Reflections

My bestest friend, Lindsay, invited me to go wedding dress shopping with her yesterday. It was so much fun and caused me to reflect on how we had gotten to this point...

Let me explain.

There are 6 of us...

Lindsay - Kaija - Amelia - Kaylie- Steffanie - Me

These girls are my heart and soul.

I met Lindsay first. The second semester of my sophomore year of high school we had P.E. and dance together right after each other. I distinctly remember Amanda Bench introducing me to her friend Lindsay. On the first day, Lindsay came up to me and said, "Hey! You're Amanda's friend! We have two classes together right after each other! We are going to be great friends!" At the time I thought she was the craziest, friendliest person ever. I was right. She is. :) What a girl! She has been there and listened to every boy story I have ever lived through. She was there listening and understanding when things between my dad and I would get rough. She asked me to do a duet with her and invited me to be in my first piano recital ever. And together we conquered the wild on a camping trip that will go down in history. Every day she urges me on to new limits. I love her!

Next came Kaija. I don't remember the moment I met Kaija. She was just always there! I think she had a ballroom class with my friend, Katelyn, and that's when I started to get to know her better. But then there was that moment I found out her favorite movie was "Spirit", she had the soundtrack, and her room was decorated with horses. Yep, we became instant friends. Her dedication and organization in life amazes me. She is literally the person that has kept us sane all these years and kept us out of trouble. She is the mastermind behind planning everything we do. I don't know how she puts up with us, but I'm glad she does. Kaija was the one who inspired me to finally move out. She offered me a room in her house in Provo where I made some of my best college memories that will never be forgotten. When I found out a close friend had passed away, she was the first one there to hug, comfort, and listen to me cry and cry and cry. Kaija is also my fellow cougar. She saved my life freshman year when she took time out of her schedule to meet up and eat lunch with me. I love her!

Amelia came next. We had P.E. together with Katelyn my junior year. It was a class of 20 guys and about 5 girls and I remember how all she talked about was boys. Haha, that is still all she talks about. We got along great but didn't become close friends until Kaylie started dating her cousin during our senior year. That's when she became the last missing piece to our sisterhood of the six. Amelia is never afraid to meet new people. In fact, she loves it and she's so good at it! Amelia is my fellow dancer: Always willing to go to zumba or dance classes together and willing to spend nights cramped in our front room choreographing a duet just for the fun of it. Amelia knows what she wants and doesn't settle for less. I love it! She is dedicated to her family and the gospel. She has been the best example of attending the temple on a consistent, regular basis no matter what. I love her!

Kaylie. What can I say about Kaylie. I had never met someone so friendly, so caring, and so dedicated to the gospel. Even though she is the youngest she was always the mom of the group. Taking care of us, feeding us, and making sure we were alright. But she has the sense of adventure of a four year old. Everything was exciting to her. Oh, how I miss those days driving around in the green van all over town. And our days together at the peach palace? They were epic. Including (but not limited to) puddle jumping, tree climbing, late night pudding snacks, all-nighters and so much more. Kaylie is a great listener. She will listen and will sympathize with you but then will always tell you what she thinks. I love her! Kaylie suffered through summers of 7 peaks supervisor responsibilities with me and who can forget our Friday night sleepovers? Every Friday for a year. Yep, she's the best. I love her!

Last, but certainly not least, comes Steff. To be honest, Steff and I were good friends but I never got really close with her until we were roommates. Then, I discovered what I had been missing out on for so long. In her quiet, sweet way, Steff lived and loved the gospel in a way I had never witnessed before. She has been a better example of Christ-like love for others than anyone I have ever met. She also taught me what it means to be clean. She put up with so much from me and with the biggest heart ever. She stood by my side through everything, and was always there for me even in the trials that seemed minuscule and pointless to everyone else (and most likely were minuscule and pointless). She is a great example of staying healthy and being self-reliant. She motivated and trained me to do my first triathlon-ish. She even helped my mom start training and getting into running (My mom just ran a marathon). Steff loves learning and is always trying to better herself however she can. Learning doesn't come easy to her and yet she still does all she can to learn as much as she can. What a girl. I love her!

I can't even think of mentioning these girls without mentioning their parents. Truly and literally I have 6 sets of parents. How lucky am I? This was actually super beneficial in high school when I got sick of my own parents. These 6 sets of parents have loved me, guided me, and supported me in the choices I make.

Really, could anyone ask for more? I look back at the moments in my life where I was frustrated and feeling down because things weren't going my way and I was feeling like I deserved more blessings than I was getting and I think to myself, "HELLO!!! You are so blessed!!!" Because of these girls, I will never feel alone. I will always have someone there for me and I will always belong somewhere. I had a recent discussion with someone about whether or not it is possible to have more than one best friend. He debated that it was not possible. That you may enjoy your friends a lot, but you can only have one that you are more close to than anyone else. I disagreed. I feel like together, the 6 of us make one complete person. I can't love one more than the other. Yeah, there are times when I see some of them more than others but we are all still just as close to each other.

So where are we all now?

Lindsay just graduated from USU with a bachelor's in Elementary Education and will be getting married in November.

Kaija has been married for two and half years now. (Wow, that flew by fast!) Her and Josh have a little (sorta) German Shepherd named Maya.

Amelia just got married in May to Nate Riske. (our friend from high school whom she hadn't met til this January). Except for the summer time, she teaches preschool.

Kaylie has been married for a year and half to her high school sweetheart, Spencer and they now have a little baby boy, Sterling. What a cutie pie!

Steffanie is serving an ASL mission in Nauvoo, IL. She gets back mid September and will be studying deaf studies at UVU.

In a nutshell... these girls are my heart and soul.

Visitors!

Joseph came into town for a couple days to do some job searching and test taking. We were so excited to have him come but realized we would be even happier if he could bring one of the kids with him! Garrett is still young enough to be a lap rider and old enough to handle life without mom so the two of them packed their bags and headed to Utah!

They came right in the middle of midterms and projects so unfortunately I didn't get to see them as much as I would have liked. I did, however, get to pick them up from the airport so I got to see them on Sunday! I didn't even recognize Garrett when I saw him. He has grown so much since I last saw him in July!

In even better news, Joseph's army paperwork went through faster than expected. THEY ARE MOVING BACK IN A WEEK!!!! Steph, I can't wait to go shopping with you again, and come babysit the little ones, and talk about life, and do everything else that we haven't been able to do for a year and a half!

Garrett's slam-dunk (with a slight assistance from Dad)

Garrett's favorite toy at Grandma's was still there... the old truck

And as a side note, I can't help but show the amazing talent that my sister, Becca, has. She 'doodled' this on the drive down to Holden this weekend.

Garrett and Joseph Are Coming!!!

I just found out and I'm at work so I can't scream out loud. This is me screaming out loud:
YYYYYYYYAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joseph is coming out for a job test/interview of sorts this Sunday and HE IS BRINGING GARRETT WITH HIM!

I just can't wait!!!!!

That is all.
:)

System Overload

I had my first intern meeting last Friday and I'm so excited!

Pretty much they just dumped everything on us that we need to have done by August.

A little overwhelming? Most Definitely!

A little exciting? Most Definitely!

I met with all my advisers for next year and they are sweethearts! I love them all! I can't wait to work with them some more and get to know them real well.

I was a little nervous about being an intern next year and not being prepared or ready for it. After meeting with everybody, I feel so much more prepared and equipped to do this. They are going to be there every step of the way and they are going to make sure I am prepared. To start me off on the right foot they even sent me home with all this stuff!!! I feel just a little bit more than blessed right now.

A couple good reads for new teachers,
example writer's workshop notebook,
ideas for classroom community, and notebook/pen gift


File folder holder AND all the teaching resources
you could ever ask for all filed away!


Compliment/concern buckets (that we got to make),
talking stick (that we get to decorate),
big eraser (for really big mistakes),
and sticky notes (you can never have enough)


A pre-made literacy game to be used for centers!!!

I definitely feel a lot more prepared and ready to handle this internship now. I still have A LOT to do this summer and A LOT to learn, but I feel ready to take on the challenge.

For the first time ever I will also be spending my summer on campus. I am going to school full time both semesters and thus far I am swamped with too much to do and not enough time to do it. Oh well, I guess that's the story of life and I've heard it doesn't get much better. Might as well learn to cope with and enjoy it now.

On a side note, I just had to include this picture. I came home from school the other day to find that all my horses had been stolen right out of my room! (Yes, I still decorate my room in horse figurines) That night, these girls came riding through our front door to Rascal Flats returning the items that they had taken to 'play' with. Oh how I love my neighbors!!!

please note that they ARE wearing my
smaller horses tied around their necks

New Favorite Radio Station

I don't know how I stumbled upon it but I happened upon the church's new radio station: radio.lds.org. I love listening to it at work! It has all kinds of music, programs, and good thoughts that help lighten my day at work. They do a lot of interview programs that involve interviewing people about things they do or experience in their life that can encourage us (the listeners) in our lives. It has done so much to draw me closer to my Savior and constantly help me refocus my life. What a great blessing it is to be able to have so much at our fingertips!

Cool Story:
While listening to the program, "Enduring It Well", I heard them begin to tell the life summary of their next guest for the program: Harold Wood, born in Holden, taught math, son of a postman, works in the Jordan River temple... and I thought to myself, "Hey! I know that guy! It's my Great-Uncle Allen! (My grandpa's brother) How cool is that!?! So I listened to the program as they interviewed him about coping with loneliness. It was great to be able to hear him talk about being single and elderly and staying involved in the gospel. He's such a great example.

For those of you that would like to listen to his interview, you can find it here.
It is Episode 13 - We Travel Not Alone - Harold Wood

Ready To Be Done

Today was the last day of classes.

For some of the girls in my cohort it was their last day of classes. Ever.

Oh, how I long to be in their shoes. Unfortunately, I still have 13 credits worth of classes to take care of during the spring/summer :(

While my fellow cohorts are closing up their last semester of classes, I look forward to two more terms during the summer :(

Isn't life miserable?

No, not really.

As I was pondering upon why I have to go to school spring and summer while my peers are done I thought back to the classes that I have taken. Do you know what I discovered? While my friends were all taking care of flex classes (classes to be taken any time during the El Ed program) I was busy taking dance classes. That's right. My extra semester of school in the summer has been caused by the opportunity I had to do something I LOVE. Looking back now as I face one more semester of school, I am glad I made the choice to continue in dance. I don't regret it and I would have done it again in a heartbeat.

Oh, how I wish I could dance still. Darn you, busy schedule! :(

So thus are my ponderous thoughts as another semester comes to a close.

George and Reba (Oh yeah, Lee Ann too)

I GOT TO SEE THEM!!!

I really have no words to describe the awesomeness of this concert. All I can say is if you took every possible moment of good music and extended it to be four hours long. that might come close to what my Saturday night was like.

The entire show was perfect. Reba is quite the character. You can tell she loves performing and she is soooo good at it. She plays around as she sings and enjoys herself. I loved it! For "Does He Love You" she brought Lee Ann back onto stage to sing it with her and it was indescribable, sooo incredible, and unrepeatable. Right before singing "Survivor" (the theme song for the show 'Reba') Barbara Jean came running onto the stage wearing a George Strait shirt and a Utah Jazz cape. It was HILARIOUS. They interacted with each other on stage just like on the show and it had everyone laughing. Reba's ultimate shining moment was her last song. She left the stage quite abruptly without warning while the beginning of the "Fancy" music video played. All of a sudden a big, plastic taxi was driving towards the stage and out stepped Reba in her red dress. I couldn't believe she was able to change so fast! It was the perfect ending to a perfect performance.
Then came King George!!! Augh!!! It was just ________________ (no words to describe it). Couple things about this concert compared to the last:
1. He seemed in a better mood tonight. Two years ago he stood on the stage and sang the songs. Saying only enough to introduce the next song. Saturday night he was joking and laughing and being a lot more animated when he sang. I can't decided which version of him I like better. Oh wait, I know. BOTH! No matter how entertaining he feels like being, his music is just down right AWESOME!!!
2. He spent a lot more time singing songs from his new album. In fact, he sang all but four of them, I think. Sorry, not really important info. Just goes to show that all of his songs, new and old, are the classics! His all-time best song, hands-down is from the movie, Pure Country: I Cross My Heart. It's a favorite in our family, so as soon as he struck the first chord of it, I called up my mom (it was 11:00 at night) and everyone back home gathered round as they all listened in on speaker phone. They were all waiting up to hear it. I hope everyone enjoyed listening.

So I can't continue talking about my weekend without mentioning General Conference.

It was kinda incredible to have two of my favorite events going on during one weekend. This conference was just as great as the others. Although there were a lot of good talks, my favorite part of conference was just the spirit that comes with it. I have to admit that it was a little difficult to go to the G&R concert because I knew the spirit wouldn't be there (NOT saying it was a dark and scary place, just saying that listening to G&R is a different spirit then listening to GC). Up in Salt Lake, my dad and I ran into a lot of priesthood-meeting-goers and it made me remember how incredible the spirit is when you are walking around temple square during conference.

Do you know what the absolute best part about conference is? Unlike, the G&R concert, I can go back and listen to it anytime I want to! I love that the very next day, the entire conference is posted on lds.org and I can listen to it all over again while I am at work or doing anything else. It is a good feeling to be able to go and listen to anything I missed or didn't get the chance to really appreciate.