Volleyball Season

This year I was asked to coach volleyball as well since I did so well with the basketball girls last year. I thought it would be fun to do since I love coaching and also volleyball (BUT not as much as basketball!). Let me tell you what.....it's been a challenge thus far in many different respects. Time being the first one. With teaching and also working on my Masters there is not much free time. I have practices every MWF with games on TTh. It's a full schedule!

Last year we were in the Charter School league and so for basketball we only had games on Fridays with practice twice a week, three if we were lucky. It was ideal for my schedule. But this year we are in the official high school sports program, UHSAA, for Utah and are a 2A school. All the schools we play are between 1-2 hours away. We also have to pick up another school (about 45 min. away) and take them to all of the games with us. They are our JV team since we only have a Freshman and Varsity team, which I am the head coach for both. Talk about intense! Because we play schools with girls that have been playing since 6th grade or before we have been losing pretty badly. Most of my girls have never been on an organized team before. They are just happy playing, but I really want to win!

To top it all off, we don't have our own gym yet (coming next year....) so we practice at the American Fork Armory ("this ain't the armory!") which doesn't have any volleyball lines marked and the floor is super slippery. Not ideal in any way.

BUT I am really enjoying it and having fun. People told me I was crazy to coach both volleyball AND basketball and now I am starting to understand why.......I'm exhausted! I love it though!

Keith Urban Concert Baby!!

OH MY GOSH!! I am in love with Keith Urban! Snowb and I took Lisi for her 30th birthday. I have been wanting to go forever so it was perfect. It was seriously the BEST concert I have ever been to!! He is such a good performer. He really knows how to rock out on the guitar too. We had so much fun screaming and dancing the night away. You have to go see him in concert yourself!

My Sister's Engagement Pics

So if you didn't know already.....my sister Lisi is getting married October 10th. Check out their engagement photos......

Welcome to my World!!

Shockingly, I've already been back to school for a month now. Time flies when you're having fun! I've been outrageoulsy busy so far and I knew I would be, but I guess I didn't realize just how much. To give you a glimpse of my life for the school year, take a look at my responsibilities:

• Teaching High School (my curriculum). I teach 4 levels of Spanish. That should be considered illegal in and of itself by any state standard.
• Coaching Volleyball. I coach the Varsity team and the Freshmen team. I would be coaching the JV team as well, but we don't have one. Games start on Tuesday. Wish me luck!
• Coaching Basketball. The season will start as soon as volleyball ends. I'll also be coaching the Varsity and Freshmen teams.
• Master's Degree in Secondary Education through the Unversity of Phoenix. I started in April and will finish in August.
• Language Department Chair. As the head of the department I have to keep all curriculum in line with state standards as well as hold departments meetings twice a month.
• Accreditation Committee. As a member of this committee (only a handful) we have to work on getting our school accredited. We will have a visit this coming Spring so we have a LOT of work to do!
• NHS Board. As a member of this board (again only a handful) we are over NHS....accepting members, planning the induction ceremony (next Saturday) and organizing activities.
• Winterim. In January we do what's called Winterim where we suspend regular classes for 3 weeks and students study other completely different topics. So I want to do a Spanish Immersion and am trying to plan and get approved a trip to Puerto Rico. Sweet!
• Coach Certification. Because we are now part of the UHSAA (Utah High School Athletic Association) and are 2A, I have to get certified as a Coach. I went to a workshop yesterday and still have to do a few online classess as well as 5 tests. Ouch!
• Crisis Team Leader. I am responsible for several teachers and their students in times of crisis. We have already had a fire drill and lock down drill to practice.
• Mentor. As a Mentor I have been assigned a mentor group of Sophomores. We meet every Friday to discuss important topics or anything the students have questions about.
• Chaperone. As a teacher, I have to chaperone certain things like dances and what not.
• Capstone Project. Our school this year started the Capstone and so I will oversee several if they do any related to language.
• AP Spanish Course Audit. I have to get my AP class approved again this year through AP central and will have an audit coming right up. I better get organized!
• Costa Rica. Then I'm planning a 10 day trip to Costa Rica for July 2010. I think it would be great to give my students a chance to practice their Spanish and see another culture. Plus I get to go FREE!!

I know it's a lot, but it's only for 1 year while I'm working on my Masters. I just keep telling myself that.....one year. one year. one year. YOU CAN DO IT!!

New York City

Amy and I went to visit Allison (both roommates) in New York City for a week back in July. She moved there for an internship for the summer. Such a FUN trip! My bro served his mission in NYC and we went as a family back in 2002, but it was so much fun to go again just with friends. We basically packed everything into 5 and 1/2 days. It was such a good trip because we did all the touristy stuff, but also the not so touristy stuff (thanks to Allison) as well. There's so much to tell, but I'll let the pictures tell it for you. Enjoy!