Meet Maya

Here is our precious little puppy. She is such a sweet, easy puppy so far. We're excited to have many adventures with our first dog. Welcome to the family Maya!

Viva Las Vegas

Spring Break is finally here!!! The bad news is, I woke up Saturday morning running a fever of 101 when we were planning on leaving for Vegas at 6AM. I had the worst sore throat, a fever, body aches and two ear aches. I felt miserable. We tried to cancel our show tickets to Lion King, but they were non-exchangeable and non-refundable. So plan B was to go to InstaCare and get checked out. I hoped I could get some meds and feel better within 24 hours. We were first in line, with our bags packed in the car. The doc tested me for strep, which was negative. He said I had a virus that was going around that would leave me with a wicked sore throat for 4-5 days. He told me to go to Vegas, but don't party too hard. And to be careful because I would be contagious for several days. So I loaded up on cold meds and IB profin and off we went!

We got to Vegas later than planned due to the doc visit, but I got a chance to hang out and go shopping with my sister in law while Mike played in the desert with his brother Steve. Then we got dressed up and went to our first MAJOR show... The Lion King. And we didn't just get ANY ol seats... front row seats!!

We loved the show! I got choked up in a couple of places in the show because it was so amazing!! I definitely want to see more major productions!

We stayed at my sister-in-law Sabrina's house that night, and I was super sad I couldn't play with her adorable girls because I was so sick. We made a couple of quick visits Sunday morning to see my close friend Kim and her two boys. Again, I was sad because I couldn't play or get too close. But Mikey had some fun with them! We also stopped by and spent some time with Steve and Kjerstin. We decided not to go to church and spread my germs, so we were thinking of something to do to waste time until we could check in to our hotel.
So we headed to Lake Las Vegas and invited my bff Melissa to join us. She's always up for a random good time, and she had never been to Lake Las Vegas! We walked around the quiet lake for a while, then saw these cute little paddle boats! We decided to take one out on the lake. It was so fun and so beautiful!



Mike and I go to Vegas frequently, but we have never stayed in a hotel. This time, I surprised Mike by booking us two nights in the Excalibur hotel. Even though I booked our hotel weeks ahead of time, they filled up fast. When we checked in, they said they only had two non-smoking rooms left... and they were upgrades. Not a problem for us! We got a strip-view hotel with a big screen t.v. It was pretty sweet!
Here was the great view from our hotel.
The next day I woke up feeling pretty awful, but I was determined not to let my virus ruin my true Vegas experience. We usually don't play on the strip either, so today was Vegas day. We were going to be true Vegas tourists. Mikes best friend Dennis drove a couple of hours to meet us in Vegas to play. We love Dennis. When I first started hanging out with Mike, it was always me, Mike and Dennis. We were the three musketeers. It was fun to be back together again doing random and fun things. The first of which was definitely random. Meet Kotton Kandy:

W.O.W. There are not words. But this beauty is a piece of Vegas art. With his outbursts of BAM and cheerleader like moves, I was entranced. I love people watching, but this beauty truly had my attention. I really could not stop laughing. He loved me too. He even made up a Salt Lake City cheer for me, that you might just get to see if you keep reading this long blog post.
I also met Elvis. He spent a lot of time on his phone, but as soon as he hung up, I handed him a buck and snagged a pic!
And many of my close friends know I LOVE Michael Jackson!!! As you can imagine, I was in heaven when I saw TWO MJ's doing the moon walk in unison. Definitely a picture worthy moment.
We went to Coca Cola world where there was this huge Coca Cola bear. I loved him. Seriously loved him. His eyes blinked, his mouth opened and closed. He was legit. And he even winked at me and blew me a kiss. We had something special. And then he bit Mike's head.
The three of us got Coke Floats which were delicious. Well, Dennis got Mr. Pibb. Always has to be different.
We then wandered over to M&M World and watched the 3-D movie. That was fun!
We finally headed back to the hotel for some lovely pool time. I could have lived here. For days. It was 80 degrees and beautiful. Mike and Dennis left to play in the arcade after a while, but I insisted on staying and catching some rays.

Later that night, we hit the strip again. Can't go to Vegas without visiting the conservatory in the Belagio! This one was a summery fair theme with a merry-go-round and a giant ferris wheel.

To end the night we went over to the Cosmopolitan and new City Center. A-maz-ing. I felt like I was in a movie hanging out in those hotels. Everything was so glamorous. In the Cosmopolitan there was this cool upper floor where you could play dominoes, scrabble or pool. We messed around for a little and had some fun.

There were these crazy comfy purple suede couches with these vintage telephones. I couldn't resist.
There were also giant high heel shoes!!! Of course I had to climb in, as soon as the security guards went their separate ways :)

We had a great time visiting friends and family, but mostly just having fun. This trip was about me and Mike. We're always worrying about making sure we visit everyone, see particular things, and try and divide up our time among friends and family evenly. We tried to do that to a certain extent, but this time we were on vacation. It was about us. And we had an amazing time, despite my illness. Viva Las Vegas!!
Unfortunately, fun couldn't last. I woke up the next morning running 103 temp and couldn't move. We checked out quickly and rushed to St. George where they would accept my insurance. I saw another doctor at InstaCare who said I had a double ear infection. He gave me a prescription and I suffered the rest of the way home. I'm glad that I wasn't too sick to enjoy myself while I was in Vegas, and that my illness waited to take over until we were headed home. And luckily I had something else to look forward to... a puppy!!!

And now for some Kotton Kandy:

Things are Lookin Up!

So I get depressed every winter, but this one has been rough. I've had some major winter blues!! Things have been tough lately, and I haven't been as resilient as I usually am! I've been bogged down by crazy amounts of work. I've taken on sort of a second job, which adds extra work and stress, as well as new exciting experiences. I've been put in charge of the state Dual Immersion Spanish website, and I've also been training new Dual Immersion teachers. Things have also been crazy busy with young women lately preparing for our New Beginnings. I've been taking a Spanish night class so I can pass a big test I have coming up (when I get the guts to schedule it). I've just started my first of two years serving on the Utah Foreign Language Association board working as the Dual Immersion Association president. We're preparing to welcome a new group of students and parents to the dual immersion world by having several parent nights. And I've been working hard to prepare report cards, give 56 language assessments on 30 objectives to students one on one, and get ready for parent teacher conferences (56 of them!!!). Whew. It's been a rough, rough go the last couple of months. BUT.... I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. There have been a couple of things that have got me through this tough, overwhelming time in my life:


I L-O-V-E this man. He is perfect for me and reminds me of what is most important.





I have amazing friends. They have truly been there for me. (Linds and Lauren- we don't have a picture together!!! But this includes you two as well!)

This was a really neat honor. I was selected as my district's Teacher of the Month. My principal introduced me at a nice luncheon and I was given a certificate and a gift basket. It's nice to be appreciated.


This face. This is my baby. Only five more days till little Maya puppy can come live with us.

Spring Break = Vegas! And we're making it a real vacation this time, with a hotel, show and ALL!

Home improvements and redecorating. We moved our office downstairs, got rid of our guest room, moved our futon to the loft, and made our large second bedroom a craft room/future nursery. I've been given so many furniture items for a nursery I'll have one day, that it only made sense to start arranging the room now, instead of having a bunch of baby furniture piled on top of itself in the office. It looks so nice and roomy, and gives me hope... my time will come, soon.

I'll post pics of the nursery when it's a REAL nursery :)

Yogurt Land and Jamba. Yum, yum, yum.

And sunshine and springtime.

Things are looking up, and I'm staying positive! I've got so much to look forward to in the next week! Vegas and a puppy! Doesn't get better than that!!!

Pink or Blue?

Now comes the time in our lives for some big news.... And we're thinking Pink!

Pink puppy that is. :) All of my friends are writing cute little "We're expecting" posts, so I wanted to write my own. Well we may not be expecting a baby, but we've decided that it is time for us to expand our family. I've been really stressing lately, and having a tough time with life in general. I've decided a big part of my anxiety is stemming from my womanly desire to care for something. I want to be a mother. But for now, I'm going to be a puppy mommy. I can love and spoil my little puppy just like I would a little baby!



Mike and I have always wanted a dog. We've both grown up with dogs, but dogs are a big commitment! We like to take off on the weekends, visit family, sleep in on Saturdays, etc. We don't have kids yet, so we're livin life!!! We always thought we'd get a dog once we had kids and were already tied down. But then, little miss puppy entered my life and we started thinking about getting a dog now. We both realized how ready we were to have a baby, and give of ourselves, and dedicate our time, love and efforts to something other than work. We don't have control over that situation right now, but we can still expand our family. Our dog will be an important part of our family, and we're so excited!



Mike likes big dogs, and I, of course, like little cute ones. We have NEVER agreed on a type of dog. We've recently discovered that we both really like whippets, but then we found out they literally eat cats. Jasmine wouldn't be a fan of that. I really thought that when we finally decided we were ready to get a dog, we'd have to get two-- one for Mike and one for me. But then one of my student's mother came to my classroom with a basket full of mini schnauzer puppies. Oh. My. Cuteness. I fell in love, and the rest was history. :) I came home and told Mike about it and we did hours of research online. Mike really liked what he read about schnauzers, and then we read that the MINI schnauzers were less maintenance. He was sold. It seemed like every day after that, we kept meeting people who had mini schnauzers. It seemed like they were everywhere, and we really liked our interactions with them. We decided schnauzers were the dog for us.



I fell in love with one puppy in particular when Mrs. Jones brought them in. She brought them in again today for me to talk more (and coerce me into picking one) and I asked her about their personalities. They had changed so much in a week and a half, I couldn't remember which one I liked before. I picked out a new one, and we instantly bonded. Then Mrs. Jones informed me that I picked out the same one as last time. The puppy told me she wants to come live with me. And she will.... on Wednesday March 30th! She'll be six weeks old next week, and we'll be getting back from Vegas on the 29th. So the 30th is puppy day!

So I know that it's much more fun to ooo and awww over a cute little baby, but you'll all have to come over and ooo and awww over my pretty puppy. Maybe I might push it a little bit and even throw myself a puppy shower. Or maybe not. Now we just need to come up with a name... Any suggestions??

Surprise!

I got an email from my principal with the Subject line: Surprise! There was nothing else in the email, except for an attachment. I opened up the attachment to read...

I was selected to be my school district's Teacher of the Month!!!

How crazy cool is that??! I feel very honored. I will be honored at a special luncheon this Thursday at Bucca di Beppo with the Murray Chamber of Commerce. My principal will be joining me. Awesome news like this just might get me through this crazy tough week! I'll blog about the luncheon later this week!