Life is Good!

I have been taking atleast one pic a day, but I have not had the chance to upload them to the computer yet so I will be posting them soon!

Lorin was baptized this weekend! YAY! It was a very beautiful meeting, and he just glows. It was so great to be there! We will be going to Elko tis week for Christmas, and then back to Provo to pack up my apt and move over to Grandma's. Then he'll head back up to Boise. :( This year might be a bit long, but it will be sooo worth it! Life really is good! :D

Picture A Day Challenge. . . Again!

Ok, so I decided I am going to do the picture a day challenge for reals this time! I started doing it, and loved it, and then I just stopped. I am going to be posting them on here so maybe I'll remember to take them ;) Yay! I'm excited :D

Crazy weeks of Excitement!

Our 3rd grade Christmas program is/was today! We performed for the school this afternoon and will be performing for the parents tonight. They look so cute on the stage in their red and white! I was worried there for a bit, but it definitely came together beautifully! I look forward to tonight. :)

Tomorrow night I am going to dinner with the RS Presidency for the last time! This will be a bitter sweet dinner, but I am excited to spend the time with them. It has been a fun 'semester' with them!

I am sooo busy getting everything in order to leave Friday night/Saturday morning for the break! I am working on sub plans, which are almost finished, my Teacher Work Sample (TWS) for school, and seeing Lorin for his baptism!!! I am soooo excited for him. It has been amazing to see the light he has always radiated grow ten-fold, if that's even possible!! He is such a powerhouse it is incredible.


♥ Pics of Lorin and I ♥

Yes, it has been a LONG time!

Wow, I have not written for a LONG time! I am now teaching, dating the most amazing man of my life, and am celebrating the most wonderful time of the year! Things really couldn't be much better--except maybe slower and faster all at the same time ;) Lorin is getting baptized in a couple of weeks!!! I am sooo excited. It'll be a year after that until we can get married, but it is sooo worth it. :D Life has such a way of changing abruptly, but working out so perfectly. I love it! I definitely wasn't able to count all of my blessings this Thanksgiving because there were too many to count! :D

Picture Challenge!

I was on facebook (who does that?) and saw that one of my friends took a challenge to take a picture a day. Needless to say, I am stealing it! Starting today, I am going to take a picture a day of my life. Hopefully it will encourage me to bring my camera everywhere and take pictures more often to document the events in my life. I can be very camera shy, so my goal is to be in as many as I can with those I love and care about! :D I am excited to see what comes of this project!

Zion's Adventure-April '09

 

School's out for summer, so what do we do? Go to Zion National Park! We had a great time-we being myself, Reece, Trav, Meg, and 'Hot Dog'. Haha, Us four were driving down to get Howie, so Trav called him when we got close. When he answered, Trav said, "hey 'How Dog'" and Meg and I heard 'Hot Dog' so for the rest of the trip, that's what everyone called him, lol!

Well, there was major communication blunders about the trip, and the canyon we were supposedly going to hike & repel was a much bigger adventure than we bargained for. Meg and I had never been repelling before, so with something like 9 repels down the slot canyon, and the last two totalling about 300 feet together, we decided not to do it. Reece was sweet enough to stay behind with us, while the two other boys went up. We hiked Angel's Landing-which was very different not covered in snow and compacted ice! It was very beautiful, and well worth our time. We weren't in a rush, so round trip it took us about 4 hrs for that hike. We hadn't heard from the boys yet, so we took our time driving through the canyon and then hiking to Canyon Overlook. I was surprised at how simple and short the hike was for the incredible view that we had at the top. Very, very beautiful! We ran into this guy and his brother from Mexico at the top. The brother was enjoying the view from high points he could climb--he was very quiet. The other one though was very talkative. I was very impressed by his english. Sometimes it was hard to understand, but for probably learning english in Mexico, it was very impressive. He talked to us about a few missionaries he had met, and of a guy that he had talks on tape of (who was a member of the church, but he couldn't remember his name). He said that this guy had "something special" when he spoke, and that he could say things very precise and clear that most people cannot even put into words. We think its probably an apostle, but who knows. Anyway, this guy and his brother decided they were going to take a trip to Salt Lake City to see the temple! He is sooo ready for the gospel! It was an amazing experience. :) When we were done up there, we made our way back down to the car and as soon as we were in service range, we got a call from the boys.

They started their adventure at 1pm, so we figured they would take about 7-8 hrs to do the whole thing. When they called, they had been out for about 7 hours, so we figured they were done...nope! Come to find out, they had had a wonderful day until they finished their second to last repel (about 135 ft.) and when they went to pull the rope down, it was snagged on something. They ended up having to ascend the rope to unsnag it, repel back down, and then do the last repel (about 165 ft!) We were sooo glad we didn't go up there with them. While we waited, we found a nice ledge for Meg and I to learn how to repel. It was really windy, which made it pretty cold, but it was worth it! We did that until it was almost dark, and then headed over to where the boys would be coming out when they were done. We called to check up on them, and they were still ascending the rope. They said if we came over to the Emerald Pools trail head, we'd probably be able to see their headlamps. Sure enough, we drove to the trailhead, parked the car & turned off the lights, and straight ahead quite a bit up the mountain we could see two little specks of light. It was going to be a LONG night! We decided to sleep if we could--having only averaged about 3 hrs of sleep the night before. It was not a solid sleep, because we had so many interuptions, what with calls from Trav & Kara (Hot Dog's gf), and the ranger stopping in to see what we were up to. Needless to say, the adventure that would have taken them about 8 hours, took a lot longer. Four hours longer,in fact, and they made it back to the road by about...1am! It was crazy! We drove back to Cedar that night and slept solid from about 2:15/2:30am-8:15/8:30am--a marvelous 6 hrs! We were sooo sleep deprived this wknd, but by golly, it was fun! We all made it to our different homes that night--Payson, Elko, Fallon, and Alaska! What a way to end the semester! :D

Old Blog Posts

I found these posts I did about a year ago on a blog I forgot about!

Post #1

Home Town Fun
Last night was the epitome of my home town life! For FHE, after the lesson, we drove out to middle of nowhere in the desert that is Nevada (so we didn't have to go far) and we had a bonfire. So much fun! I brought marshmallow guns and "flour bombs" (which are really little balls of flour-filled nylon) and we had a grand ol' time. We even got a bit of country swing dancin' in there. This is why I love home. Everyone in jeans and tees and sweatshirts playin' in the dirt.
Originally Posted by Madeline at 11:35 AM

Post #2

...So this poem is entitled "BOYS" by an unknown author. I don't think it could have been put any better than this...you ready? Ahem...

BOYS

A heart is not a plaything, a heart is not a toy,
But if you want it broken, just give it to a boy.
Boys, they like to play with things to see what makes them run,
But when it comes to kissing, they do it just for fun.
Boys never give their hearts away; they play us girls for fools,
They wait until we give our hearts and then they play it cool.
You'll wonder where he is at night; you'll wonder if he's true.
One moment you'll be happy; one moment you'll be blue.

If you get a chance to see him, your heart begins to dance.
Your life revolves around him--there's nothing like romance.
And then it starts to happen: you worry day and night.
You see, my friend, you're losing him, it never turns out right.
Boys are great, though immature; the price you pay is high.
He may seem sweet and gorgeous, but remember, he's a guy.
Don't fall in love with just a boy; that takes a lot of nerve.
You see, my friend, you need a man to get what you deserve.
So when you think that you're in love, be careful if you can,
Before you give your heart a way, make sure that he's a man.

originally posted by Madeline at 11:28 PM on Aug 29, 2008

Technology Assignment

I had to make a photostory for one of my classes. I ended up writing this silly picture book--illustrations and all! It took a lot of work for how short it is!

My Digital Photostory--Basket's New Friends

Another Semester Down...

Wow! It feels like yesterday I was a senior in HS, reading my acceptance letter to BYU, and now I am finishing up my 6th semester here! Its kind of a mixed bag of tricks. I won't be taking a "normal" semester from here ever again. I have 2 summer terms I am going to take--one this summer, and one next summer, and I'll be teaching this coming fall and winter semesters. I graduate a year from August, but that seems like nothing. Life as I know it is changing, and for the better I am sure. I am so scared to jump off the security blanket of school--for it is all I have known since I was 3! That being said, I am super excited to be starting new adventures and transitioning into an adult. Yes...I am almost 21, and technically am an adult, but I sure don't feel like it! Growing up is so darn scary! :(

I'll be moving home this next week for spring term. I will be working for those 6 wks, chillin' with the fam, and going to YSA! I am honestly really looking forward to it, but am rather sad to be leaving Provo. It has become my home--this year more than ever. I will miss it.

INTERNSHIP!!!!

So, Monday at 1:00 was my interview with Nebo School District in south Utah County.  It was kind of scary, but exciting as well!  There were two rooms with at least 12 interviewers each.  The tables were set up like a square, with only me on the 4th side!  Very intimidating.  They asked some basic questions like: "tell us about yourself," "why Nebo?" and "what is your favorite children's book?" Harder questions included: "How do you feel about balanced literacy?" "What is your management plan?" and "If we were to call your parents, what would they say about you?"

After Jerri (my teaching partner this semester) were finished, we got in the car, and screamed!  SOOO many emotions all at once--it was crazy! Then the anticipation started all over again. The interview was done, but now to wait and see if we got the job or not.  

Around 5:30, I got a call from the principal of Riverview Elementary offering me a 2nd grade position!!!  I had to keep myself from screaming on the phone in excitement!  I am sooo excited to have the job.  I went to the school with my mom that night around 7, so of course it was closed.  We were able to look in the windows though, and see the layout of the general classroom.  Sooo amazing!  Then today, I was able to go back during school hours and meet the facilitator and principal in person and tour the school.  There is a slight possibility I will be asked to teach 3rd instead, but I am happy doing either. :D  I can't wait!!! 

Zion's Adventure

So this last weekend, I was asked unexpectedly to go to Zion's National Park w/a few friends, and it was sooo much fun! I had never been there before, so everything was new and exciting.  Reece is a friend I made over the summer through work and church, Travis is his roommate/cousin, and Megan is in their ward.  It was so fun to get to know her better.  I met her once before, but this was the first time I really got to chat w/her and spend a couple days with her.  I love making new friends! 

We took a ton of pictures, but they do not even come close to capturing the full experience.  It definitely was an adventure I will never forget. :D

Inspiring Quote

I love this quote. When I am down on myself, or when I see others down on themselves, this is a one that I always think of.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." --Marianne Williamson

Winter 09 Semester--Week 2!

Wow, I can not believe how fast life goes by! I am half way through my second semester of the year--I am now officially a 'Senior' credit wise. After this semester I will have about 6 classes left to graduate. I am splitting them up among 2 summer terms. This fall I will hopefully be interning at a school in the Wasatch School District (Heber/Midway area). I will find out in March--prayers are welcome! The application is due this Thursday, so I have been stressing about getting everything done for it as well as keep up on all readings for class. This college stuff is hard work! I did not do my best last semester--do not worry, I did pass--however, this semester is going to be stellar! Well, it is mighty late (or extremely early) so I am off to bed!