1st grade

So, maybe you shouldn't threaten children by telling them if they don't get their work done they won't be allowed to go home....but, with permission, I did :) this ended with sobbing because he thought he would never get to go home. He didn't know his mom was down stairs volunteering. When all the kids had left the room, he broke down in huge tears 'I just wanna go home'. I decided it was best to have him finish his work with mom in sight. Poor kid, he really believed he was never going home. Come on, I'm only asking for 5 sentences. Luckily ,Mom is OK with me threatening her child. I had to laugh :) On a positive note, he got his letter done, and I got a big hug. I'm going to miss my kids over the summer, but only after some well deserved rest. It's true....teachers wouldn't survive without a summer break. We'd be even more crazy!! Age not the good kind.

4 months....really???

I fail as a blogger this year...

It's been almost 4 months since I've posted anything, how LAME is that!?!

School is going well.  I'm excited we have less than 6 weeks left.  I'm ready for the break.  I truly believe that teachers get summers off because otherwise they would go mentally insane, seriously, they would.  I've got a whole bundle of characters in my class and they keep me on my toes all the time.  I'm so excited to have 1/2 my class back next year.  It's so fun to see how far they have come, and exciting to know I get to help them excel even further.

Anthony is coaching.  All the time.  He has softball practice every night after school, games on Tuesdays, Thursdays and some Saturdays.  He's also coaching Nampa Valley Little League after softball a couple nights a week and on Saturdays.  I'm pretty sure we see each other on Friday night, sometimes.  I'm ready for softball to be over.

I've been sick so many flipping times in the last couple of months.  It's been ridiculous.  I stressed myself into a fever the week before we left for Spring Break (which I'll get to...it was truly amazing!).  And I had to take yesterday off for this head cold, nasty thing I've got goin on.  Let's be honest, I'm the type of girl who just wants to be taken care of when I don't feel good.  (Read above on how much that's actually happened with Anthony's schedule).  Sometimes a girl's just gotta cry and let it all out.  I finally snapped.  I blubbered on and on to Anthony about how I miss my husband and I wish that I just had someone home to be with me.  He reminded me that in a few short weeks, school and softball will be over.  I know this is is true, it's just hard sometimes.  I would never ask him to give up the things he loves (plus the extra money helps us get through every month), but it would be nice to have him back sometimes.  I do miss him.  Crying helped.

Ok, to more happy thoughts :)  These pictures are of Spring Break in NO particular order.

Me - NOT disc golfing at Fountain Hills

George - seriously, that was his name

Baseball on a gorgeous day

Botanical gardens at the Bellagio

Night games are so pretty

Fremont

We may or may not have followed this Ferrari for 40 miles a LITTLE above the speed limit

Show Girls (I was told the one the left is from Boise)

Arizona CLEARLY has some great deals...you get to SPEND 10 more cents!!! WOOHOO

Friends!

Because I have nothing better to do in my spare time, this is what I think about when I’m sitting in my hot tub.

If you’re mentioned in this post, sorry...you impact my life :) If you think you impact my life and you’re not mentioned, please don’t be offended. It probably just means we don’t see enough of each other and you should call me and hang out. I also didn't dwell on this much, I just typed and typed.

So with that…I have the most amazing group of friends around me. Every person that comes into my life means so much to me. Every person that touches me, impacts my life. And if I could make the world a happy place, I would, honestly. I just want everyone to be happy and I want to put a smile on everyone’s face.

Let’s start at school.

I have a new job this year, and it’s amazing to me how quickly I became friends with the people I work with. Miss Cyndi Lou (ok, Mrs. Cyndi Jo) and I share a birthday. And I have to say, she is the youngest almost 40 year old, I’ve ever met. She is spontaneous, crazy, and makes me laugh. Her and I think WAY too much alike and I know we can have fun together. She’s also my mentor and an AMAZING teacher. She’s great at sharing ideas and has really helped me feel like I belong at IACS. (not to discredit the other 2 amazing teachers I work with, but they have been out on maternity leave, and I haven’t had the chance to work as close with them)

Trish came into my wonderful life when I realized I needed some extra help. (ask and you shall receive) Trish was sent to rescue my crazy life from 9:00-1:00 every day, and I’m soooo thankful for that. In the process, we’ve realized we’re both just a little crazy, and a bit immature. Last night, for example, I felt the need to ask her if she was home so I could string lights up in my bedroom window for her to see. I knew he house was across the field and the street from mine, but I couldn’t describe which house it was. So, I called her up and started stringing lights up in my windows so she’d know where to look. Trish not only looked, but dragged her boys outside to flash me with lights and yell my name. It was fantastic! It totally brightened my day (I have some pretty awesome friends). She’s also very creative and artistic. She makes some pretty amazing things! Like my new lunch/snack bag!

My TA's are also a very, very dear friends of mine :)

I also work with Jen – but she gets a different spot in this blog…

Now, let’s back up a few years:

I met my best friend in 1^st grade. Our names started with the same first 3 letters, therefore, we must become friends. Erica has been there 110% my entire life. I know that at ANY given moment, I can call her up, and she’ll be there in a heartbeat. We hardly ever see each other (lives can be so busy), but that doesn’t matter, we pick up right where we left off, every time. I could go a year without talking to her, not be mad we didn’t talk, and know that she’s there to support me. She helped me through elementary, middle, and high school. She stood up in my wedding. She’s there to hear my laugh and listen to my cry. She’s truly an amazing person.

I also had an amazing friend that grew up across the street from me. Betsy is another one of those friends that has been there through thick and thin, I hardly see her, but know she’ll always be there if I need her. Betsy is also a little crazy. I think we did more silly things with Betsy and her sister’s than a kid should. We sold anything we could get our hands on, including rocks, just…rocks (yea, some kid bought them, poor kid) Betsy makes me laugh, and can make me laugh at any given moment, just being Betsy. I love that about her.

Fast forward.

I also made some great friends at Owyhee. Lindsey, Brittany, Jen, Morgan, Janae…those girls are great. I miss them dearly. I’m glad I still get to see them from time to time at baby showers and anything else I’m invited to. I didn’t get to be with them as long as I’d have liked to, but I’m so happy I met all the wonderful people at Owyhee!

I also met my 2^nd family.

Shaun, Jen and the kids are the most amazing people in my life right now. They are constantly there, constantly making my every day a little bit brighter. I will leave my house at the drop of a dime to go have yogurt, dinner, movie, basketball, Shari’s anything…I love their spontaneity and the fact that I can vent, laugh, and have a good time with them, no matter WHAT time it might be. I know I always have someone to talk to and someone who will listen, whether it’s a funny story, or about a horrible day I might have had. I know I can get advice or comfort from them. They have been nice enough to take us in to their home (almost every weekend and some week nights) and make us a part of their family. I love their kids, I love their company, I love everything about them! I would do anything for them. I’m so excited for our Arizona trip for Spring Break!

I would do just about anything for any of my friends…because once again, I really just want everyone to be happy. That’s truly what I want!

And finally…the best friend I have in this entire world is my husband, Anthony. Without him, my life would crumble into a pile of rubble. Anthony is my world, my everything. He might not be around a lot right now, but I know it’s for us (ok, he enjoys coaching every sport under the sun, I’m just glad there’s usually a paycheck involved). He has a hard time telling anyone “no”, which means he’s always helping others out. The time I do get to spend with him is amazing. He cares for me in a way no one else can. He is the bestest friend I could ask for!

(I also love my family, I just think I’m rambled on enough, I’ll save that for another day)

I don’t know what I would do in my life without all these people surrounding me. I really, really hate being alone. So, without all these amazing people, I would be a very unhappy person. And for anyone who knows me at all, you know I’m a genuinely happy person. Thank you to all the people in my life who bring me joy every day. Thank you for all of you who brighten my day and make me smile. I love you all dearly!

Pictures...or, lack there of....

Oh my gosh!!! What is wrong with me?!? I've taken less than 30 pictures with my camera in the last 2 1/2 months. No wonder it was so hard to find pictures to put on my Christmas card this year. (Which by the way, I finally sent out last week, if you didn't get one, let me know, I have extras :)

I need to be better about documenting my life with pictures instead of just words. Pictures are SOO much more entertaining. I have pictures of my dogs, some cookies I destroyed, and 2 pictures from snow shoeing. I swear my life is more entertaining than that. Oh, and a few from class, but I'm not sure if I'm actually allowed to post those...



Oh, one picture from Christmas time...that's the only one, my ornament tree, none from Christmas day...nothing...ohhh how sad!


Those are cookies, sorta, they were supposed to be. Rachel and I sent that picture to my mom saying, "See? You taught us everything we know" hahaha, I love it!

Getting ready to leave...

And, Anthony's great grandpa's cake.

And....that's it. (I didn't put in my puppy pictures because they are all the same picture of me holding them, and they it's on my Facebook).

There you have it, I'm officially the worst person for entertaining pictures. Ugh, I'm really going to have to try harder!

To the New Year

Here’s to a new year! Here’s to making myself a better person! I’m not really into New Year’s resolutions, but I am into being a good person and keeping myself in check. I’m not going to resolve to lose weight or make silly promises to myself I probably won’t keep. I plan to have a better year than the year before, always. If I try to have a better year than the year before, my life will always be a going up.

2011 brought a lot of good things…like many new jobs for me, and great opportunities. It gave us a chance to travel across the United States and visit lots of great friends. We went to our first professional sporting events (well, Anthony’s first, I went to a Twins game in high school). Anthony and I got to spend lots of uninterrupted time together, until summer was over haha. Rachel moved in for a semester and it was a blessing to have someone to hang out with while Anthony was out coaching.

We went to Seattle, we went to Chicago, we went to Yellowstone…we got to enjoy a real summer off and just be together awwww, how I miss summer :)

I was told by someone recently that I’m in love with life. I’m starting to believe that. I’m pretty high on life all the time. I enjoy all the crazy little things in life. I hate being bored, and I hate things to be normal all the time. I live my life one crazy day at a time. I do this in all aspects. If I bored teaching, so are the kids, I like to keep everyone on their toes. I don’t want things to get into a rut, I like some spontaneity.

Our Christmas vacation was packed of spontaneity. We are so lucky to have some amazing friends that call at any time of day to hang out. We went to Indian Creek and looked at Christmas lights, we played cards until ungodly hours in the morning, we played rockband until…more ungodly hours in the morning, got a call to go to Shari’s at 11:00 at night... And I loved every minute of having spontaneous friends :) And finally, I’m so excited to go to Arizona and Vegas with the Lund’s as well. Thank you for letting us be the crazies who tag along!

I guess this rant is just to say, I hope that I can be as happy with life as I am right now. I hope to keep 2012 as awesome as it was this last year. I want to travel, teach, and be spontaneous. I don’t want anything to hold me down!

My camera is in my car, and my car is in the shop....so....no new pictures....lame!

and....BREAK!

Most days I would tell you how much I love my darling pups. Most days I would brag on and on about them. But today, I'm totally annoyed! They have escaped the yard twice today, and are trying to tunnel under the fence. So, in light of being COMPLETELY irritated, I'll try to remember what I like about my dogs.

Well, first, they are funny. They play tag, and chase each other and Jazmin acts like a little fat kid who never has enough to eat (and yes, she's the smaller one).

Don't they just look SOOO innocent?

Back to the annoying...so, we bought them these cute sweaters because I really did think she was going to die from freezing. Obviously she isn't going to, because Jazmin somehow convinces Appa to rip her sweater off of her. This was taken this Sunday when we took them to the park all morning. They did so well :)

And....Craigs List. We are clearly obsessed. We have now bought:

• decking


• dog run


• shed


• tool box


• hot tub


• tread mill


• ummmmm anything else (I think so, but I can't think right now)

Yup, we like Craigs List!



And here is a fantastically amazing picture of me after I was done waxing the hot tub.

see??? finished! Fill, heat, and enjoy!


So, I'm on break and I'm loving it. I have a week off to enjoy and relax, oh, and grade papers. I have a giant stack of them too. But it's been nice to clean the house, sit and drink coffee, you know, the important things in life!


We have the great opportunity this year to spend Thanksgiving with both families. My parents and Rachel are headed to Oregon (right now) to spend Thanksgiving with my grandparents, so my dad's parents decided we should have Thanksgiving here a week early! Awww, I love them :) So, we had dinner with my parents, grandparents, cousins, the whole gang! And Thursday we are headed to the Dixon/Butler's for another Thanksgiving dinner! Yummm!!! We are so blessed to be able to have both our families so close! But to those of you in Oregon, I'm missing you too! Hopefully we'll have some time this Christmas to go visit. We'll see...



Well...I feel like I've rambled about a lot of nothing in this post. So, for all of you still reading, thank you! Happy Thanksgiving, and be safe where ever you are headed!

Blog Fail

It's been MONTHS since I've been on. Here's the recap of my crazy life.

1. I have 2 dogs that escape out of my yard at least 5-15 times a week.


2. Rachel lives here and helps chase dogs.


3. Rachel helps my in my class at least twice a week.


4. I love my hot tub.


5. My room is a crazy place full of crazy kids, who I love dearly.


6. I hang out with 23 children all day long that are 6-8 years old, and I love it.


7. I have 5 pages of wonderful stories about my darling class in my journal, if you ever want to hear a great story...give me a call, kids say the most amazing things :)


8. Everyone I know is having a baby. And no, I'm not, yet.


9. I get to go on a date this week with my husband because him and I barely live in the same house together.


10. I get a week off next week and I'm ready to dive into a new project :)


11. My biggest annoyance in life right now is that our neighbors put up their Christmas decorations this weekend...it's the MIDDLE of NOVEMBER!!! Don't get me wrong, I love, love, LOVE Christmas, but, Thanksgiving needs it's moment in the spot light as well.

Ok - that's about it. That's my life in a nutshell. Things are pretty much the same. I'm getting into a groove at school, and really enjoying my wonderful team and class. It's been a crazy couple of months...but well worth the couple of weeks of yuck I went through to get here. I was very overwhelmed at first, but now things are running much smoother and I understand what I'm doing and what needs to be done :)