Out With the Old, In With the New

Am I the only one who can't believe that we are already to the end of another year? Here's a quick recap of my crazy goings on and shennanigans this year.

I turned 27

Had a crazy adventure with Marianne while getting to and from Omaha, NE for Spring Break

Welcomed my new nephew, Emmett

Went to Women's Conference for the first time

Had several Just Dance parties

Saw cute lil' David Archie at the Stadium of Fire

Anxiously awaited the release of Harry Potter 7.2

Saw HP 7.2

A few trips to 7 Peaks

Saw AIDA with Mike

Took Skyler to the Storytelling Festival

Celebrated Labor Day at the family cabin

Went to California with my family

Halloween Party

5K/Mile Fun Run to support my cousin's Eagle Project

Thanksgiving with my family

Ended the year by getting a full time position at my school

A rockin' Christmas party with my closest friends
Christmas with my family and friends

Other notable events included going on several dates--- some not so great, but enough really good ones to balance it all out, lots of craft projects, lots of late nights chatting and laughing, I read more books than I can count, and I spent lots of time with those I love most. 

2011 was a great year, and I have a gumption that 2012 will be just as good, if not better.

Merry Christmas to Me.

A while ago, a lovely young lady graduated with her Bachelor's Degree in English Education. Wanting to use her degree, she began the job search and interview process. Unfortunately, a gazillion other people were doing the same thing and full time work was hard to come by. Luckily, she was able to land an hourly teaching position. She came to love the people she worked with, and came to love the students at the school just as much. Thankfully, she was able to continue teaching part time this school year.

One of her favorite coworkers decided that she would be retiring midway through this year. This opened up a great opportunity for this awesome little teacher. But... legalities made it so that she couldn't just slide into the position. Once the job was posted, she quickly applied. And then she waited. And waited. Finally, they called her for an interview. And guess what? She wooed them with her wit and charm and will now be teaching full time!

Woohoo! This job couldn't have come at a better time and I'm so ready to step in. I hit the ground running right after Christmas break, and I couldn't be more excited about it.

BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!

Gratitude

Since it's Thanksgiving, and I have some free time, I thought I'd post a few things I am especially grateful for right now.

My family and the fun we have together.

My sisters. I am thankful for the close relationship I have with both of them. They are both incredible girls.

Friends. I love hanging out with these ladies. I love that they appreciate celebrations and parties as much as I do

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While my list of things I am thankful for is quite a bit longer, these three are at the top of my list. I'm so glad I am surrounded by so many good people. It sure makes life more fun.

Southern California Adventures

My awesome parents decided to take the whole family to Southern California for Fall Break this year. It was a blast, and I loved every minute of it! We spent a day at the beach at Dana Point, explored California Adventure, and then played at Disneyland. It had been years since we had been on a vacation as a family, and it was fun to just be together and have fun. 

 Me and Nicole on the beach

 Me and Kelsey

 Me, Mia, and Emmett

 My favorite little brother

 (he didn't even protest at the request to take a picture with me!)

 Waiting in line for Soarin' Over California

 Fam Pic at the beach

 Can't go to Disneyland without taking a picture by the Mickey face

 We got stuck on Thunder Mountain Railroad. See the fear on our faces? Someone thought it would be a brilliant idea to stand up while the ride was going. Apparently he didn't think of the repercussions of such a decision. The entire ride was shut down and everyone had to be escorted out. Awesome.

 Mia wasn't interested in taking a picture with me. I took one anyway.

Emmett was my car buddy. It made for excellent bonding time. 

The time flew by too fast, and it was hard to go back to work after such a nice break, but I am so glad we all were able to go. We even got to meet up with Scott & Melinda and their kids at both parks and ride some of the rides with them. We learned that Fast Passes and Parent Swap passes are the best way to go. The longest line we waited in was about 40 minutes (and that's because we didn't have Fast Passes for that one). Not too shabby. It was a fun trip and I can't wait to do it again sometime! 

Thanks, mom and dad!

You can see more pictures and read more about it here and here. 

Top Dog 5K Race

My cute little cousin Nathan is doing his Eagle Project next month. He's decided that he'd like to put on a 5K run to raise money to help the police department purchase bullet proof vests for their K-9 units. Check out the website here to read more information about the race and to register! :)

Couldn't Have Said it Better

Found this little gem here

A Little Misinterpretation...

I asked my Creative Writing students to write a short story about a beaver and a fox. One student, apparently love-struck and obsessed, took it as "Write a story about Bieber and a fox".

Apparently she has other things on her mind...

Recent Events

Labor Day this year was pretty low-key, but the days leading up to it were filled with lots of fun things. I was lucky enough to get hold of some tickets to the Storytelling Festival, so I (or my mom) convinced Skyler to go up with me for a little bit. It was my first time going, and it was really fun! That afternoon, we watched the BYU game and just relaxed the rest of the day. For dinner on Sunday, my family headed up to our family cabin to eat and enjoy some time with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. 'Twas a lovely evening!
And since I don't post on here all that often, here is some pictoral evidence of the previously mentioned events!

 Me and Skyler

 I made football shaped Rice Krispie Treats for the game! :)

Emmett, Kelsey, Me, and Nicole at the cabin

 

My sisters are the best. I'm lucky to have them!

When I came home from the cabin, I was greeted by a ginormous (the thing was the size of a quarter with it's legs out) black widow just outside my front door. Not willing to share my home with her, I grabbed the spider spray and promptly took care of things. I did take a picture of it, but it's disgusting and gives me the heebie-jeebies, so I won't post it. I was rather proud of myself, though, for dealing with it without screaming. Spiders are not my favorite, but I wasn't going to just let this one go.

And last, but certainly not least, head on over to my amazing friend's (and hair stylist) hair blog! She gives great tips, has fun tutorials, and even has a giveaway going on now! You can check out what services she offers, see pictures of her work, and learn so much about hair all in one spot! You can check out Julie's work here.

It's going to be a fun year...

Today was the first full day of school. I can already tell I will have my work cut out for me with some of my kids. It's amazing how quickly you can pick out the "popular" kids, the chatty ones, the ones who love attention, etc. They are so fun, though, and I am enjoying being back at work!
I had my kids fill out information sheets about themselves today. I asked them to write something unique about themselves. This is what I got from some of them:
- I had streat A's in elementary. (Umm. Hmmm.)
- I have HDHD. (Maybe he watches too much TV?)
- I have droken every bown exip 1. (Oh boy.)
- And, my favorite, "I like 'Pretty Little Liars' (shhhh!)". (I should note that this was from a boy...)

So here's to a new school year. Summer flew by waaaay too fast, but I am excited to have a new bunch of kids to teach!

They're Kind of A Big Deal

Mia and Emmett are my favorite little people. I'm a pretty lucky girl to get to be their aunt. Oh how I love them!

Mia turned 2 last week, so we ventured to the park to take her pictures. Kelsey and Emmett came too, and we were able to get some good shots of both kiddos. These are my favorites of the night.

 

Miss Mia

 Mr. Emmett

Me and the kiddos.  

(Mr. E was a bit hungry, hence the scowl on his sweet lil' face...)

Sometimes we do fun things

Like go to Summerfest.

 Me and Mr. E at the parade

 Me and Mike waiting for fireworks to start

(Sadly, I do not have pictures of me with my other friends and family in attendance. BUT... My mom, Skyler, Kelsey, Marianne, Chris, Julie, Ryan, and Kyle were all there, too.)

And sometimes we go to Summer Sno.

 First visit of many. Mr. E even came along for this one.

Marianne & me- Chris had never been, so I tagged along for his first visit.

And sometimes we are even crafty.

 My mom's Mother's Day gift

Patriotic Pride

We even do other fun things like sleep in, go to movies, exercise, and eat yummy food. But I don't have any pictures of those. So just imagine what they would look like. (Except me exercising. Yikes.)

Blast from the past

Do you ever hear a song that takes you back to another time and place? There have been several times lately when I am driving in my car that I hear a little gem from back in the day, and suddenly I am transported to the time when I was an awkward teenager, new to high school, and still trying to figure out a new set of social norms. It's like I am suddenly right back in an exact moment. I can smell the smells, see/hear who and what was there, and  feel like I am actually are there (minus the tube bangs and flared jeans, of course). Isn't that the best?

Take this little treasure for example:

Thank you, Nick, Howie, A.J., Brian, and Kevin. You sent my little 15 year old heart into a tizzy. And let's be honest... when I hear you now, you still kinda do.

(How can you not love Nick's middle-parted bowl cut? And what about Brian's soulful voice and smooth moves? Oh how they both melted my teenage heart. Welcome back, 1998. Welcome back. You still put a grin on my face.)

Destination: Omaha

Omaha proved to be quite a happening place to go for Spring Break. The fun didn't stop the entire week we were there. It was certainly worth the adventure we had in getting there. And, I finally made it farther east than Denver! Life is good.

While there, we:

 Pretended to be pioneers while visiting the Winter Quarters Visitor's Center

 Made friends with the gorillas and other animals at the zoo

(Notice how large the gorilla is that I am sitting on? Yeah. It took some acrobatics to get up there. Impressed I made it? Thought so.)

 Saw the Missouri River

 Got stuck on a statue by the Missouri River

(All I wanted to do was sit on his shoulders. Thought it would make a good photo op. Didn't go as I had planned. Here, Teresa and I are strategizing how to get me down...)

 

 Stood in two states at one time

(This footbridge spanned the Missouri River and went from the Nebraska side to the Iowa side)

 Ate at the delicious California Tacos. Yum.

(As featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives)

 

 Ate scrumptious ice cream at e Creamery. Also yum.

Rode the train home. After 23 hours on it, we made it home!

Other activities included sewing projects, visiting Creighton Law School, laughing, eating lots of good food, late nights chatting, sleeping in, playing with William, napping, and much, much more.

Jealous? You should be. :)

A Little Story

Once upon a time, two friends wanted to take a Spring Break vacation to Omaha, Nebraska. The reservations were made, the dates were set, and the countdown began. The day of departure finally arrived and the girls were more than ready to go. As they blissfully set off to the airport to begin their journey, they had no idea what was in store for them. See, the plan was to arrive at the airport at 3:30, check in, fly out at 5:00 and arrive in Omaha by 10:00.... a seemingly simple task. This, instead, is what they experienced:

3:30 pm: Check in, go through security, etc. Wait.
5:15 pm: Find out the plane they were supposed to be boarding had a mechanical issue. No worries... it should be fixed by 6:00.
6:00 pm: Problem is still not fixed. At this point, it is realized that the connecting flight from Denver to Omaha wasn't going to be happening as scheduled.
7:0o pm: Still waiting.
8:00 pm: Still waiting.
8:30ish pm: The problem is finally fixed. The plane was boarded, and off they went.
8:45 pm: Shortly after taking off, the pilot comes on and says, "Flight attendants, prepare for landing."
9:00 pm: The plane lands back in Salt Lake, after a brief tour of the air around the airport. Apparently the problem wasn't really fixed.
9:30 pm: Still waiting for the airline to decide what they are going to do.
10:00 pm: Ticket agents announce that the plane won't leave until 7:00 the next morning. All passengers are to head downstairs to get new boarding passes, new connecting flights, hotel vouchers, food vouchers, etc.
10:05 pm: The girls get in line to obtain said passes and vouchers.
11:00 pm: The line has moved a few feet. There is ONE ticket agent attempting to help the situation. However, the girls have met some new friends to make the time go quicker.
12:00 am: Still in line.
1:00 am: Still in line.
2:00 am: Still in line.
2:30 am: They finally reach the ticket counter after 4 1/2 hours in line, and get the vouchers and passes.
3:00 am: The hotel shuttle comes, and they make it to the hotel by 3:15.
3:45 am: They drift off for a quick nap.
4:30 am: It's time to get up and get ready to be back to the airport by 5:00.
5:00 am: Back to the airport, get checked in, and wait some more.
7:00 am: Sing praises! After 16 hours, the plane to Denver actually takes off and stays airborne!!!
8:30 am: Denver is reached! (and a 6 hour layover begins)
2:30 pm: The girls leave Denver and fly to Omaha.
4:30 pm: At long last, Omaha is reached. It's never felt so good to be to a destination!

Yes, we had quite the adventure getting ourselves to Omaha. Thank goodness for a patient and good friend to travel with, laptops, games, food, and good conversation to make the time go.

This is before we knew what was coming to us.

Waiting for the shuttle at 3 am. You'd look like this, too, if you had been through what we had.

An unlikely combination of friends. They certainly made the night/early morning entertaining and go by a little quicker, though. From left to right: Rachel, Michael, Marianne, Me, Karla, and Andrew.

And there is the story of our adventurous journey of getting to Omaha. It was certainly unforgettable. But we made it out alive and have a great story to tell. Oh, and did I mention the airline gave us $400 toward tickets for another trip? Saweeeeeet. I think we'll be heading somewhere fun.

More Omaha fun to come. Stay tuned.

Happy Lists and Little Letters

Things that make me happy as of lately:
1- Rain. The sound, the smell, and the feel of it.
2- Spring Break is only 1 month away.
3- There is only 1 month until Marianne and I head to Omaha!!! Can't wait to fly again!
4- For said vacation, I'm pretty pumped about riding the train home! That's right, folks. We're taking the train! Woot! :)
5- French Fries. Especially when dipped in fry sauce. Yum.
6- Lazy days. Oh how I love those.
7- Netflix. Best. Thing. Ever.
8- Weekends. Need I say more?


Dear Spring,

Please stop teasing me and just get here already. Thank you.


Dear Couple in Front of Me at Stake Conference,

The chapel is NOT the place to snuggle and cuddle and be annoyingly lovey-dovey. And please do not kiss while in church meetings.


Dear Students,

I know you want Spring Break to come. I do, too. However, I think I want it more. Please behave until we get there, though. 4 more weeks. We can make it.


Dear Monday,

Please do not come. My weekend went by too quickly and I am not quite ready for you yet.


Thank you.
Love,
Logan

A Lovely Little Surprise

My job is pretty awesome. But, like any job, there are some days that I come home wondering what I've gotten myself into. Teenagers can sometimes a bit to handle, ya know? Those are the days when I wonder why I am even teaching in the first place and if my kids are even hearing what I say.

And then, out of the blue, this comes through my door in the middle of class:

Complete with treats, gift cards, and adorable Valentine's decorations

And a not-so-great week turns around. One of my student's parents gave me this. Just because they wanted to tell me that their daughter enjoys my class. Now that's just sweet. And it totally made my week.

(*Please note: 2, count 'em, 2, posts in one day. Coming from one who rarely blogs, I must say that I am quite impressed with myself!)

Mi Casa

Thought I'd post some pictures of my new place. And by new, I mean kind of new. I realize that we have been in our condo for going on 6 months now, but better late than never, right?





And yes, we do realize that some of our walls still are a little bare. We're working on it. But I'd have to say that our little place is perfect! It's nice and cozy and definitely feels like home.