I {heart} AC

I am melting. Quite literally it feels.

Its been 100 plus the past 3 days.

I wish AC was free because my bill is going to be something tragic.

Welcome Summer! Now go away.

Happiest Post on Earth

True to Morrell style, we decided to take our much needed time off to visit our old stomping grounds in Southern California. Some may think we have an illness with our frequency of the Disney goodness, but to each their own right? We headed down on Thursday evening so we could have some time to relax on Friday and of course have time to hit up our favorite restaurant Ruby's where too much is eaten. Even our friends who had not been in over a year remembered it was delightful - even if they couldn't remember why. :) Mark is really good and orders something different each visit. I however, am stuck on their shrimp tacos. And still sorely miss their White Chocolate Raspberry shake. Cheers to a Ruby's Diner.

By Saturday we were ready for our visit with the mouse. Mark and I had very few needs which made our trip fabulous as the Richards' didn't seem to have too many expectations either. We were all just thrilled to be there and little Teagan was a trooper if I've ever seen one. With only a few 30 minute power naps - she seemed to be in good spirits the entire day. A fan of Disney from...birth. Just how we like them.

Little Mermaid didn't disappoint. Its been open for a week now so we expected lines down the street. We were pleasantly surprised with only a 30 minute wait! It really was quite wonderful, and true to most Disney "dark rides"; missing a large portion of the middle of the movie and just skipping to the end. Eh - it was still entertaining.

Of course a trip to the Mania was required. Mark and the Richards' are good sports to play with me. Although my scores are NOT the best of the day like the use to be, I still score higher then most and have a delightful time playing. And let the record show that I bring good ju-ju because Michelle got her best score when she rode with me. I'm just sayin'. I'm kind of a rock star.

The most ... colorful shall we say ... part of our Disneyland adventure was discovering the "Rave Children" all over the park. Now, for a high school teacher, I pride myself in knowing a bit about the young culture. However, I have never seen something like this before. And lets just keep in mind that it felt like 95 degrees in our regular attire so I can only imagine how warm these people must have felt. I give you - the plastic color explosion parade.


They sort of reminded me of Rainbow Bright. These kids had plastic jewelry everywhere! Some had them in several layers all the way up their arms! It was insane. We began to bargain that the more colorful bracelets you had on, the higher in rank you were. You know, sort of like some kind of system of hierarchy. And the girl with the magic school bus lunchbox (green shirt above) was the queen of the Rave Children. It was the weirdest sight we had ever seen. And I must say, I just missed the pose of the entire group of like 50+ in front of the castle. If only that gentleman would have walked faster then I would have had it! Sadly, this will have to suffice for memories.

Waiting for the parade was by far the hottest wait of my life. But well worth it. Disneyland has been failing in the parade department in my book for several years now; so when I heard that the new Soundsational parade was now preforming, I knew I had to have front row seats. And I was so delighted. It was a genuine Disney parade! Fabulous floats, delightful costumes and dancers in between, all the good characters, catchy music. Just delightful! So I highly recommend the time to sit and watch.


So, cheers to another delightful trip to visit The Land. We were really looking forward to spending the weekend with our dearest friends and were thrilled they made the trip down to join us.

Wrapping it up

For the past six years I have defined myself as a "high school teacher". One who deals with the crazy and unpredictable stage that is adolescence everyday. Some called me crazy, others call me brave, some just think I'm a saint to volunteer for this kind of gig. But for me, it's been perfect.

Now, Deer Valley is by no means a glamorous school. (although growing up it was the talk of the town about how nice the facilities were). I kind of blame it on my previous assignment at La Sierra because I had just the PERFECT years teaching there. I think I sort of idolize it as more wonderful then it was because I feel like I am constantly judging DVHS by its standards. Anyway - what I'm trying to say is that these past 3 months of teaching there haven't been all roses and butterflies, especially as the school year comes closer to the end, I am definitely ready to be done. Like the kid who is an open drug hustler, and comes late to class every day. Is it bad that I kind of pray he doesn't show up. And do a little dance when he is suspended, which is often. Probably. And the class that lines up at the door 5 minutes before the lunch bell rings. And I have to stand at the doorway to make sure they don't just leave. And the class that throws everything they own on the floor because it's the "custodians job" to clean it up. Oh that just bugs me. And the girl with A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E. That time she and I got into a bit of a brawl - I won't go into details - and she screams "You're not my mom" - the only logical reply - "Thank heavens for that". I don't remember the ending after that. Anyway - I digress.

On Thursday, my position as a teacher will be ending. That's weird for me. I have been trying to get a full time position at the school where I've been covering, but for some reason, it appears that just isn't in the cards for me. I'll probably be substitute teaching next school year again, but that just isn't the same as having your own students and classroom. And for the summer, I am jobless. Totally and utterly free. I haven't been that since my own school days.

So there you go. There are a lot of "last times" in life that I remember. Your last day in college, your last day in a given city, your last day single. Its weird when big stuff like that comes to an end. Like your last day in your career. (look at me all down and sour. I just don't predict the economy flipping in a few short months making a history job available for me anytime soon).

And that's all I have to say about that. I suppose that means my next post will have to be something happy. Perhaps the "happiest post on Earth" if you will. And I will.