Summer's End

The summer is over and school has already started. Here are a few photos from our last big hurrah before school started. Michael and I drove a few hours away to Monterey.

We woke up early one day to go check out the tide pools. We crawl up and down rocks trying to fund some cool creatures. Sadly, all we found we some little crabs and some funny looking sea plants.

We stopped by the Pebble Beach golf course. We couldn't see too much of the club since most of it is gated, but we were able to stroll through some of the stores and check out one of he putting green. Michael couldn't resist. He had to "air putt."

The Lone Cypress is the symbol of the Pebble Beach Golf Club. It's a cool sight: a single tree standing on the top of the end of a little pennisula.

The shore around Monterey is gorgeous. The water is bright blue and you can't see straight to the ocean floor. There are also a lot of big rocks that are fun to climb on.

The sand on this beach that border another famous golf course (Spanish Oaks, maybe???) was super soft. I love it! It's offically my favorite beach in California.

Here we are climbing on rocks again, but this time we're exploring underneath the pier.

What a handsome guy!

Monterey has a great aquarium. We spent a few hours checking out the local wildlife.

After spening a day and half in Monterey, we started making our way home. Along the drive we stopped at a few places. One of these places was the Santa Cruz boardwalk. It's a fun place, but definately geared more towards kids. We strolled up and down, played a few arcade games, then headed out.

Here's my first day of school picture, sippy cup and all.

Quick Update

I don't have any fabulous new pictures to share, so here is a quick update on what's going on at the Dresser's house.

Both Michael and I are officially starting our summer vacations this weekend. Mike and I haven't made any definite plans for the summer. We do plan on spending time relaxing, though we both have many school related goals set for ourselves in order to get ready for the next school year. (Michael will be teaching Algebra I and Geometry next year. I will be teaching fifth grade.)

Next week, I will be going to Girls Camp with the young women from our ward. Our stake's girls camp is held in the Sierras. So it shouldn't be too hot during the day, but I'm told it's pretty darn cold at night. I'm taking 2 extra blankets! Hopefully, the bears will leave us alone. (Seriously, there are bears in the Sierra Mountains!)

In a couple weeks, Michael will be coaching at a week long overnight basketball camp. This is a camp that he attended when he was little. Now his nephew is attending. Ahhh...

In July, Michael's brother will be getting married. I keep pushing Michael to find out what the wedding colors are so I can start searching for the right dress, but he always seems to forget to ask. Boys. We're excited for Jay!!!!

Other than these few things, we haven't planned anything else just yet. We have a few ideas popping around in our head. Any suggestions???

Daddy's Visit to Cali

Daddy Bruce came to California for a few days just to visit. We had a great time together. One of the first things that we did was go to a local Par 3 course and play a round of nine. This was my first times on a golf course, so Dad was sure to coach me in a few things. Although I scored an average of 8 strokes on every hole, we all had a good time together.

During the rest of Daddy's visit, we did a little shopping (Katie told me I should do that), saw a movie, went for a run, did a little more golfing, watched NCAA basketball, played with Cooper, and ate out a lot.

The night before Dad left, we drove to San Francisco for the Giant's first night game. It was an uneventful game (as many baseball games seem to be), but the weather was pretty good and our seats were nice.

It wasn't especially cold, but it was windy.

After the game with Mike, Daddy Dresser, and Daddy Bruce.

It was fun to have Dad all to ourselves for a few days. Now, who is going to come for the next visit?

Mr. GQ

At Michael's school, the student council puts on an annual Mr. GQ contest as a fundraiser. Michael was selected to participate. This year's theme was Las Vegas. In the show, male teachers make two appearances on stage. First, they come out to a song of their choice and work the stage Vegas style. Then, they come out a second time in formal wear (to show all the young wannabe gangsters how to dress for prom) and answer a question suibmitted by the other contestants.

Michael dressed for his first appearance as a high roller. He came out in a white tux jacket with vest and hat. He very smoothly tossed some money around the stage and did all the latest dance moves (His students taught him those). Out of all the teachers, he received the biggest crowd reaction.

Here's a close up of his outfit (from the night before). And yes, that big ring on his finger does light up.

Looking fly.

Working the stage.

The interveiw portion of the contest. His question: "What is the air speed velocity of a swallow?" His reply: "An African or European swallow?" None of the students got the joke. Only the adults. In the end, Michael got first runner up. According the crowd reaction, he was the winner, but apparently the front-office judges thought otherwise. Check out the cool sash he got.

After the show--- Michael with some of his students.

Some Good Reads...

Lately, I have been reading some really great books. It just so happens that all the books I've read lately are children's books (all in the line of duty, right?). But if you are looking for a fun, quick and wholesome read, you might want to consider one of these....

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

This is one of my all time favorite books. I remember reading this book in fourth grade and since then I've probably reread it atleast 4 times. I love it everytime espeically the chapters where Nicodemus is telling Mrs. Frisby about what happened in the laboratory.

Frindle

Andrew Clements writes such cute, clever books that everyone can enjoy. I giggled through this book. The ending to the book is an ending that just kind of makes you sigh with satisfaction. Love it!

Matilda

This is one of the books that I am reading right now. It's so quirky and fun. Roald Dahl always does a great job of making fun of adults and exaggerating their flaws. I also love the British terms that are used throughout the book like telly and ducky. It's another book that makes me giggle all the way through. Plus it has a happy ending and I only like books that have a happy ending.

The Hatchet

This is a book that I seem to read every couple years. I read it again this summer. It's always so interesting to find out how Brian survives in the wilderness. I catch myself wondering how I would handle the situation that Brian finds himself in.

How I Became a Pirate

Who doesn't love a good picture book? David Shannon's books are my favorite picture books. While he didn't write this one, he did illustrate it. This book is just cute and that's all I can say about.

Now I just want to make sure that you all know that I do read adult books occasionally. But I think I will always love children's books the most.

A Request From a Friend

A friend from work, Kathy, asked me to write the story of how Mike and I met. We didn't have time at work to exchange stories, so this was the solution. Here I go....

My freshman year at BYU a group of friends and I were huge BYU basketball fans. We went to every game. We even showed up way early to get the best seats available in the student section (first come first serve). We had a lot of fun together, espeically since the team was great that year. The BYU basketball players were like celebrities to our sad little group.

So, in December when I new guy showed up on the court during the pre-game shoot around, I was perplexed. I didn't recognize the guy at all. I was even more perplexed that I didn't recognize him, because he was so cute. Right then and there, my crush on "Dresser" started. During the rest of the season, my eyes were glued on Dresser as he shot around during warm-ups (he didn't get much playing time, but hey I didn't care).

The game before Valentine's Day a buddy of mine dared me to get Dresser's attention some how. That's why I brought a big sign with me to that game. When my friends and I walked into the stadium, the shoot around hadn't started. A few minutes later, Mike walked out with the best player (he always did that so that he felt like the people who cheered during the entrance were cheering for him). I was too embarrassed and didn't want to hold up the sign, but I gave into peer pressure and held the sign up high for Dresser to see.

The sign read, "Dresser, Will you be my Valentine?" He saw the sign and acknowledged my presence. I was done there. I was happy just to have him smile at me. But a few minutes later, Dresser was at the bottom of the stands talking to a friend. Again I gave into peer pressure and went to the bottom of the stands and had him autograph my sign.

Another few minutes later, the trainer for the basketball team convinced Mike to write his number down and send it up the stands to me. When I got his number, I was so excited. Luckily, I held it together and wrote my number down and sent it back down the stands. By this time, the team had gone back into the locker room, so the trainer delivered my number to Mike (I later found out that the trainer had taped it to Mike's locker and used lipstick to write "Call me" on the locker mirror.)

Now I didn't intend to call Dresser at all. That would just be too embarrassing and make me look like some lame groupie. But I did make sure to tell all my friends about what had happened. I was so proud that I had gotten Dresser's number.

Two nights later, I walk into my dorm room just in time to answer the phone. When the voice on the other side said, "This is Mike Dresser," I didn't beleive it was really him. I was convinced that it was a friend trying to pull a prank on me. It took a good five minutes for me to finally beleive that it really was Dresser on the other side. That night we talked for about 10 minutes, then Mike asked me to go out on a date with him. Of course I said yesa dn instantly began planning what I was going to wear!

The next night we went out for ice cream and movie and as they say the rest is history.

Here is picture of me the day after I got Dresser's number. Don't I look excited!

This is a picture from one of our first dates-- a movie night at a cabin in Park City.

This is a picture from about a month after our first date. It was taken right before one of Mike's game. That's why we're both decked in our BYU basketball gear!