New Baby

We are doing a trial run of guardianship before even thinking about having a baby. Meet ________(Still thinking of a name although Jay thought of some charming ones. i.e. Chase me cuz I hate you, I drink from a weird water bottle, and Big Rat.). So far so good.

Here he is at a distance. We think he likes us!

Hobo No Mo'

You know those hobo men who strangely resemble Santa that the Salvation Army usually puts in charge of ringing bells for charity outside Wal-Mart? Eric and I got to be those hobo men this year!! We got all dressed for the occasion in scarves, coats, and gloves, and then stood inside the entry way of the grocery store with aprons that proclaimed, "I am a bell ringer" (in case the ringing bell in my hand didn't give it away). Eric and I stood across from each other and competed for loose change from passersby. "Eric" "obliterated" me with the "exorbitant" amount of money he collected. (Replace "Eric" with "sore loser", "obliterated" with "shamed", and "exorbitant" with "pathetic" for a more accurate description). My "swaying" red bucket could not bear its own "emptiness". (Here, replace "swaying" with "bulging" and "emptiness" also with "bulging". Enjoy the photos!

A common bell ringer sight:

A less common, but just as charming bell-ringer sight:

Our First Haircut

Eric let me cut his hair today, despite the fact that I have never before cut hair. I think it turned out pretty well.

A Special Announcement

I know we've only been married five months. Some people get pregnant within five months. We are happy to announce that we are still NOT pregnant. Booyah!

School Days

If you haven't already heard, we were fortunate to land the best jobs ever. Why?

1. We teach in adjacent rooms (still considered a good thing cuz we're newlyweds).

2. We only teach four days a week.

3. Wyoming has some of the best teacher salaries in the country.

4. We get to live in a little house owned by the school for dirt cheap.

5. There are only 220 kids at our school and they are all pretty dang bright.

6. Eric would say, "Everyday we get to make better people of teenagers and could even change their lives for the better." I would say, "Three months off for summer!!! Whoo!!!"

7. Okay, the warm and fuzzy teaching stuff gets to me too. Those kids are a crack up.

Example? Every time you ask a student how it's going, he or she will grunt, say, "Ok," or respond, "it's going." Oh to live the tragic life of a teenager.

Anyways, here are some pictures of our little life in Lyman, Wyoming.

Our house in the middle of the street.
Our other house-Lyman High School
Us in Eric's classroom and a shot of the cafeteria (below)

A Year as Big as Oprah Winfrey

What do you get when you mix a bookstore, two English teachers, glasses, crazy, and an obscene amount of wind? You got it -- us. You get us. "Us" basically got packaged into one pivotal year; namely, 2010; namely, the current year (with some overlap from 2009).

July 2009 - Encounter in bookstore

November 2009 - Yes, I will go out with you and yes it will be marvelous

January 2010 - Student teaching/long distance a.k.a. "the pits"

(Enter pipe cleaner ring, stars in my eyes, giggles and tears.)

April 2010 - Graduation

June 2010 - Married with jobs!! A.k.a. "Miracle on 34th St."

August 2010 - Wait... I'm the teacher? Wait... I'm the SPANISH teacher?! Oh boy.

October 2010 - Turns out marriage really does lead to weight gain.

Seems like somebody somewhere said, "Hey guys! Grow up," so we did and it's awesome. Did you know people actually pay you real money to do stuff when you get out of college? None of that "Let's call this slavery deal an internship," mumbo jumbo. We're livin' the life.

Doree giving me away.