My Favorite Beach Babes

The pictures came back from the beach photo shoot that I helped Brooke Nilsson with! Aren't Rylie, Zoey and Brielle beautiful!? Tara was an awesome photographer.

In case you forgot, these are the girls that I took care of until they moved back to their Texas home in December. I miss them soooo much. I called Brooke about a week ago to say hi. Rylie was so cute, asking me "Sarahlynn, when you gonna come to my house?" It totally melted my heart!Rylie

Zoey

Brielle

R & B Plus 3!

Over the phone, Rylie and I played house and some singing games that I had taught her. I also sang "I love Rylie, yes I do!" and she was so happy. I sang the tune for Zoey and Brielle, (who are walking now!) and they kept looking at the phone, smiling, then looking confused, perhaps wondering where I was. It was so neat that they recognized my voice and the song! Brooke, I love you and miss you. Your pictures turned out gorgiously!! All of our hard work was worth it!

My Miss America Answer

Saturday's Miss America Question
President Barack Obama is the first African American president of the United States. To you, does this mean that our country has finally outgrown racism?

Contestent's Response
Yes, I think it's wonderful that our country has finally been able to break through the glass ceiling and elect a black president. I think it shows that we are moving in the right direction as a nation.

Here is MY response- busting the 20 second time limit
Well, John, I think by asking this question you show that many of us are still struggling to remove our focus from the fact that Obama is black and put more focus on the merit of his policies and character. After his acceptance speech in November and his inagural speech on Monday, most of the comments that I heard from reporters and common citizens were about how they never thought this day would come and how amazing it is that he his black. To me, this shows two things. 1) American's have very little faith in themselves and the American dream. 2) America is focusing more on the color of our president than what he stands for, which, ironically, is what racism is based on.

The Faithless American Dream
Honestly, if you asked me a year ago if I ever thought I'd see the day when America would have a black president, I would have said YES and that it would be a female black president. (In fact, I remember telling this to my fifth grade teacher). I know that even though the American "system" isn't perfect, we've made huge strides in treating people of every color and background equally. I suppose some people thought "this day" would never come because of the oppression they have experienced. I won't deny that they experience oppression, but I ask, where was their faith in the American dream and the American people and ultimately themselves?

To some, their faith in the American dream rested in Obama himself. "He helped show the nation that anyone can achieve greatness, no matter his race." Shouldn't this be something we believe regardless of Obama becoming president?? Let's keep in mind that he didn't achieve greatness because a bunch of white or black guys suddenly changed the way America works. His mom taught him moral principles, she sent him to good schools, she made him accountable for his choices and he developed a desire to make a difference. Then he worked his butt off to do it--just like every other white, brown, yellow and red person that has made a difference.

The more I work with children and families of diverse backgrounds, the more I learn that the American dream is real for those that live by it's precepts: Morality, Education, Hard Work, and Wise Money Management. Most inequality comes from people either not knowing the proper formula or refusing to apply it in their lives, not because it is impossible to achieve.

Focus on the BLACK President
I feel like all of the focus on Barack being black has made our nation take two steps BACK, not forward. If we really believe that any man or woman can achieve high status based on his/her merits, then why aren't we talking about Barack's merits!?!? Why aren't we discussing his policies? I support Obama because of his knowledge, hard work, proactivity, and concern for the average American. I notice a lot of good he has done and really commend him for always working to make change. Can we talk about THAT!? If people really voted for him on these terms, then why didn't they say so when interviewed at the polls? Why did they simply comment on how badly they wanted to finally have a black president? That sounds racist to me.

Furthermore, if we believe in equality, then let's start treating Barack with the same scrutiny and judgement that we give all of our politicians! My concern is that all this talk about Obama being the first black president is clouding our vision. I'm afraid we will let our gaurd down and accept anything the Obama Administration does because, afterall, he's the first black guy to ever do this, so he must be doing it right.

It worries me that he allowed reporters and news stations in his office to witness every piece of legislation he signed this week EXCEPT for the legislation that gave more money to organizations that support abortion. Why did he hide from the press on this issue? Why isn't anyone taking a second look at this? Even if you agree with abortion, shouldn't you be a little concerned that the President did not allow the press to witness this signing? Don't we want a president that is confident in what he does, even if he approaches disagreement?

Please, let's not withhold our criticism toward Obama beacuse we're afraid of being called racist.

And when the next election comes around and we happen to elect a white president, let's sure as heck not say that we are taking two steps back because we no longer have a black president. By saying that, we really would be taking two steps back!

The Big "P" Word

Nope, the word isn't pregnant...yet.

It's the long-awaited-for PROMOTION!! On Friday, Hormel let Jeremy know that he will be promoted to a higher position and the long awaited news of where we will be moving to was finally made known. We're staying in Orange County!! YEAH!

We of course would have loved to try living in a new place, esp if it was on the East Coast or Texas since we have so many awesome friends in those areas, but we are very happy with staying in Huntington Beach. We absolutely love it here, and now we'll be here for at least another year, probably 18 months.

Also, now I can plan on teaching full time this fall without having to start over with paper work in another state. I've already got my CA credential, so that's perfect. In fact, I'm looking for a full time position now! Wish me luck.

And we are considering moving out of our apartment to a cheaper location. $1400 a month starts to eat at our budget pretty fast, and we want to by a home when we end up in Minnesota. So, we'll keep you posted on what we decide.

We are so blessed! Especially with the economy as it is, how wonderful that we are receiving a promotion. The timing of this assignment was perfect- even to the day- and I know that Heavenly Father's hand is in it. It's been nice to put our trust in Him and not be too stressed because we know that since we are doing what we should, He will bless us. And He is!!

Here's what we've been up to our 1st few weeks in 2009:

Griffith Observatory
We learned that this place is one of the top attractions to see in LA. Wow. It's up on the mountain, fantastic views of LA, right next to the Hollywood sign, free museum, free shows, cool astronomy stuff, free parking, nature walks. What more could you want for the perfect date?


Getty Museum
This turned out to be the most beautiful museum I've ever been to. And I guess it's famous. Totally free (just $10 parking, though). We saw works of Van Gough, Monet, Cezanne, a lot of naked sculptures, and pretty gardens at nighttime. I actually spent a lot of my time in the gift shop looking at children's books, but Jeremy wouldn't let me buy them. And I appreciate him for it.

Talks in Church
We had a fun time speaking in church last Sunday in addition to our normal teaching. Yeah, both Jeremy and I actually love to speak and teach. Call me weird, but I think people that don't want to speak in church are wierd. I admit that part of it is a little selfish-I enjoy hearing myself speak more than listening to all those typical boring talks. But most of it is that I love getting people to think more deeply and realistically about gospel principles and their relationship with Christ.

Bytheway, we figured out that all 4 of the older Zavoral kids have teaching callings (Melissa, Me, Jeremy and Zach). It runs in the family I guess.

Beach Basketball
We played one on one at the beach while the sun set. Our game was complete with one hot guy, a very attractive girl (I actually got two cat calls while we played), beach breeze, alpen glow all around us, pink horizon, orange ocean, palm trees, bikers, and surfers.

Then we watched the waves sparkle orange and silver like a looking glass. A pod of about 20 dolphins popped up 100 ft from shore. We could tell they were swimming in circles to bring the fish up to the surface. The birds came and took their stabs at the fish, too. We felt like we were in an episode of Planet Earth!

Eating Out
Thanks to all of the gift cards and coupons that we've been saving, we had a full week of eating out at Duke's, TGIFriday's, El Coyote, Mimi's Cafe, Olive Garden, Del Taco, and Yum Yum Yogurt. Next will be Red Lobster- we still have more to use!

STOMP Concert
You might have heard of them. They bang on garbage cans and stomp around a lot. It was awesome. They made percussive instruments out of brooms, plastic bags, hand-held lighters, metal folding chairs, and innertubes. The whole concert hall boomed with excitement. We found out later that a 5.0 earthquake took place during the concert, but no one ever knew 'cuz of the great noise!

New Rule for My Blogging Friends

I have a proposal to make. It's slightly out of frustration. But mostly all in fun and with a lot of friendly love...

From now on, if any of you- that means ANY of you, esp if you are on our Blog List- are going to be getting anywhere near Los Angeles, please don't hesitate to let Jeremy and I know!!! We want to see you! Even if you are with tons of family. We'd love to tag along just to see your kids and husbands and YOU. We can even take you to some really cool places that other tourists don't know about. Don't forget that we live in Huntington Beach, CA, which is right next to everything. We're 25 min from Disneyland, 45 min from Hollywood, 15 min from Long Beach and 2 min from Newport Beach. And we're only an hour away from San Diego.

I just thought I should make that clear since four of my very good college friends have come right to my backyard on vacation only for me to find out about it on their blogs three weeks after the fact! 'Cum on, folks. Let's really keep in touch. Otherwise why are we bothering to blog?!