May Days

We never thought there would be a day when our lives would be enveloped by the following boring things: blinds, floor polish, topsoil, curtain rods, and sod. Every free second has been spent getting our house set up, but it's finally coming together (and we actually have really enjoyed it). It's fun to have our own space to care about and make our own.

Let's just say that curtains = hell on earth. We bought and returned curtains and curtain rods from about ten different stores until we finally found a winning combo. Hanging them was a whole different story. 

We also tried to save some money by doing blinds ourselves. After hours of blood, sweat, tears, and many a wall patching (and some help from family), we finally got it down. Last night, we ceremoniously hung the last one. We no longer live in a fish bowl! 

The warmer weather has slowly brought back our desire to run. It's been nice to have new turf to explore like the golf course, Jordan River Parkway, and lots of trails. 

We also like spending time outdoors with him.

Unfortunately, he's getting tired of only having a 3'X5' patch of grass to play on. This next week (let's be honest - it will probably take a few) we're going to attempt to put in our yard. I've actually had a lot of fun drumming up these plans, and I'm hoping that we can make it happen.

Tanya is in her last month of school for the year. She says it's flown by, but she's excited for some time off. She started and coaches the dance company at her school, and this past week they had their first performance at an assembly and it was a success!

I'm officially done with my first semester of Grad School. It's been a lot harder than I thought, but I'm learning a lot. This past week and a half we've been on break, which has been so nice. Only having to worry about work is so easy, and I (already) look forward to that being a thing in a short year and a half. 

The House

I know everyone is soooo sick of hearing about our house . . . but we are in love. Finally all moved in and a little bit settled. With Rod working so close and being the incredible documenter he is, we have pictures from just about every step of the building of our dream home! It's crazy to see it from start to finish. This is our baby. Well, actually Remy is our baby but this is our other baby. WARNING: Picture overload.

We are so happy.

Next up: putting in a yard.

Oregon

We had an amazing weekend in Oregon. We reconnected with friends, visited the coast, experienced Portland, and ate more than anyone should in a single weekend.

Here are the highlights:

We spent the first 2 nights at a darling cottage in Seaside. We were happy to be reunited with the Pacific Ocean. It was cold but gorgeous!

We visited Haystack Rock

And had an ah-mah-zing seafood dinner 

We visited a ship wreck 

And the place where Goonies was filmed . . . a creepy little town called Astoria. 

The next day we went to the Tillamook cheese factory 

And then took Portland by storm. 

Of all the places we ate, VooDoo Doughnuts was my favorite. I'm not exaggerating when I say their maple bar made me weak in the knees. Sooo good.

In 2007 we dubbed ourselves the Haleiwa Hussies and we have been close ever since. I didn't know any of these people before I moved to Hawaii and they have all changed my life for the better. We have been on several vacations together and I can't wait for the next one! Love you guys! 

Spring Break

Aside from spending my days with hilarious teenagers, having long holidays is best part about being a teacher. The past few weeks of school have been long and sometimes stressful (even though teaching gym is probably one of the most fun jobs ever). It was like the kids were getting restless in the winter months. I have 4 girls that are total drama. They are constantly starting fights with each other or other kids. They spread rumors and say mean things. They always come to me with their problems and the counselor and I were getting really sick of it. Last week we had had it so we gave them an assignment . . . they had to watch the move Mean Girls and write a 1 page report about it! It was the counselor's idea and I fully supported it. They have been doing much better already. I resisted my urge to quote lines to them after they completed the assignment. Shouting "I don't hate you because you're fat, you're fat because I hate you!" just didn't seem right.

Needless to say I was ready for my week long break! We kicked it off by going to the Fun. concert last Saturday night. Nate was amazing! I love his voice. The whole concert was a dance party.

Love this song right now



The last 3 days I have been staying out at my mom's (5 minutes from our new house) trying to get some stuff done before we move in (a week from Saturday!) I bought a bunch of necessities for the house and even refinished the kitchen table we found at the DI for 35 bucks.

Before:

After:

 I love the sun bleached stain I used on the top. It turned out way better than I thought!

Tomorrow we leave for Portland and are so excited! I have never been and I'm really excited to see my Gentry.

The only hard thing will be leaving our Remy at home with my family. I am way more sad about it than I thought I would be.

Wouldn't you be sad too?