It's been awhile

Wow, it's amazing how quickly life passes you by. So much has happened in the last few months, it's hard to believe it's only been a "short" while since we blogged. Here are a few highlights...

• We bought our first SUV ! A beautiful black 2012 KIA Sorento. It is a great SUV that is safe, and we have already started building memories with it. We love to travel and it is a perfect vehicle for that.
• Amanda-Kate is loving her job. She enjoys the challenge of working with teenage boys and learning how to teach academics, social skills, and behavior to children with Autism. This job is teaching her patience, firmness, flexibility, and how to see people through "God's Eyes".
  
• In November we both traveled to Alaska. It is a beautiful state with bald eagles, mountains, rivers, trees, snow, and MORE SNOW. Virginia (Steve's mom) went with us. It was so nice to have Amanda-Kate and Virginia have lots of one on one time. We had fun shopping, sight seeing, and eating. Virginia and Amanda-Kate got stuck in the snow only once. We were there for two weeks! Our hotel was right next to a gorgeous river. During the time we were there we were able to watch it start to freeze over. Alaska is the prettiest state in which we have traveled to.
  
• Thanksgiving was spent with both sides of the family, eating turkey, watching football, playing games, eating some more, and LAUGHING. No matter which side of the family we visit we always leave with sore abs from laughing so much. We LOVE our family so much and are glad we are close to most of them. We get together often just to spend time, and of course laugh.
• This December was a month which made us think about Christmas in a whole new light. In our journey of trying to add to our family with children, we became more aware of Christ as a baby and not just as an adult. We have been praying for a baby to enter our lives for many years now, but during this special time of year we both realized that we were 'given' a baby already. Heavenly Father gave his only begotten Son. He entered into the world as a baby and is a part of everyone's lives who lets him in. What an amazing gift the Savior is! Through him we are able to repent and have our sorrows healed. This was a beautiful Christmas in which we tried to stay focused on the Savior and the fullness that He brings, instead of the emptiness of not having a child of our own.
• January (awesome we are almost up to date). Steve moved to a different Target store (still in the Denver area) which is right next to the Temple. He is helping out in the store until one of the leaders in the building returns from training. Then he will be placed in a new permanent store in a new position. He is doing so well in his job and he loves his new boss and co-workers already. In this day in age we feel truly blessed to not only have GREAT jobs but also LOVE our jobs. It blows us away to see how blessed we are.
  
• We made an offer on a house and it was accepted! We are going through all the inspections and paperwork now, but it is exciting to think we will be moving into a home soon. We are tired of apartment living and are ready to start this new chapter in our lives. The house has a huge backyard and great views of both down town Denver and the mountains. We looked at many homes and this was the only one where when we walked in we could see our children running around and playing. In the backyard we pictured our kids playing hide-and-go-seek, swinging on the swings, and playing in the dirt.

Sorry that it has been so long since we blogged last. Now that we are back from Alaska, Christmas is over, and we are under contract with a house (yeah we are going to be home owners!!!) we will have more time to blog.

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!