Turkey Day 09

Life is rather simple. We wake up; we go to school; we come home only to do more work; then we go to sleep, only to rinse and repeat the next day. So it's nice to have a holiday once in a while to break up that routine.

Once again we had Thanksgiving dinner with our Californian family: the Kochars.

Adam's job is to carve the turkey. In this picture, it looks as though Gurgit and Kanwal are questioning his ability to be able to do it. When Adam was in the middle of the turkey carving, Kanwal's dad came over and told Adam he could have had it carved in half the time! Kanwal's dad was getting a kick out of picking on Adam the whole evening.

Gurgit and Sarab pushed Adam aside once a carving knife wasn't required to get to the meat. Adam looks thrilled, doesn't he?

Dinner was good, the company was great, and we're thankful for your friendship, Kochars!

(A tribute to the golfing buddies......)

Whirlwind Wonders

With AJ constantly occupied with homework, and my absorbtion in work, we are staying very busy.....just not with a whole lot of new adventures. However, last weekend, I was able to fly home for Ryan's homecoming. I loved having all 8 of us under one roof. We tried to get family pictures taken, but the girls were uncooperative for the most part, so we'll have to see how they turn out. Ryan did a fantastic job with his talk. He's an amazing young man, and I look forward to witnessing all of his future accomplishments.

This week I'll be flying out to DC for a conference on character education. I'll also get to go to dinner with my dad and Clint on one night, and then with some friends from Budapest another.

Speaking of old friends, the one featured in the article linked to below was my "twin in the city." We met in grad school in NY. We have the same birthday and are both about 5'3'' and blonde. Anyways, soon we'll both be in LA, married and have husbands with the last name "Johnson." Check out the short article!

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/she_turned_blog_into_prince_gYSOBOnXqx6KMEpqoIX3aI

Three days until......

this guy comes home!!!

I miss.....

Fall. Mostly, the crisp, cold air on sunny days; the leaves as they change colors; the stiff, dying grass as the world around me prepares for snow; craving soups and freshly-baked cookies (okay, I still crave the cookies); and the list goes on.

Butterflies...anticipation....most likely little sleep

T'was the night before school starts,
and all through L.A.,
teachers and students are squirming,
for tomorrow's the big day.

No, it's not new,
and we've done it before,
yet we are nervous,
are we ready for more?

There's homework and grading,
then quizzes and tests,
admixt texting and facebook,
oh, when will we rest?!?

Yet we've pondered and prepared,
and goals have been set,
once again we will strive,
hopefully each will be met.

So, despite all the jitters,
it's time to just chill,
and get some sleep already,
if you need it, take the pills!

I was surprised at how long I managed to drag out my preparation for tomorrow. I began preparing a few weeks ago, and yet I sit here, still uncertain that I'm even ready. I mean, I've done this before; it's not as if it's new. However, the constant rehersing tomorrow's lessons in my head is making me exhausted. Hopefully this means that I will sleep; but if previous years are any indication, chances are that it will probably not be the case. All well, here goes nothing!

Fueling AJ's dreams

In some ways, it's hard to believe that it was more than a month ago that we were in Mountain Home. In other ways, we're so much back in the swing of things, it's hard to imagine that we were ever gone. Nonetheless we are grateful for the time that we were able to spend in Mountain Home with Sensei and Deb.

Above is a place called "Moonlake." It's located in Ashley National Forest in the Uintahs. It was one of the places that Sensei took us on a ride to go and visit. Just one of the many peaceful places we were able to witness this earth's beauty on our vacation.

As I mentioned in my last post, we were able to go and visit a friend I had made a few years back. John Crawford lives by himself in his cabin near Mountain Home. I could listen to his stories for hours! He is writing his memoirs right now, and I sincerely hope that I get the opportunity to read them some day. He is an American citizen that has given a good part of his life to protecting others around the world. In his spare time, he flew hot air balloons and set records doing so. His home is like a museum! It's packed full of treasures that he's collected from his travels around the world. Below is just one of the sculptures that he has build in his yard. Each sculpture is dedicated to someone, or something in his life. The one below is for South Africa.

For sometime now, AJ has talked about owning and maintaining a ranch someday. Our visit to Mountain Home only fueled his desire to follow through with this dream. He has spent many days since researching different cows and horses that we're going to have on our ranch. This occupation runs in his blood, and he has relatives that are still involved in these sorts of ventures. There are many times each week that he'll bring the computer over to me and say "Here's your horse..."

AJ also loved this rocker that was on the porch of Sensei and Deb's home. He enjoyed reading his book out there and soaking in the views below:

We're missing pictures of Sensei and Deb (they were actually very kind to allow us to stay with them considering all that they were involved with while we were there), as well as our experience at the Altamont rodeo. It was amazing to see 5 year olds roping calves! All in all, we loved our trip to Mountain Home and hope that we will get the opportunity to return. In the meantime, we'll just replay these awesome memories!

Our super long vacation!!

I may blog with more details, but in the meantime, here's some highlights from our three and a half week vacation to UT!



Our first stop was to Mountain Home, UT, where we visited a dear friend, my Sensei, and his wife Deb. This picture was taken at Moonlake in the Uintahs.

While in Mountain Home, we were able to visit a man named Jon. His home is like a museum. Seriously. When you walk in, you do so very delicately and wait to be hold where to sit. He has led an amazing life and I could sit there for hours listening to him share his experiences. I hope that I will get the pleasure of reading him memoirs upon their completion, and I look forward to our next visit! (hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later)

This little angel turned 3 while we were there. Isn't she so adorable? We are so lucky to have her as a part of our family! I loved how her favorite event of her birthday was to blow out the three candles on her birthday cake (three times). I can't wait to hear more about her school adventures with her friends, and their pizza and chocolate milk lunches!

We also liked hanging out with this guy. This was while we were at a family cookout in American Fork canyon. For the majority of the evening, B. wanted to be called "Doda." So here's to Doda!!!

We were also very fortunate to be able to attend the wedding of Tyler and Heather. Tyler was one of AJ's mission companions in Boston. We have been grateful for his friendship over the years, and wish him and his wife all the best as they begin their life together! We can't wait to get to know Heather better!

This sweetie was a handful every minute, and I loved it. I love her "hold you me" in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings. I also loved reading "Gossie and Gertie" to her almost every day before nap time; my favorite part was when she would say "But Gossie followed a shiny blue beetle!" So sweet!

I love my mom! I miss her already. I loved watching "Gilmore Girls" with her and Cami Jo during nap time; I enjoyed going to the gym with her and Cami Jo during the morning hours, although Cami Jo made sure I was sore most days of our trip; I loved just being able to have the everyday chat with my mom.

Within the next few days, I'll probably post more details about each of these exciting events. Thanks to both of our families!! We love you and miss you!