Camping

My family's ward had their campout at the end of July and Charlie and I got to go! We got a tent for our wedding and hadn't been able to use it until now! Yes, it is little, it is a backpacking tent and it is perfect for the two of us!

This is our tent all set up! It is so easy to set up, I could it up by myself!

Charlie and I

Charlie lounging around in other people's comfy chairs.

Wicked!!!

For our 2 year anniversary and my graduation gift, Charlie bought me Wicked tickets! For those of you who do not know what Wicked is, it is one of the biggest things on Broadway. It is the story of how the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz became wicked. Basically it is the story of what happened before the Wizard of Oz! I had seen the Broadway play 3 years ago and absolutely loved it! I used to play the sounds track all the time and because of that Charlie has become very familiar with the music! This was his first Broadway play and my 5th! Our seats were on the 14th row, on the far right. They were amazing seats! We had so much fun, it was a spectacular show. Thanks so much Charlie, I love you!

Our play bill, tickets, charm and the bag it came in.

Picture of us at the end of the night

This is a close up of the charm that I bought. It is the big clock that they had on stage, Elphaba’s broom, and Glinda’s wand.

Hanging Out With Friends

On Monday, Charlie and I went to our friends' house, Lonna and Shane. Brittany and Dan Calkins and Matt Petrie were also there! Lonna and Shane just bought a house out in Queen Creek and it is beautiful. It was so fun to have a BBQ and catch up since we all have not seen each other in such a long time! We all decided that we all need to get together a lot more often!

I PASSED!!!

I found out last night that I passed the Middle School Math AEPA test! This was the hardest test I have ever taken and I was sure that I did not pass. I missed part of our trip to Utah and Yellow Stone to take this test. It was a 4 hour test and I barely finished when time was up. Although it was a middle school math test, it covered high school and college math, none of which I really remembered. Now that I have passed I am highly qualified to teach Middle School math, which is my number one choice in a job!

Still no word on a job, it is really frustrating to finally graduate and then have no offers. I have heard of countless stories of people getting hired the week or days before school starts, so I am crossing my fingers and praying for a job, it is not over yet! If I do not get a job, and Charlie is able to keep his job, then I will substitute teach. If he loses his job, then I will need to get a job that will provide benefits for us.

Fourth of July

Today was our ward's Fourth of July breakfast, Christina and I are on the activities committee so we got to help out with this one. This was our first one that we have been able to attend because the last one was when we were out of town. So this morning we get up and are at the church at 7am (that is early for us, since we have been getting up around 9 or 10 each morning). Christina started to make the Tang and Lemonade while I helped put up tables and chairs. Then proceeded to make pancake batter. Like always I got it all over my clothes and the counter that I was working on. By now it is 8 and the food is ready. My mom and dad and Christina's sisters came I am sure they had a good time even though I did not get to sit with them, I was busy helping cooking or just getting things out. It was a lot of fun!

Charlie had to work Saturday night and my parents were out of town, so my sisters and I decided to check out the carnival at Mesquite High School. We soon found out it was more geared for families with small children, but we had fun anyways! The firework show was the best part of the whole night! It was a solid half hour show and the finale was amazing!

Christina, Jennifer, and Elizabeth

I loved the firework show!

The Loss of 6 Family Members to the East Coast

Now the title sounds like they died but that is not the case. My sister and her 4 sons and her husband have left for the east coast for 3 years. Matt got into school back there. As this is eating my sister up inside but like the Jones in her, she is being strong. To my sister that has giving me a lot of grief over the past decade (and I have giving my share of it as well) I want to say thanks for all the good time we have had. Some of the best times were watching her play volleyball or camping out in the great outdoors.

Mileage of the Trip!!!!

First leg of the trip started at Christina’s parents house in Chandler Az, and ended at her Grandparents' in Bountiful Ut. which is about 684 miles.

Next was bountiful to Ashton Id. it was 255 miles. It was a little more because of the detour we took to see Bill's aunt and uncle. I did not drive to the park, or around the park so I am not including that in this report.

On Saturday we drove from Ashton to Jackson Wy. that was 71 miles.

That afternoon Christina and I drove from Jackson Wy. to Salt Lake City Ut. that was about 273 miles.

The next day we drove from Salt Lake City Ut. to St. George Ut. that was about 302 miles.

And last but not least from St. George Ut. to HOME it was about 431 miles.

So lets add it all up and we get…..2016 miles.

Long way to go for such a great trip. oh and my wife drove form Cedar City Ut. to St. George Ut. But then again I didn’t need her to dive but she wanted to drive so I let her.