My New Addiction

So my first week off school has been wonderful. I've gotten some rest, did some much needed cleaning around the house, and found my new addiction: parfaits. I really can't stop eating them. For some reason the combination of the fruit and yogurt and granola really hits the spot. And maybe they're not the most healthy thing in the world, but they're certainly somewhat healthy and I don't even feel bad about eating them constantly.

Strawberries were on sale this week for $.88, and I had some time to make granola, which is much cheaper than store bought (unless anyone knows of any great deals on it, and if so, fill me in). Most of the recipes make you cook the granola for hours in the oven, but we found this great stove top recipe- which is super easy and huge if you don't have air conditioning and don't want to heat up the entire house on a hot day.

So there you go. If you're in the mood for a sweet, light, reasonably healthy treat, go make yourself a parfait. Also, if you do make the granola, I usually double the oats. Happy summer cooking!

School's out for summer!

Yes. Yesterday was my last day of teaching and today I handed in all of my tutoring materials, so I am officially done! At least for now. I really don't think that it's sunk in yet. It's amazing how quickly this year has gone. Anyway. That is my exciting news. We made little autograph books for the kids, since most of them don't get yearbooks. In fact, most of them weren't even familiar with the concept of signing yearbooks. I made one for myself as well, and had some of the kids sign it. I'll share a few of them anonymously so as not to violate any laws....

• Hey thanks for to learn me English an understand me. you are a good person, you was pacient and nice with me. Thank you for all!!!


• Hi. has a good summer.


• You are a good person and sorry for the bad things do i did, had a good sommer.


• I hope and you have a good life with your baby and your family and thank for help me to learn more English 'cause you know what I need know English and you helped me too much thanks and see you later


• Tanke you for help me went I din'd knot anything good teacher bye.

Hmmmm. Makes me wonder if I was really a good teacher after all.... but at least they attempted to write something in English, as opposed to this one...


• Gracias habernos ayudado mucho y que tenga un buen verano gracias por todo.

That was my favorite. :)

But they are really good kids, and I'll miss them.

Prenatal Class

This weekend involved about 9 hours of baby-prep classes! We thought it appropriate to share our thoughts.

Scott:

It wasn't nearly as scary as I had feared. I learned how I can help a little in this pain-producing proposition. I was surprised to learn that Janelle can wait until she is well into labor before going to the hospital. I suspect this won't be good only for Janelle and the baby, but perhaps for our bank account as well! I think taking a class like this is a helpful experience for parents-to-be (but I'm just glad it's not me having the baby!).

Janelle:

Hmmm...maybe it would have been more scary to Scott if he were the one with the baby inside of him. Let's see. One of the best things I learned is that I should stay in my pajamas for two weeks after I have the baby. Honestly, nothing sounds nicer than that right now. The second important bit of info is that they have the good ice at the hospital! I love that ice. I was soooooo excited. You know, the good ice that they have at Costa Vida, Sonic, the Smith Fieldhouse when you get injured...(not that I've eaten that ice, but it's the same stuff.) I probably could have done without the video that showed us three different times how to bathe the baby, but oh well. We did learn some good info, and mainly how much we still have to do before this baby comes. Guess we better get on that.

So. There you go. Perhaps more information than you wanted, but too bad. I'm sure we'll have lots more of such information to come. :)

Shower!

So on Wednesday, Anne threw me a little baby shower! It was so fun to see all of my friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in forever! It was just fun to get together and talk and catch up. I had a great time, and I'm getting even more excited for this little guy to come. Thanks to everyone who came, and especially to Anne for getting it together. Love you guys!

Mother's Day!!

So, we had quite the exciting Mother's Day! On Thursday night, Scott's brother Michael came over and suggested that we drive home to Oregon that weekend to surprise Scott's mom. Friday morning we decided that we were actually going to do it, and we left Friday afternoon after school at about 2:30. We drove until about midnight and stayed with some friends in Eastern Oregon, and then finished up the trip in the morning.

When we got to Scott's house his mom answered the door. It took her a little while to recognize Scott and Michael. At first she thought they were the missionaries, as she had just fed them the night before. :) Then she just started screaming. It was the best thing ever. I totally wish I would have gotten a picture of her face. Then Scott's dad came from the back, wondering if someone was attacking his wife, or what. He was pretty much in shock as well. Needless to say, that made the whole quick trip worth it. We had such a fun time just hanging out on Saturday and Sunday. Scott's dad spoke in church, and Scott's mom made a delicious dinner, which aunts, uncles, and cousins came to as well.

We did have to leave on Sunday, so it really was a quick trip. Thankfully we split up the ride home as well, and stayed with Scott's cousin in Boise. That made it nicer for the 8 month pregnant woman who had to keep stopping for bathroom brakes anyhow. :)

Since it was Mother's Day, I also got to get conferenced in on the missionary phone calls to my mom. I talked to Geoffrey, who is serving in Albania, at 5:30am and Steph later that afternoon. It was really good to hear from them, and they both sound like they're doing great. Steph only has a couple months left! And of course I got to talk to my mom as well, which was wonderful, as NJ is a little bit too far for a 3 day road-trip.

So, basically, it was the best day ever. Hope all you mom's had a wonderful Mother's Day as well!

Women's Conference

Here are some pics of when my mom came out to Provo for Women's Conference. And for those of you begging for pregnant shots (Linds), here's one of that as well! :) It was so fun to see everyone, and I scored big time on the baby stuff as my aunts have brought me all of theirs. Oh, and we also got a new couch! And by new, I mean used and from Craigslist, but we love it!

Graduation

Well, we've had a pretty exciting couple of weeks here, with the most exciting news of all being that Scott is finally a graduate! After starting kindergarten 20 years ago, he finally has something to show for all this education. However, this isn't quite enough, so we are excited to start grad school in the fall! No, we really are glad to be staying here and excited for grad school and the opportunity to keep learning. Scott's not taking classes this summer though, and it is really nice to have a little break from homework. He decided to go out with a bang and saved his highest GPA for a semester for his final semester. 4.0- very impressive.


Scott's parents were also able to come down for graduation, and we had a blast with them here. We were able to eat lots of good food and play some games together as well. We loved the commencement ceremonies where we got to hear advice and counsel from two of the Lord's prophets. We are so grateful for the opportunity that we've both had to study at this wonderful university, and look forward to the continued education (and football seasons) ahead.