That's ADJUDICATED youth to you.

So, remember when you were six and your mom took your picture on your first day of school? Well, that's what we did to Clay. Except it was work, and it wasn't quite the first day, but whatever. For those of you who haven't heard about Clay's newest career move, he is working at a center for adjudicated youth in Yearington, Nevada. Right. You're all saying, "Oh, that is my personal hell!" Don't feel bad. We all said that to him. It's fine. So every other week, Clay gets in his four cylinder, stick shift, 100 and god-knows-how-many-thousand-miles-on-it truck and drives away from the beautiful Sierras to Yearington. Home of a NAPA and a bank. AND... Right of Passage, a program for kids who seemed to have missed the lesson on how to NOT blow up cop cars or attempt to murder the cashier at the Circle K. And Clay has taken it upon himself to learn a multitude of restraining techniques in hopes of changing lives. Or at least keeping them from stabbing one another with plastic macaroni covered forks. Little Victories. So every other week, Aimee and I send him off to the trenches for 7 days straight, where he works 16 hour days and gets to wear this super-cool uniform. Chicks dig it. He also makes just enough money to support our drinking of quality micro-brews while he's gone. It's a really neat arrangement. So, here's to Clay, changing lives one carotid restraint at a time! Cheers!

The end of an era, sort of

Having not worked since September 30th, I have decided it is time to say goodbye to my ever so nice unemployment caseworker, Karin, and start working. Sort of. And it's okay to mock me for that last statement. I've come to terms with having a caseworker. It's humbling. As are many things I have done this winter. I really should have kept a running tab of all of the applications. Ah, what a girl will do for powder days. Speaking of powder days... so this job... I'm substitute teaching. It's like real teaching only the kids behave twice as badly. So, reaffirming my inability to teach as a profession, but the hours are fantastic and the pay is pretty darn good for a 7 hour workday. And, no holidays, weekends, or powder days. Meets all requirements. Livin' the dream.

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

Well, not exactly, but this week did contain a few of our favorite things. Football, skiing, and beer. Now I would be irresponsible if I didn't admit that all of our weekends involve football, skiing, and beer, but this one was of epic proportions. Football: free tickets to the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, AZ courtesy of Megan, super journalist. Who was playing? Oh, that's right, the West Virginia Mountaineers. And who won? Of course, the Mountaineers. It was a bad day to be a Sooner. Needless to say, we had to take a detour from Cleveland to Phoenix. Clearly. The beer: $7.50 for a Coors Light at the stadium. Oh yes. We paid for 4 of them. Yuk! And Skiing: Upon our return to Tahoe, 6 FEET of snow was bestowed upon our mountain paradise. We skied it all all weekend. There were face shots, a lot of wallowing, and even more laughing. It was indeed epic. The Subie did just fine with all the snow... it was her battery that finally slowed us down. On the sunday, on the way down the hill, she died. It was also emotional. We had to push her through a intersection. She's getting a new alternator to be ready for the next Sierra storm. So, that was the end to an epic weekend of skiing, football, and beer. Back to normal life, now. We take comfort in the fact that more snows will come, there's Sierra Nevada in the fridge, and there's still a few more weeks of football. Come on out and play!

pics: aimee at the fiesta bowl

4 pieces of hubba bubba on the road trip

aimee buried in FEET of sierra powder