Being a Mommy

Being a teacher definitely has it's pros and cons. One of the biggest cons for me is that I don't get to do the "mommy thing" to help out at school. I would love to volunteer on a regular basis at the school, etc. I did get the chance to do a little of that when I signed up to go with Ember on her fieldtrip. We went to This is the Place Heritage Park and to the zoo. And of course, that day just had to be the day of the first snow storm. (we have had bigger since then!)

This is the sky/mountain up there at the park!

Our first stop was to a small house where we learned about pioneer life. We even got to try out some of the chores that would have had to be done during that time.

Washing clothes 

Ironing

Cooking over a fire

Churning butter

Sweeping

Practicing how to milk on the "milking bears"

Then we were off to another house where we learned about how to make yarn from wool right off the sheep.

Waiting for lunch!

After lunch, we were off to the zoo! These cute girls were so crazy! They wanted to take a picture together at all the statues and things we came to. Here we go!

My little birds

It was so fun being Mommy. I wish I could do it more often. I think the best part of it all was the fact that Ember was really happy that I was there. It made me feel so special.

Happy Nine Years Sweetheart!

     I think I might just have the sweetest man on Earth. No, Seriously!  Back around April of this year Branden called me at work one day to see if it was okay if he bought my anniversary present now. He said he found a deal on Google Offers on something he's been wanting to get for a while and he has the money to get it. Sure! Why not!
     When I got home I saw he had labeled an envelope with "Do not open 'till October 3rd!" Well now my interest has been piqued, but I really like surprises. So I only asked him one question, " Are we going anywhere?" To which he said, "yes." But I told him I wanted to be surprised and to not tell me. Now if you know me, I don't have a really big problem with waiting for things like this. Yes, I get excited! Yes, I want to know! But...I am willing to wait.
     Over the next six months, I only caught a few glances of that envelope as I was cleaning. It always made me smile and then that was that. Until October 3rd.
When the day finally came, I was actually having a pretty bad start to my day so I didn't open it until after school. I honestly was so happy knowing I would be getting away from it all for a couple of days.
     We were headed for Park City! Hot Rock Massage and a fine dining dinner included!

DAY 1
That morning we got the kids dropped off at Aunt Dee's and we were on our way! Our room was beautiful! Big bed! Cool bathroom! (The shower head was in the middle of the tub pointed straight down like rain). And it was nice knowing we had a small kitchen if we wanted to save or buy anything.

I totally want my future tub to be like this!

After looking up some things that we were interested in doing we headed over to Main Street. Those old buildings are fun. We also found out that Thriller was playing at the Egyptian Theater for the weekend, but was sold out! We ended up first on the wait list.

Our hot rocks massage was scheduled for 4:00. I love being toasty! Branden thought it was on his warmth threshold! :) It was nice to relax.

Dinner was at 5:30. We had a set menu, but it couldn't have been more perfect. Caesar salad, fillet mignon with mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and onions. And beignets for dessert! Yummy!

Yes, those are potato chips with some sort of vinegar on top. Hmmm...

Off to wait to see if we got in to Thriller. It was fun to walk by the theater. They had a bunch of the dancers all dressed up walking on Main by the theater totally in character. We decided to shopping while we waited. At 7:28 Branden apologized that he had not looked into it sooner. Literally 5 seconds after he said that we got a call...We got tickets! The dances were so much fun! And the creepy dancers even walked the aisles and empty seats trying to scare you. So funny!

DAY 2
After checking out of the Spa/Hotel we went for breakfast at the Eating Establishment. It was so good. In the meantime, we bought and mailed a postcard to the kids. We thought they would get a kick out of receiving something in the mail.
Then finally...Shopping! at the outlets.
Too much money later, we headed home.

I love that my husband has fun surprising me after 9 years together. And that even, as well as I think I know him, he does something very unexpected and surprises me all over again. I am still learning new things about him that I thought I knew...but maybe that's just my brain forgetting. :) I can't wait to see what the next nine years have in store for us.

I love you so very much Sweetheart. You truly are my everything...and more.

To Boston and Back

Well, a year ago I started this crazy history class with several wonderful women from my school (as well as many others). We essentially took an entire US history class from pilgrims to modern day in three weeks! Grueling about sums it up. Now a year later we were rewarded with all our hard work for the past year with a trip to Boston!
We did so many things and visited so many places I can't even remember them all! Among them were: Plimouth, John Adams Houses in Quincy (pronounced "Quinzy"), all the places along the Freedom Trail, ...Ok my mind has now gone blank! Might I mention that I failed my essays test too. I also got to go to Blue Man Group! It was so much fun. If you have never seen them, you need to! They are hilarious!

Taking a walk through Boston Commons

Apparently I can take a picture of myself!

I got to be the littlest baby duck...anyone ever read this book?

Woo Hoo!

Don't even ask! But yes, it is a ship made out of a cow!

Row, Row, Row Your Boat...

A REAL wood pile...circular.

My newest weapon of choice.

Couldn't help but laugh!

Love the view behind us.

I have no idea who these weird "dead" people are! 

Apparently I ride bikes every 11 years!

Henry David Thoreau

I'm soaked and cold. Now I know why I wont move.

A small piece of the WW II Memorial in Boston. 

A Blue Man!

I MADE IT! Should I be punching the air now?

Heck yes I can climb it!

After Boston we got on AmTrak and headed to Philly. Talk about a very boring 6 hour train ride.

We only got to be in Philly one day, much to our disappointment, but we had a story guide who walked us around and helped us see some re-enactments of when they were getting ready for the Declaration of Independence. He was hilarious!

Her new boyfriend!

I decided to take a picture with every weird hat I found!

One week of craziness later we were headed home. Remind me to not take a 4 am flight out of anywhere!

Rachel and I...too tired.

In the end, it was all worth it!