Poor Mark...

...is really sick. He might have caught the crud from Angela's kids, or maybe from someone around here. He's had a cold ever since Saturday night, but by last night he was shivering uncontrollably and felt awful. For once, he didn't hem and haw about calling in for a sub. He stayed home and rested all day today, and tonight he feels better, but he still has a headache and is tired, so he'll be staying home again tomorrow, too. Hopefully he'll be back on his feet after another day of rest.

Julia went to the doctor today, and she has bronchitis. She actually seems to have more energy than Mark, but maybe she's been sleeping a lot. I was off working all day, so I don't know!  :)

I'm fine. Thanks for the good genes, Mom.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Back to Work We Go

Spring Break has flown by. I'm still trying to get my head around the reality of returning to work tomorrow, to all new students and a new term. I have a lesson plan for tomorrow, and I'll make more plans once I meet my students and get a sense of where they are at as writers. No doubt it will be the usual mixture of strong writers and students (seniors!!) who still struggle to write more than a paragraph in one sitting. Makes me sad, but at least they all show improvement by the time they finish my class.

I have lots of photos from spring break posted on my main blog, so I thought I'd revisit a few years in the past to finish out tonight's post.

Spring Break 2009 - I bought a new pair of hiking boots! I have yet to use them on a really long trip, but Mark and I sure had fun with them last summer, backpacking with the grandkids, and then on our trip by ourselves to Jefferson Park in August.

And tried to get the lawns under control...there's a never-ending story.

Spring Break 2008 I hiked to Tunnel Falls on the Eagle Creek trail (12 miles roundtrip) by myself. It gave me courage to tackle the Goat Mountain Gallop that year, and to pursue my dream of the 50-mile solo backpack trip later that summer.

It was a rainy hike, and I was wearing a stupid plastic poncho that ripped. After I got home, I bought a good poncho and light-weight rain jacket from REI - some of the good equipment I took with me on my 50-mile hike.

Spring Break 2007 Mark and I were tackling a bunch of landscaping projects - this was the start of our "shade/evergreen garden" out in the corner of the front yard.

And Spring Break 2006 Mark traveled to San Francisco to help Angela and Tim out with the new babies, while I stayed in Oregon City and did the scoring for the state writing test.

I'm sure glad I married this guy! Hope you have a wonderful week.

Headed for Washington

We're leaving OC about 9:30 to head to Polly & Eric's for the day. We'll drive back this evening. Rainy out--it poured during the night--but it's just a little drippy now, so it should be an easy trip.

The orchard is in bloom - hope the bees can get out in between the raindrops! We're supposed to have nice weather tomorrow, and then rain again for several days.

I'll post pictures when we get home. Love you!

We're Home!

Had a beautiful trip home today. Long, of course, but the weather was a treat, very little construction, and the traffic was fine.

It is SO nice to be home!

Headed Home

I'm off to the Mill Valley Curves for a quick workout, and then Mark and I will hit the road - probably about 8:00 am. We had a good visit with Karen Kenny-Choy yesterday. We've had such a nice time here with Angela and Tim and kids. (Tim and the kids have been sick, though, so we're kind of glad to get out of germ city.)


Oregon, here we come!

Cute kids

Audrey standing next to the kids' art display.

I made this hanger for them Christmas before last.

Gluten-free yummies. "Pirate Booty" snacks from Costco and strawberries.

Sam building with Leggos.

Audrey displaying the picture she made for us.
She liked it so much that she decided to keep it, so I took a picture of her holding it.

We're Here With Whats-His-Name

We arrived in Tiburon about 5:00 yesterday. It was a long drive, of course, but uneventful. Beautiful weather, lovely views of Mt. Shasta. This view from the rest stop near the Weed Airport

I tell you, I'm not sure what to call this sweet baby. I thought they were calling him "J.J," but I haven't hear anyone say that since I've been here. When they're talking about him, they refer to him as "Joseph," and Angela sometimes calls him "Baby Joey" when she's talking to him.

I asked Audrey what she calls him, and she said, "Prince William." Sam says "Joey." So I guess I'll stick with Joey, too.

He sure is a sweet baby. Very sweet and peaceful, and if he's fussy, it's just a tiny, quiet little cry. He's very calm, and looks around a lot with big blue eyes.

Time to get dressed and ready for church. It starts at 9:00, and it's already 7:40, and only Sam & Audrey & I are up, so I'm guessing we'll be running a little late today! But no one's worried about it. They're going to actually do the blessing in the Relief Society Room after church is over, at noon, so we're fine.

Peaceful Day

Good memories!

Today was busy, but peaceful.

I have a few minutes of down time right now, and then Mark and I will go to our yoga class. After that I'll go to a Relief Society social at church.

I am almost finished with my PSU paper. I will finish it later tonight, or tomorrow morning. I don't have to give a final tomorrow morning, so I already arranged with my principal to take 3-4 hours flex time in the morning. I'll (maybe sleep in a little?), go to Curves for my workout, finish up the paper, take it in to PSU, and then stop by the Clackamas Town Center to run a couple of errands.

Things are a little more peaceful within the extended family (at least for now), which is so nice.

I feel healthy and happy. I have lots to do, but I am able to do what I need to. I feel so lucky, so blessed.

Adjusting to Daylight Savings Time

I'm sleepy today! Didn't sleep well last night, heading to bed soon (9:15 pm), but oh, it is so nice to have more light later in the day.

Mark was sick today, so I went to church by myself and missed him, but he was feeling lots better by the time I came home. He slept all afternoon, which was just what he needed. He had a headache and upset stomach - the typical Mark issues when he's feeling crummy. I feel badly for him, but there's not much I can do except let him alone so he can rest. He had his appetite back for supper, and has had a good evening.

I talked with Kendra this evening. They are settling in to their apartment in Lawrence. I don't have the address yet. They got home from the airport about 1:00 am this morning. Yuck! But some people from the ward came over yesterday afternoon and helped Chris get the truck unloaded, so at least that chore was done. Kendra says the apartment is currently chaos--boxes, boxes, boxes everywhere. They managed to just lay the mattresses on the floor last night to sleep. Laurie and Alex (Chris' younger brother) Last are there for a week to help them get settled in.

Tomorrow I'll be working on curriculum all day with the reading teacher, trying to help more of our sophomores pass their reading test by the end of the year. First we have to help them buy in to wanting to read better, and then we have to provide some instruction that helps them actually improve.

I'm the same as always. I feel fine (except for being sleepy) and I'm looking forward to this next week. I have my PSU paper about 1/4 written - I'll work on it some more in the evenings, and I can take Wednesday off with flex time if I have to.

Maleena & Max's wedding

Sorry I haven't posted here for a while. I am SOOOOO glad that I am almost finished with my PSU term! This class was a good, but it was a stinker.

I'm pretty sure I told you that Max & Maleena changed their wedding date to June 5, didn't I? We had dinner with them again tonight. Communication is improving. I wish it were a perfect world, but it's not, so I'm trying to accept what is and get on with it.

After dinner we went to Joanne's Fabrics and bought some fabric for the table cloths. "Watermelon" (ie, bright pink) and "coral" (ie, bright orange). Whew! I think I'm blind. Better bring your sunglasses if you come to their wedding.

The combination is actually pretty...but they sure weren't putting colors like that together when I was their age! At least I will look calmer! Here's a link to the dress I'm probably going to buy for myself: Dress Link. I could just buy it online (from Penneys), but I'd rather go try it on in the store to make sure it's going to work.

I'd better go get busy on my term paper - due Wednesday night. Love you guys.

Better News...It's a Girl! And a Boy!

No, not twins.

I can't remember if I told you that Ashley and Nate are having a girl (in June).

David and Holly called today to share that they are having a boy (in July).

Both pregnancies are going well, with healthy babies.

Not-so-good news

Julia and Mike just found out today that Mike is getting laid off. Tough news at a tough time for their family. They were hoping that he would get a raise this month, but instead he won't even have a job. That's all I know so far. I don't even know what else to say.