It's a beautiful thing...

When the A/C in your car gets fixed, especially when you are about to lave for Reno. It is a Pioneer Day miracle.

California

A few weeks ago we went to California with my family. We had a great time. We went to Disneyland, the Del Mar Fair, the beach, and a bunch of other wonderful places in San Diego. It was so nice to have a vacation (being a swim teacher is rough). Here are our beautiful selves:

Old Town San Diego. I remember this big tree from field trips as a little kid.

Balboa Park in San Diego.
Love the Fair.



To the untrained eye, this robot we ran in to at the Fair may seem cool or interesting. Trust me, he was terrifying. He was huge and he kept making fun of me (yes, there was a person inside...one with wicked awesome dance moves.)The County Fair really brings out the best in people. Makes me wonder why I have been wasting all my life with organized religion.
It also brings out the red-neck in people. Case in point: turkey races.

My aunt and uncle got this new puppy. She loves me, as you can obviously see.

He also loves me, almost as much as he loves Winnie the Pooh.Waiting in line for Indiana Jones (don't worry, we went on it three times...I think Chris almost wet himself, he loved it so much).
On Indiana Jones...pure joy.

My two favorite men.Boys will be boys. The sign clearly said: "Do not rock the bridge."

Harry, my love

The results are in. I was pleased on the whole. Of course, they left some key stuff out and decided to add a random scene instead, but overall I would say it was the best one yet. I am already excited to see it again. And by the way, contrary to the way this appears on the blog, we actually rarely see movies (even at the dollar theater).

Double Feature

Yes, that's right, we saw not one but two dollar movies on Friday night. Yes, we need some friends. ;) We went and saw Land of the Lost (lame, don't waste your dollar...get a Whopper Jr. instead) and then we figured, what the heck, let's see Wolverine (easily worth two dollars which made up for Will Ferell's poor showing). Oh, and don't worry we went to Cold Stone in between our movies and ate almost this whole pint.

Seventeen Again

Is it bad that I loved this movie? How about that I thought Zac Efron was dreamy? Oh well...

The Pig Ouchies

Or, more commonly known as the Swine Flu. It's official--I have all the symptoms (which also happen to be the same symptoms of the regular flu.) You name it, I got it. Aches, chills, congestion, nausea, sore throat, other various and sundry symptoms not appropriate for the blog. However, I do have an avid history of self-diagnosing myself with various ailments; some might call it "hypochondria." But I still hold that I have hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating); it plagues one out of four women in America, and it is no laughing matter. Also, I self-diagnose myself as pregnant about every two weeks and by that measure my track record has been notoriously poor. Anyway, pray that I get better before tomorrow when I have to speak in Church. I should probably write a talk for that...

Summer

I just found this picture on my computer, and I thought I would post it because it represents to me everything that summer should be. This was the summer after my Sophomore year, right when Chris and I started dating.

Me, as a superhero

Chris has moved on from chess, and has found a new pastime. Creating superheros....

He spent like an hour doing it on Saturday night. And here are the results of me as superhero.


http://marvel.com/cyos/655550/name/Chris%20/hero/AKIRE)

Notice my superhero name is ERIKA spelled backwards; no evil villain would be able to penetrate such a fortress of security and discover my true identity. Also, why do I only have on one boot?

School's out!

Well, this school year is over. I never knew a calendar could dictate my emotions so strongly until I became a teacher (and I am not even a real teacher--you guys must feel really great).

Reflecting over this past school year...

Number of schools I have taught at: feels like 1 million, but probably like twenty or so.

Number schools where I have really actually taught my own classes: 2-one high school, one junior high

Number of times I have cried: like 20 (never at school--sometimes tears of joy, sometimes otherwise)

Number of times I have been asked for my phone number: at least 5

Number of times I have been told a student has a crush on me: 2 (both really awkward, just try to brush it off)

Number of times I have been asked my age: like a hundred. Apparently, I look twelve.

Number of times I have wished I was not a teacher and seriously questioned my abilities: 1,000

Number of times I have prayed and hoped to get a job because I love teaching: 1,001

Discouragement

I am really starting to get discouraged by the lack of jobs available for next year. Also, I am discouraged by the fact that the only school that even bothered to call me for an interview was the one school where I had a snowball's chance in hell of getting the job (they had basically already promised it to their intern, which I knew going in). Is there something wrong with me? I have a degree, and I think I am a pretty rocking teacher--and my students would agree. :)

This is the part where I need you all to tell me not to worry, and that I am awesome.