Some things never change!

This is just too cute to not share!

Here are my girls one of the first times we caught them actually touching each other! Nala must've creeped in after Rahja was already asleep, but we were so relieved that MAYBE Rahja was giving in and was going to end up loving Nala. We could only hope they would turn out best friends...

And this was just the other night. Two years later. The only thing that has changed is Nala's size, and the fact that now this is so normal we never would think to take a picture of it. They are so lucky to have each other, and we are so lucky to have them!!!!

Almost summer!

Wow, I cannot even believe that May is more than half way over!!! Feels like it just started! This has been another busy month in our lives...
I have been working a ton!!! I know this is good, but just like all the teachers who are taking all these days off, I am feeling burnt out too. I am so ready to be in a place where I know what to expect everyday. Where I know the kids' names, and the procedures for each building. I have enjoyed my time subbing because I knew I wouldn't be doing it forever, and because I have been able to pick up things I liked in each classroom, but I am ready now to have a "home." I am ready for long hours and knowing where everything is. And I am so ready for building relationships with just my 29 kids. (Which yes, is how many 2nd graders I will have next year).
I subbed in the room I will be teaching in yesterday and picked up a whole packet of information that the teacher has been writing for me. It overwhelmed me and excited me all at the same time. I know the beginning of a school year is stressful even for a seasoned teacher, but I also know that I have an amazing support group. It should be a fun ride!

My darling husband has been busy this month as well. He has completed the brick walls... That's correct, COMPLETED! A job that we dreamed up when we bought this house, that at some times I'm sure we both thought "is it really worth all this?" is working it's way to an end. Here is what our ridiculous hillside looks like  now... 

But now, don't be fooled. This yard is FAR from being finished. The garden will be in the middle of these two walls, and that is what Kevin is tackling next. It will have raised beds and a brick "floor". Then we have to pour a concrete retaining wall at the bottom of the yard so that we can attempt to level all the dirt from this hill into our yard. After that wall there is more leveling, topsoiling the entire yard and planting grass. And since we will be gone for a big part of the summer, we are hoping to have it all finished by the time school is back in session. It's closer to being a usable yard than it has ever been, and I can't wait to look out and see nice green grass and a garden full of stuff!!! THANKS to my amazing, hardworking husband our dreams and visions continually come true!

On another note, we leave for Europe in 40 days!!!! I cannot believe it is that close now! We can't wait to be writing on here every evening from our journey through Europe. Please cross your fingers that that horrid volcano calms down and we are able to fly on time to each of our four stops :) 

Thanks for taking the time to stay updated with our lives! We hope the sun finds you and yours happy and well!!!!

 The O'Neils

May Day!

When I was searching the internet one day in early April, I found an annual fundraiser for the SW Wash Humane Society called Walk for the Animals. You pay an entry fee and then go on a 1.5 or 3 mile walk on the Vancouver waterfront with your dogs. Well since Rahja's birthday is in May, (hence the middle name Maye), and because there is nothing else in the world Rahja likes more than other dogs and walking, we figured this would be a perfect event to base her fourth birthday around. Also since both of our dogs are rescue dogs, (one from the humane society and one from a shelter in Gresham), this is something that is very dear to our hearts.  

The weather did not look promising, and as far as we had seen there hadn't been any advertising for the event beside on their website, but we were determined to make this a fun day, so we went thinking we would be three (Kev, my mom and I) of maybe 20 people there. Much to our surprise, when we reached the park where the registration was, there were HUNDREDS of dogs. The look on our dogs faces was of amazement. It was a really heartwarming thing to see, around 1,000 people, most of who had brought their furry sidekicks, were lined up ready to walk for the cause. And although it was a busy and kind of smushed walk along the water, it was a sight to see. Rahja, who knows what birthday parties are, was SO excited that we had done all this just for her. :) The weather held up for us all day, and we were even able to stop along the way and let the dogs swim in the Columbia. 

Needless to say, after we got home and ate birthday cupcakes, the girls were a little tired!

And so was their Daddy.

And their beloved Grammie!!

What a fun way to spend a Saturday! And thanks Mom for always joining in on our crazy dog birthdays! Oh, and notice Nala's collar in her picture... We went shopping at the farmers market that started after the walk and Grammie bought the girls new collars for Rahja's birthday, aren't they cute? 

I feel like May is starting off on the right foot. It feels good to give back. Let's hope the sun hangs around and we will be able to get this yard moving again! Talk to ya'll soon!

April...

I can't believe it is almost over already!!! April is a busy month... We just celebrated Kevin's 25th birthday yesterday, his dads was on the 9th, and my moms is on Friday. I have been trying to improve my cake skills between Zumba classes, Kevin has two new batches of beer brewing. The brick wall is continuing to grow, and job opportunities seem to keep popping up. 
My cakes are gradually getting more presentable, and I am having so much fun learning how to do all of it! It is a fun way to spend a Friday night with my amazing friend Misty! Not bad after only two classes!

Kev has been working every spare second on the backyard and getting more done on the brick wall. He is such a hard worker, and if it weren't for all this rain, he would have all 50,000 pounds done I'm sure!!!

This is where we started a little over a month ago...

This was as of April 15th...
I am so very excited to see our yard changing and am able to stand the dirty dogs without much complaining while all this happens!


Another big thing that has happened in April is that I have gotten an offer to long term sub next school year in the Washougal School District. It would be an amazing opportunity because I would be working September-December alone, full time, and then half-time the rest of the school year. The other teacher is amazing and we would mesh in a classroom really well! If I get this job, we will not be moving to Saipan... But if not, it is still on the table. It's nice to feel like I have a couple of things working for next school year, and I should know about the sub job after May 3rd when the principal of that school comes in to observe me! 
The nice thing about April is that we have gotten to spend lots of time with family with birthdays and such. My beautiful cousin came to visit from Spokane Valley and I got to spend the day with my entire family, but mostly with her and her four little girls who I miss like crazy! And this past weekend I went with my other cousin and his three little boys to Enchanted Forest (their mama was out of town for the weekend), and had a blast with them! They are the sweetest, most well behaved little boys in history. Kevin and I are truly blessed with amazing family that are all so close to where we are, so we are able to see them often and spend lots of time together. We would have a really hard time adjusting to not having this!
Speaking of family... I have an incredible friend, who has been a huge part of my life these last couple of years (seeing how we were stuck into to the same co-hort at City University, I had probably seen her more than I had seen Kevin for over two years), in need of prayer. Her adorable 4 year old son Caleb was diagnosed with Philadelphia-Chromosome Positive, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the beginning of April. This is a scary situation for any family, but especially for hers because of Caleb's health before this was discovered. Please keep them in your thoughts so that her and her husband can remain as strong and positive as they have to this point. I know they would really appreciate it!
“Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.”
So... this has been our April thus far. Happy birthday Charlie, Kev and Mom. And I hope everyone is beginning to wake from the winter and smile in the sunshine!

My career...

It is on quiet days like this, when Kevin is at work and I am home, that I realize just how lucky I am to have the career that I do. I knew from the time I was little that I loved teaching (or being in charge), and I loved any kids younger than myself. I am so thankful that I took the (maybe somewhat extra) time to figure out what I truly wanted to be when I grew up. 
There is not a day that goes by at school where I don't smile at their innocence and sweetness, beam with pride at their achievements, or start cracking up at something the kids do or say. And to watch them giggle is honestly the most infectious thing in the world because of the pure joy in their laughs. Don't get me wrong, we have tough days, and there are definitely kids I would not bring home with me, but there are more that I would, and more days that we spend our time laughing together while we learn.


For example on Wednesday the kids wanted to show me a picture of "the fattest priest in the world" out of the Guinness World Record book that they so cherish. This surprised me that it would even be a category, so I agreed to look at it with them. About 12 of them come running over to me with the book and say, "Mrs. O'Neil!!! Look it!!! He weighs like 800 pounds!" Of course all the little girls were making gagging noises at the time. I looked at the picture and saw a man with a only a sheet wrapped around him and read the caption out loud to them. Turns out he was 1,235 pounds and bed ridden, but nothing about being a priest. I said, "Guys, it doesn't say he is a priest, what made you think that?" One boy looks up and says, "Because Mrs. O'Neil, he is wearing those underwear that they wear." All the rest giggle in agreement. It took me a second to realize what they were all in agreement about then I said, "OOOHHHH, no, guys you are thinking of Sumo Wrestlers that wear underwear like this! And he isn't even one of those, that's just all that will fit him!" They all smiled and looked at me when one replied... "yeah, same thing." I just couldn't contain my laughter "yeah, same thing?" A priest and a sumo wrestler, their right, pretty darn close. :)
Another day I was walking around while the kids were working and I heard a faint noise coming from a corner of the room. I looked over and everyone seemed to be working away, so I walked closer to see what exactly it was. When I got over by the two little boys I heard one of them was singing, "Sleep Country USA! Why buy a mattress anywhere else?!?" Without missing a beat, without lifting his head, almost subconsciously, the kid next to him goes, right on cue, "DING!!!" Neither looked up, neither even realized they had done it. They just kept working. I had to walk away so I could laugh without them noticing. 
I have at least one of these stories everyday. That's the joy of working with kids. They don't have to try to be funny, they aren't embarrassed to laugh at themselves, and they truly enjoy life everyday. You have never experienced the excitement Valentines Day, or Halloween until you have visited a school on these days. Spend a day with them in a classroom, you can learn a lot from these little beings. I know I do, and I am truly lucky to get to spend the next 30 years doing it!

One year...

So last year, on Easter weekend, Kev and I were moving our things into our new house (with lots of help from our parents because I was at school, thank-you!). We were so very excited and nervous about all the changes this new house brought to our lives. We woke up the first morning to a horrible noise, that we soon figured out was going to be an annoying problem, a woodpecker. 

                                                  Our little woodpecker friend showed up EVERYDAY at 6:30 on the dot, to give us a nice loud wake-up call. We tried everything we could think of to free ourselves from this new friend of ours who had probably really enjoyed this house for the year that it sat empty. And we finally resorted to borrowing a little boys bee-bee gun to shoot him. Don't worry, this never happened, seeing how Kev has never really shot a gun and would run out in his underwear, half asleep, and lean on the pillars to even hold himself up before shooting. A lot of things got shot that week, like our house, our trees, but not our woodpecker.  Then one day he just left. We woke up on our own, afraid to move for a second and then both smiled ear to ear... We were free!!!!

Our castle rum cake for the housewarming party! It was as good to eat as it was cute!!! 

The flag says "Casa di O'Neil", Thanks Bonnie!

Our beautiful new kitchen and the creator of that cake!

Now, a year later, you would not believe what I was woken up by today... THE WOODPECKER!!!!!!!!!! I almost had to smile about the way he came back on the same weekend we started this journey last year. It brought back all the memories of this house being new, and amazing to us that it was actually ours, now it's just our normal house that we are just used to living in. It also is so hard to believe that was a year ago now! 

Oh how things change in a year. To think I was still taking 18 credits, working, and student teaching last year at this time. This year I get paid to teach, go to Zumba classes twice a week and am starting a cake decorating class next Tuesday. I think I like where I am now just slightly better. :) Kev was just embarking on becoming a landlord, which we were both so nervous about, but we really lucked out there and found amazing renters who love our house and keep it up like it is their own. Kev has only had to go work on something there maybe 4 times in a year. We are SO thankful for Mary and Gina! I guess not all that much else has changed for him in a year though, still at good ol station 25 with a bunch of fun loving guys who he enjoys getting to spend 24 hours with every third day, still working his tail off in his time off either in our yard or with his dad, still spends every extra second he has with Rahja and Nala and sometimes they even invite me to tag along :) He also is a master beer brewer now a days. 

What an amazing year it has been in this place we call home. We are so lucky at our age to have the things we have and I know it is all Kevin's hard work that has gotten us through this scary year where I didn't get paid anything to go to work everyday! Thank you babe for the life you have given the girls and me!!! Oh, and borrow that gun again, we are going to need it ;)

Day of changes- Things came, and something went.

Well the bricks have arrived...

A WHOLE WHOLE lot of bricks. So now, if we could get some sunshine my hubby could get going on these lovely piles that are not even inside of our fence. 

So the bricks are here... but the application to Saipan is gone. I sent it in today to a very nice lady who (finally) answered my email last night! We are excited to see what comes of all this, but we are looking at it like this; if everything falls into place and we go and love it there, and find a wonderful, trustworthy renter for our house, we'll take this opportunity and pack up. If we can't find a renter, or don't hear back after they get my application, we weren't meant to go. We have lots of exciting things to look forward to here at home, and love being able to spend time with our amazing friends and family so it's not like we are trying to get away from anything here. Either way, this next year holds very exciting things for Kevin and I...  :) 

On another note, my dear friend lost their 13 year old lab today. Their first born child and the big sister to their one daughter. Hug your puppies. And enjoy them even in this rain, with their muddy little feet. 

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."

(Anatole France)