hello everyone.
it's been awhile for me, but i'm back, have no fear.

wow, justin--fun pictures of england--did you edit them in any way/crop/shape/etc? the reason i ask is because they're so rectangular and perfect. and congratulations on your first car!
and dad too, for finally getting your dream of the land rover!

we had a good time over memorial day weekend with mary and casey.
yosemite was beautiful--i can't wait to go back and explore that place when i have some more time!
excessive sonic visits were made, but i handled it better than i did when we moved out here and had to stop at sonic for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3 days straight!
it was fun to see their classrooms and their apartment--very cute. and in true small-town style, when we rolled into town around 1:30 am, a police cruiser spotted us on the main drag, did a u-ie and began to follow us through the town (what? that car isn't from this town! after them, boys!). then they finally flashed their lights and pulled us over and one officer came to matt's window, and one to my window--helpful, eh? they actually were asking if we were lost (but there was no way they could have known that when they started following us). so i told them where we needed to go (which was a couple of blocks back but we weren't able to see the house numbers) and mr. helpful condescending police officer said, "in chowchilla, the street numbers go up as you go this way. you need to go back where you came from." oh, thanks sir--extremely helpful. but, at least we gave them some action for the night.

man, these last two weeks of school are BUSY. how am i going to get it all done? but i guess i will...
only 10 days left!!! and then ryan and michelle come and then beach time every day!

matt and i went downtown last night (i had been in withdrawal mode since we went to chow town last weekend and matt was sick the weekend before)--it felt so good to be around big buildings and people... ahhh.... we went to this cool place called henry's pub, a scottish restaurant--very yummy! and somehow, matt manages to find either a burger or a pizza at any restaurant he goes to, regardless of fare!!!
matt then went to flaming lips, which sounded epic, but i'll let him tell the details. while he was gone, i chatted with michelle, who was up at 2am in ohio and decided to call! :)

alright michael! you're welcome whenever your road trip takes you here-it sounds like so much fun!
speaking of road trips, matt and i decided we are going to take a road trip of our own up the coast of cali and camp on our way. there are lots of places with free or cheap camping, right on the ocean. some places we're considering are (in case you are obsessed with atlases, like me!): santa barbara, santa cruz island (with mary and casey), big sur, and of course san francisco--won't be quite as fun without joel, astevens, and mccann, though. we're planning for sometime in late july/august, so we can meet up with the alaskans at some point!!!

well, i'm out.
and i'm with you, dad,
god is good.

only 13 more days of school left!!!
happy memorial day everyone!
we're off to chowchilla to check out mary and casey and their lives...
-tracey

hi there everyone!
for those who don't already know...
ryan has a blogspot now!!!! yeah!
it's www.goatrider.blogspot.com
i'll get a link up there for you, guy, as soon as i remember how to do it...

man! what a beautiful, beautiful day it was today!
i love having the windows open and just letting the breeze come through the house.

plus, school countdown: 15 days!!!

also, i sent out packages a little while ago--i hope you guys have received them by now.
emily, michelle, mom edwards -did you ever get your mother's day package?

for those of you who don't know yet, matt and i are making the big step of home ownership. well, at least, we're attempting to do so.
pretty exciting!!!! p.s. for those chachos out there--yes, it is expensive--don't ask!!! :) we're trying to get a condo in the area we live in now, point loma/ocean beach. we love this area, it's close to work for both of us, and we love living a mile away from the ocean.

mare, i feel your thing with the girl from BGSU who is on the new road rules.
there is a show on right now (promoting the new season) and we're waiting to see her.
can't wait for chow town on friday night!!! so into seeing your new lives!!!

we saw spirited away the other day. i was really into it for awhile. then it got WAY too weird at the end. still amusing and glad i finally saw it. we also went to see down with love, which was good. very fun, kitchy 60's decor (mare, you would love their apartments!) and great performances by all.
i'm going to look for a class to take this summer now...
farewell people!
tracey

welp, another week down,
bringing the school countdown to....
18 days!!!! yeah!!! (last two days are party days, i bet mare wouldn't count those!)

matt--"scottish food base on a dare..." quote. at first, axe murderer seemed to obvious, and then i thought the rushmore scene where max fischer is taunting the scottish kid with no ear. but i changed my vote back--which makes me want to be in mary's class to watch that old classic!

mare and dad--i'm into chantal. thanky (mare) (but from dad, too)! really great sound + bonus good lyrics...

quote from the kid...

"i saw a manatee at sea world. he was just floating around like this (floated slowly with eyes closed and arms out) and he was asleep. but he fell asleep with some lettuce hanging out of his mouth!!!"
i was cracking up at the mental picture!!! plus, i am obsessed with manatees.
my brother kevin does an amazing manatee voice (not a sea cow!)


I LOVE LIVING IN SAN DIEGO!!!
i can't stop thanking God every single day that we're here!
every time i see the ocean or think about the completely insane ways we've been blessed in circumstances, His joy rises up in me.
thanks to everyone who believed in us, supported us, encouraged us, prayed for us and who now come to visit us!

"why can't we just decide
to live like this all the time?"
-ash
(we did!)

happy birthday michelle!!!!
love,
tracey and matt

i forgot to add that i went to see billy graham the other day.
he was here in san diego and filled up the stadium (60-78,000 people each night).
i wasn't really going to go, but then a friend (who is a new believer) asked me to go with her, so i did.

it
was
truly
unbelievable.

i have never heard a message
so simple
so powerful
so loving yet
so truthful

thousands of people gave their lives to the Lord.
it was amazing to see people streaming down on to the field from the 3 levels of the stadium.
he waited for 30 minutes for people to come down and they were STILL coming down the aisles when he finally prayed for everyone.

and he quoted c.s. lewis, something to the effect that the death rate does not change--it is always 100%, death is certain, we will all die someday.
and then of course, that lead to how to get to heaven (through Jesus) and the whole thing just exceeded my expectations.

i'm excited for our trip to chowchilla for memorial day weekend--and then visitors ryan, michelle, and hannah in june! it will be then that we fulfill michelle's dream of seeing bob barker and getting on the price is right!!!! yeah!!! one of us will surely get on--AND WIN THE SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN!!! (probably ryan, since he's the least enthusiastic about it:)
welp, spaghetti time for me yummmmmmm, so see you all later!
tracey

happy mother's day mom good and mom edwards!!!!
you are the best moms in the world and we love you!
love,
tracey and matt

wow, nice posts, everyone!
yay!!! ryan and michelle are going to have a daughter and matt and i will have a niece!!!
and the long-awaited post from my grammy (who has had a dislocated shoulder which has been healing for the past month) was the best!!!
dad--please give teresa metzger my love, too--i didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her before we moved--now she must know! that's really great that she is hosting a tanzanian person at her house.
mare- if you ever mention that thing about a cow again, i will personally hurt you! so sick!!! way worse than matt's toe post!!!

happy graduation justin!
mike, hope you get that job--it sounds allllllllsome!

matt and i are going to a block party in pacific beach today, where they close down some streets, have food and stuff, and a bunch of local bands play on different stages. it's the closest we're going to get to cornerstone music festival this year... which, that reminds me, michelle--i can't believe your radio station! how annoying and self-righteous! i'm laughing at how ridiculous they are, but it's actually very sad. i appreciate your form of boycotting, though (with the devil's music:).

23 days left of school! yeah!
too many exclamation marks on this blog!
tracey

hello everyone.
tomorrow is thursday!!!
i'm back to reality with seeing my kiddos.
it's been awhile for some of them between spring break, field trips, and my conference last week!

therefore, i will start with quotes from kids:

first off, i was reading a book with a little boy. i forget how the topic came up, but i had asked this peanut if he ever made his mom so sad that she cried.
he said (in a very sad voice), "oh yes.
once mom and i were making brownies and it was a very bad day for me.
so my mom was crying and crying.
and it broked my heart."

and today i was walking down the hall and i heard small running footsteps, so i turned around,
and a little blond peanut came running straight into me with a great big hug!
me: "oh hi keegan!! i missed you!"
peanut: "i missed you! i was just coming out of the bathroom and i was so glad to see you walking down the hall!"
he let go and we had a little conversation. then he hugged me again. then we talked some more. then he hugged me again.
in my head i was laughing so hard! he was so cute and it was fun to get totally unsolicited hugs!
finally, he stepped back and said, "where were you, anyways?"
"i was at a conference last week and the week before that you were on a field trip," i told him.
"oh. i have another field trip, but thankfully, it's not on friday!!! (his speech day)"
and he hugged me again.

did i mention that i love my job?

and did i mention that i have 25 days of school until summer vacation?

matt and i are heading up to chowtown for memorial day weekend!!! we're going to see mare and case in their new life in chowchilla, a unique place to live...
or is it a unique way of life? i can't remember what that sign says now!

by the way, i don't know if i mentioned this on my blog, but a couple weeks ago it was my grammy and granddad's 60th wedding anniversary.
and they are still so in love--such an example and inspiration for all of us who have just started our journey.

-tracey

wow, great song mike!!! what instrument(s) did you play?
and mare, if you get a second, i'd like to hear a copy of chantal's new one--i love the lyrics for that song you posted a few days ago (about time).

we had a PERFECT night last night!!!!! matt and i drove up to LA last night, where our friend chelsea was on business. we hung out at santa monica and venice beach (where muscle beach is and the cool outdoor bball courts are from white men can't jump). venice beach had a very cool and extremely long boardwalk, which i would love to see during the summer sometime--but it was sprinkling, so no one was out yesterday. then we picked chels up at marina del ray at her hotel. we went back to santa monica strip for dinner at this cool place called gaucho grille and talked like maniacs. for those of you who don't know, chelsea and connell got the heck out of dodge (BG) and moved to manhattan, where they have similar stories of being blessed by the lord with jobs, apartments, and everything else!!! it was so great to be with a friend who is just like family. and to be able to talk all night long!!!! we missed connell, who was back in manhattan--but a visit is brewing for the end of summer....

mare, matt said you guys could have us up for memorial day weekend? we thought about traffic and all that and figured it wouldn't be bad if we left at like 7 am on saturday (the 24th) and then drove back monday afternoon (the 26th). what do you think?

happy birthday emily!!!! hope you had a great one!!!

michelle, never say never about cornerstone festival! we might all go back with our kids someday!!! remember how many people had kids and little babies there? but it was so much fun! your memories were right on! my favorite part was lounging on the air mattress with you and mare way out at the other end of the lake and having people call to us from shore on bull horns, telling us to come back in. to which we responded by (the first time) giving a wave and nodding and (the second and third time) just looking and turning over to our stomach or back. then they pulled out the big guns and sent a canoe of people out after us. to which we responded by fake paddling back to shore.

farewell friends.
tracey

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

happy birthday casey!!!!
(we know it was yesterday, but we're late, as usual...)
expect something in the mail very soon...
love,
tracey and matt

what is the demonic spirit involved with my sixpence none the richer cd's???
i have bought "this beautiful mess" a total of three, yes three! times. again, it is missing.
and now i just went to get "divine discontent" and it, too, is gone.
how, i ask? how is this happening?

but alas, there are more things in life than music (what???)---although unbelievably hard to separate music from almost every aspect of life, as it penetrates every activity and thought and growth and emotion and everything associated with any significant event of my life...
unbelievable how the Lord did it all--with music, i mean. think about the ENDLESS possible combinations of a limited number of notes with songs and lyrics and styles. truly amazing.

also, justin--we totally would love to hang with you this summer. when are you going to europe? we'll have to coordinate with the alaskans for sure. ryan and michelle will be here from june 14-21 (oh, check out michelle's blog--she has a message for you!). we're into whatever-sd, chowtown, maybe yosemite/big sur/monterey/any other place.

welp, i'm making a jello cake tonight--anybody ever made one before? you know, when you poke holes in a cake, pour liquid hot jello over it, fling it in the fridge, and top it with whipped cream. if you haven't had it, you should. yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm. so anyhoo, i must get on the stick with that one!

i'll leave with some lyrics from the travoltas:
hey i got a great plan
we'll drive in my van
we're heading down south
where the summer's still around
feel the ocean breeze
we will dance all nigh-igh-ight
hey we'll go to mexico (san diego!)
where tequila rivers flow
the surf is always up
everybody's going nuts
live awhile by the sea
you will feel alrigh-igh-ight...

-tracey

finally! i'm back.
sorry if my opening line has been annoying you for the past week or so.
we've just been a little bit busy is all...

had a great visit with my parents--we fit sooooo much stuff in!!! they came in on saturday and we showed them around ocean beach, my elementary school, and sunset cliffs. then we went to shelter island and walked around the marina while my dad marveled at all of the sailboats. after that, we went home and packed a picnic and took it back to sunset cliffs just in time to watch the sun set. ahhhh...

sunday: it was cloudy in the morning and i was getting ready to pout about it but decided to work out with my mom at sunset cliffs. we went about 3 miles and the sky cleared right up--so beautiful!!! so we decided to head up the coast to wahoo's for lunch, la jolla's seal beach (so many cute, fat seals just squirming around. we were able to get really close to some who were lounging on the rocks), then on to a hike at torrey pines, and up to encinitas for another sunset.

monday: yuck! a storm came in and annoyed the crap out of everyone!!! but matt went off to work and my parents and i headed for the maritime museum (which is housed in this huge old ship with sails that remind me of the dawn treader!), also browsed around seaport village for awhile. at one point i yelled into the wind, "I'M NOT IN BOWLING GREEN!!!" then it was naptime for the cranky heads.... we picked matt up at work and went out for happy hour and dinner at fred's mexican-yum. back to matt's office for the tour of mr. technical writer and then my mom and i had to go sandal shopping while the boys went home and watched sports.

tuesday: matt finally got a day off work and we went to the zoo--the best were the cute pandas! i wish i could have hugged those softy guys! we made it home in time for the sunset again and then off to the field, our favorite irish restaurant for an epic evening. we got to sit right by the glowing fireplace and had a very cool irish waiter (who became my dad's best friend within minutes!). followed that up with some coffee and then snooze time!

wednesday: dad set off for his own adventure on the orion sailboat for the day (had some titanic moments on the bow of the boat, he reported). my mom and i went to old town and had a fun tour with an interesting tour guide and then ate tortillas from a vendor on the street (yummy cinnamon and strawberry tortillas--so good!). we went to the tidal pools at cabrillo national monument and saw a million hermit crabs--we were hoping for some starfish, but they were nowhere to be found. then we headed over to the OB farmer's market (they close a main street down and all the local farmers, florists, and fishermen--and other random people-come in and sell their goods). i bought some flowers and vegetables and we came home and made a very fresh dinner out of our purchases!

thursday: went hiking in the anza-borrego desert --can you believe it was cold???? well, it was. at least for the first half hour of the hike. then the sun came out and it warmed up to about 70 degrees--totally not typical for springtime. we hiked to palm canyon, an oasis in the middle of the desert--so beautiful and serene. we got home around 6 pm (got in yet another great sunset--best one all week!) and nobody felt like cooking so we went to fillipi's pizza grotto for chianti and pizza. my mom became obsessed with the meat sauce on her lasagna and bought some fresh sauce on an impulse. 5 minutes later she said, "how will i get this home on the plane?" thus, matt and i have become the proud owners of two containers of fresh spaghetti sauce!

friday: went to OB and sunset cliffs and my parents said goodbye to the ocean. then i dropped them off at the airport, came home, and collapsed. whew--fun and exhausting week!

we're heading out to bible study now so farewell for now.

hello everyone.
man, have we had a beautiful week! i'm choosing to ignore weather reports that say it will be cold and cloudy this whole weekend.
i just got back from running, and have a chiropractor's appt in a little bit so this will be short and sweet!

matt has been working his head off for the past month and a half--but especially this past week-11 and 12 hour days!!! so i haven't seen much of that guy around! thankfully, his deadline is friday, so it will ease up just in time for my parents to get here. and he's saved up nearly a week in overtime work, so he's got a few days off coming his way. we did get to see "bend it like beckham" on friday. and-sorry dad!- i have to agree with matt: i give it a C, maybe C- even. music was great, accents were really cool, and there were some funny parts. but it was incredibly predictable, fairly boring, and i could not stand that white english girl--anyone else feeling my pain???

only one more day until spring break!!!! and not a day too soon-it's been so hard to get out of bed this whole week! and for really no reason at all, other than i just need a break.

i booked a trip to fly home to cincy from june 28-july 12th--yay! i'll be staying with my grammy and granddad for a night or two; hopefully catch up with kevin and emily while i'm in columbus; then on to my parents', where we'll spend some quality time; then heidi will come down for 4th of july weekend and we'll have girl time; and then my mom and i will have a baby shower for michelle on the 6th, so i'll get to see ryan and michelle, too! i'm packing it in! dad, maybe we'll have to have our kings island tradition on a day that mom has to work late!
as far as a summer trip for matt and i, who knows... we'd love to go to ireland, but the prices are really high right now. maybe if there is a great deal around june or july, we'll buy some tickets. if we stick around here, my vote is to drive up highway 1 and camp at various places along the coast.

best quote from a kid today:
"what happened to your toe?"
he was referring to my freak third toe, which is longer than both my big toe and second toe.
yeah, i'd like to know the answer to that, too. how bout it, Lord?

tracey

happy 50th birthday mom edwards!!!
it's your birthday in ohio (not for a few more hours here!)
it sounds like your party was a blast-can't wait to hear about it and see the pictures!

dad edwards, i think you would like denison witmer's music-it reminds me of a really acoustic jackson browne, not exactly like him but i get little glimpses here and there.
i tried to go to my friend's church this morning but got lost and finally ended up at a mall an hour later. therefore, i had a summer clothes shopping trip!!! yay! i used up the rest of my christmas gift card from mom and dad. matt worked all day today so i went for a run-though my body was telling me "no thank you, not today." however, i have been faithful with running about every other day. the best part is running through this natural park near us/sunset cliffs. all the spring wildflowers opened up and there are fields of yellow and white thigh high flowers everywhere!

last week of school before spring break!!! then only 8 weeks after that! then summer beach/travel/relaxation time!!!!
tracey

hello everyone-
a few quick things--everyone should read my sister-in-law michelle's blog (link is to the left) from today, which recreates an april fools day joke that my dad pulled-HILARIOUS!!! wow, dad good, you have TOTALLY outdone any joke you have ever pulled before--so funny!!!

mom edwards, what was in the box?

a fun evaluation with a kindergartener produced the following quote of the day:
(first of all, picture this tiny little boy with teeny glasses and the cutest voice you've ever heard)
me: so, ruben, how old are you?
ruben: i-i-i-i-i'm five (he stutters but is so darn cute while he does it!!!)
me: whoa, wow, 5 years old, huh?
ruben: a-a-and i can even see in the dark!
(apparently the age and ability to see in the dark are linked, in his mind...:)

a teacher and i have been witnessing to her aide and the teacher bought her a bible and she accepted the lord as her savior this week!!! yeah!! her name is lisa if someone would pray for her--lots of baggage coming with her and she's nervous that people in the church won't accept her. but she can't put down that bible--it's amazing to watch Christ working on her heart.

i still feel the moments when you came alive
like a poem about springtime
nothing to hide
-denison witmer

welp, i'm out of here-
i think matt and i may go to the corvette diner and then to watch that one indian movie (my big fat indian wedding-ha! but seems similar!).
tracey

hello
i'm sitting here listening to some acoustic denison witmer
thinking
remembering the best trip in the world that i took with matt and mary
when we decided to pack up and drive out to san diego last summer

lyrics from "miles"-

we’ll get in my car around 10:30 (12:00!) at night
it’s the biggest healing session that I’ve had for some years
the laughter and the driving and the letting go…

hold me my world is closing
help me to keep it open

and we feel the push of
Christ-directed life
the love-directed life
-denison witmer

what a perfect time that was
and how much fun we had with each other
and how we loved God for his created beauty
and were set free of things we were dealing with

and even more perfect that he put these dreams in our hearts
and fulfilled them. LORD you are amazing! i am overwhelmed...

anyhoo,
enough of that reminiscing! (did i spell that correctly?)
matt and i are getting ready for more visitors--my parents will be here in 8 days! we're excited to show them our lives and the things we love to do here! michelle, i can't believe your drama on the way back to the san fran aiport!!! i'm so glad you made it home sooner--worth that extra $25, eh?
oops, i have to go pick matt up from a long day/night of work. farewell...