Neglecting my camera

I have been terrible at taking pictures, something I think I am normally pretty conscious of. So I apologize that I can't share some of my most recent experiences in a very real way. But I promise I will get better. But life has been so great, and Nick and I are started to adjust to life here. I just wanted to share a few of the things that we've been up to.

- I started work at North Salem High School, meeting with parents and kids. I already have a lot of great stories to share about the wild and crazy kids I see. But I will only share one right now (I think I may add a sidebar with stories from school, because it's one of the greatest things about working in a school, passing along all of the ridiculous things teenagers do). I had a junior come in with a one month old baby girl a few days ago. And the baby was the cutest thing I had ever seen. We met for a while trying to figure out her schedule, I was a little distracted because I was cooing and smiling at the baby. I was so tempted to keep the baby, just pick her up and take off sprinting to my car. Who would have cared, I mean really? I was tempted to ask the girl what her secret was, any tips for fertility.
-Nick started school at Willamette, well, the orientation. He already loves it, and I have a feeling I am going to have to hear quite a bit about business principles and organization (I guess its just karma for me telling stories about my kids at school). He said about 30% of the students are international, and have moved from Asia, Middle East, Africa, etc. I think that surprised him, and he is learning a lot just from their experiences.
-We are a little surprised by the weather. It was 105 degrees here a few days, which is freakin' hot here! I walk outside and just start sweating. Luckily, my parents have seadoos, so we were able to meet my Mom and Sierra and take them out for an afternoon. The next three days, however, were 60 degrees maybe, and rainy and cloudy. It was a nice cool down, but my poor flowers and plants didn't handle it too well (yes, that's right, I'm attempting to grow things in my yard).
-We have visited a lot of the parks around Salem, and there are so many so close together. Nick and I went on a bike ride the other day to a bunch of them around downtown. It seems like they always have a lot going on in them; we went and saw a free movie outside in one of the big parks along the river.
-I saw a transvestite at TJ Maxx the other day, he/she was about 6'6", and clearly a man underneath the wig. It warmed my heart to have sexually confused people around me. Awww, diversity.
-We went to our ward and have visited with our bishopric, and everyone was SO nice. Our ward is small, but we're excited to get to know everyone.
-Perhaps the best thing so far has been our family cabin on Crescent Lake. I think it might be one of my favorite places. My uncle brings up his boat, and I've been able to wake surf, wakeboard, tube. But its also so nice to just lay out by the water, read, and breathe in all the clean air, and spend time with family. Plus, I get tanner there than perhaps anywhere else, and that's what's really important!

-I went to the library and had to refrain myself from checking out too many books. I limited it to 4. But I really just got gitty thinking about all the time I will have to read at night. I have been working and going to school for the last couple years and was really hardly ever home. It's kind of a stupid thing, but I'm a nerd, so what can you do (however, not as big as my sister Briawna when it comes to reading).

Sorry this has been a lot of writing, and not very many pictures. I generally try to avoid that. Nick and I have loved being here so far, and feel like we're doing what we're supposed to be doing in our lives, so that's a good feeling. But we still miss our friends, and sharing some of the fun stuff with them. We're hoping we make some soon :)