Genius...

The boy in the middle is my brother. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a law degree. At his graduation, he joked with the Governor of Minnesota in his address. Yes, he is smart and clever and is currently (this minute I think) talking the Bar exam in Portland. I'm sure he'll pass. Good luck Nick!

#25

I try to take pictures at important events like birthday parties, but I usually forget. I managed to get three pictures at this year's birthday party. They aren't great, but will have to do.

The Canyons

I can finally add pictures from my skiing excursion a month ago. I've tried a few times but we must have a busy server or something at the school because usually the pictures won't load. I went skiing in January at the Canyons in Park City. It was a beautiful day for skiing. The snow was nearly perfect. At one point, Jason and I hiked up to the top of one of the peaks and could see for miles and miles. That is where all of these pictures come from. After resting from the hike, we skied through some powder and then down a VERY steep double black diamond. The only downside of the day was the fact that my boots didn't fit me right and my legs were having serious issues.

An Epiphany

Saturday, I went sledding with my roommates and some other friends from the ward. It was a great trip but ended badly. My roommate got whacked in the mouth by a head and 3 root canals, a lot of pain, a Korean dentist and 8 veneers later, she has a new smile. The epiphany happened before all that. Havilah and I found a bend in the river where the sun shining on the rocks looked like gold flecks. It was absolutely gorgeous and sucked us in for 20 minutes. I decided that my life has plenty of 10 year olds, love drama, driving on the freeway, and Thai food. What it needs more of is nature. So, I went and purchased these. Why are epiphanies always expensive?


S

Thai Food Night

I've been wanting to have Thai food night for a long time. So, I finally planned one. I got all of the ingredients and was going to attempt to make it myself, but Sumana was able to come and help me cook the Thai food. I made everyone eat on the floor and it was great. My goal is that making Thai food will become something simple and easy rather than a huge project every time I decide to do it.

I was 13 once...

Normally Christmas vacation is my chance to cram as many novels in as possible. But, I decided to go with non-fiction this time. I have kept a journal since I was 13 and I read it this vacation. I'm actually only up to Christmas of my freshman year of college right now. It has been completely entertaining. Unfortunately, I don't have any awkward 13 year old pictures to add. They are all in my picture box in Bluffdale. I'm not sure if I was a typical 13 year old or not. My guess is not. I was pretty weird. Here are 4 highlights.

April 2, 1997
Before I say anything, I have to say something that happened yesterday. Some boys unzipped this backpack and about 10 tampons fell out. If that would have happened to me, I would have died.

April 9, 1997
At tennis, Christy and I had no room to play because everybody was taking our space. So, we went to the front of the building. Then, Mrs. Trobley and Mrs. Ruiz needed me. But, of course they were too lazy to find me! When I cam back around they yelled at me. How rude! Oh yeah, I'm in last place. Coaches are mean.

May 7, 1997
In Industrial Tech, Demenee came up to Katie and said something. Katie gave her something and said, "Here's your pen." What do they think I am? Stupid? I know it was a tampon.

August 4, 1997
Lynsey is so totally gullible. She was totally into snipes. She still believes in them. I mean, how can a POPULAR person believe in snipes?

Why I Teach 5th Graders

I'm sorry for those of you that are anti-blogging without pictures. But, I get reminded every once in a while why I teach kids. For our Christmas presents to parents this year, I had my students write their parents letters. The only requirements were that they had to say what they appreciated about their parents and then make a top 10 list about things they love about their moms and dads. Here is a sample of some things my afternoon students wrote:

Thank you for coming to our classroom to do spelling tests every Friday.
You guys help me when I am sick.
You guys exercise.
I could never ask for a better or cooler dad than you.
I am not embarrassed to talk about you.
You grill in the winter.
I appreciate that you help me with my division.
You let me listen to your music.
You tuck me in at night.
You put songs on my ipod.
You check in on my to see if I am okay.
You can keep secrets.


I'm not an overly emotional person, but it has been hard for me to read and edit their letters without tearing up. These kids have soft hearts and I adore them despite how much they frustrate me sometimes.