May 2015

May was a pretty busy month for us!

We went to the Marine Mammal Center, which is a pretty cool place where they rescue sea lions and seals. We also went to the BayArea Discovery Museum.

The next weekend was Mother's Day weekend and we had maternity portriats planned. They turned out so good! I love them! Jessyel also surprised me with a little overnight trip to San Fransico. We ordered room service and spent the day going to the Children's Creativity Museum, riding the trolley, eating ice cream at Ghirardelli, and rolling rolling around at the beach.

We have also enjoyed eating breakfast out and swimming in the pool!

Penny also had her first dance recital. She was so excited and did awesome!

Life So Far in CA

We have been in California for about 4 months now and things have finally gotten to a point where we are feeling a little more settled and ok with how things are going.

Our last pictures as Colorado residents

Our first picture in California

First, the good! The weather here is amazing! It is sunny most days and for the past month or so it has been somewhere in the 70s or 80s. I don't miss the snow one bit! Since we aren't quite sure how long we will be living here, we try to take advantage of all the wonderful things to do around us. We've been to some beaches, a couple of zoos, and San Francisco. We are grateful to be so close to these places that so many people have to travel far to get to see and experience.

We also found out we are having a baby boy! Penny took a little bit of time to get adjusted to the fact that she wasn't going to have a sister, but now she is very excited. She has been calling the baby Kai since the beginning and continues to insist that his name will be Kai! She wants to look at and talk to my belly everyday! She talks about sharing her toys and going on adventures with him.

Now for the bad (that ends up being partly a blessing in the long run).  First, my job has not been the best place I have ever worked. To sum up without saying much it just leaves me very stressed and not too happy. Hoping that will change in one way or another next year. Second, I have also been extremely homesick. I didn't think it would be as bad as it is, but I just miss our friends and family terribly. I'm hoping that with more time I will meet some great people out here that I can connect with. Third, and perhaps worst of all, sometime in late February Jessyel unfortunately lost his job. The company was a start up and basically ran out of funding to keep going. It wasn't based on performance, but it still was very hard and emotional. The job was the whole reason we moved here and we found ourselves wondering what the future was going to hold. It has been a very, very long two months of waiting, praying, and wondering what was going to happen in terms of his job and our staying in California or perhaps moving back to Colorado. Thankfully, he has found another job that is much better for our family and is something that he has wanted for a very long time. In the long run it will be much better for us and for Jessyel's future ability to find a job where ever we want to live.  Although it would have been nice to move back home, it is a huge relief and we have been much happier and relaxed!

My school year ends June 17th (which is just horrid that it goes so late) and then we will just have a few more weeks until or little man is born. I'm hoping that the new job is a turning point and things only go up from here!

More adventure to come!

We're Moving!

It is finally feeling real! We are moving to California. Sometime later this month. We still don't have an official move date, but it is coming quicker than I will be ready! It is all very bittersweet. I am leaving my family, friends, and a great job with a staff. Jessyel's job was just an offer that we couldn't refuse! He is working at Lytro if you are curious. We are hoping it will be filled with lots of adventures and exploring and will bring us all closer together.

30...

Turning 30 last week was not what I thought it would be. I was very excited the week leading up to my birthday. I LOVE my birthday!  I was on top of the world.

My actual birthday was Rome Day at school. A celebration of all things Ancient Rome to go with our social studies unit. It was a great time for the kids and us teachers too! Who doesn't like dressing up and doing crafty things all day?

I came out to go home and my car was nowhere to be seen. Turns out the awesome people I work with moved it, filled it with balloons, and wrapped it in saran wrap! I was so excited!! I felt so loved! I kept the gallons in my car all week!

For my birthday weekend my wonderful hubby surprised me with a trip to Vegas.

It was wonderful relaxing and spending time together. We stayed at The Encore in a beautiful room. We went to see "O" by Cirque du Soleil, which was amazing!

We laid by the pool, shopped, and ate.

We had some of the best food I had ever eaten while we were there!

I even won $100 using the free credit the hotel gave me for my birthday!

It was a great trip and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

I'm not quite sure what happened when we got back from our trip, but I was inexplicably sad all week. I cried and felt terrible all week! For no reason!! I was feeling very down on myself. I'm feeling a little disappointed professionally. I love my new school, I work with amazing people and have a great class this year. It is however very stressful and I took a big pay cut this year. Not that I went into teaching for the money, but at some point the reality of life sets in and you realize that you need some sort of money to live and provide for a child. I am also upset with myself for not loosing the weight I wanted and getting toned up. I had it in my head that I would look wonderful by my 30th birthday and take boudoir pictures. Well...that surely didn't happen! Time to start getting on that!

However, last night was a turning point for me. My friend and I both turned 30 a few days apart, so we had a little joint birthday party. I had a blast! So many people came to celebrate with us, We had good food and even better margaritas!! I work with so many wonderful people who supported me all week through my 30 slump and came out to have fun with me.

I woke up this morning with a new perspective. I am going to start focusing on the positives and not the couple negatives. I have the best daughter in the world, an amazing husband, wonderful family, super friends, and an awesome life! I think my 30's are going to be awesome!

High Five for Friday!

Another week down! This week was wonderful! Here's my top five moments!

1. Conferences: Normall staying after school for 4 extra hours is not something I look forward to. However this week was different. After school the AP came around with snacks and bottles of water. What!?!! I almost cried! There was dinner for teachers both nights too! And my new families are absolutely wonderful! I love them all! Everyone showed up to meet with me and it was wonderful! I love my new job!

2. Late night happy hour: After conferences I went out with a couple of new friends from school. I was so worried about making new friends this year and I am very blessed to be teaching alongside some amazing people again!

3. In school field trip: The Denver Zoo came to school this week to run a class for our kiddos. They brought live animals and it was awesome! I even touched a lizard and a hedgehog. Mostly because 29 little eyes were watching me to see if I would!

4. Mommy and Me Time with Pen: Tuesday I got done pretty early at school and went to get Pen. We went to get Taco Bell (naughty I know), played, went on a long walk, and snuggled. It was wonderful and I love the extra two hours I have everyday now that I work close to home.

5. Tiny Toes Soccer: Penny has been playing soccer and it is so freakin' cute! It's kind of like herding cats. I mean 15 two year olds running around on a field, what do you expect?

This is how doing her hair usually goes :)

Tippy toes!

I'm so very blessed and happy right now! Things are going great!