Happy Birthday Bethany!

(complete with pictures from Facebook, since I don't have my own pictures anymore)

Today, the little sister turned 15.

And by "little", I mean younger, because she is way taller than me now.

(From New Year's... I'm scrunching down a little.)

It seems like just yesterday that we were like this:

(hahaha baby Cole!)

Now, she is almost done with her freshman year of high school. She has been one of my top four favorite roommates ever, and she has gotten super funny lately. Our favorite thing is when she wants to tell a story that's not even funny, but she cries laughing immediately and can't even finish it. Or when we're playing Qwelf and she has to give herself a wedgie.

She has also accepted the fact that she is Dane's second favorite Murphy aunt, and has taken it graciously.

Well, little Bethie Boo, hope your birthday is great. I'm excited to party at the family reunion with you!

Jersey sheets.

Just a little anecdote.

So, one thing that I never knew about before moving to Idaho was the idea of "summer sheets" vs. "winter sheets". It is so blasted cold in the winter that without flannel sheets you may freeze to death before morning. However, between June and August it is nice and warm. You need non flannel sheets or else you sweat to death before morning.

When we got married, we got some green flannel sheets. As it was already starting to get cool in September, we didn't buy any other ones for a while. However, once summer started it was unbearable. I was going on a trip down to Utah with a class and asked Brandon to buy some new sheets for our bed that we could use in the summer. When I got home, Brandon was so excited to show me that he had bought new sheets. He had me close my eyes, and then unveiled them with a great show.

And they. were. hideous. They were GRAY! And not the cute gray that you can get. They looked like the BYUI gym shirts gray. We have a blue and yellow quilt for our bed, so it had nothing to do with the color pattern. Then I laid down on them. And they felt like the gym shirts! Little did I know that there was a new kind of sheet that I had never experienced... jersey sheets.

But, what was I to do?! Brandon was SO excited to show me the sheets... so I just laughed and told him they were excellent.

This morning, Brandon told me, "Hey, maybe we should get new sheets. These aren't doing so well." I said, "THANK GOODNESS. Brandon, I've never liked them." He wasn't offended. And now we have new sheets, that are blue and actually match our quilt.

Bring Him Home.

So, one of my favorite songs from Les Mis is "Bring Him Home". When we were little, my mom used to always say that was her favorite and we would roll our eyes and say, "AWWW MOM IT'S SO BORING!"

But, now that I'm older, I appreciate the song so much more. I even played it for a musical number during a Relief Society activity, and during the song I could hear people sniffing. I didn't mean to make it a sad time, I swear!

I think it's because of my brothers being out on missions, but that's what I think of when I hear this song.

Here are some versions that have touched me.

(The wonderful Hugh Jackman) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRNXVYzWwjw

(The Piano Guys) http://thepianoguys.com/portfolio/bring-him-home-from-les-miserables/

Trust me, it may make your allergies act up.

Job Hunt comes to a close!

I am feeling super humbled and blessed.

As mentioned... I have been looking for a job. I was just about to give up when I got a call from an elementary school in Ashton Idaho. I was given an interview... and then a call for an interview. But, this past Tuesday I was called by a school in Rexburg. Schools in Rexburg are like the motherload. All those women who have husbands in school want to work in Rexburg. I had already been turned down from about 10 positions in Rexburg, and had given up hope. I agreed to meet with him and interview the next day.

 Through the interview, I was sure to be candid and charming but honest. When they asked what my biggest weakness was, I was ready for an answer. I said my lack of experience, which I hope to remedy in a job. I told them I was a hard worker, and have passion and empathy for the students I work with.

Well, the principal had me step outside for a couple of minutes to talk about if they wanted to hire me. I walked down the hall, and then they called me back. Then, they offered me the job on the spot. He asked if I needed time to think about it, and I said absolutely.

I decided to take my talents to Rexburg, because a 4 mile commute will be a dream. I will also be teaching Title 1, which is a reading intervention that is before Special Education. I will have 2 aides, one of whom has been there for 10 years. Thank goodness, I will need the help!

I am so grateful for all the prayers and support. My parents and grandparents on all sides have been praying for me nonstop, and many friends and other family members have been as well. Brandon has talked me off a couple of ledges during this job hunt. He is excited to have, in his words, "A sugar mama". I said live it up for the year or so that I'm teaching, because after that it's allllll him.

I'm going to be a teacher!

A very special lady.

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/frances-monson-passes-away

I have always loved President Monson. When I was 3 or 4 years old, I wrote him a letter saying I liked his talk in General Conference, and asking if I could come sit in his lap the next session of conference. With much trepidation (I'm sure), my mom sent out the letter. And sure enough, he wrote me back. He told me how he appreciated my letter, and didn't mention if I could sit in his lap.

Needless to say, he had my love from then on.

In every session of conference (as he has been in the First Presidency for as long as I can remember), he has always talked about his sweet wife and how she is an angel. It breaks my heart to think that he won't have her for this short amount of time. But I'm so grateful to know that they were sealed in the temple, and if there was a couple that lived their lives the right way to be together for eternity, it was them. They are an inspiration to us, being married for almost 75  years.

We love President Monson and are praying for him.

Unemployment.

So, I've been applying for jobs. Obviously. I've applied to probably over 60 jobs at this point. I did have three interviews this week, so we'll see how those go.

I know it's only been a week and a half since student teaching started, but I feel like it's been forever.

Cons: The obvious. No money coming in on my end.

Feeling like I have no purpose in life.

Rejection over and over again.

 BUT, the greatest pro is that I am not stressed. Brandon said he loves my "not in school" self. And I agree.

Saturday night we walked for 2 hours, just talking and laughing our heads off. It's so awesome. I feel like this time before work starts and kids come and whatever the future has in store for us is going to be a great memory for us in upcoming years.

But for my to-do list this week:

-Go to the temple (it can't hurt my chances of getting a job, right?)

-Run/continue my 30 days to flat abs workout.

-Apply for more jobs.

-Crochet (Brandon is being so polite with waiting for his blanket, but this is what I have so far:)

It's only 1/4 of the way done.

-Wait.

Mother's Day 2013/Dallin's birthday

Mother's Day. It takes on more meaning every year.

I sure appreciate my mom and all mother figures in my life. My mom has become a great friend of mine, and I'm sure glad she is my mom. As I'm getting older and getting closer to having my own kids (some day, not an announcement), I'm seeing more of the sacrifices that moms make. And, as Alyse said today in our Google+ Chat, she learned a lot more after Dane was born.

What I love about my mom: My mom always taught me about "As long as they're nice". When I was younger I would roll my eyes. Wait, it's not the most important thing to marry the first hot guy you like? Luckily I held out until I found a cute boy who was the nicest. Because my mom and dad taught me what I should really look for, I have a wonderful husband.

When I think of hectic childhoods, I think of the stories I've heard from Brandon about him and his sisters. The first three kids were born in 3 years. Haaaaaa. For a mother to not only keep her sanity, but to also raise such great children (Yes Taylor, that includes you), that takes a real feat of strength.

What I love about Karen: Karen is such a selfless person. She is always looking to help other people, and when I am at their home she will do anything to make sure that my every need is met. I married into a very mellow family, and it makes me feel bad that we always seem to do what I want. But, Karen never makes me feel bad for putting my opinion out there.

 In addition to Mother's Day today, it was Dallin's 18th birthday. 

What I love about Dallin: Dallin is the best. Even to me (his older sister), he is a great example of who a Christlike person should be. He is so genuinely kindhearted and mellow that he will be a great missionary in the D.R. I can't believe that he is going on a mission, Dally!

What Alyse said was right: Dallin HAS gotten super funny in the last few years.

I learned about missionary Mother's Days today. It was awesome! We talked on Google+ chat for 2 hours while waiting for Austin to call. These are some highlights.

Dane was whimpering, so I started to play peek a boo with him. He started to smile, but also gave me a look that said, "Wait, WHO are you?"

Cousin Grant came by to say hello.

Dane learned a new trick: Pulling things off his head.

It was also Evan's farewell today, he will be great in Culiacan Mexico! My mom made him and Dallin a cake.

After a while we had to get creative to stay interested.

FINALLY, Austin called! It was good to hear his voice, he is doing so well. He speaks like a missionary, and he is speaking French so much more fluently than before. But then, heartbreak: he could only talk on Skype. Which meant I couldn't see him. But I still got to talk to him, which was great. And my mom got these pictures:

Next phone call will be with 2 missionaries. I love it. Happy Mother's Day to all!

Jackson Hole- celebrating our graduation.

The Friday after I finished student teaching, we decided to take a night to ourselves. It's always funny to think like that, because we live alone. We're pretty much as "to ourselves" as we're going to get. But, it was fun!

We found this motel for like $50, and it was actually pretty clean. It was about the size of our bedroom and bathroom put together, but what else could you expect. (Side note: we forgot to get a picture, but as we were leaving we realized we were in room 207. Same as our apartment number.)

We ate at Mile High Pizza Pie for dinner, and it was super good. The next day we went down to the Elk Reservation, and tried to get the elk close to us. Unfortunately, they were right in the middle of the reservation and too far from any end for us to get a good picture. But we tried.

Brandon was still excited, so I got a picture with him.

I'm glad the reservation was free.

Afterwards, we kept driving down the road all the way to the Yellowstone entrance... but we didn't want to pay for that right then. The land there is SO beautiful, I can't believe it. Idaho sometimes looks so drab and blah, but just on the other side of the Teton Mountains is this oasis of beauty.

We made our way back, and over to Jenny Lake by the airport. Every time we go over there, I hope to catch a glimpse of Harrison Ford. But I digress. Jenny Lake was closed, because there was still snow on the ground. But we want to come back and camp another time.

We then drove up that way, seeing if we could see more animals. And boy, did we!

As soon as I saw these animals, I yelled "BUFFALO!" We pulled over, and Brandon said, "Noooo, that's a moose." Ooops, Southern California girl here. Besides, their heads were down. But we did get a closer picture.

One of them started staring at us, so we backed up.

Then we saw hundreds of buffalo, which was pretty cool.

I just about burst Brandon's eardrums when I screamed "MOOSE!"

Brandon said, "Umm, no those are elk." Dang it! But we were super close so we got a lot of pictures.

I wanted to get a picture with them, to show how close they were. But by the time we thought of that they were gone...

We found a picturesque outlook over a river. It was perfect to get a good shot of the scenery. Seriously hard to explain.

(My eyes were hurting at this point, because it was so bright. That's why I look like that.)

He's funny.

My face has been acting like it's 16... I apologize.

Sometimes you just need a night away from your regular life to get it back on track. It was very enjoyable.

Well, it's done.

I survived student teaching.

And you know what? I'm going to miss those little bugs.

On my last day, one of my boys gave me a bouquet of flowers and a necklace that said "#1 Teacher". It's so sweet. They also all signed cards and gave me some school supplies for my next teaching job. When they were leaving, one of the girls said, "Don't worry Mrs. Giullian, I probably won't cry until I get home." How do you not miss that?!

But now I'm on my first day of unemployment.

What will I do?

-Get my teaching license.

-Go to the temple.

-Train for my 5k in July (that I've been badly neglecting).

-Keep applying for jobs.

SPEAKING OF WHICH: I got a job offer and another call for an interview. One is a teacher's assistant at a Montessori school in Sacramento, and the call for the interview is at a Goddard preschool in Durham, North Carolina. Because who wouldn't want to live by Dane?! (And Alyse and Tommy, of course). It depends on the position they want to offer me, though.

-Keep up my Etsy shop. (Visit it! http://www.etsy.com/shop/CamillesCrochet)

But I can do anything I want to! I can continue to learn Spanish like I've wanted to. I can get a Master's degree if I want to. I can work full time if I want to (and can get hired).

Soooo, yeah. It's sweet.