him a hug. I totally should of.
Overall it was a great trip!