Mark left at 2:30 Monday morning to go backpacking in the Wind Rivers (Wyoming) with his parents. He went a total of 180,000 steps (about 60 miles), climbed 458 floors, and his pack weighed 54 pounds when he started. He enjoyed the beautiful views and catching fish at the many lakes they visited. They were able to visit a lot of lakes they hadn’t been to before. He decided to try sleeping in our hammock and he enjoyed that. One night he was woken up to the sound of a large animal (probably a moose) walking in the lake.
He got home a little earlier than planned on Saturday morning. Flynn and I were so excited to see him.
I planned to keep myself busy throughout the week so I wouldn’t have too much time to miss Mark. I’m not outdoorsy enough for backpacking but I’m happy Mark could do something he enjoys. To stay busy, I did some deep cleaning in our apartment and put in extra hours at work. I taught vipkid classes every evening where I normally only teach Friday night.
This week I got an email telling me I was accepted to teach as an adjunct professor for BYU-Idaho online. I’m very excited they assigned me to teach Parenting and Child Guidance-one of my favorite subjects. I am nervous to figure out this new role, and I expect this first semester will be very busy as I familiarize myself with the course. But being an online adjunct professor has been my career goal so I’m excited to finally get to try it.
On Thursday I was given new-hire paperwork to complete in three days. It was a little stressful finding all the information I needed without Mark’s help, but my parents were so helpful by letting me use their scanner and helping with one part where I needed a second person to view my passport card. I also was very grateful for the help of my second cousin, Ashleigh. I needed a professional picture to submit. With a day’s notice Ashleigh took my picture and edited it beautifully so I could meet my deadline.
In addition to the help I received for my application, I was also grateful for the friends who reached out to help keep me company while Mark was away. It meant so much to know friends were aware of me. One evening I met with my niece Tanya to eat chocolate mousse domes from Kneaders. This week she announced she has decided to serve a mission. I’ll miss having her around but I’m sooo excited for the experiences she’s going to have.
Speaking of missions- our nephew left home MTC and went to Ft. Lauderdale this week. I’m so excited to have another family member serve in Florida! I’ve had two second cousins there and a cousin’s son. I think my family has almost been in every Florida mission now! Jacksonville is my favorite Florida Mission, but I might be a little biased. 🙂
Our Story: The Bell Family 