Christmas photos

Here is the rundown of our happenings over the last week:

Last Tuesday was Chris's birthday. We went to see the movie Four Christmases. It was very good. Afterwards we went to eat at Applebee's and went to see the lights on temple square. There were so many people, but the lights were very beautiful as always.

one of the better pictures I took of the lights. It was too cold to have my hands exposed for too long.

On Christmas Eve, we traveled to my parent's home in Idaho. The roads were fine. Christmas day was full of presents and too much food. Some of the things Chris got was a GPS, candy, Indiana Jones movies, and car accessories. Some of the things Katina got was a slanket, books, candy, and a church dress. The rest of the weekend was spent lounging around and visiting. We left right after sacrament meeting on Sunday. Good thing we did. The roads were awful until we got to Utah. Here are some pictures of some of our favorite Christmas memories this year.

Merritt came over to my parent's house with my mom's old wig on. I thought he was a girl. He looked so cute!

the two goof ball kids.

one of the gifts we got were antler ears for pets. When we got Sam back from boarding on Monday, I tried them on him. He did not like them at all.

I passed! I passed!

As most of you know, I took my Praxis test last month. I really wanted to know my score before we left for Christmas. I checked out the website yesterday. Good thing I did. As of September 1st, they are no longer sending out an envelope with our scores. It is only available online for a month. I scored a 170. I needed at least a 168 to pass in Utah. I am so relieved to have that behnd me. Hopefully, I will have my teaching license early in January. Hooray!

We want to wish you all a safe and merry Christmas. If you are traveling, please be safe. Remember that the Savior is the reason for the season. May He bless you this holiday season!

Talk to you all next week!

ReWrapping the Christmas gifts

What do you get when you have a cat and a small plant on the windowsill behind the Christmas tree? Very wet presents. Yesterday morning Chris and I noticed a few of the presents moved. When I went to check why, I noticed that some of the presents were wet. It turns out that Sam had knocked over the plant into the Christmas tree. A few of the presents were very wet. I had to unwrap them and rewrap them that night. What a funny cat!
On Monday night, we went to the Christmas carol sing-along at the Energy Solutions Arena. It is put on by Larry Miller, the owner of the Jazz and a bunch of car dealerships. We got a free hot dog, drink, tickets to a Bees game, and tickets to a Nascar race in Tooele. The arena was almost filled up. The cool thing about this year's sing-along was that the soldiers in Iraq were able to view the event by satellite. It was quite a neat experience to be there. Larry Miller was also there. He has had some big problems with diabetes this last year. He does not look well. He paid for the entire celebration out of his own pocket. He is quite the cool guy.

Spare Room, plastic bodies, cat on fridge, and snow

You might ask what these three have in common. They all have to do with our past week. On Monday night, we finally got our spare bedroom cleaned out and ready to use. We have used this room to house an old coach, table, and 'junk.' Monday night we got rid of the coach and table. Finally! After 10 months of being cluttered, we now have an extra bedroom. It is still a little cluttered, but liveable.
On Wednesday night, Katina had to run to the store to be a few items. When she opened the door to the condo, she saw Sam sitting on top of the fridge. His facial expression was priceless! He knew he did not belong up there. He jumped off, over the double sink, and slid on the counter right into his water dish. What a crazy cat! We have also found him recently sleeping under the blankets on the bed in the spare bedroom.
This morning Utah got hit with snow. Katina had a chiropractor appointment this morning and saw 6 accidents on I-15 in a two mile stretch. It depends where you were in Utah whether you got a lot of snow. Sandy and South Jordan got more than Salt Lake City. Weather is so weird.
Today Chris and Katina went to the Body Worlds 3 exhibit downtown. It was totally awesome! People donate their bodies to science. They then case their organs and bodies in plastic so every organ can be seen. Katina's favorite part was the real embroyos at different stages in development. Chris could not pick a favorite part. The human body is an incredible machine. If you are in Salt Lake before January 11th, you need to see this. It is located at The Leonardo on Library Square in downtown SLC. It is quite pricy ($22 for one adult ticket), but definately worth every penny. If you can't see it here, check out their website for other locations. It is something that everybody should see.
Wish Katina luck this week at work. It is the final week before Christmas break and more snow is expected. This is tradionally the worst week in a teacher's life. Her students are already quite naughty, but add in snow and Chistmas excitement and you get total chaos!

Sam and the Christmas Tree

On Friday, Katina bought a Christmas tree and some trimmings for it. When we were setting it up, Sam kept biting the box and sniffing the branches. We have caught him many times sitting or laying under the tree. He thinks he is the best present of all! Good thing we don't have a real tree or he would lick the water dry or knock it over!

Thanksgiving in Idaho

Chris and I spent 4 great days in Idaho with my family. We left early on Thursday morning because Chris had class on Wednesday night. We picked up my grandmother in Mackay and arrived at my parents' house about an hour before dinner. Thanksgiving food is so good! Afterwards, most of the family visited and a few people took a nap. Friday was spent relaxing. In fact, Katina did not get out of her pajamas until 1 p.m! On Saturday, we and Katina's mom went to Rexburg. We first went to see Katina's uncle. They we stopped at Walmart and finally went to see our good friends Christy and Glenn's adorable baby, Nicholas. What a sweetie! Afterwards, we went to eat at Gringos. Yummy! We then went to the temple to do iniatories. This was only the second time my mom has been in the temple since we got married. Because she was sick last year, she failed to get her recommend made into the barcode type. Fortunately, the temple worker let us in. What a beautiful experience doing work for the dead! Temple work is truly an amazing principle! We left for Utah after church on Sunday. Traffic was extremely busy for a Sunday. We are glad to be back, but can't wait until Christmas break.

Sam is really glad we are home. We had a guy from our ward come in to check on Sam when we were gone. He says that Sam was very friendly. What a surprise because Sam normally hates men he doesn't know. The only thing out of the ordinary was that we found our kitchen chair was knocked over. He does sit on the chair at night, so probably knocked it over.

adorable Nicholas. What a

cutie!

The beautiful Rexburg temple!

Food Poisoning or the Flu?

Last Saturday as Katina and Chris were getting ready to watch the BYU vs. Utah game, Katina started to feel sick. She threw up a little in the 2nd quarter. By the end of half-time she thought she was going to die. She kept throwing up and felt absolutely miserable. Her home teacher came over and him and Chris gave her a blessing. On Sunday she kept puking. Naturally, they did not go to church. Finally, by Sunday night she started to keep food down. On Monday she went to work, feeling a little weak, but fine. There, she found out that 5 other aides were also sick that weekend. It is possible that they got food poisoning at their meeting on Friday. Today at school, a few other teachers went home early with the same symptoms, so it just looks like a bad case of stomach flu. The only good thing about it is that she lost 15 pounds in two days. Of course she gained it back, but that was a fast way to lose weight.

The Twilight movie

Chris and I went to see Twilight yesterday afternoon. I really liked the books and Chris had never read them. I got tickets for us on Monday because I knew they would be sold out before Wednesday. The theatre was packed, all for Twilight fans. I thought they did a pretty good job on the movie. I did find that I did not like who they cast for Edward or most of his family. Some of the lines were very cheesy and there was some stuff that was definately not in the book. However, fight seen in the dance studio and the playing baseball were fabulous! Chris really liked the movie. Most of my friends are seeing it today and I can't wait to hear what they thought of the movie. The only thing that I did not like about the movie last night was the teenagers sitting around us. They kept kicking our seats, texting on their phones, and making smart aleck comments about everything in the movie. I guess I need to be around teenagers more because I really wanted to flog them!

Done with Test

Katina had her test on Saturday. She is so excited to finally be done with it. She started feeling sick on Thursday morning (the horrible head cold is going around in Utah). By Thursday afternoon, she felt horrible. She stayed home on Friday to try to get better before her test on Saturday. She took her test on Saturday, stuffy nose and all. She feels she did pretty well, but won't find out the score until around Christmastime. Will keep you posted.

Some Thoughts

It has been a week since I last posted anything. I thought I would share some of my thoughts on the many things that have happened this last week.

1. Last week two teachers at my school were attacked and hurt by a third grader. Our school seems to be getting more dangerous every year. I have one sixth grader who is quite scary. If the only way to get rid of a bad student is to get beat up by them, I will let them. I can then get all my medical bills paid for and not have to work.

2. The election came and went. Many people have heated feelings about the outcome of many issues on the ballot from around the country. The thing I have noticed is that people have been very irrational in their thinking. Come on people, do you really think a loving Heavenly Father would allow the promised land to be taken over and bombed? I may not agree with everything the President-elect believes, but I don't feel that he is as evil as everybody says he is. When I found out he got elected, a feeling of comfort came over me. I felt assured that he would be a good president and that I should have more faith in the government. I love the gift of the Holy Ghost!

3. Along the same line, I have watched in disgust as groups of people have protested around many sacred edifices in the United States. I watched as they gathered around the LA temple, then the Salt Lake temple. As I am watching the news right now, they are gathering around the Manhattan temple and again around the LA temple. Also the most disgusting part is how many churches in this area have been vandalized and they are even burning Books of Mormon (thank you to the movie The Best Two Years on knowing the correct way to say that). I am sorry, but this is just wrong. How is vandalism and holy writ burning any way to handle the difference in beliefs. It just doesn't sound Christian to me. Let us pray for those individuals who continue to commit this religious discrimination.

4. I take my Praxis on Saturday morning at 7:30. I took a practice test online last week and scored a 179 on it. The passing score for Utah is 168. I am still a little nervous, so please pray for me.

Snow Alert!

Today it snowed like nothing else in Utah. I believe that an elementary student is a far better way to predict the weather than a meteorologist. Yesterday the kids were wild. Today was like a zoo had been released in West Valley City. The whole school was out of control. When in snows, the teachers and aides are instructed to have an 'indoor' day. This means that we are to sacrifice our only break to monitor 'quiet' recess games. 'Quiet' is a relative word. Kids were jumping off desks, screaming, chasing each other, and making up dirty songs. You would think that these kids had never seen snow before. It was awful. It it snows like this every week, it is going to be long, long winter!

Halloween Cooking

So Chris and I had a really quiet Halloween. It has never been my favorite holiday and so I was not big on dressing up when it is just the two of us. Katina was ecstatic that she did not have to teach on Halloween. That is the worst holiday for teachers! She did however cook a Halloween meal. A few months ago, she went to a cooking show with her sister and niece. In the book she recieved, she found this cute recipe for Jack-O-Lantern Sloppy Joe Pie. It was pretty good. It looks cute and festive.

7 Things

So I was tagged by Kira. I have decided to give it a try. I was tagged a few weeks ago by Kelsey. I should have done hers. It will be easier than this one. The rules are that you have to tell 7 interesting or weird things about yourself. Here goes:

1. When I am in pain or trying to sleep, I rub my feet together like a grasshopper. It drives Chris crazy, but seems to work for me.

2. I love to lounge around in my pajamas till noon or later. This only works when I am off track and Chris is at work. I think I got this from my childhood from my mother. She would only get dressed when she had to go somewhere or somebody came to the door.

3. I really like to speak in front of people. This may sound crazy, but I like to give talks in church. I would rather talk in front of people I don't know rather than people I do know. I hope this isn't a sign that I am going to be an auxillary leader in the church.

4. I can read 3 books at a time without getting confused. I love to read and can finish a book in two days if uninterrupted. This amazes my 6th grade students who can't finish a book if their life depended on it!

5. I love to read textbooks and go to college. I really miss college and learning everyday. One of my favorite things to do is read textbooks. (Only those I am interested in). I also liked to do homework when I was in college. Maybe this is why I was looking at going back to school. I am a nerd in the truest sense!

6. I hate to get ready in the morning. I think showers are a waste of time. Don't get me wrong--I like to be clean. I just think it takes too much time to get ready. I especially hate putting on makeup and doing my hair. I am glad my husband loves the way I look no matter what.

7. Finally, I hate buying shoes. I know most women have at least 15 pairs of shoes. Not me; I have only 3 that I wear most often. That is why my shoes are 'conditioned'. In my opinion, the older the shoe and the worse it looks, the more comfortable it is. I have even been known to superglue a shoe together and wear it 3 more months!

There you have it. I now tag Kelsey, Christy, Cynthia, and Amber.

'A privilege and honor'

It was 'A privilege and honor' to all those who knew my Aunt Judy. She was a teacher, coach, mother, grandmother, aunt, and most off all a friend to all those who knew her. Saturday was a day to remember her and hold on to memories we will always hang onto. Chris always said "I love you" at the end of his phone calls with her. This he hangs onto even more now as the last words from nephew to aunt and from aunt to nephew was "I love you." Let us always hang onto the love of family throughout eternity.

'A privilege and honor' is the title of a news article that can be found at the Northwest Herald a local newspaper from the county my aunt lived in. It was the cover story on October 27th.

Aunt Judy's dream

When we were at Aunt Judy's memorial service, the family made her wishes known. Instead of donating flowers to the family, they are establishing a memorial fund in her name. It was her wish build a tennis shelter for her Tiger Tennis Team to be used during tennis matches and tournaments. She was the coach at Crystal Lake Central for 36 years. If you are interested or know any one who is interested, please alert them to the Crystal Lake Central-Elder Memorial Fund. Checks can be made out to Crystal Lake Central-Elder Memorial and mailed to Crystal Lake Central High School, 45 West Franklin Ave, Crystal Lake, IL 60014 in the attention of Doug Blundy, Athletic Director.
I know most of you who read our blog are young married couples with small children, but we felt we needed to post the information here. We love her and want this dream to become a reality. Pass the information on to all those who may be interested.

Back at Home

Chris and I arrived back from Chicago yesterday. We had a great trip, but are sick of eating out!
Thursday was our flight. It took us about 30 minutes to get our rental car. If you are ever travel, use a GPS. They are awesome! Katina had a coupon for a free upgrade if they rented a GPS. Our upgrade was a PT Cruiser,which Katina loves. We used the GPS everywhere we went to and was much more reliabe than getting directions from Chris's family. We arrived to our motel in McHenry, IL Thursday night and then went out to eat with Chris's brother, Scott. We were planning on going to the Brookfield Zoo on Friday, but all the weather forecasts said it was supposed to rain all day. We went to the Chicago temple on Friday morning. There were only 4 people in our session; Chris being the only male. Apperentley, that temple is not busy except for Saturdays. Afterwards, we went to the New Words of Wisdom bookstore (totally awesome) where Katina bought two Christmas presents. We also went to eat at a great restaurant. That night we went to eat with Scott and our uncle David. We could have gone to the zoo this day because it hardly rained at all.

Saturday we went to Wheaton, IL to a family event. We arrived there about two hours early, so we went shopping and driving around looking at the neighbhorhood where Chris's grandparents used to live. We then went to eat with some family. Katina met two of Chris's aunts and a few of his cousins. We went to the cemetary to sprinkle the ashes of Chris's uncle who died a few years ago. It was very cold and windy and also a little creepy. We then traveled back to McHenry, IL where we had a nice dinner with Scott and Elizabeth, Chris's older sister.

Sunday we went to church in Gurnee, IL with Elizabeth. There Katina met another Katina! She was the RS president of that ward. Afterwards, we went to Elizabeth's motel where we made spaghetti for lunch. Katina really enjoyed getting to hold and love Micheal, their new nephew that was born in August. After that we traveled to Aunt Judy's funeral in Crystal Lake. It was a good funeral that lasted amost three hours. They had anticipated about 200 people showing up, but around 400 came. Chris and Katina did a good amount of crying. When we left after the social gathering, the temperature was about freezing and the wind was horrible. It felt like a freezing winter day in Idaho!

Monday they flew back to Utah where the weather was 70 and gorgeous. They enjoyed their trip, but really stuggled with not being able to see Aunt Judy.

The beautiful Chicago temple.

Katina holding Micheal.

Cute picture of Michael.

trying to get him to burp

Allergies or Stress?

Katina has been having some horrible nights of sleep. She no longer has the flu, but for the last few days has been waking up at 4 or 4:30 and can't fall back asleep. She has been getting little white bumps everywhere on her body that itch like crazy. She bought some Benadyl cream yesterday, but it doesn't work that well when you itch all over! The last time she got these was in college. They told her then that it was stress or the result of mental angst. Whatever the cause, it is beyond annoying. Hopefully she can find some medicine that works. She doesn't want to take anything that makes her addicted. The only good thing to come out of it is that she studies for her Praxis test when she can't sleep.

Family Picture

Yesterday my whole family got together. My sister's family was here for a convention. The rest of my family was coming back from a trip to southern Utah. We went out to eat at Applebees and then back to my parent's motel room for cake and ice cream for Merritt's birthday last week. This was the first time our whole family has been together since before Chris and I got married. I was adamant about getting a family picture, so went do the restaurant and had the nice waiter take our picture.

back left to right: My sister-in-law Cindy, brother David, my dad Rick, me, Chris

front left to right: 9-year old nephew Merritt, my mom Cheryl, 11-year old niece Kelly, 5-year old nephew RJ (standing in front), my grandma Ina, my sister Amber, and my brother-in-law Nathan

Aunt Judy's obituary and picture

Here is the obituary of our beloved Aunt Judy. The picture was either taken earlier this year or in 2006 ( I can't tell from the trophy in the picture). She was a such a beautiful woman inside and out.

Judith Lee Elder
Judith Lee ElderBorn: June 23, 1947; in ChicagoDied: Oct. 3, 2008; in Chicago

WONDER LAKE - Judith Lee Elder, 61, of Wonder Lake, died Friday, Oct. 3, 2008, at the University of Chicago Hospital.She was born June 23, 1947, in Chicago, to Bob and Nan Beckman. She married David Elder on Aug. 13, 1971, in Safety Harbor, Fla. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1969 from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and a master's degree from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb in 1977.She was a teacher/coach for physical education at Crystal Lake Central High School for 34 years. She was the first and recently only girls varsity tennis coach at Crystal Lake Central for 36 years. She was the boys varsity tennis coach at CLC for 21 years. Survivors include her husband, David, of Wonder Lake; her two daughters, Jessica (Rob) Fetzner of Crystal Lake and Jillian (Bulent) Beydilli of Cary; a grandson, Drew Fetzner of Crystal Lake; and a nephew, Scott Anthony of Wonder Lake. A memorial service will be at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Crystal Lake Racket Club, on South Route 31, Crystal Lake. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund to help support her Tiger Tennis Team has been established at CLC, donations and checks made payable to CL Central - Elder Memorial.




We miss you and love you Aunt Judy!!!

Finally off track

Katina is ecstatic over school being out for a couple of weeks. The last nine weeks has gone by so slow and the students have gotten so naughty over the last couple of weeks. On her last day, Wednesday, she had an aide meeting and got out of work early. She woke up that morning with a scratchy throat, headache, slight fever, and felt like she had been hit by a truck. Yup, you guessed it! She got the flu. She made it through the half day and spent the rest of the day in bed. She spent most of Thursday in bed and finally feels well enough today to take her head off the pillow. She is actually greatful that she got sick now instead of next week. She is not missing any work and feels this is the perfect time to get sick. Her family is in southern Utah and are spending Monday night in Salt Lake. They are also going to Chicago next week for Aunt Judy's memorial service and it would be nearly impossible for her to fly when she has the flu. We are leaving on Thursday afternoon and returning to Salt Lake on Monday. We plan on doing a session in the Chicago temple on Friday morning followed by spending the rest of Friday at the Brookfield Zoo. Saturday, Elizabeth, Chris's sister is coming with two of her kids and we plan to spend the day with them. The memorial service is Sunday afternoon. Katina is excited to see Elizabeth's new baby, Michael, and Ruth, the two-year old. She is not excited about Aunt Judy's memorial service. She has been been having a lot of dreams recently about Aunt Judy and it just doesn't seem real that Aunt Judy has passed. There is so much Aunt Judy taught Katina and now Katina feels she has nobody to talk to.
Chris is enjoying his job with the church. On Thursdays, he seems to see General Authorities. Last week he saw Elder Christofferson and Elder Oaks. Yesterday he saw Elder Ballard and Elder Cook on their way to the temple most likely.
Also our microwave decided to die on Sunday. It has gone on to appliance heaven. Actually it is going to DI tomorrow. Our new microwave works so much better.

Sadness

Chris and I recieved some extremely sad news yesterday. His favorite aunt, Judy, died yesterday. We absolutely love her! She has helped us so much with our weddding and offered great advice to us dealing with marriage, finance, family, jobs, and medical issues. This absolutely shocked us. She was a tennis coach, former health teacher, and was in fabulous health. She was like a second mother to us. I liked her better than my own aunts.
Chris and I are planning on going to her funeral. They haven't decided what weekend it will be. Please keep us and Chris's family in your prayers in this very difficult time for us.

Our decision and Chris's new job

We want to thank you all for your prayers the last week or so. After much prayers and consideration, Katina has decided not to go back to school for a few months. Her other job won't start until November and it will make the funds really tight. The other reason is that Chris was offered a job with the church. This means that Katina would never see him. His new job is with the church in the tech support department. It is actually an internship and will last about a year. We are unsure whether they will hire him permentantly after that.
We were unable to go to the temple on Saturday night. Chris came down with a bad cold and Katina has a bladder infection. Your prayers really helped us make our decision. Thank you again for your love and support.

Prayers Needed

We are asking all of you if you could please put us in your prayers this weekend. Chris and I have a lot of decisions to make about our future. We are planning to go to the temple tomorrow night, but could really use the support and prayers of our friends and loved ones. Thank you! You are the best!

The Happenings around Here

Chris and I were reminded a couple of days ago that we have not posted anything for a very long time. We apologize for that. We have been really busy. Here are some things that have happened to us over the last couple of weeks.

1. Katina has had a heck of a time dealing with her 6th graders. She lost control yesterday and threatened them with quitting and getting a lot meaner aide to take here place.

2. Sam is being adorable. He has been very talkative lately and Katina discovered tonight that he will flip in the air when he is playing. Hopefully we will have a video soon so you all can see.

3. Chris has been really busy with his class. Tonight is his last one of this class, so he gets a weekend free from homework. He should be done with college next October.

4. Chris and Katina got to seat at the feet of a prophet on Sunday. We had a regional stake conference at the conference center and our stake was on of the 21 invited to the conference center. We heard President Monson, Sister Lant, Elder Hinckley, and Elder Ballard speak. It was wonderful. We also finally went to the temple last night. We haven't been in at least 3 months, so this was a great way to forget about our troubles for a few hours. We have made a deal to not let that much time go by without going.

5. We have another day from Primary this week. We have the sacrament program scheduled for the 28th, and our Primary president feels we need an extra week of practice. No problem here! It will be nice to have two weeks off from teaching Primary.

6. The biggest thing to transpire in our blogging absence has been Katina's quest to go back to school. She wants to go into surgical technology. She met with a school on Monday only to find out on Tuesday during a financial aid visit that they only offer classes in the daytime. Katina has another college visit tomorrow with a different college. Hopefully all goes well. It is a great program and only will last about 18 months. It is something Katina really wants to do.

A newly discovered lap cat

When we first got Sam he did not like to be picked up or held. Katina has slowly gotten him more comfortable being held. As long as he isn't completely in her lap, he is fine. Look how cute he is in this picture.

UGHHHH!

So Katina had a very tough day on Saturday. As many of you know, Katina has been working on getting her Utah teaching license. She recieved a letter in the mail on Saturday saying she did not pass her Praxis test she took back in 2005. She scored a 167, and the Utah passing score is 168! That is just half a percentage point off the passing score!!!!!!!! She can either recieve a conditional license for English or a regular license in Health. After some research, she decided to try to take the test again (she does have 3 years). She doesn't know if she can even have a health license because they can't put a regular and conditional license on the same record.
She has recently been considering not going into the teaching field. She wants a job where she doesn't have to lie awake at night wondering about her students. She is not liking how rude the students have gotten. The pay is also terrible. She was seriously considering going into paramedicine or becoming an EMT. It is something she has wanted to go into. Now may be the perfect time.

Ariana

For those of you who haven't gotten into Pablo and Cynthia's blog, here is a picture of Ariana. Isn't she cute?

P.s. I bought her the blanket in the first picture.

Friday excitement

So Katina has had to get used to working on Fridays again. Last year at her school, she only worked Monday thru Thursday. This year she has to work on Fridays also. Fridays are a short day and absolutely chaotic! Today was picture day, computer day, hearing test day, and the day before a three-day weekend. Her 6th grade class has 30 students, 5 of them with severe behavioral problems. She has even joked about becoming an alcoholic to deal with the stress of dealing with these yahoos.
A weird thing did happen today. They made an announcement over the intercom this morning asking any teachers with fans to bring them to the office. When I went down there to make copies, I found out that a fire extinguisher had fallen off the wall and exploded in a room full of 5th-graders. The teacher was covered with foam and all the backpacks, desks, and books were white. That class spent all day cleaning the room. The principal said it was his first time to see this happen in all his years of administration. It turns out that either the janitors of extinguisher company put the wrong screws in the wall holder. Look out for those extinguishers--they can be dangerous!

New Niece

Chris and I found out on Thursday that his sister had a baby girl on Wednesday night. Ariana weighed in at 6 lbs 14 oz and was 19 inches long. That means we had a niece and nephew born 5 days apart. We have not recieved a picture yet. When we do, we will post it. Another good way to see the baby is to follow the link on our blog to Cynthia and Pablo. They should be posting pictures soon.

New Baby and School Year

A couple of random things:
1. On Friday morning at 3:40 am (Eastern time), Chris's sister Elizabeth had her fifth child. Michael Preston weighed 8 pds. 13 oz. We talked to her on Saturday. They both should have got out of the hospital on Sunday. After the baby was born, it had a high temperature and his blood sugar level was high. He is doing fine now. We are excited, but probably won't get to see him for awhile.
2. School started today for Katina. She has a great class of 6th graders and most of the 5th graders are good. She is really excited to work to two veteran teachers who have a great classroom management system.

Temple Open House

On Saturday, Chris and I went up to Twin Falls for the temple open house. It was originally planned for my dad to come with my family, but he backed out at the last minute. Once we arrived in Twin, we met my mom, grandma, nephews, brother, and sister-in-law and went to the temple. It was beautiful! I hate to say this to my Rexburg friends, but we liked it better than the Rexburg temple. Afterwards, we went to IHOP for lunch, and I had one of the best cheeseburgers of my life. As soon as we walked out of the restaurant, we heard this horrible crashing noise. Two cars had collided head-on and it looked like someone was hurt. I called 911, but somebody had already reported it. We said goodbye to my family and Chris and I watched the EMTs for awhile. It turns out that at least three people were hurt, one of them looked serious. I really need to go into paramedicine because that was the highlight of the whole trip.

After we got bored at the wreck scene, Chris and I drove to the Twin Falls, which consists of Shoshone Falls and Payette Falls (I have no idea what the second falls is really called). We didn't want to pay $3 to drive close to the falls, so we just took pictures from the lookout. It was a good, but fast trip to Idaho.

Our Crazy Cat

Here are a few pictures of Sam. We recently put our table up for sale on KSL.com and were taking it apart. We turned around and found him sitting on the tabletop. Sam also loves plastic. He licks it anytime he can find it and will even pull it out of the garbage. While I was trying on my wedding dress(we are selling it too), he climbed into the garment bag. Last week Chris and I bought some chairs from Sam's Club and left the plastic covering in the living room for Sam to play with. Yesterday, while we were watching the Olympics, he climbed into it and slept there for an hour. He is definately an entertaining cat!

Fair Times

On Thursday afternoon, Chris and I left for Idaho to attend Merritt's (my nephew) fair. It was his first year showing a steer. I used to show a steer when I was in 4-H and FFA, so this brought back many memories. We got to my grandmother's house in Mackay where we stayed for two nights. On Saturday after the sale, we traveled to Challis where we spent the night with my parents and attended church on Sunday before we made the long trip back to Utah.

Because most people have been to fairs but have never seen a beef show, I will give an explanation of how they work. First of all a steer is a male that cannot reproduce. They are raised solely for their meat. In March, all steers are weighed in for an initial weight. The owners have about 4 months to tame them and get them to a good weight (at least 1000 pounds). They train them by putting a halter and lead rope on them and train them to lead and stop. This normally takes a lot of work. They also have to train them with a showstick. A showstick is a fancy name for a pole with a hook and pointer to make the steer stand perfectly square. They use the hook to pull feet forward and the pointer to push feet back. A steer should stand square so that it looks even.

There are two shows in a market beef show. The first one is showmanship. They have different four different categories depending on show experience. In this show the showman has to be watching the judge, controlling their animal, lining it up, following directions,and answerering questions about their project. It is a little nervewracking. The second show is quality, where the steer is judged on its quality of meat. They look at how balanced it looks, how they walk, and the thickness of its ribs. I used to judge cattle, but don't remember exactly how they judge them in this. Steers are placed in a class determined by their average daily gain. Each top two in four classes move on to the champainship round, where the top two are awarded. The next day, they have an auction of all the animals (sheep, hogs, and steers). People come from all over the state and bid on animals. On Sunday, when we are all asleep, the animals are butchered (some young 4-Hers don't know this). It can be a very traumtic experience selling your animal. I hope that explanation was not confusing and now you understand a little of how 4-H beef shows go.

Merritt got grandchampion showman in his showmanship class (there were only two showmen). He was still pretty excited. His steer was a baby and so gentle. Many people commented that they have never seen such a gentle steer. In his quality class, he got third. Overall, he sold 10th out of 16 steers. He sold his steer for $1.85 a pound, which means he earned roughly $22oo, plus any added money anybody gave him. Not bad for an 8 year old!

Here are some pictures of the fair. The one of Copper rearing up when he is getting washed is a great one(he hates getting his head washed). I am entering that into a contest. I think the one of Merritt and RJ being goofy is so cute!

Job Offer

As many of you know, Katina has been stressing out about a job for this year. She only had two interviews since May and the job openings were looking a little scarce. She found out last week that the school she aided for last year would have at least one opening for this year. Katina wasn't sure she wanted to go back. She was hoping for a teaching job, but that was not looking possible. Just as she was off the computer yesterday looking and applying at jobs with Intermountain Health, her old boss from Stansbury called and offered her a position working with 5th and 6th grade. She will be on the same track as last time (D track) so doesn't have to start working until a couple of weeks. All the other tracks starting school yesterday (yikes). This will leave us time to go to Idaho this weekend and for Katina to work next week at the counseling center. This wasn't the job that Katina really wanted, but it will be nice to see all the great co-workers and work with students again. Having this job is better than having no job at all.

A Blessing

Yesterday was a very great and chaotic day. Our much needed bed arrived. We bought a bed from IKEA last week and only had to pay $59 to have it delivered. It is so comfortable and both Chris and I had a great night's sleep last night. The biggest blessing arrived in the mail yesterday. As most of you know, Chris is going to school and has been receiving financial aid. We thought we had received the maximum amount of money for this term. Imagine my suprise when I opened the mailbox and found a check for $2000 from the school. It turns out that the government gives grants to students who are in IT programs. It was a great blessing and reinforces the fact that Heavenly Father does bless us when we pay our tithing.

Our bandit cat

On Saturday after the parade, we got our beloved Sam back. They told us that to prevent him from licking his incisions and his pain patch, they put one of those funny cones around his head. He looks so cute! They also put a bandana around his head (I really don't know why). When he got home, he jumped out of his carrier and went straight to his food. I think the medicine made him a little loopy because he has been acting goofy since we got him home. The vet tech said this pain patch was a lot like a morphine pump that humans use. It seems to have been working, especially today, since this morning we found him sleeping on the entertainment center. He got down on his own, which means that he put a lot of pressure on those front paws, which had to hurt like the dickens. I get to take the pain patch and the cone collar off today. That could be fun!

Missing Sam

Awhile ago, Chris and I decided we wanted to get Sam declawed because we were concerned about our future children's safety. We originally had an appointment set for the beginning of August, but I had some uneasy feelings about the place we had picked. I did some research and found a great place to get it done. We took him in yesterday. You should have heard him in the car on the way there. It sounded like he was dying! Once we got to the vet office, he calmed down. We were really worried about him, but just found out that he did great during and after the surgery. We can pick him up tomorrow. We are really missing him. I didn't have anyone jumping on the bed to wake me up this morning. It definately does not feel the same around here without him. If we are this way with a cat, I don't know what it will be like when we have children!

New computer

Yesterday was a great day. Two grand things arrived. First one was my computer. The second one was out tax rebate check for $1200. It was a great day. I am still getting used to the computer and will hope to blog a little more when exciting things happen. While I am thinking of it, this Saturday there is a possibility that Chris and I will be in a parade. The annual KSL children's parade is this Saturday and our stake Primary has a float. Since Chris and I work in the Primary, we really wanted to help out. We don't if we are actually walking or not, since there are STRICT guidelines on the number of adults allowed to walk. They only want 1 adult per 10 children. This is a little weird to me since we are expecting around 22 Sunbeam age children to walk. We won't know if they need us until Saturday morning. I just found out it is not on TV, so seeing us will be a rare treat.

R.I.P

On Independence Day, my computer experienced an "independence" of its own--computer heaven. It died!! A bad death. Good news is that I get a new laptop sometime this week. More updates and pictures when it arrives. That might explain why we are a little lax in posting on this blog.

Lagoon

Last Saturday, Chris and I went to Lagoon with our good friends Eve and Rory. We got there early enough in the morning that the lines weren't too bad. My goal since I have been married is to get Chris to ride a rollercoaster. When we went to Lagoon last year, he wouldn't get near one. Saturday her rode the wooden roller coaster not once, but twice!!! We had a lot of fun (no pictures because we didn't take our camera) and enjoyed spending time with another couple who don't have kids. On the way home, our friend Rory was driving and we decided it would be fine to follow a Utah State Patrolman's car because they would never do anything wrong. We were going the same speed as everyone else (around 80) including the cop. We were laughing about having a citizen's arrest because the cop was speeding. She pulled over to the side of the road. Little did we know that she was going to pull us over. She was on her way to pick up debris in the middle of the freeway (with no caution lights on). Luckily, Rory didn't get a ticket so all turned out well. Lesson learned--don't follow a cop regardless of the speed of the other traffic.

Outdoor Concert Fun

This weekend Chris and I spent a lot of time outside. Taylorsville Dayzz was this weekend and they have a lot of outdoor things planned, including free concerts. On Friday night, we went to the Beatles group Imagine with our good friends Eve and Rory. As Chris and I were walking to the park, we say a guy on his cell phone with a butcher knife in his hands! I was quite shocked and didn't want to call the police until we were out of his sight. We saw four police officers in a booth and mentioned it to them. All four of them took off in quite a hurry to find the weird man! The concert was really good and the few fireworks that night were also good. On Saturday night, we went to a Neil Diamond tribute given by Jay White, who performs in Las Vegas. I have to admit that I don't know many Neil's songs, so I did not enjoy it as much as Chris did. I did like how interactive Jay was with the crowd. The fireworks that night were amazing! Here are some pictures of Friday night with Imagine.

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school for Katina. It was a little sad. She normally doesn't work on Fridays, but was needed to help with the awards assembly. It was a little sad for her to leave these students. She has really enjoyed working with them, especially the last two weeks. It was even harder for her to leave her co-workers. They have been so wonderful and supportive of her. She has decided to not return there next year as she wants a job that offers benefits. Finding a job has been really stressful for her. The last three summers she has worked at a counseling center. She called them on Wednesday and found out they don't need her as often this summer. They have her on the schedule for about 2-3 days a week through July. Katina has only had two interviews and heard nothing from either one. Please pray for her that she will find a teaching job or at least something with benefits.

The Cat and his Toy Mouse.

Sam likes his cat toys and for a while Chris has been wanting to get a clip of him playing with one. Katina had bought a toy mouse for a church project and one day she came home to find Sam playing with it before it was even out of it's wrapping. We decided to give it to him today and Chris was able to get a small video clip of him with his digital camera. Since it's taken with a digital camera there is no sound.

Katina's Venting Post

I would like to get a few feelings off my chest about education and how rude students can be. My school, since I am on year-round, does not get out until next Friday. This means that I have almost 60 sixth graders that don't want to be at school because it is summertime and all their friends are having fun. Testing ended last week, so the students know there is really nothing left to accomplish. When did our society start letting children be so disrespectful. In the last week alone, I have had a student stick her tongue out at me, been called rude names, had eyes rolled at me, been called a grumpy hag, and totally ignored when I have given them instructions. I remember when I was in school, this sort of behavior would have gotten my suspended and my parents would have beat me till I couldn't sit down. It seems that now kids are getting a slap on the wrist no matter what they do. It scares me to think how worse it can still get. Our world is in serious need of some morals and respect.

New Couch

Today when I got home from work, Chris asked me if I wanted to get a new couch. The first question I asked was, "How much?" It turns out that our neighbors are moving to Kaysville and don't want to take their couch. They were giving it away for free. It is a great couch (a beast to move) with the end pieces being recliners. So now we have an extra couch in our spare bedroom. But at least we can put our feet up now when we watch TV.

The Nephews and the Zoo

Katina's family came down to visit this weekend. They had shopping to do. This was also the first time they saw the condo and Sam (The Cat). Sam either hid behind the entertainment center or under the bed most of the time they where here. He did let RJ and Meritt pet him a little on Sunday and Katina's mom on Saturday. 

Chris went with the nephews, their father, and the father-in-law to the zoo on Saturday. The women all went shopping. Here are some pictures from the zoo.

The Bees

Last week on Wednesday Chris and Katina went to see the Salt lake Bees baseball game. Chris was given the tickets for free from someone at church. The day was partly rainy but cleared up near game time. Chris was surprised at how many people where not there. Katina thought the Bee was cute. The score was 0 to 4. The Bees lost.

More Primary for Katina

So, as Katina was meeting with the bishop for her temple recommend, the bishop asked us what calling we would like to do. Katina mentioned anything but teaching the 10 and 11 year olds. He asked us to teach the 6 year olds! We taught our first class on Sunday (along with speaking in sacrament meeting). Our kids are really cute, but have the attention span of a gnat! Katina is working hard at having a positive attitude about this new calling.

Sam I Am

Here are some pictures of Sam. He is a really awesome cat. Right after I posted the last blog, he came out of the bedroom and wanted some attention. He loves to throw his head at your hand if you don't pet him. As you can see, he is a beautiful cat. He actually doesn't shed that much. He is a very sweet and loving cat.