ahhh, another friday! who can believe it is may already?
it always reminds me of the last week of college, packing up to move home for the summer, finishing up final exams (pulling all-nighters or blowing them off entirely). and of course,this was always the one week of spring weather that BG actually got, so fake studying outside was taking place, but actually people watching or laying out was the real story...
funny that i've been out of school for several years now but just the smell of the air can bring back that great mixture of emotions that came with the last week of school...

and justin, you're getting your diploma!!!! sweet!!!! whether you use it or not, you have it and (i'm going to insert the annoyingly cliched graduation speech in here ) "another chapter of your life has come to an end. however (insert dramatic pause, scan the crowd), it is also the opening of another chapter, a new beginning...."

i'm listening to the plumb/our lady peace cd that you made us mare--thanks for flinging that our way! always love new music. is it me or does plumb seem more contemporary christian (with surprising strains of country?) on this album? i remembered them being a little more alternative than this (at least that album we listened to in africa--yes! great memories, along with that larue album!). our lady peace is quality and catchy, as usual! they always remind me of summer nights in BG...
we saw all american rejects the other night (sad to miss lassie, but we'll catch them soon). they gave a really good show, but short, as you may have read in matt's blog---which, by the way matt----i read your gross toe thing--thanks a lot. plus, i'm sure everyone else can sleep nights now knowing that disgusting fact!!!

we're going to see identity tonight with our friends marni and eddie.
and then tomorrow we're going to see our friend chelsea, who is in town (LA) on business from new york!

and here's a quote from our lord...
"we live by faith, not by sight."
-2 corinthians 5:7
so profound yet so simple.
tracey

yay! i love this whole week of training--not only is it actually USEFUL, the lady presenting is totally with it...
first off, the session is from 8:30-2:00--nice.
then, she says "i know you guys are used to teaching all day so sitting all day is hard for you. we'll be having plenty of breaks."
and also, we get an hour lunch. that comes to a total of 4 hours of listening and paying attention!!!
therefore, my school countdown has changed--this week no longer counts.
the countdown (which will stay the same for awhile) is 28 days! yeah!!!

also, i'm taking a personal day for whenever we are invited to chowtown...............

well, i have to do some internet research, this will have to be cut short.
apparently, it is ben and jerry's free ice cream cone day, and anyone who knows matt knows how he loves free food!!!! :)
tracey
p.s. mare, i'm sort of into the new chili peppers song-- slower, but melodic...how bout you?

welp, i'm biding my time while the lakers game finishes out.
matt watches them in hopes that they will lose each time. and usually he gets mad.
so i'm steering clear of the TV and am planted in front of the computer!

we had a fun day yesterday.
first, we went for a bike ride down to dog beach and watched all the crazy, cute dogs running around doing silly things.
came home for a nap and then for drinks and dinner at a place called jake's (in del mar), which is owned by the same corporation that own's duke's (a yummy restaurant we went to in kauai, on our honeymoon). it had a similar feel and a great ocean view! also, while we were waiting at the bar we met some chaps from england and chatted with them for about an hour--it was a very fun conversation--they seemed to know so much about the U.S. ("charleston, isn't that where the civil war started?" said one guy. uhhh, yeah, sure....) and had we had some funny conversations about the french ("cheese-eaters") and germans (i can't remember the nickname they had, but it was more rude:). anyhoo, we had a great night...

oh yeah, dad, of course i would love to see you guys this summer when i'm in cincy! i checked the reds schedule and they are home for 4th of july weekend, but we already have plans for that (michelle's baby shower, heidi in town). they play houston that next week, but of course they're away... but maybe we could work out another day for you guys to come down and we'll do something else fun (july 7th, 8th or 10th would work out best)...

mare-it was nice to read your fun blogs--you're welcome whenever you want this summer. it will be nice to have someone to lay out with at the beach. also, have you guys gone to sequoia national park yet? i found a really great campsite (private, tent camping only, $8/night) that looks fun. it might be a fun summer excursion with you guys. also, big sur is calling our names at andrew molera state park, with walk in camping, $3 per night, on the ocean--any takers from the sanford clan (or the justin clan)? we were thinking july or august for a nice long weekend...

i have a whole week of training, which will target speech and language strategies in relation to increasing reading comprehension in my kids! yay! so no planning anything this week! and i have started my monday countdown, as well as my days of school left countdown: 6 more mondays (including tomorrow!!!), 34 days left of school--can you believe it!!!???!!! yahooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
tracey