Yosemite

I went to Yosemite in May.  I'm pretty sure I went as a child, but I don't have very many memories.  We left early on a Saturday morning and got back late that night.   It was a quick one day trip.  Seriously, it was one of the most amazing places I have ever been.  I could not believe how gorgeous just about every part of the park was.  

I'm pretty sure this is the inspiration for the bear at Disney's CA Adventure! 

The Latest Adventures

I was able to make the most of my Spring Break. It was so nice to not be at work for a week. We (my parents and I) left for Utah right after school. We made it early Saturday morning and enjoyed conference with Camden and Etta. We went the conference center on Sunday morning and enjoyed seeing a session. I loved seeing my friend Jenn and her family while I was in Provo. Then I headed up to Farmington and stayed with my friend Kari and hung out with Melissa. It was so nice to catch up with all my friends. The reason for our trip to Utah was to attend the funeral of my 16 year old cousin, Andrew. He was hit by a car while walking his bike down the street. It was extremely tragic. The funeral was amazingly beautiful. He was a stellar young man who truly left his mark on life. It was incredible to see so many family members and try our best to celebrate his life. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking how incredible his funeral was. Andrew had written this in his journal, a quote he must have heard at church or someplace. It is truly remarkable.

“Ordinary teens want someone else to make them happy and blame other people for their unhappiness. EXTRAORDINARY TEENAGERS know that happiness is an inside out job – the people in this world who are happy have just as many problems as the rest of us, they CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY ANYWAY. Extraordinary teenagers are affected by outside problems but they aren’t infected by them.”

Thursday of my spring break, I headed down to daffodil hill to see all the flowers in bloom. It was beautiful and peaceful.

Friday and Saturday I went down to San Luis Obisbo/Morro Bay to go camping and see the sights. I got to see: Gum Wall, San Luis Obisbo Mission, downtown, Morro Bay Beach, Madonna Inn (truly incredible weird hotel), Big Sur, highway 1, Julia Pfeiffer Stake Park (amazing waterfall), Pfeiffer Beach (with purple sand and a whale!), some random library, Carmel, Monterey Wharf, Carmel Mission, and probably more. California truly is beautiful and I loved seeing the beach.

Madonna Inn

Blurry... but the weirdest pink interior (with Easter themed decorations).

Amazing waterfall

Monterey Wharf

The Gum Wall in downtown San Luis Obispo

Daffodil Hill

San Luis Obispo Mission

Conference Center with the family

The campsite (you'll notice how close those other tents are. Well we put up our tents on the green tarp and then left for the day. We came back and these people set up there tents on our spot. It was the weirdest thing ever. They were obviously amateur campers. But, the beach is right there! It was a great spot!

The purple sand!

Bixby Bridge

Carmel Mission (one of the greatest)

If you've ever seen Baraka...this is the shot from the end of the movie!

One last of Daffodil Hill

Family Time

We recently had almost all the family together (just missing Etta and Hudson in the pictures). It was such a nice time to have all my siblings together. Of course having all my nieces and nephews together was great also. We came together to say goodbye to my Grandma Smith. It was one of those times where you are sad to see her leave, but so nice to have family together.

I Love This!

I found this a few weeks ago and it's incredible. I love how visual it is. I really can see my family. I took this to my family reunion and it was so fun to look at what we need to work on. (Thanks Codee for reminding me that I love it).

December 2011

Here's some of the happenings in December.

Dad with the two boys on Christmas Eve.

Playing our white elephant game on Christmas Eve

Janessa and her kids looking good

This is what we gave our parents for Christmas with all the grandkids names on it for the garden.

Hudson's first birthday!

Twin day at school!

Our $10 tree! What a great holiday season. I'm loving life right now. I have another week and 1/2 of break before I go back to work! Love it!

Okay, It's Been Long Enough

Life is going well! Here's a few things that have happened.

Some teachers and I took some students to the Sac State football game. We got in for free, cheered the team from the track, took pictures with the mascot and cheerleaders, and had great seats. It was great. It's a free program for middle school students to visit colleges. It was great!

Don't you just love our tree? We got this for $9.98 at Wise Buys! It's a beautiful REAL tree! It was quite a production to actually get this tree, but it is so worth it. We love it!

Don't you love fall?

DISNEYLAND-Christmastime!

Briley crying about being on a ride. Come to find out it was fun!

Very busy day, but so fun. I love having a season pass!

The End of Summer

So this past two months have been busy! Here are a few things that I have done.

* Started teaching 7th and 8th grade English and History

*Went to San Francisco with friends

*Went to Tahoe

*Went to Point Reyes

*Went to Montavlo Center of Arts in Saritoga

*Saw cousins and family

*Caught up with the girls

*Watched the Capital Air Show

Life has been good and of course, very busy. I am loving certain aspects of teaching middle school. They are a challenge, but they keep me laughing. I have a very diverse group of students who like to teach me things about life. Overall, they love positive attention and just want to be validated. In the meantime, I was able to go and see a few things. Here are some pictures in a very random order.

Check me out at the Exploritorium in San Francisco. What an optical illusion.

Yep, just a drinking fountain. Oh man, it does trick with your mind.

I just love Colbie! Love the boots!

Some family and friends at the Capital Air show!

My friend Ben and I had fun hiking and exploring Point Reyes.

We hiked to this amazing water fall that flows into the ocean. It was incredible and quite the hike!

Tahoe! Toren, Sean, and I went up to Tahoe for a huge activity. It was so beautiful and quite a memorable short car trip.

Charity, me, and Koreen at the Montavlo Center of Arts.

Charity, Nicole, Jenn, and Koreen on some of the amazing hiking trails surrounding the center.

This is the Arts Center. Quite a lovely setting.

Here's my smart board in my classroom. I love it!

My classroom (before school started)

I love these girls! Alena, AmyAnn, Ariane, Jenn, and Jenn!

Colbie and Me at the Air show!

Allan not wanting his picture taken!