Arizona- Day 6 Glendale / ScottsDale / Apache / Mesa

After being in Glendale with the Kubicka's for 3 days we were whisked away in the a.m by Dennis' g'pa Larson. We were anxious to get out of there as my g'ma is part of the Red Hats (a bunch of women dress up in red hats and go do things) and there were crazy women all over the house getting ready to go to the derby. March is my grandmothers birhtday month so she was wearing a purple hat. G'pa Larson came to save us but not so fast. His work van wouldn't start. So we had to sit there in the hot sun (oh boy, poor us!) and wait for it to cool down before we could start towards Apache.

We hung out at g'pa Larsons for a few hours in between going to a few car shows. We basked in the hot sun. I tried my very first kumquat straight off the tree in the front yard. This was a HUGE step for me considering I am very picky about what I eat. It actually tasted pretty good- kinda like a lemon/orange. They use them mainly for preserves. We took a few pcitures of some of the cactus and of course a bunch of cars at the car show.

In the evening we headed back to Scottsdale to spend our last few hours with the Cilley's. We chated for a bit and then decided to go take a dip in the pool. At 8:30p.m it was 80 degrees outside- perfect for swimming. We ventured between the pool, 114 degree hot tub & the sauna. It was quite relaxing. However, I got a major craving for In & Out and something had to be done about it before we could never taste it again, ok maybe the next time we go out West.

So at 10:30p.m the g'parents took us to In & Out which was 15 minutes away in Mesa. They were really troopers as I am sure they would have rather been in bed. A huge stretch Excurion pulled up and out popped 15 blondes (they were all blonde) who were in the midst of the bachlorette party. Grandpa was sort of hitting on them or "getting fresh" as g'ma said. It was a great way to end our last night in Arizona.

Arizona- Day 4 & 5 Glendale/ Sun City /Tempe

Another morning awake at 7a.m. Dennis humored us this morning with his midget look. He grabbed a shower cap from the bathroom and knelt down with is shoes at the ends of this shorts for the ultimate look. It was so funny we were both crying and we had the g'parents asking us what the heck was so funny because they could hear us at the other end of the house! The pciture looks funny but you had to be there to experience it first hand! At 12 we headed towards Tempe for the Art Festival. G'ma was on a mission to find pink leather pillows to go with her new leather couch (which wasn't pink?!) It was a great day to be out in the warm sun. We saw this place that sold chocolate covered strawberries piled on a stick, not worth the $5 though but they looked tasty. We saw many beautiful pictures of mountains and sunsets but those to were out of our spending range. I did manage to talk Dennis into letting me this really pretty blue rock knecklace. Despite the fact that we hadn't paid for anything this entire trip thanks to the g'parents.

We had lunch at In & Out on the way back. Dennis has talked this place up since his mission so I was excited to get to try it. Dennis bet me there was no way I would be able to finish it. Oh no he didn't- of course I had to prove him wrong. 1 double double animal style and a strawberry shake later- I proved him wrong! It was sooo yummy. I think I am hooked.

After returning home from a long day, I was going to go take a nap in the backyard by the pool in the sun but managed to make it to our room and while watiting for Dennis to get out of the bathroom I passed out face first and didn't surface for another 2 hours- so much for that time in the sun!

We woke up from our nap and played a game of darts with the g'parents and then had an all you can eat shrimp dinner. We ended the night by watching The Pursuit of Happiness & The Guardian.

Arizona - Day 3 Prescott/ Jerome / Sedona / Montezuma/ Glendale

Spring Break in Arizona Day 2 /Phoenix & Mesa

We woke up at 6:30a.m- yes 6:30a.m- I guess our bodies were screaming at us to wake up! We had breakfast and ventured out to do some exploring in the area. We got to see the Phoenix zoo, Botanical Gardens, an Indian reservation and many mountains, cactus, and other interesting things. We had lunch at Quiznos after discovering there was not an Inn & Out close enough. We then went Orange picking at Aunt Jans in Mesa where we squeezed about a gallon of OJ. We left with a huge bag of oranges and grapefruit! We also met Jans turtle- I can't seem to remember his name but it was the first time I held a turtle!

We then went to the Mesa Temple. There is only 1 word to describe the grounds- Exqusite! Upon walking through the gate, I stood there facing the temple and closed my eyes as I felt the spirit envelope me- WOW! There were all kinds of trees and plants and beautiful flowers. I felt like I was in the garden of Eden. They were getting ready for their Easter pagent- they had 10,000 chairs set up! We went into the visitor center and learned from a sister that after the chairs were full there are still many more people standing around to see the show. We also saw some pretty cool clay sculpture of Miracles Jesus performed.

Upon our return from the temple we went back to the condo and took part in the enjoyment of the pool! It was about 85 degrees out side but the heater on the pool was broken- the water was about 70. Dennis and the grandparents got in the 114 degree hot tub while I took a nap in the sun. It felt so good to let the sun beat down on my body!

After the pool we went to El Guerro's mexican restaurant for dinner with the Cilley & Larson grandparents. I got a huge carne asade burrito & Dennis got cheese enchiladas.
We then said good bye to the Cilleys and took off for a 2 1/2 hour drive to Prescott to stay with the Larsons. We arrived at 9:30. Needless to say- we were in bed by 10p.m- we have never gone to bed that early!

Spring Break in Arizona Day 1/Phoenix

Dennis and I got to go to Arizona for 6 days over Spring Break this year. We flew out on Monday and spent a long, long day in between airports. We took off from midway and went to Minneapolis where we had a 2 hour layover and a bumpy flight. We then made our way to Phoenix- 4 hours later. The Cilley grandparents picked us up at 11:30p.m. When traveled to the condo on the Scottsdale/Phoenix border, had some munchies and then called it a night. It was 1:30a.m (3:30a.m our time). Needless to say we were exhausted!

A Peaceful 2 weeks!

I know everyone is dying to hear how work is going! Aaron has actually been very pleasant to work with (am I really saying this?) for the last 2 weeks. He has not had any fits, arguments or not wanting to do his work. Hallelujah! He has been one of the best students (here I go again, is this really what t I saying?) to work with these last few days. He completed a reading goal I set for him (mind you, the child HATES to read). With a little help from Ronald McDonald, Aaron succeded at his goal, rose to a higher reading level and had the opportunity to enjoy a chicken nugget big kids meal while all of the other students whined "NO FAIR!
I have even had several opportunites to joke with Aaron and actually see him smile. I know Megan and I have really enjoyed his behavior and not having any meltdowns. It sure does make our work a whole lot more while. I am glad that spring break is next week but a little weary to see how he is going to return.

Hopefully there will be more posts like this!

Sunday Dinner

Good 'ole brotherly love

Scripture time!

This past Sunday was Joseph's birthday. We had a big family dinner and got to meet his girlfriend, Andrea. She is a very nice girl and obviosuly keeps the kid in line. Deanna was over and it was the first time she had met Josh's son, Landen (which would be her 1/2 brother). She malled all over him calling him "baby" while dragging him through the house, stealing his pacifier and dancing with him. It was very cute none the less! It was the first time in months that we has family scripture time. Andrea is not a memeber so it was nice reading 2 chapters out os 2 Nephi and then having a long discussion while explaining things to her- do I see a baptism coming in the near future?? Maybe, we will have to see Joseph work his missionary magic.

It was a really great night.

Guess who.......

I wonder what our kids are going to look like?

To teach is to touch a life forever.....

I am closing in on what maybe the biggest day of my life yet. Next Saturday, I will be attending a Career Fest for the area districts and I am frantically trying to figure out how to 'tweek my resume and get enough copies printed! I also have to work on what exactly I am going to say to the question: "Why do you want to teach?" Why do I want to teach? Most people would say "because I get summers, weekends, and holidays off!" But that doesn't do it for me, by the way, teachers DO NOT get summers off and they work during the weekend! I want to teach because I want to make a difference in our future- a contribution to society I guess. When I did my internship- I loved seeing the students' faces light up ever time they figured out a problem during a lesson. I loved coming in everday to those 20 smiling faces and knowing that I was going to have the greatest impact on their lifes.

Only a Teacher

I am a teacher! What I do and say is being absorbed by young minds who will echo these images across the ages. My lessons will be immortal, affecting people yet unborn, people I will never see or know. The future of the world is in my classroom today and this future has potential for good or bad. The pliable minds of tomorrow's leaders will be molded either artistically or grotesquely by what I do.
Several future presidents are learning from me today; so are the great writers of the next decades and so are all the so- called ordinary people who will make the decisions in a democracy. I must never forget these same young people could be murderers of the future.
Just a teacher? I have a calling to the greatest profession of all! I must be vigilant every day lest I lost one fragile opportunity to improve tomorrow. ~Ivan Fitzwater