Mountain Biking Extravaganza

yesterday, i (steve) went mountain biking with a friend, steve s, and we got a great workout and really enjoyed the trail, especially since we conquered for the first time a tricky rock section.  we came through that unscathed, so we were pumped and ready to soak up the home stretch which is all downhill with some fun jumps.  we got going pretty fast and i heard steve give a shout of excitement and i assumed that he was happy about getting some nice air.  but apparently he was close enough to me (i was out front) that i blocked his view of a second jump that came up quickly.  so after hearing his shout of excitement i heard a shout of...something not good and i looked over my shoulder to see perhaps the most intense fall i've ever seen in person.  i saw a cloud of dirt and a human body and a bike flying all over the place at, shall we say, an unsafe speed.  the bike ended up about 20-30 feet away from steve, his sunglasses somewhere behind him on the trail.  he broke his water bottle and his helmet, but he lived to tell the tale and walked away just fine, except for some lower back soreness where his seat hit him!  only two things can be said of such a fall: 1) thank God everything was okay and 2) bragging rights.

steve  

For ladies, and Ben, in my tap class

this video is for me to remember and practice all the steps to our upcoming recital piece in June (I'll be gone for possibly 3 weeks of class closer to the recital), but i thought maybe i should put it here for you all (people in my tap class) to use.  if nothing else, it's entertaining? =)

the first part is of the run through with the music, the second part is the breakdown, it's a bit slower.

kids at work

just a quick post.  the mother of one of the families i work for sent me these pictures.  these are two of the kids i take care of... so sweet.

  

this is the whole family

i am going to be returning to school starting the end of may as a full time student!!!  i will soon be leaving the families i work for now and working my tail off to try and finish my BA before we leave for scotland in 2010!  i'll be in school year round.  i never thought of school as a possibility for me because of the cost.  steve is very supportive and were tightening our budget to make it work.  i am getting some help from the state of colorado.  they have a stipend program set up for in-state residents.  i am applying for scholarships too.  so here i go!

to procreate or not to procreate (next year)...

when steve and i were first married we decided to start having children after 4 yrs. of marriage.  I always dreamed of finding my prince charming and having children.  now that we're getting closer to our 3 yr. mark i find myself almost fearful of bearing our own little people.  we are just getting started with doing fun things together and exploring, traveling, oh, and still figuring out marriage!  i have just decided to help out with young life www.younglife.org and we've also been talking about me going back to school full time... just waiting on a couple confirmations =) we are deciding this week.  i want to major in fine arts/art education.  my art teachers had a big impact on me (it's was easy to converse as we worked on projects) and i want to be able to do the same with high school students.  i had worked with high school students (girls) in our church back home and am looking into opportunities to invest in/mentor/hangout with, high school girls in our area.  it would be neat to have teaching art as an outlet for that also.  i have felt hesitant for while about pursuing art, thinking i couldn't really use it to reach out to people, like going overseas to a remote country in africa.  just recently i've had my eyes opened to the fact that there are so many young people (young women especially) seeking truth, guidance, love, constancy, and that is a people group i have a heart for.  

      hmm... just when i thought we had a plan...

i think we'll wait a few more years to start having kids.