Spring Break

For 4 days of Spring Break Parker and I were in the Bay Area visiting friends and former co-workers. Only a couple had ever met Parker. I had the best time and Parker did great. While we were gone, Grant ripped up the stained carpet in the living room and hall and replaced it with wood laminate floors. They look great. He worked 12 hour days to get it done. I'll have to post a picture later. They are dark and so easy to clean.

Highlights of my trip:
1) Party at Thien's house. He really knows how to host a party. He cooked up fresh oysters, bbq chicken, and sausage. We played Rock Band. I'm in love with that game and am almost ready to run out and buy a PS3. I was the singer most of the time and scored 99% several times. I had a blast!
2) Visiting with friends. I saw Karin, Thien, Karen and Carlos, Elizabeth and Brianna, Amy and Kenton and their new baby. At Casa Azteca, I saw Terry Tanner (my old Vice Principal), Katie, Joann, Sandy and Mike, Pearl, Carrie and former student Carissa. I also visited with Sara and Don with their new baby, Cindy and Isaac, Janice, Vienna, Polly, Bekka and her 2 sons.
3) Visiting with former students Matthew, Michael, and Karen.
Matthew and Michael will always hold a special place in my heart. As a new, motivated 22 year old teacher, these brothers were some of my first students. They lived across the street from the school and had a difficult life. Their dad was very sick with liver problems, out of work, and still is looking for a transplant. I had a special relationship with these students that included bringing them to school or taking them home after they were evicted from the house near the school. It was incredible to see them again. They remembered the funniest stories and details about me. They even remembered that Julia Roberts is my favorite actress. We had a great time visiting. What I thought would be an hour visit, turned into 3 hours. I'm very proud of them for getting to where they are in their lives right now... 21 and 22 without children like their older siblings, Michael is graduating with an Associate degree in Science in June and will be a Vet Tech, and they are just good guys. They let me know that I made a big difference in their lives and it gave me hope that I may be able to touch other students' lives in a similar way.

4) San Francisco. Karin and I took Parker for the day. It was a perfect day, except for the wind. We stayed at Pier 39, had a great lunch, and watched the Sea Lions.

Parker and Brianna (Elizabeth's daughter who is 2 months younger than Parker). They were pretty cute together.

Karin swinging with the kids at Thien's house.

Parker's first nose pick. He had about 3 cameras capturing this.

Rock Band. My new favorite game. If anyone has it, make sure to invite me over!

Karin's nephew, Isaac, was the photographer for these. Not bad! He's a 4th grader and absolutely loved playing with Parker.

Former students, Michael, Matthew, and Karen.

In windy San Francisco

Coit Tower. This is where Grant proposed over 6 years ago when I was living in Milpitas.

My favorite administrator, Terry Tanner, came to visit at Casa Azteca.

My friend, Vienna, from Space Camp days, came to visit. I hadn't seen her since my wedding!

Parker playing around as I pack up.

Bekka and Polly with Walker and Garrett. It was a short visit, but I had a great time. We went to Ho Chow's (an amazing Chinese restaurant in Fremont) and just hung out. Polly got married a few months ago and moved to New Mexico. I was so glad she took a trip to California when I was there too!

I had a wonderful trip. I was definitely kept busy with so many friends to see. I miss it in a lot of ways, but am glad to be in Oregon again. I really do miss the people and those relationships and wish they could all just move up here!