Mom's Visit

My mom and Aunt Brenda stopped here for a couple of days on their way back east. We had a great time and Dane just love-love-loved playing with "Nana" for two days! Thank you so much for stopping and we hope to see you again soon!

Disneyland - March 2009

We went to California last weekend and it was a nice weekend away. We wanted to get to Disneyland before our passes are blocked out for the summer and Ike has to leave for Mexico. It wasn't too crowded and we had a lot of fun! I put the rest of the album up on my facebook page, so if you want to see more...you can look there! We are hoping to go back again for my spring break in April, so hopefully it will be warm enough then to go in Grandma's pool! If anyone will be in town (Cali) during April 4th-10th, then let me know so we can hook up!

And February Ends!

Well, we are glad that February is OVER! It was a stressfull month with Ike looking for a job and us not knowing what's going to happen next in our lives, but things are finally more clear now. (I just think of that song that goes...."I can see clearly now the rain is gone...") Although nothing is concrete until it happens, we have received reassurance that by the end of the month everything will go down. So what is it? Well, in a nutshell...Ike's bro, Kyle, has offered him a job as a project manager/superintendant on the project he is developing on his land down in La Paz, Mexico in Baja Sur. So Ike will probably be moving down there to get started near the end of the month, if all goes well. I will stay here with Dane and then move down in June when my school year is over. Viva Mexico! It sounds like a big decision to move out of the country, and it is, but it has definitely fallen in our laps at the right time when NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has surfaced. Any job lead Ike has had in the last month has fallen through and it is getting down to crunch time financially. So, that is our plan for now. It will be a great resume-builder for Ike in the construction field and it couldn't come at a better time. It will be fun brushing up on my spanish and teaching Dane and Ike, too. La Paz is a short flight to California, so we will be able to come back to visit frequently.

That's our life in a nutshell...you just never know where we will be next. So, unless something major happens from now until the end of the month, we will be moving abroad for a little while. La Paz seems like a great place to live...check it out online. It is fairly modern (it is the capital of Baja) and has a population of about 150,000 - 200,000. Yes, it is another country, but don't forget....I've lived in Mexico before, so there is no culture shock for me. I am excited to embrace the culture once again. Hopefully it will be a great adventure for us.

Well, finally, here are a few pics once again of what we have been up to...not much, just enjoying this last weekend of February in the 70 degree temps (finally). We will definitely miss the trampoline when we move, but hey...La Paz has a Wal-mart and Sam's club, so getting another one down there would be a breeze!

Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes while we have been trying to figure out our next move the past month. Soon the stress will be over! Love to all!

For Kicks..

Nothing new to report yet, but I was sick of seeing the same post up here so I wanted to change it. Here's a funny story I will want to remember (so I'm writing it down)

Before dinner, Dane was playing with a flashlight and he wanted a candy cane (yes the left over ones from x-mas), so he first tried to sneak one from the pantry but we caught him. So Ike and I went about our business and after a few minutes I noticed it was pretty quiet so I looked around for Dane (I was still in the kitchen making dinner) and I noticed a light inside the pantry. We don't have a light in there because it is not very big at all...HMMM...so I open the door to find Dane hiding out and eating the candy cane we said he could not have and using the flashlight for light in the very small dark pantry that he locked himself in. It was freaking hilarious. Of course I took the half eaten candy cane away and told him that was naughty, but I don't think he got it because I couldn't keep a straight face while scolding him. He's a clever little devil. Now I'm kicking myself that I didn't get a picture of it! I love that kid!

Whew...

Well, we got a little good news...I'm not pregnant....yet another small miracle that has helped us so far this new year. (Never thought I would say I was glad to not be pregnant, but things change). The news was bittersweet, but for the best for now. We are starting to get some options from the job-front, but are still sweatin' it a little. I will post more when we have something more concrete.

On a lighter note.......my job is going great and I may be getting into a little ballroom dancing soon (courtesy of Tony Delgado of Delgado Dance, and their partnership with at risk schools like mine). Might be a fun new adventure, so we will see what develops.

Starting the new year off with a BANG......

...........and that is not a good bang. We got some bad news this week. Ike went in to work on Thursday and found out he was getting laid off with a few other guys. I guess the company lost a few contracts and needed to temporarily downsize until things picked up. It was a total shock and totaly weird because Ike had just gotten a raise. So, we have officially experienced the effects of this bad economy. Ike did get a little bit of extra pay, so we have a little time to get him another job, but we are not waiting. His company did tell him that he would be one of the first calls for rehire when the economy picks up, but who knows when that will be!

All I can say is THANK HEAVEN I have a full time job that pays fairly well. If I didn't have a degree and a descent job we would be up a creek right now. The ironic thing is that I just took Ike and Dane off of my employer's insurance policy (they were both going to be covered through Ike's job). Now they will have to be on cobra until we can price out another plan. Oh yeah, and did I mention we were in the process of trying to get pregnant?? Not good in this situation...so am I?? Well, we will have to wait and see during the next two weeks because this month's window of babymaking has come and gone...nothing we can do about it now.

So, what are we to do??? Well, we have been thinking the past few days about this and Ike has really wanted to go back and finish his teaching credential so he can coach/teach high school, so we are thinking this may just be the gentle push we needed to get that done before he gets any older. Right now, we are looking to find him a temporary job that can pay the bills until my school year is over. Then, we will likely move back to California so I can find a full time job while Ike goes back to finish his teaching credential. We have found intern programs there where you get hired by a school district for a slightly lower salary, then finish your schooling at the same time. We are looking at Cal State Fullerton's program and maybe a few others. Plus, it doesn't seem too expensive, so we may be able to do it without student loans. The good thing about going back to Cali to do this is that I can make 10-12K more a year teaching there, which is HUGE. With the cost of living about the same in Vegas and Cali right now, why wouldn't we go??

I guess the only thing that might change that is if I find out next week that I am pregnant...then we have to rethink the whole thing, but let's not think about that too much yet!

So we would appreciate your prayers to help us figure it all out. (or if anyone knows of any job possibilities, don't hold back) I know it will, it is just a matter of how it will work. We have alreay realized a few tiny miracles that have happened that have prepared us for this, but didn't know it until now (getting my better job, not buying a house, only renting until June, etc).

Anyway, this is way longer than I expected, but it has been a little stressfull this week and writing can be good therapy!

On a much lighter note....I LOVE Vegas in the winter time. We have had the most beautiful week! It has been in the 60s all week and it is supposed to continue like this next week as well. Today we took advantage and went to the park up the street. There were tons of people there, and one very peculiar person. If you look at the first pic below, you will see a strange person at the top of the slide. After a few glances (and hearing the voice) we realized it is a she-man! It was so funny. This man turned woman had breasts and a very manly jaw, adam's apple, and deeper voice. You could tell that people couldn't stop staring at him (i mean her) even though they tried! So, enjoy the laughs...you probably need it after this depressing post! (click on the picture to make it really big, then you will see the details I am talking about) Happy New Year!!

The long and merry Christmas Post!!

Before going to California for Christmas, we had a Christmas Party at Ike's cousin's house. We had a blast with Ike's aunt and uncle and cousins eating dinner, making gingerbread houses, playing games and playing carols with the bells. The picture of Duke is the game we played. I can't remember the name of it, but you have to roll the dice, and if you get a 1 or 6 you put socks on your hands and try to open a wrapped candy bar with a fork and knife. If you open it befor someone else rolls a 1 or 6, then you get to start eating it, but if not, you have to pass the candy bar, socks, and utensils to the next person who rolled the correct numbers.



Christmas Eve at the Baggley's house (I may have spelled their name wrong). They are part of our new extended family since Kathy (ike's mom) married Dave (Maryanne Baggley's Dad) about two years ago. We had so much fun and Maryanne made a fabulous dinner (kudos also to Debbie and everyone else who helped). We had a blast playing guitar hero (I sucked, so I stuck with playing the foot drum) and singing karaoke. The pajama party ideas was a hit and I love the new tradition for us!

Please help me convince Ike to get a hair cut!!! And for heavens sake...stand up straight! (I just realized how much he is hunched over....not flattering)


Dane's adorable cousin, Waiamea, trying to eat her orange from her stocking.....Geez Mandi...feed your kid!! (LOL) She was so cute to watch when she got her huge Mickey Mouse from santa. BTW, she turned one today...so Happy Birthday sweet girl!


There was the most beautiful rainbow outside on Christmas Morning. It rained the night before, so when we woke up we had an extra present! It was full, and I have a picture from both the front and back of Kathy's house to prove it.



Here are some of Dane's favorite toys. We didn't get a picture of his Kettcar that he got (think pedal go cart for toddlers) from Santa. We have some video, so maybe we can get that posted.



I love this classic Christmas face that Grandma Kathy had when she opened her I pod

We went to disneyland the day after Christmas, and only rode a few rides because it was so busy (we got passes for Christmas and had to get our pictures taken anyway, so we stayed a few hours). This is on the newly renovated Small World ride. I really liked how they changed it for the Christmas Season.

We didn't ride dumbo because the line was long (like all the other rides that day), so we just took a picture inside this stationary replica near the exit.

This is a picture of us on the Matterhorn ride. It was Dane's first time, and he got scared and didn't want to really ride anymore rides after that witout lots of "encouragement" from mom and dad. I tried to get a picture of his face during the ride.