Veteran's Day

Today was a good day. In 1st period today, we watched a very touching movie that showed various pictures of military servicemen/women from WWII to the present. I had a hard time not getting emotional as I listened to the music and watched the images. It made me so thankful for good men and women who give up so much to defend our incredible country and the amazing freedoms we enjoy.
To honor our soldiers, we wrote thank you letters today in class. My kids became so involved in their letters and really put a lot of thought into it. It was very touching. I even got 3 other teachers to join in on the fun. 274 letters later, they are ready to send off and will be delivered to very deserving soldiers in Iraq.
So thank you to those incredibly brave men and women making sacrifices, risking their lives, and fighting their hearts out so that we can live the way we do. And thank you to those who have already taken their turn serving. The service rendered has not been forgotten.

Sigh...

Another month has gone by and, once again, I have been a slacker on the blogging front. For the 3 of you that read this, I'm sorry! No excuses, really. I just haven't blogged. There. I admitted it. I'm lazy. (Hey, isn't admitting it the first step to recovery? Sweet. Then I'm part way there.)

I wish I could say that I have been up to all kinds of crazy shenannigans, but unfortunately, 'tis not the case. But, here are some pictures of Halloween this year:

The Addis family made fabulous zoo keepers and a cute little monkey, the Mauch family dressed up as awesome Boston players, Sky was the best secret service agent ever, and I was a sassy rock star. I even had a guitar. That's right. I totally rocked. (no pun intended)

In other news, I made it through the first term of the school year! Grades are submitted, papers and projects are graded, and I'm still sane (well, I suppose that is debatable). It flew by. Seriously. I feel like it was just the first day of school. Hey, time flies when you're having fun!

Well, I think that about sums it up. I will make no promises as to when you will see another post on this blog, since I seem to be a slacker, but I'll do my best. :) Until then...

Quote of the Week and Other Random Ramblings

How has it been a month since I last posted? Apparently time is flying faster than I realize. That, and I suppose I have been a bit busy. But it's a good thing. :) Teaching is more fun than I ever thought it would be, and I am loving my kids (who knew that 200 fourteen year olds could be so much fun?!?!? Well, most of the time at least!).
Speaking of my kids, they come up with some pretty goofy things sometimes that make me giggle. Some of the girls in my 6th period class have taken it upon themselves to be matchmakers. Take the following conversation as an example:
Student #1: "Hey, Miss Koster, there is a sub across the hall today. He's 24. You might like him."
Student #2: "Oh! Hey! My cousin is 24, Miss Koster. He's coming home from his mission soon!" (this is the 2nd time she has offered to set me up with her cousin)
Me: Oh, thanks guys! I love your matchmaking! :) (Thinking to myself: Oh my. Really? Is this conversation really happening right now?)
Gotta love it.

In between writing lesson plans and grading papers, I have been having all kinds of crazy fun. You know, fun things like...

playing with this sweet little girl! Isn't she precious? I just love her to bits.

going to BYU football games,

and of course, going to see Miley in concert!

It was SO much fun! Yes, I'm 25, and you are mistaken if you think I am too old for such a thing. Not so, my friend. Not so. Kels, Mare and I had a great time and loved every minute of it! No shame here. None at all.

So there you have it. My life in a nutshell. Have a happy weekend! (Enjoy Conference!)

This Is What Happens...

When you stay at JCW's for too long after finishing your shakes. The cute worker/waiter apparently thought we were pretty awesome and brought us an order of free fries. When you're given free fries, you eat them... no matter how full you are! Upon completion of this tasty, yet unexpected little treat, my dear, sweet friends saw a matchmaking opportunity. As seen in the picture above, Kels wrote my name (notice she put my middle name so it was clear to him that I am a girl...) as well as my phone number on the tray liner. In order to draw attention to said name and number, Jules created the arrow out of fries. I made futile attempts to stop them, and Mare giggled through the whole ordeal. I finally gave in and joined the giggle fest.
We left the tray on the table in hopes that he would see it, call me, and take me out for the date of a life time. He hasn't called... yet.
But it's only been 2 days. :)

Instead of tackling the daunting task of grading the 175+ tests that are sitting next to me, as well as planning tomorrow's incredibly exciting lesson on summarizing, I decided that blogging would be a better option.
Today at school I decided to implement a new technique to get my kids to quiet down quickly and listen when I am talking (this has been a big struggle prior to today). While telling my first period class how the new method would work, one student looked at me, and with all sincerity, tapped his shoulder and said, "Miss Koster, you have a little devil right here." I just smiled.

In between grading papers and planning lessons, I have been having lots of fun! Last weekend, my bff's Mare and Jules ran the Top of Utah half-marathon. I had so much fun going up to Logan with them and watching them finish the race! I was glad I could be part of the cheerleading team! Hopefully I will be crossing the finish line with them next time. :) A special thanks to Ambs for coming to the hotel to get me so I could get to the park!

Here we all are after they finished. Good work, ladies!

I'd like to give a birthday shout-out to two of my favorite people in the world! Kels celebrated yesterday and Mare will celebrate tomorrow! These two ladies are incredible and make life so fun. Happy birthday!!! I love you both!

Well, there you go. I updated. And now I feel better.
I don't think I can avoid those tests anymore...

Two Days Down...

Only 182 to go! I made it through the first couple of days and so far, it's been great! There are already a few certain students that are lots of fun. (insert sarcasm) And that I would rather not have to deal with. :) At least they will keep me on my toes!
Favorite line from the first day (after I opened it up for questions on what they wanted to know about me):
Student: Miss Koster, are you dating someone, or are you looking for a man?
Me: Uh, I'm not dating anyone.
Student: So, you're lookin' for a man?!
Me: I guess you could put it that way.

Oh boy.

Ready or Not...

Classroom set up and ready? Check.
All new teacher meetings complete? Check.
Disclosure documents written and ready? Check.
Lesson plans ready? Check.
New wardrobe? Check.

Feeling ready mentally for the first day? Not so much.

School starts this week. In 3 days to be exact. Wowzers. Where did the summer go?
I think I have a pretty fun adventure ahead of me. It's going to be 9 months of insanity, stress, crazniess, and business. But most of all, it's going to be 9 months of fun, happiness, learning, growing, and experiencing. And the best part of it all? I finally get to put to use all the stuff I have worked so hard to learn. And I get to help students learn and grow. That alone will make the craziness worthwhile.
So, ready or not, the students will come. And ready or not, I get to teach them. And I can hardly wait to do it! :)

(Below are some pictures of my classroom)

Sweet Little Mia

I'm sorry if you all get tired of me posting about my beautiful new niece, Mia. But... she's kind of a big deal right now. We had a fun photo shoot today... until we put her little beanie on. Then she was done. But we did get some good pictures in before then. Enjoy!

Good work, Nicole and Chaz! She's a keeper. Thanks for letting me have some fun with her! :)

I'm Going There Someday...

We finally made it up to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. It was well worth the trip up there, and I am glad we did it. It was gorgeous inside and out!

It Came...

And boy was it sad. Today was my last day working at Dr. Parkinson's office. It's kind of hard to let part of you go. Especially after it has been part of you for 7 years. I will miss my coworkers. I will miss the patients I loved so dearly. I will miss the work I got to do. It was a very surreal feeling walking out of there today. I still kind of feel like it's not real and that I will wake up Monday morning, put my scrubs on and head to work.
But I won't. Instead, I get to dive into my classroom and get things ready to teach! And that is very exciting. August 19 will come sooner than I think. But I am SO excited to start teaching! It's gonna be great! :)
So here's to moving forward and turning a new page. Life is good.