Just wanted to say...

     Graduating feels great!! I never realized how much stress school put on me until now that I'm done!! I have watched 3 whole movies this week. And, not only that, but not done anything while watching them (laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc). I want to do nothing forever! Not really, but for a good while at least. I'm lovin' it.
     Watching the presidential debates with Jeff has been fun and funny. I like watching them with Jeff. He is very knowledgeable. It is actually quite impressive how much he knows. He explains things that most people probably wouldn't get. And, because he explains them so well, I can understand some of the punches that are thrown at each other in the debates. It's been a fun thing to do with him. Although, I have had two wild dreams after watching the debates before bed.
      One was that I felt guilty about being an illegal citizen in America and decided to "self-deport" myself like Romney's immigration plan. So in my dream, me and these random Hispanic looking relatives that I don't have in real life, were all deporting ourselves. Only thing is, I'm not illegal! I was born in San Diego!! I knew that in my dream but for some reason I still felt guilty and that I should deport myself! The other dream was that Jeff and I wanted to invest and wanted to use a "blind trust" like Mitt has talked about in the debates. So in my dream we gave our friend Sarah our money to invest and she stole it and tried to kill us. Then when I confronted her and said, "Sarah? I thought we were friends." She said, "Ya, I wanted you to think that. The truth is, I've never really liked you." I woke up so sad. There were a bunch of crazy elements to it too as a result of watching the tv show "Lost," but I'll spare you the details. Adios!

Ps. The worst part is I have a problem with my third paragraph in this post because the first sentence should be the topic sentence of the paragraph and mine def is not!

Some people are just....

Can I just say some people are A plus plus? I mean it. You meet them and you're immediately like "Wow. They are awesome!" Today my new friend came over and I thought this exactly. She is just really great. She is kind, funny, understanding, and more than anything, is a disciple of Christ. I am so grateful to have her in my life.

Hanging with 4 year olds is...

Definitely interesting. You hear things like...

- "No master please!", "I beg you master..." or really anyway he can work in "master" into a sentence.    (Mason). A little much on the tv? I think so.
- Mason to Emma, "You dare call me coward!" Emma, "Coward? Who is Coward?" She thinks that's a person.
- "Grandma, what are you going to buy at JoAnne's today? Rabies?" (Emma). Apparently a little too much House on the Prairie for her.
- "Bless me" (Mason after he sneezes).
-"Hey Asa you always don't get fat." (Mason to me). Thanks I think?
-Mason's excuse not to take a shower? "I'll miss my shirt I'm wearing." Good enough for me, we didn't battle.
-Emma read me Dr. Suesse's "There's a Wocket in my Pocket" only hers was about "There's a Grinch in my Pants."
-Mason and I made brownies. He was very excited, he said, "Now I know how to make brownies by myself! I just need you to do it for me again." Not sure I'm convinced you know how to do it then buddy.
-I told Emma she could use my phone once it recharged all the way (from red to green). She keeps checking it. She said, "I will be so happy if it is green." Sadly, it was still red.
-I was making phone calls today. I saw Mason covering his ears as I said, "Annalisa." Finally he said, "Stop saying that!" I said, "What? Annalisa?" He said, "Ya.It freak me out!" 
- After telling the kids to brush their teeth I have to not only check their teeth but smell their breath too to make sure toothpaste was actually used. 
-I am not sure if the kids will ever understand... Flush the toilet, and wash your hands... WITH soap. Example of our convo after they exit the bathroom:
Me: Did you flush the toilet?
Kids: Oh. (Run back in and do it).
Me: Did you wash your hands? 
Kids: Oh. (Run back in and do it). 
Me: Did you wash your hands with soap?
Kids: Oh. (Run back in and do it). 
Now I just say as they go into the bathroom: Flush the toilet and wash your hands WITH soap, which still only  has about a 50% success rate.
  Well, that's all for now. 
Oh ya, not to mention, letting 2 four year olds sleep with you is possibly one of the worst decisions you could make.

Why you shouldn't lie.... or why I shouldn't lie at least....

      I've done it again. You'd think Jeff's training would have stopped me by now. I am always putting my foot in my mouth, explaining things that don't need to be explained, apologizing for dumb things, or other random stuff that would makes situations awkward. Often, the solution to most of these awkward situations is to JUST KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT! Well, wish I would have thought about that before I made a phone call about 30 minutes ago.
       As many of you know, I am hoping to start Temple's credential program in the Spring. Well, if college admissions isn't confusing and crazy enough, graduate programs are even more so. Ok, maybe I am the only one who gets confused, but their websites are very confusing. I went in last Spring to talk to the lady who Temple's website said is in charge of credential admission. I met with her and she knew nothing. I seriously mean nothing. She could not tell me how long the program is or what grade level I will be able to teach when I have completed the program. Needless to say I was shocked at her lack of knowledge, but more so bummed out because I didn't get my questions answered. So, I scheduled a meeting with her boss earlier this past Fall semester. Meeting with her did help, but I was still confused about a few things. Oh, and she also explained that the lady I spoke with had just started her position that semester so that is why she knew practically nothing about the program (which I don't fault her for that, after all, goodness knows I'm surely confused about it). Anyways, that brings us to today.
         By some miracle, when I checked my Praxis I scores today I had passed all three sections. Not sure how I passed the math section, but it's a tender mercy from Heavenly Father I'll take. I really thought I'd not pass the math section and be put back to take the next Praxis test. I have to pass both the Praxis I and II to be accepted to the credential program at Temple. The first is a basic knowledge test and the second is on history (my subject matter). So, with the shock that I may actually be able to start the program this spring as I had hoped, I was left with a few more questions. The only problem was that the person the website said to call for questions was the first woman I had spoken too. I should mention that I had also e-mailed this lady before even meeting with her last spring. When I saw that name in bright blue on the bottom of the screen I was not happy. I hate being a nag. Being a nag is bad enough, but being one because you still don't understand something you've been told multiple times is worse. I had the perfect solution: I'd lie. Ya, lie. A simple lie. That wouldn't be too bad, right? I'll just give her a fake name, ask my questions and hang up. Wrong! If only my life was that simple.
        When she picked up the phone I told her my name was "Jane" and I  had a few questions about starting the program in the spring. After she answered my questions she said, "What's your e-mail, I'll send you some information about admission." I didn't want to give her my school e-mail because it had my student id number and I wasn't sure if she'd be able to look up and see that it was me. Easy fix, right? I said, "Oh, well I do not know my school e-mail so..." (hoping to end the conversation right there). She said, "That's ok, I'll take your personal one, what is it?" My personal e-mail? You mean the that clearly has my real first name in it, not this "Jane" lady who I had suddenly become? I don't think so. So of course, I lied again. I said, "Well, that one isn't really that reliable..." (isn't reliable? Who am I kidding? Then what's the point of it?!) and said, "Oh, I found my school e-mail, here it is." She took my e-mail and we hung up.
      After we hung up I checked my e-mail. She is the person I am supposed to send all of my admission stuff to!! She said for me to just e-mail her back when I had the stuff ready to turn in. E-mail her back?! As who? Jane or Annalisa? It's times like these I wish I would have just thought first. So now I'm not looking forward to our awkward face to face when she receives my application.  When I told Tk this she said, "Just do it after break. Call back, tell her your name, give your personal email and let Jane fade away." I guess that's best thing for me to do. I am going to wait till after break and hope she forgets I even said my name was Jane. It's kind of funny of the ridiculous predicaments I get myself in because I care so much about what other people think.If I hadn't cared in the first place that this lady might think I'm a nag or dumb for calling so much, I would never have been in this situation in the first place. Oh life.
Love,

Jane

Annalisa

 

Friends+Family+Summer+California= Awesome

I've been meaning to photographically document my summer for awhile now. Since it's Conference and the rain is making me want to stay in bed, I figured I'd do it today (or at least start). Summer was great. We got to see so many wonderful friends and family members. We did so much with Jeff's family and mine. We missed Tahoe this year but hope to make it there soon. There were so many more people we wanted to see, but time ran out. Jeff's parents paid for our tickets out there (which we were grateful for). Last summer was the only break Jeff gets for the next 3 years (minus a 2 week one at Christmas). So, we stayed here for the first half while I nannied and saved up and then booked it on home to Cali. I have a ton of pictures so I am going to do my best to be selective. There were also some things I didn't get pictures of but I guess that's life. Here goes:

Desi and Seth's Wedding 

 

Her wedding was in the San Diego Temple. So pretty! 

 Another bridesmaid, my good friend Alex.

Cousins!! Suga and Sadie!

The happy couple: Mr. and Mrs. Seth McCarthy :)

Life goldfish and roses as the center piece.

We visited her and Seth at their apartment in Bel Air a few weeks after the wedding. We had a delicious breakfast thanks to Seth. Jeff and I decided we did the Fresh Prince journey this summer (Philadelphia-Bel Air), we even listened to the theme song from his iPod to make it complete.

Kevin and Sarah's wedding

Cute sign directing us to the wedding.

Syndey and Kevin did a father-daughter dance. It was so sweet. It was cute-Kevin kept looking at Syndey to ask if the song was done (he's deaf), she'd remove her head from his side (she nozzled it into him because she was shy), and shake her head no.

The happy couple.

They had the best dinner!!

Everything was so pretty. I loved the cake. They also seemed to really embrace his deafness.

Emma loved the kid activities they had (very smart idea).

I thought this was cute.

Kevin and Sydneys "father-daughter" dance. It was very sweet.

Kevin's boys love to dance. Here's Zek:

"Stistas." Don't we look alike?

Jeff was so tired from driving from San Diego to Cambria in 2 days.

St. George

Everyone from Utah talks about Cafe Rio. And I decided instead of being my usual self of not wanting to have it because everyone loves it, I decided to try it. Mandy took me out to eat. It was sooo good. Have to agree with everyone else!

I made Mandy take sneak a picture of me in front of the Cafe Rio sign. This is what I love about Mandy- I said to her to sneak a picture so I don't look dumb. We decided to do it on her phone instead of my camera to make it look less obvious. So she's holding the phone like you would a camera and pretending to text. I said to her that looks way obvious- I mean who texts in while holding their phone in mid air? We laughed and just took the picture.

Our food. Good choice Mandy!

Another top secret picture. We ditched the pretend texting this time. I saw a random acquaintance that I knew from a few years ago. He this past summer on July 9th~ our wedding date.

Late night snack for our chick flick. She makes AWESOME cookies!

 Picture of me, very satisfied with my pazookie.

Just thought this giant bin of flour was funny so I took a picture.

And of course, what Mandy adventure wouldn't be complete without shopping, especially shoe shopping?  

So we did start out with a need: Mandy needed a pair of black flats for school. In our diligent search for her need, we found a few wants along the way. She found this way cute pair of shoes. I was torn between these and another pair I immediately fell in love with.  I ended up getting the other pair-figuring Mandy buying this pair was like I owned it too. Right?  

One thing I love about Mandy-it's always fun taking picture with her! And she's one of the few people I know who loves it as much as I do. This pic took forever! We couldn't stop laughing. You can't really see my shoes too well, but that's ok. Just know they're awesome.

I liked this picture Mandy took with her fancy camera. We went to the temple visitor's center for fun.

David's Wedding

After seeing the Crystal Cathedral for 22 years I finally got to go inside.

Waiting for the ceramony to begin.

Kirsi is so funny and cute.

It was hot and sunny that day.

Mummi and Eden.

The desserts were gorgeous!

Random Days:

Cutting our wedding cake a year after we were married. Tasted pretty good. Thanks Nicole and Aunt Rebecca.

Yummy dinner with Grandma. Emma loves her "granny." Ana and Grandma make great Italian food.

Emma loves to make wierd faces.

Mason put on his own shoes...

Irvine park with the Lakes

Nate and I...

just saying...

hi to Allie. Thanks Carolyn for the great photography!

Our summer started off great with a visit from Judy and Craig!!

Jen taking out her endowments in Newport. Didn't get a picture when Carolyn went through in Fresno.

Just thought this was a cute picture. However, don't let looks fool you!

The boys were supposed to be cleaning up the backyard. I found Christian like this.
 But, to be fair, he had helped earlier.

Steven's baptism. Probably one of my favorite things this summer.

Saw Brian, Veronica, and Miria.

Saw the Park family. Bummed I didn't get a group picture: Ms. Park, Nicole Abler, Tarah Kerr, and  Kim Sasaki.

Why is it impossile to get a shot with all 4 smiling?

Crazy hard puzzle we did at the Lakes thanks to Cindy :)

So tempted to stick Emma and Mason in there and leave.

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Just jumpin around with the girlees!





Silly Cobo boys picking a pumpkin from mom's garden.

Think that's it for now!