Educational Assistant, McNary Elementary School

When and why did you move to Umatilla?

I moved to Umatilla when I was 15; I’m 38 now. I moved here with my family and eventually moved away to Spokane and Texas, but ultimately found my way back to this incredible little town and have been back here since 2003. I love living in the little family oriented town raising my four beautiful children.

What is your favorite place to eat in Umatilla?

My favorite place to eat in Umatilla is a toss-up between Lite em up BBQ, (ohhh their tacos, mmmmm) or Fruteria Piqui. Their bionicos are delicious! For coffee, hands down Java Junkies!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

In my spare time I like to enjoy the outdoors with my family, listen to music, cook/bake and random crafts/repurposing things around the house.

What surprises you about Umatilla?

The amount of love/family/togetherness in the community.

What was the last book you read?

Honestly, the last book I literally read was a Bible comic book to my kids, but personally I read a lot of books about the Holocaust. They are so fascinating. I prefer to spend my time reading books where I’m learning about history or a true story versus make believe, although a good made-up story lets your mind wander, which is good to let it all go sometimes.

What website or app do you use most other than Facebook?

I use my music app on my phone all the time. Music is a huge story in my life. There are days that I put encouraging positive music on and it just brightens my day and mood. I also use Duolingo, YouTube and Amazon quite a bit.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

This is a tough one. I’ve always wanted to go somewhere with warm water that you could wake up and jump right into the beautiful clear water, like Bora Bora but would love to see the beauty of the Swiss alps and architecture of Greece.

What is the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you?

Wow … just one???? Life is the funniest thing to happen to me. Way too many to just pinpoint one thing!

What is your proudest accomplishment?

My proudest accomplishment would have to be my children and seeing how they are growing into such incredible people. I see little things in them everyday that reminds me that I’m not doing such a bad job of teaching them about life after all.

What is one of your goals for the next 12 months?

I have so many goals for the next year. First, I just want to get through this homeschool school year with a full head of hair, then I have many home projects and renovations to finish. For now, it’s day to day. If I get through each day with the love of my family, house in one piece and a smile, then that is accomplishing a huge goal.