Christmas

We went to the cabin for Christmas. It was freezing. We went sledding. It was sooo much fun. The kids loved it. My dad loved it. Monica and I even sledded with our fat butts. Lol. The kids got a ton of stuff. It was just a low key, relaxing Christmas. Monica and I took the kids to see Marley and Me. Wow..total tear jerker. Total. All 4 of us cried. It was a great Christmas.

D-O-N-E

I am sitting here feeling utter relief that I just turned in my research paper. I'm done. Wow. It feels good. I won't even know what to do with all the free time I'll have in the evenings, yeah right. Lol. I have been a major maniac stress case lately, so thanks to everyone putting up with me. Now, I can relax until, what, January? Then, I have to sign up for more classes through my district to get my bonus money and move on the payscale. Teachers really jump through hoops to get a little money. Hey, that's why I make the big bucks...right? NOT. See you all at my moms next Friday. Be there or be square!!

Graduation

Less than one month til I graduate!! It's the one bright spot in my otherwise bleak life right now. You're all invited to my graduation, and more importantly, to the party afterwards at my parents house. Invitations will be coming soon and thanks Aleisha for making them!

The top pic is Master's '08 and the bottom one is Bachelor's '01. Funny how my hair came back around to short blond. Lol.

California Knows How To Party

So, Aleisha and I drove to Newport Friday to surprise Monica for her birthday. We got there before her and hid in her bathroom. We scared her. It was pretty funny. We had an amazing dinner, then not such an amazing time at I Lounge. Let's just say Monica had to hold Aleisha back from breaking some chick's face. Lol. Saturday we went to the beach. It was gorgeous. We met a guy who laid down in front of us so we would walk over him, like a speed bump. He was pretty funny. We ended up going to his house for a little get together. It was hilarious. Seriously, probably the most fun I've had in years. Then, we ended up at Rudy's. Also an amazing time. I honestly don't think I've had more fun with my sisters before. This picture is from dinner. And, ps...we aren't bending down. Those girls are THAT much taller than us shrimps.

Fall Break

Fall break is FLYING by! We got a new dog named Libby. We went to Schnepf Farms with Aleisha's family. We went to the movies. We are going to the zoo. Busy, busy, busy. Oh, and the house is clean and the back and front yards look a okay. Oh, and the Halloween decorations got put up. My life could be amazingly organized if I just didn't have to work!

In memory of my hair-RIP

I had to put up this pic in memory of my hair. Granted, my hair doesn't usually look this good. Truth be told, it's usually in a pony tail and I have felt Marsha Bradyish forever now. I have been dying to cut it, but couldn't part with my long hair. Well, today, I cut it. I have mixed feelings. I'm sad. But, I'm glad, too. When I'm feeling a little better about it, I'll put up a pic of the new do. I'm trying to change things in my life for the better...this hair cut is representative of me changing. It's hard, but I'm trying. It makes me sad sometimes (just like cutting my hair made me sad), but I'm doing my best. Take it one day at a time...one foot in front of the other.

Max

I love Max, but he has an obession with my shoes. Notice my shoes pre-Max and post-Max. I might just have to kill him. And anyone who knows me knows these are my two favorite pairs of shoes I own. I LOVE my black sling back peep toes with the bows. LOVE them. And my gold shoes..don't even get me started. I'm in love with them. I've only worn them ONCE. WTF.

ASU

Carole adivses for ASU. Saturday's game against UNLV was staff appreciation night, so her and 4 other ASU advisors got to watch the game for the 1st half on the field. Well, one of the advisors didn't show, so I got to go on the field, too. Sweet. This really cute guy named Skip who works for ASU was down there with us. He had to go get new people at half time to bring down. I told him where Carole and I were sitting and said, "If they don't show, come back and get us!" So, sure enough, he came and found us in the stands and we got to go back down to the field. So we were on the field for almost the entire game. It was crazy. I loved it. I was standing on the other side of the net where the punter practices kicking the ball. I thought he was going to take my head of every time. Thank goodness for strong nets. We were right next to the players. We heard all their bad words, saw all the spitting, etc. It was crazy. There was tons of commotion. We had to stay out of the way of Fox Sports Net camera people and all their dang cables. I thought we might get taken out by the players a couple of times. Anyway, ASU lost in overtime. :( It was such a fun experience though. Shout out to Skip for hooking me up. :) And thanks Carole!

We LOVE the cabin

The cabin is so fun. Ok, I admit it, I'm the first one to say, "I don't want to go." I hate the packing and not being home all weekend because nothing gets done, but I love it once I'm there. It's fun to be with my family. The house is amazing. We stuff ourselves silly and the weather is beautiful...gorgeous. Max is so well behaved up there..way better than here. Plus he just tires himself out running around outside all day. Come to think of it, so does Cory. Cory and Max are similar in so many ways. Lol. We love it. Can't wait for the snow! No, I won't be in it, but I love looking at it from inside the cabin by the fireplace with some hot chocolate.

The Joys of Living in Queen Creek and Back to School

As many of you know, I have a new dog. He sleeps in the house. So, every night before I lock him in his crate to sleep, I take him to the bathroom outside. Well, last night a HUGE flying bug came in when I opened the back door. Every time we go out there at night, some crazy flying insect gets in. Who knew there were sooo many bugs out here? it was huge and it made the creepiest noises. I was freaking out. When I got back in, I found it buzzing around my room. It was dive bombing me. I grabbed the bug spray and went crazy on it. I did all of this from the hallway behind my bedroom door, lol. I had no idea where it went after the first few shots of bug spray. So after a few minutes, I went in to find it on my bed. Nice. It died in my bed. Disgusting. Then I had to get it out of my bed somehow. So sick.

Other than almost being killed by an insect, life is good. Crazy, but good. School is in full swing. We are adjusting to constant business again. I swear, it's exhausting. The minute we are home, it's homework, pack lunches and snacks, pick out outfits, fix dinner, walk the dog, showers, hopefully do some dishes or laundry, grade some papers, then fall into bed just to sleep (not enough sleep ever!) just to get up and repeat the previous day. Can we say Groundhog Day? I always forget how exhausting the beginning of the year is. Soooo much going on. Plus, I'm trying to juggle my internship duties, too. Today, the second I walked in, I laid on the couch for 30 minutes. The kids kept asking me if I was ok because I never, ever just sit and do nothing. Too much to do. I was so tired. I had to just lay down. My new couch is so comfy. I don't get to enjoy nearly enough!

Oh by the way, I did the announcements at school today. I did an ok job. I think I need to slow down a little next week. Plus, I read everything. I need to trust myself more just to kind of wing it. So, it sounded scripted. But, hey, I didn't die. Oh, one last funny thing. I was ironing my skirt while it was on my body and burned the crap out of my leg. It was bad. Lol. It is healing up, so I can make fun of it now. It was pretty narsty for a minute there. OK..that's enough for now. Peace.

Meet Max

Max is our new dog. He's 1 year old. He is a chihuahua mix, a mutt. He's adorable. We love him. Kylie gave him his first name. Cory gave him his second name, Chance. So his name is Max Chance Clayton. He uses the bathroom outside, he doesn't bark, and he lets Cory carry him around like a baby for as long as Cory wants to. He's seriously such a good dog. We really lucked out with him.

Arizona Grand Oasis

We went to the Az Grand Oasis, used to be the Pointe, like we do every year. They have recently redone the resort and the rooms are so nice! We had so much fun. I ran into one of my old students and his family in the wave pool. I also saw one of Theo's old students from last year. His family was in the room right next to ours and his little brother was in Ky and Cory's K class and Ky's 1st grade class. Nothing like running into families at the school where you are a teacher in your bikini. As Kylie would say...awkward. It was soooooooo fun though. Probably our best year yet.

Newport

We went to Newport Beach this past weekend with Aleisha, Jesse, Colby, and Brexlin. We had so much fun. It was exhausting though. Monica's roommates were so nice to let all of us stay there. The kids were a little wild at times, but pretty well behaved. Brexlin got burned at the beach, bad mom Aleisha. Cory and Colby took off sprinting down the beach away from us. We had to send Monica to fetch them. Cory found a really cool sand dollar. Unfortunately, it broke on the way home. All in all, it was a great trip. It was great to see Monica. I loved the beach. I need to live by a beach, most definitely. PS...when did kids stop sleeping in the car?

Summer

We have been busy this summer. It's already almost halfway over with! I have been taking an online class and an in person class. I just wrapped up the online one. Thursday is my last in person class. I'm supposed to be writing my final paper for it right now, but of course, I'm not. Then, I have one last online course that starts in July. Then, I'm officially done with course work. I just have to intern in the fall and I graduate. Please mark your calendars for December. There will be a huge graduation party, most def.

I went to Vegas in May with the teachers. We had a ton of fun! Good times. All I have to say is Kaycie and I should apply to be on the Amazing Race.

We go to Cali to visit Mo on Friday. Should be great.

We go to the library a lot, swim a lot, hang out a lot. Cory gets tutored every Tuesday and Thursday. Oh, and we sleep a lot. Thank goodness for sleeping in two months out of the year. I have been getting up at 5 though to jog. I go back to sleep, of course!