Congrats are in Order...

Hey Everyone! This week has been a LOOOOOOONG one! I have been sick ALL week- I stayed home from work on Wednesday and Friday trying to recover. Grrrrrrr! I think I am sick from one of two things 1). The weather- it is cold then it is warm, then it is cold...OR 2). There is too much going on and after Ofelia and Adrian flew back to Mexico, my body gave up on me! Anyhow, I think I am over the illness (at least for now).On Monday night, I threw a surprise party for Ryan! He is DONE, yes DONE with his graduate courses!!!! He found out last week that the one course he had left to make up in the fall is being waived and that he doesn't have to take it!!! So it is official-Ryan has his Master's Degree in Education!!! I am so proud of Ryan. He decided to go back to school in 2004, and has been taking college courses ever since! He completed his Bachelor's Degree shortly before we moved to Indy and has been enrolled in a graduate program ever since we moved here. He has worked diligently to achieve his goals and all of his hard work has finally paid off!!! Woo-Hoo!!! I know it has been difficult juggling a full-time teaching day job with night and Saturday classes these past two years, so I wanted to do something special for him. I secretly contacted all of our friends and asked them show up at a local pizza parlor for a surprise celebration. The manager was really nice and let me decorate the back banquet room especially for Ryan.Ryan, you are going to have so much free time, you are not going to know what to do with yourself!!! Enjoy it!!! You deserve it! Congratulations!!! XOOn Saturday, we drove to Effingham, Illinois to attend Steave and Lisa's wedding! Steave and Lisa live one door down from us. They have been together for 7 years and decided to finally "SEAL THE DEAL!!!" This pic is of all the neighborhood crew in attendance:Me, Sabrina, beautiful bride Lisa and Liz :) Steave and Lisa gave out personalized "cuzzis" as wedding favors...Steave made me take this pic of the bottom, it says "It's About Dang Time!" Heehee :)Here are Sabrina, Liz and me messing with Zach- Eric and Brian :)

Liz and me :) Ole' Cha-cha-cha!!! Now if that isn't sexy, I don't know what is!!! Congrats, Steave and Lisa!!! We know you two will have a wonderful life together!!! We love ya!!! xo Before I say good-bye, wanted to share these pics taken from our front yard after a thunderstorm...

Rain is annoying, but it does make everything green, clean and fresh :)Finally, we would like to wish our moms a very HAPPY Mother's Day!!! We are so blessed to have moms that love and care for us sooooo much!!! The older we get, the more we realize how much work, responsibility and unconditional love it takes to be a good parent. Not a day goes by that we are not thankful for our mothers!!! We love you!!!

Until next time...xo

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!!!

Hi everyone! Can you believe it is already May??? May 5th will mark the 2 year anniversary that we closed escrow on our home here in Indy. It is hard to believe our house is already 2 years old! It seems like only yesterday we were pondering the thought of moving out of state and now here we are... We had a wonderful time with our friends Ofelia and Adrian. They flew back to Mexico on Saturday. What an awesome experience it was getting to know them! We will definitely do more hosting in the future. Ryan is planning a trip to Mexico in February and hopefully will have the opportunity to stay with one of them. On Thursday night,Ofelia and Adrian made us traditional chicken with mole (a special sauce), rice and soup...Here is Ofelia all smiles busily cooking away...CHEESE!!! On Friday night, Ofelia showed us how to make traditional Mexican enchiladas. Here is Ryan frying corn tortillas... Ofelia chopping onion...Ryan and Ofelia-

The finished product- chicken enchiladas covered in mole, onion, cheese and avocado. Yum Yum!!!

On Sunday, Ryan and our neighbor Eric decided to go golfing...

Liz and I wanted to ride along for moral support...

Elise wanted to come too and cheer on her dad...

Ryan...

Eric...

Trees, trees and more trees...

Silly boys and their cigars...

Standing in the trees-This particular course borders Fort Harrison State Park. Did I mention that I start golf lessons this Wednesday??? Sooooo excited!

Cart chicks... Leaving the tee box...

More course...

Checking out the shot...

Go Eric!Family picture. Aren't they adorable?

Walking off the green...

What a fun day! Elise was soooo good!!! She didn't fuss even once- She loved being outdoors! She even has the "wind-blown" hair from the cart ride back to the Pro-shop. Can you believe she is already 6 months old???

Less than a month and we will be on summer vacation!!! Woo-Hoo!!! Less than 3 weeks and I will be 30!!! Boo-Hoo!!! Where does the time go??? Seriously!!!Have a great week everyone!!! Happy Mother's Day to all my friends and family! Motherhood is the HARDEST and most IMPORTANT job in the world! Don't forget to tell your mama how much you love her!!!

Until next time...xo

Amigos de Mexico

Hi everyone!!! We hope all is well in your "neck of the woods." Ryan and I have been super busy the past few weeks! We are hosting teachers from Mexico at our home until May 1st. It has been a WONDERFUL experience. If you ever have the opportunity to host, we would definitely recommend it! On Saturday, we picked up Ofelia and Adrian from the airport. They are from Tlaxcala, Mexico. Ryan's school has an exchange program where the high schoolers in Indy go there for 2 weeks and then their students and staff come here! Ofelia is a doctor in a clinic and a science teacher. Adrian is an English teacher.

In addition to hosting, we have also been occupied with work. Here is a pic of me and my friend Casey at our 3rd ESL Family Night of the year...This particular workshop focused on word "chunking." It was fun. The families were served dinner, and then parents were taught literacy games they could take home and play with their children. Next year I am 99.9% sure I am going to be the ESL Teacher for my ENTIRE school. They are splitting me and my partner up (so that there is one ESL teacher at every site) and moving 6th grade back to elementary! That means I will be responsible for servicing ALL the ESL students in grades 1 through 6!!!

Like me, Ryan has been busily teaching away. Here is a pic of him giving a lecture to his Physics students on sound waves. He is using a SMART board. SMART boards are interactive whiteboards and they are really cool!

Here is a pic of Ryan's staff this past Friday. They held a carnival to raise money for their "Youth Day of Caring." This was a way for the high schoolers to give back to their community by helping the young, old and those who are less fortunate. Can you spot Ryan??? It is kind of like playing "Where's Waldo," huh??? P.S. The man laying on the floor is Ryan's principal.

Ryan taught Adrian how to play pool- he had never played before. Ryan's co-worker, Eric came over and hung out too. He is hosting a teacher this week as well.Adrian brought us this cool rug as a gift for us. It is of an Aztec warrior. Pretty neat huh? We put it upstairs in the loft. Here is Ryan about to make a shot- see the corner of the rug on the ground? When driving around Noblesville this week, Adrian and Ryan spied these hot air balloons launching in a field near our home. Isn't the shoe balloon cool??? Here is a pic of Adrian, Ofelia and me in front of the Noblesville Courthouse. We also took them to the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Indianapoolis.Me, Ry and Adrian...Monument Circle...What a beautiful day!View of downtown Indianapolis from the top of the War Monument...Flat, flat, flat for miles and miles and miles... The favorite activity of the week was the excursion to Sugar Creek in Parke County (about an hour and a half west of us). We went canoeing with the students. Everything was sooooo green!!!!Here are the kids walking down to the shore. It was a blast! I got to meet some of Ryan's students and also the exchange students from Mexico.

The scenery was just breath-taking. I am still in awe of the trees...

Hi Ryan!

We almost tipped over!!! I was supposed to be navigating and did not see a rock. We hit the side of our canoe and tipped half-way into the water. We got wet, but it was worth it!

This area of Indy is much more scenic. I think we are going to take Ryan's parents here in their RV when they come visit in June...

Lovely, lovely...

Row, row, row your boat. Merrily, merrily, merrily.....Parke County is the "Covered Bridge" capitol of the world. It has more covered bridges than any county in the United States. Here is one of them...

This is the 2nd covered bridge we have had the chance to check out since moving here.

The other, Potter's Bridge is literally down the street from our home.We look forward to this last week with our guests. Have a great week everyone!

Until next time...xo