Adventurers RE-Unite!

Hey all... I'm still waiting to hear how the Women's Conference was at BYU and the get together in Provo.... anyone out there who went... got some fun stories or pictures to share????

Speaking of Reunions... we are headed "Home" to VV so Eric can attend his 20th High School Reunion for Armijo High in October. Anyone want to get together???

I know it's still 3 years away, but how many of you are planning to attend our 20th reunion at Vaca High???

~Christy

I have the worst luck ever!

Women's Conference is in full swing at BYU and I'm sure the ladies are having a blast. Sadly, I'm not there. I woke up vomiting and I have the flu. I even contemplated spending another $500 to take a last minute flight at 6 am this morning to go to the conference, but I was still sick, so I'm having to sit this one out.

So while I'm recuperating I'll try to organize my South Africa pictures and post more about my travels.

Mini Reunion

We spent the week before Easter in Vacaville/Fairfield visiting friends and family. What I did not expect was to run into sooo many of my friends from High School/Seminary/Girl's Camp that I hadn't seen in MANY years!

Mandi and Justin are in the process of moving back home, so they were in town with their kids. Justin now works for the City of Vacaville, so they will likely be around for a long time! Mandi, if you haven't looked already, my parent's next door neighbor is trying to sell his house... my mom and I went and looked through it last Saturday during an open house... it was sooo CUTE! And the price keeps dropping every day!

When we are in town to visit the fam, we usually go to church in 3rd ward. This is the ward I attended until I was almost done with 9th grade. It's also the ward that Eric's brother Jeff attends and the kids always enjoy going to Primary together with their cousins. I always see the stalwarts... like the Wipperts and Jones' and my first beehive advisor, Mary Page. Then there is a weird arrangement that 1st ward and 3rd ward now have... they nest for Primary and Sunday School/Mutual. So, when we go to Gospel Doctrine, it is all the adults combined from both wards. This always gives me a headache and I confess I find it hard to concentrate on the actual lesson. I spend most of the time searching around the room, trying to identify by name each person that looks vaguely familiar to me! It's maddening! I always end up having to lean over and ask my sis-in-law who someone is... someone I know, but just can't come up with the name! I didn't realize until a couple weeks ago, how many 3rd ward people now live in 1st ward... not because they've moved, but just because of how the boundaries are currently arranged. But Sunday School this time was really a "throw back" to 10th grade! Judy Esplin was teaching gospel doctrine. She was my 10th grade seminary teacher... and we all loved her! I really felt like a kid again being in that room... her mannerisms and her amazing knowledge of the scriptures haven't changed one bit. She is really an amazing woman! Here are some names of people I ran into this last week that I hadn't seen or talked to in a LONG time: Randa and her husband Mark are still in 1st ward... (Mark is YM's president... fitting huh?) ... living on the same street with Ame and AJ. I didn't see Ame this trip, but I did have a great visit with AJ. He couldn't believe the size of my teenager! (I can hardly believe it either, sometimes!) I talked with Randa's mom and sister Scarpa (my 9th grade seminary teacher!) I also saw Giselle Bell at the temple when we went to do a session in Sacramento... what a fun suprise that was! There was a bunch of women from Vacaville there we weren't expecting to see! On Monday, we went to Alamo Creek Park and had a mini reunion with Amber (who drove down with her kids from Orangevale), and Mandi (with her kids). Tricia Sparrow (now Crist) also came by... she lives in 1st ward now. Andrea (Fawson) Hancock is also in 1st ward now, but I missed saying hello to her after church. Stacy was supposed to join us, but sprained her ankle and had to bail out! We really missed you Stacy!!! Here's a photo of us at the park (Sis. Taylor filling in for Stacy who was MIA....)

Memory Lane Part 2

Christy Here:

Here's some fun things I remember from the good old days - some things I wouldn't have remembered except that I pulled them from a scrapbook/photo album I kept (including the pictures!):

*Going to the New Kids Concert! (click here for more on that....)

*TPing with everyone - especially buying large quantities of TP at Food 4 Less at 11:00 p.m. with Chad and Amanda

*Stake Dances and strategic moves to avoid the lay-ocean (sp?) guys from Fairfield!

*My first Youth Conference - in Provo at BYU - remember the theme... RUE?

*Spraining my ankle on Amber's trampoline... I have this weird memory that the ward missionaries were at her house when it happened, but I'm not sure!

*Riding on countless excursions in the Wells Van....

* A group date with Amanda, Sandy... and sadly enough I can't remember who MY date was... I know Amanda was with Matt, Sandy maybe with AJ???? Who I was with I have NO idea... but Amanda made her Sweet and Sour Chicken and I still make that recipe for my family at least 2 times a month... it's one of our FAVORITES!

*Kissing Rugby at the Jensen's house

*Running Pictionary and Strobe Light Dancing at Amy's House (her brother was ... umm... Bevin????..... Sandy had a huge crush on him..... and they lived in 4th ward.....)

*Dancing to music in Stacy's kitchen

*Singing the song that Tara Thompson wrote in the 2nd ward talent show "Free"

*Tipping the canoe with Matt and Amanda at Lake Solano

*the Funniest thing I remember (right now anyway) was a party we had my house, and it was one of those, "Do you love your neighbor"type games... there was one chair left and Matt and Scott were both racing for it. I think Matt got there first and Scott jumped and sat on his lap... then the chair crumpled to the floor! It was Hilarious and my mom was a really good sport about the incident! I hated those chairs anyway, so I didn't care!

Stacy I completely agree with your observation.... we did have a really good, strong youth group. We were SOOO lucky! We had a great seminary program and because our boundaries had been re-arranged several times in several years, we all knew each other better than most kids from neighboring wards knew each other. I see the Youth Group Situation that my kids are facing here and it's NOT even remotely as good as what we had... it makes me a little sad for them....

Memory Lane

I've been thinking about some of the great times we all had in our teens. The time that Christy and I made dinner for the Bishop and his wife and we wanted them to have a romantic time.

Or the time I was on a group date with Christy, Scott, Matt, and me and while laying on Christy's living room floor, someone farted (I think it was me, actually) and we all busted up laughing!

Or the time I think I flashed by boobs, thankfully in a bra, when we were doing a photo scavenger hunt. At least at that time, I was thin, even though I thought I was fat.

Or the time I set up a romantic rendezvous with Lisa Davidson and Edwin so they could dance in my bedroom to a Chicago mixed tape I made. I used Chicago music because Edwin had had me listen to them while he told me all about the trumpet and the brass instruments used in the music.

Or the time when Edwin dated Christy (Edwin got around!) and the song, Kokomo was popular and I sang to Christy that she and Edwin would "get there fast and then take it slow," meaning the stake dance.

I remember what strong LDS teens we were and how faithful we were. We had tons of fun and it was all chaste and innocent, like singing broadway tunes around my piano.

Feel free to add your memories, too!

Random Questions

Two names you go by:

1. Stacy
2. Mrs. V.

Two things you are wearing right now:

1.red t shirt
2. blue sweatpants

Two of your favorite things to do:

1. play games or shop online all while using my laptop
2. read a good book while taking a bubble bath

Two things you want very badly at the moment :

1. a body that ovulates and a baby
2. a well organized and clean house

Two favorite pets you have had/have

1. Willow a female purebred Welsh Pembroke Corgi
2. Boots, my favorite cat who is no longer with us

People who will fill this out:
1. dont know
2. dont know

Two things you did last night:

1. watched Benny & Joon (love that movie!)
2. Went out with my husband to Dimple Records and International Imports, two of our favorite stores

Two things you ate today:

1. It's the Oscars tonight and that means the menu is: Pizza
2. and Brownies! Same menu as we've had for the last 10 Oscar nights!

Two people you talked to last night

1. James
2. Shauna (online chat)

Two things you are doing tomorrow:

1. Work, ugh
2. Feeling better, hopefully, so I can use my new treadmill!

Longest Trips taken in the last 10 years:

1. 10 Day cruise to the Panama Canal, Columbia, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Aruba
2. We leave in 30 days for a month long trip to South Africa!

Two favorite holidays:

1. Christmas
2. Easter

Two favorite beverages:

1. water, preferably from my parents well.
2. Dr Pepper and I can't drink the Diet, it's nasty. The best D.P. is the one from Dublin, Texas made with cane sugar. Oh my my it's tasty! And sometimes I splurge and order the cane sugar and also the regular but the caffeine free, however, I have to order them online and the shipping is outrageous!

It's Wednesday

I just feel like typing my thoughts. I'm on a break at work and don't have much time. My workday, or should I say night, is almost over. It's 8 45 pm and my students are on their break and then lab starts at 9 pm. Tonight they are working on their Shiatsu sequence.
Tomorrow we are taking a field trip to the "Bodies Revealed" exhibit in Sacramento. I'm excited to see it, since I saw a similar show in San Francisco a couple years ago.

The lunar eclipse was really cool tonight. I wonder if James got any good pictures. I'll post some if he did.

I just saw another blog of a couple in Roseville that I don't know but she is pregnant and has on her blog a calendar update of what the baby looks like each day during the pregnancy. I haven't seen anything like it before and it looks really neat. I'm wondering if I'll ever get to add one to my page. Part of me really wants to get pregnant at my age and part of me looks at all my friends who had their children years ago and I wonder what am I getting myself into? Maybe I should just adopt.

I'm so overwhelmed right now with all of these projects that I want to do. From remodeling my house, decorating my house, cleaning the back yard and pool to get it ready for a party this summer for all my past massage students, trying to make my vocal cd, trying to get pregnant, wondering where I should work after I get home from South Africa and the women's conference. Just so many things floating around in my brain right now that it's hard to prioritize and focus. I still need to finish my Prenatal Massage and Doula class, too. Just add that to the list, too!

Well now I have to go supervise my massage lab and help the students with their Shiatsu. Then I have to figure out whether to cook chicken or pasta when I get home. Hmm.