JOURNEY to Phoenix

Yesterday, my husband took me to Phoenix to see Journey in concert. It was the final piece to my birthday present in August. I must say, I was not a true Journey fan, but loved a few of their songs. Now, I can confidently claim obssession with the band. That was an awesome concert and I will be doing THAT again in the near future. Their new lead singer, Arnel Pineda is gorgeous. He is a tremendous singer and a perfect addition to this legendary group. What a night! I bought a Journey T-shirt, we had great seats, and we saw ourselves on the big projector 3 times. I could not thank my husband enough for such an awesome gift. Way to go Hun. You nailed it this year. (Not that all the other years weren't filled with good memories.) Anyhoo...here are some moments from one of the greatest events of my life thus far:

This is the best picture I could get of most of the band members. You have to realize that this lead singer was all over the place...very into his music...so it was hard to get a clear picture.

The following picture is of me and Reed during intermission. Is that a Bob Marley shirt he's wearing...to my Journey concert???

Anyway, this was such a good experience for me. I only hope I will be able to hear clearly again sometime in the near future.

DON'T STOP BELIEVING!

House Hunting Complete!

We bought a house!!! We will actually be investing our money into something that will be ours free and clear someday. It feels good to be an investor. I highly recommend it. The only scary/sad element is that we are so far away from civilization and life as we knew it and loved it for almost 6 years (longer for me). I thought I would show off our new house in lou of my excitement... Here she is. It's hard to hold back the tears.

We'll have to spruce the back up a smidge...vines?

This is the view from our backyard, or sideyard. Not sure. Our realtor took these for us.

I think there is a Pampered Chef/Open House party in my house's future...for sure!!!

Grandma's Birthday!!!

A few weeks ago, my family got together to celebrate my Grandma's 78th birthday. Some family members were in town that we don't usually see much of and it was so nice to spend some time with them. As you can see, we have a large family, but as most of you don't know...there are 12 people missing from this photo. TWELVE! They were otherwise engaged...BUMS! So if you do the math, that means there are 43 of us all together: 1 grandma, 4 kids and their spouses, 16 grandchildren (9 of whom are married), and 9 great-grand children=43 + 1 on the way.

We had so much fun together. My grandma performed some of our family's best known poems, and we ate until "unbuttoning your pants" capacity. The best part: I managed to come away un-ill. The last 2 times a Willis or Blair family gathering occurred, I became deathly ill. WHAT!!!

The next photos are of me and my sister, my grandma and my mom. Do we look related, cuz I'm not sure? I think I look like my mom, but most people tell me I'm the spitting image of my dad.

This is my friend Storey. That's right...her parents named her after the simile for book. I would have gone with Haiku or Limerick...maybe even Prose, but it's not my kid. Isn't she cute though? Her parents say she loves to make faces. This is one of her more unique faces. Her future has Comedian written all over it...or Librarian. Get it...Storey. Hee-hee.

Window to the Past

I've been tagged again by my friend Gretchen. Yes! This tag requires me to reflect on my highschool years...the best in my life if you ask me. I loved highschool. So, here we go...
1. Did you date someone from your school? A Junior in my seminary class liked me when I was a Freshman. It ends there. I was not popular with the guys. Probably because I prided myself on being rude and obnoxious. That, and I had no clue about the ways of flirting/dating.
2. What kind of car did you drive? My mom finally gave me her white Mercury Tracer when she bought a newer car of her own. This was my Junior year. Oh the freedom one gains when she scores her own vehicle.
3. Were you a party animal? To quote a friend of mine, "I am pretty straight laced." She then continued, "but not dead." Well, I was. The party scene frightened me.
4. Were you considered a flirt? Refer to item #1.
5. Were you in band, orchestra or choir? None of the above. I was heavily involved in drama and speech though. My highschool won several state competitions in a row...5 I think. I was a strong contributor in our wins.
6. Were you a nerd? I hesistate to answer. I don't think so. Let's review: I didn't raise my hand to answer every question; I didn't wear any glasses; I don't recall being on the chess club or associated with any who were. Looks like it's a resounding NO. Phew!!!
7. Were you on any varsity teams? What does varsity mean? Team? I'm confused. :)
8. Did you ever get suspended or expelled? No, but I was slated to attend detention once because my friend Kelly made Erika and I late for Chemistry. She fessed up real quick though and proudly offered to take detentions in our place. Way to go Kelly! You're a model friend.
9. Can you still sing the fight song? I haven't been good lately with thinking on the spot. I can't even think of the first few words. Lame! I remember our mascot. Does that count?
10. What was your school's full name? All that I can remember is Cortez High School. I don't think it had a full name.
11. School mascot? Colts. The Cortez Colts. We were a force to be reckoned with. Rar! I mean...Neigh!
12. Did you go to Homecoming, and who with? I would just refer you to item #1 again, but I did in fact go to one dance with a guy. Reed just said "I never went to Homecoming." I just laughed out loud. But now that I think about it, neither did I. I was thinking of Senior Prom. I went with James Taylor. He didn't see fire and he didn't see rain, but he probably hoped that that sunny day would end...quickly. He was a Junior, and I asked him. I rock! I should have just stuck with a reference to item #1.
13. If you could go back and do it again, would you? I would love to go back, but I wouldn't change a thing. My highschool years were some of the best in my life. I had great friends. I loved my teachers. I was involved in all the clubs there were. Well...the non-nerdy ones. I can't wait for my 10 year reunion! Wait, that sounds kind of nerdy.
14. What do you remember most about graduation? "Don't trip." "Don't trip." "Don't trip."
15. Where did you go Senior Skip day? I may not have been a nerd, but I wasn't stupid. Everyone that got caught was suspended. I ALWAYS get caught!
16. Were you in any clubs? Drama, Speech, National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, National Thespian Society, Just One, SADD. I think that's it.
17. Have you gained some weight since then? The opposite, actually. When I got married, I lost a lot of weight. Most everyone at work thought I was sick or something. Shame on all of you. I was pretty skinny though. I have filled out a bit more. :) Let's hope it stops there.
18. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Absolutely. I can't wait to walk in without a trail of kids behind me or a bun in the oven. I expect to hear huge gasps. I was supposed to be the one who opened her wallet and 10 pictures unfolded in the plastic accordian insert...one of each of my Jenlets.
That was fun. Thanks Gretch! Now I tag Bethany, Lark and Camille. Enjoy your blast from the past.

Knock Knock. Where's Jen?

Not much to say, but needed to write something. I haven't entered a blog in about a month...not cool! Since our amazing trip though, not much has occurred exciting enough to grace our blog. Ugh. All that's been happening is work and school prep. I just finished teaching my 3rd week of school. They were filled with laughter, tears (not by me), and way too much energy. I love my new class. I have only one new student and she is so cute. She loves to explore her environment and is so curious about everything. Not to mention, I have the cutest class at ASDB...everyone thinks so! They take after me. These first few weeks were rocky at times, but I think we are beginning to find our groove now. It usually takes about a month.
I start school this Wednesday: Braille and a web delivered course about behavior management. Like I need that! I've never taken a web delivered course before. It's never good to leave me on my lonesome with only a few words of wisdom and direction. Anything could happen!
Other than that, I've just been enjoying my new class, trying to catch up on reading, and house hunting. That's right...Reed has finally let us dive into the adult world. For those of you who know us well...this could take about 9 months to a year, so don't freak out. We will be graduated, Reed will have a great engineering job with a bigger company, and we'll be ready for the move in time. No worries! Soul possession of a washer/dryer...here I come!

Tag...You're It!

Yay! I've been tagged. I have to report 6 things about myself that are random and possibly unknown to many. Then I have to tag a few other people. Too bad not many of my friends blog. Common guys...I need more blogging pals.
1. I am absolutely dead to the world when I'm sleeping. I can sleep through a thunderstorm or a kidnapping no problem.
2. I can make 3 loops with my tongue. I was really bored one day in highschool.
3. I love to step on very crunchy leaves...and bugs.
4. I despise bows. You'll never see me or my children sporting those hideous eyesores.
5. I love to be barefooted. Maybe that's why the bottom of our tub gets so dirty so fast.
6. I have never broken a bone. All of you better knock on wood right now!
Now I tag...Lili, Jordie and Vanessa. Have fun being random.

Oh, What a Wonderful World

Well...we're back! We had such a great time. The West Indies are beautiful and the culture is welcoming and friendly especially when your husband thinks he's a West Indian...they seemed to like that. I was telling my cousin how important/humbling an experience this was for me. Guyana (located on the north coast of South America) is one of the poorest countries in the world. They don't have much, but they will give to others-no questions asked. I find most countries I've been to are the same way. America needs to follow suit a bit more.

Okay, we visited 2 countries (Trinidad and Guyana) in one week and I still managed to take over 200 pictures. We are so tired, but glad to have such an unforgettable experience under our belts. My eyes have seen some amazing things that I will brag about forever...until our next unforgettable trip. We hope to make this a yearly tradition while we have the time and money.

Here are some interesting facts I came up with about the W.E.:

1. Everything looks, feels and operates like Europe-probably because it was once run by the British for many years (at least Trinidad was).
2. Vendors/vagrants walk the middle of the highway selling their goods.
3. Although they speak English, it sounds like a foreign language to me-a cross between a Jamaican and East Indian accent.
4. People leave their trash bags full of trash on the streets (no trash bins I guess) for the city to pick up.
5. The government subsidizes travel, and food happens to be really inexpensive (not at the grocery store-a box of Cheerios was $7 U.S.)...yay for us!
6. Security guards patrol the grocery store aisles...should we have been concerned?
7. The people either look straight from Africa or India, or are a nice mix between the 2.
8. Stray dogs are like the pigeons in New York. What is that about?
9. Exchange rates: $6 Trinidad/Tabago to $1 American. $206 Guyana to $1 American.

Here are a few of my pictures. The rest can be found in this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jseamons81/WestIndies2008.

Trinidad's Savannah. It was cloudy a lot, but isn't it beautiful?

Some kiddos at the zoo in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
On the way through the jungle to Maracas Bay, Trinidad.
Maracas Bay: this was a shocking realization for Reed that he needs a more thorough tan.
Beauty all around...loved the fogginess.

What a wonderful world we live in.

"The Bird Dance" by the ex-Queen of an Amerindian tribe called the Arawak's. We took a boat ride through the Kamuni creek off the Demarara river in Guyana to visit their village. Sorry for the obnoxious weed-eater noise in the background, but if you succeed in blocking that out you can hear her explain what she is doing and catch her cool accent.