in other news...

It's Samuel's BIRTHDAY today!

I love that guy.

a hair-raising adventure.

I cut my hair a while back, which always makes me happy.  I love hair cuts, and I have enjoyed trying out a new-to-me style.

However, as my hair has grown, it has morphed into something a little drab, a little stringy, and a little mullet-ish.  I called my hairdresser to make an appointment, but unfortunately she was booked until after Christmas.  To temporarily remedy the problem, I picked up one of those do-it-yourself highlighting kits while at the drugstore yesterday.  My mom helped me by applying it last night... It was a little awkward and blotchy during the application process, but we figured it'd just wash out.

WRONG!

It is bleachy-blotchy all over!  It is seriously sketchy.  It is, in my opinion, worse than when we began.

I'm wearing it curly today to try and "hide" my transgression.  Trust me, this photo does it no justice.

My family and husband have been really nice about it.  But, I learned firsthand what my dad has always told us... If you think it's expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur.  It's true, folks.  Worst 5 bucks I've spent in an attempt at saving some $$.  Meanwhile, I'm waiting to hear back from the salon to see if they can squeeze me in.

news.

Samuel got a job!  (I mean, he's had a job for a while, but this is a shiny new job that doesn't involve detailing cars or soggy shoes).  He will be working for Henry Shien in their eServices department.  He's excited to be affiliated with a Fortune 500 company, with lots of room for learning and growth.  They are lucky to have such a fabulous guy and hard worker.

We got our Christmas tree!  It was Samuel's first experience with hiking up and cutting down a tree.  We had a great time with my parents searching and choosing.  It's lovely in all its "Charlie Brown-ness."  Ah, the holidays.

My brother came into third grade the other day and taught my students how to make pizza.  He is their new hero.  They loved his chef's hat, his excellent dough making skills, and how "cool" he was/is.  Not to mention the fact that he is also a fire fighter.

As always, I am looking forward to winter break... only 1 week and 2 days left.  It's hard to say who is more excited: my students or myself.  Up until then, however, we have lots of great things planned including holidays around the world, idioms, multiplication, and (the much anticipated) cursive!

today I let my students build a fort.

We were learning about Jamestown.  It seemed appropriate.  And they only knocked down some stuff.  And one of them had to be John Smith-- the leader.  Did you know that the first "fort" built at Jamestown only took 19 days?  These kids built one in 19 minutes.  And it held up to my aide and me throwing socks at my students.  (We were the attacking Indians).

Mad I forgot my camera.  But, I love hearing kids say "That was the BEST social studies lesson EVER!"

It's the little things, guys.

this is happy.

cozy fire
quilt
pumpkins

two-day work week.

Book Review: Peter Pan

When I see my sister's sidebar, I often get discouraged about the amount of reading I do.  However, I must remind myself that I do a huge amount of reading as a part of my job.  And--lucky me-- most of it is in the form of children's literature.  This is one of my absolute favorite parts of my profession.

I make it a point to read to my students for (at least) 20 minutes every day for pure enjoyment.  This snapshot of time, the read-aloud/listen exchange, is an enormous benefit to both me and my students.

Today, we finished Peter Pan.  I had never previously read this beautiful story, and many of my students' impressions had been diluted by the Disney movie.  (Nothing against that show!  I love it).  But the book is amazing in how it takes childhood and pretend and the concept of mothers and presents them as everything good in the world, while likewise looking at time- like the tick-toc crocodile- and the negative connotations of being grown-up, and personifying them in the dastardly Captain Hook. We read an adapted "kid version," but I am looking forward to cracking open the original by J.M. Barrie and being enchanted by the language and the characterization again.

read it.  I know you'll love it.

fall back

Daylight savings ended today.  Did you set your clocks back?

Happy November!  Halloween was a crazy--but awesome--event in third grade, and here at the Grover household.  I dressed up as a mad scientist--complete with lab coat, bow tie, argyle vest and socks, mustache, and geeky glasses.  I sprayed my hair straight up with white hairspray.  (the hairspray/mustache combo was reminiscent of my "fat old man" costume circa my snowview #4 days in rexburg. good times, laura!)  It was all worth it because my students loved it.  What they loved even more was making dry ice bubbles, glow in the dark worms, and blue slime in class.  Good times.  That night we ate chili and cornbread with our best friends, watched a good ol' Hitchcock, and watched dry-ice make our rootbeer bubble.  It was awesome.

Now it's November.  I feel good about November for the following reasons:

• Thanksgiving
• Pie
• Coats
• Sweaters
• Fires in our fireplace
• Beginning of ski season

I feel nervous about November for the following reasons: 

• End of the first trimester.  Which means...
• Parent-Teacher Conferences + report cards + school is 1/3 over
• Snow on my windshield
• Handling the "holidays with 2 families" situation

Good thing the pros outweigh the cons.  

Last night we had our annual Bowthorpe family Gratitude Dinner.  I love this tradition.  My amazing mom makes a delicious meal, we get together and talk about all of the things we are grateful for, then we eat pie.  A couple of things that topped my list this year are: 

• family
• teaching
• the beauty of the earth
• the gospel
• good food
• Samuel
• slippers
• good health 
• weekends.

There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.  

yeah yeah UEA

UEA (Utah Education Association) weekend-- also known as "fall break"-- came at the perfect time.  I was overly ready for a little breather from school, and so were my students.  Luckily, Samuel got the long weekend off as well!  Here are some things we accomplished:

• appreciated the autumn leaves on a gorgeous drive in Deer Valley.
• visited Park City's main street for the first time.
• saw Captain America.  liked it.
• ate out a lot.
• cooked/baked: pork chops, pie, peanut butter cookies, cheesy rolls
• did lots of dishes
• organized the junk room.  re-named it Samuel's Man Room. (there are 4 bikes in there. and lots of climbing/camping/scouting gear.  not to mention the cowbells).
• listened to/watched some college football
• organized/created our new "office" space in the kitchen.
• IKEA with Hil.
• chatted with my Nana.
• gardner village to see the "silly witches" with my nieces.
• taught a YW lesson on dating.
• visited Grammy and Grandpa.
• major grading of papers.
• sleeping in-ish.
• found some finishing touches for my Halloween costume.  

All in all, it was a very productive long weekend.  I had a hard time getting up to go back to work this morning.

Can you believe it's almost November?  We're nearly headed into the holiday season.  Speaking of the holidays, I need some cool arrangements of christmas songs to learn for an upcoming gig... anyone have any suggestions?  Please send them to me!

It's supposed to drop 20 degrees tomorrow.  wowzers.  

oct.

It's that happy time of year where leaves change and pumpkins grow orange and fat.  I've got my halloween tree out, an Autumn wreath on my door, and a witch on my mantle.  We've got big plans to carve jack-o-lanterns with friends, make chili, dress up in wild costumes, and watch some Harry Potter.  I'm excited to see the costumes my students come up with this year, and do lots of science experiments involving slime and dry ice.  I'm hoping we get some (or one?) trick-or-treaters this year.  Still dreaming up something amazing treat to pass out.  The drizzly weather has got me baking pie and sweet rolls.  I've been spending a large chunk of my time at school-- surprise, surprise-- but I hope it's paying off.  Samuel is working hard at BMW, and working hard at home as well.  We've been bike riding, pleasure driving, and sleeping under our down comforter.

Welcome, October.

thumbs up to tuesday

• jonathan apples
• rain
• fall
• homemade mac and cheese
• spumoni
• third graders
• pumpkins on my porch
• down comforter
• pie
• cardigans
• pinterest
• the library
• drives at night

MIA

So.  School started!  Which explains why my life has been taken over by elmer's glue, yellow pencils, and 8 year olds.  It rocks.  I've got a great class this year.  And my classroom is happy.  See?

I also got to go to St. George with the Grover Girls to see The Little Mermaid: 

This weekend I'm planning on making peach pie, hanging with my dad on his birthday, planning Canada Day and Johnny Appleseed week, going to the farmer's market, correcting spelling tests, and chilling with Samuel.

Happy Life, everyone.

last half of summer (in pictures)

I go back to school next week, and you know what that means... summer is quickly drawing to a close.  here's what we've been up to:

fourth of july barbeque + scout samuel.

"potato war" at science in the rockies (a study of force and motion).

aquarium with my nieces.

24th of July at the Joneses.

amazing 2 weeks at Hebgen.

birthday bash for Hilary's lucky #25.

happy summer!  and happy back to school...

being home is nice.

How agreeable it is not to be touring Italy this summer,
wandering her cities and ascending her torrid hilltowns.
How much better to cruise these local, familiar streets,
fully grasping the meaning of every roadsign and billboard
and all the sudden hand gestures of my compatriots.

There are no abbeys here, no crumbling frescoes or famous
domes and there is no need to memorize a succession
of kings or tour the dripping corners of a dungeon.
No need to stand around a sarcophagus, see Napoleon's
little bed on Elba, or view the bones of a saint under glass.

How much better to command the simple precinct of home
than be dwarfed by pillar, arch, and basilica.
Why hide my head in phrase books and wrinkled maps?
Why feed scenery into a hungry, one-eyes camera
eager to eat the world one monument at a time?

Instead of slouching in a café ignorant of the word for ice,
I will head down to the coffee shop and the waitress
known as Dot. I will slide into the flow of the morning
paper, all language barriers down,
rivers of idiom running freely, eggs over easy on the way.

And after breakfast, I will not have to find someone
willing to photograph me with my arm around the owner.
I will not puzzle over the bill or record in a journal
what I had to eat and how the sun came in the window.
It is enough to climb back into the car

as if it were the great car of English itself
and sounding my loud vernacular horn, speed off
down a road that will never lead to Rome, not even Bologna.

Consolation
by Billy Collins

making me happy monday

• garden growing
• the washing machine is fixed
• thinking about books
• less than a week until Hebgen
• 25 plastic folders on sale for cheap
• HP 7.2 
• smoothies
• nutella

national park road trip

Samuel had the week off work, so we put our parks pass to good use by touring all five national parks in Utah: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches.  It was gorgeous!  And, aside from the 107 degrees in St. George, it was excellent weather for camping, hiking, and driving scenic byways.  A truly excellent vacation; I'm looking forward to a return trip.

a quick stop in fillmore

our first campsite

Zion

Samuel eating my apple core

Bryce Canyon

Hoodoos

my favorite-- scenic byway 12

Capitol Reef

dead horse point

upheaval dome

Arches

resting after hiking to delicate arch

Utah!

dear old dad

my dad is a wonderful person.  hard working, intelligent, loving, and wise-- he is a prime example of fatherhood and priesthood.  I appreciate the connections we have through music, the way he adores my mother, and his unwavering support for me.  I love his sense of humor, his practicality, and his determination.  I love the way he persists at his goals, and constantly tries new ways to become a better person.  he is a teacher, a "pop", a musician, a friend, and a leader.  I love you dad!  happy father's day.

if there were ever a time to win something, it would be now.

Do you ever enter those giveaways that bloggers periodically do?  On occasion, I'll enter when it looks cool, or when I'm trying to support local businesses.  But today while checking up on one of my favorite blogs, I found this.  I don't think I've ever wanted to win something so badly!  You should enter, and then take me with you if you win.

cheers.

first rites of summer

well folks, we made it.

the last two weeks of school were busy busy: alice in wonderland celebration, spelling bee, talent show, astronomy field trip, finishing, cleaning.  oh how I love those kids.  we went up for a quick stint at the cabin, which was wonderful as usual.

school was officially out on June third, and boy, does it feel great.  I spent all morning gardening yesterday,  and all afternoon cleaning my house.  samuel is a champ and did all of the things I don't like to do like mop and trim the rosebush and scrub the toilet.  tonight we made hamburgers and corn on the cob, and went for a walk before it got too dark.  summertime is here!  (and it feels especially worthwhile when you've got tomatoes, peppers and geraniums planted, a clean and peaceful house, and great things on the calendar).

happy june.