3 Year Anniversary!

Amanda Kate and I had our 3rd year anniversary on August 1st! We both spent the morning working since it was a Monday, but when we both got home the day got much more exciting. We decided before we go out for the evening we should open each others presents. I was so excited to give her the present. Just an FYI but the "traditional" 3 year present is leather so I got Amanda Kate 3 leather roses and a personal poem. Ahhhhh :) I had never heard of leather roses either but they actually looked pretty cool. They look just like a real rose and the best part is they never die like real roses. That is what I do not like about buying typical roses. They die one week later where as these leather roses will last forever. I got the vibe that AK really liked her present.

Shortly after she opened her present I opened mine and could not have been happier when I saw it was an authentic Terrell Davis old school jersey and a Super Bowl 32 John Elway jersey! She really knows what I like! I felt like she totally over did it but I was okay with that. In addition, we are going to the Denver Broncos season opening game on Sept 12 against the Raiders! We got seats that are about 11 rows up on the first level of the south stands. We are both way excited! It will be Amanda Kate's first Broncos game. Man, this almost makes me want to cry :)

After the amazing presents we gave each other we went out to a nice restaurant called "Vesting Dipping Grill" in Downtown Denver. This was our first time going there but we both really seemed to like it. Amanda Kate ordered Thai chiken and I had the most amazing Salmon I have ever tasted! At this restaurant they give you many dipping sauces which were delicious. After we went out and spent some time together we returned home and went right to bed because we were both exhausted from the big day.

I am so glad to be married to such a wonderful girl. She treats me very well and keeps me happy:) I hope that I do the same for her. Cheers to another great year of our eternal marriage!

Granola Recipe

I have been super busy since we returned from the family reunion. Monday will be m 12th day of work at my new job. I LOVE my new job, but I am still at that stressful stage. I am still trying to learn everything and figure out all my responsibilities; but I love that I am back in the classroom again. In my classroom I have two other teachers. They have been extremely helpful and I look forward to working with them throughout the year. I have five students and they are all so different from each other, almost polar opposites; but each one is fun and challenging. I have learned so much during my first few weeks on the job. I have studied Autism and Asperger's for several years, but I have learned more in the last few days then all my years combine in school. There are so many student's I have already bonded and feel in love with. I hope I can figure out all of my paperwork responsibilities and other duties quickly so I can focus more on the kids and less on the paperwork.

As I have been so wrapped up in my new job, I have forgotten about posting the homemade granola I made at the Calley Family Reunion. My family loved it and wanted the recipe so I told them I would post in on our blog. So family it is so late! This is an AWESOME healthy granola recipe, but I can't take full credit for it. This is a recipe that I have adopted from a dear friend of mine. She is an amazing woman and I look up to her in so many ways. I still watch her kids from time to time when her and her husband go on long trips out of town. She just had her 5th child this month! If you love to eat granola or make parfaits for breakfast you should give this recipe a try.

In an extremely large bowl, combine together:

10 cups whole oats (not quick)

6 cups nuts, seeds (almonds, pecans, sunflower, pumpkin, flax, millet, bran flakes, wheat germ, etc.) Whatever of each- equaling 6 cups.

3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

In big microwave safe bowl mix together:

2 c. brown sugar

1 c. honey- or agave nectar

1/2 c. water

Microwave on high for five minutes. It will become liquid Carmel. Watch- cause it will bubble. Remove from microwave

add:

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons vanilla

stir together and poor over oat mixture . Stir to coat. Spread granola evenly in a single layer in 3 cookie sheets. I line it with tinfoil- (a lot less mess.)

Bake 275 for 20 minutes (on all 3 racks) then rotate, and bake another 20min.

When cooled store in ziplock bags. I will also sometimes sprinkle it with cinnamon.

The recipe calls for am extremely large bowl. If you are like me and do not own an 'extremely large' bowl you can use what I use. I used a big saucer snow sled for my bowl. Don't worry I washed the sled before I used it. It worked great. (I didn't tell my family that I used a sled to mix everything together until after they had eaten it. That didn't stop them, most of them went back for seconds).

Calley Reunion Family Photos

The Calley Family
(Minus Dave's Family and Jordan)

Calley Family Reunion in Minnesota

This was the 3rd Calley family reunion I attended and I enjoyed it just as much as the others. We drove the 14 hours to Prior Lake where we met up with almost all the family (Dave and his family were unable to attend and were truly missed. Jordan who is serving a full time mission in Mexico was also missed). Then we all drove to Two Harbors where we enjoyed three days near Lake Superior. I couldn't believe how big Lake Superior was; it looked more like an ocean than a lake. The water was freezing, but that didn't keep most of the boys (old and young) from running into it. When you get the Calley brothers together there is never a dull moment. All they need is a ball, a rock, or a freezing lake and WA-LAH, they will be entertained for hours.


During our three days near Lake Superior we swam, canoed, roasted marshmallows over a fire, crashed a wedding, raced down an alpine slide, took a short detour to see a 'huge' lighthouse (Jon called it a light bulb), played the Calley annual softball game, ate tons of food, played games, hardly slept, and laughed.

After three days of nonstop fun we continued our adventure to downtown Minneapolis where we stayed at the Marriott and caught up on some much needed sleep. Several of us got up early and ran the Firecracker (some did 2 miles while others did a 10K). Steve and I got a private tour of Target Headquarters. I was amazed at how big it was. Target takes over three skyscrapers. It was fun to get to see the ins and outs of it. Thanks Alvin for the 10 cent tour!!! Then we all went to Target Field where we cheered on the Twins who conquered the Rays. We finished the day enjoying fireworks and getting our last minute Minnesota souvenirs (bug bites).


Here are a few highlights from our trip:

• Grandma getting hit by the ball during the Softball game

• Everyone's new and totally 'workable' inventions

• Steve clogging the toilet at the hotel...no surprise there.

• The surprise that Steve was the ONLY ONE who did clog the toilet.

• Being the only ones in Mall of America (we didn't know it would close early... it made it the cheapest trip to the mall ever!)
  

• Danny using a gallon ice cream container as a softball mitt

• Walking through a wedding in our casual camp clothes. Everyone was dressed up and enjoying the beautiful reception and we just waltzed right on through. Don't we have class?

• Eating watermelon for every meal and Josh's spaghetti dinner that kept on giving.
  

• Searching for hitchhiker leeches that might have attached during our hike and swimming up the waterfall.


• Grandma and Grandpa going down the alpine slide

• Jon's unique sense of 'fashion'

• Passing little miss Ellie around. I don't think she was ever not being held; no one can say she isn't loved.

• 16 of us going golfing with only 4 sets of golf clubs

• The dramatic temperature change. Only driving 4 miles and the temperature would drop or rise 20 degrees. It was crazy.

• Bug bites...need I say more?

• Getting slap happy during our late night card games.
  

• Darren's ability to get the family organized and motivated!

• Heather's unchallenged Perpetual Commotion victory title
  

• Stacey and Alvin's dead car battery (can't be a complete trip without at least one car problem)

• The boys and brothers running into freezing Lake Superior and screaming (did I mention they were right next to an outdoor wedding)

• Jon falling into the lake and ruining his iPhone while trying to save a baby fish. (I don't even know what happened to the fish?)
  

We survived...we are just that tough!!!

Holy Cow...Tough Mudder is one insane event, but we did it!!! The elevation climb was intense...we were slow but we finished every step and every obstacle! Steve cheered me on as I slowly climbed the 4,000 feet of elevation. I now know why we pay such steep prices for a ski lift ticket...it is worth every penny. The water obstacles were painful due to the water being 34 degrees. Almost all of us got cramps in our legs due to the strain of the climb and the drastic change in temperature as we entered the water for five different obstacles. At the end we were covered in mud, bruises, scratches, and sunburns; but we had fun and have many fun stories to tell. The part for me that hurt the worst was getting zapped on my neck by one of the live wires. You can actually see the wire on the left side of my neck right before it zapped me, (sorry the picture is sideways, for some reason I can't change the photo's direction. Just use this as an opportunity to stretch your neck). Steve's most painful part was when his body and body parts tensed up when he entered the water. Talk about instant brain freeze.

It was fun to work as a team and conquer every obstacle; we have all decided that we want to do it again next year. (Some people think that we may have lost brain cells because we want to do it again; but there is something exhilarating about pushing your body to it's max.)

I got a new JOB!!!

I taught 5th Grade in 2009-2010 and then moved to Lakewood in the summer of 2010. I have been looking for a full time teaching position or a job in Special Education since we moved. I have been teaching swim lessons, babysitting, and doing tons of volunteer work to fill up my time while I looked for a job. Finding a job was a little difficult because I have decided to switch careers. Instead of teaching in a general education classroom I have wanted to switch to Special Education. Switching has not been the easiest thing. Everywhere that I have applied said that I was over qualified and under experienced. I have part of my MA degree but I do not have much experience in the Special Education field so it has been hard in this economy to find an employer who will pay more for someone who has less experience, but finally my time has come. I was hired this week as a Mental Health Worker at the Joshua School. (The following is taken directly from their website) "The Joshua School is a private, non-profit educational and therapeutic day treatment center for individuals and families challenged and enriched by autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities. We are committed to building a community that offers the highest level of care and individual instruction for students, the most comprehensive array of services, and the strongest level of outreach and education regarding autism spectrum disorders (ASD)." I will be responsible for kids ages 12 to 17 for their education and behavior. This job will stretch me since it is a little different from what I have done in the past, but I am looking forward to it! Here is the link for the school if you are interested in learning more about it. http://www.joshuaschool.org/about_history.shtml

The school is year round so I will be starting the first week of July (wow, that is just days away)! It is amazing how quickly your life can change in an instant! I am super excited for this opportunity and I think it will only give me great experiences that will make me a better person and a better mother. Motherhood is still my ultimate goal so I am trying to do anything that will help me be prepared for that miraculous day when it comes.

Thank you for letting me share this exciting news with you! Wish me luck!

Are we tough enough?????

Tough Mudder is less than 100 hours away and counting.... EEEEK! We are now crossing our fingers that we are tough enough as we run our last miles and lift our last sets of weights. If only we had started our training earlier. A group of us who are running Tough Mudder went to the playground a few days ago to try out the monkey bars. One of the obstacles in the event is climbing an incline set of monkey bars over a freezing river. It was interesting as the girls fared better than the boys (I think it helps that we weigh less than they do). Steve and I have learned two important lessons while preparing for this event. 1: Do not procrastinate your training and 2: Listen to your body and start out slowly. We are both getting more and more nervous as Saturday gets closer and closer, but we are also excited and know that we will have fun as we push our bodies to their limit. We have decided to all stick together as a team and do Tough Mudder together. We will let the slowest person set the pace. I have already volunteered to be the person who will set the pace. Our goal is to finish. Two weeks ago only 63% of the participants finished the event so although our goal may sound simple, it will be a challenge. Okay friends are you ready? Here we go...WHO-RAH!!!

Adjusting to 'normal' life again!

We were extremely spoiled on the cruise. The adjustment back to reality has been a littler harder than I thought, but the trip was definitely worth it. We went from having our beds made for us and not having to clean or cook anything... to having to unpack our bags, pay bills, make up for lost time in our jobs and callings for church, and actually shop for and cook our own food (I know, I know, I am sure I am not scoring any sympathy points with anyone). Even though it was fun being spoiled for a week, I don't think I could ever live on a cruise or any type of vacation for an extended amount of time. There is something about the satisfaction of working hard which cannot be replaced by luxury.

After returning from the cruise I met what I thought was a 'friend', but in reality turned out to be a creepy peeping tom. We have this squirrel who comes on our back porch every once in awhile. One day we had dry bread so I thought I would just set it outside and let the birds and this squirrel eat it. BAD IDEA. The squirrel absolutely loved it, and now returns everyday for more. Instead of just hanging out on the back patio he will come up to the window and search for me. When he finds me he stares right into my eyes and just watches me!!!! It totally creeps me out. I am now too scared to use the back porch. When I walk around in the house his head follows me and tracks me wherever I go. All I can say now is that I am glad I only gave him dry bread. Can you imagine what he would be doing if I had given him a cookie? My friend asked me if I have named him yet, and I replied that I haven't because I haven't thought of an appropriate enough name for him. Maybe 'Killer' would be best. Anyone have any name suggestions for this creepy squirrel?

My sister-in-law, Benja's mother got married this month. It was fun to go to the reception and celebrate with them. They asked me to take the pictures for it and I had fun snapping away. I have always enjoyed photography but I have never claimed to be a pro. I will leave that title to another sister-in-law, Heather. She takes amazing photos and has such a creative mind. Here is a picture of all the grandkids of the Bride. They were all cute dressed in black and white.

Our Caribbean Cruise

WOW! What a vacation! Steve, Meghan, Kyle, and I had so much fun. It took us two days to recover when we came back. We did so many neat things, I will only share the highlights since there were so many.

Our cruise was 7 wonderful days. The first day was fun boarding the ship, settling in our room, exploring the ship, watching us set sail, and enjoying the beautiful sunset. We left Miami, FL and headed out to the open sea. Steve and Kyle had never been on a cruise before and they were over come by the size of the ship. Our ship, Carnival Liberty, had 3,350 passengers on board. The Titanic only held about 2,200 passengers.

Luckily none of us got sea sick. The funny thing was, it wasn't hard to adjust getting use to being on the ship. The hard part was getting use to being on land again. Steve and I both felt more dizzy and off balance after the cruise than on it. We called it being 'land-sick'.

The second day, was a fun day at sea. We spent most of the day eating, swimming, racing down the water slide, eating MORE ice-cream, soaking in the hot tub, and watching 'Tangled' on the huge big screen on the top deck of the boat. It was fun to relax and not worry about anything.

Another great highlight of the cruise was not having to do any dishes or clean ANYTHING!

The food on the ship was amazing. I felt like all we did was eat. Meghan and Steve had seafood almost every night. There was also an all-you-can-eat sushi bar which Meghan, Kyle, and Steve hit up every night. I stayed far away. I HATE seafood.
The water-slide was a blast. Steve and Kyle raced each other while Meghan and I timed them. They were both crazy fast, but Kyle almost always came out faster. They both broke 10 seconds! If you look closely you can see Steve on the slide in the picture.







Here we are all hanging out near the pool. Surprisingly Steve, Meghan, and I didn't get burned. Poor Kyle, his back got fried. My scalp was the only thing that got burned, but it wasn't too bad. Thank goodness for sunscreen.

Hello everyone! This picture was taken with Meghan's underwater camera. This was in one of the pools on the ship.

Meghan and I had some fun sister time, too. It was nice just to have some us time. I love how close Meghan and I are now. She is one of my best friends.

On the third day, we were in Cozumel, Mexico. The beaches here are BEAUTIFUL. Our shore excursion for this port was 4x4 Jeeping, a cavern, and a beach safari. It was amazing. First we started off in a jeep, (driving in Mexico was an adventure in itself). Everyone there drives crazy. Stop signs mean nothing down there, but we all made it safely. Kyle and Steve were the only ones who drove. Meghan and I had no desire. They are worse than Denver drivers! There were police everywhere, but they were not pulling anyone over. It must be just how they drive.





After the 'thrill' of driving we ended up at the underground caverns. They were fun to explore and learn about. During the tour we learned more about the culture and heritage of the natives. Some of the cavern was underwater so we got to snorkel through it. It was kind of scary being in such tight spaces. The caverns are mostly made of calcium so the sand at the bottom is really good for your skin. We all gave ourselves facials. Our faces felt like a baby's bottom!!! This was one of my favorite excursions we did.



After exploring the caverns we went to the beach. We ate OUTSTANDING authentic Mexican food. Then we played in the sand, in the water, and hunted for sea shells. It was beautiful and fun. It reminded me of my summers in Florida with my grandmother, Mommie Dot. I sure miss her. Every time I am at the beach I think of her. The water in the Caribbean in CRYSTAL CLEAR.

Steve, who is normally afraid of sharks and won't go in the water, was one of the first ones in. Since the water was so clear he wasn't afraid. It was fun to splash in the waves. Steve and I decided that when we retire we want to live near the Caribbean. We better retire soon, we have found so many places where we want to go when we retire, ha ha!

After our excursion we returned to the ship, showered, and went back out to explore the shopping. Steve wasn't a huge fan of the shopping, but he didn't walk away empty handed. He got two pairs of nice sunglasses. I bought a silver bracelet that had an abalone shell in it.

We all enjoyed Cozumel. Although after driving and walking through the streets we realized just how fortunate we are to live in the United States. We saw some families living in the back of trucks. We are so blessed and I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for the blessings we have.

The fourth day was another sea day. We really enjoyed our sea days. It gave us time to sleep in and relax. The ports were fun, but I wouldn't say they were relaxing. On this day we pretty much took it easy. We played in the pool some more, raced on the water-slide, ate MORE ICE-CREAM, played basketball, putt-putt golf, shuffle board, and watched live comedy shows and live theater.

Steve also competed in a free throw contest. He didn't do very well, but it is hard to play basketball on a rocking ship. It was a day full of laughs, food, and relaxing.





On the Fifth day we were in Grand Cayman. I can't tell you how nice the people were here. They were all very humble, helpful, and friendly. They made us feel right at home. Here we drank coconut water, ate authentic Jerk Chicken and Conch stew. Steve loved the coconut water. I didn't like it as much, but it was fun to try. The Jerk Chicken and Conch were delicious but a little spicy. It was fun to have time to explore and learn about the culture here before we went on our shore excursion.

For this shore excursion we got to snorkel the reef and then go to Stingray City. Snorkeling was probably everyone's least favorite. We all really enjoyed it, but if we had to rank it, it would be at the bottom. The waves kept crashing into our snorkels and it was hard to breathe. We did get to see fish, coral, and live conch shells. It was refreshing to swim under the water and touch and pick up some of the conch shells. We were careful not to touch any coral, because some of them will burn you (fire coral is nasty stuff). The water where we snorkeled was only about 10 feet deep, but just a few yards away on the other side of the reef was a huge drop off. It dropped over 6,000 feet in a matter of a few yards. The guy driving our boat said that is where all the sharks are. Steve, I think, was a little scared, but was comforted by the fact that the reef acted like a barrier. The captain of the boat said the sharks are about the size of the boat. That scared even me a little.


After we snorkeled for awhile, we climbed aboard the boat and traveled over to Stingray City. During our boat ride over we saw star fish and a very friendly dolphin. Stingray City is a large sandbar (the water is only about waist deep), where hundreds of stingrays hang out. When you enter the water the rays come right up to you. They rub against your back, feet, and legs. There are so many you have to be careful not to step on them. They were so soft to touch. We also got to hold them and get a full body massage from them. They were heavier than I thought. It was a little scary knowing that these were wild stingrays and that they could sting us if they wanted to, but we didn't have any problems and we got tons of pictures with them. Meghan, who is terrified of fish, did very well. She let the rays touch her and she even kissed a few. This was another favorite for all of us.


















On day six, we were in JAMAICA...Yeah-mon!!! This is the most laid back place I have ever been. EVERYTHING is 'no problem' and 'yeah-mon'. It was refreshing at first to feel no worries, but then I started to get a little worried because no one else was.

This day was jam packed with adventure. There was never a dull moment and we got to do so many things. First, we went to Mystic Mountain were we got to do three fun things. We got to ride a 'ski lift' up through the canopy of the rain forest. I have always wanted to go to a rain forest so this was a dream come true (I still want to visit the Amazon Rain Forest someday). At the top of the mountain we got to explore some of the plants, read about the amazing athletes who compete in the Olympics, shop, and dance with some local Jamaican chicks. Steve, I think, enjoyed it more than I did, hahaha! While shopping, Steve and I bought a hand painted personalized picture frame. It will be a neat memory for us.

While on top of the mountain we got the opportunity to ride in a bobsled...no ice, of course. It reminded me of the movie 'Cool Runnings' which is based on a true story. It was fun to race down the mountain in a small sled. I can't believe how fast you go! Steve and Kyle said that this was their all-time favorite. I thought it was fun, beautiful, and super FAST. Now when we get back home and watch the Winter Olympics I will have more respect and appreciation for those who compete in this sport. What a THRILL!

After the bobsled we got to participate in zip-lining. This was my all-time favorite. We were in the top of the trees 'flying' through the air. There was even one part where you have a complete vertical drop. Somehow they don't tell you this before you sign up. I was the first one to go down this part. They demonstrated how you go down. The guide went super slow. Then it was my turn and they dropped me the whole way. I screamed so loud. The rest of the group just laughed. The guides really made this part of our excursion fun. After they found out I was a screamer they kept picking on me and making me the guinea pig. They also didn't tell us how to stop, they just sent us on our way and laughed at us when it was time to stop (they actually were the ones that could stop us, but we didn't know that so we all freaked out). It was fun zipping through the air and seeing all the plants and animals. Meghan would never move to Jamaica because there are so many spiders.

After the zip-lining, Steve and I went to the Huge Ocho Rios Waterfall. It was beautiful. It reminded me of North Carolina. Steve and I were able to hike up the waterfall. The waterfall runs right into the ocean. It was neat to play in the ocean salt water and then rinse off in the fresh waterfall. We were on a time crunch to meet back with our taxi driver (we didn't want to be late getting back to the ship and be stuck in Jamaica). We told our tour guide that we needed to leave in 10 minutes and asked him where we should get out. He told us 'no problem' and continued on. This is where I started to worry, because no one else was. It was a problem because the hike up the waterfall was only halfway through (another 30 minutes or so) and we had to leave in 10. What a great island. Very laid back, but a little too laid back for me. Most Americans, I think, would have a hard time adjusting to their culture. Even though the waterfall was beautiful we had to duck out early to catch our taxi (surprise, surprise it was late...but the important thing is we made it back to the ship on time).

We enjoyed Jamaica and thought it was very beautiful, but we wouldn't want to live there. The people are friendly but very pushy, everyone is smoking weed, and the crime rate is out the window. I am glad we got to visit, but I am so glad we are safe and back home. We love America.


Day seven was another sea day where we were traveling back to Miami, FL. We traveled in between Cuba and Haiti and got to see glimpses of both. The cruise was a BLAST, one of our favorite vacations. We can't wait until our next cruise (it will be awhile!). Here are a few more photos of our cruise (The guy in the photo with us was our waiter...he was so much fun. He is from Jamaica...'yeah-mon' was his answer to everything!).












One of my favorite parts of the cruise was watching the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. It is always fun to be together creating memories. We created several memories I am sure we will never forget! Goodbye Caribbean...we will be back!








We LOVE the CARIBBEAN!