0h-Nine...So Fine

Today all of my small group is graduating from high school. I am so proud of them!
I will miss our time that we spend together every week. Some of them have been in my small group for four years, and some I have known even longer than that. I know I will still get to see their beautiful faces, but I loved knowing that they we had a date every Wednesday at 7:00pm.

Pretty Bird...Polly want a cracker?

Here is something you probably don't know about me...I think I would really enjoy bird watching. I don't necessarily like birds - like I don't want one perched on my shoulder or have one living in my house - but I do think they are pretty and I am always interested in the different birds that I do see. When I get my iPhone in a couple of months I think I will upload a Bird Watching App.

I heart Office Supplies

I have to buy a lot of office supplies for work, and you will NEVER hear any complaining from me about it. I really love office supplies. Pens, pencils, notebooks, sharpies, staplers, paper clips, envelopes...I love it all! When I went to school to become a teacher I would always think about all the great school supplies I was going to to buy each year. And when my sister told me that for Christmas she wanted a gift card to Staples or Office Max - it brought a tear to my eye. I have a Platinum Rewards card to Staples -they don't just give those things to anybody.

Here is a way you know you love office supplies too much...

...the general manager from your local Staples sends you a personal "Thank You for Your Business" note.

I heart Rain

We woke up to the sound of thunder this morning (and when I was running errands I saw lightning). To most of America the occurrence of thunder and lightning are not that exciting, but in Southern California it is more likely that you will see dog walk on two legs before you would hear thunder and see lightning. And for a girl who loves, loves, LOVES rain it is quite an exciting way to wake up.

A single rain drop can send me running to get my umbrella (it is clear, and bubble shaped just like the one in this picture) in hopes that it will pour, and I will have to use it in order to stay dry.

I love being in my house when it is raining. I love being in my car when it is raining. I love being at work when it is raining (unless there is a drip on or near my head). I just love rain...so much so that I think I should maybe move to a different state.

I can NOT wait...

Being Productive...Kind Of

Tonight between the hours of 6:00pm - 9:00pm we managed
to experience 7 Disneyland attractions.
After tonight, I am successfully able to cross 4 attractions of The List including a ride I have NEVER been on before...and in just 3 short hours!
Star Tours
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
King Arthur Carousel
Pinocchio's Daring Journey

I only have one attraction left in Tomorrowland,
but the Astro Orbit is being remodeled,
so I may have to wait until my summer hiatus on my pass is over
before I even have a chance to cross that one off.

So now this list is as follows:

Attractions I have experienced since October 10th, 2009

Attractions I have NEVER experienced

Main Street Disneyland:

The First 50 Magical Years

Main Street Cinema

Fire Engine

Omnibus

Horse-Drawn Streetcars

Horseless Carriage

Tomorrowland:

Star Tours

Space Mountain

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Autopia

Innoventions

Astro Orbit

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

Adventureland:

Jungle Cruise

Pirates of the Caribbean

Haunted Mansion

Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island

Sailing Ship Columbia

Mark Twain Riverboat

Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes

Frontierland:

Shootin' Exposition

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Indiana Jones Adventure

Tarzan's Treehouse

Enchanted Tiki Room

Disney Gallery above Pirates

Critter Country Splash Mountain

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Toon Town:

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin

Gadget's Go Coaster

Fantasyland:

Mr. Toads Wild Ride

Snow White's Scary Adventures

Mad Tea Party

Matterhorn Bobsleds

Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough

Peter Pan's Flight

Pinocchio's Daring Journey

Storybook Land Canal Boats

Alice in Wonderland

Casey Jr. Circus Train

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

"it's a small world"

King Arthur Carousel

Transportation Disneyland:

Monorail

Disneyland Railroad - Main Street, U.S.A.

Disneyland Railroad - New Orleans Square

Disneyland Railroad - Tomorrowland

Disneyland Railroad - Mickey's Toontown

Chip N Dale Tram

Challenge Accepted

My friend Brian has decided to try and ride every ride at Disneyland in one year of having an Annual Pass. He has created a certificate for those who complete the challenge.

I think I can do it. Here are what I have been on so far and what I have left to do.

Attractions I have experienced since October 10th, 2009

Attractions I have NEVER experienced

Main Street Disneyland:

The First 50 Magical Years

Main Street Cinema

Fire Engine

Omnibus

Horse-Drawn Streetcars

Horseless Carriage

Tomorrowland:

Star Tours

Space Mountain

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Autopia

Innoventions

Astro Orbit

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

Adventureland:

Jungle Cruise

Pirates of the Caribbean

Haunted Mansion

Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island

Sailing Ship Columbia

Mark Twain Riverboat

Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes

Frontierland:

Shootin' Exposition

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Indiana Jones Adventure

Tarzan's Treehouse

Enchanted Tiki Room

Disney Gallery above Pirates

Critter Country Splash Mountain

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pool

Toon Town:

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin

Gadget's Go Coaster

Fantasyland:

Mr. Toads Wild Ride

Snow White's Scary Adventures

Mad Tea Party

Matterhorn Bobsleds

Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough

Peter Pan's Flight

Pinocchio's Daring Journey

Storybook Land Canal Boats

Alice in Wonderland

Casey Jr. Circus Train

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

"it's a small world"

King Arthur Carousel

Transportation Disneyland:

Monorail

Disneyland Railroad - Main Street, U.S.A.

Disneyland Railroad - New Orleans Square

Disneyland Railroad - Tomorrowland

Disneyland Railroad - Mickey's Toontown

Chip N Dale Tram

Tesoro Owned the Weekend

I enjoyed watching this video 18 times this weekend. We played it at the beginning of the service and at the end of the service, and Jake probably played it 10 times in between services.

I Like Can I Touch?

You are welcome!

Emails from a 9* year old

*Friday is my sister's 9th birthday, and she has chosen Disneyland as the location of her celebration. This is great for me, because that makes it so much more fun when I actually get to celebrate with her and I don't have to just drop a gift in the mail. In preparation for the big day she has been sending me emails about what she would like to receive for her birthday. As you can imagine emails from a soon-to-be 9 year old can bring you such little moments of joy through out your week so I wanted to share them with you.

Please note the emails are in their original format of when they were sent to me:

Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 4:13 PM
To: Ryanne Witt
Subject: Hi

Your probaly wondering what I want for my birthday, well this Summer were going to New York with Tia, Randy, and Sierra. And of course I'm going to the American Girl Doll Store. I'm saving up all the money I can collect. I want money, High School Musical 3 Senior Year DVD, and Camp Rock CD, Jonas Brothers CD. Talk to you later. Love you

Tori
_________________________________________

Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 4:31 PM
To: Ryanne Witt
Subject: I FORGOT!!!

I also want for my birthday more than anything else the
Boston Teirer Webkinz
Bottlenose Dolphin Webkinz
Dachshund Webkinz
Guniea Pig Webkinz
White Swan Webkinz
Zebra Webkinz
Blue Googles Webkinz
Lil' Budgie
Now these are after the money part Thank you!
Tori
P.S Ryry On The 15th of May or next Friday we are going to be there at Disneyland. Wondering If You Want to come. Love Tori
____________________________________________________

Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 3:54 PM
To: Ryanne Witt
Subject: Disneyland

Hi,
Disneyland is going to be on Friday. We're going to try to get there by the time it opens or a little after.I still have to talk to Grandma Jenni. I hope we can stay till it closes. I have all the rides in order. My mom will talk to you later about details. I love you! Love, Tori
___________________________________________________

Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 7:15 PM
To: Ryanne Witt
Subject: Birthday

I'm sorry I got mixed up I want the High School Musical 3 DVD along with Camp Rock DVD. Thanks. Can't wait to see you there.Tori

I heart Blogs

I sometimes sit down to check my emails and often only read blogs and Twitter. I get so wrapped in what people are doing and what they have going on in their lives that I completely forget about the task at hand.

I guess emails can wait until the next time I think about them and attempt to make it to my inbox.

I Went to the Dentist Today

A little over a year ago (see above picture) I started thinking that I really should look for a new dentist since it has been so long since the last time that I went.

The thing is that the longer I am away from the dentist the more and more and more nervous I get about going back. BUT great news! Only one cavity...gotta love that!

Also, I am sure you can imaging how good it felt to mark "Make Dentist Appointment" off of my to do list.

P.S. "Send President Email" is not referring to me sending an email Barack...in case you were wondering.

The Latest Fad

I am going to write a book.
It is going to be called "The Pepperoni Pizza Lean Pocket Diet"
First you stress out about your weight and vow to eat healthier.
Then you stress out at work and run out of time almost every day to think about what you are eating.
Then you eat one Pepperoni Pizza Lean Pocket for lunch, and two for dinner.
It will probably only be a couple of pages long, so it will be more like a pamphlet.
Actually more like an essay.

I'm Really Not that Picky

I really am a lover of all food bad for you. Hot dogs, fish sticks, and ANYTHING you eat with tartar sauce are high on the list. However, I am not sure about the new Sea Dogs at Wienerschnitzel. I don't think I can go there mentally.

The Now Network

I think this commercial is brilliant.
Especially the part about Twitter.

Life in 3-D

I have seen two 3-D movies in the last month.

Coraline and Monsters vs Aliens.

I am not really sure if they were good movies or not, because I was so worried about looking cool in my 3-D Ray-Ban-esque glasses and I was in awe of watching previews and movies in 3-D.

So catchy...

I can't stop singing the songs...and giggling about these.

Shiprock or Bust!

After being in Shiprock, New Mexico for a couple of days we decided that we wanted to go to the actual Shiprock. So we set out on an adventure to see how close we could get to it.

We were close, but we couldn't see any roads leading us to Shiprock.

Right when we had found a road that we thought could take us to Shiprock an enchanted wild stallion (or Unicorn - it was debatable) led us astray.

After following a the wild stallion and LOTS of off-roading we made it as far as we could go.

We made it to Shiprcok!

But there were NO roads in sight and we only had a 1/4 tank of gas.

We crowned Griff the king for getting us back home!

Shiprock, New Mexico: Part 2

Students spent most of their time in Shiprock doing work projects for people in the community. However, on Wednesday afternoon we put on a carnival. Each village hosted two carnival booths. It is safe to say that the carnival was success - even though we endured a dust storm for the first couple of hours. Although it wasn't a crowd favorite, my favorite booth was the Cake Walk booth. Who doesn't love a great Cake Walk?

Deep Sea Fishing

Face Painting

Balloon Animals

Musical Chairs

Home Run Derby

Dunk Tank

Hot Dogs and Popcorn

Snow Cones, Cotton Candy, and Hot Coco

Zack with his punch balloon

Playing "Where's KShann?" in the food line

Shiprock, New Mexico: Part 1

Last week in HSM we had our first missions experience in New Mexico working with the Navajo people of Shiprock, New Mexico. We had such an amazing 5 days in Shiprock. I am so so proud of all of our students and how hard they worked. Of course there was lots of laughter and large amounts of bonding.

I miss my friend...

There are many reasons that I love and adore my friend Ange. One big reason is because she is not scared to be silly as me - and often rivals me in her level of silliness. Sometimes we miss her so much at our different weekly TV watching that we skype her in so we can hear her laugh.

Happy Birthday Ange!

Away We Go

I can NOT wait to see this! I hope it as good as it looks.

3 years ago today...

...Jonathan took me golfing and on the ninth hole opened a golf ball with a ring inside of it. He asked me to marry him!
EVERYDAY God confirms in small or BIG way that Jonathan most definitely the one for me.

I love you Joe!

It is all about being prepared...

My favorite website Fred Flare is delivering again!

I am all about being prepared, and these are really perfect for that.

I mean surely one day I will need birthday candles on the fly.