Good NEWS!!!!

Yesterday Randy received a letter in the mail from his school telling him that he was accepted into the nursing program that begins this fall. He was so excited to be chosen and is grateful to be able to move on with his schooling. He starts in August and he will be going to school full time and he will finish by next summer. Life is certainly moving along and I am so very proud of Randy and all that he has done to work so hard for this to finally be happening for him!!!

CONGRATULATIONS BABE!!!

LAUGHTER is the best MEDICINE!!

Today my second graders made up some mad libs using a website and I have never laughed so hard!!! Enjoy!!

MadLib #1
Some Days Are the Worst


What a day this was! This morning before school, my pencil broke, and I had to eat all the way to school. Then the teacher announced that we would be having a test next week on 678 units of our textbook.
When I was jumping to the cafeteria, I stepped in hard rubberbands. I couldn't get the phones off my shoes! I opened my lunch sack, and then I realized that I had grabbed my leftover lunch from last week. The only things I had to eat were stale apples and stinky grapes. Luckily, Britten had some extra feet, so I didn't starve!
That afternoon we had gym class. The gym teacher told us we would be smiling today, but I'd left my jackets at home. So I had to frown instead.
On the way home from school, I dropped my bag, and all of my pens fell on the ground. At least we had my favorite movies for dinner!
It's been a long day. I hope tomorrow is better. I'm going to put on my special socks tomorrow morning, just in case!

MadLib #2
Field Trip Fun


Yesterday my class took a field trip to Pocatello. We had a really purple time. The guide showed us one phone, at least 57 pencils, and a very sour shoe.
Drake had an accident. He sat over the mailbox and banged into Kaylee. She fell against a big greasy light bulb and put her remote control through the chicken. We all smiled!
The trip was even more soft than a day at school.

MadLib #3
An Odd Animal


The Jersilious is an animal that has red fur with flaming yellow spots on its arms and legs. Its tail is shaped like a(n) stapler which it uses to eat candles. An adult Jersilious may weigh more than 5648 pounds and stand over 2348 feet high.
The Jersilious can be found only in China and Canada. Although its favorite food is crackers, it also likes to eat shoes. If you ever see a(n) Jersilious, be sure not to ever sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” That song makes it disgusting. Instead, give it a few crackers and be on your way.

Rigby District Champions

The past three months Randy and I usually spent our Wednesdays and Friday nights driving to Rigby or around Idaho to watch the Rigby boys basketball team play. Randy's cousing Tanner Chambers plays for them and it has been a blast to watch them play. Well last night we went to their last game where they beat Madison Bobcats 58-43 to be crowned the 4A District Champions. It was a great win for Rigby and they played so well. They are heading to state next weekend where they can hopefully win the state championship. Randy and I have enjoyed going to watch because we love basketball. Congratulations Tanner and the Rigby Trojans! What a year you have had! Good Luck at State!

Valentines Day!!

Randy and I celebrated Valentines Day the Saturday before because he worked late on the actual holiday. He gave me these beautiful roses and then we headed to the movies to see the movie The Vow. It was good but not what I was expecting. Then we headed across town to eat at Famous Daves. It was a really good night until I got sick later that night. So Randy spent his night nursing me back to health. It was a nice low key Valentines celebration and I am one lucky girl to be married to the man of my dreams and one that loves me for who I am!!

Worth It!!

It is notes like this one that I get from my second graders that makes each day, every day, and the five years of college worth it. My second graders are so sweet and they make me smile. I love them so much I am going to be sad when the year is over! I love to keep these notes. I love being a teacher!

Amazingly Awesome

I can't believe how cute and funny my second graders are. Each day one of them or many of them say something that puts the biggest smile on my face. Each day my students fill out a behavior sheet where they have to use good handwriting, complete sentences, and color the smiley face the color they ended the day on either green, yellow, red, or blue.
Today this little girl wrote one sentence that made me smile. She ended the day on green but wrote this sentence "I DID AMAZINGLY AWESOME AND AWESOMELY AMAZING WORK!!"  Oh how I love my class!!

Thoughts

I am now in my fifth week of student teaching and each week we have a cohort meeting to discuss what is happening and a certain topic. I have the sweetest clinical supervisor. She is so supportive and flexible and our number one fan. Each week she brings a quote and a treat for us. The past three weeks have been such awesome quotes that I have tried to incorporate into my teaching or personality. I have to share them with others as well.

"Your students deserve more than your knowledge. They deserve and hunger for your inspiration. They want the warm glow of personal relationships. This always has been the hallmark of a great teacher."
                                                                                           -Gordon B. Hinckly

"You don't have the power to make rainbows or waterfalls, sunsets or roses, but you do have the power to bless people by your words and smiles. You carry within you the power to make the world better."

"I've come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my persaonl approach that creates the climate. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a person humanized or de-humanized."
                                                                                           -Haim Ginott

Invaluable Girl

I got this quote today from my university supervisor and it really hit me and made me think about how valuable women really are.

Dear Invaluable Girl,

In a world where we are one of 3 billion other women, it is easy to feel like a grain of sand somewhere on a remote island...It is easy to get discouraged and feel like we could never possibly make a difference or that we could not possibly have anything to offer than someone else is not already doing better. It is sometimes hard to see what our value is at all, what our purpose could possibly be.

Please remember, incredible girl, that there are thousands of species of flowers, there are tens of thousands of species of butterflies and birds...there are countless species of trees. Each creation is designed to grow and become and change until its purpose has been fulfilled. Every living thing is this way. And, if plants and insects and birds are created with such care and purpose...how could it ever be that we are not created with the same care and purpose?

Never before has a woman been born with your eyes, your smile and your heart...combined with your talents, your desires and your personalilty. Never has a woman just like you been in the exact place that you are, with the exact people that you are with, doing the exact things that you are doing. Never, ever. YOU are the ONLY ONE who has the impact that you have. There are so many many incredible things that will never happen if you do not do them.

Look around today at the people around you, the circumstances you are in and the power that you might have to make the exact difference that you could make. It is big...very very big. Please work hard to see it, every day...and use this beautiful heart that you have been given. The world so needs you and your ideas and kindness.

You are unforgettable, irreplaceable, and valuable...

and oh so loved.

Family Pictures 2011

While Randy and I were down in Utah over New Year's weekend we got family pictures taken with my family. My mom likes to have a new family picture taken every year and this year we were running out of time and it was a holiday weekend so we just decided to take them ourselves. We used a digital camera and headed down to the riverwoods to take them. The riverwoods is a shopping strip mall with awesome backgrounds. We had a fun time taking them and they actually turned out really well. I can't wait to hang them up in my hallway!

Randy and I

Megan, Peyton, and Jeff

Mom and Dad

Mikala

The family

Sisters

Little Miss Peyton

The Guys

The Girls

Temple Square 2011

Randy and I went to Utah two weeks ago and while we were there we went to Temple Square to see the lights. My little sister Mikala and her friend came with us. It was such a pretty night, it wasn't cold and it was very clear. I swear that every year they get prettier and prettier. Whenever I go to Temple Square I always feel the spirit so strong. The temple is such a magnificent place to ponder what it really important in life.