why is saying good bye SO hard?

This week has been tough on me! I knew the day was coming when I would have to say good bye to so many of my friends and students. Spanish Oaks has really become my home. Every year until now I was so excited for summer break because I knew I would be back in the saddle shortly. But, this year was full of tears and goodbyes.

I am really going to miss these mountains!

This is the morning of the last day of school. I tried a smiling picture but it looked fake. This shows how I was really feeling...

Friends

The best secretary in the whole world!

More friends

and friends...I didn't get a chance to get a picture with as many people as I would because tears got the best of me.

This is the window from my classroom. I never thought that the saying would be so appropriate for my future, but it seems very fitting!

I have LOVED my six years at Spanish Oaks! Thank you friends for your kindness, love and support all of these years!

Even though goodbyes are hard I know Ohio will bring great opportunities for both Shaun and I. I'm sure I will have "transition" days but I am looking forward to our adventures.

Town home pics!

For those of you that don't know, Nicolette and I are purchasing a town home in Ohio. It is one UGLY place, but it just needs some elbow grease and a new makeup job. It has been a pseudo-frat home for a several years now. I would guess that there are about 4-6 guys living there currently. In other words, this place needs some serious cleaning. Cosmetic ugliness usually comes with a low price tag though, and it had been on the market for a very long time. It is way cheaper than renting, and we will be able to call it "ours."

Despite it's ugliness it really has a nice "home" feel to it. It is very functional and it is within walking distance of school for me. We were going to do before and after pics, but that would mean you wouldn't be seeing photos of our home for a least 6 months. Our Realtor took these photos and sent them to us. Everyone that we have shown them to has not been impressed :)

We are still excited though, and I think you will be blown away by the "afters" soon to come.

It very plain on the outside, but it's an end unit, only one wall with neighbors. I guess straight sidewalks are not very popular here in Ohio.

As my high school foods teacher always said, "This is a one-bum kitchen". It's only 8x8' from the OUTSIDE walls. We will probably be changing that. Check out that single-drawer dishwasher! I haven't seen stuff like that since England.

Here's a picture from the living room/dining room area looking towards the kitchen wall and front door. There is a nice pass-through window so that Nicolette can easily hand me out my breakfast/dinner every day while I sit at the table and read the newspaper. There are even shutters so that she can block out the rest of the house while she's cooking away.

Here are the Frat men now :) The curtains don't seem to quite reach the floor.

I think we know what they've been up to.

The basement has a trophy case! This will be perfect for all of Nicolette's teaching awards.

We get to keep the curtains and boarder. :) In fact, every single wall has some sort of wall paper. I declared Nicolette as the honorary wallpaper remover. Maybe I'll make her a plaque for the trophy case.

See, I told you it needed some serious elbow grease. This is way cleaner than our Utah apartment was when we first moved in.

The first of many changes...

Those who know me, know that change is one of the hardest things for me. I am a home body and love things to stay the same. I get very attached to people and places. Well, ready or not change is happening. Last week the ward Relief Society presidency was released. I was serving as the second counselor for almost 2 years. I love these ladies and will miss them dearly! We decided to go on an outing to celebrate our time together. We went and got pedicures. It was very relaxing and very fun!

Melissa (secretary) Charlotte (pres) Neisha (1st counselor) and me.

Charlotte and I are both moving soon so it was time to pass the baton.

Guess which toes are mine?

I just want to thank these ladies for being so amazing! I will truly miss their examples and friendship! I know this calling has really helped me to grow and develop as a person! I'm grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve. I'm going to enjoy a few weeks of stress free church before we move to Ohio. I'm sure there will be plenty of callings to go around there. Ü

p.s. my toes are the bright red ones in the brown flip flop.

What is next...?

Some of you already know...but for those of you who have been on the edge of your chair waiting (cricket noises)....Shaun and I will be heading to Ohio! Shaun got accepted to a PhD program at Ohio State University! He will be working in an amazing research lab in a smaller town so we will be living closer to Cleveland than Columbus, but he will only have to commute into Columbus once in a while.

We have been waiting to post this because we have also been in the process of buying a town home. We are in the final stages and if all continues to go well we will be closing in June. Look forward to seeing some before and after pictures as this place needs a little work. The town home is actually within walking distance of Shaun's lab and we feel like it could be our next home.

I have a lot of mixed feelings of leaving family and friends, but Shaun and I both know this is the next step for us and are kind of looking forward to being stretched a little. Not a lot, but a little is always healthy, right? When my sister moved to NY with her husband she said she only cried the first 300 miles. Shaun said he would put all of the tissue in the glove box for me.

Well, we are out of here just yet so if any of you are in town give us a call! We would love to meet up before the moving truck pulls away!

Go Buckeyes! Time to invest in some red clothing. What are we going to do with all of the blue?