2 months, 8 applications, 7 interviews, and 2 rejections later, I have a job!!! I accepted an SLP position with Vista Unified School District and will be working at Olive Elementary School starting this August. I am very excited, and somewhat nervous, which is probably a good mix.
I'm currently still in the "new hire" process. I went in last Friday to fill out a mountain of paperwork (some of which still needs to be completed, like the W4, heh heh) and went yesterday to be drug tested (again) and fingerprinted (again). Now I wait for my transcripts to come and for them to call me back in to sign my contract, yippee!!!!!
Along with the new job, of course, comes finding a place in Vista. Tad and I toured 6 places Saturday, Mom and I looked at 3 places yesterday, and I'm scheduling appointments to look at condos on Sunday. Hopefully by the end of next week we will know where we are living.
God has blessed us so much with the timing and location of things. We have just over two weeks between the wedding and my start date, which means 1 week in between returning from the honeymoon and the start date. Perfect amount of time for moving and settling in. I'm nervous about finding the right place with the right timeframe, but know that God will continue to provide for us. :)
Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Birthday in Hollywood
Last week I celebrated y last birthday before becoming a married woman with Tad and some of my favorite girls in the Hollywood area. Becky and I always have a birthday outing (her day si two days after mine). This year's outing was scheduled around Tad's surprise for me: tickets to see the taping of Conan!
Tad and I picked Krista up in Orange County and met Becky at the Hollywood and Highland Center (a huge mall on Hollywood Blvd). The plan was to have lunch and see some of the walk of fame. We only had time for lunch, but it was still fun. The mall is pretty cool. It's really big and has all sorts of little decorations around about being famous. There's a large courtyard with one of those in-the-ground fountains for kids to play in. We ate at CPK and enjoyed quesadilla appetizers and a bbq chicken pizza with bacon. Becky and I got Tad to tell the waiter it was our birthdays so we could get free icecream sundaes, hehe
Tad and I had to be to the Conan lot by 1:30 to claim our tickets, so we bid farewell to the girls and headed up to Burbank. The waiting was quite boring. We picked up our tickets , went through security, and then had about an hour to kill. There was a small souvenir stand, but it was overpriced. It might've been more exciting if we had been waiting somewhere other than a parking garage. Since we had V with us, we got called early to ride on a golf cart over to the sound stage (a nice treat since it was a bit of a walk and rather warm out). Once there we waited for another 45 minutes of so before getting to go into the studio.
It was really cool being there. Everything from the show is just, right there. The studio is a bit smaller than it looks on tv. Once things got started, it went by quickly. The warm up comedian came out and interacted with the audience while explaining safety rules. Andy came out, and then the band started playing. The show tapes pretty much in real time. The band starts a song as you go into commercial, they keep playing during the commercial, and then finish as the show comes back.
It was a great show to be at. Conan's monologue was a pretty good one, and all 3 guests (Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Mortimer, and a great comedian) were all really entertaining. After the show, Tad and I agreed that it was a neat experience, but not something we needed to do regularly. :)
By the time we were finished and out of the lot, it was 5:30 time for dinner. And what is Lindsey's current favorite birthday restaurant? RED ROBIN! We met Becky and Krista and en at a Red Robin in the Glendale Galleria mall. It was nice to get to hang out and chat some more (and to see Jen). Tad and I shared a "Groovy Smoothie" which was fantastic! The table consensus was that it tasted like jelly beans. I also tried a new burger: the pub burger. FANTASTIC!!! It has like monterey cheese, garlic mayo, onion straws, and mushrooms. I think there are a few other things, but yeah, new favorite tied with the BBQ burger.
This meal around we got Krista to inform the waiter of the birthdays and enjoyed a second icecream sundae. Boy do we live on the wild side! Once we'd finished our icecream it was about 8:00, which meant it was time for Tad and me (and Krista, who we were driving home) to hit the road. While dropping Krista off, I got to see their little puppies, so adorable!
It was a great day. I felt a little strange not having my parents around (they were on vacation in China), but we'll just celebrate a little late. My family is into having birthdays last the entire month of your birth. Tad took me out to lunch just the two of us the day before my birthday (Father's Day) at Red Lobster. I had cocnut shrimp, and we got a key lime pie and a brownie a la mode. Raelene and I went out Friday for happy hour at applebees and had margaritas and appetizers. I have so much to look forward to for 24: getting married, a new job, and a new life with my husband. Definitely looking forward to my first birthday as a maried lady :)
Tad and I picked Krista up in Orange County and met Becky at the Hollywood and Highland Center (a huge mall on Hollywood Blvd). The plan was to have lunch and see some of the walk of fame. We only had time for lunch, but it was still fun. The mall is pretty cool. It's really big and has all sorts of little decorations around about being famous. There's a large courtyard with one of those in-the-ground fountains for kids to play in. We ate at CPK and enjoyed quesadilla appetizers and a bbq chicken pizza with bacon. Becky and I got Tad to tell the waiter it was our birthdays so we could get free icecream sundaes, hehe
Tad and I had to be to the Conan lot by 1:30 to claim our tickets, so we bid farewell to the girls and headed up to Burbank. The waiting was quite boring. We picked up our tickets , went through security, and then had about an hour to kill. There was a small souvenir stand, but it was overpriced. It might've been more exciting if we had been waiting somewhere other than a parking garage. Since we had V with us, we got called early to ride on a golf cart over to the sound stage (a nice treat since it was a bit of a walk and rather warm out). Once there we waited for another 45 minutes of so before getting to go into the studio.
It was really cool being there. Everything from the show is just, right there. The studio is a bit smaller than it looks on tv. Once things got started, it went by quickly. The warm up comedian came out and interacted with the audience while explaining safety rules. Andy came out, and then the band started playing. The show tapes pretty much in real time. The band starts a song as you go into commercial, they keep playing during the commercial, and then finish as the show comes back.
It was a great show to be at. Conan's monologue was a pretty good one, and all 3 guests (Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Mortimer, and a great comedian) were all really entertaining. After the show, Tad and I agreed that it was a neat experience, but not something we needed to do regularly. :)
By the time we were finished and out of the lot, it was 5:30 time for dinner. And what is Lindsey's current favorite birthday restaurant? RED ROBIN! We met Becky and Krista and en at a Red Robin in the Glendale Galleria mall. It was nice to get to hang out and chat some more (and to see Jen). Tad and I shared a "Groovy Smoothie" which was fantastic! The table consensus was that it tasted like jelly beans. I also tried a new burger: the pub burger. FANTASTIC!!! It has like monterey cheese, garlic mayo, onion straws, and mushrooms. I think there are a few other things, but yeah, new favorite tied with the BBQ burger.
This meal around we got Krista to inform the waiter of the birthdays and enjoyed a second icecream sundae. Boy do we live on the wild side! Once we'd finished our icecream it was about 8:00, which meant it was time for Tad and me (and Krista, who we were driving home) to hit the road. While dropping Krista off, I got to see their little puppies, so adorable!
It was a great day. I felt a little strange not having my parents around (they were on vacation in China), but we'll just celebrate a little late. My family is into having birthdays last the entire month of your birth. Tad took me out to lunch just the two of us the day before my birthday (Father's Day) at Red Lobster. I had cocnut shrimp, and we got a key lime pie and a brownie a la mode. Raelene and I went out Friday for happy hour at applebees and had margaritas and appetizers. I have so much to look forward to for 24: getting married, a new job, and a new life with my husband. Definitely looking forward to my first birthday as a maried lady :)
Saturday, June 11, 2011
More Bridal Fun
Last weekend was my second in a row jam packed with wedding related fun. On Saturday, I had my San Diego bridal shower, and on Sunday, my parents, Tad, and I went to my friend Christine's wedding. Here are some highlights from both!
My shower was a lot of fun. It was quite different from the Biola one in that there were about 3 times as many people, we had it in our house, and it was mostly relatives and family friends rather than college friends. The party planning was a team effort by Raelene (my maid of honor), my mom's friend Kathy (who did much of the cooking), my mom's friend Diana, and my mom.
The theme was "Around the Clock", which turned out to be a lot of fun. Each guest was given a time of day on their invitation and asked to bring a gift that would be used during that time. For example, for the morning times I received a toaster and a waffle maker. For the afternoon times: a popcorn popper with a movie and penguin hot chocolate mugs. For the evening, candles and our ceramic toothbrush and tissue box holders.
The party was fairly laid back, as most parties with that many people have to be. We enjoyed delicious afternoon tea foods including scones, fresh fruit, sandwiches, and a lemon cream dessert. My mom and I had planned the games together. We did a memory game with different kitchen items on an apron that I wore and walked around the room. We also had put together a "How well do you know Lindsey?" activity. Mom and I brainstormed a list of 20 questions about me: everything from "How old is she?" to "What's her favorite Disney princess?". The night before, we asked Tad the questions and wrote down his answers. That made giving the answers more fun at the party because we could read Tad's response. Krista got the most right with 13/20. Raelene was a close second with 12/20. Both beat Tad who got 10/20.
The final activity we had planned was the first kiss game. People wrote down a couple things about what made their first kiss memorable on an index card. Volunteers read the cards and I had to pick the "most romantic" one. The rest of the time was spent visiting with my guests. It was a very nice party.
Our party continued on Sunday with Christine (Elizabeth, as she goes by now) and Eric's wedding. The weather was pretty much perfect for a June wedding: sunny but not too hot. It was held at Los Willows in Fallbrook. Los Willows is a property basically designed for hosting weddings. There is a beautiful lake next to a big sloping lawn with a gazebo, a bar area with belly tables, several other buildings for getting ready, and a semi-permanent tent.
Tad, my parents, and I arrived quite a bit early and enjoyed exploring the grounds a it before the other guests arrived. There was some mingling time beforehand to sign the guestbook and enjoy a glass of lemonade. It was a beautiful ceremony. True to her personality and interests, Christine arrived in a boat, accompanied by opera music. A unique touch that I haven't seen at a wedding before was a foot washing that she and Eric did.
The party that followed was also quite beautiful. We sampled many delicious appetizers during the cocktail hour and enjoyed their signature drink "Honey I Do", a blue mai tai. Tad and I got to chat quite a bit with Elizabeth and Matthew too which was nice. The dinner reception was quite fun. We sat with my parents and four mutual friends between my mom and Christine's mom.
Tad and I used the dancing time to practice a bit for our upcoming day. We've decided we still need a bit more practice ;) haha. All in all it was a great afternoon and evening. Christine and Eric looked very happy and we're happy for them starting their new lives. My thought now is "The next wedding I attend will be my own!", a very exciting thought :)
My shower was a lot of fun. It was quite different from the Biola one in that there were about 3 times as many people, we had it in our house, and it was mostly relatives and family friends rather than college friends. The party planning was a team effort by Raelene (my maid of honor), my mom's friend Kathy (who did much of the cooking), my mom's friend Diana, and my mom.
The theme was "Around the Clock", which turned out to be a lot of fun. Each guest was given a time of day on their invitation and asked to bring a gift that would be used during that time. For example, for the morning times I received a toaster and a waffle maker. For the afternoon times: a popcorn popper with a movie and penguin hot chocolate mugs. For the evening, candles and our ceramic toothbrush and tissue box holders.
The party was fairly laid back, as most parties with that many people have to be. We enjoyed delicious afternoon tea foods including scones, fresh fruit, sandwiches, and a lemon cream dessert. My mom and I had planned the games together. We did a memory game with different kitchen items on an apron that I wore and walked around the room. We also had put together a "How well do you know Lindsey?" activity. Mom and I brainstormed a list of 20 questions about me: everything from "How old is she?" to "What's her favorite Disney princess?". The night before, we asked Tad the questions and wrote down his answers. That made giving the answers more fun at the party because we could read Tad's response. Krista got the most right with 13/20. Raelene was a close second with 12/20. Both beat Tad who got 10/20.
The final activity we had planned was the first kiss game. People wrote down a couple things about what made their first kiss memorable on an index card. Volunteers read the cards and I had to pick the "most romantic" one. The rest of the time was spent visiting with my guests. It was a very nice party.
Our party continued on Sunday with Christine (Elizabeth, as she goes by now) and Eric's wedding. The weather was pretty much perfect for a June wedding: sunny but not too hot. It was held at Los Willows in Fallbrook. Los Willows is a property basically designed for hosting weddings. There is a beautiful lake next to a big sloping lawn with a gazebo, a bar area with belly tables, several other buildings for getting ready, and a semi-permanent tent.
Tad, my parents, and I arrived quite a bit early and enjoyed exploring the grounds a it before the other guests arrived. There was some mingling time beforehand to sign the guestbook and enjoy a glass of lemonade. It was a beautiful ceremony. True to her personality and interests, Christine arrived in a boat, accompanied by opera music. A unique touch that I haven't seen at a wedding before was a foot washing that she and Eric did.
The party that followed was also quite beautiful. We sampled many delicious appetizers during the cocktail hour and enjoyed their signature drink "Honey I Do", a blue mai tai. Tad and I got to chat quite a bit with Elizabeth and Matthew too which was nice. The dinner reception was quite fun. We sat with my parents and four mutual friends between my mom and Christine's mom.
Tad and I used the dancing time to practice a bit for our upcoming day. We've decided we still need a bit more practice ;) haha. All in all it was a great afternoon and evening. Christine and Eric looked very happy and we're happy for them starting their new lives. My thought now is "The next wedding I attend will be my own!", a very exciting thought :)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Job Applications and Wedding Plans
I always seem to be caught off guard by how busy a person can be, even when they technically have not. I am finishing out week 2 of summer vacation and have somehow been extraordinarily busy, even outside of the trip up to LA. Since graduation I have applied for 3 schol district positions and 3 private practice positions. None of the school districts are ready to review applications. I have an interview next Friday at one of the private practices. It is the position I am currently favoring because of its location and population. Prayers are always appreciated. I left a message for the other private practice today and submitted my resume to the third PP. I am very excited to see which door God opens for me, especially because once I know where I'll be working, Tad and I can look for an apartment.
Tad has also been busy on the job front. No new interviews, but he's had a few job leads. A man from PLC works at one of the locations Tad applied and said they respond well to inside recommendations. Tad just finished an aplicaiton for Office Depot and is working on several school positions that are available.
Now, about the fun part of life, wedding planning. It's been so refreshing to be able to spend a few hours at a time working on wedding details without feeling guilty. Mom and I met with the videographer and showed him around the church and reception site. I worked on my bridesmaid gifts, bought Tad's wedding gift, and have been helping with a few of the details for my shower this weekend. I thoroughly enjoy all of it and will be a tiny bit sad when there isn't anything more to plan, haha! :)
Tad has also been busy on the job front. No new interviews, but he's had a few job leads. A man from PLC works at one of the locations Tad applied and said they respond well to inside recommendations. Tad just finished an aplicaiton for Office Depot and is working on several school positions that are available.
Now, about the fun part of life, wedding planning. It's been so refreshing to be able to spend a few hours at a time working on wedding details without feeling guilty. Mom and I met with the videographer and showed him around the church and reception site. I worked on my bridesmaid gifts, bought Tad's wedding gift, and have been helping with a few of the details for my shower this weekend. I thoroughly enjoy all of it and will be a tiny bit sad when there isn't anything more to plan, haha! :)
Monday, May 30, 2011
Bridal Weekend
I kicked off my summer with a weekend up in LA/OC for a couple great parties and some fun time hanging out with friends.
I rode the train up to Fullerton Saturday morning for Anja's bridal shower. She and her mom were really sweet and picked me up from the station. Her shower was at the home of a long time family friend in Placentia. The party theme was Backyard Beach Bridal Brunch, and they had really cute decorations (abilone shells, a wading pool with sand and beach toys, signs for how far it is to Tahiti, Cancun, etc), a smoothie bar, and delicious breakfast food. It was mostly friends of her mom who she had known growing up, plus a few high school friends. We chatted and ate and then got to the activities. The host's gift fr Anja was a candle rock garden, and her idea was for the rocks to have words on them that described Anaja's or James's character. We each picked a rock and then explained the word we wrote. I wrote "true friend". The other activity was similar; there were scrapbook pages with words that describe things necessary for marriage. We were to pick one of two and write a piece of advice or a scripture reference, and then Anja read them. Since it is one I struggle with myself, I picked patience :). And, of course, to finish off the party, Anja opened her gifts.
Krista picked me up from the party. We had made plans to hang out with Diana for the afternoon at the Lakewood mall. Diana ended up having a bit of car trouble (her car needs new brake cables and her mom's was low on gas), so while we waited for her, Krista and I looked at the bragain bookstore for books to use for therapy. There were quite a few Christmas books. I picked out three: Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and 1, 2, 3 with Pooh. Krista picked out quite a few, including several that would be great for artic. We read them over dinner, and they ended up being hilarious. All 4 involve a child (named "Little C" or "Little L") collecting items in a box. Little C visits a candy castle with a clown who tells her to come in because he has candy canes and cookies and cake for his birthday party. Little L goes to a lighthouse where he finds a little lion who licks him and sits on his lap.
Once Diana arrived, we finishe dup our purhcases and grabbed a snack from the foodcourt. We chattd about TV shows, programs, music, and boys. Krista and I had talked to Becky about doing dinner together, so while we hung out in Forever 21 while we waited to hear from her. I missed getting to meet her new boyfriend David because he had to get ready for a performance and Krista and I were driving from Lakewood to La Habra. We ate at Corner Bakery. All three of us got bread bowls (Becky got broccoli cheese, I got tomato basil, and Krista got baked potato) and shared maple pecan bars. After Krista and I had been there for about 45 minutes, Diana arrived with a friend of hers from high school. It was a little awkward, but ok. The three of us excused ourselves after another half hour to go back to Becky's townhouse. We enjoyed leftover cookies from Becky's recital and hit the jacuzzi to relax. Krista hung out for a bit longer, and we sat in Becky's room chatting. Normally when I stay over at Becky's I sleep on the couch. But her roommate Melissa was gone for the weekend, and Becky just bought a new bed. So instead of the couch, I slept on a mattress on the floor in Becky's room. It had a very fun sleepover feel to it.
Sunday morning Becky and I had enough time before church for a Starbucks run. Upon her recommendation I tried a cinnamon dulce latte. It was delicious! The service at Grace was really nice. They're just starting a series on prayer for the summer, and it was a great message for me to hear. I think I'm going to share it with Tad so we can talk about it together. Careen and Emily Zeh happened to both be visiting for the weekend and spent some time chatting with us after the service. Becky, Krista, and I had lunch at Wendy's, got a couple grocery items Krista needed for a potluck, and browsed in Hallmark looking for a little gift for Christine's bachelorette party. By the time we were finished with all that, it was time to get ready for the party. Becky and I got an extra adventure on the drive there because we ended up driving 30 miles too far. Oops, haha. We ended up making it just fine and had a nice time.
The party was at a place called RA Sushi: a very trendy sushi restaurant/bar. We had 7 girls: Christine and 4 of her bridesmaids plus Becky and me. Becky and I each got a "Blushing Geisha", lemonade with raspberry vodka. It was quite tasty and light on the alcohol. I got a Tootsy Maki roll: basically a California roll with shrimp and eel sauce added. Yum! It was a fun experience for my first ever bachelorette party :)
Becky and I got back to her place before 9 and had icecream and cookies with plum berry black tea. We finished off our evening by watching an episode of Body of Proof.
I had a really great time seeing a few of my close friends, celebrating a couple great girls, and being able to relax. I realized that this was probably the first weekend I had spent up there where I wasn't perpetually running around trying to meet up with as many people as possible. What a nice change! =)
I rode the train up to Fullerton Saturday morning for Anja's bridal shower. She and her mom were really sweet and picked me up from the station. Her shower was at the home of a long time family friend in Placentia. The party theme was Backyard Beach Bridal Brunch, and they had really cute decorations (abilone shells, a wading pool with sand and beach toys, signs for how far it is to Tahiti, Cancun, etc), a smoothie bar, and delicious breakfast food. It was mostly friends of her mom who she had known growing up, plus a few high school friends. We chatted and ate and then got to the activities. The host's gift fr Anja was a candle rock garden, and her idea was for the rocks to have words on them that described Anaja's or James's character. We each picked a rock and then explained the word we wrote. I wrote "true friend". The other activity was similar; there were scrapbook pages with words that describe things necessary for marriage. We were to pick one of two and write a piece of advice or a scripture reference, and then Anja read them. Since it is one I struggle with myself, I picked patience :). And, of course, to finish off the party, Anja opened her gifts.
Krista picked me up from the party. We had made plans to hang out with Diana for the afternoon at the Lakewood mall. Diana ended up having a bit of car trouble (her car needs new brake cables and her mom's was low on gas), so while we waited for her, Krista and I looked at the bragain bookstore for books to use for therapy. There were quite a few Christmas books. I picked out three: Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and 1, 2, 3 with Pooh. Krista picked out quite a few, including several that would be great for artic. We read them over dinner, and they ended up being hilarious. All 4 involve a child (named "Little C" or "Little L") collecting items in a box. Little C visits a candy castle with a clown who tells her to come in because he has candy canes and cookies and cake for his birthday party. Little L goes to a lighthouse where he finds a little lion who licks him and sits on his lap.
Once Diana arrived, we finishe dup our purhcases and grabbed a snack from the foodcourt. We chattd about TV shows, programs, music, and boys. Krista and I had talked to Becky about doing dinner together, so while we hung out in Forever 21 while we waited to hear from her. I missed getting to meet her new boyfriend David because he had to get ready for a performance and Krista and I were driving from Lakewood to La Habra. We ate at Corner Bakery. All three of us got bread bowls (Becky got broccoli cheese, I got tomato basil, and Krista got baked potato) and shared maple pecan bars. After Krista and I had been there for about 45 minutes, Diana arrived with a friend of hers from high school. It was a little awkward, but ok. The three of us excused ourselves after another half hour to go back to Becky's townhouse. We enjoyed leftover cookies from Becky's recital and hit the jacuzzi to relax. Krista hung out for a bit longer, and we sat in Becky's room chatting. Normally when I stay over at Becky's I sleep on the couch. But her roommate Melissa was gone for the weekend, and Becky just bought a new bed. So instead of the couch, I slept on a mattress on the floor in Becky's room. It had a very fun sleepover feel to it.
Sunday morning Becky and I had enough time before church for a Starbucks run. Upon her recommendation I tried a cinnamon dulce latte. It was delicious! The service at Grace was really nice. They're just starting a series on prayer for the summer, and it was a great message for me to hear. I think I'm going to share it with Tad so we can talk about it together. Careen and Emily Zeh happened to both be visiting for the weekend and spent some time chatting with us after the service. Becky, Krista, and I had lunch at Wendy's, got a couple grocery items Krista needed for a potluck, and browsed in Hallmark looking for a little gift for Christine's bachelorette party. By the time we were finished with all that, it was time to get ready for the party. Becky and I got an extra adventure on the drive there because we ended up driving 30 miles too far. Oops, haha. We ended up making it just fine and had a nice time.
The party was at a place called RA Sushi: a very trendy sushi restaurant/bar. We had 7 girls: Christine and 4 of her bridesmaids plus Becky and me. Becky and I each got a "Blushing Geisha", lemonade with raspberry vodka. It was quite tasty and light on the alcohol. I got a Tootsy Maki roll: basically a California roll with shrimp and eel sauce added. Yum! It was a fun experience for my first ever bachelorette party :)
Becky and I got back to her place before 9 and had icecream and cookies with plum berry black tea. We finished off our evening by watching an episode of Body of Proof.
I had a really great time seeing a few of my close friends, celebrating a couple great girls, and being able to relax. I realized that this was probably the first weekend I had spent up there where I wasn't perpetually running around trying to meet up with as many people as possible. What a nice change! =)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Post Graduation Fun
The day I had been longing for for nearly two years finally arrived: graduation. Grad school was so ridiculously stressful and overwhelming at times that it seemed like it would never end, but id did. praise God for his mercy and grace! It was a nice ceremony, nothing too remarkable or memorable, but a nice ceremony. I think I may have been more impressed had I not experienced the wonderfulness of Biola graduations. The three things that were better about SDSU's graduation: 1) it was indoors, so we weren't all sweaty and sunburned by the end, 2) Tad was able to be there to celebrate with me, and 3) I got a master's degree and got "hooded" on stage. Valencia liked this one better because she got her name called as we walked across.
Following the ceremony my department held a reception in the lobby of our building to celebrate and for our families to meet the other students and the faculty. I met up with my entourage (Tad, my parents, Stephen, Raelene, and Tad's 'aunt' Judy) there and enjoyed some refreshments. It got pretty crowded pretty fast, but we stayed long enough to take a few pictures and for my mom to re-met Charlotte, who was already clinic director when Stephen received speech therapy there at age 4.
From the reception we (minus Raelene, who had to work) went to Casa Guadalajara's in Old Town for lunch. This was an easy restaurant choice because we were all ableto take the trolley and avoid traffic. Lunch was a good chance for my family and Judy to get to know each other a bit better and for my mom and me to share a grande strawberry margarita. ;) The one other thing that was better about this graduation than Biola's was that I didn't have to do a huge move home and say goodbye to my pup for 10 days.
The celebrations continued on Saturday with a trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (FKA Wild Animal Park). Some of the anesthesiologists in my dad's department help out the vets at the zoo. As a thank you, they periodically get the opportunity to go on the caravan excursions in the park enclosures. This year the department opened the opportunity up to the family members. And that's how all 6 of us (my family and Tad) found ourselves outside the park at 7:30 am on a Saturday.
I had been on the caravan tour once before when I was about 9 with Braille Institute and was thrilled to get to go again. The 60 some of us in the group divided into 4 different safari trucks and set out for our 2 hour excursion. We had a delightful guide named Amanda who I swear knew everything there is to know about animals that I forget exist if I don't go to the zoo for a while. We saw rhinos, gazelles, Asian sheep and deer, and several antelope whose mating cries sound like belches haha. I took tons of pictures, which can be viewed on facebook.
The interactive portions of our tour came in the feeding of a male rhino named Bo-Poo and a female giraffe (whose name we were not told). We fed Bo-Poo apple slices and the giraffe Australian acasia leaves. Both were interesting experiences; on one hand, having your hand in the mouth of a wild animal, on the other, having an animal's long tongue wrap around your hand. It was a lot of fun, minus the fact that Valencia couldn't come along for that part of the day. She stayed in a kennel near the entrance and was not very happy about it.
After our tour we enjoyed a nice catered lunch of sandwiches, salads, and cookies while listening to a presentation on special equipment for animal surgeries. We had the rest of the day free to enjoy the park. My family spent the next several hours enjoying a jungle carousel ride, watching the bird show, and visiting the gorillas, elephants, and tigers. My parents and brothers headed for home in the early afternoon, and Tad and I stayed for another hour or so. We were really glad we did when we got to see a cheetah cub up close. The day really made me think about how many wonderful things God has created on this earth :).
Tad and I tried to enjoy my "no more school" days to the fullest before I moved home and was a little farther away. Bright and early Monday morning we trolleyed from the condo to County Center to pick up our marriage license. It felt quite a bit like being at the DMV, except people were (generally) a lot less grouchy. License in hand, we trolleyed back to the condo. Tad joked for the next couple days that now I REALLY couldn't back out because he had spent $50 on it, lol.
The rest of Monday we worked on packing my things and cleaning. By the time we had eaten dinner we both needed to see something other than the inside of my half empty condo. Remembering the Coldstone gift card I was given for graduation, I declared it to be time for icecream. This was a good decision on my part because when we got to Coldstone, there was a sign out front that read "Happy Hour: Mon-Fri 5-7 pm. Buy one get one free.". It was 6:00. Yay for free icecream! I got cheesecake with Kit Kat and Tad got Peach Iced Tea (which was INCREDIBLE! I highly recommend it.) with heath bar. A very tasty way to spend an evening. :)
The next day (Tuesday) we had ourselves a bit of a day trip. We left in the afternoon for Long Beach and met Krista for dinner at Subway. Upon completing our meal, Tad said he was still hungry. So, we walked across the street to Taco Bell for caramel empenadas. Once our desserts were finished it was time to go to CSU Long Beach for Becky's graduate recital. I had the pleasant surprise of seeing Karissa and Vanessa there.
Becky's recital had originally been scheduled for Good Friday, but her teacher had advised her to reschedule because there were some things that needed repairing on her clarinets. This was disappointing at first, but turned out to be a huge blessing because Becky's parents were able to come. They flew in late Monday night from the Philippines and were quite jetlagged, but seemed very happy to be able to be there. It was nice for me to see them again too.
Becky looked and sounded beautiful. I was surprised at the end to realize that she had played a 90 minute recital. That's a lot of playing! The reception that followed was delightful as well. There were several kinds of cheeses, smoked salmon, cookies, a delightful fruit salad, and two very rich cakes (one white with berries, one chocolate), plus a variety of sodas.
The next two days were spent moving out of the condo. We were able to load up most of my furniture and things on Wednesday and come back Thursday for the rest of it. It was surprising to me that the move was bittersweet. It goes to show just how sentimental I am and what a difficult time I have with change. I was thrilled to be moving out and getting away from a certain roommate, yet I still felt weird about leaving the place I had lived for nearly two years. Other than home, that's the longest I've lived anywhere. One thing that's for sure, I am beyond excited to share my next home with Tad! =D
*A side note, I created this post on May 23, but did not finish it until about a week later. I didn't predict the future, just took my time blogging, hehe*
Following the ceremony my department held a reception in the lobby of our building to celebrate and for our families to meet the other students and the faculty. I met up with my entourage (Tad, my parents, Stephen, Raelene, and Tad's 'aunt' Judy) there and enjoyed some refreshments. It got pretty crowded pretty fast, but we stayed long enough to take a few pictures and for my mom to re-met Charlotte, who was already clinic director when Stephen received speech therapy there at age 4.
From the reception we (minus Raelene, who had to work) went to Casa Guadalajara's in Old Town for lunch. This was an easy restaurant choice because we were all ableto take the trolley and avoid traffic. Lunch was a good chance for my family and Judy to get to know each other a bit better and for my mom and me to share a grande strawberry margarita. ;) The one other thing that was better about this graduation than Biola's was that I didn't have to do a huge move home and say goodbye to my pup for 10 days.
The celebrations continued on Saturday with a trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (FKA Wild Animal Park). Some of the anesthesiologists in my dad's department help out the vets at the zoo. As a thank you, they periodically get the opportunity to go on the caravan excursions in the park enclosures. This year the department opened the opportunity up to the family members. And that's how all 6 of us (my family and Tad) found ourselves outside the park at 7:30 am on a Saturday.
I had been on the caravan tour once before when I was about 9 with Braille Institute and was thrilled to get to go again. The 60 some of us in the group divided into 4 different safari trucks and set out for our 2 hour excursion. We had a delightful guide named Amanda who I swear knew everything there is to know about animals that I forget exist if I don't go to the zoo for a while. We saw rhinos, gazelles, Asian sheep and deer, and several antelope whose mating cries sound like belches haha. I took tons of pictures, which can be viewed on facebook.
The interactive portions of our tour came in the feeding of a male rhino named Bo-Poo and a female giraffe (whose name we were not told). We fed Bo-Poo apple slices and the giraffe Australian acasia leaves. Both were interesting experiences; on one hand, having your hand in the mouth of a wild animal, on the other, having an animal's long tongue wrap around your hand. It was a lot of fun, minus the fact that Valencia couldn't come along for that part of the day. She stayed in a kennel near the entrance and was not very happy about it.
After our tour we enjoyed a nice catered lunch of sandwiches, salads, and cookies while listening to a presentation on special equipment for animal surgeries. We had the rest of the day free to enjoy the park. My family spent the next several hours enjoying a jungle carousel ride, watching the bird show, and visiting the gorillas, elephants, and tigers. My parents and brothers headed for home in the early afternoon, and Tad and I stayed for another hour or so. We were really glad we did when we got to see a cheetah cub up close. The day really made me think about how many wonderful things God has created on this earth :).
Tad and I tried to enjoy my "no more school" days to the fullest before I moved home and was a little farther away. Bright and early Monday morning we trolleyed from the condo to County Center to pick up our marriage license. It felt quite a bit like being at the DMV, except people were (generally) a lot less grouchy. License in hand, we trolleyed back to the condo. Tad joked for the next couple days that now I REALLY couldn't back out because he had spent $50 on it, lol.
The rest of Monday we worked on packing my things and cleaning. By the time we had eaten dinner we both needed to see something other than the inside of my half empty condo. Remembering the Coldstone gift card I was given for graduation, I declared it to be time for icecream. This was a good decision on my part because when we got to Coldstone, there was a sign out front that read "Happy Hour: Mon-Fri 5-7 pm. Buy one get one free.". It was 6:00. Yay for free icecream! I got cheesecake with Kit Kat and Tad got Peach Iced Tea (which was INCREDIBLE! I highly recommend it.) with heath bar. A very tasty way to spend an evening. :)
The next day (Tuesday) we had ourselves a bit of a day trip. We left in the afternoon for Long Beach and met Krista for dinner at Subway. Upon completing our meal, Tad said he was still hungry. So, we walked across the street to Taco Bell for caramel empenadas. Once our desserts were finished it was time to go to CSU Long Beach for Becky's graduate recital. I had the pleasant surprise of seeing Karissa and Vanessa there.
Becky's recital had originally been scheduled for Good Friday, but her teacher had advised her to reschedule because there were some things that needed repairing on her clarinets. This was disappointing at first, but turned out to be a huge blessing because Becky's parents were able to come. They flew in late Monday night from the Philippines and were quite jetlagged, but seemed very happy to be able to be there. It was nice for me to see them again too.
Becky looked and sounded beautiful. I was surprised at the end to realize that she had played a 90 minute recital. That's a lot of playing! The reception that followed was delightful as well. There were several kinds of cheeses, smoked salmon, cookies, a delightful fruit salad, and two very rich cakes (one white with berries, one chocolate), plus a variety of sodas.
The next two days were spent moving out of the condo. We were able to load up most of my furniture and things on Wednesday and come back Thursday for the rest of it. It was surprising to me that the move was bittersweet. It goes to show just how sentimental I am and what a difficult time I have with change. I was thrilled to be moving out and getting away from a certain roommate, yet I still felt weird about leaving the place I had lived for nearly two years. Other than home, that's the longest I've lived anywhere. One thing that's for sure, I am beyond excited to share my next home with Tad! =D
*A side note, I created this post on May 23, but did not finish it until about a week later. I didn't predict the future, just took my time blogging, hehe*
Monday, May 16, 2011
Round Up at Indian Hills
Part of Tad's and my ministry involvement this year has been with the Caravans program at Mission. Caravans is a Christian scouting organization similar to Awana. The kids earn badges to develop themselves physically (e.g. sports, archery, etc), mentally (e.g. astronomy), socially (e.g. entertaining), and spiritually (e.g. missions). They also learn the Nazarene articles of faith and participate in ministry projects. At the end of the year (the program runs September to May), the kids get to go to camp. They participate in all sorts of standard camp activities, put their memory work to the test, and receive awards for the year.
Tad and I have been helping with the 5th and 6th grade boys group, which has been very challenging at points. But, camp was fun.
It was held at Indian Hills camp in Jamul (east county San Diego). Much of the camp is OldWest themed, and, following in that theme, the kids sleep in cabins, tents, teepees, or covered wagons. This year Mission stayed in the covered wagons. The wagons are a very cool idea, and I felt very close to my pioneer roots, but they were pretty cramped and got cold at night. Oh well, such is the life whilst camping.
Here are some highlights from the weekend.
Tad and I were able to (just barely) snag rides with others headed out to camp. I rode with one of the missionary families currently on furlough. It was neat getting to chat more with the dad about what they're up to and where God is leading them in the next year or so. There was a bit of time to settle into our wagons once we arrived and then evening worship. I absolutely love worshipping outside. I feel it really adds to the experience to be looking at GOd's creation while worshipping him. Pastor Bev from our church was the speaker for the weekend. Her message centered on being "Ferocious, Fanatical, Faith-Filled Followers of Jesus Christ" taken from the story of Jesus healing the paralytic man who was lowered through the roof. Following the service there was hot chocolate and cookies and it was off to bed.
Saturday was a full day, started out with pancakes and eggs for breakfast and a morning worship service. The majority of the day was filled with rotations of typical camp activities. Our boys started out with archery, which Tad and I eagerly participated in. From there we moved to the derby car races. This was a little disappointing for our kids because their cars weren't waited, but everyone else's were. A lot of the Mission kids won prizes for design though, which was nice. Arts and Crafts followed derby cars. Tad and I took that opportunity to introduce Valencia to the tire swing on the playground. She wasn't really a fan. As soon as that rotation was up, it was time for lunch (chips and sandwiches). The boys had swim time next. Considering it was only about 70 outside, Tad and I skipped the pool, but the weather didn't stop any of the kids. Once they were dried off, we took them to the obstacle course and then to recite their memory work.
My favorite rotation of the day was the zipline. I had only once before gotten the opportunity to go on a zipline, and I chickened out. But not this time. It was a very scary feeling at first, but the second time was much more fun. The boys' last rotation of the day was soccer and sharks and minnoes on a sports field. Dinner was a bbq complete with burgers, hotdogs, and potato salad. The evening finished out with worship and awards for the drby car races and obstacle course and roasting marshmallows over a campfire.
Sunday we had cereal and pastries for breakfast and one last worship service. After the service they gave otu the memory awards and the completion of badges etc. Lots of our kids got memory awards. After that it was time to pack up the cars and head home. It was a long couple of days chasing after kids, but I think it was a great way to close out the year. I'm excited to start out our second year as Caravans leaders :)
Post Graduation
Tad and I have been helping with the 5th and 6th grade boys group, which has been very challenging at points. But, camp was fun.
It was held at Indian Hills camp in Jamul (east county San Diego). Much of the camp is OldWest themed, and, following in that theme, the kids sleep in cabins, tents, teepees, or covered wagons. This year Mission stayed in the covered wagons. The wagons are a very cool idea, and I felt very close to my pioneer roots, but they were pretty cramped and got cold at night. Oh well, such is the life whilst camping.
Here are some highlights from the weekend.
Tad and I were able to (just barely) snag rides with others headed out to camp. I rode with one of the missionary families currently on furlough. It was neat getting to chat more with the dad about what they're up to and where God is leading them in the next year or so. There was a bit of time to settle into our wagons once we arrived and then evening worship. I absolutely love worshipping outside. I feel it really adds to the experience to be looking at GOd's creation while worshipping him. Pastor Bev from our church was the speaker for the weekend. Her message centered on being "Ferocious, Fanatical, Faith-Filled Followers of Jesus Christ" taken from the story of Jesus healing the paralytic man who was lowered through the roof. Following the service there was hot chocolate and cookies and it was off to bed.
Saturday was a full day, started out with pancakes and eggs for breakfast and a morning worship service. The majority of the day was filled with rotations of typical camp activities. Our boys started out with archery, which Tad and I eagerly participated in. From there we moved to the derby car races. This was a little disappointing for our kids because their cars weren't waited, but everyone else's were. A lot of the Mission kids won prizes for design though, which was nice. Arts and Crafts followed derby cars. Tad and I took that opportunity to introduce Valencia to the tire swing on the playground. She wasn't really a fan. As soon as that rotation was up, it was time for lunch (chips and sandwiches). The boys had swim time next. Considering it was only about 70 outside, Tad and I skipped the pool, but the weather didn't stop any of the kids. Once they were dried off, we took them to the obstacle course and then to recite their memory work.
My favorite rotation of the day was the zipline. I had only once before gotten the opportunity to go on a zipline, and I chickened out. But not this time. It was a very scary feeling at first, but the second time was much more fun. The boys' last rotation of the day was soccer and sharks and minnoes on a sports field. Dinner was a bbq complete with burgers, hotdogs, and potato salad. The evening finished out with worship and awards for the drby car races and obstacle course and roasting marshmallows over a campfire.
Sunday we had cereal and pastries for breakfast and one last worship service. After the service they gave otu the memory awards and the completion of badges etc. Lots of our kids got memory awards. After that it was time to pack up the cars and head home. It was a long couple of days chasing after kids, but I think it was a great way to close out the year. I'm excited to start out our second year as Caravans leaders :)
Post Graduation
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