Contacts and Group Presentation

The quarter has come to an end. We had a group project in my Small Group Communications class. We decided to volunteer our time to senior citizens at an assisted living place. It was great, except for the dead weight girl in our group. We had to pull it together without any effort from her. Her excuse was pretty much a custody battle her nephew was going through and how she got stuck in the middle of it all. It's not like all of us have our own stuff to deal with as well. We all have lives outside church, work and school. She should have just dropped the class. If it wasn't for our Power Point presentation, and how she pulled it off... Anyway, groups in classes suck. Next time, if there is a next time, I won't hesitate to have them kicked out of the group. The Quarry was the place, and if I had the money, I wouldn't mind living there. The amenities they had to offer were phenomenal. I was very impressed when we had the tour.

ASL was a little quirky this quarter. We had issues with the class. First of the quarter, we had the professor telling us that we need to return the books and purchase different ones. So I did, and before the book arrived, the head of the dept had to split the class up, because the level we were in were for the former high school students. So, she split us up and she ended up teaching the class. She then told us that we need the books that we formally had to begin with and repurchase them. I was furious, because I already spent money on eBay for the other book, right before returning the books at the bookstore and that I couldn't purchase the books for another couple of weeks. I bought the books back and that was that. The quarter was interesting, because we were over three weeks in already that she didn't have a lot to go on with, so we just went through the book and learned certain things from work, school, home, etc. This quarter was supposed to cover finger spelling, but we didn't cover much of it, in fact, there wasn't a whole lot that we covered. Instead of learning out of the book, I want more of a conversational atmosphere. It seemed to me that if we were to just talk and converse with one another, I believe that we would learn more than just trying to learn just the theory behind it. I can see that it's a fairly new program at Clark College. Maybe I should suggest it to the professor. Have a class that is called conversational ASL. This class, you just talk about what is on your mind and anything that is going on around us. Plus, it doesn't help that I don't know anyone that is deaf around here.

My other class that I'm taking is online. Talk about interesting. Nice instructor and all, but the class is a bit much...

Now that I'm practically on Spring Break, I purchased for the year, contacts. Costco's insurance covers a year supply, so I got them. I never had them before, so I had my "First time" appointment for contacts. I tried to get them in for almost a half an hour, but my eyes were so irritated that I couldn't get them in. Plus, I had to get the girls from Trina because she had them while they were doing a Non-stress Test at the hospital. Legacy Salmon Creek is awesome. That is where we are having 'Turd #3' at.

I went over to Optical right after I got off of work to try and put the contacts in again. I struggled. When I realized how to do it, It only took like ten seconds to get them in. When I'm done with school and all, I'm getting Lasik done. I hate wearing glasses, let alone contacts. At least the contacts weren't that bad putting them on today. I hate wearing glasses.

New year... belated!

Okay, I'm such a procrastinator. When do I ever blog? I really suck at it... Okay... Where to begin...

New Year Resolutions 2010

-Weight loss

-Exercising/Running

-More time with family (whole and individually)

-Getting my Associates so I can finally finish up Clark

I was thinking of running a marathon next year; possibly the Portland Marathon or Hood to Coast. With Trina having the baby hear any day now, since she is 31 weeks along and Ammie getting married in July, I didn't want to go through the hassle of having to worry about that this year. This way, I can prepare for it this year and be ready next year.

Okay, so Trina is due May 3rd, but she is most likely to have this kid earlier than that. I can't wait because this is our 3rd and LAST kid. I don't care what people say... this is our last kid. The reason why I say this is (1) Trina's pregnancies have been hell from the get go. Kaylee and Sam's have been the worse of them all, but this one, not as bad... but, she hasn't gone into bed-rest... YET. (2) She is at "High Risk" for this one, which is no surprise, just like the other two. So, I have time off of work to spend time with everyone and work is already prepared for anything. They are so awesome when it comes to that kind of thing.

Spring Break is coming up. I am excited. We are getting ready for our last kid. My mother-in-law has found some things to add to our house. She found new chairs for our kitchen table and Trina painted them all black. They look great. She also got extra dressers for the girls room as well as a living room entrance dresser. I bought a new recliner and a chair from Costco for the living room and it looks great in here.

Last month I bought Trina brand new High Efficient Front Loading washer & dryers. It was awesome watching it wash our first load of laundry. I love it, being able to do three times the amount than the last W/D that we had. I don't think that I will ever go back. We have washed almost 10 blankets, including that HUGE one my grandma made us when Trina and I first got married. That was my Valentine's present to Trina and her present to me was the net-book that she bought me. It's so light and the battery power lasts about 8 hours.

Winter Quarter at school is coming to an end. Speaking of... So, I talked to my ASL professor about getting my bachelors in ASL. She told me that there are a few schools that have that program. The closest one is at Western Oregon University by Salem. I don't want to move again. I need stability in my life and with the crap that is happening with the school system in Oregon... no thanks. When you got Liberals running the state, they seem to ruin it anyway. We have got it too good here anyway. There is one at Utah Valley University, but no way would I ever live in Provo, unless they can offer me an excellent six figure income with awesome benefits, including buying a house for us. Other than that, I will have to pass. So, I'm back to square one. Changing majors can suck. But then again... I was actually considering Business Management/Administration. We'll see what happens.

The last major thing that will be happening after the baby is born, within three months following, Ammie is getting married. July 17 is the date and July 20th is Trina and my 10th Wedding Anniversary. Where does the time go? We will be in Salt Lake for about a week, so it will be nice to see family and some friends while we are there.

Talk about a fun fulfilled year. We don't have any relatives visiting this summer, for once. It will be nice, because Trina and I don't want anyone to visit, with having the baby and all. I just don't want to deal with anyone staying and having to worry about it this summer. Next summer, not so much.

Next week is our presentation in my Small Group Communications class. So glad when that is over.

That's about it so far... I will keep updates, until then...

October

Well, being back to school, I thought this quarter was going to be easy... boy was I wrong. I signed up for three classes:
-Accounting 201
-ASL III
-Self Esteem (like I need anymore of it)

Let me tell you how grateful I am that ASL is the easiest class that I have, knowing sign language already. The self esteem class, not so much. It consists of two Saturdays (Oct 3rd and 17th) of my time for eight hours *Snooze*. Not only do I despise the class, I have to WORK before the class starts. I work at 4:00am and then leave work at 8:00, off to class, which starts at 9:00 and lasts until 5:00. Now, for my accounting class. I went in, thinking that it was going to be easy, only to be the greatest mathematician in the world. Like I said, I'm taking self esteem, so looking at the glass as being half full. ACCOUNTING SUCKS. Especially when the professor was an accountant for thirty years at Clark College, then retiring, only to teach two days a week. It is a very fast paced class. Even though I spent time in the Tutoring Department for my accounting class, I still bombed my first test. I just consider the test as a wash. Now I will be prepared for what's coming to me. All in all, if I can stay focused on the Accounting class, I hope that I can pull a decent grade from this class. Good thing that December 10th is the last day of class. With all the credits that I have earned, I am hoping that I will receive my associates degree either fall of next year... Hopefully.

Trina is taking classes (that's about it) *Wink* :-)

Kaylee is enjoying school... for now. She is doing great when it comes to homework. Samantha is enjoying preschool immensely, in fact, when Trina or I have to pick her up at the end of class, we have a tough time trying to pry her hands off the play area or bikes on the playground.

End of Summer...or is it??

Summer is coming to an end. Lets cap off what happened during the best season that I would like to call my own:
-Trina and I survived Summer quarter at Clark (Trina finished her last class on Wednesday). Writing five essays in 14 hours is a mistake that I don't plan on making ever again. It was Hell.

-Trina had Girls Camp in August and it was a success, thankfully it is over now. She does way too much as it is anyway.

-My mom came in May, a little Pre-Summer visit, while my Grandma, Aunt and her two kids came up for the 4th of July week. Had a blast.

-John asked my sister Ammie to marry him... it was about time. We will be heading to Salt Lake for the wedding in June. It's at Red Butte Gardens. It's real close to the University of Utah by the Marriott. Real beautiful place. So I'm trying this time to do some sightseeing and possibly visit with some friends and family while I'm there.

-Kaylee started the third grade on Wednesday. back to school night was on Monday and we found out that she gets to ride the bus for one more year... Trina and I are very excited for that. Also, we stood in line for Kaylee's thumbprint for lunch. Gotta love technology. Now there are no worries about forgetting or losing a lunch ticket, they just scan your thumb. She's excited to be in Ms. Candalore's class.

-Samantha starts Pre-school on the 17th, the day after her 5th birthday. Her Teacher is named Ms. Amy. She is coming to visit tomorrow at our house. Sam is excited because she gets to go hang out with Peggy McGlohn (A lady who goes to our church). She is awesome. She has bailed us out many times and during the heatwave, she has actually kept the kids for a few overnighters, for that we have gratitude for her.

-Work is good. I hit my five year anniversary on August 14th. I now get three weeks paid vacation. Very excited about that. The pay and benefits have been great. It's nice to know that I get paid more than I did while I was at Domino's and Pizza Hut... and I'm not even a manager. Goes to show how much Costco treats their employees, in fact, I never have to ask for a raise. I get them when I put in my hours. When I max out, which will be in roughly two years, I will be making almost three times what I did when I working for the pizza joints. And I would only be working 38-40 hours a week.

-Trina and a couple of friends are going to Port Angeles this coming up weekend for some crazy Twilight thing. Port Angeles, Forks and La Push are all locations in the book, even though the movie was filmed in Portland. That area is really the rainiest and cloudiest in the Continental U.S.. It is located at the NW tip of Washington in the Olympic Peninsula. While she will up there, the girls and I get to have one last week of summer

As the forecast shows, summer doesn't seem to want to go away. We received about a half an inch of rain yesterday, and haven't had that type of rain since May, so it's been really dry this summer. As I look on the bright side of things, while Trina is up in that area, I get a three day weekend with the girls, so I don't at least have to hear Trina gripe about the heat *Wink*. The downfall of it all is that I have to get up at 7:00 on Sunday. I have a meeting at our church because of the position I'm in. I am the first counselor of the Elder's Quorum. I'm in charge when the President goes out of town or for some personal business. Now ends my "calling" of being a Bears Leader in Cub Scouts.

-Labor Day was nothing unusual, except for the fact that just hung out at home and practically did nothing. At least Kaylee returns to school.

That's pretty much the whole summer in a nutshell.

Let's see what miraculous things happen during the fall.

-Sam was already getting excited for Halloween. She told me that she wants to be a cat. We shall see.

Thanksgiving is too far away to know what we have planned... Yeah...

Dog Days of Summer

We did it today. Stifling hot outside and it hit 106 in Portland. Supposed to be as hot for the next two days. Coming from Salt Lake, I am used to this type of weather during the summer, so nothing new. Only one problem... we have no A/C in our place. If you're from Portland, you don't have A/C, unless you have a new house or decided to upgrade and get central air. It's going to be hot until next Tuesday, after that, we should be back to normal. Gotta love the "Dog Days of Summer." The Camas Pool was packed with no surprise.

So, I have been taking Public Speaking this summer. At first, I had no immediate desire to take the class, but now that I am getting the hang of it, it's turning out to be not as bad as I had expected. On the other hand, I hate to admit, this professor has this class very structured to how she wants a speech setup. If it's not a certain way, you get docked several points for not doing something a certain way. Oh well, such as life. I had her for another class last year, and I enjoyed that class as well. I have done three speeches already. One, being my intro (Telling a little about myself) . Second, being my informative (how to communicate with a deaf person) and third, impromptu (if everything could be only one color, what would it be?). That was my topic and we had only two minutes to prepare. It was interesting. I have the next one, being my persuasive speech. I was going to talk about how Obama is going to FORCE US INTO Socialized Health Care and the negative affects it will have on this country. Sorry, but I'm not paying for some homeless, crack head or anyone who wants a free ride through government controlled health care that you, I and every taxpayer will pay for. Look at what it is doing in Canada and the UK. This was in Canada... Some lady found out that she was pregnant, and was told that she had to WAIT TEN MONTHS FOR AN ULTRASOUND! My response would have been, "Wouldn't you think that I just might have the baby before then?" DOH! How about waiting four months for a root canal, when you can get one the same day here in the good ol' US of A. All this in Canada. How about this. A lady had to get an MRI, and waited for TWO YEARS after being told that she DIDN'T QUALIFY for one! Thanks, but NO THANKS. Obama is on the right track to making our country slowly turn into a Utopia. What I mean by Utopia, is a great example I read in a book called "The Giver." Our government is slowly working it's way into controlling our lives. Read "The Giver" by Lois Lowry and you will know why I am against socialism and government control. Someone beat me to the punch, so I have to pick another subject to talk about for my persuasive speech. I'm not sure what I want to do it on yet, but we'll see.

I have next week off because Trina has Girls Camp for our church. Lots of fun. I get to hang out with the girls. Maybe I'll take them fishing up the Washougal River and catch some Salmon. Who knows yet.

Celebrities die and Vacation time and visit

People that died in three's in a short period of time: Ed McMahon (a regular on Johnny Carson and the Publishing Clearing House spokesperson), Farah Fawcett (Charlie's Angels and what not), and then last but not least, Michael Jackson (Jackson 5 and the "King of Pop"). Talk about an interesting day. Sad time around the world for MJ fans. In record store across the nation, and the world, his albums sold out. The jokes also came out as well.

My aunt Joylynn called and asked if she could stop by the airport and drop off her kids, before heading to Newburg and Salem to drop off some other people. I told her to meet me at IKEA. I would bring her kids over here and they can hang out and rest for a couple of hours until she got back. I can already see that It's going to be a long drive for them, but the visit will be worth it.

Father's Day and Kaylee's last day of second grade

As some of you may know, Kaylee's last day of school was supposed to be last Wednesday, but no, we had to get a FREAK SNOW STORM. So, Kaylee had to make up a few days because of it. So, today was Kaylee's last day of second grade. It has been a great experience this year, because she got to ride the bus all year long. That will changed, due to budget cuts. She won't get to ride the bus until middle school. She had "Camp Fox Rocks" all of last week, where they had a day camp for all second and third graders inside their classes. Trina and I send letters to Kaylee during the week. Kaylee reads so well and she is excellent in math and science. Congratulations Kaylee on completing the second grade.

Speaking of school, Sam has been put on a list for a preschool in Washougal. She missed the cutoff day by 16 days to start kindergarten this year. The school is at a church which is located across the street of where we lived for a year before moving up on Prune Hill. Washougal School district is a little sketchy. So we decided, with the help of Trina's mom finding this place up here, to enroll the kids in Camas School District. The reason behind it was due to the fact that Camas, WA was rated in the top 100 best places to live in the U.S. by Time Magazine and Camas School District was rated one of the top 10 best school districts by Newsweek back in the late 90's.

On Saturday, Kaylee, and other daughters, had a breakfast at our church for the Fathers for Father's Day. We had to write down three things that we liked to do as a hobby as well as Kaylee. We had to guess what they were. It was great. I have great daughters and a wife that I love and appreciate everyday. They also gave me two shirts. I needed more shirts and love them.

A week from today, my grandma, aunt and her kids are coming. It's going to be great. Apparently, we have tickets to go on the Portland Spirit. It is a ship that goes up and down the Willamette. You see the Waterfront and all of Downtown Portland, including the West Hills, OHSU, PGE Park, and to the East you can see Mt. Hood and St. Helens, The Columbia River Gorge, etc. It's a two hour ride, including lunch. We are going to the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon and from there we are going to Mo's at Cannon Beach (where we frequent very often), where you can see "Haystack Rock that sits right on the ocean, about a couple of hundred feet off shore. Haystack Rock can be seen in the opening scene of The Goonies, (Also one of my favorite 80's movies) when the Fratellis are fleeing from the police and then enter a ORV (SUV) race on the beach. It can be seen in the background. Later in the film you can see Haystack Rock again when Mikey is pointing out some rocks in the distance, with the doubloon." Cannon Beach and Tillamook is only about an hour and half drive from our place. We will probably do the Portland Zoo as well, and maybe Multnomah Falls or even Beacon Rock, which is up the Gorge. This will be a good visit and I will post pictures after the visit.