Let the planning BEGIN!!

New Home....

2008-07-20T23:41:00.000-07:00

I created a new page where you can go from now on to see Jimmy- Julie updates. These next two months should be exciting! Check out our new home.... it will probably look very familiar
jimmy-julienewton.blogspot.com

We're getting married!!!

2008-07-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

Some of you have been hearing about it for a while... some of you this is a huge shock... but it's official, we're getting married! After several weeks of anticipation (which I did not endure patiently, I might add) Jimmy proposed on July 19th! It was so beautiful and I couldn't have planned it better myself! It started in the morning when he brought me breakfast from our favorite breakfast joint, Shirley's. He asked me if I had plans at 11:45 and when I said I was free, he let me know he had booked me an appointment for a massage at Sundance Spa. I found out later that it was just to get rid of me so he could prepare, but that's fine with me. Meanwhile, he was scoping out the perfect location for the proposal. After the massage we went our separate ways to do some chores. When we got back together there was just a note on his door, telling me to go to his desk. When I got there there was a note telling me to go to the school....I think you know where this is going. I also went to Wilson Diamond, where he bought the ring, and to Goodwood, where we had our first date. At each location he had left me a rose, a note and pictures of us. He was at the last location with dinner to go. We got in the car and headed up the canyon. After a bit of off-roading he parked the car and we started off on a little hike. For those of you who are familiar with this area, we were on a trail that was above Squaw Peak and overlooked the valley. Our destination was a mountain top and I was wondering why he had no blanket or anything for me to sit on (I was wearing a white skirt). As we rounded around to the top of the mountatin I saw a beautiful table with chairs (Thanks, Jimmy!), candles, roses, even a table cloth. The only sad part is that we didn't take a picture right at that the moment we got up there...it looked so perfect! But this pictures was taken after we were finished eating. As we were cleaning up he played a song from his phone and started dancing with me. When the song was finished he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Even though I was bawling I was able to get out a "yes." A big "Thanks!" to his sister Ann and her Husband Keith for helping set up and making the evening so perfect!

Home, Sweet Home

2008-03-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

This has been one of the nicest days ever! I've been home for the Easter holiday weekend and...
So I started to write this post....I don't know what happened but I didn't finish it (until today, May 24th). Then the girls in my house forgot that you have to pay bills to enjoy little things like the Internet and electricity. Since I had no internet I haven't been able to update my blog. I loved the massive update that Rachelle did the other day... be expecting one of those from me shortly. I will just go ahead and attach some pictures of my trip that I took to Houston for Easter. It was one of the nicest trips I've taken since..... well, since the last time I was in Texas for Christmas.
Houston Rodeo!!

Past Midnight

2008-03-09T23:43:00.000-07:00

What am I still doing up? That's exactly what I've been asking myself for the past three hours. I usually go to bed at 10 p.m. but it is past midnight and I feel like I could stay awake for at least 4 more hours. It must be the day light savings thing that we've all just experienced, and three weeks earlier than normal I might add. I realize that I've been behind on updating my blog... and I don't blame any of you if you have stopped reading... but if there was a time to tune in.... it may be now. I'm just saying that there are a lot of decisions to be made here in the next couple months and you don't want to be left in the dark because you stopped checking into the slunicka blogspot!
Here's a quick update... nothing is new. Ha! I still work at the same place and I still love it. I did see an excellent movie on Friday night: Jumper. A definite must-see! I've decided that if our family had a super power, it wold for sure be the one from that movie. It would be so convenient! Last night Jimmy and I, his sister and brother-in-law went to the Czech restaurant in SLC. It was DELICIOUS! So authentic! The Lady who runs it was from Zlin! What are the chances! Um...ok so maybe I can find a cool picture to add to this post so you don't feel like this was a total waste of two minutes! Good night all!!!Turns out the other picture I had on here was scaring small children. I decided to switch it out for this one of me with Kelly (future mother of a little boy!), Grandpa and Grandma Walker.

New Year...New Dreams...

2008-01-26T23:08:00.000-08:00

A slice of heaven...PADRE!

2007-12-27T17:45:00.000-08:00

Sure the south is blazin' hot in the summer...but that also means that while the rest of the northern hemisphere is freezing cold in the winter, the south is enjoying temperatures in the 70's. We drove from Houston to South Padre Island on Christmas day. There's something about the beach that makes me feel so free! As soon as we put our bags in the condo we all went on a long walk on the beach. I could easily have stayed there for the rest of my life! The water was perfect and the air was so fresh!We were in the water for a good part of the next 2 days. Adam and I bought skim boards. It was super fun and I didn't have to worry about the dangers that come with real surfing....SHARKS! I feel perfectly fine with staying on the sand and throwing my skim board onto 2 inches of water!
When we weren't in the warm gulf water, we were in Mexico. That little trip, as cool as it was, made me grateful to live in the states. If you've been there you know what I mean; If you haven't been there, I'll be glad to share my opinion with you off the record. It was very fun and I definitely recommend it to anyone. The is a pretty typical picture if you know Dad. He was able to find some sort of wood work, and once he found his purchase, he had a seat on this bench and waited for us to finish our shopping.
I guess we weren't the only ones who wanted to get back home to the States...it took us 3 hours to get across the border. If you want to get Mom riled up, ask her how she feels about that.
Adam was equally on edge, but not because he was sick of sitting there...he had to PEE!! He decided to use the quilt to make a barrier and peed into a bottle. It was hilarious! We eventually got across the border and we all relaxed at the Radisson's Mexican Buffet spread and felt happy that we could enjoy this dinner without any authentic aftermath.

Christmas Morning!

2007-12-26T18:57:00.000-08:00

We all slept in on Christmas morning. It was fabulous! We ate breakfast around 11 am and then headed off to South Padre Island around 2 pm.That's true joy on our faces...
Pre-breakfast snack...On our way out of Houston there was an accident and the traffic was backed up for a while. This adorable man went around to everyone and passed out candy. What a Texan!

Christmas celebration of four...

2007-12-25T07:45:00.000-08:00

Things have been pretty calm here this Christmas. It's just Dad, Mom, Adam and me at home. We will be having a visit from Andrea and her family at the end of this week though. Caroling was super exciting. This is a picture of Adam in the car in between houses. I'm amazed he fell asleep in my company...but, whatever.Last night we went to the Kunz's for a Christmas Eve party. There were lots of games (yippee), food, and people. Here are some of the emotions we went through last night.The games started about this time.Mom and Adam couldn't help these smiles when it was announced that the games were over!
One of the best parts of Christmas Eve is having children act out the nativity story. The cutest part of last night's show was when the angel was talking. I wish I could have gotten it on video. The little girl had the cutest, squeakiest voice. It was adorable!Merry Christmas everyone! I have thought about most of you today, I'm sure. I would love to hear how you're doing. Drop me a line and tell me what's new! I hope you have a beautiful day, wherever you are. Be safe and I hope to see you soon! But not too soon, unless you're coming down here to visit. I'm enjoying the weather and relaxation!

Stinker!

2007-12-22T14:29:00.000-08:00

About every other week my parents get adopted by a new dog. This week it is this adorable beagle looking thing. I'll admit that I didn't like him at first, but today I think he's great. The first time Mom saw him last week he had just come over from Travis' property and had been rolling in cow poop, so he got the name Stinky. That's not the cutest name ever so I try to call him Stinker insead. Stinker is a great little companion. He loves to be around people. If he wants us to come out he'll just walk along the back porch and howl. It's so cute. When we were eating lunch outside today he just sat by us on the grass. Most dogs would be tring to jump up on the table, that's how I decided that he was a sweet dog. Then he accompanied me on a walk around the fish pond.

Home, home on the range...

2007-12-22T13:23:00.000-08:00

It's great to be home in this 70 degree weather! It's been so relaxing. I'm blaming the fact that I've been sleeping in until noon on the black out drape on my bedroom window. At lunch this afternoon Dad said, "I left around 11 am and I thought you were dead in there." Very funny, Dad. =)

Last night Dad had a little company get together. He broke out the fajita cooker that he recently had made. He's now a master smoker, gumboo chef, and fajita fryer. The fajitas were delicious and everyone was really nice. Of course they were, it's TEXAS!

Dad thought I was going to lick him. How well he knows me!

Bittersweet day!

2007-11-15T18:31:00.001-08:00

Melissa went into the MTC yesterday afternoon. I'm so happy for her and I can't wait to hear about all her experiences and watch her grow over the next year and a half.
This past week, I had only been thinking about the great times she is going to have and not how much I am going to miss her. It didn't hit me until we started singing, "Called to Serve." The familiar lump started in my throat... you know the feeling! It was all over after that. I cried from that time until I got to my car. Then it started again when I got back to my meeting and everyone asked me how it went. Right now she is getting ready to spend her second night in the wonderful MTC! What a lucky girl!

But just incase the MTC is too much for Melissa (or Melissa is too much for the MTC), we practiced an escape route the night before!

One cat closer to my future as CRAZY CAT LADY!

2007-11-12T19:38:00.000-08:00

I was chatting with Mom tonight when I got a text from my roommate Teagan that said, "Oh crap, we got a cat!" Everyone knows that I love cats but I think my roommates make my love for cats look extremely mild. They visit the Humane Society web site almost daily to check for cats. I guess one of Nichelle's friends had this cat and they were just looking for a place for it to go. It just so happens that have a place for him! His name is Ginger and as you can see he is the most beautiful cat in the world! We love him so much! The only trouble is that we only have one cat so fights are sure to break out, in the near future, over who gets to hold him.

We will celebrate Halloween night with a witch, flying in the air!!...

2007-11-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

Halloween in elementary school is the best! Christie and I were Thing One and Thing Two from Dr. Seus. Our party, according to the students, was the best ever. We played Halloween Bingo, had a fortune teller, a costume contest, a coloring contest and tons of treats. It was great to be back around kids for the holidays. They get so excited about everything...and I'm easily enchanted myself. Next year will be even more magical! I'm going all out!

#1 Utah Perk: Mountains!!

2007-10-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

Last night I went on a Relief Society retreat up in American Fork Canyon with all the girlies in my ward. It was wonderful! A couple other girls and I decided to sleep on the deck. It was one of the most enjoyable things I have done in a while. Those of you who know me well know that I would choose to be in the mountains over anywhere else...and sleeping outside is one of the many perks. It is supposed to snow today so all night we could hear and feel the storm rolling it. It was magical! You could hear the wind start at the bottom of the canyon, and it grew louder as it ripped through the trees. Then the wind would rush over the top of your sleeping bag and fad away into the forest behind the cabin. The first time this happened I wasn't sure that I liked it... but I found myself anticipating the next time I would hear the wind building on it's way up the mountain. A great experience and great company!

Stop and smell the roses... and then play catch up for the next two days!

2007-10-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

So much has happened! conference weekend was filled with so many exciting events! On Thursday night we went to the Salt Lake Temple to be with Melissa as she went through for the first time. Congrats Melissa!! The 4 visitors from Texas ended up being 7 visitors! All of the siblings, Mom, Dad, and Beckett showed up to party all weekend! It was so great to be together.
I should back up and mention that I had strep throat the weekend before conference. Now, this was the first time in FOR-EVER that I had watched T.V. For those of you who don't think that advertisements work, I will say THEY DO. And they're sneaky about it! You don't even know they're doing it. Back when I watched T.V. more often I think I was used to it. But as I was laying in bed watching T.V. at G'ma and G'pa Walker's I found myself agreeing with the commercials. "Do you find yourself trying different shampoos to get your hair shiny and smooth?" "Are you tired of the same old dinner" "Yes!" I would think to myself. "How did they know I've been thinking that?!" It took me till about the third commercial break to catch on to their tricks. I had "2bestrong" to not let myself get sucked in. So BEWARE! They want you to think that you need it...but you don't!
So back to conference weekend...it was wonderful...alas, people do have lives, and everyone had to go back home.
On Thursday, fall break started for all of the schools in Utah. A break sent from the gods! I didn't even know I needed a break until I got it. And an interesting thing happened...I didn't go to work! I just stayed home and did things that have been waiting since August. Indeed, this was the first time in 2 months that I had taken time to do things for me. And I liked it! I decided to start leaving school earlier to have more "me" time. Result: I got behind in work and was exhausted by the time Thursday hit from trying to keep up. Lesson learned: A first year teacher really should just move into the school and plan on not stopping to smell the roses, even during a heaven-sent fall break. Luckily I LOVE life and my job!

Everyone Wants to Visit Utah...

2007-09-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

...it must be true. They all want to know what all the fuss is about. Last week on Wednesday my very good friend Abby came to Utah. She claims it was for "business," but I know why she really came. It was good to see her. She lives in Chicago now and I don't get to see her much. But every time we do get together, we have the same purpose: find a way to live in the same place, preferably in the same house. (or marry successful brothers and be neighbors!) Once again, we parted ways without a plan for our future "together"...but there's always next time.
On Friday of the same week I had a friend from California fly out to see the wonders of Utah. As we drove down University Avenue on Friday night, and saw the groups of Zubies dancing in the streets and parking lots, he wondered how this was all happening without alcohol. Just one of the great things about living here, my dear readers. We did have a good time while he was here. We went up to Park City, ate some good food and drove through the pretty canyons. He couldn't believe that we had deer just walking around everywhere. Ok, so maybe they're not just walking around everywhere. But the fact that I hit a deer while on the freeway last month, made it more believable.
I look forward to next week when I will have 4 visitors from Texas!

Spud Day!!

2007-09-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

In September of 1999 I was introduced to one of the greatest celebration west of the Mississippi...SPUD DAY! Since then I have visited Shelley, Idaho on the first weekend in September to join the local towns-people in their fall festivities. The highlights of the day are always the parade and the spud-tug.
I first learned of Spud Day when I moved into Colonial House at Ricks college in the summer of 1999. I had two fabulous roommates from Shelley: Shanley and Candace. Shanley's dad has an old fire truck that he runs in the parade every year. And this year was the second year that I was able to ride in the fire truck, throw candy to the excited children, and ring the cool fire bell.
Now, most of us know what a tug-of-war entails; two teams, a rope, and a mud pit. But on spud day, the center pit is filled with potatoes, of course! They bring in a dumb truck, filled with instant mashed potatoes, and pour them into the pit. It's hilarious watching the losing team dive into the potato filled pit! For those of you who haven't been, I would strongly suggest you make it there in your life time!

Student of the Week

2007-09-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

On Fridays we have class meetings. This is the time that we talk about class concerns, we create goals for the next week and give a student of the week award. I try to give an award to a "star girl" and "star boy." This week I decided to choose a girl that really struggles academically but is so sweet and never complains. She is reading at a first grade level but you would never know by her attitude. She just tries to keep up and stay positive. I thought she deserved some recognition. When I called her name her face light up! As she walked up to get her award she looked so cute; eyes wide open in surprise, wearing the biggest smile I've ever seen. I almost started crying as I was telling the class why she was chosen as student of the week. I'm not sure how many awards she has received in school, but it's possible that this was her first. I love my job!