Life Update

I am really bad at blogging because I feel like I need to have pictures to post each time, however, my brother assured me that one or two times without pictures is acceptable, as long as we wrote something. Anyways, I thought I would update everyone on our lives (as interesting as it may be). I am getting ready for fifth grade to start. My classroom is almost set up (pictures of it will come soon) and I meet with my mentor teacher today about scheduling and planning. It is so strange to think that I will be holding a back to school night with parents that are old enough to be my parents. Mike is busy with med school applications. He is constantly asking me questions like "If you had to introduce to someone, what would you tell them about me" or "What are some of my good qualities" only to find out that he is sick of writing the essays and needs fresh ideas. His sister Katherine has been such a help with giving him suggestions. She is more tactful at giving him suggestions. Mike has heard back from two schools already and has an interview with TUMB in Galvenston, TX and Ohio State. I am really excited for him, but jealous at the same time because he will be traveling to all these new places.

Summer Camping Trips

With two camping trips already under our belt, this summer is looking like it is going in the right direction. This year, we went on our "Second Anual Memorial Camping Trip" with our friends Sam and Heather Shannon. We went up to Diamond Fork Canyon and camped near the trailhead to the hot pots. Last year, we shared the place with a group of hippies on their way to the Rainbow convention (completely serious). Luckily this year we shared with a nice, normal family.


These are the Shannon's, as Josh like to say "Sammy Shannon".


It was so cold at night and our fire was not up to par. We did everything we could to keep warm.



The trail up to the pots was pretty, at least for Utah. Our ward also had a campout that next weekend up at Payson Lake. It was a lot of fun. There were several highlights about the trip. We discovered "Jumbo" marshmellows. They were so huge. You only needed one of them. We (I mean the boys)cooked one jumbo marshmellow and smashed it between two whole graham crackers and a whole chocolate bar. We called it "the sub" s'more. The second highlight was catching fish. Both Mike and I cuaght fish the traditional way with a pole and power bait. However, we also caught the fish with our hands. I felt like Mulan.



Mike casted the line at and asked me to hole the pole just for a second while he was reorganizing his tactile box. I had to promise to return the pole to him once he was done because I had the tendiency to steal the pole from him. But once I got it, I felt a fish bit. Needless to say, I did not give the pole back and I claim the catch as mine.


Mike was really excited to catch such a big fish. I was excited that the hook just got the fish on the side of the mouth so we could release him.

in the morning, the ranger came by and told us that the stream is going to dry up in a week and so all the fish in it will also dry up. So, our job was to catch all the fish and run them back to the lake. This video is Ryan Flake doing the job with mad skills.


This is me trying to do the same thing.

I am just not as talented. In this catch, the fish was running away. He finally swam until there was no water for him to swim in and he got stuck.

Overall, it was a really fun camping trip. Hail to the Hales for putting it together.

HELP!!!

So I was trying to be up with the times and make my blog look all cool, but now it is out of control. I tried everything to get this picture to fit, but it just won't. I pushed the shrink to fit, but it wouldn't work. I tried not pushing shrink to fit (better) but still nothing. Any suggestions?

Teaching 6th Grade

For those who don't know, last week I started my second practicum at Sprucewood Elementary in a 6th grade class. The practicum is pre-student teaching. I wish I had some funny comments that the students made, but their pretty good this time. It does feel good knowing that I don't have to deal with students crawling underneath desks, tying 10 pairs of shoes a day, or hear tattling reports that so and so called Jennifer a girl (I know, how devastating). Today, may teacher was out for the day, which means that I got to play teacher for the whole day. I came early and sat down at the desk, worked on the computer, and wrote a morning message on the board. Several people came into my class to talk with me before hand and I even got the main office calling me on the overcome. It felt like the real deal. My lesson today was on WWI Trench warfare (which I have become an expert on). It was really rewarding to see the students make connections that these were real people and not just actors. Oh how I love teaching. To bad I have to go back to observing tomorrow.

Our texas Pride

I want to dedicate this post to my brother Josh. Good luck with your interview and I thought this song might replace Route 66 for McKay if you choose to go out there.

Valentine's Day

Mike took me to Gloria's Little Italy for Valentine's Day. It was so good. The food was really authentic. They had a violinist and an opera singer performing. When we walked in, they gave me a flower. It was such a great date.Mike got the hazelnut gelato for dessert. It was so delicious. It was so funny hearing all the compliments we were coming up with for it. I think our favorite was, "this is the hazelnut's measure of creation."
I got the chocolate cake with strawberry. It did not stand a chance to survive for a picture. I ate it so fast.

Soccer

After a successful season of soccer as girls, we convinced our husbands that we needed to be on a co-ed team. It has been so fun for Mike and I. We started off with only Gary knowing how to play (which still didn't help because no one knew how to go along with the plays). We then recruited Craig and McKay because McKay has played before. We are still lacking in our offense, but I feel like our defense is getting better. Our first game was 2-8 (I scored the only goal, but it was sort of an accident). Our last game was 0-3. Definitely an improvement.

This is our team (all except Craig). Top row: Mike, Dave, Erinn, AriAnn, Chris, Nicole, and Garrett. Bottom row: Me, McKay, Gary, Carly

This is me. My goal this season is just to run fast. I can't sprint for the life of me so I am really trying to get the cross country out of me for just these few months.

I don't know what we are doing here, must be a berak or something. Mike has been playing offense more. It is pretty funny watching him try to bump the ball in for a goal with his head.