What makes people happy is great memories...

... and something to look forward to. Here are the highlights from my weekend with mom. Dave coached football all weekend. Second weekend in a row that we were in different cities. Next weekend we are going to the FCA coaches couples retreat so we will have some QT. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend... Good wine, no cell service, foggy beach rain, yummy medditeranean food, armenian coffee, and a really good haircut (maybe it wasnt just a haircut :)

Vegan...or semi-vegan

Something that you never thought would come out of my mouth. I've decided to give up meat and dairy. They say you should not say "give up" because then you feel like you are sacrificing. But what the h. It is a sacrifice. I am a protein fiend, always have been. I love eggs, I LOVE CHEESE, I love fillet mignon, I love ribs. I LOVE ALL OF IT. So why the heck am I giving it up (because it is a sacrifice, no matter what they want you to call it!) Well, unfortunately I have been doing a lot of reading and researching about the truth behind what we call nutrition in America, and it boils down to the fact that we eat a whole lot of junk that we think is nutritious. We eat way more protein then any other nation in the world. And 99% of our animal protein is treated with growth hormones (bigger = more $$ for meat producers), antibiotics, and all kinds of other craziness (including arsenic or rat poisoning). That kinda grosses me out. Plus only 7% of the average Americans diet is derived from plant sources or fruits and vegetables. And now that I have been eating this way for about 3 weeks I have literally never felt better in my life. My mind feels clear, my stomach feels flat, my skin looks clearer, and my conscience feels great. Another thing that I love are animals. After reading about the conditions in the factory farms and at the slaughter houses (don't worry, I wont give the details. Those you have to read for yourself) I cant even think of meat without thinking of those images and wanting to kiss and hug every cow, pig and chicken I see. Sorry, I know this is a bit extreme. But it is working for me and I truly believe that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs not only to people, but all of God's creation. It says in the bible that All of creation groans to be freed from enslavement...and we are not all that God created. So its tofutti cream cheese and lentil soup for me. Okay, I will still eat the other from time to time, but I really do feel passionate about this change and I am really excited.
-Lizzy
P.S. the above statements do not reflect the views of my husband, but he is very supportive and I love him to the moon.

the TWINS!!

WE love kids. I mean literally we want to have 4 of our own, but we figure why stop there. Lets have a few god children too. So we currently are nino and nina to 4 (but we count Kiera as 5 even though she technically isnt our god daughter.) That's a good start to our own football team. Misha, Lili, Tiegan, Mathew and Kiera in spirit. They are our practice babies. Today I saw our twins for the first time since January and they are soooo old! Just to show you how much they have grown since last time at this year I put in some pictures.

THE PUPPIES!!!

This is Kate's new puppy, Sadie Jane, and her brother Rocko. We gave them baths today. Dave is in Reno having boy play time (that is an inside joke that I am leting you all in on...sorry). He missed out. Stinky puppies turned vanilla scented flea-less little dody dodies.

PS. If you know our cousin, Kevin, check out this article.

http://azrattlers.com/news/flash/index.html?article_id=372

Wednesday Morning

So this is what we do on a wednesday morning during spring break. We make a pot of coffee (Dave just made up a little song about how he loves coffee and is going to drink it every day until the day he dies) and we lounge around. A lot disheveled. The house is messy, but you tell me what 400 square foot box isnt with a couple of pack rats living in it. We are going to make some breakfast and start a credit file as we begin the hunt for our very own....drum role please.... house! Something slightly larger where we dont have to have a living room/office/dining room (do those little tv trays count as a dining room table?) and bedroom that are all connected and slant into each other. I am literally looking up into my bedroom at my unmade bed.

Dave is going to Reno today.

I am going to have four days to clean my teeny tiny house and just relax.

Its a nice break from the 7am-8pm routine of our normal life. This is why we became teachers. SPRING BREAK!

Set...blue 42... blue 42...hut!

Well we did it. We decided to come to terms with the dorkiness of ourselves and create a blog. We could only avoid it for so long. The truth is we hate myspace (sorry....) but we still want to be connected to everyone we love and live far away from on a more regular basis. So meet our blog. Our life on a website. Hope you enjoy. And yes, we want to save the sea turtles. All of them.