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.

It Begins Again

Today was the first day of school. It went pretty well. My classroom is much more organized than last year. Here are some pictures.

Coastal Road Trip Day 7

We took over 300 pictures in the Redwoods. They were more beautiful than I expected. Most of these pictures don't require any explanation. Next time, I would like to spend more time in the Redwoods and camp







Inside a redwood.