Ariane

I Love This!

2011-12-29T19:32:00.000-08:00

I found this a few weeks ago and it's incredible. I love how visual it is. I really can see my family. I took this to my family reunion and it was so fun to look at what we need to work on. (Thanks Codee for reminding me that I love it).

December 2011

2011-12-29T08:13:00.000-08:00

Here's some of the happenings in December.

Dad with the two boys on Christmas Eve.

Playing our white elephant game on Christmas Eve

Janessa and her kids looking good

This is what we gave our parents for Christmas with all the grandkids names on it for the garden.

Hudson's first birthday!

Twin day at school!

Our $10 tree! What a great holiday season. I'm loving life right now. I have another week and 1/2 of break before I go back to work! Love it!

Okay, It's Been Long Enough

2011-12-06T16:15:00.001-08:00

Life is going well! Here's a few things that have happened.

Some teachers and I took some students to the Sac State football game. We got in for free, cheered the team from the track, took pictures with the mascot and cheerleaders, and had great seats. It was great. It's a free program for middle school students to visit colleges. It was great!

Don't you just love our tree? We got this for $9.98 at Wise Buys! It's a beautiful REAL tree! It was quite a production to actually get this tree, but it is so worth it. We love it!

Don't you love fall?

DISNEYLAND-Christmastime!

Briley crying about being on a ride. Come to find out it was fun!

Very busy day, but so fun. I love having a season pass!

The End of Summer

2011-10-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

So this past two months have been busy! Here are a few things that I have done.

* Started teaching 7th and 8th grade English and History

*Went to San Francisco with friends

*Went to Tahoe

*Went to Point Reyes

*Went to Montavlo Center of Arts in Saritoga

*Saw cousins and family

*Caught up with the girls

*Watched the Capital Air Show

Life has been good and of course, very busy. I am loving certain aspects of teaching middle school. They are a challenge, but they keep me laughing. I have a very diverse group of students who like to teach me things about life. Overall, they love positive attention and just want to be validated. In the meantime, I was able to go and see a few things. Here are some pictures in a very random order.

Check me out at the Exploritorium in San Francisco. What an optical illusion.

Yep, just a drinking fountain. Oh man, it does trick with your mind.

I just love Colbie! Love the boots!

Some family and friends at the Capital Air show!

My friend Ben and I had fun hiking and exploring Point Reyes.

We hiked to this amazing water fall that flows into the ocean. It was incredible and quite the hike!

Tahoe! Toren, Sean, and I went up to Tahoe for a huge activity. It was so beautiful and quite a memorable short car trip.

Charity, me, and Koreen at the Montavlo Center of Arts.

Charity, Nicole, Jenn, and Koreen on some of the amazing hiking trails surrounding the center.

This is the Arts Center. Quite a lovely setting.

Here's my smart board in my classroom. I love it!

My classroom (before school started)

I love these girls! Alena, AmyAnn, Ariane, Jenn, and Jenn!

Colbie and Me at the Air show!

Allan not wanting his picture taken!

Summer is Ending

2011-09-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

It's true! Summer is coming to an end. I have been able to do a few more fun things before my adventure in middle school begins.

Here's a few more pictures from our adventure to SF.

Sean, Ariane, and Chris

I took a short trip down to Disneyland with Tanisha, Brian and the girls. It was quick, but I did buy a season pass for this year. I'm happy to go anytime anyone wants to go!

Jenn Evans and family moved to Utah. We were able to have a friend's dinner. I love these girls!

Loving the rest of summer! Oh how time is flying.

Day Trips

2011-08-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

I am loving the time off I have had lately. Swim team, Girls' Camp, and Youth Conference is over and now my life has SLOWED down. I really have loved it. I had a few weeks to take a few day trips and to relax. In the meantime, I was offered a teaching position after being laid off in June. I accepted a position working at a middle school in South Sacramento. It's going to be a huge switch moving from Kindergarten/1st to 7th grade Engligh/History. Oh man!

But here are a few pictures from a few days trips and events in my life!

I got to hang out with my favorite little friends! Seriously, I love these kids!

My dear Aunt Mary passed away at the end of July. We ended up having family from all over for the funeral. It was such a sad time, but nice to see over 85 members of the family together. Here are my cousins and my Uncle Ron. I will miss my amazingly talented dedicated Aunt Mary.

For my birthday, I went to the Cordova Golf Course to practice at the driving range. Luckily, Mom has connections so we were able to get tons of buckets of ball for free. Then, the guy liked her so much that he let her drive the ball collector cart. He heard it was my birthday, so he let me drive it! It was the highlight (besides having my friends around me). Poor quality picture, but you get the idea.

Some of my nieces and nephews! Love these kids!

Ben and I took a little trip to Point Reyes. We decided to take a 10 mile hike to see this waterfall that ended into the ocean. It was a great hike, just make sure you are wearing the right shoes. I did have a great time, but I killed my feet.

Ben next to the waterfall!

A great trip! It was so convenient that Ben stopped working in August to get ready to head down to LA to work on his MBA. We have had the same time off, which has been great to go on a few trips.

A horrible picture, but you get the idea. About 30 women from my stake out to see "The Help". It was so fun to be with such great ladies!

My friend Chris took me and my friend Sean on an "Adventure with Chris, Bay Area". We seriously saw so many things and had a great time. He took us to the hills of Berkley and we saw such an amazing view of the bay. We went into SF and went to the Palace of Fine Arts, Exploritorium, Crissy Field (beach front with Golden Gate in background), Fort Mason, Norwegian Seaman's Church (Amazing view), and Ghiradelli Square. Seriously, a great adventure to see some of the areas I don't normally go to.

Palace of Fine Arts was seriously beautiful!

Well, there have been a few more trips and adventures. I will get a few more up! This summer has been great. I am now working on getting my classroom together and changing my mindset to middle school!

Utah!

2011-07-28T20:23:00.001-07:00

My mom and I made a quick trip out to Utah during the 4th of July weekend. I had a great time seeing some sites and visiting with family and friends. Here is a look.

Mom and I overlooking the Salt Lake Temple

I met up with my friend Sean and we went to Daniel Wood's grave in Woods Cross, Utah. We both found we are related to Daniel Wood a while back, so we had to check it out.

We had both never been to Ensign's Peak. It was a great little hike up and amazing view.

Amazing view from Ensign's Peak.

Proof I saw some amazing fireworks. We watched them at a beautiful golf course overlooking Salt Lake.

On our way up to Logan to see my sister, we saw this huge white building in Brigham City. We took a closer look and it was the temple and it really is close to being done. I only took movies of my nephews and niece, so no pictures. It was great to see them. I also spent time with Camden, Etta, Grandma, Kari, Melissa, and others. It was a great little trip!

School is Over!

2011-07-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

This is my classroom on Open House during the last week of school.

All the hard work from the whole year, went into this one night where parents, friends, and family would come and tour the classroom.

Here is what my classroom looks like now!
I'm just waiting for my pink slip to be resended, but in the meantime I love being on Summer Break!

The Coast Trip with Friends

2011-06-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

A few friends and I went down and up the coast to see the sites. I really had been wanting to see Hearst Castle for the longest time, and I got some friends to come with me. I know, I'm the only girl, but it worked out. We first went down to Morro Bay and visited the beach and saw the sites.
Jeff, Ariane, Sean, and Toren overlooking Morro Bay

Sean found some sea weed and I became the victim. Actually, we learned how fun jump roping was. This is a perfect picture of what I was doing all weekend long..coughing. I had a cough for over 4 weeks. Awful!

We went and visited the Beach with all the E-seals. It's a whole beach full of elephant seals. It's humorous to watch hundreds of whales lay on a beach, make crazy noises, and try to bite each other. It was a sight to see!

Hearst Castle was completely fascinating. We had a pretty interesting tour guide. I personally thought he had similar body gestures as Crush the Sea Turtle from Finding Nemo. But we had a second guide who gave us the insights into the castle. She took a liking to us and answered any question we had. It truly was intriguing and I'm planning a second trip to go on another tour.

Highlights not shown here was getting to see my MTC/Mission companion, Shandell Kunz Platt. It was so great to catch up after a few years. We talked about the good old days in Utah and Norway. It was amazing to pick up the conversation as if time hasn't happened. We know each other so well because of that intense crazy time on the mission. I loved it!

We also visited Pebble Beach Golf Course. I took the guys out onto the green (the public part). They thought for sure we were not allowed there, but they embraced the opportunity to be on the grass at Pebble Beach. We also visited Carmel and went through 17 mile drive. It was quick and a lot of driving, but so worth it.
Overall, a great trip with good friends.

2011-05-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

My Southern CA trip

Spring break was a perfect time to take a trip to Southern CA. My friend Ben and I headed down HWY 1 bright and early. He biked down the highway and I enjoyed the sights as I got to visit many beautiful areas of the coast.

Ben and I at 17 mile drive right before the big bike ride

After getting down to So CA and my sister's house, I decided to go see the sites. I was able to take a trip to the Ronald Reagan's Presidential Library. It was incredibly fascinating and an amazing museum.

Here's the Air Force One jet in the museum.

Tanisha lives by the beach and we loved going to visit the beach with the kids. I loved being able to relax and enjoy the family.

Mom and my sisters

We went to Santa Barbara to see the mission. In my opinion, it's one of the prettiest missions built. I do have a fascination for these missions. It probably started after teaching fourth grade history.

Janessa, Hudson, Allan, Taylin, Tanisha, Briley, Colbie, Ariane and Mom

I had a great trip with the family. I know it's been forever since I have blogged. I have many more trips and events to write about. My month of May is always incredibly busy. I am grateful to be able to keep my sanity so far. I work all day long in my classroom, then run to swim practice, and then every night there is some sort of meeting for church or school. I'm just looking forward to June 18th, the last day of school. It feels like forever away, but I am excited!

Ice Cream, Anyone?

2011-03-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of this little girl! She is hilarious and quite spunky. It's great being an Aunt!

A Busy Few Weeks

2011-02-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

Life feels a bit busy lately, but I think I do better with a lot on my plate. It's not just meetings and work, I have been able to do some fun activities. I do love being able to go to school each day and teach my students. They are very trying at times, but I do enjoy the opportunity to work. Here are a few activities from the past few weeks.

We start with the American River Branch Mini-Golf experience. We had to come up with a creative hole to play. My friends and I came up with a camping hole. It's not the best picture but it does have a fire pit and tent. It was a fun night! Golfing friends: Chandra and Kristen

John's Incredible Pizza experience with Grandma Gail, Briley, Papa Bair, and Taylin. The girls moved down to Southern CA, so we took the them for one last night of fun! I think my dad had more fun with the games than the girls did!

Kings Game with friends! The big Jazz against Kings was a tough match as a few of the friends are from Utah and love the Jazz. The hometown team was doing well until the very end. The Jazz was able to win at the last minute. I might have heard about it for awhile after!

Another fun adventure took place at the annual Giant's Fan Fest in San Francisco. After going for the past two years, Jenn and I decided to bring a few friends along this year. The Giants are coming off a huge World Series Victory. Well, the problem was everyone brought a few new friends. They closed the park after being open for less than an hour. We waited, ate, and then shockingly found a way in at the last minute. We were able to walk everywhere (the field, press box, whole stadium, etc).

A great view from the Press Box. Loved the best seats in the house! At the very end of the day, we went and watched a question and answer session with a few Giant's players. My friend Ben ran up at the end and was persistent. It payed off and Will Clark signed his baseball. It helped that he is pretty tall, but it was a thrill. What a way to end the experience!

We also had a baby shower for my friend, Jenn Evans. It was so nice to be with friends and enjoy the afternoon with my friends that I don't get to see very often. Lindsay and I were thinking the same thing, and wore similar outfits!

Lastly, my life has changed a bit with my new calling. After working with Regional YSA activities for 4 years, I have now been released. I get to work with the Stake YW's. Here is my first New Beginnings. I thought I went to a lot of meetings, but oh how life has changed. I've had 3-4 meetings each week, but I think it will calm down soon.

I really can't complain. I love my life! I have great friends, good job, and an amazing family. I feel very blessed as I look at my life. I see the hand of the Lord in all my life. I am truly grateful!

The Update

2011-01-19T17:55:00.001-08:00

Tanisha, Alan, Ariane, and Ben

Here is the latest! It's been a busy few weeks. First, I did my first duathlon (2 mile run, 8 mile bike ride, 2 mile run). Tanisha, Danny (my brother in-law), Ben, Alan, and I all did the free event! It was nice having a few weeks off in December to train. It was freezing and it was exhausting, but I am glad that I finished!

We had a YSA Super Activity on Saturday. We combined with Hands on Sacramento to help pull weeds at a park. It was freezing and dirty, but it was a good time!

Time to hit the ice rink once before it closed downtown. Chandra, Jenn, Me, and Kristen on the puddles of melted ice.

Me, Chandra, and Heidi

Dustin loving life with the girls
Kristen, Jenn, Ariane, Dustin, Heidi, Chandra

Our Monday adventure in Winters! I've wanted to go forever since my friend Kristen told me she is from there. We had a great MLK day visiting the local sites.

We picked up our deli picnic lunch and headed over to the bridge. I do love bridges and Kristen told me they had a nice one. She didn't disappoint. I loved it!

The friends on the bridge

We finally made it to Lake Berryessa for our golfing adventure. It was a beautiful day (Sacramento was stuck under fog) and it was so much fun.

Overall, life is going well. I'm back to school and am looking forward to the next break!

It's been FOREVER!

2010-12-17T22:48:00.001-08:00

It has been forever! My computer broke for about 1 month. It was heartbreaking and very frustrating. Luckily, my friend had his roommate look at it. He was able to save my computer! It took a cherry cheesecake and mint brownies, but well worth the payment.

Here are a few pictures of my classroom. We had Open House (yes, very early in the year) and it probably has not looked this clean since. I am just so glad that I have two weeks of freedom from school. I am exhausted and need to recuperate. (Yes, I have a piano)!

The Bair Family took a Thanksgiving Walk to the huge rock pile. It was a great way to get out and enjoy the day!

Jenn had free tickets to a Kings Game and what an amazing game! We were 7 rows from the court. We even had our own server, if we wanted to spend a billion dollars for food. Jenn, Sean, Kristen, and I loved sitting down low, seeing everything, have "H" preferred parking (amazing spot and free), and they won! INCREDIBLE!

I took some friends on Adventures with Ariane. We went to the huge rock pile in Fair Oaks. We had great weather and the view was beautiful!

They took the safe way down!

What a fun group of friends! Not pictured: Jenn is taking the picture.

Janessa went into labor on Sunday afternoon and had her baby a few hours later. Here she is minutes after having a baby and looking good!

Baby Hudson Ryde Gilbert and looking like an old man! It's fun to have another little one around!

Disneyland 2010

2010-10-25T21:18:00.001-07:00

My friends and I decided to finally go to Disneyland after talking about it for many months. We left after work on Friday and got into our hotel at 1am. We were at the park by 7:45am. It was a tough schedule, but well worth it! Our goal was to ride more than 27 rides (a previous accomplishment). Being a crazy Saturday, the place was BUSY! We were efficient and used our fast passes very wisely. We rode as many rides as we could first thing while fast passing as we went. We saved our fast passes until later when the parks were CRAZY. It worked and we experienced 30 attractions!

Chris, Nicole, Me, and Dustin
Chris and I on Toy Story. The only line we really waited in!
This was us at the end of the night, holding up 28 for our 28th ride!
Me and Dustin in New Orleans...my true Southern Friend!
Dustin, Jenn, Chris, Me and Nicole at the end of the night. Still happy to be with each other.
Nicole, Chris, Me , and Dustin
Waiting in line for Tower of Terror...Seriously I could ride this all day!
Waiting in Toy Story
Go team Cross Fit! We had a great weekend. We left the park at midnight and got back to our hotel again around 1am. We were up early to go to church and drive home. Let's just say that I went to bed at 8:30pm that night. I am still exhausted today. It was a memorable weekend!

One of my Favorite Things

2010-10-12T22:17:00.001-07:00

So, it's true! This is lately one of my favorite things. My friend, John, brought this over to me as a present during my Mentalist Party. He gave it to me as a joke and I laughed hard as I opened it. I didn't realize I would really actually like it a lot.
I read every night before I go to bed. Usually, it is a church book or a novel. I didn't have anything to read one night, so I opened up this book. It is actually quite interesting. I love trivia and interesting stories and this book is full of them. I actually get excited to go to bed, so that I can read this book. I usually only can keep my eyes open for 5 minutes, but those few minutes are solely focused on the weird and unusual facts of Hollywood. Thanks John for giving me my few minutes of joy at night!

Life is good!

2010-09-09T20:13:00.001-07:00

My Classroom! I am teaching a Kindergarten/ 1st Grade split class. I am loving it! My fellow teachers have been so helpful and kind. My students are adorable...with quite the personalities. We almost had a whole day without tears. We are getting closer. I am exhausted at the end of the day. I can't wait for the weekend!

My school has made huge improvements in the last two years. 95% of the students qualify for free lunch, so we have our challenges. I have 13 out of my 25 students speak another language at home. But the school has jumped 140 API points in two years. (THAT IS HUGE). Really, I am grateful for a job and I am loving it!

This memorial weekend we had a BBQ at my parents. We had a pinata. We had fun with the family.

Loving Colbie!

I took Colbie and Allan downtown to ride the train. It was so much fun! They loved it.

Our train ride

My last YSA conference I will be in charge of! We went to a River Cats Game.

It was a fun game

The service project at the conference. We had a great turnout with about 400 YSA's.

"Speed Greeting" It sounds better than Speed Dating!

I got my job back!

2010-08-27T23:17:00.000-07:00

After many prayers and visits to the temple, I was told today that I will have a job this school year. I was invited to come to the district office on Monday, August30th to choose my assignment for this year. Our schools start the day after Labor Day. The district was able to re-hire quite a few of the laid off teachers and my number is now up. I am so happy to have a job. I know I am number 11 on the list, so I may not get much of a choice. I am just so blessed to be called back to have a job this year. I am also grateful for the opportunity to sub so much last year. I have been to most of the 60 schools in the district, so I have some idea of the schools when I pick. I am just so excited to have my job back!

The Mentalist Extra

2010-08-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is Simon Baker and I got to hang out with him for the day. Yes, he is very handsome in real life. He may not really realize he hung out with me, but I am claiming it. My friend, Koreen, knew the Mentalist was filming in Sacramento and we decided to go downtown to see if we could watch them film.

We head down at 6am and by 6:30am we saw a bunch of people checking in for the day with outfits. We ask if they needed anymore extras, not really thinking they would say yes. They eventually said we could be an extra for the day. AWESOME!

We ended up being in 5 scenes.

The First: We walked behind a press conference. We were just pedestrians.

The Second: The press conference was filmed at a different angle. We stood behind the press conference acting like bystanders wondering what was happening.

The Third: Directly in front of the Capital: Koreen and I stood near some CHP horses and we got to pet the horses. These horses were so beautiful that they wanted them in the scene, so we had to get in the final cut. It was fun chatting with the CHP officers and the horses got so much attention from the cast and crew.

The Fourth: It was a similar scene, but with a different view. They had me move and walk up the steps of the West side of the Capital. It was a wide view of the scene and it might be at the beginning of the scene.

The Fifth: Simon and Robin (see below) were walking out a building and down a street to a car. I got to walk right in between Simon and the camera. It was nerve racking but so fun. The extra supervisor, Aaron, had to stand next to me and move me into position each time so I would walk in the right spot. Seriously, I would brush past Simon each time. So fun!!!

So sadly, no pictures. They warned us that we could not pull out a camera and take a picture. If we did, we would be arrested (I think they like to scare us). No autographs, no talking during filming, NO LOOKING AT THE CAMERA, and know your starting spot. When they say re-set, hurry back to your spot.

Well, Simon Baker was so fun to watch. He was friendly and joked around with the crew. Robin was pretty serious, but she would joke with Simon.

They had fancy chairs to sit on under an Easy-up during breaks. They were rushed back to their trailers anytime they had a little break.

Simon is pretty skinny and Robin is extremely tiny. He also is probably only 5'9" and she is 5'3".

They don't wear as much make-up as I thought they would.

They also speak pretty softly during a scene (they have great microphones that hook in their shoes).
The scenes should be in the first episodes of the next season and maybe others throughout the year. They only come to Sacramento once a year. The Mentalist is "based" out of Sacramento.
They fed us well. They catered lunch in the basement of the Capital.

I made a whopping, $60.00 and loved every minute of it.

Seriously, all the time and effort they put into today will probably only be a total of two minutes combined on the T.V. show. Crazy!

This was such a fun experience. It was a lot of walking, standing around, and fake talking. I would totally do it again, but I am not going to go to Hollywood anytime soon.

Girl's Camp

2010-08-06T22:45:00.001-07:00

Girl's Camp was so much fun this year. I truly love going up and being in such a great atmosphere. I think I have more fun than the girls. I worked with amazing ladies and we laughed so hard, stayed up late, and pulled pranks. SO MUCH FUN!

I got to be a part of the 4th year high adventure activity. We went white water rafting, camping under the stars, and rock climbing. The girls did a great job. Here we are before the big rock climb event.

We went down to Bridgeport on "hike day". We had a nice hike and the water was amazing. It was a beautiful spot for the day.

Here is where the exciting part of camp came. Last year the Priesthood challenged the Certification ladies to a trolly race. We had no problem beating them last year. They were so disorganized that we easily beat them two days in a row.
This year we had much to live up to. The Priesthood even built new trollies with a better design. Without our knowledge, they began practicing. One of their team members even got hurt and he vaguely told me he fell down. They were sneaking around in hopes of winning. We got wind that they were practicing, so late one night we snuck down to their campsite and searched for the trollies. We could not find them anywhere. The next morning, we discovered they were right out in public view. We had a friend steal them while we were hiking. When the men discovered they were gone, they searched all over camp the entire day. We eventually brought them to them and we challenged them. Well, we had never practiced and we had three new team members. We LOST! It was difficult and then men were REALLY good. We decided that we needed practice and the next day would be the championships. Needless to say, we practiced and after a challenging first race, we won 2 out of 3! What amazing ladies! It was so much fun.

Well, I did not take many pictures. My camera died and I did not get any of our great new camp. Camp Bountiful was beautiful and we loved going up there. Yes I had to work, but I LOVED being with such amazing girls and staff! It really did not feel like work!

Camden and Etta's Wedding

2010-07-04T09:03:00.001-07:00

Camden and Etta got married on June 2, 2o1o at the Albuquerque, New Mexico Temple. It was a beautiful sealing. Albuquerque is a beautiful city with mountains surrounding one side and the Rio Grande River flowing through the city. Etta has a great family and we had a great trip.

Camden and Etta

Some of the ladies!
Tanisha, Janessa, Ellen, Maddie, Rachel, Ariane, and Mom.

My family

Ariane, Janessa, Mom, Camden, Dad, Tanisha, and Kasondra

Mom, Camden, and Dad

The siblings

Tanisha, Ariane, Camden, Kasondra, and Janessa

The Pebbles Family

They came and surprised Camden. They live in Colorado and it was a 6 hour drive down to Albuquerque. It was great to have them there as part of our family. My mom's sister Sandy and Uncle Bob came from Kansas. They thought this was great because it was the closest wedding to them that any of my siblings have had. It was only a 7 hour drive down. We had so much fun with Uncle Bob. He could not understand why we would pay $10 dollars to run through a corn maze. He told us we could come anytime and run through his 1,000 acre corn maze for free!
Ps. He loves bread!

It was a great few days! The reception was beautiful and the bride and groom were so happy. We are having an open house at the Cordova Lane Building on Saturday, July 1oth (5-7pm). All are welcome!

Trek 2010

2010-07-04T08:43:00.001-07:00

The Judd family

I was asked to be a part of the youth handcart trek. I was an "aunt" with the Judd family. Jill and Jeremy were the "Ma and Pa". We had some great kids in our group: Jamie, Madison, Reid, Willie, Elvis, and Jordan. We meet on Thursday at 5:30am and prepared for the adventure. The first 7 miles on the first day was pretty good. I thought this is going to be easy, then the next four miles were straight up. It was extremely difficult and utterly exhausting. But what good kids we had. They worked so hard.

Ariane, Madison, Jamie, and Jill

(This was at the beginning, because we still look clean)

Pushing the handcart through the water. It was freezing snow run off water. We let the men take care of the pushing through there! What good guys!

My parents

They got to come and walk as the patriarch and his wife. Usually the patriarch is too old to walk, so many groups never get to have their Stake Patriarch on the trek. It was fun to have them. Dad saw this adventure as a way to bird watch the whole time. He loved it! Mom loved the fact that they could go wherever they wanted. They were not assigned any one cart, so they did not really have to push.

Here is the final entry into "the valley". It really was beautiful. We hiked up by the Mormon Immigrant Trail. We camped under the stars (with rain the first night!). We did not have tarps to put over us, so that was an interesting experience. We had hot, sunny weather. We had spiritual experiences and incredible moving opportunities. After three days, we were exhausted, sore, tired, smelly, united, happy, and accomplished. Really, and amazing experience.

Summer is underway

2010-06-13T09:00:00.001-07:00

This is one of the factors that I was so exhausted in the month of May. Life is feeling very manageable with one main job. My swimmers are adorable and we are having a great time. I am exhausted after 8 hours at the pool, but life is good.

I took my friends on an Adventure with Ariane trip to Angel Island. It is an Island in the Bay Area. The day was perfect and we rode around the island. This was at our picnic site. Seriously and amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Kenny, Me, and Dustin at the sign of Angel Island after we got off the ferry.

Nate, Kenny, Jenn, and me on the ferry from Tiburon.

Another Adventure with Ariane with my Relief Society. We walked around the vernal pools in Fair Oaks. Another great day and good people.

Life is going well. I am busy. I look forward to the rest of my summer. Here is what I am hoping/planning to do:

Swim Meets
Stake Youth Trek
Girls Camp
Camping
Camden's Wedding in Albuquerque
Camden's reception in Sacramento
My 30th Birthday
Disneyland
Winnemucca, NV trip with Friends
Drive In's
River Cat's Game
Super Sprint Triathlon
Taylin's Baptism

I'm trying to like May

2010-05-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

I am seriously deciding if I like May. For the past 8 years, May has been...well LAME! It feels like my life goes insane and I don't have time to slow down and enjoy it. I am working everyday subbing from 7:30-3ish. I then rush down to the pool for swim team from 3:45-7:00. Then each night I have something...Monday:FHE, Tuesday: institute, Wednesday: Girl's Camp First Aid Clinic, Thursday: Temple, Friday: Dance. At times, I am the one in charge of the event(dances, Girl's Camp, ect). AHHHHH! I am really trying to enjoy this time of the year, but I feel like I am thrown in 100 directions. I know I choose some of those events, but oh man when it rains it pours. I have been dreading this month for months. I think I will survive. It is almost half way through. Yahoo!!! Really though, I finish the day and think how accomplished I feel. I know I have been blessed to be able to handle it all. I truly am blessed and now I need to sleep.

My time in Zion

2010-04-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

Harlow and I went to Utah and this is the only picture of people or events from the weekend. We had a great time. AmyAnn, Harlow, and our friend Austin, and I took a crazy long road trip to Utah. We had amazing weather on the way there, on the way home is another story. We hit an awful snow storm on our way down the pass. HORRIBLE WEATHER! But, we survived!

On another note, I was able to do a ton of stuff.

Went to Temple Square and toured the Relief Society Building
Went to the Distribution Center
Went to see Grandma Bair
Hung out with Melissa and Kari and Meg
Went to Cafe Rio and saw "How to Train a Dragon"
Watched Conference with Melissa
Went to the Conference Center and saw Sat. PM and Sun. AM session
Went to the Church History Library
Went to Desert Book and Seagulls
Had Leatherby's with Camden, Etta, Kasondra/Shawn and Kids, and Parents
Ate Easter Dinner with Grandma Rupp
Snakk Norsk (spoke Norwegian) with some members from Norway

So after a great trip, these are all the pictures I took. They are of Church Historical documents at the new Church History Library. They had some original documents rarely seen by the membership of the church. It was actually fascinating.

This is actually a page in one of the many binders in a room in the Relief Society Building. Women were asked in 1945 to donate $5 to build the building. This is my Grandma Bair's name in one of the binders. They have a room, the $5 room, set aside in honor of the women who donated money. They are looking for women to write their memories on how they sacrificed to give the money to the Relief Society. Grandma remembered nothing....she said they gave money all the time.

The picture on the left is the amazing journal from Wilford Woodruff. Literally it had amazing designs and the smallest cursive ever. It was incredible.

This is a rare journal of Joseph Smith. He did not write much and had others scribe for him, but it was impressive to see his handwriting.

My new Mormon Hero is Eliza Roxcy Snow. Really, I have read so much about her and I am so impressed by her. This is one of her journals. It was such a fun thing to see after learning so much about her.
I did not get a picture of one of the neatest books. There was a record of the saints in Ghana who were baptized in December of 1978. The record was handwritten and a reminder of the saints who waited so long to be baptized. It was impressive.

So, I went to Utah and did a ton of things and really only took pictures of old books. It was so fast but good times.

Helping our Friend

2010-03-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Jenn and her husband have been building their home. They invited me to come and help finish their floor by laying brick. I soon learned how hard it is to lay brick when the brick is imperfect when I am imperfect. So, here is a picture of my friends helping, but really a picture of the floor that I helped with. I have never seen brick on the floor, but it looks really unique. Love it!

Koreen, Jenn, AmyAnn, Harlow, and I after moving a ton of their stuff into their new house. Love these girls!

We had all 5 girls helping to move this giant mattress. I thought it was so funny that I took a picture.

AmyAnn said that I could not put them on Facebook, but she never said anything about my BLOG! HAHAHA

Good work ladies! We had a great time and the house is looking so good! Good work Evans' family!

Olympics

2010-02-25T17:21:00.000-08:00

It's been nice to watch the Olympics on TV and listen to them talk about a country I love so much. It is fun to have the sports announcers talk about the threat of the mighty Norwegians. I can also talk to people about my time in Norway and they actually don't mind me telling all my stories. So here is a walk down my winter memories of Norway.

This country is very long and tall taking 40 hours to drive from top to bottom. I stayed around the capital, Oslo. I served my entire mission on the bottom right section of the country. Norway only has one stake and I served in the stake the entire time.
My companion, Kunz, and I went cross country skiing. Cross country skiing is like jogging or bike riding in the US. They take their skies everywhere and ski everywhere. We borrowed these skies from a place like our YMCA. They give out skies like we let kids borrow a basketball. They have ski trails like we have bike/running trails. They even light some of their trails at night. They are dedicated skiers.
I miss the cute little towns scattered throughout the country.

My cute little house that I lived in while in my first area, Sarpsborg. I loved this little red house!

Here is the ski jump, Homenkollen, in Oslo. Norway hosted the Olympics in 1952 in Oslo and then later in Lillehammer in 1994.
Playing some basketball in the church parking lot. We had a bit of snow that year.

I seriously loved my snow experience. It was freezing but a quite a change. I have "been to the snow" once this year. I plan on going this weekend, but how different from my time on my mission. I love Norway!

Family Time

2010-01-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

The Bair Family

We had a great short weekend. All my siblings came into town this past weekend. My parents wanted all of us together for stake conference. My dad was called to be the Stake Patriarch. It was a special time to be together and be there when he was called and set apart to this calling. We of course decided to have a family picture. It was quite the production to have all the family in one room and smiling.

Some of the extended Family

My grandparents and cousins came to be there. Mom was also called as the Stake Young Women's secretary. It was quite a weekend.

This is what happens when you plan a picture during nap time.
Really, it was a short weekend but very long in many ways. The kids can attest to quite a weekend.

Scandinavia and Oprah

2010-01-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

Norway

Oprah

Recently Oprah had a special on about Copenhagen. I was so excited especially because I served in Norway, just a hop away from Denmark. Culturally Denmark is extremely similar to Norway. So I sat excited to watch Oprah take on Scandinavia, and eventually turned off the tv a bit dejected. I still love that part of the country, but it brought back some of the memories of why my mission was so hard.

Great Things:
Healthy Food: mostly fresh vegetables and homemade food.
Public Transportation: Awesome pretty much everywhere
Health: Always active, riding bikes, skiing is a part of life
Clutter: Homes are small and people don't like extra stuff. Things are just simple.
Homeless: Really nobody is homeless
Rabies: Rabies Free Country (just a little fact)
School: School is free from toddlers to University. Truly that is nice.
Maternity Leave: Near full pay for 6 months- 12 months. Free to have a kid.
Beauty: Norway was full of amazing beauty. Seriously one of the most scenic places.
Chocolate: AMAZING
Crime: Next to nothing. The cops don't even carry guns.
Summer: Average temperature 70 degrees and SO GREEN!

Not so Great:
50% Income Tax: People are taken care of in many ways. For church members add 10% for tithing and now people only have 40% to live on. Many struggled with this.
Free Health Care: In reality this is nice, but I saw people waiting over 1 year for a simple knee surgery. They sat at home making 90% of their income waiting for a simple procedure. My mission president almost died because they could not figure out what was wrong with them. They sent him to America and they figured it out in no time. One upside: Free to have a child and they give you money per child.
Tax breaks for Single People: Women are given huge tax incentives for being single. Young girls are given money to have a child. There is no incentive to every marry. Many just live with their significant other. Daycare is also free for kids. Hmmm... Why stay home and raise your toddler.
God: Most don't really believe in God. Some do believe in God, but have no need for religion. They are taken care of by the government in most ways, so why rely on a Him who has given us everything.
Unemployment: Near full pay for 4 years after being laid off. That sounds great, especially after being laid off, but it just fosters laziness.

Oh, I do love this part of the country, but boy was it hard to be a missionary. The episode with Oprah was great yet so awful. The women told Oprah there is no need for marriage or God, OUCH! Interesting to bring back the memories.

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow///20091021-tows-women-world

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve with Grandpa and Grandma Smith, Briley, and Taylin.

Playing the white elephant game.

Colbie looking cute

We took Colbie and Allan to the mall. They were not real fans of Santa. Allan was greatly confused at why Santa did not give him his Cars toy he asked for.
Christmas Eve with the family.
Taylin showing off her new Christmas gifts.
Allan and Briley hiding their gifts behind them. They really did not grasp the concept of the white elephant game. Many tears were shed.
Colbie woke from her nap (not very happy).
Moments later with Mom.
The purple people. Brian happened to wear purple and matched the Gilberts.

Catching up with the Family

2009-12-16T21:18:00.000-08:00

I realize it has been awhile, but here are some fun pictures of the family. Here is Taylin and Colbie on Halloween.

One of the best experiences of the night. The kids went over to our neighbor, Dick, who is in his late 80's. The kids ring the door bell and Dick comes out laughing hysterically. He is our favorite part of Halloween as he laughs so hard whenever he sees any of the kids dressed up. So, Dick is laughing and as you can see from the kids' expressions, they are a bit confused. They get their candy and walk back to all us adults. Allan looks at me as says, "What so funny?" He is totally confused that just their presence makes this man's day.

Thanksgiving with the kids, Colbie and Taylin with Allan taking the picture. I worked hard to be the favorite Aunt that weekend. I took kids to the zoo, park, played games, ect. Come to find out that my stairs at my house is the only thing that makes me really the favorite.

Bert and Gil"bert"
Grandpa Bert Smith and Allan Gilbert share the same birthday today! Happy Birthday guys!

This just makes the teacher in me happy.

Life is good. I have had a great time with friends and family. I am still working as a substitute and have been very busy. It has been nice to see some classrooms after having teaching for one year. I have learned a lot. In the meantime, I have more time on my hands without all the meetings I had to go to last year. I am trying to use my time wisely. I am reading, running, and trying new projects. I am loving the Christmas season and can't believe Christmas is coming so soon.

5K...Run, Succor, Run

2009-11-26T10:18:00.001-08:00

Loren, Ariane, Kenny, and Heidi

The Sacramento Regional YSA put on a 5K run. The event was titled Run, Succor, Run because the "entry fee" was can food (the succor part). We had a great time running along the American River and helping those in need. I actually did run the whole thing and got third place for the ladies. Not too bad...(not to mention that most of the ladies decided to walk). Still I proudly drank my prize of a Gatorade.

Loren, Kenny, and Heidi

Loren before the big run/ walk/ ride.

Oh, Our Government!

2009-11-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

So I just got off the phone with EDD (or unemployment). Boy we have problems here. I had decided not to apply for unemployment after being laid off. I thought I could handle it without taking money from the government. I was paid throughout the summer because my checks were split up that way. Then I started getting worried. I started the paper work to receive unemployment and then I decided not to send in the rest of the information because I could do it without. Then I saw how much COBRA was going to cost me, so I sent it back in about two months later. Because I sent the paperwork in so late, I was given a phone appointment from EDD to see if I was trying to fraud the government.

So here is how it turned out. Because I am subbing and earn more than $600 a week, I do not qualify for unemployment (which makes sense). But, whenever I earn less than $600 in a week, then I can reopen my unemployment claim. If I just can't "find jobs" for the week, then I can reapply. At that point, they will send me a check for $450 dollars for the week. As the man was explaining this, I said, "Oh, I see how people take advantage of this." He then told me how really this is to help me and that it is just fine to keep applying for unemployment.

I just figured that if I work:
2 days a week x $147= $294 That is less than $600 a week. I can then apply for unemployment and get another $450 a week for a total of: $744

3 days a week x $147= $441 That is less than $600 a week. I can then apply for unemployment and get another $450 a week for a total of: $891

4 days a week x $147= $588 That is less than $600 a week. I then can apply for unemployment and get another $450 a week for a total of: $1,038

If I work:
5 days a week x $147= $735 and not eligible for unemployment.

Wow! So, they are encouraging me to work less so I can make more. Amazing the world we live in. It's too bad that I feel satisfaction in actually working. I could really be doing quite well financially. I still don't understand why the guy did not see how people take advantage of this. I had to stop him at one point of the phone call and tell him how I really don't know the process, I have never done this before. So, I think I have figured it out. I should work three days and then head down to Disneyland for the rest of the week. Why not, the government is paying for my trip. It's free. Holy Cow!!!

I LOVE DISNEYLAND!

2009-10-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

I have now gone three times just this year to Disneyland! I have tried my best to use my season pass. I really do love that place. The magic is still there every time I go. My friends John and Lindsay were getting married in San Diego, so Loren, Jessica and I included a few days of Disneyland into our schedule. Here I am getting ready for Splash Mountain with my plastic poncho. I love wearing a poncho!

Jessica and I before the big "Ghost Galaxy" ride. They made some changes to Space Mountain for the Halloween time. I LOVED THIS RIDE! They truly did a great job to spook the rider with a pretty scary ghost. At night, the building would change colors and they piped some scary ghost sounds into Tomorrow Land. Good times!
Loren and I in the VIP section of the monorail. We got the very back. It was pretty awesome touring in our own section.
Jessica and Loren getting ready for our third day of the Disneyland. We were exhausted by the end, but ohhh so worth it. We went for two days and then down to the wedding for one day and back to the Land for the last. What a great trip with good friends.
This was a perfect way to end the day. The Disneyland Marching Band played the The Star Spangled Banner. Then the had all the service men and women in the crowd surround the flag as they lowered it. They then had the crowd sing God Bless America. It was truly an inspiring moment. It may sounds silly, but being in Disneyland and remembering what an amazing country we live in was very touching.

Good friends and good times. More to come about the beautiful wedding. I have a few more months left until my pass is expired. I am looking to go one or two more times before February. I used to be one of those people who did not quite understand the thrill of DL and DCA, but I sure get it now. I know...too funny!

Pretty Good Weekend!

2009-10-18T00:13:00.000-07:00

Apple Hill 2009!
John, Ariane, Kristie, Heidi, Kenny, and Loren
We went with my branch to Apple Hill. Here are a few of my friends near Boa Vista Farm. Good Apple Cider, Apple Donuts, and Apple Brownies!

Heidi and Loren getting the good stuff!

Our House Warming Party with friends!

Here is the food spread. We were quite proud of it ourselves.

The Roommate Picture!
Jenn, Alicia, Ariane, and Heather

Legally Blonde

2009-10-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Some of my friends and I went to see Legally Blonde the Musical. It was absolutely fun to be with good friends and watch a musical that just cracked us up. Really, good times!

Jenn, Stephanie, Ariane, Jenn, Alisa, and AmyAnn

Growing Up

2009-09-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Yep, I have grown up. I moved into a house with three girls at the beginning of the month. I know it is about time. The house is about 6 years old and has been a lot of fun.

Somehow I got the master bedroom. I LOVE IT! I have two walk in closets and plenty of room.

Here is my new bookshelf. I love it!

I have a pretty big bathroom.

Here is our kitchen downstairs. We have three bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. Life is good. I was not rehired by the district. The budget cuts were really bad this year. I was able to get a long term substitute job. I have been blessed. I can't believe we are at the end of September. Life is good and not as busy as it was this summer. I am enjoying it.

Triathlon...Super Sprint

2009-09-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

Janessa, Ariane, and Tanisha

So, Tanisha talked Janessa and I into a triathlon early in the summer. By the end of August I was wondered...What was I thinking??? The only way I agreed to race was that it was a super sprint triathlon. 400 yard swim, 8 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile (on huge hills) run! But, the reality is that it is a SPRINT! That means you have to go fast. It was a good experience.

Here we are at the beginning of the race! Janessa and I are in the water ready to race.

Finishing the swim. At this point I realize that I am pretty tired. I even like to swim, so the rest was going to be hard.

So yes, I don't have some fancy road bike. My bike came from Target on a 40% off clearance. I really wished I had some cool bike or maybe just understood which gear I should have been on during the ride.

That is me finishing the race. My time was about 1 hour 9 minutes. Janessa killed us with almost exactly 1 hour (she had the fancy road bike...and she is just a good competitor). Tanisha did really well with 1 hour 4 minutes. I was thrilled to be done. I learned how to train a bit better (maybe run on inclines). Anyways, it was quite an experience and now, a few weeks later, I have forgotten how hard my heart was beating and how tired I was. Life is good.

Can't Decide

2009-08-23T00:36:00.000-07:00

The Time Traveler's Wife

*IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS MOVIE...I DISCUSS THE ENDING*
So I can't decide if I liked the movie. I actually have seen it twice. Personally, I hated the ending which probably made me dislike the movie as a whole. I went to see it with some people from my branch tonight, and the feelings were mixed. One girl said the movie is not really like the book. So I am thinking, if the movie is not like the book...then change the ending of the movie. Is that the only thing they keep true to? Come on all that great emotion for that at the end. Maybe they need to ask any girl how the movie should end? I would have given my opinion.

*One sad side note, I saw this movie and then went to the temple the next day. My mind kept wandering to the movie. I was worried about what really happened when he time traveled. Not the best thing to think about. I had to remind myself that they were not real people, and we don't have time travelers (at least that I know about) on earth now. Oh man! *

*One more side note, the lead guy (Eric Bana) was quite nice to look at. I did enjoy Rachel McAdams and him in this movie. They did a great job...just give me a better ending. *

CA Statewide YSA Conference

2009-08-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

It is over! The conference took up months of my life. I was asked to be the Female YSA representative on May 17th. We only had 12 weeks to plan the Sacramento venues. We were not sure the number of YSA we would get as we began planning. We ended up having over 1,600 register and about 1,500 actually come. The conference was a huge success. The conference took place in 7 areas throughout the state. Each conference was centered around the 7 temples in CA. We worked with Stake Presidents and leaders from 23 stakes in this area. It was truly a learning experience. We had Saturday: workshops, speed dating, food, activities, humanitarian project, and a dance. Sunday: Sacrament Meeting, Relief Society/Priesthood, and a fireside. Logistically, this was a huge undertaking. The state committee gave us a 59 page logistics guide a month unto planning and they came to train us. After about 1,ooo emails, it all turned out so well. So many leaders and volunteers truly helped put on the conference. Throughout the state of CA, the goal was to perform 10,000 temple ordinances in 12 weeks. We were able to complete 75,000 throughout the state of CA. We finished 1,000 quilts for the needy and contacted the less active YSA. It was quite successful. I had so much fun.

Dance Saturday Night outside!

Jenn and I next to our tied quilt

Our group showing off our finished quilt

Getting ready for speed dating.

We were walking across the street in a huge line.

Lunch on Saturday

Before the rush of food

Registration

Getting ready for the workshops

Lovin' the Girls Camp

2009-08-07T10:21:00.001-07:00

Certification against the Priesthood rematch. They challenged us to a "trolley match" and we beat them. We then had the rematch late Friday night and we totally won again. Don't mess with the best. I think their egos were shot at this point.

I had so much fun at camp. My responsibility was Certification over 4th Year! I loved it. It was such a great time to be away without cell phone reception. I had a great bunch of women that I worked with. SAAAS- Sasha, Ariane, Angela, Alanna, and Sasha. The girls were so amazing also. Really, relaxing and fun. I had more adventures and fun...maybe more than the girls.

The Hot Tamales...HOT, HOT, HOT

This was me jumping into the water off the cliff. It was so fun. Then there was a cool waterfall around the corner from the cliff. It was quite the challenge to swim under it.

The 4th years before we went rock climbing. So much fun! Real rock climbing is the best.

We slept under the stars the first night as part of the 4th year girls adventure activity.
After a long day on the South Fork of the American River, the girls wanted to go to bed so badly. We rafted down the river. What an amazing experience. We had so many great experiences. Really, I think I liked girls camp better than the girls.

The Happiest Place on Earth...besides the Temple.

2009-08-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

What would make them so tired? How about 16 hours at Disneyland. We started at 8am and finished our day at midnight.

Taylin and I in front of the castle. We took the kids down to Disneyland for Taylin's 7th birthday.

Ariane, Briley, Taylin, and Tanisha loving Disneyland.

The girls and I getting ready for our day at the park. I have wanted to go to Disneyland (because I have my annual pass and want to use it) and it was a perfect time to go. I just finished swim team and it was Taylin's birthday. We rode so many rides and only waited in line for the Toy Story Ride (worth waiting for). We used our fast passes as best as we could. It was so fun.

A few weeks of fun!

2009-07-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Camping with some friends. I got two campsites at Henry Cowell in Santa Cruz way back in February. At the last minute, we pulled together a trip. We had a great time at the boardwalk (6 miles away), redwood trees, hikes, ocean, church, and food. I had a meeting on Saturday in Sacramento with a few members of the State Wide Committee for the YSA Conference, so I drove all the way back to Sacramento. It was well worth going to the meeting and then to come back to the campsite. We made almost all the main meals with my dutch oven. We had taco soup, funeral potatoes, and chili and cornbread all from the dutch oven. It is my new favorite camping item. Overall, it was so nice to get away from everything.

Here is my swim team on the 4th of July. We had quite a few people. It was a great parade after an even better pancake breakfast at the church.

Taylin and Allan at six flags. I had to use my season pass and enjoy a day at Six Flags with my sisters and their kids. Briley, afraid of everything (even whip cream in a can), wanted nothing to do with this friendly cat.

My friend Jenn Dunn married Chad Evans on June 27th. It was a beatiful sealing in the Sacramento Temple. My friends and I made the cupcakes for the reception and had a blast doing it. The reception was gorgeous up in Shingle Springs (on Keith Merrill's property...director of The Legacy and Testaments) with lights and candles. Just a beautiful event with a happy bride and groom.

Well, life has been busy but good. I am getting so excited for the State YSA Conference. This is a huge untaking and I am learning so much about church organization during this process. Next up, Swim Championships, Disneyland, Girls' Camp, my birthday, and then the conference! Life is good.

Funny Conversation

2009-07-16T21:23:00.001-07:00

Today a 13 year old swimmer came up to me and asked to borrow a cell phone. I told him that I would let him use the pool's land line.
George: What is a land line?
Me: It is a regular phone
George: What, not a cell phone?
Me: No it is plugged into the wall. Just wait and see it.
(We walked over to the office and I showed him the phone.)
George: This is a phone from the 70's.
Me: Well, it is just a regular phone. Here you can use it. (I pick it up for him to use.)
George: Um, how do I use it?
Me: Dial the number
George: Do I need to press any special button first?
Me: No, just press the numbers.
George: Do I need to press anything after I dial the number?
Me: No, it will just dial it after you press the numbers.
(He looked at me in almost awe)

At this point I had to walk away and laugh. I did not realize using a phone would be so difficult. Oh kids! I am glad to teach a 13 year old how to use a phone.

Wickedly Good

2009-06-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

My friends and I went to see Wicked in San Francisco. We bought the tickets forever ago. In the meantime, my friend Jenn got engaged to a great guy. So, our trip to San Fran happened to take place a few days before her wedding. We had a great adventure. We took BART into the city and it dropped us off right in front of the theater. We had plans of eating a fancy dinner in the city, but with little time we settled for the closest place we could find, Burper King! Wicked was AMAZING! I loved every part of the musical. The actors did an amazing job. It was so great to be with my friends, especially before Jenn Dunn got married. (I will post about her amazing wedding soon). I have seen many musicals and this was my favorite by far. Good times and good friends.

Yep, I'm Famous Again

2009-06-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

My swim team was featured in the local Rancho Cordova Newspaper. A pretty good article.

http://www.grapevineindependent.com/sports.shtml

IT'S OVER!!!

2009-06-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

IT'S OVER! My time at Joseph Bonnheim Elementary School has come to an end. I had a long exhausting first year teaching. I really did enjoy my time and am going to miss my school next year. I was one of the 30,000 teachers in California that received a pink slip this year. As the state budget looks awful this year, this translates to the district's budget also looking horrible. They have un-reduced class sizes bring them to 25 to 1. They are looking at bringing k-3 up to 30 to 1. Besides this being insane, it also makes my chances of getting my pink slip resended looks slim. So, what's next is usually the next question. I HAVE NO IDEA! I have been so busy that I have not had time to think what I am doing to do next. I was so busy with school, swim team, regional YSA meetings, and State-wide YSA conference meetings that I have not figured out what my next step is. More school, move to a new state, move to a different part of CA, stay and substitute, or really anything! It is like a kid in a candy store told to pick any one candy bar. Really, they are all good options but which one suites me right now. Oh decisions!

Up now for the summer:
Swim Team (only two dual meets left and then Champs!)
Fourth of July
Camping at Santa Cruz and Donner Lake
Girls Camp (I'm over the 4th years with certification....which means a real backpacking hike with everything on my back. Yep, I am going to tackle that this year even if I hate hiking. But, we end our overnight backpacking with a white water rafting trip. Sounds good).
State Wide YSA Conference
Disneyland
Decide my life

Well, it all sounds good to me. I am enoying a few hours off each day. I have not had so much down time for quite a while. Life is good.

The Latest and the Greatest

2009-05-25T20:11:00.001-07:00

Grandma Gail and Briley on the Ferry.
Well, we went on a great trip to Angel Island off of San Fransisco. This island was used for many different reasons over the years: Missile Station, "Ellis Island of the West Coast", a military base. It is a great island with a 5 mile bike loop around the island. It was a nice day to have a picnic, take a bike ride, and learn some of the interesting history. We have gone there a few times as a family when we were younger. It was fun to go back and see the things we remembered. I forgot to take pictures of the really old buildings. Here are some of the highlights.

Briley with her Butterfly sticker she just had to have from the Park Ranger. We stopped off at the immigration station. This was the place they brought people before they would let them into America. Mostly Chinese and Japanese came through this Island. This is the original building they stayed in. There are Chinese poems still written on the walls. They were also painted with lead paint. Try keeping a 2 year old away from touching anything. Good Luck! Very fascinating.

Taylin, Briley and Me in the Immagration Station

Briley and Me

View of Tiburon from the bike trail

We had to convince Taylin to ride in the bike. She had the smallest little bike and wanted to ride around the island with it. It turned out Brian got quite a workout with the hills and towing two girls.

Picture time with my swim team! It is looking huge again this year. I can't wait for school to be done to get to focus on one area in my life.

So here are my students. We went on a field trip to the Sacramento County Fair. Let's just say this was quite an adventure. They look all sweet and innocent, but really it was quite the place to be. Every school in Sacramento sent classes to the fair. It was CRAZY! My students mostly live in the Urban section of Sacramento. I did not realize that I would have to prep them about all animals needing to poop. They literally starting freaking out seeing the sheep and goats pooping. The Cows and their poop was just so much for my students that the man told us maybe we should go so we would not scare the cows with their screaming. Oh man! It was enough to leave me so exhasted and wondering if field trips are worth it. Of course, the things I thought they were bored with (a show about owls) the next day that was all they could talk about. Oh kids!

Here is the class on Open House night. I think it turned out well. Here are their portfolio bags and work.

I had them paint a picture of themselves and put them on their chairs to look like they were sitting there. I actually cleaned the classroom pretty well (considering I don't have cupboards) and I had almost all my families come. Good times!

May has been busy for sure! I have been running around like a crazy women. I work all day teaching my class, then run to coach swim team (we are up to 165 swimmers), and then usually I have a church meeting/activity at night. I realized that I really hate the month of May! I have been working on the Regional Activities and attending the temple as much as I can. I also was asked to be a part of the committee to plan the State Wide YSA Conference for the Northern CA area. So stress is here, but only 13 days left of teaching days! Life really is good, just crazy.

Oh my Students!

2009-05-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

This morning I walk out to pick my students up from the line. I get closer and one of my dear little boys starts laughing and then says, "Ms. Bair...your hair." I look at him and say what are you talking about. He says, "Your hair looks funny." (It is the the same hair do I do everyday.) I went into a talk about how you don't make fun of anyone's hair. It is not nice. Another student jumped into the conversation thinking he was helping out. He said, "Ya, if my hair looked bad like yours I would not want anyone to laugh at me." They are pretty hilarious and truly honest. Oh, Kids!

Easter Weekend....a bit late

2009-04-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

The ladies..four generations of girls.

The Bair family at the baby blessing of Colbie Rae. She is wearing Janessa's blessing dress. Not the best picture, but you get the idea.

The Easter Egg Hunt. We decided to wait until the family could be together to have "Easter". We had a huge weekend of fun. We went to the Jelly Belly Factory, Six Flags, San Francisco, and then Easter Dinner on Sunday.

More of the hunt.

Hanging out in Golden Gate Park. Briley and Allan having fun together.

Tanisha and Mom

Janessa, Danny, and Baby Colbie

Papa Bair with Allan and Briley going on a walk.

Taylin taking care of Baby Colbie

Camden and Etta got suckered into going on the water ride with Taylin. It was a bit freezing that day.

Grandma Gail with Briley and Taylin at the Jelly Belly Factory.

Allan and Colbie

Colbie- Well we tried to copy some pictures I saw. She is really cute.

Allan really was not into taking pictures. But, we got a few.

Overall, it was a great weekend. Camden was home for a few days and we made the best of the time. It was quite an adventure.

Allan being Funny

2009-04-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

I thought this was funny. He cracks me up. We were eating some good food and he "lovbed it".

It's a Girl!!!

2009-03-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

Yep, Janessa had her baby. She went to the hospital on Wednesday, after her doctor said they needed to induce her. She ended up having the baby on Thursday at 3:40am. I went to the hospital on Wednesday night, but left at 10:00 to get some sleep. She had a perfect delivery, especially compared to the last nightmare of a delivery she has last time. She has done so well.

This is the next day meeting the new little baby. Her name is Colbie Rae Gilbert. She was 6lbs 10 ounces and 20 1/2 inches. She has the biggest feet ever, but tiny everywhere else.

Baby Colbie!

Janessa looking good!

Oscars 2009

2009-03-25T19:35:00.001-07:00

The SACRYSA committee put on the first ever Oscar awards night. It was quite a memorable event. The stakes in charge worked so hard and every detail was thought of. They asked me to MC the event with Jon Pinney. I think we did pretty well. The event had a huge turnout and people seemed to really enjoy it. We had a few hiccups, but someday people might forget it all. I had fun and I loved winning with my friends. We entered a movie, Matchmaker, that we had actually performed at a "talent show" type activity in 2005. So, we decided to update it and present it again. Well, personally I think it is great.

Jon and I after the Oscars. We at this point were so excited to clean up afterwards.

We did a little bit where I wore the most hideous outfit ever. Well, my dear friends (Jenn and Jenn) spent hours to make my old dress look as crazy as they could. It was also a chance to wear the Rocket Dogs (shoes) again. Truly, quite a dress.

This the the group after winning our award for matchmaker. Just pretend that I am the girl in the pretty light blue(ish) dress. I think I was on stage during this picture. We did win best audio. (Stay tuned for the movie, I am trying to get a copy to post). It is on my facebook page.

My dear friends, Jenn and Jenn. We had a great time and loved being able to win. Good times!

Oh Kids!

2009-03-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Today some of my students made me laugh. Here are a few conversations I had with a few of my students.

Ja'mya: Ms. Bair, Can I tell you something but you might be afraid? It was about a dream I had.
Me: Yes, I think I can handle it.
Ja'mya: You could tell you friends if you want.
Then she looks at me for a bit, hesitates, and then says....Well, you have friends, right? (It took her awhile to decide if I would actually have friends). Then the rest of the story was about someone who died, but she was trying to decide if I lived outside of the classroom or if people actually like me.

Then a bit later, the class had officially started and a in the front row says:
Reeves: Ms. Bair what is that on your face? Why are you doing that?
(He shows his teeth in a smile). If he was the teacher for himself, he would not smile most days either.

So my lessons for the day. I am a depressed person without friends.

A sad day

2009-03-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I totally just stole this from someone's blog. I thought it was clever.

The Pillsbury Doughboy

It is with the saddest heart that I must pass on the following news. Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community.

The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71. Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch.

The gravesite was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very "smart" cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes.

Despite being a little flaky at times, he still, as a crusty old man, was considered a roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough: plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held and 3:50* for about 20 minutes.

School Days

2009-03-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

My students never end to crack me up. It gets really hard to fit everything in that I am expected to teach my kids, but I really try my best. I know my students love science, so I try to bring in something exciting during science time. We have been learning about matter and we studied solids, liquids, and gasses. On Friday, we learned about how to change matter into a different form. I brought in ice that had food coloring added to it. I took it out and showed them the ice and a frozen water bottle. My students were in awe by it. I had a students tell me, "Oh man Ms. Bair this is the greatest class ever and you are the best teacher. I love this class and I don't want to leave." Only in K/ 1st grade could you get kids who think you are the greatest person ever because you bring ice and then let them touch it.
At the same time, I have a student, Devin, who constantly asks if we can do REAL science. I thought we were doing REAL science all along. I explained the different things we have learned and how that was REAL science. I asked him what he wanted to learn about.
He said: You know stuff like time travel, changing people into different things, and pausing time.
I said: Devin I wish I could teach you those things but I really don't know how to do them myself.
I think he now thinks less of me.

At the last perfect attendance/ student of the month assembly, the principal brought prizes for a raffle. The students who get perfect attendance have a chance to win some prizes obviously bought at the dollar store. Devin saw the prizes and got really excited. There was a magic wand and he really wanted it. Later, after not winning, he came to me and said:
Devin: Ms. Bair, I did not win the prize.
Me: Oh, what prize.
Devin: The magic wand. It was my only way to finally be able to pause time. I don't think I will ever be able to do it.
Part of me feels like I have failed this child in someway, or he watches way too much T.V. and has really big expectations.

Some other funny moments:
Otha: Ms. Bair I have the Hook-ups again. (Hiccups)

I told them my favorite book is, "There is a Wocket in my Pocket" by Dr. Suess. It is not the most revered book in my class. They all want to borrow it and they treat it like it is gold. It is the funniest thing to watch.

Around Christmastime, Santa Claus (the sixth grade teacher) came to my classroom to bring presents to my students. I have a little girl who is Muslim and her parents asked that she be excluded from all Christmas/ Easter events (which is hard). So, Santa comes in randomly and I did not have enough time to send her out of the class. She has the biggest face and was mesmerized by him. After she comes to me, Ms. Bair he really is real. He really is real. I had to quietly explain that he was someone just pretending but she could not tell any of the students about him. I did not want her going home telling her family that he really is real. I was not sure if she was going to go along with not telling the other students. But, I remembered the key to getting a child to go along with you. DOUBLE PINKY PROMISE. That is right, I said will you double pinky promise that you won't tell any of the kids about this. She thought that was the greatest thing ever and she kept the promise.

Now this all might sound like a great job and it must be a ton of fun. Well, to tell you the truth the little bit of humor I do get out of it really helps me each day. These kids are not easy to engage and keep motivated to learn. Man, it is not easy but the good times really help those times of extreme exhaustion from saying the same thing all day.

WHAT A WEEKEND!

2009-02-18T18:53:00.001-08:00

So quite a weekend. Here is a lovely picture of our return trip. (Yes, my pictures are backwards in order). We really had no intention going to the ocean, but when the Grapevine was closed we were forced to go around. Yes, that added a little bit of time onto our trip.
Well, the traffic was soooo bad that I have time to take a picture as I was driving. It ended up taking us 12 HOURS to get home!!! I really should have loved this view, but it is not fun going 5 miles per hour.
Well, here it is another famous person. That is three for the year so far. Pierce Brosnan, Eric Estrada, and now Hank Azaria. We went to Sprinkles, a cupcake store and one of Oprah's favorite things, in Beverly Hills. John asks me if I think Hank Azaria is standing behind me. I tell him I have no idea who he is talking about. But, I do now. He was in Friends, Mad About You, and the voice of a few characters on the Simpsons. Well, he was on his phone the whole time and then he ordered a dozen cupcakes. What a day! This picture was purely taken to get Hank in my picture.
Yep, we decided at the last minute to go to DISNEYLAND!!! The original plan of camping was rained out, so we headed down to Anaheim. We got me, John, Dustin, Loren, and Lindsey.
John, Dustin, Loren, and Lindsay. Oh the good times. We had great weather on Saturday!
This is Dustin's afternoon nap on the floor waiting for the Crush Turtle Show. So funny, but I really am jealous that I am not sleeping. The show was truly the coolest thing ever.
Loren and I totally took this for the team. Well, Loren really took it for the team. Usually in LA, the water rides would be such good relief but definitely not this day. IT WAS FREEZING! We could not wait to go on the Toad ride where you go to hell. It was so hot there. I usually ride this with my poncho. I sure have learned my lesson.

Yes, that is Dustin putting his socks on in the middle of the ride. Yes, if that does not make sense to you then I totally understand. What if those socks fell into the water? Oh man, that kid kept me laughing.

We had a great weekend. I got to see my cousin Jacob and his family on Sunday. Disneyland was crazy on Saturday, but we still got to ride everything we wanted (thanks to some fast passes). I loved CA adventures with Tower of Terror, Screamin', and Soarin'. It was great. I truly did love the fireworks. I have never seen the show and I was extremely impressed. On Monday, I woke up early and went by myself to Disneyland in the pouring rain. I went on 7 rides in a little over 1 hour and then walked back to the Hotel. I am now an annual pass holder with the lanyard and everything (big step in my life). I did not wait in a line at all. It was AWESOME! Good times with good friends.

Some of the recent happenings

2009-02-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

Here is a look at some of the adventures in my life. First, we had Briley's second birthday today in Napa. She is growing up so much. Tanisha made this awesome Elmo cake. She was adorable. She was so excited to get an Elmo potty, even though she really had no idea what it was. She is such a cute little girl.

We have been talking about Liquid, solids, and gases lately at school. I have had a first grader who constantly asks me if we can do "real science". I asked him what that was and he told me time travel, changing humans into creatures, and making potions. I told him that I was not very good with the other things, but I could try a potion. This is what we called "goo" or cornstarch and water. The kids loved it. I wish I could show you their faces, but I am afraid with privacy reasons I will just show you this. They loved it. That one child assured me that we did "real science" today.

The last few pictures were the American River Branch 3rd birthday party. We had a lot of fun playing games. It was "dress up like your super hero" party. I am not sure what my super hero was, but it was fun to have a cape and a Hannah Montana wig (with optical lights). A bit crazy, but it was tons of fun.

I went with my friends JH and Dunn to the San Fransisco Giants Fan Fest day. It was amazing weather and really cool to go on the field and everywhere else we wanted. One picture is taken from the press box, which is really the best seats. It was quite a fun, FREE adventure!

Famous Again

2009-01-23T15:11:00.000-08:00

Yep, more celebrities. I am getting used to seeing famous people. Here is the latest. My friend, AmyAnn, is a lawyer who works for a local Indian tribe. They opened their Casino, Red Hawk, yesterday. She jokingly asked if I wanted to go and I said yes. I was curious, so we went. I got a ton of AMAZING FREE FOOD! At first I saw the sushi (and I am not a huge fan) but I wanted free stuff. Then AmyAnn gave me some of the amazing strawberries. Next came the steak kabobs and then the incredible lamb chops. Oh man, well worth the good food. Now, we luckily left before it got too crazy, but there sure was a ton of people. Getting out of the parking lot was no picnic and then the traffic going East up the 50 was INSANE! I heard some people parked along the highway and walked into the casino. CRAZY! Well, I would seriously never go to an opening of a casino unless you could get hooked up with the VIP status and leave way before it gets crazy. The FREE soda station was nice also. I think I had about three sodas. But, this was the exiting guy I met. Yep, just another friend. Erik Estrada from CHIPS. He told me to stand by the Ponch to take the picture.

Some Good Old Fun

2009-01-21T21:33:00.000-08:00

So we had our "Adventures with Ariane". I take groups of people on some part of Sacramento or the surrounding areas. There were a bunch of people with the day off on Monday, so we decided to take a little adventure trip at the last minute. I ended up having about 15 people. These pictures are a bit out of order. We started at this cool river walk on the west side of the Sacramento River. This is Lindsey walking through the water feature at the water intake area.
Well, I made them cross a bridge and a few streets with some traffic. It was the adventure part of the event.
This kid cracks me up. He decided to dance to a Brittany Spears song to an ipod. Then he tried to get people to join him. Um, no thanks Dustin.
A nice view of the great city of Sacramento!
The crowd walking on through the Old Sac. side of the river. It was a bit safer of a walk.
The crew at the water intake thing. It was a really cool building where all the storm drains enter the river.
My cute nephew, Allan. He suckered me into actually putting money in the truck.
This is the goodbye dinner for my friend, Ben. He is moving to Virginia for the Navy Jag. I will miss this friend. He has been a staple at tacos for 3 1/2 years. Very sad times. This was the big meal before he left. I actually was not hungry and I got enough food to feed my whole family. Oh man.
We decided to go to a King's game for his last weekend. He had just thrown this cone at me. Thanks friend!
Here is part of the group at the game. AmyAnn, Ben, Ty, Jenn, Jenn, Ariane. Well, tickets are so cheap because they really are not doing very well. Good for us!
I did not want my picture to be taken at that angle because I would have a double chin. Ben, was helping me out. Thanks!
Yep, trying to hide my chin.
My good friend, Harlow. We looked all over town for shirts. Come to find out, Lodi JC Penny is the place to be. We could not find them in Sacramento, but Lodi they were there. Come again!

This was a good weekend. Sad to see Ben go, but he will do well. I have really good friends. I really am a blessed person. My students are doing so much better. They are calmer (okay some days) and they are catching on. It is not the easiest thing I have ever done. I have had some days lately where I really do love my job. Then there are those days after meetings and crazy weather that causes my students to go crazy that I think what am I doing??? But, life is going really well. I am happy.

Universal Studios

2009-01-12T21:45:00.000-08:00

I went to Universal Studios with some friends this past weekend. Harlow, Dunn, and I went to surprise Corrie. She always played pranks on us, so it was nice to totally surprise. We had a blast. Now, I really enjoyed my time there but I don't think I need to be back in the next 15 years or so. We did get to see Pierce Brosnan. He was on the same Backdraft adventure with us. We did not realize at the time. We were the last to exit the show and the worker was texting. We started talking about how she could probably get fired. The next thing we knew, she was almost running past us. She says, "Did you guys , Pierce Bronsan on that ride." We all were just staring at her, partly because we were just moments before talking about how she was going to be fired. She impatiently says, "DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH". We all just continue to look at her and Harlow says, "Yes"! So, she points and there he was with his son and friends. It looked like a birthday party.

We later saw them at the Universal Walk at a sky diving simulator. It was quite the day. We had a great weekend. It was fast, but we got to go to the Hollywood walk of fame also. Good times for sure.
Matt Damon also!!!! Well, he was cardboard, but pretty good.
This is Pierce Bronsan from the back. His wife is the woman in the black dress in the back.

Harlow and I posing as the Flintstones. Well, we have been COSTCO spouses for 4 years. We share a membership.
This is the best picture we have of Pierce Bronsan with the kids.
The Mummy ride. I have to say, pretty good ride.
The BIG SURPRISE!!! We got her!!! So much fun!!

Gilmore Girls

2009-01-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is true. I have now officially seen every episode of the Gilmore Girls. It has become an obsession. It has taken me a few years to collect all the seasons, but I now officially own and have seen every season. I sure wish it was still going. I have a lot of unanswered questions. Especially where is Rory working now? What happened with Logan and Rory? How is Lorelai and Luke? Well, I never thought this would happen to me. Yes, I have been addicted and I don't know if I can quit cold turkey. Life really is hard when I am on Winter Break.

Christmas is Coming

2008-12-23T21:36:00.000-08:00

Our branch had our "fancy" Christmas party. We dressed in our best and had a great dinner. I think I pressed the issue that we make it dressy. Well, I think everyone was happy about it. The night turned even better, when we got on a bus. Yep, a guy in my ward has a big bus. We went to a new member's house to sing to her family. Then we had a great idea to crash River City Ward's Christmas Party and sing to them. We had a blast suprising them. We then hopped back into the bus (singing songs at the top of our lungs and slurping cider and hot chocolate) to go look at Christmas lights. We really had so much fun. The bus was one of the greatest ideas ever. I have to say that it was one of the best ward Christmas parties ever.

Heidi and Errin singing songs such as Beyonce. Man, that was a new Christmas song.

Dustin, Chandra, Me, and John. I think the cider was a bit old. Some say it caused me to go a bit crazy.

Jenn Dunn and Me at the Party.

Some of the ladies at the party: Heidi, Errin, Ariane, Valorie, Jenn, Kristie, and Chandra.

John and I at dinner. Truly, the highlight of my night to sit by him :).

The group at the baby blessing for Baby Sean. He is such a cute baby with two cute parents (Dave and Alena).

Some of the Smith family at the Sacramento Temple. Danny, Ariane, Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Sandy, Dad, Mom, Tanisha, and Brian.

Jenn and Koren at a little friend get together. Cute girls.

Dad with two of his brothers at the Bair Family Christmas Party. Uncle Ron, Dad, and Uncle Earle. We had the annual Bair Family Party. It was nice together with some of the Bair Family.

Allan turned two! We had a Nemo Party. He really is a cute and his favorite word is two. He goes around looking for two of anything.

Overall, December has been busy. Christmas is coming soon and we shall see what Santa will bring. I am pretty sure season 2 of Gilmore Girls may be under the tree. It will be the final season for my collection of all 7. It is a bit of a distraction for me, but I am proud to say that I have been productive and read a book in two days. That means that I have not been watching Gilmore Girls this whole break. That is better than I had previously planned. I actually may start another book. Life is good when I am not working :).

Divorce (But Funny)

2008-12-14T09:24:00.000-08:00

I totally stole this from my friend John's blog. I hate stealing but this is hilarous.

A man in Jacksonville calls his son in San Diego two days before Christmas and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing. Forty-five years of misery is enough.""Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams."We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says."We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Denver and tell her.

"Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this."She calls Jacksonville immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing. DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up the phone and turns to his wife. "Okay." he says, "They're coming for Christmas and paying their own way."

Thanksgiving Adventure

2008-11-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2008. Yes, we were finally all together. It has been a few years since we have all been together. Camden just got off his mission in March and it has been since before he left that we were all together. We had a great time. We did have three blind people in bunch. It made for an interesting week with people who were unfamiliar with the house. It was hard to get all the kids looking the same way. It was an adventure, but really fun. Thanks John for coming on an early Thanksgiving morning to take our picture. He did a great job.

Apple Hill

2008-11-21T16:50:00.000-08:00

Random pictures. Yes, but I wanted to put them together to make a picture of what my vote is for the new American River Branch t-shirts. Put the American Flag+ River= Branch on the shirts. I thought it was funny but I don't think the guy making the shirt thinks it is. Oh well.

Errin and I at Apple Hill. She thinks the little boy is stealing my wallet. Apple Hill was some good times with the American River Branch.

The Hayride was "air conditioned", window seats for everyone, and a history lesson of grafting. Quite the experience with our guide, Bob.

Loren and I checking out the apples. Check out our stripes.

Chandra, Ariane, and Loren hanging out by the Pink Ladies.

A couple weekends ago, we went to Apple Hill with the American River Branch. We really had a fun time. Good friends and good times. We went a bit late in the season. We had planned to go so many times, but the Prop. 8 took every weekend. It was the first weekend after the election. Life is good.

It's Over

2008-11-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

My Friend, Ryan and I. He was quoted on NPR this morning!

Lori, Jenn Dunn and I during the big event.

The YSA group. Heidi, Jenn, Lori, Errin, Chandra, Ryan, Ariane, and Brad.

Well, my life is coming back to normal. For the last few weeks they have asked the Young Single Adults to make phone calls. I spent many nights calling along with the weekends. It has been a journey. I have learned what I believe for myself. It took a lot of studying and prayer. I am grateful for the time to learn and understand. I think it has made my generation a more dedicated, educated, and ready to work for what is right. I understand what truth is and how it does not change.

I had heard from a girl in my ward about the official after party for Prop. 8. I asked some friends if they wanted to go, and a few of us joined the party. It was awesome. It was held downtown at the Hyatt where every major press organization was in attendance. It was overwhelming seeing so many photographers, news anchors, and radio contributors. They mingled with the people and interviewed some of them. As we waited for the polls to submit their information, we ate some good, random food and tried to get on TV. Well, I am proud to say that I was on all major Sacramento channels (channel 3, 10, 13, and 40). I also was interviewed for NPR. I luckily was around some very intelligent friends and my friend Ryan was quoted on air instead of me. I heard it this morning and he did such an amazing job. It was really a unique opportunity during the whole night. It was exciting to say that all our efforts paid off. Prop 8 has passed.

One more really unique opportunity, was to talk to the head of one of the Catholic Coalitions, Bill May. He actually wrote a few articles for the San Fransisco Chronicle. We chatted with him and when he found out we were Mormons he started to tell us how grateful he was for the Mormons. He talked about how we were so organized and how he truly enjoyed working with the Church. It was really a rare opportunity. I am grateful for the opportunity that churches have had to work together. What a day.

The Ending of October

2008-11-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

It has been quite a week. As you can see, Halloween, Prop 8, friends kept me busy. First, we took the grandkids trick or treating. We went to the neighbors' houses. Allan cried at every house because he wanted to eat every peice of candy he got. Briley was scared of every house that had a pumpkin or a ghost. Taylin was just annoyed that the younger kids were slowing her down. Overall, fun night. I then went to the girls' house and we had a little party. Sorry no pictures, but we had fun. We made candied apples and watched an old mystery, that I slept through the whole thing. It was a long, very long week. We had fun. My friend Ben called from Officer Training for the Navy. Poor kid is freezing but he is doing good.

Prop 8 has been keeping me busy. I have called every night this week for a few hours. Sometimes it has been productive, other times not so much. I understand also. People have been called and advertised to death. I did join a large group that held signs from Highway 50 to Sunrise Mall on Sunrise Blvd on Saturday. It was pouring rain, but it was impressive. There was a lot of support down by Sunrise Mall. We had a lot where we were also. We had a lot of positive people, and a few who showed us some fingers. My favorite was the guy who got the homeless guy to wear a sign while asking for money. I am reminded at how much I am blessed with in my life to have a living prophet to guide and direct us. I understand the doctorines of the gospel and how I can prepare my future family someday. I have seen the line drawn. Good vs. Evil and I am blessed to know that God has given us truths. These truths don't change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Standing up for truth may not be popular, but it is what is right.

Dave and Alena had a little baby boy. It was fun to see him in the hospital. Little Sean has TONS of hair. I have not even mentioned my class, but that has gone well. I had a great Halloween..oops we called it "Freaky Friday" Celebration. We had a 5 senses lesson involving "brains and and eyeballs". The kids loved it and we had a great day. I have been busy with meetings after meetings. I do love it and life is good. I have to get ready for church now. But, it has been quite a week. I can't wait to vote!

The Week Before Halloween

2008-10-25T22:50:00.001-07:00

Here is a pre-Allan Halloween event. He was so adorable that I kept taking pictures. Then my mom was taking pictures and the poor kid could not see afterwards (with all the crazy flashes). He really is a cute pirate and then I went to John's Surprise, very belated, Birthday. It was a ton of fun. We had dinner at Red Robin, where I had one too many freckled lemonades (Strawberry and lemonade, amazing creation). Then we went to lazer tag. I just want to mention that I beat the entire group during the first round of lazer tag. I got 4300 points. The next round I dropped to 3rd but still very respectable. By the second game people were using my strategies giving them better scores. Overall, fun birthday. I am glad that John had a birthday a month ago. I hope he enjoys my gift of Gilmore Girls season 5. I find it a gift that keeps giving. I mean his life will be changed after watching Rory and Lorelei. Life is going well.

My life in October

2008-10-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

Well, life seems to continue to move forward. I am posting a few pictures of my classroom. There also a picture of some friends and I after we painted our pottery. We also threw my mom a "Golden Birthday Party". It was her 54th birthday and she was born in 1954. So, everything was yellow. We served all yellow food...yep. It was funeral potatoes with chicken, rolls, corn on the cob, pineapple, cheese/crackers, and yellow cupcakes. We figured out that it is not all that appetizing when you eat only yellow foods. We played our candy throwing game, but added a twist to it. We threw come sticky Halloween eyes on her. It was a crowd pleaser. Good times. It has been busy with school. My walls are a bit boring. But, I have added some things since I took the picture. As you can see there are no cabinets. It is very lame. But, it is coming together. Well, more info to come.

I have a REAL job!

2008-10-07T17:31:00.001-07:00

Well, it is official. I now have a real job. I just signed my contract to teach a Kindergarten/First grade class. I have a split class, which is not the most ideal situation, but it is a job. I had been working at the school as a long term sub. in a 5th grade class. The position came up in Kindergarten/first and after a lot of work, I got the job. My classroom was a mess when I got it. The room is an old portable, with no cabinets or storage area. It is a bit of a challenge. I have tackled most of the issues and things are looking better. I still don't have all my materials, but it is looking better. I will post pictures soon. My kids are doing well so far. I only have 5 kindergarteners and 15 first graders. It is mostly a first grade class, with some kindergarten cirrculum. It is a bit crazy at the beginning, but it is going well. I am just so happy to have benefits and an opportunity to have a steady job. I can't wait to go to the dentist.

Proposition 8

2008-10-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

A few thoughts are on my mind. Recently the upcoming election and voting on the propositions have caused me to truly reflect on what I believe. The church has always asked members of the church to take an active stand in the electoral process and study the issues and candidates and make wise choices regarding these issues. I have always taken my role as a citizen and a voter extremely seriously. In November the voters in California will vote on an initiative regarding the definition of marriage. The simple words state, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." In 2000, proposition 22 passed with 61% approval, stating exactly the same wording as proposition 8. Recently the California Supreme Court overturned the voice of the people with a 4-3 vote.
Realizing Californians need to legally define marriage, proposition 8 is an amendment to the Californian constitution. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has officially taken a stand and asked all members of the church to do all they can to support the amendment. The church rarely asks members to take such a stand, but this moral issue has huge ramifications. After hearing the letter read in Sacrament meeting, I knew I needed to inform myself. I first and foremost know that there is a living prophet on earth. In Amos 3:7 we learn that “Surely the Lord God doeth nothing except he revealith his secrets until his prophets.” I know that President Thomas S. Monson leads the people on earth at this time as a prophet. Prophets have warned generations of people throughout each dispensation of time. He sees our time and the future and he has asked that we support this amendment. This asking is enough to know that I should help. I know he is a seer, a man who sees the future. He pointed Elder Ballard in the chest and said, “California needs to pass this amendment for if California goes, so does the nation.” My first response is faith, but I understand reasons are needed for some.
In no way are my comments, feelings, or opinions meant to “gay bash” or hurt anyone. That is not my intention. I am just stating why defining marriage is important to me. First, I believe, read, and love the Bible as a word of God. I read in the beginning of Adam and Eve. God commanded Adam and Eve to cleave to one other. (Genesis 1:24, Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.) The Bible and other scriptures are replete with examples of families. Our Heavenly Father has given us, through the scriptures, an understanding of family by starting with Adam and Eve and continuing throughout the Bible. It shows their posterity growing and make choices. The scriptures show time after time the blessings of the gospel coming to individuals through their family lines. Every generation and group of people have used the model of Father and Mother and children as a basic foundation for civilization. Earth life is training for the life to come, and we are learning how to live in families now, for they are the ultimate perfect relationship in the next life. Never has a civilization, generation, or group of people in the past lived in same gender relationships. It has never worked. When Christ was on the earth, a women who committed adultery came to him to be judged. Never did he tolerate her sin or say that it was okay. He provided a way for her to change her situation. I believe it is similar with same gender relations or any relations that are not what the Lord has intended.
Another area of concern for me is the legal issues slowly crossing the border into infringing on my beliefs. The church has made it clear that by promoting this amendment they are not trying to change any rights already established for same gender relationships. They quote, “The Church does not object to rights (already established in California) regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference. Recently, NPR listed a few legal cases where people were sued by taking a religious stand on moral issues. See article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91486191. For example, the Catholic Charities have pulled out of adoption of children because they were sued after denying a same gender couple as child. The scary situation is that the line is inching closer and closer to infringing on the constitutional rights of churches to administer their religious beliefs freely.
I love the Temple. With a temple so close in Sacramento, I love going into a sacred, quite place where I feel the spirit of the Lord. The temple is a place of refuge and peace. I have been present as I have watched couples kneel over an alter and commit themselves to each other for eternity. The sealing powers of the temple are real and permanent. I can’t imagine if the line inches closer to our chapels and ultimately our temples where we would by law have to allow marriages to same gender couples. This is a far stretch, but the line is blurred and protecting the most important earthly ceremony of marriage is crucial.
This amendment, on its own, is purely defining marriage. As I understand, the definition of marriage was ignored when the judges overturned proposition 22, the vote of 4 million people. There technically is no legal definition of marriage. A person could marry their pet, themselves, their favorite food, and pretty much anything. In some countries where the definition of marriage is not clear, people are marrying a group of people (3 men, 2 women). It could legally be okay to marry a father and a daughter. When the line is not drawn, the legality of the issues is open to interpretation. I just hope and pray we draw the line and not let it get blurred.
This is really long, but I feel that when a prophet asks us to protect something so serious I will do what I am asked. I may not have all the legal reasoning, but it is what I feel. I know my writing is not perfect, but I know this is an important cause. I feel the line being drawn and choosing a side is vital.

Protect Marriage

2008-09-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

I just got this article forwarded to me. It is fabulous.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-blankenhorn19-2008sep19,0,2093869.story

Jenn's Birthday

2008-09-21T21:55:00.001-07:00

Oh, the girls. We loved blindfolding Jenn. We had a blast.
Just a little candy was thrown at Jenn.
We kind of had a three year secret, that we finally told our friends. It was just a little pratical joke we played on our friends a few years ago.
Shots of food. It is what Mormons do for fun.

We had quite a weekend. My good friend, Jenn turned 30. We decided to tell her to keep Friday night open. We conspired with her mom, and planned a night to remember. We started by taking her out for "drinks". We blindfolded her and took her to a restaurant. We had never been there, but it turned out to be amazing. I did not realize Stockton had such a nice place. It was called the Garlic Brothers set on the Delta. The sun was setting and it was fabulous. I think the lady thought we were crazy when we asked for Virgin Margaritas. But, we had a nice visit. Then, her family and some friends showed up and surprised her. My friend Ben and I had a secret we were keeping for three years. We decided tonight was the night to share the news. Shock over came the whole group. We ate a nice dinner and then blindfolded her again. We ended up back at her house and we had a big group of friends there. We surprised her again. It was so fun. We ducted tape her, threw candy, did shots of rice crispys, and basically all the favorite party events. A well deserved party for a well deserving friend.

Christmas Crazies

2008-09-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a youtube movie that I am in. Last Christmas, my friend Amy and I decided to do a spot for the ward Christmas party's talent show. Without much talent, lipsinking was all we could do. Well, somehow after much brainstorming, we came up with tangling Christmas lights around our bodies and dancing. I am the one on the right and I did not realize that my lights faded on and off. It was quite the event. My friend just put this on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua-dGyb7Eck

September has been eventful!

2008-09-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

Well, it is true. I have been busy. I was offered a long term sub job on Friday, August 30th. School started on the 2nd of Septmember. It has been quite an adventure. I teach 5th grade and I am starting to get things in control. The teacher is taking over as the principal because the principal is taking a leave of absence. My class is going well and I am enjoying it. There is always so much that I could do.

Well, the very exciting news was on Saturday. I had been asked earlier in the week to say the closing prayer at a Regional YSA fireside. The speakers would be Elder Ballard, Elder Christofferson (of the quorum of the 12 Apostles) and Elder Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy. I was honored to be asked, but I was so busy that I did not realize how exciting it would be. The meeting was one of the most amazing experiences. These men were so close and telling us exactly what we, in our situation, needed to hear. The spirit was extremely strong. Elder Ballard was incredibly powerful and the words they spake truly were powerful. There really was no question in my mind about the true of their message and who they are as Representatives of Christ. At the end of the meeting, we sang "We Thank the O God for a Prophet". My parents were up on the stand in the front row with an empty seat by them. So, I walked up at the end and sat by my parents. I then said a prayer and I was extremely nervous. The Mormon Center was packed solid and then to have Apostles listening to me. I said the prayer and then turned to walk back. As I was walking, Elder Clayton stopped me and said that I needed to shake Elder Ballard's hand. So, I turned (as everyone was watching) and shook Elder Ballard's hand. Then Elder Christofferson. Elder Ballard said, "Thank-you for your prayer". Then they walked out of the building. As they walked, Elder Clayton shakes my hand and then Elder Trythal (of our area authority). It was amazing. They could not stay to talk to everyone, but they were kind to me. So, to say the least, it was an experience that I will never forget.

Grandma's Birthday

2008-08-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

Janessa and I infront of the Sacramento Temple. Me, Heather and Janessa just before they turned off the fountains.
My Grandma and her 10 children!

A few of the 56 grandchildren. We missed the other 44 cousins. We had a great Birthday weekend for Grandma Bair's 90th Birthday. She actually does not turn 90 until October, but it was a good time to get all the family together. She had all of her 1o children together for the weekend. It started off with an amazing trip to the Sacramento Temple. We were all in the session together. That is an impressive legacy to see all 10 of her children worthy to be in the temple. We also had a great swim BBQ at Uncle Earle and Aunt Connie's house. It was a great weekend to be with the family. Congrats to 90 years, Grandma.

Camping

2008-08-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

I recently went camping with some friends, JH and Ben. We went to the Sonoma Coast State Beach. We had a great time at walking the beach, looking at tidepools, seeing baby seals, eating, and hanging out at the campfire. The weather was cold, which I believe makes good camping.

Checking out our campsite. I think we did pretty well.

JH and Me. I do just love that girl!
I found the best creature, a sea cucumber. It was the highlight of the tidepools.
Just singing along at the campfire. It was a posed picture. It is not really real. You can tell it was freezing there. I had a coat, sweatshirt, and long sleeved shirt.

Yep, I'm famous

2008-08-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

I was just quoted in the Grapevine, the local Rancho Cordova Newspaper, for my swimmers going to the Meet of Champions this weekend. After a long season, 4 of my swimmers decided to go further to compete against swimmers from all over the region. Here is a link to my words.

http://www.grapevineindependent.com/sports.shtml

The Breaking Dawn Adventure

2008-08-02T00:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the busy Barnes and Nobles as the girls eagerily await their chance to buy the book.
This is where we tried to win the free stuff. Um, I really was very lame at it all. I thought I would do well, but that was not the case. I ended up stealing some of the stickers off a table. It was easier than trying to win the trivia. Well, maybe it was not stealing, but picking them up. I tried to tell the girls that Edward just walked in, so I could closer to win something. Did not work!
Here is my prom picture with Maddie and Brooke. I have my stickers on my shirt, don't be jealous.

So, I received an email from a friend explaining that the local Middle School would get a portion of the proceeds when people bought books from Barnes and Nobles on August1st. The new "Twilight" book was coming out, so I thought I would stop by to see what kind of fuss was being made for this new book. I had never been to a book release and was frankly curious. I read that it was from 10-12 in the evening. I thought, oh maybe they start a bit earlier and I could just pick up a copy. Well, I drive up after ushering Music Circus to find the parking lot of B and N packed solid. FIRST BAD SIGN! It was not a little gathering. I did not realize that B and N was hosting Prom. There were more girls in their cute little dresses roaming around a store waiting for the fateful hour. I went with my friend Debbie and her daughters inside the store to try to answer some trivia questions thinking we could win some free stuff.

Well, NEXT BAD SIGN! I read the books months ago and I guess my comprehension and memory is not very good. I had the idea that my college education helped me remember important information and that these young girls probably did not know much. Well was I surprised. I bet their English teachers would be so proud. They were talking about characters and situations in the stories that I could not begin to remember. We took our picture and I was very tempted to get some dark red lipstick and black nail polish done at Barnes and Nobles. They really knew how to appeal to the love struck Edward fans. Well after all the excitement, I learned that I probably would not be able to "just pick up a book". I would probably get my hands on the book around 1:20...um not for me. I do love the series of books, but maybe I could wait until the next morning and head down to Costco. So no luck for me scoring a book or helping the school. But an experience I will soon not forget...or do I want to. The only thing that I have experienced and I can say was crazier was Women's Night Out at Deseret Book in Bountiful. Now that also is a life changing experience.

What a Weekend!

2008-07-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

"Dress like your Coach Day". The 15-18 girls each dressed like one of us coaches. Jessica as Liz, Brenda as Rebekah, Susie as Logan, Amanda as Kevin, and Danielle as Me. So Funny!
The Friday Night Penryn Activity was a huge hit. Most of the people were out in the field playing some fun games.
This is part of the YSA group at the River Cats Game. It was fun having a huge area with YSA's.
Here is my three legged race partners. We may have kind of won but just after a little cheating and a huge dive onto the finish line.

This has been quite a weekend. Not only did I have Championships for the Cordova Blue Marlins, but I also had the Sacramento Regional Young Single Adult Summer Conference. After a fun spirit week, my swimmers did really well on Saturday and Sunday. The summer conference also went well. It started out with a huge activity with food, games, bonfire, music, and a bus ride up in Penryn. On Saturday, there were workshops and a huge Tailgate Party to kick off the River Cats Game later in the evening. After going to Champs all day on Saturday, I went up to the River Cats game and met up with the group. It was such a fun game seeing so many YSA's. Saturday I went to church, but my swimmers did well at Champs. Then we finished the conference with a great fireside with Elder Trythall, our the area authority, as our speaker. Truly a busy, but fun weekend.

4th of July

2008-07-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

The bikes, read further down to see more about them. These bikes really are the coolest bikes ever. Each of the 5 kids get a bike as they get old enough to ride.

It started out innocently with Allan and Taylin just getting a drink in the sprinklers.
Then they started getting a little bit closer to the water. The water just kept coming.
Eventually, they were running through the water. It was fun until Allan got "stuck" in the water and was not sure how to get out. He stood their paralyzed as the water continued to slap him in the face. All he could do was say, "Momma, Momma". It was hilarious.

My swim team, The Cordova Blue Marlins, was in the annual Rancho Cordova Hometown Parade. I have been looking forward to the day we would take this picture. The Cuevas family on my swim team showed up to our first swim meet with the most amazing bikes ever. Their father remodels and rebuilds these bikes. The one bike even has a solar powered sound system. I have been asking them if we could take an official coaches picture. Here it is with: Kevin, Rebekah, Logan, Liz, and Me. They let me ride their mom's bike in the parade. We waited about 1 and 1/2 hours before the parade started. I probably should have tried to ride the bike during this down time, but I thought I could handle it. Boy, was I wrong! I looked like an idiot as I tried not to run over any kids. Overall, a really fun parade. The music from the bike made a huge difference.

School is Over

2008-06-14T15:18:00.001-07:00

School is over and life has turned into swimming. I graduated at the end of May. Although, I did not walk at graduation. My family and some friends went to Santa Cruz to camp in the Redwoods. I love Santa Cruz and it was a nice way to end the semester. I know how turned into Swim Team mode. This year we have 160+ swimmers on my team. That keeps my life busy with seeding swim meets, practices, and everything else. My swimmers are doing well and I love my coaching staff. Along with all of this, I am the Regional Activities Chair for the Sacramento area YSA. The committee is great and people get their work done. I am learning to art of delegating. Life is good, just a bit tiring.

Student Teaching

2008-03-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

It has been quite a last few months. I have started student teaching and it has been quite a journey. I am at school aroun 7:15 every morning. I teach a few subjects and school ends at 1:55. I then stay and tutor students until 3:00. I then get things ready for the next day. I then have a few minutes to get ready for teaching swim lessons/ coaching the swim team. I come home prepare for the next day and I am in bed by 9:30. That is my typical day. I have just walked around exhausted. My days never end. But overall, life is good. I am learning a ton and I am now just a few months away from graduation. Yahoo!

My Blog

2008-01-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

This is the beginning of my own blog. Right now, I am coughing up a lung. It has been over one week since this all has begun. I am watching Gilmore Girls, in bed sick of dying. Just another day off. I am not excited for real life to start up again.