A picture is worth a thousand words

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this post is REALLY long.  Probably because I haven't posted anything in about 4 months.  At first it was because I had nothing to say...and I figure no one really reads this thing anyway...but since this is a type of journal keeping thing for me I figure it is time to update.

Lets start at the beginning.  Well, Juan is no longer interning at NASA.  He is now working for the contractors that work for NASA...so basically he is going to the same place...just getting his paycheck from a different company.  In celebration of this new job, we went out and bought a camera.  We have been wanting one for a while and we figure it is a good investment for when we have kids...so we can get some nice pictures.  All of the pictures that are on this post are compliments of me testing out our new camera....I'm not very good...but I sure do love taking pictures.

The other three months I will tell mostly in pictures...

We went to Juan's old roommate's wedding in Logan, Utah:

A bridge in the middle of nowhere

Dave, Travis, Juan

I want this

Pretty flower

Travis...the groom

We stopped in Las Vegas on the way back...I kinda miss living there:

Doin' the tourist thing

Aren't they cute?!

Playing with the camera while bored in the car

I'm cool like that

My friend Channing came home from her mission to Hong Kong:

That poster is what happens when you major in ElEd

For the rest of the summer I worked at a summer school.  Since Juan has to work some Saturdays we have been trying to make the most of the weekends he has off by going fishing, the beach, the movies, etc.:

Lexington

Yeah...we fish

Nature

Bean Hallow (sp?)

The beautiful ocean

me!!!!!

The whole beach is these little rocks...not sand...sooo cool

Showin' off the rocks

Yep...we're just living life the California way :).  I want summer to last forever!

1 year gone...and our anniversary trip

I can't believe that Juan and I have been married for an entire year today.  When I look back on the year it seems to have gone by so fast....and yet so slow.  It has been a year of events and random travel.  We got married a year ago today in Oakland...moved to Las Vegas the next day where I did student teaching and Juan left to come back to California after a month and a half to do an internship.  We then spend almost 2 months apart, met back up to go to Rexburg and graduated together.  Then we came back to California, moved into an apartment in Mountain View and in between there somewhere we traveled to Oregon/Washington, Texas, me to Utah and Rexburg again....and I feel like I am forgetting something.  We have put a lot of miles on our car and created a lot of great memories.  And this weekend we went to Monterey Bay to spend a day or so there to celebrate our 1 year together.  We figured that since we didn't ever have a honeymoon we should probably take the time to do something to celebrate before life gets even more crazy.  Here are some pictures from the weekend:

the driver

the bored passenger

pretty west coast

one of the stops on the 17 mile drive

it looked prettier actually there

it  was sooo pretty

my mom saved the top of our cake...soooooo not a good idea.

old friends and fun times

Last week I went up to Idaho for the teacher career fair.  It was a good experience with lots of interviews and it was fun to be back in Idaho where I ran into some old friends.  The only part that was kind of a bummer was that Juan and I have the same birthday and instead of spending it together...we had to spend it apart (since I was in Idaho and he was back in California).  After my 3 days in Idaho, I drove back with our friends Brittney and Danny Mortensen.  Brittney and I were roommates at school two different times...one of which we were both engaged and planning out weddings (Brittney and Danny got married the day before Juan and me).  They were coming out to California to spend a few days in the bay area and then go to her cousins wedding.  It was a lot of fun to spend time with old friends (since Juan and I really don't have any friends to hang out with in California).  We got to take them to see the redwoods, went to Santa Cruz beach boardwalk, and the city (which included pier 39, fishermans warf and the boudin sourdough factory, china town and the fortune cookie factory, ghiradelli square, and fort point).  We had lots of fun and got some pretty good pictures too!!!  Thanks Brittney and Danny for spending some time with us!!!

Standing inside a redwood tree

Juan "peeping" at us

Can you see the "M" for Mortensen

Laying on a tree

inside a tree

inside ANOTHER tree

Santa Cruz

yay for the beach

entering pier 39

spray paintings...one of the highlights of san francisco

fortune cookie factory

golden gate@fort point

ghiradelli square

bad days

I am so grateful to have someone who cares about me...especially on those days that I wish I had never even gotten out of bed in the morning.  On Friday Juan drove me to work in the morning so that he could clean my car out during the day (since he didn't have work).  On the way to work I got a call about a job I was supposed to be starting in two weeks saying that they didn't need me for the job anymore.  Pretty much not my favorite way to start the day.  Any way....the day went on with me in a pretty bad mood as I substituted 6th grade.  I sent Juan about a million texts about how I was depressed about the job and just in a bitter mood.  Well, when he picked me up from work my car was SO clean I didn't even recognize it.  Not only that, but he had gone to the store to buy me cupcakes and flowers.  My bad mood evaporated immediately. 
Then, on Saturday to keep me occupied, Juan took me to the flea market in San Jose.  I had never been before even though I have only been 15 min away from it my whole life.  It is HUGE.  We had so much fun just walking around and looking at all of the different things for sale.  They also have a big farmers market type thing there and we left with AMAZING fresh fruits and vegetables that were all super cheap.  It is so great to have my best friend with me all the time...and to have someone who can turn what would have been a grudge held weekend into a lot of fun. 

footprints in the sand

As I was reflecting on life today I remembered one of my favorite poems... thought I would post it.

One night I dreamed I was walking
Along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints.
Other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed that
During the low periods of my life when I was

Suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat
I could see only one set of footprints,

So I said to the Lord, "You promised me,
Lord, that if I followed You,
You would walk with me always.

But I noticed that during the most trying periods
Of my life there have only been
One set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I have needed You most
You have not been there for me?"

The Lord Replied,
"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints
is when I carried you."

Calorie Count

So this long weekend began with the idea that we were going camping and fishing.  We went to Walmart and bought all of the essential things for camping.....hamburger buns for the hamburgers we had in the freezer, two bags of chips, a bag of peanut M&M's, a bag of twizzlers, graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows, etc.  Needless to say it was raining like CRAZY and we decided not to go...especially since our new mattress arrived on Friday and sleeping on an air mattress (after sleeping on one for a month and a half) when we could finally be sleeping in a real bed just didn't sound as appealing anymore.  We still went fishing part of the day on Saturday...and that is when the eating began.

I kid you not, between the two of us we ate EVERYTHING I just listed among other things.  Yes, we finished off both bags of chips, both bags of candy, half the graham crackers, a few marshmallows, the hamburgers which were super greasy (and Juan made home made french fries to go with it) plus two full breakfasts (yes, I am talking eggs, toast, bacon, etc.), tacos, popcorn, and part of the molton chocolate cakes Juan attempted to make.....BASICALLY I ate more than a weeks worth of calories in 3 days.  And of course, I spent most of the weekend in my new bed....so the calories just stayed right in my body......no burn off at all.

This is just my way of telling myself how much of a fat lard I am.  HAHA.  No wonder people tend to gain weight when they get married....and I'm sure that is without eating as awful as I did this weekend.  Having now written it all out I realize how completely  horrible all of that food is for my poor body...and suddenly I am craving an apple.  Well, I guess it is time to get back to real life....and hopefully much better eating.

so this is christmas

Yes, I realize that I am a bit (or maybe a lot more than a bit) late with the whole Christmas thing.  Things have been pretty crazy for us the last few months.  We were lucky enough to spend three weeks in Brownsville, Texas with Juan's family during the Christmas season.  We had a lot of fun with his family (parents, siblings, nieces, cousins, etc.) and although they generally speak Spanish around the house, some how mine has yet to improve at all.  I seem to think that I will magically be able to speak fluently when I wake up one day, though that dream is beginning to seem far fetched and I guess I may have to actually get my act together and learn it myself.

Since we got back from Texas in the beginning of January, things seem to be going nonstop in our lives.  Two days after we got back we moved into a new apartment in Mountain View, California (about 5 min from where I grew up).  It is an older building, but very quiet and we haven't had any problems thus far.  We love it!  We have however been sleeping on an air mattress for the past month and our backs are starting to feel the toll that that has taken on us.  The good news is that we should be getting a bed in the next week (it is ordered and on its way to us).  The move brought with it a new ward, which we love and we can't wait to get to know more people.

Juan's internship at NASA was extended once again until the end of April.  We keep playing a waiting game of what our future will hold and as of now all we know is that we are here till April.  I have been substituting at a preschool since just before winter break in addition to the Saturday Math Academy class that I teach.  After we got back I got a tutoring job helping a 3rd grade girl with math and other things.  She is very cute and I enjoy it a lot.  I also got on as a Substitute Teacher for the Palo Alto Unified School District.  Between my four part time jobs, I have stayed busy.  Juan and I enjoy our evenings together, but we await a day when we will both just be able to sleep in again (since he is up at 6 every weekday and I am always up by 7 on Saturdays...and we have early church on Sundays).  Life is good.  There is not a whole lot more that we could ask for (except maybe a little bit of stability...but it will all come in time).

Here are some pictures from our trip to Brownsville:

We made gingerbread men with Juan's nieces.

Mr. and Mrs. Ginger.....my pride and joy.

Juan's mom makes the most amazing tamales.

Lu (Juan's niece) smiling for the camera.

Juan with his nieces (Jo and Lu)...they love him.

Jo and me at our Christmas feast.

Joe and Ashley....and the yummy food.

Juan got coal in his stocking.

We picked someone to give a gift to out of a hat....Juan got Lu.

Gaby and me on New Years Eve

Estrella (Juan's youngest cousin).

San Antonio Temple