Elder Zachie-Poo

Wow it has been wayyyy too long since I have updated this. In my defense, a lot has happened so it has seemed really overwhelming to write it all down.

1. Mitch and I packed up our cars and drove across the country. We had a small holdup in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, where my car randomly stalled at a light. Luckily the police officer was beyond nice and helped us move it off the road, and he called a buddy who came to look at our car and fixed it in like two seconds. Blessings, blessings, blessings!

2. We spent two weeks with my family, swimming, going to the Rangers game where we saw Dirk throw the first pitch, and hanging out with extended family!

3. We said good-bye to Zach for two years as he goes to serve a mission for our church in New York City! It was sad, but exciting too! I got the first email from him today actually! He is doing great and loves it. We are so proud :)

4. We finally arrived in Houston where we are staying with Mitch's family while we figure out our lives hahah. The plan so far is for me to do my student teaching and graduate. Meanwhile, Mitch will find a job, and hopefully I can find a job too and we will both work and save up for a year-ish so that we can afford for him to go to flight school here in Houston. Of course, plans change, but that's all we've got for now haha.

I wish this post was more exciting, but this is more for documentation than for entertainment.

Oh, side note. I read Dracula this week, and I must say I was disappointed. I do enjoy a lot of the classics, but this one was just so SLOW that it was hard to believe that it was supposed to be a horror story. It starts out awesome for the first like 25% of the book, and then goes really downhill from there. If you haven't read it, don't. You're not missing out on much.

I did, however, read a good book this week too. It was a very quick YA read, but it was an interesting insight into the Roman lifestyle/time period. It's called Tiger, Tiger. It's on my book list on the right sidebar.

Ok that's all. Interesting post today, I know.

Dream Come True

Good: Yesterday, about an hour into class, my children's lit professor steps out into the hall and comes back in with brick oven pizzas and rootbeer for the whole class!

Better: While passing out said pizza, he says, "Today is my last day of teaching ever! I will be retiring at the end of this term. We were supposed to review for our final today, but I thought to myself, I don't want to talk about finals. I want to celebrate and have pizza instead! I don't really want to grade finals either, so guys, don't come to the final. Because I won't be there."

Best: He continues, "In fact, I have been harping on you guys so much this semester about how you are in charge of your own education," (he has) "I have decided that you are mature enough to grade yourselves. I am passing out notecards right now. Will you please write your name on a card and write the grade you think you deserve, and I promise to honor whatever grade you write on there."

Oh yeah.

T-minus 10 days...

Until this:

The move is starting to feel so real! Today we sold our last piece of furniture- our kitchen table- and our apartment is virtually empty! (If you don't count our clothes lying all over the floor where our dresser used to be.) We leave the 21st and will drive to Dallas to visit my family along the way, where we will say goodbye to Zach for 2 years! Then while we play with Mitch's family for a couple weeks, we get to job/house hunt in this big city until I start new teacher orientation in August!


Houston here we come!

Brother #1

Well Mitch said my last post was "boring", so I will try to spice this one up for you non-readers. (As a side note, Mitch is perfectly willing to listen to me ramble about the current book I am reading...and is often interested in it. Baby steps, I know, but we are on the way to making him a reader! :D)

This week Mitch's brother came down to stay with us for two days before he entered the Missionary Training Center. We of course, took great care of him on his last few days before the mish.

Monday night, we ate out at Brick Oven. Free home-brewed rootbeer with a purchase of a pizza...can't go wrong with that!

Tuesday we had In-N-Out for lunch, of course, and then went to Uncle Rob's for a farewell get-together. We got to see their gorgeous new house out in Elk Ridge and ride their four-wheelers!! (Side note: I am a total pansy and got pretty scared of how fast we were going on a paved road...hahaha. Granted, I was sitting up a lot higher on the seat and every time we went over a bump I felt like I was going to fly off. Thanks for putting up with me riding with you Josh ahaha).

We also had an awesome barbecue with them, Rob's specialty- brats and hamburgers and pasta salad and corn on the cob! For the occasion I made rainbow jello, our family tradition and Mitch's favorite:

Ok I admit I took that picture off the internet, but that is basically what it looked like!

Then Wednesday we took him in! Holy cow the whole thing went SO fast. We pull up to this huge line of missionaries, a guy comes up to greet us, grabs Josh's luggage, and starts walking away with it, motioning for Josh to follow, all in like 30 seconds. I had to blurt out- "Uhh can we get a picture first before he leaves?" So we took another 20 seconds to take the picture, hug, and then they just walked off. Yeah. Really took us off guard with how fast it was. I understand that you are trying to stay on a schedule, but can we seriously have more than a minute to say goodbye? I mean come one, it's two years people! Kind of a big deal. Well anyway, I did get a perfect picture of the two brothers.

Seriously how cute is that? Mitch looks like a dwarf compared to Josh, but still so presh! haha.

So one brother down, one more to go! Only one month until Zach reports! I was so sad when Josh left because then it reminded me that Zach was going to be gone too for 2 years! I cried haha. But I am excited to write them both and send them both awesome care packages! All I can say is, they better write back!! :D

Thomas Jefferson said it best-

"I cannot live without books. "

I feel ya, Mr. Jefferson.

The past month I have been doing nothing but reading, day in and day out. Thanks to my children's literature class that I am taking right now, I get to read 80 mandatory minutes of children's literature every. day. Well...5 days a week. But you don't hear me complaining :)

A typical day consists of me going to my 2 exercise classes (jogging and self-defense...seriously what was I thinking taking two of those back to back??), coming home, then sitting around reading all day because I HAVE to, often neglecting other important things...like making dinner, cleaning the apartment, showering. jk. but seriously.

I have discovered so many new favorites in this month alone...I don't know how or why I went most of my college career without reading for pleasure. Oh wait I do know why, because the one time I did read a series in the middle of classes, I ended up also neglecting my homework for 3 straight days until I finished it :D

There is a sampling of the books I have read the past couple weeks in the right column. They range from fiction to nonfiction, chapter to picture, and favorite to not-so-favorite. Honestly most of the ones pictured I really liked. To my own surprise, I actually enjoyed the Lincoln Photobiography, as well as the Hitler Youth book.

If I had to recommend top 3, I'd go with these 3 (all picture books):

Flotsam, by David Wiesner

Interrupting Chicken, by David Ezra Stein

Please Bury Me in the Library, by J. Patrick Lewis

I have a special place in my heart for that last book of poetry- it seems that the author shares my same obsession with books hehe :D

If you're serious about recommendations for your kids, click on a book in that collage type thing on the right, and it will bring up my goodreads page and show you what I thought about it!

Little known fact about Kayla...

I love cemeteries. I am one of two people I know that don't get weirded out by them. Truthfully, I think they are beautiful and I love the special spirit I feel when I am in them. Since the weather finally started to cooperate and behave like spring today, I made Mitch take a walk through the local cemetery with me. I really wanted to walk somewhere, and it's right across the street, and much more picturesque than taking a walk down the road to, say, 7-11. It did not disappoint.

We found out not too long ago that my great-grandmother is buried in this particular cemetery, so we went and tracked down her grave.

See? We love the cemetery.

Yes please.

Ever since I was little, I knew that I wanted the library from Beauty and the Beast. Seriously, what's not to love?


Since I'm older and more realistic now, I have done my research and have determined that I will settle for any of the following:

freaking awesome book nook.


swirly staircase? yes please.


a rolling ladder with rows upon rows of books is pretty much my dream come true.


at minimum, it must be well-lit, cozy, and have an oversized stuffed chair. even this room would be more than adequate.


sigh. I want to curl up in that chair and bask in the sun with a good book right. now.