Make it Rain...

I have decided to post some pics of my most recent Spring Break activities....making it rain! This past weekend, Ky and I got visit the Kougar in her new digs - Boise! It made me miss our times in La Paz of lounging, eating, laughing, and just, overall, making a scene.  I also got to meet Alan, who is FABULOUS! He did a great job of putting up with our antics and adding to the fun. Loved him! Ky and I also got the chance to resume our old habits of traveling around together and being awkward.....ie man on plane who was literally "drafting" behind us on the way to our next flight. I think Ky found another admirer :)  Also, my new obsession is taking pictures that is raining with bills...just like my life every night. haha So, I have posted some of my faves.  Last night, I also got to play with Becky and Shan...and the rain continued.  It was fabulous catching up and embracing the night life at the Spectrum.  So, all that to say, it has been a great break...and I am again reminded of what wonderful people are on this blog. Love it!

Ha-Ray-Roo-Yah!

so, here i am, week 2 at fuller. still loooooving it.

so last week, on thursday, my gospels class got out a half hour early so i went to the student lounge to get ahead on some reading (because i am like such a good student.)

turns out, korean chapel took over after i had been there for about an hour.

guitars, happy asians, singing "HA-RAY-ROO-YAH!"

i almost died and it was all i could do to refrain from calling kacey to hold the phone up for her to hear this glorious sound.

and now, here i am again, and there they are again. "HA-RAY-ROO-YAH!"

wow.

...whip cream shots on the sofa...

Remember that song? I loved it. And this morning as I was getting ready for school (yes, finally... I'm employed and teaching 5th grade at El Montecito), there was a picture of Kylea mouth opened wide being filled with whipped cream by none other than our favorite bartender, the Kougar. It made me smile and think of you all and admittedly, want whip cream.

Love you and miss you all.

Hil.

NOBODY but me is gonna love you like you ought to be loved on...

well, i admit, i have slacked on posting on this blog. i do have valid excuses though...first, i was in new orleans for a week with 25 high schoolers as a chaperone for our spring break mission trip. oh my gosh, you guys. it was such a great trip. to start with, the kids in our youth group are awesome, so it was easy traveling with them, and i enjoyed learning with them and from them. it was also really incredible being in that broken city for a week. it is such a soulful and beautiful place, but still so devastated from katrina. gosh, there were entire neighborhoods, both poor and middle class, which were still entirely abandoned. you could see the water line at about 12 feet, showing that the houses had been entirely under water for quite some time. it was really crazy, and broke my heart for the people who used to call that place home. not only were we able to do some cleaning and rebuilding projects, but we also had the opportunity to work at a spring break day camp with about 40 elementary school kids, which was pretty fun and definitely stretched me to the max of my patience at times. despite some pretty tough kids, and some pretty terrible leadership within the camp, the high schoolers and i managed to have a pretty wonderful time with those adorable kids. every single one of them was black, and more ghetto than i could ever dream of even pretending to be. it was awesome. i kind of wish i could go back. at the end of the week we also took a couple of days to just enjoy spring break in louisiana and took a swamp boat tour, which was like the best thing of my life...i even went to a crawfish boil and ate seafood willingly (totally out of character for me...) AND did the hard and disgusting work of cracking open all of those little guys before i ate them. and loved every second of it. if i was truly southern at heart before spending a week in louisiana, i am even more so now. honest to god, i think i should have been born down there, on the bayou...
also, i started grad school this week. 1 week under my belt, 9 more to go this quarter :) and i could not be happier. i love my classes, i love my professors, i love fuller...i even don;t really mind the hour and a half commute twice a week (i bought a blue tooth today, i know i know, so nerdy, but i have all the time in the world for catching up with people on the phone now, and better safe than sorry...so please. call me tuesdays and thursdays 5:30!am to 7:30, or 5:00-6:30 pm) but really. i think i waited just the right amount of time before heading back to school, where i truly get excited about going to class, i am on the edge of my seat the entire lecture, and then i can't wait to get home and do my reading! grad school is proving to be great like that, that you really get to study exactly what you want, with other people that are equally as excited as you about learning exactly that same thing. i am taking a gospels class (as part of the seminary theology core required for my degree, which is so interesting and great), cultural and ethnic issues in marital and family intervention, and child and family development. turns out that most of the cute guys in seminary are married, typical, but i will keep you posted on that front :) so, for now, i think that's it for my news. i really, really miss you girls.

love.

The Bako life...

Wow. I love that people are getting into this blog thing. I was excited to finally have something to do at work on those mornings/afternoons when none of my students show up to school, which deliquents have a habit of doing, which I guess is why they are in my class in the first place. However, it seems the powers that be have decided to prohibit me from actually logging on so that I can post on this beautiful blog....I guess they want us to actually work while we are at work or something. So I'll just have to do this on my own time. Anyways, I really have nothing exciting to add, but since my name is in fact on the list of contributors, I was feeling a little pressure to actually contribute. I have nothing to top the engagement pics you posted Kath--Lauren looks great!!! Let's see..I recently started playing softball along with soccer, which means now I have two reminders of just how old I am, and that all the injuries that you once had when playing soccer don't go away as you get older. In fact, it seems like they just might be getting worst..Crazy isn't it. Life is good here in Bako though. Thank you all for your prayers and kind words in regards to my dad. The latest doctors visit only brought more confusion, as now he has 3 doctors all with different opinions or when, what, how, etc. So please continue to pray for wisdom, guidance, and a quick conclusion so that we can begin to move forward. I look forward to more sharing and more reading!!! I always knew the Kougs was a genius...good job Kace! Love you all.

The News Continues...

Hi Friends,

I'm so glad we're all into this thing. Check us out - since when did we all become such techies? So, Ash got her wedding dress last weekend when I was home and Jen threw down at Gap Maternity. I'm so excited for this precious little baby to come our way, but keep Jen's and the baby's health in your prayers if you think of it. It's so fun to be able to say that I am confident that Jen will be the best mom - and I know because of how much she acted as mom while I was growing up. And... let's be honest, I'm excited to be the crazy aunt who comes to visit all the time from SB and brings totally awesome stuff.

In other news, I am taking over the 5th grade class at El Montecito (ELMO) starting this coming Monday (2 weeks earlier than planned). I started observing/helping this week and it's overwhelming but also really fun. Also, today I was invited for an interview at César Chávez Charter School for Monday April 21st. That would most likely be my first choice, but I'm praying through it all right now and would love it if you thought of that too in your prayers. Wow - so many requests. Sorry about that.

Kath- the pics are beautiful. Ky- I'm praying for you and your family as well. All of you- I miss you and love you and hope to see you soon.

Love,
Hil

Lauren Engagement Pics

Here is a sample of some of the engagement pics that Jacque and Lauren took this past weekend in San Luis Obispo.  Just thought you might want a preview :) If you didn't, well, at least you got to see some grass and what the under portion of a pier looks like.