Winter Storm

The weather forecasters have been predicting "the biggest winter storm since 1986." Well, I am not quite sure I agree but we'll certainly take what we can get. Rarely ever do we get to enjoy true "snow days" but we are fortunate enough today to have one. Yesterday we had a 2-hour late start because of ice but today they canceled school because of the "Winter Storm" we are having. I know, I know, all of you that live in places that get multiple feet of snow each year are probably laughing at us but we are definitely enjoying playing in the snow. Here are a few pictures of our adventures over that past few days.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!

2012 is going to be a GREAT year! I just know it. We kicked it off again this year with the Diddy's and of course we had a blast! While we were waiting to get picked up, Khylee decided she wanted to have a photoshoot with my new camera. (Photo shoot meaning she would take pictures of ME...). It was fun and she really enjoyed it.

This year Khylee will be 7!! I can't believe my baby will be SEVEN in less than a month!!! Where has the time gone? She is such a sweet girl and I am loving this age. She is doing so well learning to read! She loves math and does not really like to write. Ha ha! This might be because I am her writing teacher. She loves to come to my classroom but it is hard for her to remember I am also her teacher. (And sometimes for me too)!

I am really enjoying my current postion this year. I moved schools at the beginning of this year and have truly been welcomed by my new staff. I am the Primary Learning Specialist and I teach first and second grade writing part time and I also do a job share in fourth grade one day a week. I love every part of my job. I am so blessed to have been given the opportunities that I have in my career.

I started my Master's program the end of October and I am loving it. I am currently in my second class. I am actually able to apply the information I am learning to my teaching and with my colleagues. I look forward to accomplishing this huge achievement!!

There are so many things I want to accomplish this year. I started making a list of 30 things I want to accomplish before I turn the big 3-0! I have a little less than 6 months and I don't quite have 30 but I definitely have so good ideas.

I don't have much time...

I am busy, that is how I've always been and that is what we are used to. I do wish we could slow down a little bit but then what would we do...ha ha!! This year has slowed us down quite a bit but not for long! I am planning on starting my Master's very soon. I am excited for this opportunity since I do love school and love learning, but I am a little afraid I have gotten used to not having deadlines...it's been kind of nice. This is definitely something that I need to get done though!

Over the summer I had my 29th birthday! It was a tough birthday because I was that much closer to being out of my twenties! That is a scary thought to me. I have been thinking about the things I have accomplished so far and of things that I want to accomplish in the future. I've decided that I am going to make a list of 30 things I want to do before I am 30 but I can't think of very many. I would love input from anyone reading because I don't have much time. I basically have eight months to complete it. Here is what I have so far:

1. Read the BOM

2. Read the Old Testament

3. Finish my Personal Progress (I'm in YW so I have the opportunity to complete this)

4. Organize all of Khylee's books (Whoa does she have a TON!)

5. Read the first three Work and the Glory books

6. Finish at least one year worth of scrapbooking!! (For those of you that know me well, that is a HUGE task!!)

7. Become debt free

8. Fly a kite

9. Make jam

10. Learn to sew and make a quilt

That is what I have so far but I do want to do some fun things too!!

I'm so excited for this movie to come out! I already have my tickets!! Yes, I am a little crazy but it is so worth it! :-)

BYU--Pros and Cons

Recently I have been looking into Master's Programs. I haven't decided if I want to get a MA in Special Ed, Math, or ELL. I have a strong passion for math and special education (both of which I wanted to do in high school). Currently I am a math specialist and I LOVE it! It would be great to have a Master's in Mathematics but with the way our education is going, special ed knowledge and skills are SO important. Inclusion is an amazing concept in the general ed classroom but the teachers need the knowledge and skills to meet the academic and behavioral needs of all of their students. I want to be the best teacher I can with the most skills and knowledge I can acquire. Now with all of that being said, I have a lot of praying, pondering, and researching to do....

I have started looking at different schools and what they have to offer. Of course, it is already April and most of the deadlines were the end of March. I am not sure when or where I will go so I am keeping my options open. BYU has so many pros and cons. And I have listed some of them:

Pros:

• Tuition prices are amazing


• Spiritual environment


• New atmosphere


• Housing prices are reasonable


• Only a 9 hour drive to DISNEYLAND!!! (LOL)

Cons:

• It isn't anything like BYU-Hawaii


• I won't really know anyone


• Moving


• Snow....LOTS of snow


• Re-establishing myself in school districts so I can sub


• Being a single mom in Provo

I know there are plenty more but that is the list I have started. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Conference Sunday

I have a love/hate relationship with technology. Ok, I really do love it and all it's conveniences but... sometimes, it would be nice to actually get dressed for church on conference Sunday and actually go to the building like the old days when I was young. Growing up we didn't go to conference very often, but the times we did, I still remember. Because of technology, I know that I would still stay at home and watch it from the comfiness of my couch in my pjs, but the thought is nice. There have been a lot of things going on lately and conference was a good boost to help me realize where I want my life to go. It is always uplifting and spiritual but this time I really felt the Spirit, despite sitting on the couch in my pjs snuggling with my sick little girl. I really felt like these messages were exactly what I needed to hear! I've added to my bucket list...go to conference in person. I think it would be an amazing experience. The most important message I received from conference was the importance of living worthy of having a temple recommend. I've been holding off on going to the temple for absolutely no good reason and I am ready to start the process. I want to be able to see my dad's work get done. I am so excited for that day. I want to be a good example to Khylee. I want her to see that I make it a priority in my life. Spring is such a beautiful season. As I look around at the cherry blossom trees, the birds chirping, and the daffodils blooming, I am constantly reminded of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for me. Because of him, I am able to return to live with my family again someday. I know that I will get to see my dad and brother again and I am so comforted with that knowledge. We just had our first daffodil pop up and they have bloomed every year since they were planted in the dark month of September when my brother died. They always remind me of the plan of salvation!

Is anyone still out there.....?

I haven't posted in far too long but I am going to give it another shot. I love laughing, crying, getting inspired, or just feeling caught up on the adventures of people's lives while I read other blogs and I always think to myself that I should post something, but what and when??

So, here it goes....maybe I can post monthly...We shall see!

My Very First...

Homemade gift! It was so much fun! I made the Diddy's a felt board with three stories (more are coming). Erica and I had talked about how much fun it would be to have one and her kids LOVE it! I made The Slippery Fish, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and Five Little Monkeys. I was so excited with how they turned out. I definitely will be making more.

Christmas!!!

Christmas was so much fun this year! Khylee really showed her patience, compassion, and unselfishness this year. I am so proud of the little girl that she is turning into. She is truly the best blessing in my life! We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Khylee didn't want anything (except a real puppy, which was not an option) but was so excited with the gifts she did receive. She loved her bike, Fur Real Piglet, Easy Back Oven, Ponies, and everything else.

1st Ballet Recital!

After a HUGE miscommunication on my part and me driving like a crazy lady to Renton to pick Khylee up and having half the time needed to get her ready, Khylee had her very first Ballet Recital. She was SO cute! I was very nervous for her because she was performing at the PAC in Auburn. That is a BIG auditorium! She did AWESOME though! She really took charge on stage at one point! She is my daughter! LOL! They were Santa's Helpers (with wings and a halo...) and danced to a song from Rudolph called Santa's Elves. She had a lot of support come watch her perform. Thank you to Aunty Willy, JJ, Erica, Hailey, and Jason for cheering her on! It was great to have you all there.

Khylee received her first bouquet of flowers from Hailey (and Erica)! She felt so special. We put them in water when we got home and she constantly talked about them. It was very sad when we had to throw them away because they were so wilted!

End of the Quarter Celebration!!

We've tried to always go out at the end of each quarter to celebrate our accomplishments! We have a great co-hort and this was the last time we would see most of each other until March since we start student teaching in January. It was a lot of fun to hang out and talk, relaxed from the pressures of school! Thanks ladies! Good luck student teaching!

SANTA BREAKFAST!!

The Santa Breakfast has been a tradition in our family since I was a little girl and it is so fun to carry it on with my own daughter. This is Khylee's fifth Santa Breakfast. It is the exact same every year; same food, same jokes, same songs, but I think if it wasn't it would be so sad! My entire family looks forward to this special day each December to see Santa and come together as a family.

Christmas Shopping in Bellevue!

Kari and I have always talked about going Christmas shopping in Bellevue but we always get too busy around the holidays. Well, finally this year we made it up there. It was SO much fun! We ate at The Cheesecake Factory, shopped, laughed, and just had a great time with great ladies! This definitely has to be a yearly tradition!

I just have to add that this top picture is one of about eight because my camera was being dumb (or the nice lady walking down the road we asked to snap a few photos didn't know how to take pictures....LOL)!

HALLOWEEN FUN!!!


I love this time of year! It is the beginning of the Holiday Season. As always, we were busy, busy, busy, but we still managed to have a lot of fun. We were invited to a Harvest Party by some great friends who live on land. It was so much fun. The kids had a BLAST! They went on a "hayride," picked out a pumpkin and carved it, smashed a pinata, roasted hot dogs, saw goats, rabbits, chickens, dogs, cats, and birds, and had apple cider. Plus, it was another excuse to wear our costumes! It was a great evening! Thanks Connie and Shauntel!

Khylee had her annual Halloween Party with herfriends. It was a blast! The kids had a lot offun! I even had four very good looking firemenin my bedroom for part of the evening.(Thatis a whole different story! Thankfully,everything turned out just fine!)

Trunk-or-Treating is always a hit! This year our ward did it Friday night so we crashed Mill Pond and White River's joint activity Saturday night! It was a lot of fun! Of course, Khylee got WAY too much candy and I am sure I will end up throwing over half of it away like I did last year, but she doesn't know that...ssshh!

Forks!!

So, as many of you know, I am an avid Twi-hard! I have never enjoyed reading until these books came out. I am very glad that I was talked into reading them. Erica and I have talked about going to Forks for awhile now. We figured since there were people flying in from different countries, we could drive the four hours. We had made plans to go for my birthday but they fell through. We found out that Stephenie Meyer/Bella's Birthday was being celebrated and literally planned it on a couple days notice.

It was the first time I had left Khylee overnight so I was a little nervous. I arrived at Erica's house at 4:00 Saturday morning and we were on our way. We had SO much fun. It was not as hard to leave Khylee overnight, but I certainly missed her a lot! We got the whole tour: Forks High School, Bella's House, The Cullen Residence, Jacob's House, and First Beach and La Push (which was amazingly beautiful). We also heard an awesome band Saturday night and I of course bought their cd and got a picture with them! It was a lot of fun and I was so happy to meet awesome people while we were there!

Never knew I'd get so close to Edward...lol

A girl on our tour carried this cut-out around with her all day (literally!)

Forks High School's very own copy of Twilight.

Erica and I got to help judge this look alike contest. We felt SO cool! (It's all about who you know....)

This was a washed up stump on First Beach in La Push. Isn't it cool?

Fall so far...

Khylee and I have been very busy lately. Khylee has wanted to take a dance class for the last two years and I finally found a studio that I love and works with my schedule. (Both very hard to find!) She is taking a beginners ballet and tap class once a week and she LOVES it! She also LOVES the huge wall of mirrors in her studio.

She loves posing and doing silly faces for the camera. Here is one that always makes me smile...

We had our Annual Pumpkin Picnic last weekend with my family and so much fun. We tried a new pumpkin patch this year and were really happy. We have had the Annual Pumpkin Picnic since I was little. It is one of the many things I love and look forward to during Fall.

Khylee loved running around the farm and it took a little bit of convincing to get her to slow down to take a picture with my mom and I but she did!

Erica invited us over for a Halloween craft night last Saturday. We had so much fun. We had dinner, painted pumpkins, and ended the night with a good movie!