Daddy's Girl

Ever since I have been small I have loved being with my dad. Perhaps it started when I was little and he would take us into town on Saturday mornings to run errands and get a treat. If he worked on cars, I liked to hold the lamp and find tools for him. If he was building something, I tried to help him find the screws and hold the washers in place, and he made me feel useful because my fingers were smaller than his and I could reach into tricky spaces. He has always had skills that I admired and I always kind of wanted to learn them from him but I never did. For some reason I didn't want to be too much of a girly girl, even though I totally am.
My dad didn't really teach me his skills because I hardly stuck around to learn. He would sometimes get impatient with me or with his project and that was my cue to leave. (Along with basic skills, my vocabulary was stocked with four letter words!) I still find huge satisfaction doing projects with him. In fact, a couple of months ago I even helped him install speakers in his jeep and I felt so proud.

Well, now I am the "technical director" of our spring production. I am basically just making sure the kids don't chop off a finger with a saw, but I have also been trying to get involved and help them build stuff (except that I have NO desire to even touch a saw). The other day they were putting together a small staircase and I thought I would pick up a power tool and help them along. Bad idea! I couldn't, for the life of me, control the cordless drill. I have even used drills before! The kids shook their heads and gently took the tool away from me. I decided then and there that I am okay with the inability to build a staircase! I guess I should have stuck around my dad a little longer and just embraced a new vocabulary. (I'm all about vocabulary...right? I AM an English teacher.)

We Are Approved...

This past week we received the news that we are now certified to become adoptive parents. The approval process itself was an ordeal as we faced a family emergency with our caseworker, a cancelled approval meeting, a message that said that we could not be approved until May, another message that said that we could be approved with a letter from the State Board of Education, us calling everyone and their dog trying to get that letter, finally getting that letter, and then, on Wednesday, us finally getting the approval pending a background check that clears in late Apr/early May. Needless to say Shawn and I are very excited about this news. In fact, we want baby shopping this week in search of a crib, a travel system (car seat/stroller/hand warmer/phone all in one easy fold up package), and even some outfits and home decor. We also were able to watch conference with our family and hang out with our friends.

Happy Easter!

Last week was our Spring Break and we had the opportunity to go to Moab for a few days with my dad. We went to Arches National Park and hiked to Delicate Arch. It was amazingly perfect weather and it was so neat to see the beautiful miracles of nature!

We attended the 42nd Annual Easter Jeep Safari where my dad's new jeep took her "maiden voyage". I went to Moab every year for ten years before I went on my mission and it was so fun to share this tradition with Shawn. I think I love to go so much because my dad's eyes light up and he is in the mecca of things that are "cool" to him. I personally love to be out in nature and see the incredible landscape. This was a fun adventure to experience this year with my husband and my step mom who are both new to "jeeping" and Moab.

One of our dear friends offered to take our picture for our adoption collage, profile, and this blog. Here are some of them.

I am trying to act nonchalante about the fact that I am falling off of the fence!

These would be our oh so matching Lady Mustangs sweatshirts!

I am grateful for friends!

"Devil Books"

My husband affectionately calls any book that I pick up to read a "Devil Book". In the beginning, it made sense. I had started reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and it was a page-turner. (Vampires, werewolves, etc. all fall under my "scary" category and are therefore appropriately linked to the Devil who is also "scary") However, in the past few weeks, that title has been given to a series of other books. Perhaps it is due to my intensity. I have a hard time starting a book and then picking at it here and there. I would rather devour the book, even if it meant rereading for full comprehension, thus resulting in a lack of attention towards my husband. I have read five books in the past five weeks and I am embarrassed to say that I have loved every minute of it. I am not ashamed of reading (I am an English teacher :), but I feel extremely guilty for not using my time more wisely doing something else. Emily Dickinson once wrote "There is no frigate like a book to take you lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry." I heartily agree with her. I have needed to escape reality or internally combust and, thanks to a few books, I am here, happier, and hopefully more sane. Yes...reading is therapeutic. I had forgotten that fact as a college student.
I am on this young adult lit kick and have read a couple of books by Eva Ibbotsen and a couple by Shannon Hale. The book that I just finished reading was not the best book of the several that I have just read, but it was one of those that made me laugh out loud. It was Austenland by Shannon Hale and it had all of these funny references to Jane Austen stories, characters, and actors who have portrayed Austen characters. Bless Jane Austen's guts for creating such wonderful stories that girls fantacize about, English students analyze in their critical methods courses, and authors allude to or just outright reference. I love it!

Oh YEAH!!!!

So, today, I got up at a resonable time. I got ready for work, ate breakfast, and picked up my stuff to head out the door for work. I saw that I had two voicemails on my phone and deliberated whether or not to listen to them at home or at work. (Work is two minutes away.) I decided to listen to them on my way to work. As I am walking out the door (the door was actually open) I heard the sweet voice of our secretary telling me that our school district has shut down all of the schools for a snow day. YIPPEEEEEE!!! I HAVE NEVER HAD A SNOW DAY!!!! I'VE ALWAYS WANTED A SNOW DAY!!!! Too bad Shawn is in Richfield for the 1A State Tournament for girls' basketball, we would totally go outside and play. (We REALLY love the snow.) Happy Valentines Day to me! I am going to read books and watch movies all day!

Sports Junkies

My first hockey game...go Avs! (Christmas 2006)

BYU Baseball Spring 2007

Phillies Baseball at...

Citizens Bank Park, PA this summer.

Denver University Hockey vs. Sacred Heart over Christmas break

Let's just say that if it has anything to do with a sport, Shawn digs it! Baseball is his weakness though. His goal is to visit every major league baseball park in the U.S. (as well as every state). Here we come!