So, it has been about 5 weeks since we've last posted, and a lot has been going on! I've been teaching summer school and am getting ready for my very last week (hooray!) I've been teaching students entering 11th grade who are taking my 6 week US History class in hopes that they will pass it and not have to take the class this year. While the class has been fun and rewarding for me, I definitely must say that I am thrilled to teach middle school students throughout the school year. High school students, while a bit more independent, have a lower energy level than middle school students (which most normal people love) but my energy level matches middle school students much more! Jeremiah has been working hard on his master's classes. He is attending California State University Bakersfield and continuing his Masters in Education: Curriculum and Instruction. He should be finished by next June!!! In his spare time, he has also been the best husband in the entire world! He's cleaned the whole house each week while I've worked, he's done the laundry, he's taken care of and trained our puppies, he packs my lunches, and so much more! And on top of all of that, he picks me up each and every day at 2:45 on the dot showing me all the love that a wife could ever ask for!
So, what are all these pictures...well, we couldn't leave out Sandy and Clara, could we? During the course of these 5 weeks, Clara finally got her first haircut (as pictured) and we love the short hair so much better. We tend to agree that she likes it better too, considering that the temperature outside has been over 100 degrees! The funky picture of Sandy with the "cone of shame" around her neck was just too adorable to pass up... she'd undergone major surgery and this 'pillow' protected her from licking her stitches! She wore it for 10 days straight and handled it pretty well too! The picture of me holding the dogs was taken to introduce you (our blog viewers) to our newly found friends, and their dog, Panda! ...
...A couple of weeks ago, Jeremiah and I finally found the dog park in Visalia where we took Sandy. Well, Sandy wasn't the only one to find a close friend that day, so did we! Almost immediately, I started talking with the other girl in the dog park, and found out that her name was also Melissa, and she was married to a man whose name starts with a J like Jeremiah's name (Johnny), and whose last name starts with a P, like our last name! Then I found out that both she and her husband were also teachers, and she taught 7th and 8th grade history this past year (like me!). They've also known one another as long as Jeremiah and I have (just about 6 years now - which is crazy! - and wonderful!) So, we became FAST friends, and the following day we went to church together, hung out all afternoon, had dinner over our home together on Tuesday, and joined them for a long church event night together on Wednesday. We've since gotten closer and closer, and the four of us are all planning to go camping at Big Sur in a couple of weeks. Sadly, however, they are both moving away for a time (due to lay offs in their school district), but because of their friendship, Jeremiah and I have had soooooooooo much fun this past few weeks. staying up way too late, but loving every moment. I've seriously felt like I've been in my freshman year at college again! Sandy and Clara definitely love their dog, Panda, as well. As you can see, they were all cuddled up together on the couch (Panda's arm is on top of Clara and in the other picture, Clara and Panda are cuddled in Panda's crate!)
So what else has been going on? Well, as the next picture shows, we've been making some yummy foods! One of our fun nights involved making this pizza... nothing special, but super delicious! So, even though I've been teaching summer school, we've definitely been enjoying our summer break to its fullest as well!
Next week, we leave for a week-long cruise to the Mexican Riviera, and we both admit that we're looking forward to getting out of this heat and RELAXING!!!
Yesterday, Jeremiah and I came home from an incredible Royal Carribean cruising 
adventure that took us to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Everything was beautiful on the cruise ship, and our destinations were beautiful too...and everyday was definitely a complete adventure. We went snorkeling in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, horseback riding on the beach, ziplining across the Sierra Madre, we climbed down waterfalls...and we're still alive to tell the stories! We relaxed on deck, ate some amazing food, played miniature golf, swam, ice skated, worked out in the gorgeous gym almost every morning, ate some more amazing food, read some good books, talked with lots of friendly people, saw some incredible entertainment (musical theatre productions, comedy acts, jazz music, singing performances, etc), ate some more amazing food, and slept (and dreamt about the amazing food we ate)! The trip was for 7 days, 3 of which were simply at sea. The weather was beautiful outside, though windy on deck quite often. The trip was fantastic in every way possible, and it made the 6 weeks of summer school work well worth it! :) 
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