Merry Christmas

3 Years

Three years ago on December 15 I got home from Thailand. Time flies!

Christmas Devotional at the Conference Center

AJ and Sumana Sumana, Me, Havilah
My friend, Sumana, had extra tickets so she invited Havilah and me to go to the Christmas devotional. The decorations were spectacular and it is always fun to hear the orchestra and choir live.

Kite Flying

While in Oregon this summer, dad bought a huge kite. It was cold and windy today so we took it out for a spin at LSMS. Avery had fun flying the kite but it was a good thing someone else was holding on because she dropped it twice. There was some serious force pulling on that kite.
Aidan was adorable. I didn't get many good pictures of him this morning in the photo shoot but this one turned out well.
Those streamers are at least 16 feet long.

Aidan and Avery playing in the tail feathers of the kite. Pure delight!

Ode to the Lamp

Meet my lamp. This lamp has been by my bedside for over a decade. When I woke up in the middle of the night, all I had to do was reach over and touch the lamp. It had three settings. I loved this lamp. It stopped working a few months ago and I had to use a non-touch lamp. It was miserable. Now I have a new touch lamp and life is good again.

Update

*I'm pretty much a failure at taking pictures these days.

*School is going really well this year. I've got a great class. Time is flying by and I can hardly believe that November is already here.

*I'm living in Saratoga Springs. It is is the middle of nowhere but only five minutes from work so that makes up for the inconvenient location.

*I just got called as Relief Society teacher in my ward. I love Sunday callings!

*I am studying to take the GRE this spring. I'll apply to schools next year and hopefully start grad school Fall 2011.

Covered Bridge Festival

On 17 October, we drove south into small-town Indiana to experience the Covered Bridge Festival of Parke County. The covered bridges were pretty. Indiana in the fall is one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip.

Corn in the Midwest

We drove a few miles to a corn maze near Lafayette. Everyone picked out a pumpkin then we explored the maze. Nick and Lachelle debated the difference between orienteering and reading a map. We decided that it is pretty genius to have places to go for prizes in a corn maze. That way it isn't quite so boring.

Keyton and Lola

Who knew blonde and white could be so cute?

Freshman Reunion

Megan had a baby!!! She was in town this weekend so we all got together for breakfast.

Susan and Stephanie were definitely missed.
I love my freshman roommates!

India Fest

Most of the festivals at the Hare Krshna temple in Spanish Fork stress me out because they are so packed and there is no parking. But, India Fest was great. I got to eat Indian food for $6.00.

I got to hang out with my beautiful friends and see a beautiful sunset.


I saw Ravana, the demon. We left before they burned it though. I have seen the recreation of the story of Rama so many times and have tried to understand it, but there are still parts that I don't quite get. That is one of my goals next time I go to Thailand.

Sumana's Wedding 8/21/09

One of my great fortunes on my mission was serving with Sumana for six weeks. I remember coming from Sisaket to Bangkok knowing that I was going to be in SYS. I had no idea who my companion would be. I was a little bit nervous when I found out that I would be the senior companion (it was only my 4th moves) and Sumana was starting her second moves. In some ways that 6 weeks was the best of my mission. We had some incredible experiences because we were both so clueless about what to do. I never have felt the Spirit stronger or more consistently in my life than I did during those short weeks we were companions. The Lord made up for our inadequacies and inexperience.

There are other things I will never forget like talking Thai ALL the time except for the bike ride home each night. She really helped me with my language. There is also the incident with the roller coaster speed bumps on Chaengwattana Road. We got to go to Mae Tu's wedding and witness the conversion of nearly her whole family.

I'm glad that Sumana is now happily married. I'm glad I could play the piano for her. I'm glad she lives close so that I can see her frequently. I'm glad we still have a lifetime worth of memories to make together.

Clear Creek

The Alpine School District owns a camp up near Scofield and every year, we take our fifth graders up there and camp overnight. This year was my first year being in charge of it and it was a little bit stressful but worth it. I love being out in nature and being able to share that with your students is a pretty rare experience for most teachers. It is interesting to see which kids pause to stop and watch the deer in the meadow, which students plow right through everything without pausing to stop and consider the effect of their actions, and which kids can find snakes no matter where you go. I saw some of my students befriend kids they have never talked to before.

Besides some serious slivers, stinging nettles, and a couple of fevers, everyone survived camp. I'm glad I got to go. I love my students.

Coastal Road Trip Day 8

This was somewhere on the southern Oregon coast. We found a baby seal that had died and had its head buried in the sand. So sad and kind of gross.



The following pictures were taken at Shore Acres State Park in Oregon. It used to be the mansion of a multi-millionaire. I think he was a logger. It was the coolest ocean I saw along the entire coast and the gardens were gorgeous.