Time to be Busy Again

Well, we are back into school again and it's time to be busy again. It's always nice to have a relaxing summer, but it's also nice to get back into our school routines too. I will say that I'm glad we have a long weekend though because it's a transition and I am tired! I have posted some fun pictures. First of all, I got my first two raspberries! Hooray!! They tasted very good and I can't wait until I get a full crop. I really look forward to having enough raspberries to share. They have grown well this summer and it looks like I might actually have succeeded. I also posted a picture of the flowers Tom sent for our anniversary. It really was a pleasant surprise. He hasn't sent flowers in a long time. I thought they were very pretty and they also are very fragrant. We went out to dinner this week with friends at the Coppermill. I had the most delicious salad (with a raspberry vinagrette) and I keep thinking I want to go back and order it again. It was that good! I also posted a picture of the Geneva Giants from my 20 year reunion this summer. I was so glad I went. I enjoyed seeing all my friends and visiting with them. The Geneva Giants are the group of friends I've known since Kindergarten. We all went to Geneva Elementary together so we've known each other for a long time. School's going well for me so far. My classes all seem like good kids. They are big though! I have close to 30 kids in each class. I wish we could get back down to 22-24. That's a good size. It seems like the classes get bigger each year. Well, I better go. I have lots to do on my holiday weekend.

One Week Left

I can't believe there is only one week left before I start back to school. In fact, it's only 6 days. It's a little sad because I've enjoyed the relaxation of summer but it will also be nice to get back to a routine. I'm really glad I have half the students this year. I am teaching English and Social Studies again and will have the same group for two class periods. I had applied in the Cache School District but didn't get the job I had hoped for. It's sometimes hard to have the faith that the right thing has happened. It seemed like such a good thing for my family. I can only hope that it did. In the meantime....I need to find out how we are going to get Tori to school since she doesn't catch her bus for another hour after we have to leave. Madeline Carroll has her new movie out. It's called Swing Vote. We'll have to go see it. Madeline is Nick's grand-daughter so I guess she is Tom's step-niece. Tori is pleased to tell everyone her cousin is in movies. Madeline autographed a picture for Tori. I thought that was nice. She's also had some comercials lately. It's fun to see her on t.v. and think we have a connection.

Tyler's home!

Hooray!! Tyler is home from his two week stay in Michigan. I missed having him at home and it's good to have him back. He really seemed to enjoy his stay and I heard all kinds of good things about his visit. Grandma and Grandpa Lee enjoy him so much they want to keep him for a whole summer. Tyler especially enjoyed going fishing. He caught some really big fish on Lake Michigan. It's hard to believe summer is coming to a close. I go back to work in just a couple of weeks. I need to really start thinking about lesson planning and how I want to organize my classroom. It would be easy to do the same thing over the same way I've done them before, but see the thing is I like to try and make things better. I haven't quite figured out the perfect way to teach something so I do it different every year. I'm looking forward to teaching Social Studies again. I've missed that. I really like English but I've learned that not all my students do. I seem to be a much more likable class when I teach Social Studies too. In other words....not so many students hate my class. I also think it will be nice to have half as many students again. Teaching 6 classes is hard. I think it's harder to get to know the students because you have so many. I will like having 3 classes for two class periods each. It ought to be a good year. I'll just have to condition myself to get up early again. I've enjoyed sleeping in.

Finis!

Well, I finally finished Pride & Prejudice this week. It's reading that takes a little more concentration than my usual no-brainer books. I really enjoyed it. In fact, I went and bought the Kierra Knightley movie so I could watch it. While I did find the movie enjoyable, it seemed to go to quickly. I would like to see the BBC version with Colin Firth. I'd also be curious to see the Lawrence Olivier version so I can decide which Mr. Darcy is my favorite. I needed a no-brainer for my next book so I am reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. We enjoyed Bear Lake this week. It started out pretty overcast, but turned out to be a nice day. Afterwards, Tori and I stopped by Tony Grove and went for a hike. (I included a picture of Tori at Tony Grove). We saw 2 deer, and another little baby deer that unfortunately wasn't with a mom. We were afraid the mom was hit by a car because we saw two that had been hit not far from where we saw the baby. I couldn't believe all the wildflowers at Tony Grove. They were everywhere! It looks like a nice lake for canoeing. I've still thought it would be fun to have our own canoe. Another exciting thing we did this week was buy new exterior doors and a water softener. They will hopefully be installed within the next couple of weeks. We really needed them. My favorite purchase was a new Yamaha piano. I found a gorgeous black piano at an excellent sale price and I jumped on it. The piano was delivered yesterday and Tori and I have had fun playing it. I've continued to give her some piano lessons but we will most likely get her an "official" piano teacher since she really seems to have the talent for it. I would be good for only teaching her the basics. She's learned some simple songs and has done so realatively quick. It's fun to hear her play. Tyler is enjoying Michigan and should be home one week from today. I miss him but am glad he can have the opportunity to be there. He went to Charlevoix this past week with his Grandpa Papiernik and Josh. He's also getting spoiled. I hear they've done some school shopping with Grandpa. They were also going to go over to Lewiston to see Grandma and Grandpa Lee. It will be good to welcome him home again.

Bear Lake

Tori and I are off to Bear Lake today. There are some ladies in my ward that go every year and today is the annual Bear Lake day. I think Tori will really enjoy playing around at the beach. We bought a Hannah Montana beach towel and boogie board. We also got a few beach toys (shovel, bucket, etc,). Right now it's 8:00 a.m. I was hoping to leave by 10:00 a.m. and just spend the day there. Yesterday Tori slept in until 10:00 so I guess I'll have to see when she wakes up. I don't really want to wake her because then I run the risk of her being grumpy from not enough

sleep. I much prefer a happy girl. My neighbors are the young adult singles representatives and a week or so ago they were out in the fields by our houses (we're next door neighbors) coloring the weeds. I'm not really sure why or what they were doing, but they are really kind of pretty. I took some pictures of them this morning because I think they look cool. I also took some pictures of my raspberries which I might add look great. Five of the six still are green. Yes, it is sad, but we may have lost one. You'll have to ignore the weeds....I weeded yesterday but there are so many it's hard to keep up on them. I'm hoping that when the raspberries get bigger it will help keep the weeds down just because they are big. I guess we'll see.

Blast to the Past

This past Saturday I went to my 20th high school reunion. I had worried about it so much (anxiety is not a pretty thing) that I wondered if it would even be worth the stress. I'm so glad I went because I thoroughly enjoyed it. One of my really good friends Trina, summed it up very well when she said, "It's been 20 years...it is what it is!!" Of course she looks great and has a beautiful family and she is just as outgoing and fun as ever. It was fun to sit and just pick up where we left off. I've known her my whole life and I have so many memories growing up in the same ward in Orem. It was also fun to see some of my friends from the seminary student council. I had fun talking to Jeff, Richard, Shane and Chelle. We were missing Brian, Patty and Julie. They were some of my best friends in High School. I respect them so much. I think Richard and Chelle convinced me I need to come to the annual Christmas party. It was also neat to catch up with Jennifer. Even after the reunion we went back to her house and still talked for another hour! Visiting with everyone was so much fun that I really don't know why I have anxiety about it. I think life experiences have changed how I react to some things and that frustrates me. About 5 years ago I went through some really tough trials. I gained a bunch of weight and went through a bad depression because of it. I thought I would never get passed it. I should listen to the Book of Mormon when it says, "And it came to pass...." because it did pass. I'm off all the meds I was on (which was a big deal because I needed more meds to counteract the side-effects of coming off the meds....aaghhhh!!!) I don't have panic attacks like I used to, and I would have to say I am genuinely happy (which I didn't think I ever could be). I've only lost 20 pounds of the 60 I gained (of course I posted my skinny picture on my profile). I'm still working on losing the weight. And I still have anxiety when it comes to stuff like 20 year reunions. I even was stuttering some at the reunion (frustrating!!!). Life experiences have made me so different than I was 20 years ago I wasn't sure how it would be to see old friends. I feel like my life is richer and has so much more meaning. I don't take little things for granted. My love of the gospel and of the Savior has grown significantly. I can't really say that I am grateful for my trials, but I am grateful for where I am because of them and the person I've become. I just feel different. Okay, I've got to quit before I start crying. I'm really glad I went to the reunion because it was fun to see people who I really, genuinely care about. It's comforting to know that after 20 years, some things never change.

Redneck Waterslide

This is a first...two postings in the same day! I forgot to mention the Redneck Waterslide. There's this place we've gone for a couple summer's now that we affectionately call the Redneck Waterslide. Really, someone just put together a waterslide on their property and they rent it out. It's really a lot of fun and the kids enjoy it. Tom obviously did too. Tori and I also had a lot of fun on the Fourth of July in Provo. We went to the parade with Rachel and then to the Stadium of Fire with Rachel and Mindy. Miley did a great job and Tori enjoyed singing and screaming. I also thought the Blue Man Group was pretty entertaining. Different, that's for sure. We've been having a great summer. Can you tell?

Middle of Summer

I can't believe it's the middle of summer break! We'll be heading back to school before you know it. I did go to UEN and looked up the new social studies core. It still lists it as a draft so I don't know if I'm teaching the old core or the new one. I guess I'll have to figure it out before I go back in August. I also heard a rumor that we might be going to a 4 day school week to save on costs. It's just a rumor, and I can't imagine how it would ever go through. I do know that Governor Huntsman has made some changes in the government offices and they will be going to a four day work week. My sister Rachel knows all about that since it directly affects her. She's not sure what to think of 10 hour work days. My high school reunion is in just two days. I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm wondering who will be there. Tyler leaves for Michigan on Sunday. He'll be there for two weeks. I'll miss him. Tori felt bad but I think we'll all go back next year. Tyler will get back in time for scout camp and the family reunion. It's all good.

On the Road Again

Okay, it looks like I'll be on the road again. I've decided to go to my 20 year high school reunion. (Yes, that does officially disclose my age.....but I'm okay with that since I seem to forget how old I am anyway). I recently made a trip to visit my parents in Orem, I'm going again this week to see the Stadium of Fire/Miley Cyrus extravaganza and then I'll be in Orem the next week for my reunion. Tom has never been to one of his high school reunions because he really doesn't care to go. So I'm not sure he'd really care about going to one of mine. I'm sure he'd go if I really wanted him to, but then we'd have to worry about where the kids would go and who would take care of our dogs. It's just easier to take a picture of my family. I plan on getting together with my friend, Jennifer for the reunion. We can catch up on things and spare our husband's the agony of hearing us get our "daily quota" of words in. That's a lot to ask. Besides, it might cut in to MASH. Yes, he started with season one again. OCD. That's all I can say.

Pride and Prejudice

Well, I've got some new projects I'm working on. That's a good thing about summer....I have some time to do it. First off, I am working on organizing our family photos into binders. At one point I thought I might join the ranks of the scrapbooking moms to creatively archive my children's lives. I need to simplify because I'm just not doing it. I am just putting the pictures on cardstock with photo corners (acid free of course) and then putting them in page protectors and binders. Last night I got quite a bit done and it went really fast! I have binders started for both of my kids and I put all the professional photos we've had done from birth all the way to the school pictures that are up to date. I want to get a binder started for Tom and I and then have one for each year for our family. The way I see it, I'm only about 15 years behind. My new organizing method is much faster than scrapbooking and I think it looks nice. It's also fun to look at pictures and see what has just been in boxes up until now. Another project is my raspberries. I've mentioned that before. They are still alive and well. I opted not to do other garden vegetables this year. I really want to focus on my raspberries. Maybe next year I'll get some other stuff growing again. Weed control is always a big issue. Of course we love the privacy of our yard, but we are also surrounded by big fields. I have also decided that an English teacher should be well read. I love adolescent literature but I though I would focus on some classics I've never read before. I'm starting out with Pride and Prejudice. I'll have to rent the movie when I'm finished because I've heard that's great too. Tom finished all 11 seasons of MASH. However; I hear the theme song coming from my room right now so maybe he's starting over. He liked the earlier versions with Frank. I tend to like the later ones with Charles, BJ and Colonel Potter. Here's exciting news: My sister, Rachel got tickets for us to go to the Stadium of Fire to see Miley Cyrus! It's been sold out, but she had some connections with someone who needed to sell their tickets. Tori is pretty excited about it. I like that kind of stuff too. So it looks like I'll be going to Provo/Orem again on next week. The kids have had fun with their cousins this week. Josh, Britini and Tami are here from Michigan. They went to the Hyrum Rodeo tonight. Well, that's about it for today.

Lazy Days

I have been enjoying the lazy days of summer. I like being able to not set an alarm clock; I still wake up between 6:30-7:30, but that's better than my normal 6:00 a.m.. Tyler, Tori and I enjoyed the few days with my mom and dad. I helped my mom with some painting and Tyler helped with lots of odd jobs around the house. Tori helped some with the painting but had fun playing with her cousin, Grace. Rachel and I took the kids to the movie on Saturday to see Prince Caspian. I really liked it. We also went to visit my Grandma Anderson. She was having a good day and it was nice to see her. Today I worked on weeding my raspberries. I also fertilized them. So far they look good. I hope they get established so I can enjoy some berries in another year or two. They are so expensive at the store I just don't get them very often. Tami, Britni and Josh are coming to visit tomorrow from Michigan. It will be good to see them and the kids are excited about seeing their cousins. We fixed the extra motorcycle so Josh could go riding with Tyler. This morning I also got the good news from Rachel that she was able to get tickets for us to go to the Stadium of Fire with Miley Cyrus! Tori and I are excited about that. I also got my Zutter Bind it All in the mail (I ordered it on e-bay) and have had fun making projects already. I plan on getting some pictures organized into binders this summer. I've given up on scrapbooking ( I also sold a bunch of my scrapbook supplies on e-bay), but I need to get them out of boxes where we can at least look at them. I would also like to figure out my dvd recorder so I can get our old videos on dvd. Currently we don't have a dvd recorder. Our "new" one didn't last long and is out of commission. Such is life. I also need to finish plans for the family reunion in August. Tom and I are judging a pinewood derby tomorrow and Tom is on season 8 of MASH.

Hot Summer Days

Well, the last few days have really been hot. It feels like summer, that's for sure. Today I took Tori to the pool to go swimming. She ran into a couple of the girls on her All-Star Cheerleading Team. She had a lot of fun. I sat on the side and read a book and tried to keep current on my sunscreen. I just don't enjoy sitting in the sun. Funny thing, I couldn't convince my son to go swimming with us. He's also a red-head. I guess he's learned early on that sitting in the sun isn't fun when you are fair skinned. I managed to avoid getting too burned (thankfully). With all the heat my allergies have kicked in. Cotton is blowing all over the place and I can sure tell. I haven't found an allergy medicine that really does the job. Tori has bad allergies too. Good thing: Raspberries are planted and looking good. I also planted some lilac bushes. It will be nice when they really start to grow and I have flowers and berries. Cross your fingers for me. We also had the garage sale. What a bust. Every time I do a garage sale I resolve to never do one again. People are just cheap. Tori managed to make a few dollars selling soda pop and it's a good thing because Tom sent her iPod through the wash and she used her money to buy another one. Tyler's saving up for scout camp even though he'd rather spend it on video games. We're heading to my mom's house this weekend to help her out with some painting. I also want to visit my grandma. She's 91 and in hospice care right now. Time is precious. I'm enjoying my summer vacation. Tom is on season 5 of MASH. I tease him about being OCD. I can't do the MASH marathon even though I like the show. I did buy all 11 seasons on e-bay. Next big project: Get through the family reunion. I'm spear-heading the whole thing and discovering it's like having a pet elephant- there might be some perks....I'm just too busy with the work to see any of them just yet.

Rainy Summer Days

It sure hasn't seemed like summer. The temperature has been a lot cooler and it's raining again today. In some ways it is nice because I don't like it when it gets really hot, but I also want to feel like it is summer. I had talked about taking the kids to Lagoon this week but it's way too cold. I finished getting my garden spot ready to plant my raspberries yesterday. It started to rain when I was finishing up and continued to rain throughout the day. I bought some raspberry plants yesterday afternoon and some lilac bushes. I want to get them planted today. For whatever reason I haven't been sleeping very good lately. Last night I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep for almost two hours! Needless to say, I am tired today. I didn't sleep well the night before last either. I also finished reading my book, Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf. It wasn't as dry as I had suspected. It gave a lot of information about the reading brain and all the complex processes that go into learning how to read. I finished my "Foundations of Literacy" class and will start the remainder of my reading endorsement classes again next fall. I think it should be very interesting. I really would like to be a better reading teacher. Tom and I have enjoyed watching re-runs of MASH. For mother's day Tyler bought season 2 for me on DVD. It's been fun to watch them. I have some stuff for sale on e-bay and I plan on saving up enough to buy all 11 seasons. Hopefully the auctions close out good today.

School's Out For Summer!

Hooray!! School's out for summer! Sometimes I joke around and say my three favorite things about teaching are June, July and August. But in all seriousness, there is some truth to that. Next week I am starting my reading endorsement and will be busy with that. I have homework due on my first day of class. Yuck. Our text for the class is called Proust and the Squid. I've heard the book is really good, but frankly speaking, the name doesn't really peak my interest. Quite the contrary. I read the inside jacket and it is about the psychology of the reading brain. I guess I won't know until I read it. I really enjoyed Cris Tovoni's book, Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? I also really like the book Strategies that Work by Stephanie Harvey. I don't enjoy reading textbooks. I much prefer practical application and personal experience stories. It's also good to start off my summer with some auctions on E-Bay. I just sold some things and soon I can go e-baying to buy. Right now I am browsing the women's handbags (I'm blogging and e-baying on different tabs. My computer is slow so I multi-task - which makes it slower...go figure). I found a gorgeous Hermes bag that is a bit out of my price range at $8,000. But it's fun looking, right?

Indiana Jones

Well, it rained all day so it didn't work out to go weed my garden. Instead we took the family to see Indiana Jones. I enjoyed it. Maybe I will get to my garden next week. Three and a half days of school left! Actually four and a half if you count the fact I have to go in on Saturday for check out. Then the first week of June is spoken for because I am taking some classes to get my reading endorsement and I'll be in class all week. All's good. I need to go get Tori to bed.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Today I have decided to start my own blog. I'm always fascinated by technology and all that it has to offer and I'm hoping this is a way to share my thoughts and feelings with family, friends and anyone else who feels like joining in. I don't quite know what direction this blog will take yet, but I imagine I will talk mostly about the day to day things that happen. Just a little about me: I am the mother of two wonderful kids. Tyler who is 13 and Tori who is 8. I teach 6th grade English and Social Studies at Mount Logan Middle School in Logan, UT. My husband teaches P.E. at Woodruff Elementary. Right now we are all counting down the days until summer vacation (There's only three and a half days!!!) I enjoy summer and the time we get to spend together with family. My next projects are planting my garden and a possible garage sale. I have been trying to get raspberries to grow. Everyone tells me it's like growing weeds, but I've been trying for four years now without much luck. Actually, the weeds grow pretty good....just not the raspberries. Maybe this will be the year I can get the raspberries to grow. It ought to help that I live in raspberry country. Cache Valley Utah is known for growing good raspberries. My dad (who lives in Orem) tells me that some of the best raspberries come from around Bear Lake. I will be out in my garden tomorrow weeding and getting things ready to plant my garden again. My husband, Tom, wonders why I keep trying. I figure if I keep at it, I will learn how to do it. And besides that....I absolutely love raspberries.