From California beaches to Minnesota snow, from seventh grade to fifth, from gourmet cooking to sliced apples and cheerios, but only eight weeks till graduation. 

I can't say that my first impressions of the fifth grade are A+, but maybe the little crazies will become endearing. They were much more excited for me to be there, they haven't quite reached the ability to hide what they're thinking. 

As far as the city, the sun is beautiful today, but still extremely cold. It makes me want to sit out on the deck, but I know that I'd regret it as soon as I opened the door. I am very thankful the roads were good yesterday. I know I was a wimp to wait an extra day to drive up here, but I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't have to worry about any ice.

I was pretty excited when I drove past the town from that movie about the florida executive moving up to minnesota. Right after a huge billboard that said "you betcha!" 

Oh and speaking of midwesterners, in Bible class today, the kids talked about how Minnesotans think they can walk on water in the winter, but Jesus can even walk on water in the summer! I tried my hardest to just laugh with them instead of at them. 

I have a long, quiet weekend in front of me, but then only five days of school and its spring break for me!

the sand and waves.

I have only one more day left in southern california. Today I am more excited to leave than usual, its cool and rainy, and I feel like I have everything finished up. I just need to pack (which may be a bit of a nightmare). 

However, yesterday made it quite a lot more difficult to think about leaving. The weather was sunny and 85 degrees and I spent the day bbq-ing on the patio by the pool and then walking along the beach. The sand was hot and the water was perfect. As was the gelato. A few more pictures of the pacific and the valley from the pier, and I had to turn and head towards the midwest winter. We did drive up on a hill along the point to catch one last and breathtaking view at sunset. The entire valley with two rows of mountains began to turn pink as the sun slipped through the clouds behind the barrier islands. The wind was so strong that I felt a little nervous standing on the edge of the cliff and the palm trees looked like they would nearly snap in half, but the view was absolutely amazing.

Tomorrow I'll have to say a sad goodbye to California, but I have some hope because I know I'll soon be moving back to the ocean, although not quite the same one.