Cari & Jordan + Spring Break

Jordan and Cari came to visit us on the rez a few weeks ago! it was the most fun we've had in a long time. Cari came a few days before Jordan..and in that time we went to the Grand Canyon with the Pettengill's plus, Phil & Arneta Hershberger, and the Bradley brothers. It was really fun, minus the fact that it was slippery and cold at the GC.

Thennn...we went and picked up Jordan in Flag. From there, we went to Oak Creek Canyon aka "Da OCC". It was absolutely beautiful..and we walked up to the edge suddenly finding ourselves in one of those situations where you just feel the need to take anything you have and hold it over the edge or even..throw it. I'm not sure if that happens to anyone else, or maybe we're just odd. We decided that while it would be fun..we would eventually regret throwing our purses into the canyon. So, Jordan found an alternative, and started throwing huge rocks and logs down into the canyon javelin style.

From there, we went to Sedona..which was supposed to be a surprise..but i accidentally blurted it out..and had dinner at some steak house. We walked around a little bit and then headed back to Flagstaff to spend the night in our hotel. Monday, we got the day off school so we could take Jordan and Cari to their suprise destination. We made them close their eyes for the last 20 minutes of the drive..just to make sure they had no idea where we were headed. They were totally surprised when they opened their eyes to find that we were in Jerome! Not that they really knew what or where Jerome was..they were fully surprised! We walked around all day and looked in the fun shops and art galleries..had amazing lunch at this delicious restuarant..and took way too many pictures. Courtney had messy ice cream on a stick..and dripped it on her "casual sundress" at least 10 times.

After our day in Jerome, we went back to Flagstaff...bought some groceries and headed back to the rez. Our week was spent preparing for the Student Council garage sale that Courtney and I organized..unfortunately, the sale was a total flop. We had a total of approx. 10 people buy things. We were just hoping for a little bit more. We made $150 in the end..which will go to the StuCo field trip fund. We have a few ideas for their trip but we're thinking it'll most likely be a fun day in Flagstaff...maybe see a movie, go to lunch, and then bowling. We wanted to go to Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm..but those trips are a little to much for us to handle, especially with the group we've got. Anyway, the rest of the week was supa dupa fun with Jor and Cari. We took them to the Cultural Center for Hopi Tacos, introduced them to all the DTS people, and they even got to go see the spring in Hotevilla! It was reallllly fun having them here..and i think they enjoyed their time as well. In fact, Jordan liked it so much that she's coming back on May 16 and spending the last 2 weeks with us! She's even riding home with us in the car (were going to have to do some serious rearranging to make room for one more..on the way out here the car was packed floor to ceiling...but we'll do anything to have her come with!) We had a StuCo fun night at our house while Jordan and Cari were here. We watched Kung Fu Panda and ate pizza and ice cream. Then we went to the playground to wait for the kids to be picked up...we were playing tag..that suddenly turned into tackle tag. 6th grade boys tackling their teachers. Yes, we struggle with disciplining them..but we also have lots of fun!

Oh man..I almost forgot about this! Cari woke up to find a freaky scorpion was sleeping with her!..she thinks it pinched her, not a full on bite. It was pretty scary..but we're just glad she didn't get bit and filled with scorpion poison. Speaking of scary things..I've been having issues with feeling safe at night, simply because I can be a little bit paranoid..so now I have a really nice collection of defense weapons next to me in bed at night. I simply had a giant maglite with me for a long time..and like I said, that doesn't seem to be enough anymore. I now have a small bottle of pepper spray with me. So, I'm thinking that should suffice now. I guess the reason for my heightened state of paranoia would be the fact that a man was found dead about a mile from our house..and gang activity is on the rise. But I think we're safe here..no worries.

Now, I will update you on our trip to Florida! It was an incredible amount of fun and lots of relaxation, which we were in serious need of. We stayed with Court's Grandpa & Pat in Sarasota on Bird Key. We spent our beloved days swimming in the pool, going on bike rides (getting lost), going out to eat almost every night, enjoying the beach, shopping with Pat, cruising in the Cutlass, and simply enjoying the beautiful FL weather. We truely had a great time and are so thankful that Court's Gpa & Pat let us stay there with them! Although FL was awesome..we were ready to come back and get back to business. Can you believe we only have 2 more months here!? We've been here for 6 months..which is also completely unbelievable. It's going to be bittersweet to leave this place. We've made so many wonderful new friends..especially the kids at school & the Pettengill's. We're going to be so busy for the next 2 months..my mom, Grandma Dorothy, and Grandma Mable are all coming to visit, then a few weeks later Court's Mom will be here, and then Jordan arrives!

I hope this was a nice thorough update for you all..I know I still left out tons of details that I'll save for the next post.

One more thing! We adopted one of Ms. Roy's precious puppies for 2 days..and were sorta put into a complicated position and had to give it back to her in the end. We named her Annie..and she was the cutest thing we've ever laid eyes on. She looked like a cross between a snuggly teddy bear and the most precious dog ever. We had here for one night..she "slept" in my bed, but did very little sleeping. More crying, pooing, and barfing than anything. But that's okay..I forgave her and still loved her.

Just the sight of her face could melt your heart!