Ballin'

So Marine Corp Ball 2012. Way fun to get all dressed up and purdy. Makes me think we need more outings like this. The ball was in Richmond, about an hour away. So we hopped in our carriage and my prince charming drove us to the ball. It was cocktail hour when we first got there so we mingled a bit and Andrew drank his Dr. Pepper. Everyone looked spectacular. Then we were ushered in for dinner. They presented the cake. The oldest Marine there gets the first piece and the youngest Marine gets the second. They had two speakers and then we ate. After dinner the dancin' began. We stayed for a few songs, but the songs lasted forever which made us not want to last forever. So we left around 11 and got home a little after midnight. Perfect timing.

One crazy week...check.

This week was nuts. This was the start of "Range week" for Andrew (which is actually two weeks...go figure). It was long hours. Since they had to be up at 4am and didn't finish till like 9:30 every night, Andrew slept on base every night. I'd drive there between 9 and 10 to see him for like 15 minutes. If Andrew had to be gone this week, it was the perfect week for me for him to be gone. I started teaching so I was super busy getting everything going. I'm also going to be gone all next week so I had to get my sub plans for a whole week ready which takes much longer than you might imagine.
So, what is range week? The boys hike to the shooting range and practice with rifles and pistols. They then go through qualifications to see what class or rank of shooting they get. Expert is the best, sharp shooter is the second and I can't remember the name of the third rank. The first day of pistol, the instructor asked Andrew if he had shot before. He was surprised when Andrew had said he'd only shot pistol a few times before. I guess the instructor really thought he was a natural. The rifle was good, but not quite as awesome. Friday Andrew had qualifications. He got expert on pistol and so far has expert on rifle, although rifle isn't quite finished. But, things are looking good for him. These rankings are kinda a big deal because they wear pins on their uniform that show what ranking they are....so everyone else can see. But, he'll be looking good wearing his 2 expert pins!

I got called as a Beehive advisor. It should be fun. I will go to mutual every week and teach 1-2 times a month. So perfect!
My dad, even though he hasn't fully recovered from his surgery, got called as bishop. Of course, the ward boundaries changed as he was getting called and his ward has over doubled now. It'll be a crazy time, but he'll do a fabulous job. He has always been the best example of service growing up- helping put up some one's fence, fixing sprinklers, mowing lawns every week of widows, shoveling driveways, etc. It is because of what I've already seen him do that I know he'll be a wonderful bishop.
Next week is my Sister/Mother Seattle extravaganza! Can't wait to see the fam and spend time with my girls!   Hopefully I'll have some good pics next week.

The Move

We started Monday at like 5:30 am. We hit Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia.

It really wasn't that bad. Andrew drove the whole time. I think he was afraid I'd damage the U-Haul trailer or our new car. Either way, I was totally fine. Believe me, I was afraid I'd damage them too. We didn't do too much since we had to get Andrew back ASAP. We ate some good food though! An Omaha steak, a stinkin' good milkshake, the best stinkin' hot cakes ever...mmm.

We saw lots of land, trees, other cars, road, windmills, ya know...
The high of the trip: getting here.
The low: stinkin' tolls. I don't know if I've ever been so infuriated. You mean to tell me it's going to cost me $30 to drive across your state once... g with a double r. grr.

Day 1...is Andrew already asleep???

Most people get Subway or something on their road trips. Not us.  Pizza on the go. 

I'm too lazy to flip this picture around. Sorry, but not sorry enough to flip it around.

The Drover in Omaha. Recommended by our friend Adam on Man vs. Food 

Virginia is for Lovers? :/

Don't ask me why. But that's Virginia's slogan. I guess it could be a good selling point. Where the heck it came from?? Maybe I should do a little research sometime.
So far, I really like it here. It's beautiful. Our apartment is awesomeness (compared to our others). I got a sweet long-term subbing gig that should rock, but may not. I start tomorrow so we'll see.
Andrew got a rockin' score on his first academic test.
I got a sweet calling that I think I'm going to love (it's still a secret so I'll post next week with more details).
Really and truly...we've been so blessed so far.
So, every weekend we try a new adventure. The first few Saturdays we were just getting settled, so skip those. But since we've officially started:

1) Went to Government Island. About 3 miles away. Really nice nature walk and the site that George Washington got the sandstone he wanted to use to build the White House.
2) Went to our new temple. It's huge and obviously absolutely gorgeous. Love it.
3) Went to Chatham Manor. About 9 miles away. Old house that George Washington and Abe Lincoln have been to. It was pretty important during the Battle of Fredericksburg during the Civil War.

So...now you have it. We are alive and well. Maybe I'll even keep up this bloggin' thing and keep you updated . (Let's be honest with each other though- don't get your hopes up. This bloggin phase may only last a few weeks. )

Classroom.

It's the view from my desk. You can't see two walls of the room: one wall with the whiteboards, the other with student computers, my desk and computer, and some shelves and cabinet. The random looking section (between the yellow paper and Johnny) is our LOL wall. When students find a comic or something about math, we post it up there. The students just love it!
Sorry I've been lame at keeping you updated! I just haven't felt like blogging. Just haven't been diggin' it lately, but here's at least some pics of my classroom. Nothing special, but it's where I live at least 40 hours a week, so be nice. :)

Veteran's Day

Nevada is so fabulous in so many ways. The way I truly appreciate this weekend is that they go all out to celebrate Veteran's Day. They have a huge parade, free stuff to Veterans all over town, etc. Did I go to the parade? Nope. Did I get any of that free stuff? Nope. BUT, I did get the day off...which basically rocked.

My dear husband has an addiction. So, we drove downtown Las Vegas, past the lights and the Strip, to the scary end of town. It was time to make all his dreams come true.

Yes, it was in this ghetto building with a ghetto sign and inside was no different. There were broken games lining the back wall and a strange smell throughout the room. But, don't worry- they had a snack bar....

The beauty of this place was not the fancy germ infested popcorn machine. The beauty of it is the history of the American culture that can be seen. The beauty of it is found when you see it for what it really is...a giant room of pinball machines. Rows and rows of them. $.25-$.75 a play. Pinball machines from the sixties to special edition Lord of the Rings with the highest pinball technologies.

Andrew loved it. I even did too.

The weekend didn't stop there. Let's just say: 2 dogs, 2 drinks, 2 churros, 5 bucks. Gotta love Costco dates.

Today, the finale will be a movie and ice cream from Coldstone (paid for by a gift certificate and a BOGO coupon I got from signing up for the Coldstone newsletter.) Summary of this weekend: good deals, good times.

Vegas

Yes, I know. I've been terrible and I wish I could say I would do better, but I'm just not sure if I can commit to that. Quick and to the point: I had an awesome summer-going to Brazil, the Carribean, being homeless and hanging with fam-but now we've made it to Vegas...obviously.

The beginning of the school year was nuts. I was doing school stuff nonstop. But, now it seems to be slowing down and even getting to the point where it's fun. Don't get me wrong, there are those periods where I wonder what the heck I am doing trying to teach such crazy hooligans anything, but there are also those days where it's just fun. There was a trunk or treat a couple weekends ago at the school. Andrew and I dressed up like little red riding hood and the big bad wolf. It was pretty good if I may say so myself!

We haven't had a chance to do anything too Vegassy (yes, that's a word now) yet. I had Friday off because of Nevada Day. It's this state holiday where the state decided to take the day off. I'm not sure why, but I definitely didn't argue with a day off. Andrew and I went to Red Rock Canyon and hiked around a bit. It's pretty (note the pics) and it's one thing off my "to do" list.

We like living here though. There was a few weeks where we were doubting it because of the never-ending heat, but lately it's been beautiful.

Andrew and I don't have cable or satellite, so we started Lost on Netflix. We finally finished Saturday and are just glad that it's over and we're free from it. Although, I do have to admit I've dreamt about it the past few nights. At first I hated the ending, but I guess it grows on ya the more you think about it.

I'll try to do better with the blog. But till then: Peace!