California

The fourth of July is one of my top two holidays (the other being Thanksgiving). Growing up we always went to the Lake Michigan and hung out at the beach all day. Then we would bundle up in blankets and sit back to watch the fireworks that were set off of the pier. Then there was always the excitement of waiting in line for an hour to get out of town and onto the highway to head back home. :) It was just always a very relaxed day spent with family, usually our cousins on my dad's side.

The five of us had a grand weekend in California. :)

This year I didn't make it back in time for the traditional Fourth of July festivities in Michigan/Indiana. I was still able to spend the Fourth with my cousins though! I'm still visiting my Mary and her husband Caleb in Arizona. :) Another cousin (Jon) is in California doing an internship this summer, so Mary, Caleb, and I drove over to California to spend the Fourth with Jon and his girlfriend. We had a great weekend. :) We started off the weekend by going to the beach on Friday, which was awesome! Those ocean waves definitely have something on the Lake Michigan waves, but I missed watching the fireworks go off over the water.

It is always so good to spend time with these two! I never know when or where I'll see them next!

Saturday morning we started the day off right... with a board game! Have you ever heard of "Pandemic"? I think it is a relatively new game, and it's a lot of fun. It's a group strategy game, so for those of you who aren't competitive, this one might be a good for you. :) Then we headed over to a friend of Jon and Cristilynn's for the afternoon and evening. We played some epic volleyball, played another round of Pandemic, ate some yummy food, and ended the evening with some fireworks and sparklers. Later that night Jon, Cristilynn, and I played a terrific game of Settlers of Catan. (I just LOVE board games. :)

Just a couple days left with Mary and Caleb!

Sunday we went to church and then had to head back to Arizona. Our weekend visit went far too fast. :( Enjoy some pictures of the Arizona and California scenery. I hear it is much greener in the winter time. :)

Arizona Sunset

Arizona sunset... hard to catch a good picture in a moving vehicle! 

It's dry and brown in California now...

So I keep trying to imagine these hills all in green. :)

Pictures don't do justice. These mountains seemed MUCH bigger in person.

I love the way these mountains and hills are so wrinkled and defined. 

The windmill farm in the forefront gives a little perspective to how big these mountains are.

I fly out of Arizona to Indiana on Wednesday. Looking forward to seeing all my Midwest peeps!

Sunset colors!

Hello all! I hope your summer is going well so far! I'm really enjoying my time with family and friends! I miss my mountains and the ocean, but I'm really enjoying the colorful midwest sunsets! Enjoy some pictures. :)

Gorgeous Fourth of July sunset!

A very normal picture of my not so normal sister. ;-)

And then my beautiful cousin. It seems we can't get any decent first pictures! ;-)

Everyone got a little sun-kissed that day.

Family is so important!

I grew up with these two. They were my best friends!

Toes on the beach! Woohoo! One of the best feelings in the world!

The sunset progresses...

You just can't beat these colors!

I mean, seriously!!!

Sparklers while waiting for the fireworks to start!

We like to start their love of fire early ;-)

Look at the joy on this kid's face!

Another great part of being in Indiana again is seeing all of these great midwesterners. The northwest is beautiful, but there aren't nearly as many warm-hearted folks out there. Or maybe they've been hiding somewhere in the mountains. Anyways, I've only met a few friendly folk in the northwest. I'm happy to be catching up with my friendly folk in the midwest!

These lovely Jefferson Jets came out to spend an afternoon with me. I sure have missed these ladies! 

This next week I'm heading to Chicago with my brother's family to spend the week with my parents and little brother. Still another four weeks here in the midwest!

Middle of June... already?

Wow! Time really flies, doesn't it? I can't believe it is already the middle of June!

I spent last week wrapping up school stuff like report cards, filling out paperwork, completing the end of year checklist, going to meetings, and packing up my classroom! It actually only took four days to completely purge and then pack up and clean out my classroom. I guess that all my moving about these past four years has paid off! I'm a very efficient box-filler! ;-)

Today I did my usual "first day of vacation" routine... slept in a little, cleaned the house and cooked. Having a clean house really helps you breathe deeply, doesn't it? Just kind of a deep sigh of relief! :) And then I made some homemade gluten-free, dairy-free pizza. I've been craving pizza for the longest time but it is very expensive to buy a gluten-free/dairy-free pizza. Homemade is the way to go but time-consuming. Mmmm-mmmmmmm good!

Next I listened to a sermon and then watched some Andy Griffith. Actually I'm quite embarrassed... I spent three hours watching Andy Griffith. Yikes! Well, as long as it's not every day, right?

It was quite rainy this morning when I woke up, but it has cleared up to be a lovely spring evening! The temperature this evening is about 55 degrees, but with just a hint of humidity that makes it a comfortable 55. Plus the sun is shining, and when it touches your skin you just feel so happy. :) It's a beautiful evening!

A comfortable, sunshiney and cloudless, 55 degree evening in Seattle

It was so lovely that I just took myself outside to go on a run. And by a run I mean a run-walk-run-walk-run-walk sort of deal. It's a work in progress. ;-)


I'm enjoying summer break, but I sure miss my kiddos! All of them! I miss my school kiddos and keep wondering how they are doing. I miss my niece-and-nephew-kiddos too. So much! I can't wait to get back to the midwest to squeeze them tight. My sister posting pictures of her visit to the beach with my nephews didn't help any. *Ahem* Christy. Not kind! ;-)

I'm already thinking about next school year, new ideas, and how I'm going to decorate the new classroom. I have a couple of projects to work on these next couple of weeks, I just hope it's enough to keep me busy until I leave for Indiana!

Q&A

There are so many questions about this move! It has all happened so quickly! Let me try to answer some of the most common questions about the upcoming move:

Q: Where in Washington state will you be?
A: A little north of Seattle

Q: How far are will you be from the West Coast?
A: Right around 3 hours away.

Q: How far from Canada will you be?
A: I'll be about 2 hours from the Canadian Border.

Q: When will you be moving?
A: I'm planning on moving at the end of July.

Q: Are you flying out there?
A: No, I'll be driving out with my family. We'll be turning it into a moving trip/family vacation of sorts.

Q: How are you getting everything out there?
A: A friend from church has a brother who drives a semi and he has agreed to let me put most of my stuff in the semi and he will drive it across the country for me. (Isn't God good? He provides!)

Q: Do you have a place to live?
A: Not yet! I'm looking around and trying to find a good living situation, preferably sharing the rent with someone else as it is very expensive to rent apartments out there. ($1,000 a month for a 1 bedroom or even a studio apartment!!! Craziness!) I'm excited to see how God provides!

Q: Is there a good church out there?
A: It appears that there are several good churches! I'm doing some research will have quite a bit of visiting around to do once I get out there.

Q: How do your parents feel about this move?
A: Well, I know they are very sad to see me going so far away. But they have been so supportive! Do you know, it is such a huge blessing to have godly parents who pray on behalf of their children and who know what it means to truly seek God's will in life! They have prayed for me and with me and have accepted that this appears to be God's will in my life. My mom is asking lots of good questions and giving lots of good ideas. Dad has gone into high gear and is doing lots of research on the area, moving options, and lots of other things. I'm praying for my parents... I know I can't even imagine how hard it is. But I so appreciate how supportive and helpful they have been with this all.

Q: Your family seems so close... how will this huge move effect your family relationships?
A: I have been blessed with an extremely close family. I love being able to talk with my family about just about anything. I'm planning on coming back and visiting in the summers and Christmas vacations. Plus, today's technology makes it so easy to stay in touch with e-mail, cell phones, Skype, and Facebook. It will be hard not to be right there while my little bro goes through the rest of high school or as my nieces and nephews continue to grow up. But I'm not about to let the relationships drop. It will take more work to stay in touch but my close relationships with my family provide the motivation.

Q: Is this just for this year? Or how long will you be in Washington?
A: However long the Lord has me there. I won't pretend to know the future. It could be just be for a short while or maybe the rest of my life. I don't know. I do know that I will not be going anywhere until the Lord has made it clear that I should. Will I ever come back to Indiana? I don't know... I just don't know. I guess we'll have to wait to see where "protinus" (forward) takes me!

" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 

'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you a hope and a future.' "

Jeremiah 29:11