For our VBS at church, we are trying to get the word out by going into local parks with puppets, games, face painting, and other fun things. Kids can play around with us for awhile, and then hopefully want to come to church for the VBS. This is a great way to contact the parents too and make a connection with them. We had fun yesterday going out- about 10 of us went from church- but let me tell you, it was hot! We played duck, duck, goose with a water balloon. When you "goosed" someone, you cracked the balloon over their heads. The kids loved it though (and I did too!). We had a good time.
Tonight at church Justin and I are responsible for the monthly potluck. I think that our church is pretty notorious for our get-togethers after services with all the food that you could ever want. It really is a great time to try some new dishes, but more importantly, fellowship with others in the church and get to know new folks too.
As the title shows, the theme is a luau- basically anything tropical that you might find in Hawaii. I'm pretty sure we are going to have a huge amount of dishes with pineapple. I myself am making a pineapple-flavored cake with fluffy icing, as well as pineapple fudge that I wanted to try out. I'm stirring in between typing, actually! I'm not sure that I have successfully made fudge before, but I figure that you can't get better unless you try! (Of course, it would probably help if I had a candy thermometer...)
Anyways, I'll have to post with pictures later. Happy Sunday afternoon!
Wow, life is so crazy!!! Between renovating our lounge at work, taking care of classes, and getting ready for VBS, life is busy. I'm surviving though, and that delicate balance of time is, I think, being maintained.
In national news, Gen. McChrystal was replaced after the "fiery" article in Rolling Stone. I suppose that he had to be:
1) ...because you can't badmouth your supreme commander and get away with it.
2) ...because Obama has to try to maintain control.
It's just sad that if he was a good general in a strict military sense, we just lost him. And it's sad that he didn't have enough wisdom to not give information to a Michael Hastings, who write an article. I guess McChrystal hasn't said any personal words about it, and has been ordered not to speak on the topic. Perhaps there is information that we don't know.
Here's a slideshow with more details if you haven't been following the story.
The whole situation is a disappointing show of how the mouth can get one in trouble. Didn't James say this too? "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity... no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. My brethren, these things ought not to be so." (James 3: 6, 8-10)
For some reason, I just love being able to say things like "Oh, my undergrad work was...." or "in my graduate program....." I guess I just like feeling like I have achieved something then!
I did officially start in a graduate program for School Administration (i.e.: a school principal) at California State University, Stanislaus campus. I am just taking one 5-credit class in this summer term, but in the fall I will be taking about 15 credits, and in the spring about 15-17 credits. I am going to be pretty busy, as I am still teaching, but I think that it will be worth it. I will be able to finish my master's in a year if I can keep up with everything. In this program, they have a comprehensive exam option that you can take instead of writing a thesis, which I am pretty excited about. That is still a lot to remember, but since I am so interested, I hope that it won't be too bad. I am definitely enjoying class so far.
On Friday night I went to see Karate Kid. I thought that it was pretty good, though (gasp) I haven't seen the first one. When I told my husband that he rolled his eyes. Oh well! Overall, I give it an 8 out of 10 and would recommend others to go see it. First, because it is very clean and I think portrays values of good sportsmanship, working hard for achievement, and listening to your elders. On a downside, as a Christian I don't believe that peace comes through kungfu, but through Jesus Christ. So besides the eastern mysticism, I think it is a solid, family-friendly choice!
Well, I think I am going to wrap it up for today. Happy Father's Day to my dad!!!
We pull into the dark driveway. The lights of the car see two tiny eyes in the sand.
THE GOPHER!
That darn thing has been pushing dirt up in the flower bed and around the yard. Argh!
Stealthily my hero husband Justin gets out of the car, picks up a rock, and creeps over toward the gopher. And then with a smooth throw murders the pest with a ferocious thud.
Good riddance to yard pest. Hello to my Hero of the Underground rodent world!
It's only been two weeks since the end of school, and I've already made two trips! The first was of course to my little brother's high school graduation in Ohio. The second was just this past weekend. My hubby and I took a long weekend along the coast. And man, is Highway One beautiful!
Our first day we traveled to San Jose and saw the Winchester Mystery House. It's definitely quirky and I would recommend going if you are already in the area. Apparently the story goes that Mrs. Winchester had guilt over all the guns that her husband had produced, and went to see a shrink.... who then told her that she must be in continuous construction on her home to keep away the haunting of the spirits of all the people that were killed by Winchester Rifle. I'm pretty sure this psychiatrist would lost his license today if this happened. Nevertheless, it was an interesting place.
Pack your own Slushie... this one was $5.85 plus tax.
Oh, and we ate at Cheesecake Factor later that evening. Yummy!!
Saturday we got up and traveled down Highway One, taking our time to stop at Castle Rock State Park along the way. Pretty funky rock formations here that really remind me of Two-Face in Batman, to be honest. Still, it was a nice hike. Be sure to bring bug spray though if you ever visit!
We stopped several times on the drive down to San Simeon. Toward the end, we were so excited to see walruses.... except we were both delusional. We were actually admiring elephant seals, and somehow our limited animal vocabulary was a bit confused. It's a good thing that they have lots of labels for those vista points. :) I am sure that Justin and I will joke about going to see the 'walruses' for years to come...
Our hotel, The Morgan, was very nice and comfortable. A little pricier than usual, but our tour of Hearst Castle was included and I think that it was a good deal with that included. Hearst Castle was a sight to behold!!! Justin and I continued to marvel at the architecture and art collection on site. Wow! This is a must-see if you can make it. The tour guides were friendly and very knowledgeable. We too the Experience Tour and I would have loved to do another tour, but we needed to leave by early afternoon.
Overall, this was a great way to celebrate our one year anniversary. Thanks so much to friends and family who are always supportive and encouraging and loving. We love you guys!! And we feel so bless that God has brought us together to share our life, for His glory.
My little brother graduated!! So crazy, right? It makes me feel old in a way, to see him out of the house. He's the last of the four of us siblings, and now what will mom and dad do? Probably start bugging us for grandkids!!!
