A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer...

Last weekend, we hosted a going away party for one of our seniors, Jane, who left for Baylor this week. We had around 20 kids at our house, playing Bocce ball, croquet, eating veggies and BBQ, and plenty of cupcakes and blackberries. The girls: (L to R) Sun, Angela, Carolyn, and Jane. Part of Jane's raptor dance...not sure where she gets this stuff. Freakiest picture of Macie ever! For all those out there who think my dog has mutated, it is possible! Sun took this picture while laying on the ground (which is Macie's territory), and of course, Macie was trying to bite her. Youngi coming after Joe during a friendly game of croquet. Bryan showing off his juggling skills. Notice the children in the background congregating around the blackberry bushes, probably plotting their stupid blackberry war. This is Stephen after Daniel and him got in a blackberry fight. I was not very happy with them, but I managed to get all the stains out before his parents came to get him! Bryan (a.k....

Yesterday, Bryan, Angela and Daniel drove all the way to Yakima, Wash. to pick up our new puppy! Her name is Macie, and she is 11 wks old. She was rescued from a puppy mill in Washington, along with a few of her brothers and sisters. We adopted her from Yakima Valley Pet Rescue. They think she is a labrador retreiver mix. She is mostly black with a slight brownish tint, and has white paws, a white "batman logo" on her chest and a tiny tip of white on her tail. She is basically the cutest puppy ever. She rode the whole way home with them, sleeping in her bed, and right when she got home, she peed in the grass! She is yet to have an accident in the house, and she didn't even whine last night! A bunch of people came out to see her yesterday, and maybe she was just too tired out to whine. She is a really good dog, but a biter! She especially likes to bite my hair. This is Macie and I kissing. How many Koreans does it take to wash a puppy? Four! Angela and Macie. Not sure...

The Bernard family is all about traditions. My family has their own traditions, like all the kids dressing up and doing the nativity play at Grandma Ullman's house on Christmas, millions of family reunions, and the innate ability to procreate. Now that I am married, Bryan and I have to chose which traditions to take part in, and when to create our own. When I was little, every Fourth of July was spent at my Grandma's house in West Salem. The day would kick off around noon, when my brother and uncles would go into town and buy the biggest package of fireworks we could find. We'd then go back to Grandma's, eat some frozen blueberries, jump on the trampoline and pray the sun would sink faster. As soon as we had the go-ahead, we were lighting fireworks. Eventually, the parents and my aunts, uncles and grandparents would come out with their lawn chairs and blankets to ooo and ahh about our fireworks show. For a couple years of high school, my brother became obsessed with Whi...

As I have mentioned before, Bryan and I are a bit unconventional 23-year-olds who enjoy spending every waking moment with high school students. On that note, our "vacation" this summer was spent over the last two weeks on the Navajo Native American reservation in Kaibeto, Arizona on a mission trip with 8 of our high school students and 40 students from Salem Heights. The trip started at 5 a.m. on Thursday when the crew set out from Salem Heights. I did not accompany them on the first leg of the trip, because I had to finish the week of work. So I got up, saw them off, and went back home to sleep for a couple of hours and then went to work at 8:30. After a mad rush to finish my work before my flight left for Phoenix on Saturday morning, I got to be around midnight on Friday night, and then took off for the airport at 3 a.m. (with my parents' taxi service). The flight was no problem, I only had a carry on, so no baggage to check. I sat around and tried not to fall asleep. T...

I've come to realize that being a youth pastor's wife means there will be many many many high school graduations in my future -- along with my numb backsides. The fun part is definitely at the end...once the hats are thrown, it's all a party! Here are a couple photos of Bryan and I with our grads! First, Sprague students graduated on Friday, June 6. This photo is me with a couple of my girls from Salem Heights (Julie and Heather), one of my girls from CKC (Jane), and one of my sister-in-laws (Carolyn), who is both a Salem Heighter and an honorary Korean. Next, Crescent Valley graduated on June 9. This is Bryan and me with all of our seniors at CKC: Jane, Janet, Wonmo and Chris.

So Bryan and I have now been married for two years...my how time flies. We kept up our tradition of Newport bed and breakfasts and tried out the Newport Belle, a sternwheeler built as a functional B & B that sits in Newport Bay with an uninhibited view of the bridge. I have to say that our experiences with B & Bs has been excellent, and this was another good pick. I think it was $140 for one night, but that includes breakfast, our own room with a bathroom, a fantastic view, and even a firework show. The fireworks were not an every night treat, we just got lucky. Apparently, on Newport High School graduation night, the seniors ride out to the pier we were on in school buses, escorted by fire trucks and police cars, and watch a pretty impressive fireworks show. We had no idea, or course, that this was going to happen. Our day started off pretty lazy, sleeping in at home in Salem, and then we headed over to my parents to pick up Bryan's b-day gift -- a Rascal Flatts CD, which ...

So this past week, Bryan and I became the guardians of six kids...my five Vettrus cousins and little brother. My parents, along with my grandparents, and two sets of aunts and uncles (including the Vettrus' parents) went to Hawaii for the week, and just got home last night at 1:30 a.m. In their absence, Bryan and I were in charge of all their kids, ranging in ages between 10 and 16. While this might seem like a daunting undertaking with a full-time job and church committments, we had a blast. These kids are so easy to take care of...especially with Bryan playing right alongside them in their many airsoft battles throughout the memorial day weekend. The toughest part was cooking for all of them, and that was only hard because I didn't know how long to cook a frozen lasagna...or pizza. But they made it through, as did we. There were a few mishaps along the way...Bryan almost killed himself on the 4-wheeler, Jason (the 10-year-old) only showered twice in seven days (unbeknownst to...