Family Time

A Good Year

It's been a good year! I am so blessed!

My sister hung out with me in UT while she went to BYU

My ward's Road Show-- I was the narrator with a solo besides speaking parts

My awesome roommate Jenny (who I miss TONS!!)

Ward family did a stake 5k

Bowling with my sister and new friends

Manti pageant with the ward- my friend Linsey (I miss her, too!)

Crazy hiking adventures with my friend Tyler

New roommate Brittney

Hiked to lots of waterfalls

Breast cancer awareness walk for my Grandma Kelly

St. George temple with my family

Saw Mary Poppins with my parents and my sister

Went to ID a couple of times to visit my friends Laura and Ryan and to see them married!

LOTS of family history names I found researching the Warford Family

Camping in a new tent thanks to my mom

Camping with the ward--up to no good

Planted a garden at my house (three gardens actually)

Rappelled down a waterfall (Follow the rope, that's me up there!)

And another waterfall

Watched Stadium of Fire with my sister

Hung out with Tayla and Mason (Tayla's on a mission now!)

Most awesome adventure of my summer!!

There's nothing like the Little Grand Canyon-Upper Black Box hike!

Rappelling with Amanda

Became a teacher--I have classes of little monkeys of my own now!

Visited Hardware Ranch where my relatives lived

BYU football games with friends

Trivia nights at Brick Oven with friends

Handed out Twinkies and Oatmeal pies for Halloween

Best group dates ever thanks to the Guys and Dolls Club

Amanda got her mission call to South Korea Seoul Mission leaving Feb. 26th

All expense paid trip to Washington D.C to go the NAEYC Conference (AWESOME)

Went home and made homemade apple pie with Amanda

And of course to see this little dude

My whole family was in the temple all together for the first time

Got to see Amanda endowed in the temple!

And in a week and a half I get to go home again for Christmas!! I look forward to another awesome year!

Washington DC Final Day!

I'm writing this as I fly over and across the country back to Utah. I feel like I had just the right amount of time in DC and that overall it was a really great trip. I learned a lot of things that I plan to share with my fellow teachers in the next couple weeks or so.

This morning before my last class, I walked a few blocks over to visit the Capitol building. I went early enough to try to catch the first tour, but I had no idea that the security would be worse ham going on an airplane. They made me throw away all my snacks in my backpack, which I am really hating right now on this plane. When I finally got in, I missed the first tour, so I had to wait for the next one. Meanwhile I looked around a little. I learned that there are two statues from each state commemorating someone of their choosing all throughout the Capitol building. California has Ronald Reagan and a missionary I don't know. Utah has Brigham Young and I didn't see the other one so I don't know who it was.
The architecture and paintings inside are pretty fantastic, especially in the domed room when presidents end their terms and where they have a viewing of the presidents and other special people when they die. I also got to see the crypt which doesn't really have anyone buried in it, but in the center of the room on the floor is a star that marks the exact center of the city.
So I wouldn't miss more of my class than I knew I would be already, I didn't go tithe Library of Congress, but I did take picture of it as well as the Supreme Court which is on the same block.
I do think I've mentioned the conversations I've had with taxi drivers. All but two of the taxi drivers initiated conversations and they were always really nice. Today my cab driver was playing Christmas music on the radio when all the others are usually playing classical music or nothing as we drove. Today my driver started a discussion on the government and politics a little and it made me laugh inside. It was a good discussion, just funny for a short ride across town. It didn't surprise me though. He said he was born and raised in DC. The conversation made me think a lot about how different it must have been to grow up in DC compared to other places, mainly because the government and politics is a part of the daily routine. It's ever present with all those memorials around and disruption of traffic whenever a politician or the president decides to have a night on the town. It felt as if the people there would more likely be involved or know what's going on in the Government because it's happening right there in their own city. As I watched the news while I was in the airport waiting for my first flight, I found myself more interested in hearing about the politics or whatnot of the area because I know the city better and it seems a part of the culture of it in someways. Granted, I know a lot of people that work in DC actually live in the outlying areas, but I feel like they are all connected. I only saw downtown, so maybe the feeling is different in other parts of DC. I don't know. I don't know how else to explain what I was thinking, so hopefully that makes sense.

Anyway, my last. Class was about children pretending to play with guns or other weapons in the classroom. It as a really good class! It's something I've struggled with, so I was happy to hear what she had to say about it. Basically, having a zero-tolerance policy is not the way to go if we are really trying to help the children grow and learn. I agree. It is just a matter of helping administration have an open mind about things. I'm excited to present the things I learned to my supervisor and director!