Camera? What camera?

Oh yeah, that camera, you know? The one that we took all of our pictures on? Yeah, we left it in Sheridan, apparently. So pictures will not be coming as soon as I would like.

Life goes on here in Phoenix. Todd is going into work every day and I'm frantically trying to relax for the rest of summer. I cannot believe that pre-service starts in less than two weeks. But I am not focusing on that right now! Right now, I'm focusing on....relaxing.

Oh, and homework. That too.

Return from Vegas

Well, we're home! I'm sure that more posts (and pictures) will be coming about our wonderful trip to Vegas. We had such a great time seeing the sights with everyone! I just wanted to post a little note about our safe return. The house is all in order, although we did have a pretty frantic kitty cat when we walked through the door. Poor Titus doesn't like to be left home when the folks go to Vegas!

The Real Birthday Update

Since this update pertains to activities that Todd and I did together (instead of my own randomness), I'm going to post it in this blog. Todd did an amazing job coming up with ideas and activities to do on my birthday and I thought that I would share those with you.

June 19th was a whirlwind of a day for me. When I woke up, Todd promptly declared that he wanted to make breakfast for me. Unfortunately for him, our refrigerator is getting a bit low on food (since we're heading out of town this upcoming week and we don't want nasty surprises growing in our refrigerator when we come back). This didn't deter him, though. He made me a piece of toast out of the new flax and sunflower seed bread recipe we had made the night before (side-note: We're getting quite proficient at making bread now and some of the new recipes we're trying are really amazing!). It was an excellent way to start the day.

After eating breakfast, we donned our swimsuits, made sandwiches for lunch, and prepared for our trip to the water park. We had settled on Wet n' Wild, which is a water park in the north part of Phoenix. We arrived shortly after the park opened and set our bag of stuff down (it only had a t-shirt and our water bottle in it, so we didn't want to buy a locker for it). The temperature went into the 100's that day (and very hot even in the morning at 10:15 when we arrived), so we made sure to stay hydrated. All of the lines at the water park had water misters to help cool down waiting riders. Even so, we saw two girls faint in the heat. It creates quite a stir when someone suddenly collapses in line - several lifeguards and EMTs are on the spot in mere moments. Both incidents served as reminders for us to make sure that we drank plenty of water!

Here are some pictures of some of the slides we went down. Please note that since we entered the park with only the essentials (and nothing we would be devastated to lose if our bag got stolen), we did not bring our camera. However, several other visitors have taken pictures and kindly posted them so I'm linking to their pictures to allow you to see what we did.

This picture to the left is called Mammoth Falls. You go down in a six person tube and that drop there is AMAZING! Our bottoms actually left the tube a little on the way down. The line was really long by the time that we got to this ride, so we only went down it once. But it tied with Maximum Velocity (dueling water-coaster, the world's first!) as my favorite ride.

Here's a map of the park so that you can get an idea of how many slides there are and the layout of everything. The Tornado (in the upper right corner) was a lot of fun. Mammoth Falls is in the lower left corner. And Maximum Velocity is in the upper left corner.

If you want a first person perspective on the water park, I would recommend checking out youtube. I found this video (how one takes a video of water slide rides is beyond me!) that shows the rides Todd and I went on. The Maximum Velocity part will at least give you an idea of how a water-coaster works. Oh yes, and pay attention to what he does with his flip-flops before the Mammoth Falls ride! That was a life-saver for us because you definitely don't want to walk on the pavement when it's over 100 degrees outside!

Needless to say (though I'm going to say it anyway because that's how I am), the water park was a ton of fun. We spent about 5 hours there (from 10:30 until 3:30) with a small break at 12:30 for our delicious sandwiches.

After we got home, both Todd and I jumped in our pool for a little more swimming. It's amazing to smell the difference between our pool and a public pool. Despite how fun the wave pool at the water park might be, there was this odor of chlorine around the pool that wasn't enjoyable at all. We're a little spoiled that we have our own little pool in the backyard that doesn't need to the ghastly amounts of chlorine a public pool does!

Swimming didn't take long, since we had more to do that day! We showered and got dressed up for dinner - but before we left the house I got to open gifts. A lot of people sent very thoughtful and wonderful cards (thank you!) and I even got a very pretty Arizona candle with a desert scene on it. Todd got me a new phone, which I've been playing with ever since. I want to thank everyone - not just for gifts, but for the thoughtful and kind birthday wishes. It really means a lot to me to be surrounded by such wonderful and amazing friends and family! Thank you!

Gifts opened, Todd and I made our way to dinner. We ate at Rancho De Tia Rosa, which Urbanspoon.com rates as the number one restaurant in Mesa. Not only is it number one, but it's very affordable! We both had delicious and filling dinners. Even Todd couldn't think about dessert because he was too full. That's when you know they give you a lot of food! So we went home, changed again, and then went out at about 9:30 to Mill Ave., a local street with a lot of things going on. We went to several different clubs throughout the night ( for all you locals, they were: Vintage, Whip Lounge, Cherry, the Tavern) and had fun dancing the night away. We returned home late, I made a quick blog post on my blog about birthdays, and then it was time for bed.

Overall, it was an amazing birthday. I'm blessed to have such a thoughtful husband who worked so hard to make sure that my day was really special.

Ah, Summer...

Summer has officially started. Wahoo!

Todd and Dale returned to Phoenix around 4pm on Saturday. They both enjoyed their time in Tucson and I'm hoping that maybe Todd will post a bit about it later. After they got home, they spent some time working on some projects in the garage (again, I would imagine that Todd could tell you more about this than I could). After their projects, we went out to eat at the Organ Stop. It's a wonderful place to visit if you're ever in town - great music and pretty good pizza to go along with it! I'll let you check the link to read about it. I like to take visitors there because it's a pretty inexpensive dinner but a great experience. To the right is a picture of Charlie (one of the organists) playing the organ. You are able to put in requests and he'll play a lot of different songs (using different kinds of entertaining props that help complete the show - like puppets, lights, different instruments, etc.). So if you're ever in town, you at least know one place to check out!

Sunday started a little rough when our alarm clock failed to go off. Instead of waking up at 4:00am so that we could take Dale to the airport for his 6am flight, Todd and I woke up at 6am. A bit of a bummer and an expensive mistake. We had to find Dale another flight home, but we got him successfully to the airport for a different flight.  He made it home without further incidents, which is a good thing.

With Dale at the airport, Todd and I decided to spend some time shopping at Arizona Mills Mall  for some new summer clothes! We spent the morning and afternoon there and then spent the later afternoon out by the pool. We topped off the night with kabobs and corn on the cob cooked on the grill. And then we watched a movie before bed.

And today? More of the same - at least for me. Todd did a little work from home today, while I completed my weekend of relaxation (more pool time and a lovely book).

But it wasn't all rest and relaxation. We also got some work done. We've finalized our Vegas plans, bought some plane tickets home, did some laundry, cleaned the bathrooms, washed dishes, and other household chores. This week is also somewhat busy for us. I'm going to be making phone calls tomorrow to different people in order to get errands done. I will also be doing some things throughout the summer for Teach For America, which will help to pass the time. Todd will be going in to work, since he will continue to work throughout the summer.

I have to say, I'm glad that summer is here. I don't know what I'm going to do if I ever have to work all year long. I'm so accustomed to my vacations!

That's our mini-update for now. We have some fruit  smoothies waiting for us before we head off to bed!

Oh My!

Yes, yes I did. It's here!

It's totally not done in any way shape or form. And pretty much everything about it will probably change. But let me know what your thoughts anyway!

P.S. If it wasn't working before, it is now!

Dale's Visit - Day Two

Well, I wish that I could write about everything that Dale and Todd did today, but honestly, I can't. I was at work all day doing paperwork and cleaning the classroom. But when I came home there were all sorts of new things that they had to show me! I'll leave it to Todd to post the pictures and talk about it in-depth. All I know is that after I got home, the two of them worked away in the garage for a couple of hours before we went to dinner. There was a little indecision about where to go for dinner. We had thought of going to The Organ Stop but they close at 9:00 and we were just leaving the house around 8:15. After some discussion, we decided instead to go to the The Texas Roadhouse. It was pretty delicious and now I have more leftovers to take for lunch!

I think that we're going to try to make it to the Organ Stop for dinner on Saturday, so I'll post more about it then!

For now, I think I'll head off to bed. Remember that illness I was fighting? Yeah, I seem to be losing the battle. Yes, mom, I promise that I will be taking my vitamins tomorrow.

Hmmm....

So, I've been tossing around the idea of having my own side blog, along with this blog. I feel like "Hoffmann Happenings" is a blog that pertains to updates about Todd and I and how life is going. You know, actual events, things we do, etc. Isn't that what people read this blog for?

However, I also have several random thoughts and musings (strange, I know), that I am tempted to add to this blog. But it just feels out of place here. They're almost like little twitters or just brief sentences. And too many of those could crowd out the actual events. Plus not everyone who is interested in how life is going is interested in a random thought I had walking down the street. Who knows, maybe no one is interested! So, I thought to myself "Why not start another blog?" In fact, I had that very same thought almost a year ago and decided to hold off in case it was just a "phase" type of thing. But I keep thinking it. If I do start another blog, there are so many decisions to be made!

First: Do I start another "Ashlee's Random Thoughts/Musings/Stories/ect." blog? Or not?
Second: If so, what should the URL be? I need something that's available and easy to remember.
Third: What should the title be?

Please comment or email with your thoughts =)