Summer Plans

SCHOOL IS OUT!! I have been waiting for this day for a while now. It is going to be a glorious summer, especially since I have a whole 3 months off. We don't go back to school until after Labor Day. I am also taking a break from my Master's so I can play, play, play stress-free. I plan to spend lots of time out in the sun reading, mtn. biking, hiking, swimming, etc. I DO have a few things planned, however...

Trips

1. Arizona - my little sis is getting married. Aaaah!
2. California - visit a friend in San Francisco, little sis's reception in Sacramento
3. Idaho - rafting down the Snake with some friends
4. Mexico, Cancun - soak up sun on beach & explore ruins with friends
5. China, Beijing - organized tour with other teachers. Great Wall here I come!
6. Lake Powell - boating & camping with the fam
7. Oklahoma - visit Sonya & Tyler (just got accepted to dental school there!)
8. Cross country drive with my Pops to Maryland (he'll be teaching at Frostburg State University in the Fall)
9. Spain is also a possibility....

Utah Checklist (Other things to do)

1. Moab
2. Lava Hot Springs
3. Hike Timp
4. Tube the Provo River
5. Wakeboarding
6. Baseball games
7. Ensign Peak
8. Mtn. Biking
9. Salt Flats
10. Outdoor concerts
11. Rodeos

Books to Read
I read 9 books last summer, so I have a new goal....10 books. I have to beat my record. Here's some books on my list that I want to read. Do you have any other good suggestions? Your favorite books?

1. What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
2. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
4. Think by Michael R. LeGault
5. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
6. Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
7. Temples and Cosmos by Hugh Nibley
8. The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball

As you can see, I have a FUN FULL SUMMER ahead of me! Glorious! I'll keep you updated on the way.

Week of Surprises

This past week has been an amazing one for me! I feel so honored to have received the following awards.

Coach of the Year. At our annual Sports Banquet I was honored for coaching the Varisty and Sophomore teams for both Volleyball and Basketball this year. It was a great opportunity for me and I loved every minute of it even if it was lots of practices and traveling. These girls are amazing! I got this nifty plaque for it.

Teacher of the Year. I was surprised with this award recieved today at Graduation, being honored for teaching 4 preps, being the department head, working on the accreditation committee, coaching volleyball and basketball, working on my Masters, planning a trip to Spain next summer for my students, being amazing, respected, and organized (as my fellow faculty members put it). My name will go on a plaque in the entrance at the school.

Wow! That's all I've got to say! Thank you so much everyone for your support this year! It has been one crazy year, but one crazy good year.

Thursday was the Groundbreaking Ceremony for our new school building. And I actually got to break ground! I held a fancy gold shovel and threw some dirt around. Unfortunately there were no more hard hats to wear, but it was great to be a part of it.

This morning was the last day of school. We had yearbook signing in the morning and a lovely graduation ceremony in the afternoon. I got the BYU Spanish department to donate a few books to give out as awards at graduation and I had the fortunate opportunity to present them myself.

So during yearbook signing the teachers were supposed to check off lockers of students and make sure they were clean. So this kid comes up to me and asks if I can check off his locker. So I follow him and he says it's number 208. I open it to take a gander inside and to my complete surprise and shock there's a student in there! He scared the crap out of me! Bahahahaha! Funny thing is he did the exact same thing to me last year! Oh boy, I love these kids. I'm going to miss them....

Teacher Appreciation Week

The PTO put these posters on each of the teacher's doors and this is what I ended up with. It's always fun to read what my students have to say about me. I especially like the one that says "She rocks cause she's tall." :)

The Gila Valley Temple Dedication

Yep, there's now a temple in my hometown. The desert of the Gila Valley now boasts gorgeous temple walls surrounded by fields and fields of equally beautiful white as snow cotton (well, only in the Fall that is, but who's telling?) Elise and I flew home for the dedication.

Saturday night was the TCC, or Temple Cultural Celebration, which they apparently have for each temple dedication. We unfortunately didn't get to go to it live at the football field, but watched a broadcast of it at the Stake Center. It was fun and entertaining, but also a bit cheesy. Lots of song and dance to tell the history of the Gila Valley - cotton farming, coal mining, Gila Valley Academy (now EAC), Spencer W. Kimball, the mormon battalion, etc. Pres. Monson opened with a few words and he and President Eyring actually sang a Spanish song. They are quite the pair!

Sunday was the actual dedication and I'm super glad that we were there for it. My mom, dad, and Elise got be inside the temple for it and Sonya, Tyler, and I just watched the broadcast from the Stake Center. It was really nice. Elder Holland gave a fantastic talk among others. President Monson is quite the character! He was outside for the cornerstone sealing and just chattin it up with everyone. He said they were expecting him inside, but he was having too much fun outside :) Unfortunately, we never got to see him in person, but nevertheless it was a lovely weekend.

In addition Elise and I threw Sonya yet another bridal shower (her third one to be exact).

In the Salt Lake Airport on the way home we saw Elder Bednar, Elder Cook, and Elder Gonzalez. They were on the escalators just in front of us. That was my first Apostle sighting! Closer than the Conference Center that is. Perfect ending to a perfect weekend with perfect weather - 90 degrees and sunny! (Might I just add it snowed all day in Utah the following day. Yuck!)

It's all about the Consistency

Can I just say I love this picture?! It has SWEETNESS written all over it :) I'm becoming better and better at bowling (haha, I wish!). I bowled a 105 and 104 bowling on Friday night. Hey, at least it's over 100 AND it's consistent.

Wakeboarding

Yes, I went wakeboarding a few weekends ago in the crazy Utah weather. It's trying to warm up here but has had a hard time of it recently until today. Finally! Well the water was a whopping 53 degrees. Freezing! BUT, the good thing was that we had a dry suit. I didn't even know these things existed. They are genious! So you can wear normal clothes under it like a hoodie, etc. and not even get wet. It's not too cold either cause you're all bundled up underneath, except your head, hands and feet get wet. Not too bad though.

So I made some awesome progress on the wakeboarde! I've been a few times, but could never get in and out of the wake without eating it. This time I totally did!! I went out of the wake and back in successfully. It was sweet. I practicing edging it too, where you go way out and then back in. The next time will be even better. I just might practice catching some air :

Notice the snow on the mountains in the background - that tells you it's still pretty cold.

This isn't me, but it lets you see what a dry suit looks like, even if it is super far away :)

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

"Do they throw mayo (may-yoo) into the ocean?" This was the question posed to me by one of my students today. He was referring to the Mexicans of course. Bahahaha! Sad thing is, I totally didn't even get it. We were learning about the history of Cinco de Mayo and then had a little party with pinatas and mexican food. I thought about the question for a few seconds and was clueless so I said, "Hmmm. I wouldn't think so, but I don't know for sure." And then I continued on. About 10 minutes later, a girl sitting next to him just busts up laughing and says, "I get it!" Right when she said that it finally clicked for me too. It was super hilarious especially because it came from this kid who never says anything. In fact, I don't remember him saying anything all year, except for a few questions here and there. The other kids really thought it was funny too.

Joke spoiler: In case you need some extra help, like me :) Things "sink" in the ocean (cinco) and especially mayo (mayonnaise). I LOVE IT!!

Bowling

Can I just say I LOVE my ward?! We are all really good friends and do things together all the time. A bunch of us went bowling the other night and it was super fun. There were maybe like 20 of us there. So I bowled the best game EVER!! 130! Ok, you're probably thinking that's totally lame, but I'm lucky if I ever break 100. The first game I bowled a 69, completely pathetic, but I rocked it the second time. Just needed to get warmed up :) I got lots of spares and I got a STRIKE at the end of the 10th frame after a spare. What a good way to finish it off!

And yes, my form stinks. I don't go bowling that much. I think we are going to go once a month now. My friend Abbey says I look like an old grandma trying to find my cane. Haha!

Check this out!

Haha, a couple of Sundays ago, some of us were hanging outside the apartments chilling on the hammock. I was actually grading my students' Spanish journals (you'll notice the stacks of notebooks on the ground...). So this dude, Clark, was sitting next to me and from another perspective, this is what it looked like. My head on someone else's body. Aaaaah! Bahahaha!

All Hail to Queen Kristina

This morning my school, Maeser Prep, put on a Renaissance Faire for the fun of it. They had all kinds of booths set up with games, food, and other vendors, not too mention everyone very heartily dressed up and played the part. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the cold and wet drizzle. Fortunately is has warmed up a bit since then.

Well, lucky me, I got to be involved. The school decided to vote a male and female teacher to be the King and Queen of the Faire. Well, my students like me so much that I got voted in. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe they just wanted to see me dressed up like a fair maiden. Oh wait, rather fair Queen! Ha! No, it was super fun. I went to the Hale Center Theater and got to pick out my own dress. I did pretty good eh? So we got to start off the Faire by marching in a procession with bagpipes and annouce the beginning of the festivities. Afterwards I ran into this cool dude dressed as a knight. My knight in shining armor! Haha! It was fun! Sorry, my hair is a bit nasty....that's what the rain does to it!