Melissa, Andy and the kids' Blog

Some of you have wanted to see pictures of my classroom. I do have a class blog that you can check out. http://aurichfirst.blogspot.com/ Just make sure not to leave any crazy remarks. My students and their parents will be looking at this blog as well.

Today I went and got myself a roommate! It is a lot smaller and takes up very little space. It is also a male! This little blue beta fish is in need of a name. The only thing that keeps going through my head is "1 fish, 2 fish, red fish, blue fish," and that is not a name. I would love any ideas on what I can name this cute, little guy.

Here are some pictures of my new home. Here is my new bedroom. I now own a queen size bed, but I still just sleep on one side of it. My Aunt Mary bought me the comforter set, and I love it! As you can tell I still haven't hung up any pictures. That will happen soon. Here is my walk in closet. I have plenty of space, but I need to organize it better. I finally got to use a lot of my kitchen stuff that has been sitting in a hope chest for the past 8 years or so. My mom has been putting stuff in that hope chest for years, so it is nice to get to put it to some use. Notice the bee theme. Melissa means honeybee! Here is my washer and dryer. Then you can see my bathroom. Aunt Tracy bought me my bathroom towels and curtain. I helped pick them out. Here is the view from one of my balconies. This is the one off the living room. I have another out of my bedroom, but you mainly just see a big tree. Here is my living room, dining room, and kitchen. I guess I didn't clean up f...

A little over 2 weeks ago I went for a quick visit to Washington. I wanted to see my family before I came back to Utah. Here are 4 of us siblings...Trisha, Melissa, Andrew and Brian. We went to Lake Meridian to play. Here are Kael and Kiera enjoying the water. Kiera would not sit still to take a picture. Bill, Mom, and Liam came to relax and spend family time as well. Jeremy is always great entertainment for the little ones. Shanda, Brian, and Liam enjoying the shade. I didn't ever think that I would have 2 car seats in the back of my car anytime soon. My nieces loved it though. Trisha and the girls with matching shorts. Kiera, Ava, and Kael loved racing each other on the back lawn. Shanda, Liam and I were content just to watch the kids run around. Ava and I actually went to Washington a day before Trisha and Jeremy. We had some fun playing in Andy's hammock. Ava helped Grandma with her garden.

This summer I stayed in Gresham, OR with my sister and her family. I nannied my niece, Ava, and went on plenty of vacations. I also spent plenty of time with some of the people from the little singles branch there. While I was there I was able to enjoy the beauty of Oregon. It was a great summer! I was sad to leave. Here are some pictures from the last month there, since I didn't have a camera at the beginning of the summer. Ava and I enjoyed playing in shaving cream. Ava and I went to the movies a few times. One of the theaters had free movies during the day. My second cousins, Kristen and Candice, also lived in Oregon. Kristen and I were actually in the same singles branch together. Here are the people that I spent most of my time with. I miss living with my sister, Trisha, and her family. We were going to go the the Oregon coast on this day, but the traffic was horrible. Instead we went to the Sandy River to keep cool. Jeremy thinking he is all cool. Ava kept throwing a...

In the past month I have gone camping 3 times. At the beginning of June I went with my sister (Trisha), her husband (Jeremy), and her daughter (Ava) to the Oregon coast for one night. We were near Tilamook and right by the ocean. Two weeks ago Trisha, Ava, and I drove down to Elko, NV and camped at the Clift Family Reunion up in the mountains. We spent 4 days there with a couple of days driving and staying in motels. It was great to spend time with all the family. I think there were about 90 of us there...way too many to keep track of. On the way back we stopped by at Crater Lake. What a awesome view there. Then this weekend we (Trisha, Jeremy, Ava and I) drove down to Detroit Lake, OR and camped for two days. The lake was beautiful! It was fun swimming, but sometimes I wish I owned a boat or some water vehicle. I also wished that I didn't get burned. Some things I love about camping: I don't care what I look like. Seeing all of God's beautiful creations. Being wi...

I'm a nanny again for the summer, but this time it is for my sister. Currently I am living in Oregon with Trisha and her family. I get to spend 3-4 days a week watching my 2 year old niece. We go to the park, play play-dough, take walks, color, make forts, swim in the hot tub, play in shaving cream, and so much more. We would do a lot more outside, but the rain and clouds just need to go away. Next week I will start taking my niece to swimming lessons, and I know that she will really enjoy that. She is also being potty trained. Some days are good, but days like today are not. The other day she even had an accident in a McDonalds playhouse. Arrgh!!! Hopefully things will get better soon. This past Sunday I went to the singles branch for the first time. It is very small, but the people are very friendly. I met many great people at church, the fireside that evening, and FHE on Monday. I was even invited to a dinner and movie on Tuesday. It is also nice to have my 2nd cou...