Driving....

There are several things I notice as I drive back and forth from Lexington to Clifton Forge. I notice large mountains, almost full moons (Waxing Gibbous -- in case you were wondering), an airport that has a grass runway, trucks, trucks and more trucks, valleys, leaves changing colors, and my own inability to take it all in. I have become quite fond of these excursions every day. I am not however, excited about the looming cold/winter weather that may taint the peacefulness of driving on an almost deserted interstate.

In other news, Jimmy is in his 3rd week of school. He turned in his first graded paper on Monday and has contributed in several class discussions. We met the married and family oriented people in the Law School when we went to a BBQ last Saturday. It was nice to know that other people had spouses and let's be honest, a life outside of law school.

My classes are going well. Most of my students are doing well, and those who are not are coming to me for help. I feel all sorts of responsible. Things are jolly, joyful, and exciting even though we can't go on many outdoor adventures. And let me announce it plain and clear--we finally have a couch.!Okay, so it is still at the store. But we bought it, and we have made space for it to rest and enrich our lives.

Okay, onward. I teach in a half and hour.

the AT

The Appalachian Trail was our latest Virginian adventure. We only spent 30 minutes hiking due to Jimmy's work schedule and my silly little cold. It was however, a beautiful day to get outside and hike along the one of the longest trails in the US of A.

A little bit of ivy...

Trees oh how I love thee!

Things I like

I like Jimmy

I like sweaters and the weather that goes along with it

I like dark chocolate

I like tests days, when you are the teacher

I like compliments like "we are sure glad you are here..."

I like binge shopping trips where you get a lot more than you expected, including chocolate

I like disney movies, especially when you buy them on binge shopping trips ($13/movie is a steal!)

I like surprizing my husband (I hope he doesn't read this until later...)

I love to see the Temple

Yesterday Jimmy and I made any exodus about 3 hours north to Washington DC. I had not been the DC Temple in probably 10ish years. What a beautiful place to go. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment and entertainment.






After going to the Temple in the morning we went around DC to see where Jimmy worked and lived the fall he was in DC. The weather was nice and because we were not driving in DC, I didn't get too stressed. To be noted, Jimmy and I don't do well in any city when we are in a car. I have realized, though Provo may have been one of the worst places to drive, that any city with traffic makes us both a little grumpy.

A peak....

I have talked a little bit about our apartment, maybe only in passing, but I thought it would be appropriate to add a few pictures to the blog about our current apartment design.

Below is a picture of our bedroom. We have windows, a closet, and just recently we add some clothes space. It is nice, albeit kind of plain. We can work on that.

Then there is our kitchen, by far the nicest part of our apartment. The appliances are new (frig, microwave, oven, etc...) The counter space is lacking, but I will explain our solution in the next picture. Kitchen aid and spice rack in place, I am in heaven!

The lack-o-cabinet fix. We had these squarish storage in our old apartment. It seemed fitting for our kitchen. Next to it is our rolling dish drainer. I was a little baffled when I saw that next to the sink was the oven. Where does one put the drying dishes? So we bought this rolling cart and put the dish drainer on top. When we are doing dishes we roll it over, put the wet dishes in the drainer and off they go. In the drawers we put some of our plasticware. It is a good solution for now. Very crafty of us, if I do say so myself.

Our living room is currently bookcase and camper chair infested. I like the space because it is probably the biggest room we have. All we need now is a couch. We plan to get a futon again. It is easy to put together, relatively inexpensive, AND conducive to visitors. By the way the ottoman is great for our games.

And this beauty, is the newest addition to our apartment. Our rentor upstairs said that she had a rocking chair when we first moved in. We told her we would think about it, we were still organizing. Well today we dropped off the extra microwave and took the rocking chair. It is perfect. I am now mandating that all our apartments must be furnished with a rocking chair. I like them that much.

3 hour classes

I would like to rant about my dislike of 3 hour classes. I teach two of them. One of Tuesday night and the other on Wednesday night.

Beside the obvious fact that sitting in class for 3 hours is no fun, it has become very real to me that students do not learn effectively when they have to learn large chunks of information in one night. And I do not like teaching large chunks all in one night. I don't have time to go over old homework, or even do a considerate amount of example problems to make the information sink in more thoroughly. And although I am more than willing to meet with them outside of class, a lot of these students have families, work, and go to school. They just don't have that kind of time, and I feel for them.

But as for now, I will deal with my frustration and hope that all these students are realizing the significance of their decision when they signed up for my section. Oh well! Life goes on.

In other news, Jimmy's parents are in town. They are having so much fun seeing all of the historical sites. Lucky! I can't wait until we have a free weekend to do the same.

Plus! And this is a big plus--they brought all of our wedding presents. Dishware, baking pans, towels, etc... It is like our wedding all over again.

The excursion

I guess I should document some of the experiences Jimmy and I have endured (a little dramatic I suppose).

I GRADUATED! Thanks to my mom, Grandma Marie and Jimmy for being there!

I forget how short I am sometimes.

Jimmy and I spent a lot of time packing....

And I even got to take apart somethings, like our box-spring. Yes, I took a hammer to it.

We went to California, this is the Newport Beach Temple...correct me if I am wrong. It is pink!

And we spent time with these cute people. Jimmy is a lover of Disney world, and what better, but two princess loving nieces to share the Disney magic.

Jimmy and I battled. Look at my focus!

The Dumbo ride was one of Alice's favorites. Family resemblance. I think so!

You think they are siblings?!

We went to the beach. Jimmy and Joe did some pretty spectacular wave surfing. Annie and I got in later, but needless to say I was a little more of a whimp.

Then we headed back to Utah to start doing this.....driving...

And driving....

And then we stopped in Dallas. Another non-white temple....

And we saw this fabulous cute family!

We drove some more, until we arrived in a more green, luscious area such as this.....

More pictures of our Virginia experience to come. We don't have pictures of that yet.