First Day of School

So today was the start of the new trimester. This system is kinda weird because you don't get the same kids for the whole year. But I guess it kinda works because they can make up classes that they failed and avoid going to summer school. Not only that they also get more chances and they are not allowed to go through the whole year sitting in a class that they probably have no idea what is going on because they failed the first half. So I like it. They also have a pretty cool system of distributing books. We don't have to worry about getting the books for the students. It is their responsibility to get the books for themselves and if they don't turn them in then they will not be allowed to register next time. Pretty cool. We wished we had that system in the other school but the District people always thought it would be too hard because of the number of kids that each school has. I don't think it is. It just makes the kids more accountable and responsible. But oh well. Good thing I am not there no more.

I do miss the kids and the other teachers. The kids here seem to be a bit more advanced. Definitely better behaved but then again it is the first day of school and they are always on their best behavior the first day. Their evil twin seems to appear later on. It is also weird to be among so many Caucasians. That doesn't happen to much in Cali. I mostly have Hispanics in my Pre-Ald and mostly Caucasians in my Geo class. Hum, what does that tell you? I really don't know.

I am not one to make excuses for anything. I always believe that people make the best of their lives. They either take advantage of what is available or they don't. I try my best with what I know and if I don't know something then I look everywhere possible in order to find out. I live by that philosophy and hold everyone else to it. Some people say that it is not right because everything is not black and white but I just believe that many people are quick to make excuses for themselves instead of looking within.

So anyways, I miss having the other teachers to talk to and hang out. The kids weren't the best but they were not too bad. It's just something I have to get accustomed to. It will definitely take time.

So overall the day wasn't bad. Just have to learn new students names and get into the routine of things.

The start of the new school year

So today was my official first day of work although I had a meeting on Fri and yesterday. Today I got to meet all of the teachers. On Mon I only met with the new teachers and on Fri I only met some of the teachers in the math department. It wasn't to bad because they didn't complain like some of the teachers in my other school. The all staff meeting also went really fast because the schedule decisions were already made. The principal just had to go over the previous rules and review already established procedures. Now that is cool. In my other school we would spend days trying to decide our bell schedule that should have already been established before the school year started. So far things seem to be going well.

The only thing that kinda makes me nervous is all the high expectations they have of me. I am not quit sure what they expect from me but I know it is a lot. My bro A told me that when the assistant principal called my old school he didn't only call my references. He also spoke to the school secretary and other teachers. Funny because nobody told me anything. Only one of the teachers in the math department that is my friend told me she spoke with him. She knew I had the job before I did because he told her that he was going to offer me the position. He also liked her so much that he wanted her. I told her she should have taken him up on his offer. It would have been great to be with somebody I already felt comfortable with and she is a great teacher.

So my brother said that the secretary told him that I always staid 2 hrs after school and it made him think of Jaime Escalante. I not even close to being as good as he is. I am always available for my students if they need me. I just feel that it is part of my job. You don't always get told that you are appreciated but that is just the nature of the business. After hearing this from my brother I just felt that I was eventhough nobody said anything. I just thought that nobody even noticed. I guess they do.

On a side not though from SadRomeo's post it is true that your boss doesn't acknowledge the work that you do but other people truly appreciate you. I know I thought what is going to happen to our department when I leave. Many good teachers had left that truly cared for the students and were willing to take their own time without pay to be with them. Many good teachers are still there at the school but for how long? How much longer will they stay there and be willing to be taken advantage of? And if they do stay, will they dedicate as much time as they did before? You see people give their all because it is part of their beliefs. I know it is mine. I don't feel right if I have not given my all. I feel like I have not done my job. Yet, every one has a breaking point and they will not give as much as they did before. I don't think there is anything wrong with that because there has to be a point when someone give back to you. They cannot always take. So, I don't think that my old department will fall apart somebody else will pick up the work but now there are less people willing to make the extra effort. That is not good but it is what it is. There are very few people now a days willing to go the extra mile without some extra compensation and that makes me sad.

Oh yeah, on another note Charlie got his drivers license last Tuesday. Yey!

My brother leaves

This is a late post considering my brother A left to BSU last Friday. It's kinda funny because I finally moved to Idaho and then my brother leaves to school. I wasn't able to go with my mom because I had to go to a meeting. My mom went by herself because my sisters and brothers had to work. Me, my mom, my sister Mar, Charlie, and Kar went to dinner on Thur as a farewell to my brother A. Then J and Ir arrived. It also happened that the principal of the school I am going to work at was there. Very small town. My sister Cla, Nat, and Jan went to say goodbye to him on Friday morning. I also passed by my mom house to say my final farewells.

His leaving reminded me of when I left to school. My mom, sister Mar, and Mari went with me. They helped me move in. I wish I could have gone with my mom but I had the meeting to attend. Atleast my mom was able to take the day off and go with him. It was scary for me to leave my home and be around people I didn't know. I wonder if my brother is going through the same thing. Well atleast he has us to help him out when he needs anything.

I didn't have the same support that he has. It's funny because he calls me and my sister Mar his secretaries because if something goes wrong we try to figure out what needs to be done to make it right. I check his school account to make sure his fees are paid and set up his direct deposit. If something is needed I just call Mar and she makes the calls to the necessary people. If he needs any help with what classes to take and what to do about his schedule he just calls me and I tell him what he should do. I guess we are his secretaries. I am definitely glad he has us to help him and he isn't alone.

My Family Part 2

As I mentioned in the previous post I am the role model in the family. Only the best is expected out of me. It is my job to show everyone that you can accomplish so much more with an education than without one. Charlie tells me that it is ok to let things fall once in a while. You can always pick them back up, but it is easier said than done.

Then there is my brother J and Ir, and their 2 daughters, May the oldest and Na the youngest. By the way she is only 3 months old. He is the loudest one in the family. He must always be the center of attention. Every where we go he has to be heard. He doesn't care who is around. If he knows that your boss or someone important is around then it gives him even more reason to be loud. Gotta love him. He must have gotten this from being spoiled so much before A and the twins were born. You see he was the only boy and the youngest. So he was the man of the house or so he thought, still does though. He likes to carry the aura of being the tough guy but we all know that underneath he really isn't. There is nothing he wouldn't do for his wife and his little girls. Besides Ir might be quite and calm but she will not stand for any of his stuff. She knows when to stand her ground.

Then there is A and the twins, An and Ad. An is the oldest. There is a 9 year difference between me and A. Yeah my mom waited a long time to have him. She wasn't planning on having another child after J but my dad wanted another boy. So she got pregnant and had A. He almost didn't make it and neither did she. On the day of his delivery the doctor told my dad that he would have to make a decision between my brother or my mom. I don't remember what was wrong. Luckily they both made it through. She didn't want to have any more children so she wanted to have her tubes. Apparently the operation didn't go well because a couple of months later the doctor told her that she was pregnant and was having twins. My mom could have killed the doctor. Not only was she pregnant after having her operation, she was having twins. Who would have known.

Well it is weird to say but my little brothers are little no more. A is already at Boise State and the twins are in their senior year of high school.

And in case you haven't noticed all of my sisters and brother's children are girls. Jan and Nat are 15 yr olds. You know they think that they know everything. But they have a good head on their shoulders. They will do well. Kar and Kry still have many years ahead of them considering they are 10 and 9 years old respectively. May is only 5 and is looking forward to starting school. I hope her desire to learn new things never goes away. Then there is Pri the 2 yr old who is no longer the baby because Na is the youngest now.

My family still keeps waiting for the boy. My sisters are done having kids, but I think my sister in law might have another child but that won't happen till about 3 more years, if it happens at all. My family keeps saying that I will most likely be the one to have the boy and I will probably have twins. I don't know considering I am not to fond of children. Don't get me wrong I like them and all but I would not like to have one myself. That motherly instinct has not gotten into me. Fadedgirl says that I will get it and will have kids. Who knows. I probably would because Charlie wants to have children. You know you have to reach a compromise in a relationship.

I have had my share of children around me. I helped take care of my brothers and my nieces. I just like having my freedom and not having to worry about another life. I know it sounds selfish but that is how I feel at this moment. I also feel that when you have a child you have to be ready to give up everything for that person. You do not matter anymore. Which also makes me think that you don't want anything bad to happen to them and you want to protect them but you can't. They do need to live their life and they have to grow up.

Seeing my brothers all grown up is kinda weird for me. They have always been and will be my younger brothers. I wish they could have no problems in this world and everything goes perfectly but I know they will go through their ups and downs. I will always try my best to help them as best as I can.

So this is my family. We are in no way perfect but we always try our best to help each other out and stick together. We have definitely become a stronger family. I know we're a large family but I wouldn't have it any other way. They just mean the world to me.

My Family

The other day I was trying to figure out how many adults and children were in my family when I came to the realization that the children out number the adults. That is only if you count my younger brothers as children even though they are 17 and 18 years old. So technically only one of them is an adult.

Growing up I didn't think much about having so many sisters and brothers. As I mentioned before I have 2 older sisters and 4 younger brothers. I figured it was kind of normal but apparently not. Most of my friends had 2 or 3 other siblings where I had 6. Now that I am with Charlie and he only has one other brother I realize how large my family is. I always knew we were a lot considering we can fill up many tables when we all go out together, but I like it that way. You can very easily disappear in such a big family but they also do know what you are up to, especially now that I live around them.

So here is a breakdown of my family:

First there is my mom that got remarried with C. He is about 12 yrs younger than her. She has had to overcome many things to get were she is at. Nobody has handed her anything. She has always fought for every thing most of her life. My mom has always been very strict with all of us which is probably why we are where we are in life. She has shown us how to be strong and not to give up. Many times we all thought she was unreasonable and unfair, but we were just kids. Now I can see that if it wasn't for her our family would not be as close. Through most of our lives she was a single mother, although my father was around sometimes, she was still the one that disciplined us and raised us. She does not have much of an education because she was the oldest of 11 children in Mexico and she had to leave school in order to help raise the children and work. Besides her parents couldn't afford to send her to school. My mom has what we would consider "old fashioned" views on life but this is what kept her strong and kept her going. There are many things she could have done differently but I believe there are many more things she did correct. None of us are perfect and she did the best she could with what she knew. My mom has been a great role model. Through her I learned that a women can be strong and independent. A women doesn't need to depend on a man to get her through life. For that I thank her. To this day I don't understand how she managed to raise so many children on her own. Recently she has spoiled my brothers but they are still responsible young adults. I guess she is getting tired but even through all this she is still going strong.

After many years of being divorced she remarried with C about 8 yrs ago. He has helped her raised the twins and A. He has been a great stepfather to the kids and helpful to my mom. He helps all of us even though we are not his children. He has shown how much he loves my mom by moving to Idaho with her and leaving his life behind and helping her with the kids. What is it about my family that people leave their lives to be with us?

Then there is my oldest sister Mar, her husband Bet, and her 2 daughters, Nat the oldest and Kar the youngest. We all go to Marlene when we need help. She has taken the reigns in the family. If anybody needs any talking to my mom tells Mar and she straightens us up. By being the oldest it has become her job to look after the family. You know how parents try everything on their first born and then adjust with their other kids, well Mar was the guinea pig. She got the worst end of the stick. My mom was very strict with her and made her take care of me, J, and Cla. Back then there were only 4 children. She also got into a lot of trouble because she was rebellious.

Then there is Cla and her three daughters, Jan the oldest, Kry the middle child, and Pri the youngest. She has always been very close to Mar. They are only 2 yrs apart. When they were growing up, and even now, they did every thing together. Cla has helped me a lot. I always went to her house in the summers and on the weekends when I was going to UCI. I am also currently living with her. She is the planner in the family. If the family wants to do something she is the one that finds out the prices, locations, and food. If someone needs to find out something you just tell her and she starts looking it up and finds it for you.

Then there is me and Charlie. I am more help to my younger brothers. When they need any help with school I am the one they ask for help. I am also kinda babied by my mom because I have lived away from the rest of my family for so many years and I have no children. Still kinda single but not really because I am with Charlie. We are still in the learning process since we have been together for 2 yrs. It is kinda weird because my sisters and brother J got married at such a young age. Most of my cousins my age or younger are married with children. I have been the one that has lasted the longest without getting married and pregnant. Which makes me the role model for my nieces and brothers. My sisters tell my nieces and younger brothers to take my example and go to a university and get a career before they get married and think about having any children. It's not easy being a role model but I have managed. Besides I have always managed to figure things out on my own. My family has encouraged me all the way but they couldn't help me with school because they didn't graduate from high school. They have gotten their GEDs but nothing beyond that. My friends and teachers helped me with school and my family stopped me from being another statistic. For that I am very grateful.

Broadband at last

Well we were tired of having to dial up and use America online. So this Saturday since we were going to Nat Soo Pah (a natural springs recreation area) in Twin Falls we decided to stop by Best buy and check out the wireless routers. I sure to live Best Buy. The website is very useful. I have learned many things from them. Well anyways we knew what we were looking for with regards to the router, thanks to me, but weren't quite sure about all the wires, adaptors, and anything else we might need. So we asked a guy from the geek squad and he told us we would need cables for Charlie's Xbox and playstation and also cables to connect the desktop to the router. We were like ok but it would cost us lots of money. So we were just there trying to decide the best way to spend the least amount of money and have no cables or very few cables running from the computer room to the bedroom since there are children in the house. Man is it weird doing things around kids since we were accustomed to not worrying about children in the house. But that is a story for another post.

Anyways so we were discussing things and then another guy from the geek squad came around and asked us if we needed any help. We told him our situation and he gave us a lot of different choices. I was like ok too many options. Then he sugested buying a wireless desktop adapter and it would only cost us $20, other wise it would cost us about $30 for the cables to Charlie's Xbox and about $20 for the cables to the desktop. A much better choice. He was also offering to come to the house and setup everything to ensure that it worked properly and the security system was up so our neighbors will not tap into our computers. But of course it would not be for free. It would cost us about $150. Yikes!

So we decided to set it up ourselves. We managed to get it setup. Yey we are good! The good thing is that the cable company came today to get things setup. We called them yesterday and were sure they would take about a week, but I guess this is not LA anymore. We are very thankful for that other wise we would be stuck using dial up and as I mentioned before it sucks. So finally all is well with the world. :-)

Driver's License

So yesterday me and Charlie went to get our Idaho driver's license. We really weren't prepared because we had not really read the manual. I am a big stickler for knowing what to expect. I don't like being unprepared but we wanted to get our license. We had gone once before but we needed proof of residency and we only had our PO Box #. You see not everyone has their mail delivered to their houses. It wasn't until last year that the Post Office started to have mail delivered to the homes. Before everyone had to have a PO Box #.

So anyways, my older sister got us a notarized letter saying we live in her house but all the bills are under her name. So we went. I only managed to read two chapters and Charlie didn't read much. My other sister was like watch he's going to pass the test and you are not because you studied; that is the way things usually go. Well needless to say I passed my test and Charlie didn't. Yey, well not yey that he didn't pass but yey that I passed. I only missed 5 and Charlie missed 7. You are only allowed to miss 6. Yey I passed.

Although many things are the same here as they are in Calif. there were also some things that were different. Like the speed limits in towns, passing other cars in two lane highways since there are mainly freeways in the cities. The other things that were different were the road conditions on bridges over rivers during the climate changes. Don't have to worry about that over there. Then the difference that stuck out the most for Charlie was the livestock signs. Sure don't have to worry about that in Calif. unless you are going to Tijuana and you have the signs that say that you have to watch out for people crossing. That should be the oddest thing. Well here livestock has the right of way obviously. You don't want to hit a cow or a deer. Many bad things can happen. Apparently the major cause of accidents here is hitting livestock. Who knew. So the rule says that you always need to watch for the livestock because they have the right to roam freely and if you hit one that you can be held liable by the owner but you cannot hold the owner liable for any damage to your car. Weird but true.

Can guys and girls be friends?

Well fadedgirl wrote about this topic and so did unilove and Miguel would like to know our view on this. I would have to agree with fadedgirl and uni that guys and girls can be friends. Similar to Maura I would have to say that I have gotten along better with guys than with girls. I have had more guy friends that girl friends. Though fadedgirl would probably argue that I am not your typical girl. I am not all girly, I don't cry on movies, and I am not too emotional. I think it just comes from the fact that I am more of a logic type of person.

I look more into the logic of things and less into the emotions. Which is what many guys tend to do. Which could be why I got along more with them. I am very close to fadedgirl and we could talk about everything. We are like the ying and the yang. She is more emotional and girly and I am not, but we still dealt with each other. But I still got along very well with guys. I could be their friend without getting more involved.

Within our circle of friends in high school there were two guys that were always around us. Other guys came and went but they stayed. I was always able to joke with them about not having a boyfriend. I would mainly joke with one of them. We would pretend that we were together and people would actually believed us. That is just how good our friendship was. Even through this we knew that the relationship that excisted was one of brother and sister. He cared a lot about me and so did I. With the other friend as a good bye not we wrote that we would marry each other and live in Alaska when we were 30 if we weren't with anyone. Pretty cute. I always valued their friendship. It never occurred to us, and still doesn't, that there was more to our friendship.

Besides it wasn't until the last couple of years of college that I really started to have girls as friends. It never seemed weird to me. So when people said that girls and guys can't be friends I thought that that was weird because some of my closest friends were guys.

I hate Dial up

I always used dial up to log in. Since my sister has America Online my family uses that to login. Then I got my laptop and I got wireless internet so it was cool. Then when Charlie moved in he had to have broadband because he had to be able to play online. At first it made no difference to me because I had wireless internet but oh well we got broadband. Those days were good because we can download and upload stuff really fast. But now that I live with my sister and I don't get reception on my laptop and she only has dial up man is it annoying. I can't upload pictures that quickly. The telephone line is used up because of dial up. I don't want to be online that much because maybe my nieces want to use the internet or the phone. Boy do I miss the days of broadband. I can't wait till we go back to it. Dial up really sucks. :ob

Face in the cake

So my birthday was 8 days ago but my family decided to make a bar-b-q this past Sunday and get me a cake. It was nice having the whole family there along with all of their dogs. Every one in my family owns a dog so they all took them with them. The only one missing was Tobe because Charlie didn't know how he would react to so many people. Because remember I have 2 older sisters and 4 younger brothers. I also have 7 nieces ranging from 15 years to 3 months. Very large family. So we had our food and then they brought out my cake. They sang me Happy B-day and made me blow out the candles. Then I was going to cut the cake but my brother wanted me to give it a bite. So I did and then before I knew it my face was in the cake. Not a very pleasant feeling. My hair and face were all covered in cream. I sure wasn't expecting that since they never to that to me. Oh well I guess there is always a first time for everything. Well here are some pictures of the effects of the cake. :-)

On the road to Idaho 2

On the previous post I left off with us deciding to drive on the rim. So we all got back on our cars and drove for about 50 miles on the rim at 35-40 mph. Those were the longest miles ever. Then we came upon a very small town were everything was closed. So there was no where to get a spare then my brother tells me to pull over next to him and tells me to drive to Ely which is the next closest town which is still about 30 miles away and get gas and try to find a place that sells spares because they are running out of gas. So as you can tell things are just getting worse. So I take off and then I see a gas station up ahead I call Charlie, because apparantly he is the only one with reception, and I tell him that there is a gas station up ahead. They started to drive when I took off so he was not next to my brother so he couldn't tell him. So I decide to turn around and meet them at the gas station. Everyone is happy because we can get gas but still no tire.

While they are pumping gas a man in a horse pulls up and my brother asks him if he knows of a place where he can get a spare. My brother tells him about the tire and driving on the rim. The man tells him that everything is closed because it is a Sunday but that he might have a spare. So he tells a girl that is at the gas station to call his house and tell his wife to bring one of the spare horse trailer tires that they have. So about 10 min later his wife shows up and we are hoping that the tire fits because we don't know how much further we can drive. The rim was low and a metal part below the trailer was starting to rub the ground. Luckily the tire fit. We were relieved because who knows what we would have done. The funny thing is that when I was driving toward Ely I saw the man on his horse on the side of the road and didn't think much of it. Good thing he was there when he was otherwise we would have been stuck.

So once the new tire was on and the truck had gas we drove to Ely. We took another break to put gas in the cars, get water for ourselves and give some to the pets. Then we were off again. We were anxious to get home. Then we stopped again at Wells, NV. Filled up on gas and got some food. Gave water to the cats and dog. This was suppose to be our last stop because it was 8 at night and we were suppose to have been at home by now but we weren't. But notice that I said that this was suppose to be our last stop but it didn't turn out as we planned.

You see one thing that you should know about these desert roads is that there are no lights to guide you. When it gets dark you can't see a thing so you need to drive with your high beams on so that you don't run over or kill anything. But when a car is coming in the opposite direction or is in front of you you need to lower your beams. There is also only two lanes. Each one for opposing traffic so if there is a slow driver then you need to go into opposing traffic to pass them. Not that there is much traffic because there are very few people on the road. So what happens to us is that there are 4 big rigs behind us. We are going about 65-70 mph but apparantly that was too slow because one by one they start to pass us. First they pass Charlie because he is the last car then me and then my brother. But remember it is very dark, so during this process one of the big rigs had to swerve quickly in front of Charlie because another car was coming. This could have been bad. Luckily nothing happened. But then there was this real bad smell of gasoline so this could have meant that one of our cars was leaking gas because you always think the worst in these kind of situations. But it turned out that one of the big rigs that was in front of me was leaking gas so he pulled over to the side. Then we were off again. We made our final stop at Jackpot to make sure that everyone was ok.

After that we were finally on our way to Hailey. During that ride between Jackpot and Hailey the cats were getting irritated. They couldn't deal being in the car any longer. They wanted out. They started scratching at their bags and meowing trying to get out. I was suppose to take a nap because I was exhausted but my cats wouldn't let me. I allowed my brother, Andrew, to drive my car when we stopped at Wells. You didn't think I was driving right. ;-). Well anyways, we made it to Hailey at midnight. We were all exhausted. When we were entering Bellevue my brother called me and told me to call Charlie because he was swerving and he thought he was falling asleep. I called him but his phone was dying so we only talked briefly. Then my brother called me again and I tried calling Charlie but his phone was dead. So I told my brother A3 to stop so that we could make sure that Charlie was awake. So I went over to Charlie and he said that he was awake this whole time that there were moments a while ago when he was getting tired and swerving but that he was ok now. So we went to my sister's house where we are staying at and finally took out the pets and got our blankets and we were going to go to bed. But my cats needed their litter because they had not used the restroom all day. So we had to go to my mom's house, thank goodness she only lives about 3 blocks away, and get their litter, bowls, and food. Then we went back to my sister's house.

So what was suppose to be a 14 hr drive ended up being an 18 hour drive. So we got to Idaho on Aug 1 the day of my birthday. Fadedgirl sent me a text wishing me H-Birthday. Thanks Fadedgirl. Charlie didn't end up remembering till 1 and he still couldn't remember if it was my B-day or J's because apparantly his is on the 2nd. and he confuses them. Oh well. I was just glad to be home.

On the road to Idaho

Well now that things have finally settled down a bit I can finally post on the blog about our road trip to Idaho. My 4 brothers, and C went to California on Friday, 7/29 to help me move. They arrived at my apartment at 10 in the morning. We stuffed all of my stuff in the trailer. Well mainly they stuffed everything in the trailer I just watched and packed some left over things and cleaned the apartment. They packed most of the stuff pretty quickly. Once the trailer was packed they got ready because they wanted to go shopping.

The next day we packed Charlie's car and my brothers went shopping again. Charlie's mom and brother came over to say goodbye to Charlie and we went to eat at Red Robin since it would be the last opportunity to eat there for a long time. It is the 2nd best restaurant because of the bottomless fries. The first would definitely have to be The Cheesecake factory. Then we went home and my brothers arrived a few minutes later. Charlie said his last goodbyes to his family. His mom was very sad to see her son leave but she knows that this move will give him the opportunity to better his life. Not that it was bad but he will be able to get more than what he has in LA. When they left we loaded my car and packed the rest of my things. We didn't go to bed till midnight.

I was so tired but I still had trouble going to sleep because I was stressed about the move. Although my family is in Idaho it would still be a big change for me. I wasn't able to fall asleep till 1 which was bad because I woke up at 3 because we were leaving at 4. We wanted to leave early in order to avoid the heat. Well we ended up leaving at 4:30 because I had to pack last minute things and make sure the apartment was clean. Then we had to go put gas so we were on the road at 5. There was a caravan of 3 cars. Mine, Charlie's, and the truck pulling the trailer. This is just the way things happen. You plan to leave at a certain time but you don't. Oh well.

Things were going well for about 1 hr. and 30 min. There was a caravan of 3 cars: Mine, Charlie's, and C's (the truck pulling the trailer). Then the truck started to overheat. That's NOT good. So we had to pull over and wait for it to cool down. We stopped for 30 min. Then we were on the road again. Then about 2 hours later it started to overheat again. Did I mention this is not good. We had to pull over on the side of the road for another 30 min. Atleast this gave us the opportunity to give water to the cats and dog and give them some air. Then we were off again.

Then we finally made it to Vegas. Yey Vegas. But no time to gamble we had a mission. We stopped and ate and gave the pets some more water. Did I mention that it was 100 degrees. The cats were not happy at all. They were hating me with a passion. That was another 30 min break. We also put gas on the cars and then we were off. We were going smothly then we made another stop at a city named Alamo for Red Bull and to take a break. These breaks are not good. Then again we were running on 2 hours of sleep and it was very very hot outside, we had to do something. After about 15 min we were off again. We were doing well as well can be considering the lack of sleep and heat. Just for a minor incidents like my brother getting a nose bleed and getting the side of my car all full of blood things were ok. The cats weren't crying too much. Trust me it could have been worse.

But then it did get worse. We got a flat tire on the right front tire of the trailer in the middle of no where with no reception on the cell phones and no spare. Apparently the Uhaul company doesn't provide trailers with spares because they don't want to be held liable for anything happening to anyone, because that makes any sense. We learned this later. At what I mean by the middle of nowhere I mean about 80 miles from the next biggest town at 2:11 on a Sunday afternoon. VERY BAD. C thought that maybe the tires on Charlie's car would fit so they tried putting the spare on. That didn't work. So the next choice was placing one of the back trailer tires in the front and placing the flat in the back and driving on the rim as far as we could.

Here is the road we were stuck on. My brothers starring at the flat hoping it would fix itself. Yeah right we wish, that way we could go home. My poor little cats are stuck in their bags.

Here are my brother and C changing tires. By the way it's 100 degrees. This was not fun at all.

Pictures of Idaho

Idaho in the winter. This was last year's really bad winter storm.

Idaho in the summer

This is on the way to the main area of Hailey, ID. It really isn't this lonely.

So why Idaho?

That is the question I always got when I told people that my family lived in Idaho. Then it became the question people asked me when I told them I was moving there. There are many reasons why I chose to move to Hailey, Idaho. The main reason is because my family lives here.

My mom moved to Idaho about 9 years ago because my aunt moved to Idaho and she talked her into moving also. My mom figured it would be the best environment for my little brothers because L.A. was getting bad. She did not want them to grow up to be gangsters and make bad decisions. She figured that my sisters have made their lives, my other brother was fine with my sister and I was off to UCI so we didn't need her. She had to take my younger brothers into consideration so she left.

I guess I should mention that I have 2 older sisters and 4 younger brothers. My sisters are 32 and 31 yrs old. My younger brothers are 26, 18, 17, 17. The youngest ones are twins. And I just turned 27.

I would go visit my mom during my summer vacations. Boy was Hailey quite and lonely. There weren't that many people when my mom first arrived here; not that it is over populated now considering there is a pop of about 6,000 ppl. The city has grown.

Then my sisters and brother decided to visit my mom for Thanksgiving to check it out. I guess they really liked it because first my brother moved with my mom, then my other sister, and then my older sister. They all abandoned me during my Junior year. I still went to visit during the summer and then during winter break since all my family was gone.

Although they left me I truly believe that it is the best choice they could have made. It managed to bring my family closer together. They have accomplished so much in their lives. I missed them a lot but I know that it was all for the best. Who knows if my brothers would have gotten into trouble, and I really do not wish to find out. They have turned out fine. My mom has done a great job.

After many years of my mom wanting me to move to Idaho I have finally moved up here. She finally got all of her children together even though one of them is going to BSU at the end of this month. Yet he will not be far. Only 3 hrs away.

It took me a while to decide to move to Idaho because I wasn't quit ready to leave the LA life. I would also miss my friends. They helped me deal with not having my family around. I also wanted to get my credential in California since it is so widely accepted in other states. Now that I have accomplished my goals it was time for me to move on.

I am excited about being in Idaho. I get to be with my family and things are much calmer. A much better environment. Lets see what the future brings.