it's beginning to look a lot like conference.

there's something about october general conference that just makes my heart sick for the mission.  i think it's because i entered the mtc 3 days before october general conference in 2010, and left the mission just a few days after conference in april of 2012.  to me, conference = sister missionary.  unfortunately, conference hasn't had the same oomph as it had in the mission ever since i've been home.  that makes me sad.  i've always loved conference, but i just haven't felt like the messages were as powerful as they were when i was a full-time missionary. 

last weekend, coleman, robby, ben, lindsey and i drove down way too early on sunday morning to participate in a free speech zone choir prior to conference.  it was a beautiful experience that i hope i can participate in again.  the brethren like to have members singing hymns in the free speech zone to counteract all the nasty protestors and nay-sayers.  there were about 25 of us in our location.  we lined the sidewalk and just sang.  for a good hour and a half, we just sang.  i have always loved the hymns, but for some reason, i felt particularly uplifted and edified by the sacred nature of the hymns throughout this experience.  music has such power to heal broken hearts and calm any situation.  it was great to walk down the sidewalk after the morning session and see the next choir participants in place for round 2 in the afternoon. 

we are so blessed to live on the earth at a time when there is continuing revelation from a loving Heavenly Father to trusted prophets on the earth.  that revelation is real and pertinent to us, in this very day.  the revelation we received last weekend is more relevant that even that of 6 months ago in april.  it is an honor to be associated with this beautiful organization of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints.  life is good. 

ridin' the bull

have i told you lately how much i LOVE the rodeo?  

...must be the cowgirl in me.

call me miss ence.

so, it's official.  i'm a teacher now.  a real live, legitimate, teacher of the cutest first grade class in the history of the world.  i'm totally biased and don't care one bit.  these little ones melt my heart everyday!  i am happier than i have been in a long time, and i know it's because i'm doing exactly what i want to be doing, and what i know i should be doing, and what i've been preparing to do for years.  i go to school everyday and it never feels like work.  i just get to hang out with 25 darling 6-year olds everyday, could it get much better than that?  

i love the unconditional love from 6 year olds.  they have no qualms about opening up and letting you into their lives from day one.  i love the sticky hands that find their way into mine when we're walking in the hall.  i love the knee hugs all day.  i love when they call me "miss excellence".  i love when they laugh.  today was a day when we all laughed a lot.  i love that they think my silliness is the coolest thing in the world.  sometimes i think to myself, "if people saw me in here, i would have no social life..." but i don't really care because hearing kids laugh while they're learning is one of the greatest sounds you can hear.  i love reading to them and watching their eyes get big when flat stanley gets stuck in the tree, or when we found out the absent author wallis wallace was tied up in the hotel room!  i love hearing their stories and watching 13 other hands go up with one-uppers, or stories that really aren't related at all.  i love watching them bring things in the mystery bag and sharing treasures from home.  i love their inventive spelling.  i love their creative pictures and stories.  i love their critical thinking.  i love when they take a smile from my smile bin and hand it to friends that are feeling sad.  i love when they encourage each other and leave turkey talk out in the hall.  i love when they remember their jobs without being asked.  i love that they already have the morning routine down, after 14 days in school.  i love that they bravely performed "zip a dee doo dah" and our class pledge in the opening assembly, just 9 days into school.  i love that they love me, and i love that i love them.  i miss them when i'm not at school,

and hey, that's a really good sign. 

train tracks

remember that time i was 23 and got braces?  

yeah, me too.  

there were times i wondered if it would be worth it.  

but guess what.  it was.  

and let's be honest, i never would've survived them in high school.  

like an ant.

"it is not enough to be busy.  so are the ants. 
the question is... what are we busy about?' 
- henry david thoreau

i feel like the word "busy" has become a status of importance. 
almost a robotic answer for the equally robotic question, "how are you?" 
does how many appointments and un-free minutes determine some sore of satisfaction in our lives ?  maybe.  maybe in this crazy thing we call society. 
for me, being busy isn't a status thing, it's just what i do. 

i went on a date a few weeks ago to the leonardo museum, where i took a test to tell me how much of a multi-tasker i was.  i scored extremely low, like we're talking negative numbers here.  which means that i'm a "high performance multi-tasker".  let's be honest, i didn't need a test to tell me that, BUT it confirmed what i already knew about myself, that i'm actually more efficient and productive when i have many, many things going on at the same time. 

and that's how i felt about my summer. 

i spent a glorious summer working in the mornings for rowland hall's summerworks.  summerworks is a high-energy, fun-saturated summer camp where kids from all over the valley come to partay in some summer excitement.  i was placed with the preschoolers, and couldn't have been happier.  i spent a happy summer teaching "creative corner" (music and art) to the little ones.  my boss told me i would onlt have 2-3 kids every week, that creative corner just never seemed to win out over soccer class and swim lessons.  i was ok with that, and made a determination that it would be the best art class these 2-3 kids ever had.  by the end of the summer, i had 20 kids in my class, and more that wanted to join and couldn't because we didn't have room.  TAKE THAT SOCCER AND SWIM!  ha ha.  what can i say, we had a lot of fun in creative corner!  i wish i would've taken more pictures of the projects we made... they all turned out really great.  except for the thread the yarn through the plastic plate to make a spider web one.  turns out preschoolers don't know how to pull yarn all the way through.  the ones below are from halloween week.  monster hats and q-tip skeletons.  win. 

my other job at summerworks was to manage the morning extended care.  basicaly all the parents that work earlier than camp started could drop their kiddies off to sam and i to watch for an hour and a half.  we played SO many board games.  TOO many board games.  after toe 16th game of sorry on the same day (no joke), i swore i never wanted to see the word "sorry" again.  but overall it was a good time.  there were the boys that always had star wars lego wars, the two little girls that drew a new masterpiece everyday, the one that always laid on the floor and slept, and my buddy aileen that played sorry every.single.day.of.the.summer.  i heart summerworks and was actually really sad when it ended! 

 Oh, and a little halloween action with some of my favorite superhero dudes.  ;) 

the second half of my days was spent with venture outdoors.  just can't get enough ;)  i was officially going to "retire" after last year, but aimee mcconkie called and convinced me to join up again.  the exciting thing was that we merged with millcreek movie nights and millcreek farmers market to produce 13 events this summer, instead of just one big one.  it was so fun... for the first month... ha ha... then it got kind of old.  i have lots of ideas about how to make it bigger and better next year, i felt like it got kind of "blah" and "same old" as the summer went on, which is why i think we lost so many participants... but the movies were always a great hit!  nothing like a little flick under the summer stars :)  i LOVE working for aimee mcconkie and had a great summer at the festivals.  i'll probably be back next year.  just love me some millcreek.  her husband bryant warned me not to get too involved in comunity stuff because it would get addicting and suck me in.. well too late... i love supporting the commnity and being involved in any way i can.  venture outdoors has been a great outlet for that positive community-loving, event-planning energy.  not to mention i've met some amazing people through it!  wouldn't trade those relationships for the world.  mm-mm. and i really wouldn't spend my friday nights any other way. 

 

when i wasn't venturing out or summerworks-ing, i spent lots of time preparing for fall and my little firsties.  probably spent way more time than necessary, but i didn't mind, i loved (and still love) every minute of teaching and prep and lesson planning and all the above!  (more on that in a later post). 

summer got busier when god decided to call me to serve in the relief society.  i wasn't mad.  still not mad.  in a deep discussion with whitney england one night, i was mentioning that sometimes with this health issue i deal with now i just want to lock myself in my room and not see anyone... just exist, not have to thrive or be social.  at all.  she made the comment that this calling will not allow me to close off and that would be a blessing in so many ways that i didn't realize now.  it was such a small comment, but has really got me thinking and i've seen the wisdom she meant to instill come true so many times since she mentioned it.  i love relief society and surprisingly love the boundaries of my comfort zone it is causing me to burst through at incremental speeds.  whoooosh. 


the other best part of my summer was this guy coming home!!  by the time i saw him it had been 999 days, count 'em, 999 DAYS!  since i hugged him or seen his beautiful face.  he was so much taller than i remember.  it's been awesome having him around again... he adds spice to every situation and i love him. 

 

this is such a broad and un-doing-justice post to the many great adventures i had this summer, but oh well.  i shouldn't try to play catch up.. just too overwhelming.  so there's a few highlights. amen. 

celebrating dads.

i love my dad.  everyone brags about their dad on father's day.  i don't want to brag about russell b, just want to let the world know how grateful i am for him.  when i was little, i would always go up and whisper in his ear "you're my special boy, yes you are" and he would whisper back "you're my special girl, yes you are".  he's taught me to love life, laugh at myself and find humor in every situation, work hard and play hard, serve the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength even when i don't think i have the energy or time, and bear testimony any chance i get.  he loves my mom like no man has loved his wife.  he treats those around him with respect, love, and kindness.  he goes out of his way to make people smile, whether it be a witty comment at the dinner table, or a joke to the waiter or cash register attendant.  i've always admired the way he keeps everything in his life organized when he has so many different things going on all the time, and he does it all with a smile on his face.  his love for life is contagious and his dedication to causes greater than himself inspiring.  i love love love spending time with my dad, and look forward to this new calling to get to know him in a different way than before.  he's an amazing bishop and even more amazing father.  above all, he's taught me to love the Father of us all, our Father in Heaven.  without that relationship, my life would be useless and bland.  he know his Savior, and because of that, i have come to know Him too.  

i love you, daddy! 

what's a good title for this blog post?

i've become one of those people that never updates her blog.  boo.

in any case, since my last post a million months ago, i have: 

- student taught 7 weeks in a fifth grade science class 

- finished college, nbd.

- walked down the utah state aisle in man robes to receive my fake diploma

- joined the ward softball team, HAH

- played piano for a wedding of a dear friend 

- been to teacher fairs, interviews, and teaching opportunities 

- landed a first grade job at canyon rim academy, my DREAM SCHOOL

-  used some hard core LEAP skills to land said first grade job

- created a linkedin profil

- accepted a summer job at Rowland Hall Summer Works kids summer camp.  woo! 

- been set up and gone on numerous dates and still have no boyfriend ;) 

- met 3 babies of 3 friends 

- strengthened my testimony in the Lord's timing 

- seen miracles through the power of the priesthood

- watched the emc boys bball team take regional champ status

- visited san diego on the ultimate spring break adventure 

- experimented a gluten-free diet for a month

- did NOTHING for april fools day (this is a first) 

- discovered snapchat 

- drove to St George and back in the same day

- turned 24

- welcomed home my last companion from the mission: dear whitney england

- finished a few great books: "nobody don't love nobody", written by and about my dear student teaching supervisor, stacey bess, and "a million miles in a thousand years: how i learned to live a better story" - SO inspirational! 

- started 3 new books... can't i ever just read one at a time?  

- finished up mission prep class with the home stake.  sad to see it come to an end, it's been an incredible journey to teach these amazing youth the past 5 months

- met with a nutrition counselor (finally)

- sold visiting teaching services at a ward auction, and now have double to do this month 

- gained a stronger testimony about the power of visiting teaching, so the previous point is a good thing

- been to moab with the ward of singles

- made a hefty summer bucket list 

- remembered the joy of bread and muffins after not eating gluten for a month 

- gone strong on the gratitude project... did i ever tell you about this? (eyes out for another post)

- laughed at way too many ryan gossling "hey girl" memes.  my favorite: "hey girl, wanna go shopping?  i just downloaded the joann app on my phone for you".  

- said goodbye to parker, laci and the wee babe ruby, who've left us for texas

- discovered more ridiculous youtube videos.  this week's dumb award goes to where's the chapstick?

- hung out with multiple mission peeps and felt so homesick for canadia

- celebrated the birthday and mother's day of the most amazing mother around

- spoke in 2 wards (aren't i off the high council circuit yet?!) 

- rediscovered my love for country music 

- started working on my summer tan 

- introduced my seester to facebook finally. 

- played piano more than i have in years and loved. every. minute. of. it. 

- created my first real website 

- committed to another summer of venture outdoors.  the catch: not one, but 13 events!  aaaah. 

- had my first overnight(s) babysitting gig... and survived the week 

- ran a red light 

- decided to grow my hair out for a while 

- had a watermelon cake for my birthday 

- lost 5 more pounds 

- got pulled over for the first time 

- also got my first speeding ticket
- written a blog post 

needless to say life is always eventful.  i have great plans for summer 2013, methinks it's going to be epic.  

p.s. coleman comes home in 44 days, wha wha? 

we are 7.

well folks, this is it.  my cute first grade class.

we've had adventures together.  

made friendships. 

learned stuff. 

yelled nasty words. 

made up and hugged. 

even cried some 7-year-old tears.

 imma miss them.  a lot.  

yesterday was really hard.

a lot harder than i thought it would be. 

if i can love these little ones after just 2 months, 

i don't even want to think about the last day 

of my first year with my own class.  geez.   

 

so long first grade, you've been good to me :) 

belief is a beautiful armor

"i

believe

in

you" 

- perhaps

the

most

beautiful

words

i've

heard

uttered

to 

me

in

a 

very, 

very

long

time.  

hands on a miracle

"miracles are spiritual demonstrations of God's power. tender mercies gently bestowed through impressions, feelings of assurance, solutions to problems, strength to meet challenges, and comfort to heal disappointments and sorrow." --e. hales

5 layers later

logan is COLD today.
walking to class with frozen nose hairs
brought back memories of these days:

just grateful i didn't have to wear a skirt this day ;)

schubert wisdom

"man comes into the world with faith, 

which is far superior to 

knowledge and understanding, 

for in order to understand a thing 

one must first of all believe in it. 

 reason is nothing more than 

analyzed belief."  

-- franz peter schubert