epic fail

Okay, so I made a goal/resolution to blog more faithfully and I haven't written since February 27th.....

I ran my first obstacle race this morning.  Shanley, and Jolyn's girls (Natalie, Erica, Emily, and Rachel) all ran it with me.  It was really tough but super fun!  We climbed the rail fence surrounding rodeo grounds too many times to count, ran soft dirt hills, slid down a slide into a pool of water, ran up and down bleachers, hurdled desks, shimmied on our bellies through tubes, hurdled cement barriers, carried sandbags up and over obstacles, hurdled about 20 rails in a row, did a slip-n-slide type pool, went through a maze of ropes that you had to go over and under, ran through sprinklers in slippery mud, ran through tires, did another slip-n-slide, and ran over fields and on roads.  It was 34 minutes of effort for me but I finished!

teaching English

Today I finished a long-term substitute gig teaching Language Arts at Riverton High.  I enjoyed it but am actually glad to be done.

I had 2 Language Arts 12 classes.  Those are kind of bottom of the barrel because seniors who are really serious about school generally pick concurrent enrollment, AP, or college prep classes.  We were working on a argumentative research paper.  I liked most of my students but was completely surprised that about half of the class did basically nothing.   No effort at all.  That is out of my frame of reference.

I had 3 Language Arts 10 classes.  Two of them were great and one gave me grief.  Those classes were working on writing a nonfiction children's book.

My favorite class was a Creative Writing class.  They made me laugh every time!  We were doing a poetry unit.  I didn't know a lot about the type of poems I was supposed to so I had to do a lot of research/homework.  My favorite things were their daily journal entries.  I gave a journal prompt and they wrote a page.  They had to share what they wrote at least once a week.  Some of them were so funny and incredibly creative.

The hardest thing for me was deciding how many points assignments should be worth and then grading them.  Writing is so subjective.  Maybe that's why I liked the creative writing class.  I just gave them points for completing the assignments.

I'm now ready for a few days off.

bits and pieces

I was going to do so much better at blogging this year and I am not off to a good start.  I think about it a lot.  Something will happen and I will think "I need to post this", but I get really crazy busy and never seem to find the time.

Chandler has turned 14.  My baby is FOURTEEN!  He was ordained a Teacher today.  He had a soccer tournament in January in Mesquite, Nevada.  His team did okay but not great.  We sure enjoyed the warm weather though.

I went to Colorado Springs this weekend to watch McKayla run.  She did not have great races but once again, I really enjoyed the beautiful weather!  Colorado Springs is a really pretty place.  I loved hiking in The Garden of the Gods.  I also explored Manitou Cliff Dwellings, home of the Anastazi Indians, and found them fascinating!

McKayla and I went snowshoeing one Saturday morning.  It was so much fun.  The untouched snow looked like thousands of shards of glass which was incredible!

Shanley asked Phillip Broadbent to the Sweetheart's Danc.  She is actually letting me cook dinner for their group.  I am excited about that.  I love to do stuff like that but Shan is not the child who usually lets me (Brakston is that child).

Mason had his first birthday.  My grandchild is one and is the cutest kid ever!  He is happy and active.  I missed his birthday party since I was in Colorado Springs which made me sad.  When will I learn to replicate myself?

I start a long-term English sub job tomorrow.  I will be teaching Language Arts 10, Language Arts 12, and Creative Writing.  LA 10 will be writing a nonfiction children's book.  LA 12 is working on a research/argumentative paper.  I'm not sure yet what Creative Writing will be doing.  I am excited but also a bit nervous.

Alec - mission news

Alec began his mission on Monday, January 5th at 11:30 am.  He is assigned to the Kauri Sue Hamilton School Seminary and Institute program.  Mostly he helps the students get from school to/from the seminary (most of them are in wheelchairs and need assistance).  He is very proud to be a missionary and is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his name badge.  He serves 5 days a week.  On Mondays and Wednesdays he serves from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays he serves from 11 am to 2:30 pm (the extra half hour is so he can attend a Missionary Prep class).  On Fridays he serves from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm (Friday is the school's early out day).  There are several other missionaries there and they all get to eat lunch together so it is a nice social opportunity for him.

This past Sunday Alec had his missionary "farewell".  He spoke in Sacrament meeting for about 5 minutes.  Alec bears his testimony every single Fast Sunday and has for years.  He talks and talks.  So, imagine our surprise (and laughter) when Alec got up on Sunday, stood at the pulpit for a minute and then asked Kevin to come help him.  Kevin had to whisper a few things in his ear before Alec finally took off and spoke on his own.  I have never seen Alec speechless before when he stood at the pulpit.

He had some good support - Todd and Melissa and their children, Darin and Jolyn and their 4 youngest, Vicki, McKayla and 5 of her roommates/friends (Darian Sharp, McKenzie Snyder, Anna Ward, Kami Hartley, and Taylor Gomez), Brakston and Whitney and Mason, and of course, our family.  We had breakfast at our home before Sacrament Meeting and flew all the missionary flags in the front yard.  Alec did love all the fuss and attention!

New Year's Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions:

 1) Take better care of my health (i.e. haven't had a mammogram in 7 years though my mom had breast cancer - not smart, I know)  I haven't had a pap smear in 13 years.  It is time to take care of myself.  This will include losing weight.  I ended the year down 8 pounds from the previous year which is at least down but it's kind of a hollow victory since I was down another 8 pounds at one point during the year.

 2) Take time out of my "busy" life to relax and have fun - host a party or two.  I do love to socialize.

3) Do something I really enjoy out in nature at least once a month (i.e. hiking, snowshoeing) - I don't get out enough - again, I always feel too busy.

 4) Look for more opportunities to serve others and to be kind.  Relationships are  the most important thing.

 5) get back to blogging since it's my way of journaling our family events/life.

In addition, my birthday present to Jesus is to attend the temple 24 times in 2015, find a family name to take to the temple, and read every Sunday School and RS lesson in advance.

Rain

August was a really wet month for Utah. We got about double out usual rainfall. With the exception of being drenched while watching a Real soccer game, I loved it! I really do like rain. I like to jog in slow, steady drizzles. I like to go for walks in the rain and when there is a good downpour, I like to open my front door and watch it. I like to listen to it pound onto the pavement. If there is thunder and lightning, it is even more of a treat! So far, September has started off rainy as well - YAY!

McKayla's first meet

McKayla was really nervous for her first collegiate cross-country meet. She knew where she fit in on the Riverton High team (she was ALWAYS their top female runner) but she had no idea how she stacked up against her UVU (Utah Valley University) teammates. Last Saturday she had the opportunity to find out! She had her first meet at Utah State University against USU, Westminster, and University of Wyoming. Wyoming killed all over teams taking 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th. McKayla's teammate, Darian Sharp, took 5th and McKayla took 7th! I was really proud of her and thought she'd done great! She was 9 seconds behind Darian but only half a second ahead of her teammate and captain, Ivie Gonsalves so it was a close race. Her coach never says much but I can't imagine that he is not excited about this freshman!