Wakeboarding & a Broken Rib?

Well, possibly a broken rib…it sure feels like it! I went wakeboarding on Saturday with my sisters and friends on Utah Lake. It was fun although I didn’t do so well without a tower on the boat, but that’s beside the point. So I crashed pretty good on a run and got the wind knocked out of me. The whole rest of the day I had sharp pains in my side if I moved a certain way or laughed. It continued for the next couple days so finally I went to the doctor. He didn’t think it was broken (just the cartilage), but he sent me to get an x-ray anyway. I haven’t gotten it yet and probably won’t, just cause there’s nothing you can do even if it is broken. So I guess I’ll never know for sure!

First Week of High School

Don't worry I'm not actually IN high school, but teaching high school. My high school is actually inside an old remodeled bowling alley. Sweet! And no, they didn’t leave any lanes to bowl on….darn! It’s a fairly small school and I’m really enjoying it so far. I have 6 classes total, teaching 4 different levels of Spanish.

It’s a real challenge, but I knew it would be. I had the easy, relaxing life in Spain only working about 20 hours every week and spending my extra time at the beach. So coming back to reality I’ve had to jump right in. It’s been hard work, stressful, and I don’t have much free time. I have to put in a lot of extra time preparing 4 different classes every day. But it’s also very rewarding. I figure now I get to make up for what I didn’t do in Spain :)

The school is great, the teachers are great and the kids are great, so I can’t complain!

Moving to UT

So Lisi flew back to T-town from Seattle to spend a few days at home then she drove up with me to UT. She wanted to stop everywhere, but I wouldn't let her....haha! Sorry sis! First it was the meteor crater in Flagstaff, then the lookout point to the Grand Canyon, then the slot canyons, then swimming at Lake Powell, then Cedar Breaks, then who knows where else!

I think she was just stalling since she didn’t want to go back to UT. I did oblige her by stopping at some Indian outposts on the way to Page and we even tried to swim at Lake Powell, but it didn’t work out. I would have LOVED to stop at all those places, but I was stressed about moving and starting a new job so I wouldn’t have enjoyed them. We got there late enough anyway.

I actually couldn’t move into my apt. yet, so my sister kindly let me camp out in her new condo for a week. Then my little sister came up a week later. Her new condo had turned into the homeless shelter. Haha! Anyway I’m glad to be in UT again with my siblings, but I already miss AZ and wish I could be there too! I wasn't home very long after getting back from Europe and with the trip to Canada.

Vancouver Island, Canada

My sisters, my Mom, and I all went up to Canada for my cousin's wedding the end of July/beginning of August. We flew into Seattle then took a ferry to Vancouver Island, where the wedding was to be. I felt like I was back in Europe again visiting the quaint little town of Sidney and the very touristy Victoria. We saw the famous Empress hotel where the Queen of England used to stay, the European-style government building, water planes, and a wacko dude performing his idea of an enlightening show with juggling fire torches over people and pulling a tennis racket through his entire body while balancing a golf club on his chin. Yeah......He was surprisingly funny actually!

Butchart Gardens

So these are the world famous gardens of Vancouver Island. Can’t go without seeing! They are so beautiful too. We all went with my Uncle Dennis the morning before the wedding. They had a sunken garden, a Japanese garden, an Italian garden, a rose garden and so on.