Washington, DC

Blogger overload: This is the last post for today. I still have more to post, but I need more time.

While in Virginia we had a chance to go to DC for a day. On both coasts, we were not able to go to as many places as we had hoped to. We got a late start that day, and we did not arrive in DC until 1. We really wanted to go to the Holocaust Museum. We went there to get a ticket to return later (tickets are free, but you have to have a ticket to enter the true part of the museum and they have a time associated with it). We then went over to the Smithsonian American History Museum. We were there for maybe 90 minutes and then headed back to the Holocaust Museum. It was an eye opening experience to be in that museum. After we were done at the Holocaust Museum, we went to grab a bit to eat. We were planning to hit The Mall after dinner, but during dinner, it started to POUR! We raced to the metro and headed back to Virginia. So our day in DC consisted of lots of walking back and forth, the Holocaust Museum and a little bit of American History. It was still a good day.

Monopoly

While on vacation we played Monopoly twice. I have not played since I was a little kid. I forgot how much fun it is and how looooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnng the game lasts. The first time we played we ran out of time, but with the way things were going it looks like my brother-in-law, Jaime, would have won. We then played with Jason's family in Virginia, and I wiped everyone out (maybe that is why I enjoyed it so much:) When Jason and I returned home, he wanted to play again so that he could win. I am still undefeated. Anyone up for a game of Monopoly?

My 24th Birthday

I apologize in advance for the tiny pictures on this post. While in California I celebrated my 24th birthday. My parents took Jason and I out to breakfast. The original plan was to have my siblings drive down and go to the beach. Well, let's just say that the weather was not in our favor a few times on our trip. It was raining. I come to beautiful California and it rains on my birthday. Obviously we did not go to the beach, but I had a very nice and relaxful birthday. My siblings and their families showed up, and we played games for a few hours. We then went to my ultimate favorite restaurant, Tio Leo's. I received some flan for my birthday. I do not believe that I have ever tried flan before, but it is so good. We then went back to my parent's home for MORE GAMES! I had a blast playing games frequently during our vacation. Speaking of games, while visiting with Jason's family, my mother-in-law and I played a kid's game with my nephew that I think is really fun. It is by Cranium, and it's called "Balloon Lagoon."

While on vacation I was also able to read two books. One book that I read was Escape. It was really good. It was really sad to see what happened to Carolyn throughout her life. She was born into the FLDS religion. This book talks about her life and how she eventually escaped from her polygamist husband and her religion.

I also read My Sister's Keeper. I am ready for the movie to come out.

On my birthday I went to the mall to get some great chocolate: See's. Nobody does it like See's.


Jason got me a purse, headbands, a book, jewelry, candy, and some other stuff.

I am having a hard time deciding what to get with my birthday money. I either want this

or this

or this.

Hiking on a trail less traveled

While spending time with Jason's side of the family, we went on a hike. We started off on a trail that seemed fine and within five minutes we realized we were going on a loop. After we got back to our starting point, we went back to where they have a sign posted with information about the hike. This trail was 0.5 miles. We could see people down below, and we wanted to get to where they were at. We found another "trail." It started off seeming like a real trail and then it started to get very narrow. I believe it at some point was an actual trail, but had been taken over by nature. We could still see a path, but we were dodging trees and other fun stuff. Jason ended up getting Poison Oak (or Ivy-I cannot remember which one grows in CA). We had a lot of fun though. On the way back, we stopped at a taco shop for lunch, and I got to eat Rolled Tacos which satisfied my Mexican cravings.


Above are Cory, Amanda, Jason, Brandon, and Jason's brother, Brad.

My Girls

While in California, we had a chance to quickly visit the girls I used to nanny. Sorry to those who did not get to see us. It is so hard to get everyone in when both of our families are there, plus my grandmother and aunt were visiting from northern Maine, and I do not get to see them often. I was a nanny to these four girls for over two years. They each have such sweet spirits, and I cannot believe how much they have grown! Emily (in the purple), the youngest, has just turned one when I started. Corinne, the oldest, is now taller than me. Go figure, every person over 12 seems to be taller than me. Katelyn (in the green) has grown so much mentally and emotionally, and Ericka is getting baptized in August! I lost this job for a good reason: Matt (the dad) found a wonderful woman to marry and has a son who falls right in between the youngest two (in age). CJ is such a good sport for putting up with four sisters. I love these girls so much. They will always have a special place in my heart. This job also brought many friendships with Matt's amazing extended family.

Mission San Juan Capistrano

While in California we went to Mission San Juan Capistrano with Jason's step-mom, Bev. Bev has been very important is Jason's life.

We really enjoyed ourselves there. It was very beautiful.

This was the detail inside the Serra Chapel.

This is Jason and Bev standing inside the ruins of the Great Stone Church. In 1812, an earthquake caused this amazing structure to tumble and cave in, killing many.

Date Night

Last Friday night Jason took me on a date. We went to eat at Palomino's, a good new Mexican restaurant in town. We ate for $10.84 (plus tip). We then went to see "The Proposal."

Jason and I really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend it. There were many laughs, and Jason and I both thought that it is the best movie we have seen in a long time. I would like to buy it when it comes out. I have always loved Sandra Bullock. Jason says she is his new "actress crush." Before it was Drew Barrymore. He says Jesse James is one lucky guy.

Congrats and Happy Birthday

This week is time to celebrate (unfortunately I will not be there with them the celebrate). My dad is officially RETIRED! My dad has been teaching for over 30 years. His last day with students was on Monday. He shocked us all by starting to get rid of stuff weeks ago. Dad, thanks for all the hard work you have done through the years in providing for your family.

Both of my parents grew up with working mothers, but I was fortunate to be raised by a mom who stayed home. She was always there. When I (the youngest) started 1st grade, my mom went back to work as a substitute teacher. Through the years, she got many offers to take a position without having a credential. She always turned them down. As a kid, I never understood why she turned these job offers down. I thought, "You could make so much more money; therefore, we could do more fun things as a family, go on more trips, etc." She would always say something to the affect of, "I do not want to have to bring work home, and I want to be able to take a day off when I need to." If we got sick or were receiving an award, we know that our mom would be there because she would be there. If she was already scheduled to work, she would just cancel her job for that day. Now, I finally understand why my mom never took a true teaching position. I am grateful to my mom and my dad for all the hard work and sacrifice they made for us so that we would have a parent around. Sometimes, my dad worked more than one job to pay the bills. One summer, my dad could not work (he was a teacher and I believe all the summer school positions were filled), so he became Mr. Mom for the summer while my mom worked. During that summer, he gained great appreciation for my mom and what she does.

I am grateful that I married a man who knows of my strong desires to be a stay-at-home-mom when we start having children. I look forward to the day when we can start a family, and I know that come hell or high water, I will be able to stay home and raise my children.

Today is also my mom's birthday. I hope she and my dad are enjoying themselves this week. I wonder if they are having a trashing party and getting rid of 30+ years of teaching material. I love you both. You mean the world to me.

Memorial Day Weekend in San Diego

The above picture is supposed to be second to last.

We got in about an hour late on Saturday due to bad weather in Denver where our plane was landed for about an hour. Better safe than sorry. I will not bore you with the details, but it is sad to say that our society is so dependent on true credit cards that those of us who do not have credit cards have a hard time traveling even though we have the physical funds. Companies want a real credit card, not a debit card. We got to my parents house around 10:30. We visited for a couple hours and then went to bed.

The next morning we got up and ready for family picture time. We would all only be together for a couple of hours because Tim, my brother-in-law, had to get back home to be a doctor. I do not have the pictures yet. I will have to do another post with those when I get them. Individual family pictures turned out great, but I do not think my dad is happy with how the whole group picture turned out. We were dealing with shading issues and trying to keep 5 kids happy and looking at the camera.


We played lots of games while we were there. If we did not have some place to be, you could typically find a group of people around the table playing games. The kids did so well entertaining themselves. We ate lots of food, and especially lots of chocolate, thanks to Aunt Barbara. YUM!

On Memorial Day, we went up to Jessica and Pete's house for a BBQ. They have a nice park across the street. The food was good and of course, there were more games. My dad is not a huge game person, but her loves Catch Phrase. The kids had fun playing at the park. The boys, okay men, had fun throwing around the football.

My Grandma and Aunt

Jessica and Pete's house is very nice. They are new first time home buyers. Jessica and Peter have been working on a garden that look amazing. They get many compliments from neighbors and passersby.



Jessica, Peter, and Ethan


My mom seemed so tired the whole time. She was hosting a lot of people. That makes you tired (and little sleep from late nights). Many of us got sick that week, and she was one of them.

My mom and Eliza

Plumbing Issues

Jason decided to lend a hand and save our landlord some money a few weeks back. He volunteered to install a new toilet for us. She paid for the toilet, and he provided the work. Well, we should have known better. Almost every single water supply in our duplex has had to be replaced because of corrosion.

Jason got the old toilet out fine, and the base of the new toilet in just great. The only issue was that the supply line shut off to the toilet was corroded. Jason turned off all the water for our duplex. The kitchen sink no longer has running water, the bathroom sink no longer had running water,etc. EXCEPT the toilet supply line still had water coming out of it. He then proceeded to jump our fence to get to our emergency shut off. This shut off not only controlled our side of the duplex, but also the other side. Water was STILL coming out of the toilet supply line. At this point he and I were getting frustrated. I called my dad, and he had no suggestions. At this point I am sitting on the floor dumping water every 2-3 minutes. We called our landlord because we were stumped. She could not reach any of her handymen so we had to call Roto Rooter. They were out pretty quickly. The plumber could not even explain why the water was still coming out. His only explanation was that it is "the low point." He just went ahead and installed the toilet and new supply line with the water running. I was just happy to have a new toilet and not having to sit on the floor constantly dumping water. The plumbers explanation of the water still coming out still does not make sense to me because by the time he took care of it, it had been close to 4 hours!

I had a final the next day that I did not get to study for that night. Jason and I went to bed around 11 and just as we were both almost asleep, we heard this loud burst. Yes, the NEW water supply line coupling broke. Fortunately, we had a new shut off and I just shut off. Within a matter of 20 seconds, the bathroom floor was flooded. I was very cranky and Jason had me go back to bed while he cleaned up the mess. The plumber came back out the next day and said the coupling was defective.

We have had no other problems since (knock on wood). After this incidence, I told my co-workers that I did not know if we would ever buy a house because I do not what I have to deal and pay for all the issues that can go wrong.

Oklahoma Weather

This is what Oklahoma skies graced us with this morning. I drove to work and the sky looked nice. By 9, the sky was completely black (with some green). You would have never guessed that is was 9 in the MORNING! Within 90 minutes or so (I do not have a window in my office), the sky was completely clear. The Mazda got a decent size dent on the roof, but I am not too worried about it.

Happy 4th Anniversary

Today is our 4th Anniversary. I cannot believe it has been four years. I feel so blessed to be married to a wonderful man. He is hardworking, loving, caring, a good cook, handsome,...I could go on. I love him so much. Jason, these years have been great and I look forward for the many years to come.

PS-Trip posts will be coming soon. I have to get back in the swing of things.