Big Purchase

Ok, so I know this is old news, but we haven't posted anything on our blog in a while. We bought a rug! It's a "high-definition" rug and it effectively covers up the carpet stains in our front room. (Our apartment's previous occupants liked to drink dark, sugary liquids.) We got it from Costco and we were so excited that we petted it and walked around on it for a couple of days. I caught Bryce whispering to it once.

The rug is pretty big, so it took up most of the shopping cart and we had to use the rug to push the cart around. And yes, it did fit into my little Camry... very carefully. We were just a little excited about our first big purchase.

June 14, 2008

...Looks like Bryce and I are staying in Salem for a while. I just accepted a position at a middle school just 2 miles south of our apartment. I'm thinking about buying a bike. :-) I'm really excited about teaching middle school and I feel like it'll be a good fit for me.

Houck is a "Title 1 School" (poor) and the band has a pretty rocky history. It was a large, successful program until the band teacher got busted 5 years ago for sexual abuse and is now in jail. The program tanked and several teachers have come and gone. I think the kids and community need consistency and lots of encouragement and love to heal from that kind of ordeal. The teacher I'm following has helped the program turn a positive corner and I plan to build on her success. I get to teach 5th grade beginning band, 6th grade beginning band, intermediate woodwinds, intermediate brass, percussion and advanced band.

Tomorrow morning, Bryce and I are flying down to Phoenix to see Dad and LuAnn for Father's Day. Then on Tuesday night, we'll take a short flight to Albuquerque (sp?) to visit our new niece, Grace Elizabeth Hanson for a couple of days. Bryce's brother is in the Air Force and I hope we get to visit the base and see cool planes... maybe even a UFO... did I mention we just bought the entire series of the X-Files on DVD?

April 20, 2008

We just heard the news about Brooke and Jalynn's baby this afternoon. Brooke called us to say that she was born early this morning and both mama and baby are healthy- yay!!! Jake looks pretty excited about the whole thing, too.

Bryce had an interview last week to work in a government office. We'll find out this week if he gets it. Erin has a concert on Tuesday night and then she'll be hard at work getting the band ready for the final concert and graduation, as well as rehearsing the pit for the school musical: Oklahoma!.

We're doing well and we got to go up to Vancouver again this weekend to visit our families and then we went out to dinner and then to the temple on Saturday night. It was fun hanging out and getting free food from our parents like we always do.

March 30, 2008

It feels like the end of a long weekend for me as I wrap up my Spring Break. Bryce has had to work most of the week so it didn't seem any different to him except I was home when he left for work and I was still home when he came home. I got to do a lot of sitting around and watching movies and a little cleaning and an even smaller amount of school work.

Bryce and I went to the Hansons' for Easter dinner and then went and visited the Gambills for a little while. Bryce's Aunt Deanna was in town, so it was fun to see her again. We got to spend the night at the Hansons' and then drive back on Monday morning. I went up to visit my mom on Saturday since she had foot surgery. We hung out and watched the BBC Pride and Prejudice with Emma, who was sick with the flu. Then Grama Selee came home from the temple and we watched the newer version of P&P as well. It wasn't the most productive week of my life, but I sure had fun!

Bryce and I went to church today. I pulled the "Made in China" sticker off of my binder during Sacrament meeting and Bryce very sneakily placed it on my back. I would not have noticed it had the older couple behind us peeled it off and handed it to me. I promptly untied Dear Husband's shoe. Then, seeking more revenge, I untied his shoe again in Sunday School. Upon receiving threats for comeuppance, I very sneakily placed a "Charity Never Faileth" Relief Society Seal sticker on his back and left to teach the primary music. When I returned to the combined meeting, I saw the sticker on the back of the chair. I asked him about it and he replied that he never knew he had a sticker on his back at all. Figures. Oh yeah, the meetings were good, too.

Our New Blog

We thought this would be the best way to keep track of ourselves and to passively keep you all in the loop as well. So, we thought we'd kick it off right and add a little slide show in the next post of our Christmas cruise to Hawaii. If you click on "View All Images", you'll be taken to a site where you can pause the slide show or just speed right through it.