Why My Dad is Great

Tuesday: Mom is gone at Girl's Camp. Dad is home with just Ty and Bethany for dinner. He makes spaghetti which means that he cooks some noodles then puts cold sauce on top of them. Proceeds to tell me that he will give Bryan his spaghetti recipe for when I'm gone.

Wednesday: Dad picks me up at the airport after my late flight arrives at 11:45 pm. We chat on the way home and he lets me eat the sandwich he had been saving in the fridge because I'm starving. He goes to work at 7am the next day.

Thursday: I pick Katie up at the airport at midnight, Dad waits for us at home and stays up to talk until 2 am. He's back at work at 7am the next day.

Friday: Dad drives up to Girl's Camp, spends all night with dirty smelly grouchy girls playing Big Booty. We figure it is his 15th year of going up to Girl's Camp on the last night- he's a champ.

Saturday: Dad brings dirty smelly grouchy girls home from camp and spends hours unloading all the cars- our 2 cars and a few others- and cleaning everything. Takes the family out to dinner then participates in the Anderson family High School Musical dance party.

Sunday: Dad sits with us at church- a rare and fun treat! He grills shish kabobs for dinner and even frosts his own cake because he's the best froster in the family.

This is why I love him- he's patient, he's fun, he's crazy, he's helpful, he's thoughtful, he's talented, he's the greatest dad in the world. Happy Father's Day!

Miguel

Occasionally Bryan and I, like all newly married couples, discuss names for our future children. It usually goes like this- I give a few names that I like and ask Bryan what he thinks. Bryan tells me, "not Abby because the dog next door was named Abby, not Madeline because I once knew a really annoying girl named Madeline, not Spencer because that is old-fashioned." I smile sweetly and remind myself I'm the one going through the 9 months of misery (am I allowed to say that?!?) and thus I will use the pity that I'm sure will develop in Bryan's heart to convince him of whatever name I choose. Then Bryan says, "what about Hezekiah??" And the conversation ends.

But, there is one name we can agree on, have agreed on since before we were engaged. Among our other children (none of which whose name will be Hezekiah) we will have one special child named Miguel. His full name actually is Miguel Pecos Fernando de Soto Martinez. Miguel will be our Mexican child- his diet will consist of beans and rice, he will only speak Spanish and wear sombreros, and he will only listen to mariachi band music. The rest of our kids will be mainstream American kids wearing the latest fashion from Justice and eating corn dogs and french fries, but special Mexican Miguel will be our very favorite.

You have to have some fun if your last name is Martinez, right?


Addendum-
Some faithful readers thought this was an announcement. Alas, I am not pregnant. This is all hypothetically speaking. Sorry for the confusion. When I am pregnant, I'll be really obvious about it. :)

In-Laws

I feel like when many people hear the word in-law it sends a shiver down their spine. When I got married I thought, “I already have a lot of family to love, I have no clue what I’m going to do with all these new people.” I also knew that no one could ever replace my family.

I quickly realized that I married into a top-notch family. Bryan’s parents are thoughtful, kind and generous. His brothers are wild and crazy, funny and talented. And, Amy is the most creative, gorgeous, and sweet sister-in-law I could have asked for.

It is a terribly difficult thing to join a new family- the concerns of finding your place and the fears of giving up your own family are very overwhelming. But, as we enjoyed our California adventures this week I realized that I now feel completely comfortable with my new family, and I haven’t lost anything with my ‘old family.’ I discovered that it all boils down to spreading the love. Sometimes I feel like I only have so much love to give- that if I start to love someone new it means I have to give up or decrease my love for someone else. But the great thing about love is that it is infinite. And, the more love you give, the more you have to give- it’s the one resource that increases as we use it!

So, I'm happy to say that I have the two best families in the world.

Ready. Set. Go!

If all goes as planned, Summer Adventure 2009 will begin in just a few hours. We're hoping to get an early start on dear old I-80 so we can get to California by early afternoon-ish. After a busy week of moving into a new classroom, taking both cars to get oil changed and safety/emissions inspections, cleaning the apartment, doing a ridiculous amount of laundry, having an enrichment activity at my apartment, a little scrapbooking, a lot more reading, and many other exciting activities, I am ready for vacation!

We're heading out to California to enjoy our last week with Elder Chad Martinez. We're going camping for a few days, going to the temple and Fenton's (my mouth is already watering) and of course his Farewell and Open House. I'm looking forward to the time together, but not the saying goodbye part. The good news is that Chad is the last Martinez boy so from now on we only have reunions, and those I really like!

After our California trip, I'll be home for about a day and a half to unpack, do laundry, and repack. We'll also drop Chad off at the MTC- but just at the curb since we're not allowed in anymore :(

Then I leave for the Virginia part of my summer. I'm going home for 3 whole weeks! First a couple of days babysitting while my mom and the older girls are at Girls Camp, then a few days of just hanging out, then Bryan will fly out (yea!) and we'll go on the Rice Family Beach Trip. We haven't had everyone come for a few years now, so it will be interesting to have ALL of us. That's 39 people including some very loud teenage boys, triplet three year olds, and my crazy uncles.

I love summer! And, I'm so grateful we get to spend so much time with family.

School's Out for Summer

The last day of school left me feeling overwhelmed with a medley of emotions. Luckily, I can deal with all emotions in one simply way- crying. I will be totally prepared when puffy, red eyes become the latest beauty craze.

Of course I feel happiness, or make that elation, at the glorious free summer ahead of me. I'm looking forward to lots of reading, sleeping, being outside, scrapbooking, traveling, and catching up with family and friends. I'm sure at some point I'll miss my excuse for why I'm not on top of the laundry, dishes, shopping, cleaning, etc. But, for now I'm really excited to finally get those things done!

My excitement is contrasted by a deep sadness. I'm not going to be at Canyon Crest next year and it was even harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye. I read Dr. Seuss's "Oh the Places You'll Go" to my kids and completely lost it before I even got past the title page. I am full of gratitude for the experiences Canyon Crest has given me- the wonderful friends who have helped me through and taught me so much, the amazing families who are so generous and kind, the adorable and hilarious students who make me smile every day.

The exhaustion from nine months of handling 26 fourth graders has definitely caught up with me. I will enjoy not having to talk all day, and not having to run around a classroom (in heels!) trying to make fractions exciting. I'm also full of hope that I made some difference for these kids. Maybe they learned long division, or they found a passion for reading, or maybe they just learned how to spell Martinez.

I regret to admit it but I am still feeling frustration and confusion at all that has happened this Spring. After hearing that I would most likely not have a spot at C.C., I was relieved when I was later told I would be able to stay. I was assured over and over again that I was going to stay only to have a bomb dropped on me at the end of April. There was no spot for me. I jumped back into the job hunt and very luckily quickly found a job at another school. One week later a spot opened up at my school. For a couple hours I thought I could maybe go back on my commitment to the new school, but that didn't work out. So, here I am.

My Mary Engelbreit calendar provided me with a perfect quote for May, "Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards." Though it seems like a cruel joke right now, I know there is some reason for the drama and stress of these past couple months. I know that someday I will look back and be grateful. In fact, I already am grateful. I have learned valuable lessons, and I know there are many more to learn. For now, all I can do is keep living forward, and try to stop all these tears.

How to not cook dinner

by Rachel

Monday- Take a trip to Costco around dinner time. Costco at dinner time = samples + pizza
Tuesday- Go to a Ward Barbecue
Wednesday- Go out to dinner (Magleby's) with friends to recover from a very intense School Community Council Meeting
Thursday- Attend a fancy dinner at Riverside Country Club honoring one of your students that won an essay contest
Friday- Party it up at the faculty end of year celebration at Los Hermanos

Books on the Go

Sometimes I wonder what my family did before the Harry Potter series. It's one of the few things that we ALL enjoy- from my forty-something dad to my six year old brother. Once a stick is picked up, it automatically becomes a wand used to send expelliarmus towards another member of the family. We have the toys, the costumes, the books, the movies, the coloring books, and any other kind of memorabilia Warner Brothers has thougt up.

But one of the greatest things about Harry Potter is listening to it on tape/CD. We have every single book either on tape or CD and it is an Anderson family addiction. Bethany can't go to sleep without listening, Leslie listens while she is doing her homework, and we cannot go on a road trip without at least one book. The soothing and miraculous voice of Jim Dale has prevented us from strangling each other many many times.

In the past year, my love of listening to Harry Potter has caused me to enter into the realm of listening to books on CD. It all started last summer when I had a lot of time on my hands when I was all alone. The tv got old pretty fast but I needed something to keep me company (this is where you insert the Bride Wars quote about not being able to be alone with your own thoughts.) So I started listening to books and I became hooked. All summer I listened and when the school year started, I didn't want to give it up. I don't have anywhere near the time to listen as I had before, but I do have the 15 minute drive to work and then back home as well as some brainless grading time. It makes me so happy to relax and enjoy having a good book read to me. So, if you have never listened to a book on CD before, please go try it, you may find that you have been missing one of the most delightful things this technological world has to offer.