An Ending of a Chapter

My college career came to an end today at 3:15 pm. It is so weird to think that I am no longer in school. I have completed college. I did it!!! I'm sure I will go on to get my Master's Degree, but not until after my first year of teaching. I am a certified elementary school teacher. I look forward to having a class of my own and starting a new chapter in my life.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year I went to North Las Vegas. I got a ride with Cody and Jen since they were going to visit Cody's family in Nevada anyway and North Las Vegas was only another hour and a half south. So Jen and I went to visit Beth on Wednesday and we both slept over. It was the first time in 3 1/2 years that the three of us were able to be together and fun again as best friends. Jen then went back to be with Cody and I stayed with Beth. I was able to have Thanksgiving with Beth, Brian & Jean, Lisa & Dave, and Grandpa and it was so nice to be able to spend time with family. So I spent my days with Beth and her girls and I had a blast even though Lindsay and Heather woke me up earlier then normal ;) Jen came back down on Saturday and we went and saw New Moon. The theaters there are ridiculously expensive! It cost $7.75 to see the movie at 10:30 am and a large Icee cost $5.75! It is insane I tell you! Anyway, being with my two best friends again was amazingly fun, it was as if no time had passed at all. I wish it was possible to get together more often.

The Three Amigos


Jen strapped the left over popcorn into Lindsay's seat


Me and Grandpa

Who Knew

So I thought that I would be a lower grade teacher, but I'm not so sure anymore. For the second block of student teaching I have been in 5th grade and I am absolutely loving it. I didn't think that I would like it this much because I wasn't all that excited while teaching 4th grade, but it has been the best! Here are just a few of the reasons I am loving 5th grade: 1) the content is fun 2) good conversations/discussions 3) the books that are read are more fun 4) the kids get my jokes. Anyway, I am just really loving my experience in 5th grade. It hasn't all been wonderful, but that it to be expected. My first few days of solo teaching was frustrating because the kids just would not stop talking after they got back in from lunch, but things have gotten better. I have had to keep a few kids in from recess because of disruption to the class. I also had to talk to two girls because of cheating. But despite all this I am still loving my time with this age group. So as of right now I do want to teach 5th grade come the fall. The Provo City Library had a book sale today and I was able to get 13 used books (most of which are hard cover) for only $6 that are perfect for older grades. December 11 is my last day of school so there are only 12 more school days and then I am done! I know that my first year of teaching will be very busy and stressful but I can hardly wait until I have my own classroom!!!!!

I'm Just a Bill

I will be using this clip for a lesson tomorrow and I wasn't sure if I could get YouTube at school, so on my blog it went. I remember watching this clip when I was in elementary school and I think that it has a fun tune, but one that can also easily get stuck in your head.

A Real Good Laugh

Today I had 2 girls eat lunch with me and this commercial jingle came to mind so I sang it: "Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't. Almond Joys got nuts. Mounds don't." The girls thought that this was absolutely hilarious and wanted me to sing it again for them and sing it to other members of the class when they got in from recess. One boy by the name of Nate asked me to sing the song for the class and I told him that I wasn't in the mood and I have to be in the mood to sing, and then he said the funniest things. "What do I have to do to get you in the mood? How do you get in the mood? Does chocolate get in the mood?" My mentor teacher turns around and looks at me and asks what type of mood we are talking about. I laughed sooooo hard!!!! It was so cute because Nate was so earnest in finding out what he had to do to get me "in the mood" so that I would sing for them. I haven't had such a good laugh in some time. I did end up singing the jingle for the class at the end of the day. Teaching can be so unpredictable yet very entertaining at the same time.

My Birthday

I just thought I would jot a little bit down about my birthday so that I can remember in years to come. Well, I watched Conference because it often falls on my birthday. I also worked on lesson plans, but I didn't work on them too hard because it was my birthday and I didn't want to spend the whole day working on them. I went to dinner at Goodwood (where Jamie paid for my meal) with my roommates and my real good friend Lexi. I chose to go to Goodwood because their food is very good and they don't sing happy birthday to you there. While at dinner Kat stopped by to bring me my birthday gift; a birthday balloon that is still full and firm after a week, a treat, and earrings (which I wore for the first time today to church). I also got many birthday wishes from friends and family, so thank you everyone! Overall, it was very low key and a good day.

Teaching in Utah

Teaching in Utah has been quite the experience so far. What cracks me up the most is some of the things the kids say in relation to the gospel. So I will share some of what has happened while teaching.

While teaching about the Native Americans I asked who were the first people to live in Utah. I told them that the answer was the Native Americans and one boy asked, "What about Adam and Eve?" Needless to say I had to tell them that it was the Indians and that we were not going to talk about Adam and Eve.

Another experience was when we were reading an article about how boys and girls don't have equal rights at school in some countries. I then went on to explain that it is important for there to be equal rights. Tanner raised his hand and said, :But girls can't do everything that boys can do in the church." I chuckled a little bit and this and once again said it was something we weren't going to talk about in class.

I also had one girl come up to me and tell me that she didn't have any envelopes at home. So, she turned her book order money in to me in a tithing envelope. My mentor teacher and I got a real good laugh at this. At least the student relates the tithing envelope with money.

And the best so far is a conversation I had with two of my boys on my birthday.
Andrew: Are you married?
Me: No.
Kayson: Do you have a fiance?
Me: No.
Kayson: Well do you have a boyfriend?
Me: Nope.
Kayson: A puzzled look. "Well why not?!?!"
I laughed so hard because Kayson was just so confused, the poor boy. They have a hard time understanding why I don't have a boyfriend at the age of 26. That is Utah for you. Andrew has brought up the fact that I don't have a boyfriend at least twice now. Good times.

Rapper Hicks

Rounding Rap

Find the place value and circle the digit.
Move to the right and underline, get it!
0-4 circle stays the same,
5-9 add one to the game.
Now, flex your muscles like a hero,
Underlined numbers change to zero.
All other digits remain the same.
Yo! You're a winner in the ROUNDING game!


A couple weeks ago I taught a lesson on rounding and my teacher gave me a rounding rap to perform for the kids. So I decided to dress up for the rap and the students absolutely loved it! I also enjoyed myself. The rap is great because it has everything in it that you need to know for rounding, and I mean everything. It was so nice to hear the students referring back to the rap later on in the week when they had to do rounding problems.

Salem, here I come!!!!

So I found out my teaching assignment for the first half of the semester today. I will be going to Salem UT to teach in Nicole Trythall's 4th grade classroom at Mt. Loather Elementary. It is about a half hour away and after driving that long during practicum, I was hoping for a school a little closer. I was also hoping to teach in either a 5th or 6th grade class since I have already spent time in a 4th grade classroom and I was wanting to see how the other grades would differ in teaching. Oh well. I am very excited to get started on Monday!!!!!

Double Date

On Saturday night I went out on a double date with my good friend Lexee.

I decided that we should do a double date because I was wanting to ask Aaron out (Aaron and I work together). So I made all the plans for our double date. I was very nervous about asking Aaron out and it took a few false starts to get the words out of my mouth. Lexee didn’t know who to ask out so I asked Alex (a guy in my ward) to be her date. So Saturday night rolls around and Lexee and Alex meet at my apartment and then we go and pick up Aaron because he doesn’t have a car. We went to Comedy Sportz which is an improv comedic show her in Provo, and it was hilarious! After the show we went to a quaint little restaurant called Sammy’s where Lexee and I got shake and the guys got huge Buddha Burgers (which are aptly named because they are huge) and sweet potato fries that were surprisingly delicious. The food at Sammy’s was good and I liked how they had the old fashioned counters were you could sit and order and eat your meal. After Sammy’s I dropped off Alex and Lexee and then took Aaron back to his apartment where we talked for a few more minutes in the car and then hugged goodnight. I don’t think there will be a second date, but I had a really good time. And for your viewing pleasure here is a picture of me and Aaron.

A Day With Jen

I was lucky to spend almost all Friday with my best friend Jen. When Jen and I get together it is usually to scrapbook. So this might come as a shock to some of you, we did not do any scrapbooking at all on Friday. The day started off with me going to work from 7-11 and then coming home to eat lunch and get ready for the rest of the day. Jen picked me up at about 1 and our first destination was the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house, which is located in the Jordan area. The temple was absolutely beautiful! Jen and I helped a woman through the open hose who was by herself with her 2 year old daughter and her 6 week old daughter. Both the little girls did really well until the end of the tour, so I was able to enjoy myself. After we got through the temple they had refreshments and I got 2 cookies because there was a shift change while we were there, they were good cookies. I have been so blessed to have been able to attend 2 temple open houses in the last year.


After the open house we went to Sarah’s house, a friend of Jen, to babysit her 15month old twin boys Nathan and Kyle. The boys were so cute and surprisingly well behaved. They didn’t cry at all when their parents left. The only time there was crying was when Jen took her cell phone away from Kyle. I had a lot of fun playing with the boys; it isn’t often that I get to play with little children seeing as how I live in a single student ward and all. It was nice to get my “baby fix” on Friday and Saturday when I helped my roommate while she was watching 4 month old Alex.


Anyway, after babysitting we went to a wedding pre-party for one of Jen’s friends. I didn’t know anyone there but the food was free and fairly good, but the cupcakes were AMAZING! After the party we headed back to Provo and I didn’t get home until 10pm. So it was a very long day for me which made it even harder to get up at 5:40 the next morning to go to the airport.


Thanks Jen for letting me spend a wonderful day with you! And thanks for being such a wonderful friend!!!!

Catholic?

I gave the closing prayer in Relief Society today and the end of the prayer went like this. “This is our payer and we say this in the name of the Father…(pause and think, well that wasn’t right)…in Jesus name amen.” After the prayer I open my eyes and see everyone looking at me weird and so I made a joke of my mistake and I said, “You know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” My joke got a good laugh and I probably won’t be saying the prayer in Relief Society again anytime soon. My friend jokingly asked if I was a Catholic in my previous life.

Tonight’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories

On June 20th I attended the Prom. There were a few girls in my ward that had never been to a prom so they decided to have one of their own. They (as in Rachel, Sofia, and Victoria) decorated a cultural hall for the event. There were 8 “couples” that were in attendance. Only some of the couples were on actual dates, they just wanted to make sure that there were even amounts of girls and guys. We were all assigned different food to bring for our dinner before the dancing, and Nick and I were in charge of ice cream and brownies. So after we had dinner, which was served to us by Rachel’s brother and sisters, we dance for a couple of hours. It kind of reminded me of youth dances, but it was a lot of fun nevertheless. It was a small enough group that we were able to really enjoy each others company. I had a really good time but I was so tired at church the next day. I can tell that I am getting older when a couple of hours of dancing that ends at midnight just wiped me out.

Work

So I finally found a summer job about 2 ½ weeks ago. I am doing grounds work on BYU campus and I am enjoying what I do. For the first week and a half the weather was cloudy and rainy but it has definitely warmed up now. We cover a certain area on campus and I have been able to mow, weed whip, mulch, cultivate, weed, prune, and other such things. It is nice to have the opportunity to learn how to do all these different things so that I will be able to take care of my own lawn some day. This job also allows for some real good exercise that can actually be rather exhausting and I am able to get a tan, at least what amounts to a tan for me :)

School's Out For Summer

I finished my finals up on Monday and it felt so good to be done with two days to spare! I had 7 finals this semester and thankfully only 2 were actual tests and the others were either papers or presentations. I took 3 finals on Monday so that I could be done and I left the testing center at 9:30 pm with the biggest smile and a carefree feeling because I was finally done. I am basically done with taking tests, because as I understand it there are no finals during student teaching, just something called The Teacher Work Sample which I hear is painful enough. I also got my test results back from when I took the PRAXIS and I passed! I felt so relieved because I was a bit worried about the math portion. I am now all set to graduate, which I applied for last week, once I complete my student teaching in the fall. I will be a certified teacher in less then a year and I can hardly wait!!!

On to other things now. I know that General Conference was a few weeks ago now, but I just want to say how much I enjoyed it. Saturday was a spiritual feast because not only was there Conference to watch, Alysha, who lives in my apartment building, also got baptized. Alysha shared her testimony at the baptism and it was sweet and strong. Her baptism brought back many memories of my own mission. The full-time missionaries came and spoke in church on Sunday and I was again was reminded of my own mission. I could easily relate to some of the things the Elders said because I too served in Utah. I can't believe that I have been home for 3 years now! I am going to stop being a slacker and I will finish my mission scrapbook this summer.

I have been working out a Curves for 3 weeks now. I don't think I have loss weight yet, but I sure do feel good when I go. At the Curves that I go to, the machines keep track of how many reps you do each time and the computer then gives you results to what your weak areas are, the number of calories that were burned, and other things. When I went and worked out yesterday I burned 513 calories in 30 minutes! Not too shabby. I am glad that I am finally doing something that will me be more happy with my body.

Yesterday I went to 2 BBQs. The second one was for the end of the year/people are moving out ward BBQ. There are so many people moving out this semester and it kind of makes me sad. The first BBQ that I went to was with the girls from my cohort. As a cohort we had every class together for the last 2 semesters. Out of the 13 of us, 10 are doing internships in the fall. I have come to really love these girls and I am going to miss them. We have decided that we will have to do many things together this summer before things get too crazy with preparing to teach in the fall. So here is a picture of my favorite girls in Provo, minus 2 who didn't make it to the BBQ.

The Good & The Bad

THE GOOD: I made an appointment to get my taxes done for free on campus next Friday! I am so happy about this because last year I ended up paying almost $100 to get my taxes filed. Once I get my tax return I will be joining a gym, I need to get more exercise.

THE BAD: I had a midterm to take on Saturday, but I completely spaced it. I knew that I was forgetting something, but I couldn't remember what. Luckily I was able to take it yesterday but I had to pay a late fee. Grrrrrr! At least I am pretty sure that I did well on it.

Randomness

We had a surprise visitor during Sacrament Meeting today. Elder Cook, yes the General Authority, decided to spend sacrament meeting with us. It really was a surprise for all, the Bishop didn't even know Elder Cook would be coming today until his morning meetings. He bore his testimony at the end of the meeting. Only crazy, random things like this happen in Utah. It was a pleasant surprise and a great privilege to have heard from Elder Cook today.

On Friday evening I went to a show, all by myself, called Living Legends. The show consisted of dances from different nationalities such as Mexican, Native American, Polynesian, and others. It was amazing, despite going by myself. I was really wanting to see this show and it I also have a friend that performs with the Living Legends group. Tara, my friend, is Native American and she does a pretty amazing dace that involves hoops that she puts all over her body and makes different shapes with them. Anyway, the point is that it was a very good show. A bonus to going to the show was the enjoyable sight of Polynesian men.

Starting on the 3rd of March I will be spending a month in a 4th grade classroom. I am looking forward to this so that I can get a better idea of what grade I want to teach. I am just a bit stressed because there are so many more lessons that we are required to teach, as opposed to last semester. Despite all the work that will need to be done I can't wait to get started. We have to drive through Provo Canyon in order to get to Midway to the elementary school. I am already hoping that there will be one day that the weather is so bad they close the canyon so that I can have a day off. Pathetic I know, but this is how I feel. I am ready to get this semester done and over with.

Have You...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (I got eaten alive by mosquitoes that night)
3. Played in a band (I played the trombone in middle school)
4. Visited Hawaii (One of my favorite vacations ever!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland!
8. Climbed a mountain (And I thought I was going to die)
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo (I was very nervous)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched an amazing lightning storm (I love to watch lighting)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (I personall haven't adopted a child, but my younger brother was adopted)
16. Had food poisoning (It was no fun)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight (Pillow fights are tons of fun!)
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (Beautiful and amazing!)
31. Hit a home run (Does kicking a homerun in kickball count?)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (From the Canadian and American views)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (many times)
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (Yes, but not often)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (Playing in the mud can be a lot of fun!)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (No, but I really want to)
55. Been in a movie (I made a movie with some friends once, and this counts)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (I have also bought the cookies, I love Thin Mints!)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood (Many times, but not recently since I am now selling my plasma)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (Pretty, but not as exciting as I thought it would be)
80. Published a book (We got to publish a book in my Children's Lit class)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I have seen the killing and then helped prepare it for eating)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club (I want to but haven't yet)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (Someday)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

Kind of a fun list to run down and see what you have done and have yet to still do in this life :) BOLD the one's you have done.

Blogging

This blog was set up for my technology class last semester and I think that it is time that I actually use it to write about what is going on in my life. The real push for to start writing was seeing that Beth put the link for my blog on her blog page, thanks for the push Beth. I went to the Draper Utah Temple Open House last Friday and I really enjoyed my self. The Temple was very beautiful and I loved the Celestial Room the most. The paintings through out the Temple were done by local artist and I find that to be pretty cool. I just find it so amazing to have a Heavenly Father who loves us so much that He will bless us with temples so that we can do important work and go to a place where we can be closer to Him.

This semester has been so very busy and I have only been in school for a month. There is just so much to do in this last semester before student teaching. I can't imagine how crazy I would be going if I still had a job. Life is definitely less stressful now even if I do have a lot of work to do. I will be taking the PRAXIS in March to get certified, and I'm not sure how that works since I won't actually do my student teaching until the fall. Since I am bust with school work this is all that I will be writing for now since I have to do my homework for tomorrow.