Back in the saddle

It has been a very busy last couple of weeks. School started ,and all my family was in town. Not a good combo. Let's be honest, I'd rather be with them moving Rebekah into the dorms of BYU than working, but at least my new class of 3rd graders seems to be sweet and bright. No big troublemakers; they tend to manifest themselves by the end of the 2nd day.

Now my family is gone, so I guess that means reality can begin. I'm excited for this next year. I think it's going to be a good one.

1st day of school!

This was Utah's "Welcome Back" present to me the other evening.

Domestication

I think my mother really wanted me to improve my homemaking skills this summer. It was fun to be home long enough to do some sewing projects with my mom. A lot of the things I made are presents, so I can't post pictures. (Maybe you'll be a recipient of one of them...) I made this quilt for my friend, Rachel, who moved to Sacramento and who is having a BABY GIRL in November. I've already given the quilt to her, so it's ok to post pictures.

If you haven't ever made a quilt, I strongly encourage you to. They're a lot of fun to do, and there are numerous cute and easy patterns.

So Long Sweet Summer

I'm going to miss opening up the garage to get into the car and seeing this...

Contract begins today. It's bittersweet.

Back to long faculty meetings. Back to a normal sleeping schedule. Back to getting copier ink all over myself.

Back to laughing at 30 8-year-olds. Back to receiving sweet notes on my desk. Back to sharing daily my love of books and math.

Thanks for superb summer, 2010!

Made a Pie

In 4th grade, I made a lemon meringue pie for my school carnival. I remember I won a ribbon; although, I honestly cannot remember the place. I decided to put my award-winning skills into practice and make another one.

I think I did another dang good job.

And because it's summer, I had to make a peach/cream cheese pie. Tasty and fresh.

Quick Trip

I seriously have the best dad. He helped my older sister, Heather, and me move our stuff (or junk as he refers to it).

The 3 of us drove up to Utah Tuesday. That night he helped Heather unload her items in Salt Lake; she moved from AZ and is starting a grad program at the U of U (she's a Cougar at heart). Then the following morning, he helped me transport my stuff to a new place in Provo.

Once he and I finished, we got on the road at drove back to AZ. We had to make a pit stop at our cabin, which added 3.5 hours to the already 10.5 hour drive. Since we were in the car for such a long time, I busted out my camera and took pictures of scenic Northern/Eastern Arizona.

I didn't think I had much junk, until I saw it all together. 2 of the boxes are empty, FYI.

Leaving Page, AZ. Lake Powell in the background.

Entering The Gap.

So, I've heard the I-80 in Wyoming is very, very boring. But, I think this is in the top 5 of most uninteresting highway stretches: I-40, Flagstaff, AZ to Albuquerque, NM.

Very smart placement of windmills. In the middle of nowhere where nothing can break the wind.

AZ-77. Heading to Snowflake, AZ.

Snowflake, AZ Temple.

I'm going to submit this to Arizona Highways magazine.

2 reasons why I like this shot. Can you guess them?

Birthday and Temple Site

We celebrated my mom's birthday the other Sunday. She's 39! Maybe next year she'll be 40.

Delicious cake by Kristen.

Granna & Grant

Quinn cheese-ing it up

The Gilbert, Arizona Temple is getting ready to break ground. My home stake president asked all the families to go down to the site and take a picture, so we did for FHE. It was kind of spur of the moment; that explains why we look so lovely.

I know the picture is blurry, but I wanted you to be able to see the land.

I love this shot for 2 reasons: the awesome sunset and the tractor in the background. I love Gilbert!

Step Up 3D

I saw this movie last weekend. These are some thoughts I had while watching it.

1. BFAB?! (My first audible laugh.)

2. Wow, this Luke guy is beautiful.

3. This plot is so weak and terrible.

4. I wish I could dance like this.

5. Luke, you're hott.

6. This is like playing "Where's a former So You Think You Can Dance contestant?" (Twitch, Legacy, Joshua, Ivin, Dave Scott)

7. Twitch is throwing this down.

8. Loving this dancing while cleaning up the storage room.

9. This dance off is reminiscent of You Got Served.

10. I love this movie.

I'm on a cart, Heyahh!

I've been meaning to post this BYU video for the last month. Sorry if it's old news to you. I thought BYU did a good job recreating the original. Favorite lines:

"8 out of 5 dentists recommend..."

"I'm on a cart, Heyahh!"

Original:

BYU:

Gems

My mom has been asking me to go through a couple boxes that I have stored on the top shelf in the closet of my old bedroom. This afternoon I decided to take on the task, which turned out to be a very enjoyable one.

I laughed while reading all the different commitment cards I had signed and all the different lists I had written.

I cried while reading the sweet letters my parents had written to me for girls' camp.

I lost count of all the Young Women's handouts I had received and kept.

I read so many letters from family members, old friends, teachers, leaders, etc.

What do you do with all these old memories? Do you save them? Throw them away?

Well, there were a few gems that got scanned. I'll share a few...

My first Stake Dance Card. As you can tell, this baby got a lot of use.

My 8th grade ID. My gosh, I was young once.
I think I filled out one of these every year in YW. Still working on him and them. At least my penmanship has improved.
My friend posted these all around Highland High School. She and I had been friends since elementary school, so that explains the very "young" looking photos.
Received this about one month after the birthday flier. My first (and only--knock on wood) ticket.
Played this sport all four years of high school. We were pretty good. Go Lady Hawks! The article must have been written up before spell check was created because that's not how you spell badminton.

This must have been some YW spotlight thing. The "In 10 years..." sentence is the best. I have one of those items completed. It may take me another 10 to complete the second item.

Why did I say Utah was my favorite place? No offense Utah, but I had been to a lot of other places by that point in my life. Well, on the other hand, I guess it's good that I liked Utah because that's where I've been spending the last 7 years of my life.

Next time you are at your parents' house, go through a box. It will bring a lot of happiness into your day and life. (And your mother will be thrilled that some junk has been eliminated from her house.)

Moonlight Beach

My mom and I headed over to Southern California with my sister, Marci, and her three boys. (In case you haven't figured out, I've been my mom's sidekick this summer.) We had a good time!

Whoops! Pants fell down.