We hope our children aren't this ugly!

I've been working for one of the local casinos for five days now. I work on the 2nd floor in the offices. Which means I don't have to wear a uniform. This is a sign of status... not wearing a uniform. When I "lower" myself to go to the break room down stairs where all the uniformed people take their breaks, I get funny looks. On an elevator ride up to the second floor a "uniformed" woman looked at my cup of ice & water and asked "don't they have drinking fountains up where you work?" As if to imply that I was slumming it with the "uniformies."
I'm getting my photography business up and running. Turns out Wendover doesn't have an official wedding photographer. So that should bring in some good money once a year.
Thurm's classroom has a piano in it so I've been playing a little bit. I really like it-- I don't know why I hated practicing so much when I was younger. Oh, probably because my four brother were yelling at me to stop because they were trying to watch TV.
Thurm & I discovered "Netflix" so we are looking forward to getting two movies a month in our PO Box. We recieved our first one today!!! "The Office" Season 3, disk 1.

Family Pictures

Jim & Julia's Family
Anthony's Family
Ryan & Marci's Family

Grandma & Grandpa with all their grandkids

Bear Lake Family Pictures

All the grandkids : )

Just missing Dave

Name bracelets

Racing to the next clue

Digging for buried treasure
Eating Ice Cream (an Amazing Race Challenge)
Putting on a Skit

The Amazing Race: Bear Lake 2007

Amazing Race Teams

Elise, the creator and hostess of the Amazing Race:Bear Lake. Elise learned though it was her game and her rules, every J has to have a say in how the game was played.

I've been reading the 1st of a three part series of books called "The Kingdom and the Crown." Which is basically the "Work and the Glory" set in Jesus' time. So basically its LDS fiction and pretty predictable. However, it's having the desired effect on me. I started reading it because my mom highly recommended it and I needed something to read. The story line is fine, but its the history that has gotten me so excited. I'm finally understanding the difference between the Sadducee's and the Pharisees. The time line of the new testament and how it fits into history is finally making sense. The dynamic between the Roman empire and Israel is making sense. How all of this history effects today and the wars going on in Israel is making sense. How Mormonism and Judaism are so similar and why that is! I've thought that before and of course since Jesus was a Jew, that makes sense, but its all becoming so clear. I took a Old Testament class a few years ago and I had the same reaction---excitement. I just couldn't learn enough, fast enough. Its exciting gaining knowledge and truth.

I HAVE INTERNET! I'm apart of civilization again! I really don't know how I lived without internet back before 1995. I remember getting hotmail and I had one person to email. These last two weeks there has been at least a few times a day that I wanted to google or email something.
So Thurm & I have been adjusting to our new life. Thurm has been adjusting to teaching. I think once he gets into a groove, he'll be a fantastic teacher. He has the class disciplining almost down--one class still gives him a little trouble. He still doesn't have text books, so he's been making up his lesson plans everyday, which is really time consuming. But overall, I think he has found his niche.
I have learned that there isn't a job in town that will pay me what I want. So I am settling for either substitute teaching or working for the casino in the credit department. Both pay about the same. The pro of subbing is I pick and choose my schedule. The con of subbing is that it is subbing. I don't know if I have the patients. We'll see---
Wendover is, as our new friend Carlos, from Mexico City, calls it, a ghost town. But there are lots of books I want to read : )

Below is a post I wrote last week when I thought I'd have internet.

Wendover Day 3:
I have been in Wendover for three days. I was gone over the weekend to Pocatello so those don’t count. I’ve been a homemaker for three days and feel guilty that I need to find a job soon. I’ve cleaned the house, unpacked but still have a full day left to do, did some laundry, went to the electric company, internet company, and to the post-office to get a PO Box.
Everyone keeps telling me I should just stay at home and let Thurm bring home the bacon (Thurm is saying this too). I can’t help but feel very guilty about this. Yesterday I took a nap. Its one thing to be a mother… I feel strongly that a mother should take care of her kids. But I’m just at home all by myself wondering how to pass the time. No internet, no TV. Might as well make money while I’m in this town.
I went to an enrichment night in my new branch last night. One woman I met confirmed that small towns & the Mormon church attract the crazies. But everyone was very nice. Pretty much everyone’s story was that they “ended up” in Wendover and have just stayed. Yes, WE ended up in Wendover, but I am too pro-active to just let us “end up” staying here. We do have a choice in the matter. Overall, I left with a feeling of being depressed by these women’s lives. I’m sure I’ve got the wrong attitude.
We watched Seinfeld last night and Elaine reminded me of Adena. (Adena you are very Elaine-like) Which made Nels appear in one of my dreams. Which made me think about Taiwan today. Thurm & I have been discussing his great new teacher schedule, and how we will have summers off to do as we please. We’ve decided that this coming summer we are going to try and go to Asia for 2 months and teach again. It will be the dream I hold to in the next 9 months of Wendover : )

I’ve figured out how Thurm & I are going to make our millions. We are going to become Bamboo Farmers!!! We will just have to move to Oregon and buy a lot of land and grow Bamboo. The genius is in the simplicity. Bamboo is the next cotton & wood put together. And we’re getting in on the ground floor! Who wants to be an investor?

In other news, I just had a four day vacation in Bear Lake with my family. It was four fun days of the four S’s: Swimming, Sun, Sand & Snacking! I could do without the sand. My niece organized the “Amazing Race: J Family Version.” We received clues and raced to complete challenges which included a round of mini golf, eating a raw onion, putting on a skit (per usual- anytime either of my parents perform some sort of pantomime, skit, singing, etc. hilarity ensues. Please ask me about the Blackfoot Fair karaoke machine incident of 2001), swimming the length of the pool, digging in the sand for hidden money, and eating a bowl of ice cream. Overall a great trip and I didn’t get sunburned too badly.

Favorite Weekend Quote: 5-yr old Carter (poking Uncle Jared with the orange flag while riding in a ski boat): “Um, excuse me, I think it’s time for me to go back to my family.”

Thurm starts teaching Wednesday. He seems pretty excited about it all. Which I’m SOOO glad about. I have a week left at my job, which I’m SOOOO glad about. I’ve been too busy wrapping up our life in SLC and Thurm starting his new job that I haven’t worried about my new job in Wendover, whatever that might be. I’m just excited to be able to walk to work : ) How great is that!

Yesterday Thurm & I took a trip to Walmart to purchase a small paint roller. We bought one that was only 4 inches long because we are fixing a hole in our wall. During check-out, the cashier, a 17-year old guy, looks seriously at Thurm and says "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but this (referring to the small paint roller) is going to take you all day!" haha. Its the little things that make life great : )

Wendover or Bust...

Thurm got a job teaching English at Wendover High School. We are moving there September 1st. I'm still unsure as to my employment, but a few options are in the works. Its taken me a week to wrap my head around living in a town made up of 5,000 people, all of whom work for the five casinos. Two hours from anywhere... in the middle of the desert...but I am actually warming to the idea of taking a 9 month sabbatical from the city life. It will be nice to get away from traffic. We can walk to work and go home for lunch : )
I am hoping that Wendover will just be a 9 month stint, but it could possibly turn into a 2-3 year stint. But it is going to be a great school for Thurm to get his feet wet in. Small classrooms, a laid-back principal, possible coaching positions. I think he is really going to like it there.
I'm sure my first week there I'll have goals set of how I'm going to spend my 9 months. I am FOR SURE taking up running. Nothing like a run in the desert. I think I'm going to photograph the entire town and all 5,000 people. Thurm & I talked about taking up shooting glass bottles with shot guns. Thurm thinks he might take up gambling. I could cocktail waitress in the evenings. The possibilities are endless. I need to re-name my blog www.wendovernatalie.blogspot.com.

Ahhh Wendover....Pop 5,000

City Statistics below:

http://www.city-data.com/city/West-Wendover-Nevada.html

Nate & Misty's Wedding Pics

This is the first time I've taken the entire wedding photos. I've done engagement. And I've helped with a wedding. But this is the first time I've done the WHOLE thing by myself. I was a little nervous, but I'm pretty happy with the results. Thanks to my little bro, Nate, for trusting me with his wedding photos.  

See more pictures at my photography blog-

www.natalieheiner.blogspot.com

Glen Hansard Live at Sundance!

These are the people from the movie "Once" singing at Sundance. Awesome : )

http://oncethemovie.com/

This is a great movie. Glen Hansard is the guy with the guitar. In real life he is a singer/songwriter and they made a movie showcasing his music. I loved it. GO SEE IT!

The pictures below of the graffiti are of a building downtown. This guys bought it to tear it down and build some condos in its place. But before that he invited local artist to come and paint it inside and out. The whole building is covered with artwork, its pretty cool. He got the idea from a person in NYC that did that with a building they were destroying. And the artists liked the idea of having a temporary medium. On Saturday my little bro and fiance came down and I took some of their bridal pictures in front of the building. They turned out pretty cool.

We went to the Jazz Festival Tonight and found Thurm's hair twin. Don't be fooled, this is not Thurm's hair. This man uses better product and possibly blow dries.


We saw Dianne Reeves sing... she has a huge, beautiful voice!

A Before Picture of My Hair

Sugarhouse Park