Happy Birthday Bruce!

In honor of Mr. Bruce's 28th birthday, we drove about 30 minutes to a small town named Arcola in the midst of Amish land. We wanted to spend the day wandering around this small Amish community to see the simplicities of life the kind Amish people so eagerly relish. We spent a couple of hours in Rockome Gardens, where we splurged for a short buggy ride and train ride, got our initials burned into a piece of wood (magically cut by a horse powered saw), and sat in the world's largest rocking chair.


We had big plans to spend the day with the Amish driving on the roads in their horse and buggies, but unfortunately a couple of hours into our day, Bruce started to feel ill. In fact, he didn't eat anything for lunch, which for anyone who knows Bruce knows that he must be really sick if he doesn't eat, so we ended up leaving earlier than expected. Luckily

Bruce got his "little boy" fill of trains. For most of Bruce's childhood, he dreamed of being a train engineer so he could drive trains all over the country. He didn't drive them over the country, but he certainly pretended to today.

Last Friday, I held a birthday party for Bruce since I knew he would have a Winfield Village Board Meeting the night of his birthday. I spent most of the day on Friday filling up blasted water balloons for our volleyball game, making cakes, and attempting to decorate them. I found out pigs are easier to draw than cows, hence the emphasis on pigs. As you can see from the cakes below, I have actually no cake decorating abilities (I told you Tiffany) until I take lessons from Tiffany. However, we did manage to have a fantastic time challenging our friends to a grueling game of water balloon volleyball , stuffing ourselves with cake, and hindering the youngsters from breaking too many of our precious balloons. I filled up exactly 97 balloons (3 broke during the filling process) and my fingers were aching when I finished. I hope Mr. Bruce had a marvelous birthday! I sure do love you Mr. Bruce.

Brilliance!

I am taking an online class this summer for my Masters degree called Organization and Supervision of Literacy Instruction: Coaching for change with my great friend Kara. Most of the class consists of independent reading, reflection, and asking/answering questions. We both participated in our first synchronous session through ellumniate on Wednesday. At first, we were both unimpressed with the structure because our teachers mentioned that this session was mainly for office hours and no actual lecture would be given. Apparently every student in our class (6 or 7) were unimpressed with this superficial use of time. All of us began engaging in conversation, thoughts, impressions, and questions we had while reading the text. This was mostly done through typing text on the screen because not many of us had access to microphones. It was extremely easy to get bogged down and confused by the many comments flashing across the screen. It was maddening at times knowing that I was about to make a brilliant comment and by the time I got it typed on the screen what I was responding to was 6 entries higher. Kara and I found it difficult to wallow through the mundane and somewhat unrelated comments boasting back and forth as we were all out to impress our teachers by showing that we had completed our readings and were all trying to earn our "A." In fact, the teachers said very little in this conversation.

However, my moment of brilliance finally came. Kara asked a question about brain development being physiologically different across races as brought up in the power point lecture we were to read on our own. I promptly answered her question (through type although she was in the same room as I), and I am the only person who earned the brilliant mark of applause.
(On the screen, anyone can applaud another person if they agree with their comment). Not only that, but another person responded mentioning that my comment is what they were trying to say only I made it sound more brilliant. This is actually an important skill when you are trying to impress the teacher you've never met face to face. I'm not meaning to brag or anything, but I will close with the final quote I made before logging off from our class discussion (Kara can attest to this). further explanation of quote and context will be granted upon request.

"I know I haven't been teaching for very long, but I pretty much know everything."

Jury Duty

So I had the wonderful opportunity to complete my civic duty by serving on jury duty for the past week. Although I was called to jury duty for the entire week, I never actually managed to make my way into the courtroom. It's kind of a bummer to know that I was on jury duty, but never truly experienced the roll of a true juror. At the same time I am kind of grateful because then I wasn't stuck in a courtroom all day long, and I still had some time of my own to accomplish some things around the house. On the other hand, I did manage to nearly read the entire Artemis Fowl series (by Eoin Coifer). I started the first one near the end of last week, and I am half way through number 4. Here's a recap of the weeks events

Jury Duty Day 1: Check in 9:30 am. Read 3 chapters in Artemis Fowl Number 1. Listen to some instructions on tape about jury duty. My number wasn't called and I was dismissed for the day. I returned home and finish Number 1

Jury Duty Day 2: Arrive at 8:30 am as instructed. Start Artemis Fowl Number 2. Read for half hour, get checked in at 9:00. The director said she would return shortly with instructions for all of use. It kept reading. 1 hour later (I am more than half way finished with Number 2), she comes back and says an officer will be down in a minute to escort us to courtroom C. I keep reading. 30 min. later, the director says the judge is here to speak to us. He mentions that the 12 criminal cases we were supposed to review today ended up in the plea bargain and no court needed to be held. The criminal decided to plea guilty and hash out the punishment. I was dismissed at 10:45. I came home and read the remaining 2 chapters of Number 2.

Jury Duty Day 3: Arrive at 8:30 and get checked in. Open Artemis Fowl number 3 because I know I may be there awhile. 30 minutes later, the director comes and escorts half of us to Courtroom B. I was not one of them. The director says she will be back with another officer to escort the rest of us to Courtroom C. I continue reading Number 3. I get to page 70 when the director comes in and says, "Well that was fast! Your court has been canceled for the day, mostly because the defendant didn't bother to show up. We can't have the court case without the defendant. That's not a good way to avoid going to court. You are dismissed for the day." I return home, spend the next couple of hours finishing number 3 since I missed my opportunity to read in the courthouse.

Jury Duty Day 4: I was not asked to appear at the courthouse! I read a couple of hours of Artemis Fowl number 4 just to feel like I fulfilled my civic duty.

Jury Duty Day 5: Dismissed. My services are no longer needed. You can imagine what I did for about an hour. Yes, Read Artemis Fowl Number 4. I am more than half way through.

What was supposed to be my civic duty ended up with me enthralled in a world of fairies, dwarfs, elves, and pixies battling and teaming up with the boy genius Artemis Fowl and his criminal mastermind. At least I got something out of it! :)

Ode to my Spinach named Davy

I contemplate the awful fate of Davy
I thought that planting you would be like gravy

We both thought you would have a productive life
Although you fought "the elements" with great strife

But sadly, your life came to a short abrupt end
So difficult and near impossible to mend

You sprouted through the dirt while other plants doubted
Near impossible odds, you almost surmounted

I shall miss the joy you would have brought to my tummy
Many a dish, you won't contribute to make yummy

I shall have to re-plant and take another chance
Maybe your cousin can fill the wide expanse.

May you relish in Spinach heaven


Lettuce on left! What used to be Spinach on the right
As you can see, my Spinach at one time came up and was looking good. Too many storms came while Mommy was visiting Utah, and my dear Spinach never had a chance. It has withered away and died. However, Lenny the Lettuce is doing remarkably well considering the circumstances.
I have spent hours upon hours weeding,
weeding, and weeding to make my garden look good. Did I mention I did some weed... and I think you get the picture.

Tommies the tomatoes are doing well.
Corey the cucumbers, Susie the Squash, and Zippy the Zucchini seem to be thriving

Betty the beans could definitely be doing better. I sure hope so because beans are my favorite!
And Petunia the peas need some serious help and prayers. When they first came up they were doing so well. It must have got hot too fast, I don't know, but I sure hope they bounce back like petunias.

My flowers on the other hand are quite patriotic...

I find it only appropriate to give every living thing of meaning to me a name. Sometimes they don't necessarily need to be living, unless you count coats, bikes, and computers as living. Like every living thing, life must come to an end. I hope that Davy's cousins (which I need to replant) will live a longer and more productive life than their predecessor.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

The word father has many different meanings and associations to many different people. It is interesting to note the role of fathers and how important they are in everyone's life. Just like mother, you can't truly replace a father or his role or influence.
Here is a tribute to our dad's:

Brittney: My dad has a very unique sense of humor and goofy mannerisms has stuck with him throughout his entire life. During my early childhood years, my dad was hyper, full of life, and extremely physically active. We played football, basketball, softball, and tennis together. My dad taught me how to do a layup, how to catch a football, how to serve in tennis, and how to field a ground ball. When I was about 10 years old, my dad broke his back which put an end to our quarterback/wide receiver days. However, his sense of humor has stuck with him through all the hard times. My dad loves card and board games. We played Rook, Pinochle, Reds, and 7-up nearly every weekend while growing up. My dad is always known for his outrageous bids in Pinochle, yet he makes his meld every time. My dad loves REO Speedwagon, STYX, Boston, and BTO to name a few. I have very fond memories of playing "rock band" with us switching off as lead singers. With wooden spoons for microphones, and some very groovy dance moves, you could find us all over the house singing these songs. We used to dance in the kitchen while doing dishes, sing at the top of our lungs while in standing in line at amusement park rides, order refills of coffee because they are free (my dad doesn't drink coffee - he just likes to tease the waitress), and blow straw wrappers at each other all over the restaurant. We had great times together. I have memories of long car rides, funny conversations, using car parts catalogs for traction when stuck in the mud, and being "pond scum" in many different instances.
My dad has not always had an easy life, but I have worked hard to develop a lasting relationship with him. I know that my dad, although extremely blunt and at times tactless, will always be there for me, listen to what I have to say, and wants the best for me. During my high school sports playing years when he wasn't traveling for his job, he was in the stands cheering me on. I always knew when he was at my softball games, because he used to sit on the 3rd base line, and after every play yell at the top of his lungs, "A good 3rd baseman would have got that." It didn't matter where the ball went, it could have gone to right field, and he would yell that. In fact, there is a picture in the newspaper of my playing at 3rd base, and my dad in the background with his bright coat on.
I love my dad, and I know he has made great sacrifices to help provide for his family. To emphasize my dad's goofy nature, here is a picture of us doing the "victory dance" at my wedding breakfast. We also did the "itchy man dance" at the reception.



Bruce: The first time I met Stan (Brittney's dad), I went home with Brittney to Otto's (Brittney's brother) graduation. Brittney was driving Bobby(her truck), and dad came running out when we got there, and gave Bobby a big hug. He called me a "cradle robbing dragon." Brittney loves Bobby, and the reason why he called me a "cradle robbing dragon" is because Brittney was 20 and I was 24 almost 25. The first time we saw dad after our wedding, he came running up to us saying, "Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" because that is what he always calls Brittney, but instead of running up to Brittney and giving her a hug, he said "BeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeRuce," and gave me a hug. He and Brittney have always had a special relationship, and I'm glad he trusts me with his daughter Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Bruce:I have worked alongside my dad for as long as I can remember. I have also played basketball with my dad for as long as I can remember. 1 Nephi 2:15 says, "And my father dwelt in a tent." As a scout, my father went on week long camp outs two different times. One time we floated down the Green River, and the other time we went up to Yellowstone National Park. I was grateful my dad took the time to go with us on these scout camps.
I remember coming home from milking with my dad one time in a Farmington east wind blizzard. On the way home in the blinding snow storm my dad picked me up and carried me home the rest of the way.
In my new responsibilities as an adult, I have been grateful for my dad's wisdom and experience.

This picture was recently published in the Tooele Transcript Bulletin.

Brittney: I admire Bruce's dad a lot. He works hard and teaches his children the doctrines of the gospel. I have always been impressed when visiting his house the relationships each of his siblings have with each other. They are all very close and get along well, and part of that is because they all learn at an early age to work together. They all realize that each person is an important member of the family, and that things wouldn't be the same if someone were missing. Flint sets a good example for his children to follow, especially his older sons in how to honor and treat their mother. I feel blessed to have such a wonderful husband who treats me with the upmost care and respect. I know that he learned this from his father, as well as many other skills and qualities he possess. From the first moment I met Bruce's family, I instantly felt a part of it. I was welcomed with open arms, and I too know that I am appreciated and needed in his family. As the father of 13 children, Flint has a lot of responsibility. I do admire the many things he does for his family because his love for them is evident in all they do.

Happy Father's Day to all those father's out there. You hold a special place!

Sushi anyone?

Last night I had the wonderful privilege to eat dinner at a former colleagues house. Waunita was the ESL teacher at Urbana High School, and I worked with her while I did my student teaching. Her husband is Japanese, and teaches Japanese language and culture at Parkland College. Waunita has since retired, and I have changed schools, but she still likes me well enough to invite me to eat dinner. Bruce was in Iowa at a conference, so he didn't get to enjoy the company like I did. Not only did she invite me, but she invited two other men from her church. One if from Bulgaria and is the choir director for her church, and the other is from Romania and is the Organist at her church. I don't really remember their names, and even if I did, I wouldn't spell them right anyway, so sorry! Takuo and Waunita spent a lot of time preparing an elegant seafood meal. Now, I must admit, I am not a seafood fan. I don't really even like Tuna Fish unless it has a lot of mayonnaise in it to offset the taste. They wanted to make an authentic Japanese meal, and I must admit I was nervous. I helped cook the Chicken Kabob's, but the real "treat" of the meal was Sushi. We were given various ingredients, and told to roll it ourselves. The secret to Sushi actually lies in the rice, and not necessarily the fish - at least that is what I was told. We had fried shrimp, crab legs, fresh avocados, and cucumbers to put in our sushi. After much anticipation, I decided I would be brave for once. I had to tell my mind that it is okay, and perfectly healthy to eat raw fish as long as it is fresh enough. I grabbed my little square of seaweed (which kind of sticks to the roof of your mouth), put my vinegar flavored rice, a slice of avocado, and Red Snapper raw fish. I rolled it all up, dipped it in Soy Sauce, and took a deep breath. I took a bite, and must say that it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It had a very distinct taste, but it wasn't as disgusting as Sushi really sounds. I was only brave enough to eat one roll, mostly because I psyched myself out in thinking about it too much, but I thought that was improvement. I am grateful Waunita and Takuo continue to invite me over, even if I am not a big Seafood fan. It's too bad Bruce couldn't come, he would have loved it. The company was great too. It was neat talking to these men from all over the world. What a memorable experience.

Would you like some pie with that?

Whipped Cream anyone?

After visiting Bruce's family, I finally discovered why I stick to the tub, and don't buy Whipped cream in the aerosol can very often. If I bought it, I would have this kind of problem.

I sure do love you Mr. Bruce! :)

Oh Give Me a Home where the Buffalo roam!

And the Deer and the antelope play! Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day!

After we took Clay to the MTC, we went to Wyoming to visit my family. Although the skies were cloudy, we still managed to have an enjoyable time. Our trip to Wyoming was much more adventurous than we planned on in a lot of different ways. On Saturday, Bruce and I were planning to go to the cheese factory in Star Valley, Wyoming and take a tour. The cheese factory was for sale, and my dad has been trying to convince Bruce to buy it so we can move closer to home. Every time we visited Wyoming for the past two years, we planned on going to the cheese factory, but also every time either Bruce and I get sick the day we are supposed to leave. It seems like every time we fly home, one of us gets sick. We must not be used to the elevation or the climate, since we have apparently acclimatized to the crazy Illinois weather. The first year we both had the flu, the second year I had the flu and Bruce had a bad cold. This year (although Bruce still had a cold) we decided to go. We almost didn't make is as the day before my diabetic dad forgot to take his Insulin and his sugar level was in the 500's. Scary!
Fortunately for all of us, my dad woke up the next morning (the day we planned to leave), and never felt better. In fact, he felt so good, he talked the entire way on our extended round trip. I really am glad that my dad felt so good. He hasn't felt that good in a long time.

We drove the 2 hours it takes to get the to the cheese factory, only to discover that 1) someone did buy it 2)It was being remodeled and 3) they were not going to start giving tours for another year. :( Bummer! We took some pictures of the outside. After seeing the outside, my dad said, "maybe it's a good thing we didn't go inside. That building looks so old, the ceiling may have caved in on use. They need to remodel."



Wyoming is one of those states that is extremely proud of its Old Western kind of life. There are two times more sheep than people, and more dogs and horses than people. Most folks were extremely offended when you call them farmers. Folks in Wyoming are not farmers - they are ranchers, and you must understand the difference. I am not saying that every citizen of Wyoming is a rancher, because my mother and animals don't really get along, but there is a lot of beautiful land still available for those interested. Believe me, my dad continued to point out available land (especially close to the cheese factory) that he wanted Bruce and I to buy and start our own Ranch. He came up with all sorts of ideas and ways to make revenue. You must know this in order to understand the context of the welcome sign to the city of Afton, Wyoming.

Yes! That arch is made completely out of elk antlers.
After the cheese factory disappointment, we decided to continue driving to Jackson Hole since I have never been there. The 50 mile drive up there was filled with my dad raving about how cool Jackson was, and what I could expect to see there. He also recommended some important things to see, like the Million Dollar Cowboy bar.

The counter top is made out of a million silver dollar pieces.





Of course, you can't forget the actual bar stools.












And the old fashioned cash register!


















We walked down the wooden side walks, shopped in some of the tourists stores, and laughed at some of the merchandise. Mostly we were making fun of the outrageous prices these kind of stores charge, yet people willingly pay for it.













Before leaving Jackson, we had to get our picture taken next to (once again) the Elkhorn arch.




















My dad works for Rain for Rent. What they actually do is somewhat complicated and long to explain. Most of what they do is rent supplies and materials to different companies. Wyoming not only has a lot of land, but it has a lot of rich land full of oil. There are a number of big time oil companies that drill oil in Wyoming. My dad's job is to keep track of the inventory Rain for Rent distributes to different oil companies to use while on the rig. I had never actually seen an oil rig before, and my dad thought it would be a fun addition to our trip to show us one. Not only does he work in the oil business, but my younger brother Otto, actually drills oil for his job too. He took us up to the Rig, explained how the drill actually works, and went through some of the rules and regulations oil companies have to abide by. I will make it known that drilling oil is not bad for the environment as my dad assured us about 500 times. We saw Cattle, deer, and antelope grazing right next to the rigs. Not only that, but companies are required to replant and rebuild any site they use to drill when they move their rig. (This is all according to my dad)


Here are some pictures of the supplies my dad's company rents to other oil companies.
We had an enjoyable day looking at the beautiful country side that Wyoming has to offer. Driving through there made me miss the mountains and the rolling hills. Perhaps someday, we will return to the rolling hills of the west. Here is a slide show of some of the scenery! I realize there are some people in the United States who have never seen the mountains of the West. I am blessed to be given that opportunity, because it truly is remarkable.

I love the mountains! I love the Rolling Hills! I love the Fountains! I love the Daffodils! Boom de a dah Boom de a dah Boom de a dah Boom de ah!

Slippy and Slidey all the way down!

Bruce and I traveled to Utah to see his brother Clay off to the MTC (missionary training center). Clay is on his way to the Mexico Leon mission. Although the trip was colder and rainier than we would have liked, we had an enjoyable time. While we were there, we had a family home evening on Monday night with Bruce's family. I made a gigantic pot of homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner (thanks for the recipe G-ma).



And Paul was in charge of the family night activity. Everyone else wanted to play tennis, so we did some of that too, but Paul really wanted to go down a homemade slip and slide. He mentioned he found a big tarp in the barn, and was determined to use it. After nearly 1 and 1/2 hours of work getting it down from the loft, laying it out on the freshly mown grass, and spraying it down, the slip and slide was ready. Amazingly enough, Paul still had enough energy to give it a try. This slide nearly covered the entire length of the lawn.
Perhaps even more funny was Seth's reaction to the whole thing. Sandy and I managed to get Seth into the bathtub to clean up a little from playing outside earlier. We put him in some nice, clean clothes, and hoped he would stay inside. He saw some of his other siblings outside playing on the slip and slide. Needless to say, he couldn't handle staying inside with me. He ran outside, stripped off all his clothes (besides his diaper), and went down the slip and slide. I guess we could say, at least he managed to take his clean white pants off.


Taking Clay to the MTC was a really neat experience. It reminded me of when we took my brother to the MTC nearly 6 years ago. Sending missionaries is a really special time. Clay was definitely ready to go, since he was set apart three days earlier. He also waited close to 6 months to leave after receiving his mission call. I'm glad to see that he was so excited, anxious, and ready to go. I know that Clay will be a wonderful missionary, mostly because he is a wonderful young man. Good luck Clay! We love You!

Here is some pictures of us playing tennis

"School's Out for the Summer"

I know school has been out for about a week and a half, but the day after school got out, I flew to Utah, and wasn't able to post.
Near the end of school, I greatly anticipated summer break, mostly because my students were driving me crazy! I think everyone was ready for the summer break, especially when the weather got to be a little nicer there near the end.
This year in my Language Arts class, I tried to use a lot of hands on activities and art type projects. I spent quite a bit of money buying markers, crayons, and colored pencils. On the last day of school, the students cleaned out their lockers. As I was watching them, I noticed they were throwing away perfectly working markers and colored pencils. I quickly put a box next to the garbage can and announced if they were going to throw away art supplies and other nice school supplies to put them in the box rather than the garbage can.
As my box started to fill, I must admit I was shocked. They were throwing away unopened packages of filler paper, unopened notebooks, crayons, markers, pencils, colored pencils, and binder. I got brand new highlighters, new sharpies, and lots of dry erase markers. (Which I also purchased a lot of). I ended up bringing three boxes home, and I sorted it in piles.



Here is a picture of all my goods. Instead of buying new school supplies this year, I bought sturdy containers for all the school supplies my students supplied. Hey! If they mostly used my supplies this year, they can use their own next year. I ended the school year with more supplies than I started with, and you really can't beat that!