to council bluffs

this was my view all day

at the winter quarters cemetery.

this statue is kinda hard to see, but it is a couple burying their child. heartbreaking.

so glad we are driving across the country instead of walking/pushing/burying our babies.

cody at the spot where we think (95% sure) his great-great-great grandma was buried.


beautiful temple. worn out girl.

we plan to come back soon winter quarters :)

p.s. this exhibit was at the visitors center and it was amazing!

where we have been . . .

. . . is in the car. Since the beginning of July we have driven 2958 miles. Good thing our car is comfortable :) Here is a breakdown {complete with assorted pictures}:

256 miles to Idaho Falls & back for the 4th of July

{No pictures here. We were too busy winning the family scavenger hunt and watching Frank's awesome fireworks!}

1520 miles to Oakdale & back to visit Cody's grandparents

630 miles to Cave Falls for the annual camping trip

552 miles to Sidney, Nebraska

{No pictures here either. Any photos of today would only have sagebrush & semi-trucks in them. Or the marinara sauce explosion that soaked my sweats & the lovely forest green carpet in our hotel room. Or Cody channel surfing. Nothing too fab.}

a fab friday

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 :)