I LOVE SPRING BREAK!

One of the greatest perks of being a teacher is getting all the school breaks. I am currently on spring break! So what have I been doing you ask? Well, what haven't I been doing is a better question.

A few months ago Ryan and I made a list of things we would like to do in L.A. So, when we have a free weekend we like to look at our list and see what we'd like to cross off. Last weekend, we when to Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. We saw Streetfighter or something like that, it was a decent movie, entertaining enough, but the actual theater is sooo cool. There is an amazing sound system not to mention the HUGE screen complete with a red velvet curtain that opens and closes at the start and finish of the feature. There's a balcony that has been closed for years (we can't figure out why) so the ceiling is really high with cool pillars with chinese dragons and etchings throughout the theater. It was really cool. Outside the theater are footprints in cement squares of everyone you can imagine....from Shirley Temple to Tom Hanks to Danny Kane to Kerry Grant to Jim Carey, Robin Williams, Mel Gibson....and the list could go on and on.

Then last Sunday, both Ryan and I headed to the airport. Ryan flew out to UT to visit his family and check out some orthodontic practices out there and I headed out to Boston on an all expense paid trip with faculty from my school to look at other progressive education schools and observe their programs. Boston was wonderful but absolutely FREEZING!! I decided to only go for a couple days rather than the entire week so that I could spend some of Ryan's break with him. How these trips work is you go visit a school with some other faculty in the morning from about 8:30-12 and then go to lunch with them and discuss your thoughts and observations. Then you have the afternoon to do whatever. Since I was flying back to L.A. late Tuesday afternoon, I had to really pack it all in. So, Monday I went into downtown and walked ALL over the city to see all the old buildings and historical monuments. It was great. The only problem was the cold. I one point I went to put on some lip gloss and it was frozen in it's tube and wouldn't even come out! Some of the highlights were the Cheers bar from the old T.V. show, the capitol building, the old Boston library, some of the old graveyards, going to where the Boston Tea Party began, walking through the park called Boston Commons and imagining all the history that happened there. It was just fun to meander and see the old architecture. Tuesday I went to another school and then headed back to Harvard Square to go to the Harvard Bookstore. Then off to the airport to head back to L.A.

This was the view out my hotel room. Those crew people must have some special clothes to stay warm that early in the morning. I was struggling at ALL times of day to stay warm. The other is a statue of Washington with downtown in the background.

Samuel Adams' grave. And me outside the building where the Boston Tea Party started!

Once I got back late Tuesday night, I got a brilliant idea to surprise Ryan in UT the next day! He was supposed to come back on Wednesday afternoon, but instead, I changed his flight and "checked in" for him, and booked a flight for myself that got into SLC around the time that he was supposed to be leaving. So, when he was coming to the airport, he was all packed and ready to leave, and instead I knocked on the car window! He was so surprised! He did a double take and rather than say hello or anything just said, "What are you doing here?" It was great. He said he hasn't been that surprised since his 16th B-day! Anyway, it was fun to spend time with his family. We had THE cutest niece and nephew EVER! Little Addy and baby Ryan are just like little dolls. It was great to get to play with them. As always, Ryan's Dad, Rick, cracks me up! I went and got a manicure with Bobbi, Ryan's Mom. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful in-laws. I can honestly say that I love spending time with them. It was also great to see Ryan's siblings. His brother, Brandon, has been really sick with back issues, so it was great to see him and his wife Katie.

"Baby" Ryan who I affectionately call Tank.

Ryan used to work for the Jazz, so we went over to the practice facility to say hello to one of his old friends, and I got the whole tour. Ryan is standing by Deron Williams's locker, and that's Boozer's shoe next to mine. The shower heads in the locker room were all about 9' tall!

Little Addy, who is also a little chunker. Soooo cute! She loves Peek-a-boo!

And what trip to UT would be complete without some time in those breath taking mountains! We had a GREAT 6 month anniversary day spring skiing with some of the best conditions either of us have had in a long time. Over 18" of fresh, light, fluffy UT powder complimented by blue skies and no wind. It was so much fun.

This bowl was opened up when we were on the lift, it was so cool to see all the people bomb the hill like a bunch of little ants. When we got to it, there was still room for fresh tracks. Does it get any better? Honestly!

Cool cowboy dude we happened to see throughout the day! That coat was full length btw.

We got back to L.A. late Friday night (Ry had an ortho thing all day Saturday) and just hung out for the rest of the weekend while my body tried to figure out what time zone to be in! The best part is....I have another week off!!!