Back from Girls Camp

I conveniently forgot to take any pictures at camp. Why you ask? I left my make-up bag at home. I was camping! One of the girls! I was the cabin leader for the YCL's...I feel like I was just a YCL yesterday. Crazy how time flies. The theme this year was Camp Disney: DISciples iN EverY Way. All of the Disney stuff got me so excited for our trip this weekend!! :D 

When I walked into the cabin on the first day, some of the girls from Pismo Beach asked, "Wait...are you a YCL or a leader?" hahahaa 

Things have changed. When I was a Young Woman, we were at Camp French in tents! Now the girls are up at Camp Whittier in cabins! It's much nicer. They even have a pool! The weather was great too, never too hot. 

I got home on Saturday and hadn't seen my baby in 4 days! So I picked him up on my way to Avila Beach :) We had fun...see below.

Drake Family Cruise 2008!

Warning....tons of pictures :)

We had such a blast! All 24 of us together on one boat! Watch out!!!! 

We had the perfect start to the family reunion by going to the Los Angeles Temple. 

My cousin, David Sterling Drake, has been called to serve as a missionary in the Kobe Japan Mission. It was such a sweet experience to go through the temple with him for the first time. We are SO proud of you David!  

Nana & Bobba with their newest endowed grandchild 

 

Aunt Colleen, David and Uncle Dana

All of the Preisthood holders in our family that went through with David

(from left to right) Uncle Devin, Uncle Dave, Bobba, David, Aunt Colleen's brother Carl (David's uncle), Matt, and Uncle Dana (David's dad)

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We stayed in the temple apartments that night and had so much fun catching up with all of our family! We got dinner from an amazing market, Bristol Farms (do you go there Erinn? I'm jealous it's so close to you!)...it's like Trader Joe's but more gourmet. 

Then it was off to the cruise! 

Matt and I in beautiful Cabo. 

Wearing Uncle Devin's ginormous hat while he was riding :)

We hung out on the beach this day and rode wave runners...so nice!  

I love getting dressed up :)

First formal night

Nana reserved the conference room for us on Sunday and we had our own Sacrament & Testimony Meeting. Then we had it again on Monday night for Family Home Evening, and then other days for us to play games. It was awesome! People kept poking their heads in to see what was going on :)  

We were posing in our smart casual outfits. This is not dumb casual! "I have many leather bound books..."

Sean's face was priceless on the zip line! 

Canopy tour Puerto Vallarta!

Yes, that is my fabulous 75-year-old grandpa! He came on the zip line with all of us kids. He is actually the one who made me want to go; he did it back in '05 and said it was so much fun that I had to do it this time around! 

The whole Drake bunch on the last formal night. What a good lookin' family huh? 

Mommy and all of her kids :) 

Prom pose :)

We had such a great time with our family. We ate a ton, danced, sang, relaxed, swam, played, laughed...it's times like these when you realize what is truly important in life. I am so grateful for such a wonderful family that I am sealed to for time and all eternity! We are so thankful for Nana and Bobba and their perfect examples. Thank you for a perfect week! 

Cruise time!

It's here!!! We'll be in Mexico for the Drake Cruise '08 until next Sunday. There will be tons of pictures when we get back! Adios!!!!!

Last Day of School/Work!

Such a fun last week of work! Yesterday we all went to Pepper Garcia's after "work". Jean Byrne was so sweet and got up and gave a very nice speech about missing all of us who are leaving Lakeview. Here are some pictures from the fun time! 

Ozzy & I

Mr. Carlovsky, who was Matt's principal at Cabrillo and my boss this year!

Mrs. Davis (whom I exchanged many recipes with this year!), Mrs. Tummolo, Kirky (who I love just as much if not more now as I did when she was my Science teacher!), and Ozzy enjoying her nachos!!  

Mrs. Reynolds & Mrs. Miller - the kids got us mixed up ALL year long! 

The student who always looked like this...it was usually a book though.

Pointing at Jimmie's scab from the waterslides!

Mrs. Ast, Mrs. Reynolds, & Mrs. Miller being silly. 

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Also, I got the job! 

I am so excited, it's the perfect job for summer. I am the only one in the Santa Maria area, so that means more business for me! :) Anyone need a sitter this summer? 

Okay, time to finish packing for Mexico!!! See you all in a week! 

Another Winner!

HUSBAND APPROVED! 

Reppin the Creative Rents shirt! 

Thanks to Rachael Ray for this one. I used my lemon and spinach (I subbed it for the escarole) I had leftover from a few nights ago and made a completely different tasting dish! The pancetta (bacon), red pepper flakes, garlic, and lemon all play off of each other to give a unique flavor that totally works.  

Perfect!

I mentioned in this post about how I thought some cloth napkins would look good in my hanging baskets. I love Pottery Barn! I found these bright cutie napkins on sale (bonus with the hubby)! 

It was one of those times when I'd seen them, loved them, but opted not to buy them. Then we went up to SLO again last night and I'd been thinking about them all week long, so I gave in and got 'em. What think ye? 

Ooh I also got a call today for a second interview! Whee! It's for a local babysitting/nanny agency and I'm stoked. It will be flexible and the perfect summer job...so keep your fingers crossed!  

Waterslides!

Oh the Mustang Waterslides. So many fun memories! 

Today was the 7th grade trip there and I went along with them. To work. Nice huh? I guess there are some perks since I'm way underpaid :)

Our Vice Principal was teasing me about "playing" on the job. How can you not have fun here?! 

Streeper, Miller, Johnson tearing it up on Stampede (Note how much tanner I am than those fools)! We cut in front of many herds of 7th graders many times...muahahahaha

Funhouse shot Kirky got of Ozzy and I! Yeoowshurrrzz

Pickin wedgies and whatnot.

On our last ride down, Jimmie was in the spot behind me. He was rocking us trying to get the tube to flip or something. He ended up hitting his head on the back of mine! He had his shades on, and cut his eyebrow open. Oops!! He thought it was cool though...typical guy. Ozzy got a video of the whole thing, so hopefully I can figure out how to post it on here.

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My dad is in town too, so everyone knows what that means! You will find us at Firestone Grill in SLO. My dad would seriously walk through fire to get one of their tri-tip sandwiches! And he basically does, flies from Newark to LAX, then drives 3 hrs. up the 101 to us. Whew! They are well worth it though...

YUM!

This blog is turning into a food blog! It sure is nice to have the time to cook and bake! If I had things my way, that's all I'd do. Every day.

I came across this recipe on FoodNetwork.com. 

I LOVE salmon, and it's so good for you. When you cook this, the smell of lemon, capers, garlic, and basil mix and make your house smell like a little restaurant on the Mediterranean!  

I subbed regular pasta since I had it on hand and didn't want to buy whole wheat pasta. 

I also cooked the salmon longer than Giada said to because I like mine a little more well done. It was still juicy and tasty! Such an awesome way to get your spinach in, too. It wilts once you put the pasta on top and is yum yum yum!

 

I forgot to take a picture before I started eating...oops. 

It Must've Been Good!

We (the Resource teachers & aides) put on a lunch for the regular ed teachers today as an end of the year thank you. Thanks for putting up with us and our students! 

I made another one of my favorite Paula Deen recipes, Chocolate Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, and I think everyone liked it...

This is all I came home with! 

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On another note, all of you that live in small apartments know how frustrating it can be to find storage! I ordered this little guy (on sale! Yessss!) from Crate & Barrel to help with the kitchen situation.  

Notice the bananas, bread...then Matt decided his workout supplements and a granola bar should go in the top basket :) I think they'd look cute with some cloth napkins in the bottom.  

Hooray for more counter space!

Also, this time next week we'll be leaving for the Drake Family Cruise '08! :D  

Orangies

I adore Paula Deen. 

This is her recipe for Orange Brownies, a lovely variation on your everyday brownie!

Thank you to Chris McIntyre for suggesting the recipe...He was over playing X-box with Matt and saw my Paula cookbooks :) 

It's so nice to make things just because I want to. I love the feeling of not having to worry about homework and getting to class prepared and on time.

 I am having fun with my time these days :) 

Tagged by Carly!

Rules first: I need to answer 6 questions. I then tag 6 people and post their names here, then go to their blog and comment to tell them that they have been tagged and to visit here to find out the rules. I must then let the person who tagged me know when I have posted my answers.

1) 5 Things on my ‘to-do’ list:

a. Meet with my Chapman counselor at 4
b. Go to the gym for Boot Camp and Yoga
c. Take more Geography tests online
d. Make cases for YW in Excellence DVD I put together
e. Fold laundry  

2) 5 Snacks I Love:

a. Chocolate
b. Chips and dip
c. Brie and bread

d. Nutella on anything :)
e. CHEESE! 

3) 5 Things I’d do if I suddenly became a millionaire:

a. Invest, Invest, Invest! 
b. Finish our schooling faster without having to WORK
c. Build our Dream House!
d. Start having kids
e. Travel 

4) 5 Places I’ve lived:

a. Joplin, MO (for the first week of my life) 
b. Fayetteville, AR
c. Santa Maria, CA
d. Smyrna (Nashville), TN
e. Poipu, HI

5) 5 Jobs I’ve had:

a. Coldstone Creamery
b. Olive Garden
c. Albertsons
d. GoodWood BBQ
e. OUSD

6) 5 Things people don’t know about me:

a. My left ear is bigger than my right 
b. I need 9+ hrs. of sleep a night 
c. I want twins 
d. I have no concept of time 
e. I'm a night owl

I’m tagging: Brittany, Emily, Erinn, Gena, Harmony & Tiffany...and anyone else who wants to do this!