Another Day Hiking

(Written 12/30/10:) Evan and I went up Tiger Mountain again today. Loved it. Evan complains about stopping to take pictures, but ends up being happy about it in the end. (Maybe it's because his head always gets cut off in pictures because he's so tall and I'm so short. Maybe.)

Baptisms and May 29th 1991

The last few weeks have been filled with baptisms. It all started to weeks ago yesterday when I had the opportunity to speak about baptism at a new convert's baptism. I was amazed that she had asked ME to speak at her baptism. I felt (and still feel) honored to be a part of her baptism. I am grateful to be reminded of my own baptism (in the same font, no less!) roughly 20 years earlier. I felt the Spirit very strongly. Tisha is a great person who gives me insight, strength, and renewed determination to have gratitude for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

About one week ago, Evan and I went to the temple with recent converts to do baptisms for the dead by proxy. One of the recent converts has been doing her family history and was able to be baptized for her mother, grandmother, aunt, etc. The tears streamed down her face as she did this service for them. I felt so blessed to be a part of it and to see family history and temple work literally change this woman's life for the better. I couldn't help but shed a tear or two of happiness for this woman, knowing, that as the only member in her family, she is working hard to link her family together for eternity. AMAZING.

Yesterday, my sisters, our husbands, and my younger sister's in-laws (SO SWEET!) went to the temple together. You see, I've been working on family history a lot since Evan and I took a class last fall. In fact, I found 37 names to take with us to the temple yesterday. It was the perfect opportunity for us to go since my little sister and her husband were up visiting from BYU. One of the names I was baptized for, I had felt this urgent need to find her as I did family history work last week. The Spirit guided me and I feel so blessed that I found her name. I knew as I saw that her work hadn't been done that she was the name I'd been searching for and that she was waiting for her work to be done so she could be sealed to her husband and family. I'm so grateful to do this work.

I am glad that us three sisters and our husbands could perform this service for our ancestors on the 19th anniversary of my mother's death. I know that our mom was looking down on us, proud of who we are and what we've done over the 19 years since she's gone. 19 years ago, my life changed forever. I know that I will see my mom again. I know that I will see my ancestors again. I hope they will be grateful for the time and work I've spent researching and compiling histories about our familiy.

City Finds

Evan and I went to go visit my brother today while he was in the hospital in West Seattle. After we left, Evan noticed a sign that said "park" and "climbing." Of course, he had to pull in to see what it was all about! We found a pretty cool park in the middle of West Seattle. It had the first ever climbing wall built in the area (maybe even in the US, I can't remember). It also had a glacier practice wall. It was awesome.

Reason #2 I Love Google

I love Google. I know that there are haters out there, but I can't help it and I won't stop loving the ingenuity that comes from all Google applications and owned sites.

I use Google internet-based applications DAILY:

• Google Calendar (TRY IT! It sends you emails to remind you of your appointments. AND, since it's internet-based, it's available wherever there is an internet connection... yes, I'm a walking infomercial for Google Calendar),
• Gmail has been my main email for over 6 years,
• my blogs are all hosted by Blogger (also powered by Google),
• I use Google Reader for RSS feeds,
• Google Maps have changed my life,
• Picasa and Picasa Web Albums to share pictures,
• and, come on, we ALL love YouTube (now owned by Google).
• This is not including Google's home page (my default search engine) or iGoogle.

Like I said, I love Google.

Well, yesterday reminded me of the second reason I love Google: They surprise you! I love getting on to see what the latest logo looks like. As I went to Google.com yesterday morning, I was surprised to see the beloved game, Pac Man in Google writing as a celebration of 30 years Pac Man. In fact, I was even more surprised to find that the Pac Man Google logo was, in fact, interactive. I played for a little while during my planning period, before realizing I better get back to grading.

The point is, Google is awesome. If you get a second, check out their homepage and play a little Pac Man, replete with game sounds and everything. I promise you'll enjoy it.

(If you enjoy this, check out some of Google's other "Doodles." Or Officially HERE)

Loose Tooth

Evan and I watched my sister's kids this weekend while they flew down to Utah. During this time, my niece had a loose tooth that she wanted us to pull out. We all tried tons of different ways, to no avail. Here is one of the videos we took for her mom:

Drive-By Hitting

(Written 12/30/10:) Evan recently traded his Husqvarna endurro motorcycle to get something a little more fast and designed only for road-riding. He has had a fast motorcycle in the past and wanted to relive his glory days, I guess.

The other night, Evan told me he was heading home from his parents (30 minutes away). When at least 1.5 hours had gone by and Evan still wasn't home, I started to worry. So I did what any worried wife would do: I called him. He was short with me on the phone and vaguely assured me that he would be home soon.

When he came home with a fat lip and choke marks on his neck, I started to get a little worried and then the truth came out. Evan had been riding his motorcycle up a road (at or around the speed limit) when some guy came up behind him and started messing with him. Eventually, this guy pulled over and Evan followed him. Before Evan could even get off his motorcycle, the guy was choking Evan and punching him. Evan was still holding up his motorcycle with his legs and couldn't move easily. This guy was crazy! I guess this guy has kids and was bugged by all of the motorcyclists who drive fast up the road (which Evan wasn't doing). He chose to take it out on Evan. Thankfully, Evan didn't sustain any injuries. He waited around until the guy left (taking note of his house) and then called the cops. The reason he was late getting home was because he was waiting for the police to show up. He thought about pressing charges and decided against it. Instead, Evan had the cop go to the guy's house and scare him a little bit into being nicer.

What a weird, crazy situation! I understand wanting to protect your kids, but to take it out on someone just because they're driving a motorcycle (and dumb enough to pull over behind you) is ludicrous! I'm still bugged just thinking about it.

Life without Parents

Usually the day to day life flows smoothly, but sometimes, just sometimes, the searing pain of my parents' deaths rips at my heart and reopens a once-healed wound. Today is one of those days.

Although most of you don't know this, I have a brother with a severe mental illness. Off and on for years, I have felt that my brother was worse than dead. His shell was there, but the light wasn't in his eyes.

Then, miraculously in 2005, after a near-impossible fourth hospitalization, my brother slowly returned back to the living. He started laughing again (and not a crazy, deranged laugh either). I could talk with him without him mumbling to himself or succumbing to the all-too-familiar hallucinations.

Sadly, about 1.5 years ago, he made the choice to change his medication that has created months of heartache for my family. You see, we don't have parents. The same AMAZING sister that raised me after their death has continued to "raise" our 35-year-old brother. She and her husband daily spend time with him, make him meals, take him to all of his medical appointments, cancelled many family outings to help him, and the list could literally go on and on for days.

My brother-in-law loves my brother like his own. He has walked to the ends of the earth and back for someone who is not even a blood relation at the sacrifice of himself, time spent with his wife and kids, not to mention the exorbitant amount of money he pays for my brother. My brother is really struggling right now. As family, what do we do?

I know that the harsh reality of this situation is not only weighing on me, but more heavily on my family. Where do we turn? Who can we ask for guidance? Assistance? Help? This is a HEAVY burden for my sister and brother-in-law to bear. We don't know what the next steps are for my brother when the medication he's been on hasn't been working for so long. No one seems to know or understand the struggle. And all I wish is that Mom and Dad were here. They would know what to do to help with their son. They would know and have the emotional and financial capabilities to help their son to heal.

For now, I rely on prayer, asking Heavenly Father for the STRENGTH and faith needed for my brother and my family to continue to shoulder the burden that affects us all.

English Language Learners

Right now, there is a crisis in schools.

Schools are struggling to pay teachers adequate pay, yet our responsibilities are increasing. We have limited funding for materials and books. Our class sizes are increasing. We are asked to support the needs of 150 varying students in a world of instant gratification with texting, video games, and the internet. The list could go on.

However, the biggest issue that I'm reminded of at the moment is that of English Language Learners. Currently, 10% of my student population speaks another language at home. Because of the language deficiency, those students receive special services from our school in order to improve their English language ability. Additionally, since most of these students come from lower income families, they also receive school funding for free breakfasts and lunches.

All of this help actually amounts to a lot of money that taxpayers pay out for our school district's 9 schools. In fact, I just was informed that the amount of English Language Learners in our district is rapidly increasing as families are migrating North from Arizona to be with their loved ones up here. This means, that taxpayers are required to pay even more money for the extra help for those students, not including the welfare money and insurance the low income families apply for as well.

I see this as an issue. The problem is not my students. The problem is not even their parents. The problem is a system that allows people to move here and receive assistance without being a citizen of our country. The problem is that we give money to people without trying to teach them how to make a living on their own. Some of my students are worried about being deported, or worse, some of my students' parents HAVE BEEN deported because they weren't legally in the country. The system is breaking up families and costing our country billions of dollars. What can we do?

Welfare (and other financial assistance) is not free. I see that it has the potential to be a positive means of assistance for those currently struggling. It should not be a tool for people who are not actively looking for a job. It should be a means to helping people get back on their feet while striving to improve themselves professionally. It should be a means to helping those people find a job and then give back to the welfare system.

I'm not sure of the answer. I want to help my students succeed, even though some of them (both English Language Learners and others alike) have the mentality that they "don't need no education." I have had several students tell me that they are going to just live off of welfare like they've seen many others do, so school doesn't apply to them. Helping students realize the need for education can be a NOBLE endeavor.

Now, before you judge me, you must understand my own background. I am first generation American on my mother's side (my mother and her family immigrated from Germany). As I grew up, my mother taught me to appreciate those who want to make a better life for themselves. She taught me to appreciate other cultures, languages, and people. And I do. I'm so grateful for the country in which we live. I'm grateful for this country that has brought all nations together to live under its shelter. I love the USA.

That is why I need to express my concern about the land of opportunity. This land became a land of opportunity because people came here to make something of themselves and to improve their spot in the world a little everyday. That is why my mom came to this country. And her family has done just that. It wasn't always easy for them. Sometimes they survived because of the assistance of others. But they figured it out and made their way, eventually giving back to the system. That is how it should be done.

Awkward Mother's Day Conversation

A few days ago, I read a post by the mock mormon blog "Seriously, So Blessed" as shared my friend, Reuben. Here's a short excerpt:

MOM of twins: "Sorry in advance about Sunday! We'll Miss you!"
Single Sister: "What? I'll be there."
MOM of twins: "Really? That is so brave of you, showing up even on MOTHER'S Day!"
Single Sister: "You know, as a matter of fact I like Mother's Day. I have a great mom."
MOM of twins thinking... "It almost made me cry how cute she was, trying to pretend it's about HAVING on instead of BEING one."

Now, at first I thought this was FUNNY and RIDICULOUS! Does anyone actually think this way. Well, on Saturday I found out that apparently they do. My conversation with a sister in our ward:

MOM of 3: "So, do you ever feel awkard about Mother's Day?"
ME: "Should I because my mom's dead?"
MOM of 3: "No, not because of that, but um [stuttering over words] because, you know... you don't have any kids."
ME: [flabbergasted] "No, I definitely have never felt akward on Mother's Day. [THINKING: NOT UNTIL SHE SAID THAT! Are people judging me at church?] I'm a mother to my 150 students 5 days a week as well as an aunt to over 20 nieces and nephews. I've only been married 9 months, so it's okay that I'm not a mom yet."

I thought it ironic that I was asked that question right after reading that blog post and thinking how UNrealistic it is. Apparently, I was wrong.

Head in the Clouds

Last Friday, I took the day off work. Evan and I had planned to go up to the Vancouver temple open house, but found out that it was already closed due to preparation's for Sunday's dedication. SAD!

As I already had a sub planned for the day, I decided to take a much-needed break. I laid in bed reading all morning and finished a book one of my students gave me to read. Afterwards, Evan and I packed up our bags and headed up to rock climb.

True to Washington weather, even though it said there would only be morning scattered showers, as we neared our destination, we could not deny the pitter-patter of droplets on the windshield. We decided against rock climbing and opted to do a hike instead. We've hiked this popular Washington hike a few times together, but found ourselves ill-prepared for the snow that lay in the top 1/3 of the hike.


All in all, it was a beautiful hike replete with fog and clouds at the tops of the trees. We truly hiked so high (4,000 elevation) that we were in the clouds. Gotta love it. We were a little sore afterwards, but we both definitely needed the exercise the 8-mile hike provided.

Us on the hike last year:

I Braved the WINCO

I love WINCO.

For those of you not fortunate enough to know what WINCO is, I pity you. WINCO is the most amazing grocery store in the Western United States. The prices are unheard of! We save so much money shopping at WINCO. What would cost $200 at a normal grocery store, only costs $80 at WINCO. Why? Because the grocery store is a no-frills grocery store.

WINCO doesn't wine you and dine you through the aesthetics of their building or displays. No, they wine you and dine you through their amazing deals. Sure, you have to bag your own groceries, but when you see how much you save, it doesn't matter in the end. I'll keep shopping at WINCO until the day I die (which hopefully is not soon).

I bet you're wondering why Sarah is ranting and raving about a grocery store experience. Well, it's because yesterday a WINCO opened only 1 mile from my apartment. Yes, I said ONE MILE. (Previously, we had to drive 20 minutes to get to one.) I was too chicken (or too smart) to wade through the completely full parking lot on opening day yesterday. But, Evan and I had waited much too long to grocery shop. I could wait no more!

So, today I went. And I liked that I only paid $66.45 for 8 bags of groceries.

Peacock Peregrination

Peregrination: n traversing, exploring

I don't know what it is with me and peacocks. I think they are beautiful creatures. And they in turn think that I am a beautiful creature. Which, I guess is why I have had a few interesting run-ins with peacocks in the most random places.

• First: 3 years ago, I went to visit Evan in Hawaii for a few weeks. On my first day there, as I lay on a pristine beach in between a conscious state and sleep, I felt something tickling my ankles. Not thinking much of it, I casually open an eye to find a peacock walking right over me! No owner in sight. Just strolling down the beach and that the walking over my legs was the best thing to do. I was in awe as it fanned out its breathtaking tail and walked away.
• Second: Thursday, on my way home from work, I turned down a little-used road. As I push on the accelator, a large bird caught my eye as it was crossing the road. (Yes, I said CROSSING THE ROAD... we live in Washington, people! Have you ever heard of peacocks in Washington? Except at the zoo, of course.) I ended the phone call I was on and pulled over to take a picture. It walked around in front of me for a while until I think I spooked it and ran off. Random!

For me, peacocks are a good omen... a sign that good things are coming my way. Speaking of, I found out that I will be transferred back to the high school next year to teach German again. I'm already in the process of coordinating our exchange to Germany in 2011. Hooray!

Weekend with the Kiddos

A little over a week ago, my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew went down to Utah for our other brother-in-law's graduation. (Confused yet?) Either way, the parents being out of town meant that Evan and I were watching kids again for a few days. This time, 3 girls ages 2-14. Awesome.

We had a lot of fun with the girls, from morning story time to making cinammon rolls (they have to capitalize on the sugar while mom & dad are away!), we all had a loud fun time together!

On Saturday, the kids begged us to go rock climbing again. Since it was raining - NOT conducive to outdoor climbing- my sister suggested we go to the spring fair. We did and the girls loved it! They loved the samples, the booth BINGO game, the tractor hay rides, but MOST OF ALL, they loved the animals.

There were baby cows and pigs. And the most beautiful horse I'd ever seen named Lacy. My littlest niece is still talking about her! The highlight of the petting zoo was that the kids all got to hold baby goats, rabbits, and baby chickens (their favorite). In fact, when we pulled the kids away to leave, the littlest one starting crying! She was so upset that she couldn't take the baby chickens home.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. I was glad, however, when their dad got home and Evan and I went to the peace and quiet our own apartment provides. Hey, I love kids, but we have to enjoy the peace and serenity while it lasts! :)