San Francisco

Brandon and I spent the past week in San Francisco to celebrate ONE YEAR of marriage. It was a trip of ups and downs... literally. We arrived on Friday night and checked into our hotel. It was a nice room but no air conditioning. no air = open windows. open windows + sirens/horns/drunkards = no sleep. Nothing earplugs couldn't fix.

We spent our first day at Point Reyes National Seashore. It was a gorgeous place but was insanely windy and cold. We biked to the shore and walked along the beach. Did I mention the wind was blowing? Holy Monkey! We were pelted with sand... ouch. so was our camera. Camera + sand = bad new bears! It's going to need a visit to the doctor. Luckily we brought a backup.

The rest of the week was fun. We went to several museums, and saw Wicked. We biked the golden gate bridge and some trails on Angel Island, visited Muir Woods, and ate some amazing food. Oh, and of course countless hours driving up and down the steep hills looking for a place to park.

BaY cRuiSE

oaKLanD TEmPle
exPLOratoriUM -- mucho fun




aNGeL isLanD


ggb

MuiR wOOd forest

Cheap bike lock + big city = bye bye bike


Brandon's (my parent's) bike was stolen. Dang cheap bike lock!!! The bike was a PIECE with squeaky breaks and rusty gears. For some weird reason my bike was left behind. I LOVE my bike so I was beyond grateful it wasn't stolen.

Oh well... it was our last night and b-don really needed a new bike. if anyone visits San Francisco in the near future, look for a homeless man on a squeaky bike... can't miss it.

Greetings from Coin!

My mom's sister passed away last week after battling cancer. My parents, sister, niece and myself packed up the car and took the long 15 hour drive to itty-bitty, tiny-winy Coin, Iowa. I love this place. Old farm land, abandoned homes, old barns and cracked sidewalks. I love it!
Abbie and i explored and took pictures. There are all sorts of treasures in this town.

The Month Of May

The month of May is one of my favorites. I love the anticipation of school ending and long summer days approaching. I watch the tree outside my classroom window change through the seasons. It is now covered with big dark leaves. It's a ticking clock telling me that summer is here!!!

ONE MAN'S JUNK IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE...
a couple of weeks ago my mom's extended family organized a benefit garage sale for my Aunt Joy, who is suffering from cancer. The proceeds all went to help with her medical bills.
All I can say is wow, people love junk. They'll buy anything.... as long as the price is right.Did I mention I love warm weather? It has been gorgeous!!!! Brandon and I took the truck up AF canyon and had some fun in the mud. FUN! He was pretty excited about how dirty it got.

Today was the LAST day of school. Isn't the last day of school the best???? This is why I love my job!

teaching moments

Here's my favorite school moment of the day...

"Mrs. O'Neil, can I go to the bathroom?"
When I give him the are-you-kidding-me-we've-been-in-class-for-5-minutes-look, he says,
"I forgot I put my pants on backwards this morning."

Classic.

SpRIng bREaK

For spring break, Brandon and I planned a camping trip down to the Goblin Valley area. We haven't been camping since we were married and were dying to get away. I spent the first part of the week getting everything ready for Wednesday at 4:30. That's when Brandon was off work and we could take off. Wednesday morning rolled around and I spent the day packing and cleaning the house. Then the snow arrived... and it didn't leave. I frantically checked the weather report for southern Utah... snow, severe wind warnings, cold temps. Not exactly camping and hiking weather. We had planned to hike a slot canyon but with the rain and snow we knew that was no longer an option. curses! I tried to stay upbeat and checked every other outdoor destination i could think of. Zion, Bryce, Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon, Lake Tahoe, Yellowstone... snow and rain until Friday. Not worth it.

I was so disappointed! Feeling defeated, I suggested we go to dinner and think of activities to do around here. It was at dinner that Brandon came up with the solution to our problem. We raced back home, modified our packing, and left. We arrived at our destination the next afternoon....
There's nothing like walking through the front gates of Disneyland early in the morning.


I worked on my pirate face all weekend. It took me a few tries to get this one.

ARRG!

Yes, I'm wearing pajamas... I got SOAKED on splash mountain early in the morning. I could either be miserable in wet jeans or buy pj's. I would recommend it to anyone. So comfy. And where else in the world can a 27 year-old woman wear Minnie Mouse pants and it's totally acceptable?
This is why b-don loves Disneyland so much... The pReTZels! This cream cheese filled one was quite delicious.


my favorite... Dumbo!
We had so much fun and were in no way ready to come home. It was a quick, unplanned trip but well worth it. I'm ready to go back... I'm thinking December. Anyone want to come???

Piece of Cake!

My sisters and I just finished a cake decoration class. It was a lot of fun and I feel like I learned a ton. Here are a couple pictures of my creations.





Next adventure: Fondant

WARNING: plate is flammable

In the morning I like to enjoy a warm bowl of oatmeal. I am AlWAYS in a hurry and running late for work, so my bowl of oatmeal turns into a cup of oatmeal which I microwave in between my hair and make-up and then drink in the car. Well, the other morning I rushed to microwave my healthy breakfast. I always put a plate underneath to catch anything that may overflow. In my rush I grabbed a paper plate left over from my mother-in-laws birthday.


I was thinking, "Perfect! If it overflows i just throw it away... no clean-up! I'm so smart!" I hit 1 minute and ran to finish getting ready.

When I came back this is what I found...

I flipped the plate over and thought... What do ya know! Plate may ignite. Awesome.


I am so smrt!