a few quick updates

-We bought a house in Iowa. It backs onto a little man-made pond :) It has a 2 car garage and master bathroom (some fantastic luxuries that I am thrilled about). We have never seen it. I am slightly obsessed about the decor -- last night I talked to Cody about different ideas for an hour because I couldn't sleep. He just played a computer game & pretended to listen!

-I still don't have a job :(

-Cody went to St. George for work. He ate at a restaurant that had 'cantina' in its name. I was only slightly alarmed when it showed up on our credit card statement. To reaffirm what a good time he had, the line on the statement above the 'cantina' was Burger King. Sick.

-My small group kindergarten class is going bowling every week for the rest of the school year. Right during speech time -- so guess who gets to go with!! Me!! Pretty much, watching those little guys bowl and trying to keep them from running to the arcade is the best part of my job EVER!!

-Our Sunday School class referenced The Emperor's New Groove during this lesson. At least they were paying attention. Demon llama!!!

-I started Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. It is pretty awesome. I can do push-ups (girl ones) for 45 seconds straight. My arms actually have muscles now. I would post a picture, but I can't really think of anyone besides me who might think my arms are muscle-y and I can't handle the mocking that would inevitably follow.

some random thoughts

In just a few minutes, I will leave my office to go child-collecting for my most challenging (isn't that a nice way to put it?) group of the week. Not day -- WEEK! I obviously was not thinking when I scheduled them for Friday mornings.

I hate allergies. I could do without my whole skull aching because my sinuses are so congested. I really dislike missing work because I am sick. But, there are no signs of a sinus infection :) At least I can be grateful for that.

I wore a dress today instead of jeans. I think I am a jean hater. I had been in grad school for 1 year and 9 months before my peers & professors saw me in a pair of jeans -- and several of them let me know how shocked they were that I even owned jeans.

I am stressed about moving to Iowa. Enough said.

I am going to walk to the Shade Sale across from Will's Pit Stop tomorrow morning. I will be leaving my apartment between 8:30 - 8:45. If anybody would like to join me, let me know. And creepy stalkers, my husband will be home, so don't try to rob us :)

I need to score a test now, so I am signing off. Until next time.

spring break by the numbers

7 days away from home
1 lonely husband
8 flights
3 flights that left before 7 a.m.
6 states visited
2 grandmas visited
7 cousins visited (and 3 cousin in laws)
1 puppy still loves me
2 trips to the University of Iowa campus to try to drop off Cody's official acceptance letter
12-15 houses shown to me by a nice realtor
1,000,000 GPS malfunctions
5 pictures

a mexican p.s.

Today one of my kiddos told me he was going to Mexico for spring break. I asked him which part of Mexico he was headed to -- he must not have heard the 'part' part because he said : "The regular Mexico, not the new Mexico."

I deserve bonus points for keeping a straight face :)

mexico (a.k.a. my parents are awesome)

Here are a few highlights from our fab trip to Cancun a couple weekends ago:

Does this picture even need a caption?

Our rooms had an unlimited supply of sodas in glass bottles! I was in diet coke heaven :)

On the beach. Yes, it was freezing (60 F) & windy there. That's why my jacket is on in ALMOST every picture.

Dad kayaking -- we all did, but somehow this is the only picture we have. Kayaking is an AMAZING shoulder workout. It's nice to feel like you are doing something extreme that is not really extreme at all!

The pool didn't really go out to the ocean -- it just looks like it. And, just for the record, that pool was freaking cold.

That is Cody relaxing in the freaking cold pool. Apparently, the resort only felt inclined to heat one of their ten pools. It's not like it gets warm in Mexico anyway :)

I am pointing at a lizard on the rock. There were too many exotic animals in the area for my taste, not to mention the crazy seagulls that would dive-bomb the outdoor restaurants. It was kind of funny to hear the sloshed people scream at them though.

Us arriving. I know it is at the bottom of the post, but that's the joy of blogs -- you never know what you are going to get!

Thanks Mom & Dad! We had a great time & hope to see Mexico again soon!

iowa

Cody & I just got back from Iowa. I realize that it is a random vacation destination, but we had good reason -- he got accepted to the University of Iowa's Management & Organizations PhD program. What a smartie fartie! The department wanted him to come visit and said I could go too. Sometimes life just gives you lemonade & skips the lemon part :)

We left Saturday morning and flew through Denver to Cedar Rapids. The best part was hanging out in the Denver airport where my brother Dave used to work. I'm pretty sure our luggage was hauled around by some of his old buddies. One of the current students in the program that accepted Cody picked us up at the airport. He was very nice and took us around Iowa City to look at different neighborhoods. Iowa City reminded us a lot of Logan -- a quaint little town with a university (and not much else). We went to dinner with him & his wife at a fun local place with delicious food. The hotel they put us up in was super posh. The only downside was the drunken party going on outside and the unsupervised kids running around inside until 3 or 4-ish. Blah.

On Sunday, we went to church at the ward we will probably be going to. It is a married student ward and you get kicked out of it if you have kids over 3. I really liked everybody I met. And everybody I met really liked Iowa City. That was reassuring . . .

I had to come home on Sunday afternoon. The taxi driver that took me to the airport was quite the character -- he talked at me for the 30 - 35 minute drive about topics ranging from taxi drivers hitting deer, to carp, to the World Series of Poker, to Ireland, and my personal favorite : Sturgis. I probably liked hearing about Sturgis the best because it reminded me of Gillette and the time a motorcycle buddy stopped by my dad's store in IF on the way to Sturgis. But I digress!

Cody stayed Monday & Tuesday to meet the professors and students in his department. I haven't been able to get much out of him except that most everybody was nice and that he liked a lot of the research that was going on. Oh, and that his department will try to find a job for me :) I liked that part, because I am broken-hearted about leaving my current students (not the current parents -- but that is a rant for another post!).

Here are some random facts about Iowa City (hopefully our future home):
-There is a mall with an ice-skating rink inside.
-It is in Johnson County.
-There is a street named Mormon Trek Boulevard.
-Football games are WILD!
-They have a sweet outdoor mall with no streets running through it.
-It is about an hour and a half from Nauvoo.
-It is about three and a half hours from Chicago.
-I loved it! Just in case you didn't get that from this post :)

happy birthday grandma!

Today is my Grandma Parry's birthday! Happy birthday Grandma!

I am super lucky to have such a wonderful great-grandma. I am going to indulge myself for a moment and make a quick list of reason I love her.

#1) She is courageous. Ever since I can remember, Grandma has had hard things going on in her life. But you would never know it.
#2) She is smart. Someday I hope to be able to whip out crossword puzzles and those cryptic clues where one letter stands for another letter like Grandma does.
#3) She is crafty. My cousin Katie talked about making Santas on her blog, but no tribute to Grandma would be complete without mentioning Christmas ornaments, Snuggies (not the new-fangled kind -- the original teddy bear shaped sleeping bags), or quilts. My grandma made me a pink and orange quilt when I was about 3 and lived in Wyoming that I took to college with me. Whenever I needed a pick-me-up, I would wrap myself up in it and pretend like I was sitting on Grandma's couch in front of the warm fire visiting with her.
#4) She is thrifty. Before one of our killer Sunday dinners, I remember helping Grandma make fruit dip. My job was getting the marshmallow creme into the bowl -- which was pretty tricky for a pre-teen :) I thought I had it all out, but Grandma looked and just wasn't satisfied. She couldn't believe that I would waste so much. I couldn't believe that I had ALMOST let Grandma down. Luckily, she let me redeem myself. To this day, I make sure that I get every last drop out of anything/everything -- just in case Grandma stops by!
#5) She is funny. Enough said.
#6) She loves her family. I know that I am Grandma's favorite grandchild. The funny thing is, so does everybody else. We are all right. Maybe I have an edge since I was named after Grandma's mother . . . . my fingers are crossed. Grandma's love has united generations of extended family. I feel so lucky to know all of my Grandma's children (my great-aunts & uncles) and their children (my mom's cousins). I believe that the reason I know and love my extended family so dearly is because my grandma loves them so dearly and has worked hard to keep our family in touch and together.

I feel like I could go on forever, but I should probably stop. I am getting teary thinking of what my grandma (and grandpa -- I can't forget him) means to me -- my sixth graders that are coming in 5 minutes my get freaked out if I was bawling my eyes out in front of my computer.

Grandma -- I wish I was in Idaho Falls to come visit you today! I love you so very much and can't wait to see you soon. Love always,

Larkin