Labor Day Weekend and Alopecia?

This past Labor Day weekend, Sean and I headed up North to spend the three day weekend with the Smith side. We stayed in a cabin at Oakley. Super nice cabin (you can tell these people are rich!) and fun trails to go 4-wheeling on. Because Sean and I don't have children we are on the bottom of the food chain! We go to sleep with the babies and they cried all night:) I think we will put off children a while. Just kidding, MOM!!!

We went to a near by lake but it wasn't the best but still fun. Notice Sean's chin. Yup, he has alopecia. Nothing to get to worried about but now it is moving to the head. Photos will follow when I pull out the razor:)

Having Fun with Sequencing!

Behold! My second year of teaching at C.S. Lewis Academy has begun on a great foot. Just look at what my 3rd graders have accomplished.






We read the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," brainstormed about sequencing, and recreated the story with each creating an item from the book. FABULOUS

Another day in paradise...

It is almost July... can you believe it? Man, I thought summer was going to be long, and boring. Well, now I am trying to pull back time. Sean was up early for work and I sent him off with a half frozen water jug and a delicious home-made lunch. YUM!

Chelsie Brooks came into town this past Monday and we spent the day shopping for engagement photos. Yup, you heard right. Chelsie is officially engaged and will be married on Dec. 19, 2010 in the DRAPER, UTAH temple. Ha, just like me. Great temple. Well, okay... they are all great.

So life is moving along. I have assigned myself to make one of our Young Women leaders a good-bye gift so that will be keeping me busy. If only I did earlier in the month. Now that July is upon us, now I feel pressed for time. Oh, such is life. And life is going to be getting a whole lot better because tomorrow is BOATING DAY! Yes!!!! Taking the boat out early tomorrow morning on Utah lake is just fabulous. Wish me luck. I am going to aim for out shinning Sean on the Wakeboard:)

Another day...

Well, it is finally almost Friday and I think that I have survived pretty well. Sean is tearing up the school path by keeping busy and on top of things. I, on the other hand, am struggling with finding constructive activities to keep me busy. I am reading, and creating projects for my classroom and listening to books on tape but I want something more. Maybe something more meaningful and with purpose. I have been really thinking about what I can make (I love working with my hands) and have decided to make something for my sister-in-law. She is due to have a baby in Dec or so. I think a cute little beanie would be great. And I was telling Sean that this beanie idea can be my signature gift for all the new babies that come along. I think that I need to become an expert first but you get the idea.

Cafe Rio and Elder Hinckley

Sean, Anne, Josh and I made a date out of it. Yes, Elder David Hinckley needed one last great dinner before being dropped off into the MTC. Anne and Josh paid for all five of us to eat. David had never been there before so it was an excellent choice. I must say it was hard dropping David off at the MTC. I never like to get teary-eyed so I try to hide it the best I can. He will be alright though. Sean and Josh know how it is. I just don't like to see my family ever feel alone.

ASL

I spent a solid chunk of my yesterday in the BYU library. I went to school with Sean for two reasons. 1) I needed to get out of the house and 2) There are some things that I need to get done regarding next year of teaching. The visit was fine but a whole 4 hours is hard to fill if the internet site you need does not pull up or if you are done with your reading. So, needless to say I had some time to kill. After some personal scripture study and pondering, I made my way to the BYU Bookstore (my favorite). I bought myself an American Sign Language book. See, next year I will be having a student who is deaf in my class. I thought that it would be good of me to study some important phrases, pick the ones that I can teach the entire class, and be prepared to interact with the new student. I am pretty proud of myself. My goal is 3 phrases a day.

FIRST YEAR OF TEACHING COMPLETE!!

Wow! I cannot believe that my first year of teaching is finally over. I remember when it all started with an interview at C.S. Lewis Academy in the middle of July. I felt really good about the interview and low, and behold I got the job. I recall telling Sean over the phone about the job and man, was I excited! I was thinking "Okay, so this is a good thing... I'll be able to stay and around and that means more Sean!"

But my first two weeks of school were really hard. I did not let anyone know at school of my stress level (crying to and from school everyday is not a thing you pass around). I was a great actress. Over time, things became easier and suddenly I was wondering where the time had gone. All of a sudden it was Christmas Break then Spring Break.

Now, I know that I could not have done this year without several amazing people. First, my husband, Sean. He may not know it completely, but he has been my source of strength during this whole year. From forcing me to eat when I was too stressed to being my sounding board for ideas to do at school. And the lucky thing is, he'll be doing it for years to come!

Adrienne, the other third grade teacher, has been so helpful with lesson plans, ideas, management suggestions, and being a great sounding board too.

My family, on both sides, are just great. Sounding boards, all of them. I think there is a trend here. I either like to talk a lot or my family is just good a listening... or both. :)

All in all, I am complete satisfied with my first and successful year of teaching. I am ready for the next year. I already have ideas pouring out of my head and I cannot wait to put them into action!

Hinckley-athon

The weekend of the Anne and Josh's Washington Open House was finally here along with David's farewell talk. To keep things packed and altogether, Dan helped organize a family activity as to not "waste time." Thus the HINCKLEY-ATHON was born. Friday came early with a french toast breakfast and yummy sides. The plan here was to participate in several events, tally points, and see who was the greatest Hinckley of them all. Here is the list of the events:

1. Golf: longest hit
2. Golf: most accurate
3. Golf: hole in one
4. Frisbee: longest throw
5. Frisbee: most accurate
6. Frisbee: hole in one
7. Shoot range (total of three shots)
8. Rope climb

Now, our family has never done this sort of thing but it is never too late to start. Josh, Anne, and Sean helped organize as well. I mean, now is the time to start new traditions:)



The weather was great for the Hinckley-athon. The whole clang went to Kawais Park and did events #1-6. It was great to see certain individuals try and use a golf club (use your imaginations). I must say the frisbee is more in the Hinckley blood line. Dan was clearly the best at the frisbee throw but I was right behind him.



After having a hoot at the park and catching attention of many bystanders we all headed home for the shooting and rope climb. The shooting event was with a BB gun. Now, the rope climbing event was a little crazy. I went first but I tried without good traction shoes so my first attempt was a pathetic try. Too bad it was not caught on camera. Everyone was thinking that David or Jeff was going to take the title for the rope. But out of nowhere (;) ) Dan climbed the rope under 7 seconds. Not without injury though. Bloody hands are always worth a prize.

WAIT! There was not prize. The parental units were in charge of first prize and last prize but nothing came of it. I guess there is next year!

PS. David was the winner. Dang it!

Hiking the Y

This week is Spring Break (for me only) so Sean and I decided to hit the mountain side this morning. As many of you know, the great Y hike is one of the popular activities here in Provo. I wanted fresh air and Sean... well, he wanted to be with me. Actually, it was his idea.

There was only one other car in the parking lot at 10:00am and the sun was just reaching the side of the mountain. We were prepared with a first aide kit, water, extra food, and a camera. It has been since September 2009 since we have both hiked the Y so it was slow going. But with frequent water stops (I know, stopping on the Y? unheard of... ) and photo opts, we made it to the top. Well, bottom of the Y.

The sun was completely up and putting its warm rays on us. Snow was still on the ground and ice made it a little tricky coming down. We finished the afternoon with lunch at Rocky Mountain Drive-Thru and eating it at a local park.

The Blessings of Water Jugs!

Today was the day to bring my lovely Honda to the dealership on University Ave in Orem. I finally made it there at 4pm after rushing out of work. Arriving at the dealership was uneventful except for the fact that my car is well known. The previous owner of the Honda was a regular at the place and was known by name. Let's just say my car is one well taken care of car!

Anne and Josh promised to pick me up as there was no way to get home (but walking...not likely). All was going well when Anne calls on the cell phone to let me know what she and Josh ran out of gas on the hill! haha! Josh called a friend who picked them up, who then picked me up. The car that Josh was driving only takes diesel so off to Walmart we went. And apparently, they don't sell gas cans at gas stations so Anne and Josh bought a $2.85 jug of water and used THAT as the gas can. Lucky, the jog held up and we were able to use some trash as a funnel to safely transfer the needed diesel into the car. I made it safely home at 5:30om. All I can say is... I am grateful for water jugs!

No Ball Python

Because I am a school teacher, I am always looking for neat ways to keep my students excited (I don't know why I am not enough). So, a few weeks ago I emailed one of my old BYU professors who breeds Ball Pythons. She sells the ones that have unique spotting and gives away the "duds" to previous students for free. PERFECT! All I need are mice, cage, and few other odds and ends. Parent Teacher Conferences are great to get the word out and low and behold I received a cage. But just last night, I found out that my "free" Ball Python is now not so free. In fact, this little baby is worth a mere $300.00! Basically, no python for my third graders. At least not until the summer.

But I am not too depressed. I have a dusty snake cage with the words "DO NOT TOUCH" plastered to the front. That is one way to keep those third graders excited.