32 Days

32 days until it is Christmas break, I am officially completed with my college courses, and am done wedding planning and am married!!!!!!  WAHOO!  I always imagined being able to have fun going around from store to store planning my wedding, making my own favors to hand out, making fudge for the reception, etc. However, when getting married the day after your fiance's semester ends and in the midst of your very first year of teaching makes planning a wedding somewhat difficult.  It is almost done though...kind of.. but regardless of having a perfectly planned wedding or not, I will be Mrs. Virginia Roney come December 17 and I am SO excited!!!!!!! :) :) :)  32 days and counting...

"I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!" -Elf :)

Yesterday will probably go down as one of the best days of my life.  I am officially engaged!  I got home from work a little early and I saw Braedon's car in my driveway.  I walked in and my dad and Braedon were talking by themselves in the basement so I knew something was up.  When I came into the basement my dad told me I had to leave.  At this point I knew the proposal was coming soon but I thought it would not be until the next day.

Braedon and I took off a little after he finished talking with my dad.  We were supposedly meeting his family up at his uncle's cabin which is located up Provo canyon.  We were all going to go four wheeling.  On the way Braedon stopped by Cafe Rio (my favorite) and we got food to take up to the cabin.  On the way up the canyon Braedon threw me off by saying my dad pulled him into the basement and made him talk to him about marrying me.  It was funny because my dad was actually saying he was going to do that, but I thought he was just joking.  So I was kind of upset with my dad because I thought he was meddling.  haha.. but really Braedon just made that up and it happened to work out really well for him.  

About five minutes up the canyon Braedon told me that his uncle and family was not going to make it until later because some other things came up (I cannot remember the excuse he used).  I didn't think anything of it because I was just excited to be up the canyon during the Fall. (I LOVE driving up the canyon during Fall with the leaves.. Fall season is my favorite!)  

Once we got up to the cabin we hopped on a four-wheeler and started driving around.  We went down different roads and saw some elk while driving around so I was just loving it.  I hadn't driven a four-wheeler since I was like 15 too so I was in my own little world enjoying the fall colors.  Braedon then took us up this hill.  When we got up the hill he stopped the four-wheeler and asked if this would be an okay place for us to pull out our food to eat our food.  It was beautiful!  On one side of the hill it overlooked Dear Creek and on the other side of the hill there were hills covered with fall leaves.  As we stood on the hill Braedon took out his camera to get some pictures.  As he was taking pictures of everything I was standing next to the four wheeler enjoying the scenery.  

At this point Braedon asked me to hand him a bag in his back pack because he needed a new memory card for his camera.  I found the bag where supposedly the memory card was.  Well.. what Braedon wanted me to do was open it and find that there was a pretty little black box with a diamond ring inside... but I just chucked the bag at him and went back to looking at the pretty fall leaves... hahaha.. oops!  So that threw Braedon a little off guard, but while I was facing the mountains, Braedon came up behind me got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  I immediately said yes and gave him a huge hug as he slipped the ring onto my finger.  It was so perfect.  

So now... let the wedding planning begin!  I am already counting down the days to December 17!!! Cannot WAIT!  I love that boy SO much and feel so blessed to have him be my fiance.  I have been dreaming about marrying him for over two years and now we are engaged.  So excited to marry my best friend. :)

Right after the proposal at sunset :)

My Ring

The view of Provo Canyon :)

The elk we saw on the way up

Ideas For School!

I am attempting to set my classroom up.  If anyone has some creative or fun ideas to decorate, let me know!  I try to be creative, but it is just something I struggle at a bit, but I am all for taking other people's creative ideas! haha.. So if you ever had something you liked or enjoyed about a classroom (particularly a science one) let me know!

Also I am trying to come up with planning the first days of school.  When I was in school I always disliked the getting to know you games because the first few days I was shy until I felt more comfortable.  So I am struggling coming up with something good for those first few days to help me learn the students' names yet not go too crazy on the getting to know you games.  So if anyone has suggestions on that I would love to hear!  Thank-you much for your help and I will be sure to let you know how the first day goes!... in 12 days!

Alaska... I miss you

Before school starts I wish I could go back to Alaska for a number of reasons...

1.  I LOVE being an aunt and I miss my adorable nieces!

Kenzie's First Boat Ride

Nail Painting Time..

Dress Up

She loves her glasses

Silly Faces.. they are great at that

Jordyn Kay

Kenzie Rose

2.  My sister thinks I am funny even though really I am just a nerd. :)

3. It is BEAUTIFUL there.

4.  Playing games with Steph and Garrett (Killer Bunnies as a new favorite).

5.  Enjoying afternoons with my sister while we leave Garrett to fend for himself and watch the girls.

It is always a fun time visiting Alaska... and how I miss it!

First Day of School Planning

The first day of school begins in exactly three weeks.  I am freaking out a little bit.  How do I structure my first day of school?  Should I plan an activity?  What are my classroom procedures going to be?  Should I design a seating chart?  How should I arrange the physical set up of my classroom?  What will my grading policy be?  How will tardies and absences be handled?  What will my disclosure document say?  These are just a few of the questions on my mind for planning my school year...

I have a few of these things already figured out, but I still feel like there is always something else I haven't thought about. It is such an interesting experience being on the other side of school where you are now the teacher.  So much more to think about.  Not to mention I have an entire year to plan of lessons that actually teach my students versus turning my classroom into busywork. 

Although there is a lot of think about, I am grateful for the help I have received from my coworkers.  The district I work for provides quite a few professional development training opportunities which will help me answer the numerous questions I have crashing around in my brain.  So wish me luck and I hope I am able to be the best teacher I can be this first year and to just enjoy the ride. :)

The boy comes home and goodbye blog :)

Well.. its been awhile so time for an update.  I have spent every second possible with Braedon and am loving it!  Yup that is pretty much it... Since he has been home we have had family parties, went to the temple to do baptisms, played games, hiked to Bridal Veil, and much more.

For the 4th of July we decided to go camp out in Provo with Braedon's brothers for the parade.. BIG mistake!! haha.. 3 a.m. people are still going by honking horns, across from us there was a dance party (by the looks ofr their dance moves there had to of been a few drunks), and these crazy teenagers swearing up a storm and throwing fireworks on our campsite.  hahaha..  After about twenty minutes of them we told them to leave and if they didn't the cops would be called... After a bit of back talking and Braedon getting up to walk towards them they all scattered.. haha.. It was quite the experience.. that I will never do again! haha.. Plus I am not really a night person.  I would rather get up really early than stay up really late.  Oh and to top it all off we all finally fell asleep at 5 a.m. and one hour later the sprinklers came on! It was quite the way to wake up.  I couldn't help but laugh though.  The parade was fun though and I have never been to a parade so it was fun to do something different.

After the parade it was nap time.  Then later that day Braedon had a family party at his Uncle's house that we went to.  It is fun to see how close his family is.  I have a few cousins that I am pretty close to but I have always thought it would be fun to have a family like Braedon's where they find every excuse possible to get together and have fun with one another.  Its great!

After the party we hung out with my family for a bit.  My poor dad was pretty sick on the 4th so we just visited with him a bit since he wasn't feeling like doing much.  Then later that night we had the cul-de-sac of fire!  Braedon's neighborhood always does this each year for the 4th of July where all the houses in his cul-de-sac come out and watch fireworks together along with treats.  I don't know if anything can be better than being with good friends, playing with fire, and eating yummy treats! haha.. sounds like a pretty sweet night to me. :)  All in all I had a great 4th of July with Braedon, family, and friends. (pictures of everything to come...need to get Braedon's camera to steal pictures!)

Welcome Home Elder Roney!

I think I just had the best night of my life/most emotional day as well.  I started the morning waking up and the first thought I had was, "Today is the day I finally get to see Braedon again!"  The day moved by relatively slow because I was so fidgety.  I just wanted him home.  I made a welcome home sign for Braedon and got his favorite treat, a rice crispy treat from Rocky Mountain, accompanied by some new tennis and ping pong balls.  I put pretty ribbons around it and everything, but I forgot to take pictures of the whole set up because I was so spacey. 

After I set that up at his house I went back home waiting for Braedon to be released so I could see him.  I thought two years was long, but I think those few hours right before he got home may have felt much longer!  His brothers were also texting me through the day saying they just picked Braedon up from the airport, they were now in Orem, etc.  When I got the text saying they were home and in Orem, my heart skipped a beat.  It was such a surreal feeling.  He was home...

Braedon was supposed to get released at 5 p.m. but some sort of problem popped up (of course!) so he didn't get released until 6.  At that time I was at my good friend Annie's house because I didn't want to sit at home and wait for him since the time seemed to pass much slower that way.  It reached the time when he was getting close to being released.  Annie wanted to go over to our friend Kinny's house who lives across the street from Braedon to wait until he got home.  As soon as we pulled up to Kinny's I saw Braedon's car come around the corner.  I freaked out!  haha.. I had imagined this moment for two years and standing where I was was not the way I wanted it to happen.  I was going to go over about five minutes before everyone else so that Braedon and I could have a few minutes alone before everyone got there, but that was kind of ruined since he saw me standing there.  I must have looked like a dear in headlights...It would have probably been amusing to watch...

Well.. I saw the car and I did what every girl would do... I bolted.. hahaha..(it was a rash decision but I had little time to think and was having troubles thinking straight in the first place...) I was so not wanting our first greeting to be where his family, the neighbors, and all of our friends were standing there watching... Maybe its just me but that just felt awkward.  Not the way I envisioned our first greeting after two years.  So I waited at Kinny's house until a few of the neighbors left.  I was just kind of waiting on Kinny's porch and then he came over and scooped me up into a hug.  For that second everything kind of faded away.  I was so unbelievebly happy to be in his arms again.  We hugged, then looked at each other again, and hugged a few more times!

For the next few hours we all were at Braedon's house.  People from his ward, family, etc. stopped by throughout the night.  One of our really good friends, Laura, actually got set apart to go on a mission that night (side note: I am SO excited for her.  She is going to be a wonderful missionary.  Such a loving, kind girl!).  She is Braedon's next door neighbor. So a lot of the night Braedon was talking with her because they had such little time together.  Braedon was pretty busy trying to say hi to everyone so I kind of just observed and listened for most of the night.  Everytime he passed me to talk to someone he would give me a cute little hug, or pat me on the back, or something cute like that.  And I couldn't look into his eyes without getting this big goofy grin on my face! haha..

Everyone left around 11 that night and so at that point I was finally able to have a real conversation with him.  We went back inside and hung out with his dad for a few moments.  Then Braedon took me home.  We drove around Orem for a little bit so he could see the new things that have been built since he has been gone like Riverwoods and the new Orem High School.  We walked hand in hand around Riverwoods so he could see everything.  My heart couldn't stop pounding.  I was SO happy (and still am).  It is amazing how you can forget things as simple as holding hands with someone you love so much and how wonderful of a blessing that is. 

After our little walk he held me close as we chatted about random things.  We got back in the car and headed for my house.  We got there at midnight and my dad was up so we went in to say hello to him.  My dad was probably almost as excited as I was to see Braedon!  When my dad saw him, he gave him a big hug and it made me sooo happy to see the two men in my life that mean the most just as happy as can be.  Kind of sappy, but it is true!  We visited for another 30 or so minutes and at this point poor Braedon looked like he was going to pass out from exhaustion.  So we decided to call it a night.  I walked him out to his car.  He held me a little longer, kissed me, exchanged I love yous, and he took off.  It was a wonderful night.  Four hours later I am still twitterpaited from the night (and therefor am blogging at 5 in the morning because I cant sleep).  It was one of the best nights ever and I am so grateful to have him home again and that things are just right back to the way they were before he left.  Its like he never left me in some ways because we were able to just pick up right where we left off.  That boy makes me the happiest person and I am so grateful for him!  Welcome Home Braedon! I love you!!!!! 

Our first picture together after two years :)

Too excited to sleep...

THREE DAYS!!!! I am beyond excited to see Braedon again!! My best friend is coming home!!!  I feel like every sentence I write must end with exclamation points because I am so excited, however I will stop it..  I have been imagining seeing him again after two years for a long time now so I will let you know if it is all that I imagine it to be.. :)

29, 16, 3

29 days until Braedon is HOME!











16 days until I am in Alaska kayaking, hiking, and hanging out with my sister and her family!

(side not: I probably wont be this close to a whale while kayaking...but that would be AMAZING!)

3 days until spring semester at UVU is over and I officially become a teacher at Orem Junior High!

Festival of Colors

Yes I know people in Utah are probably sick of seeing pictures of the festival of colors because it seems like everyone goes.. but I dont care because I think they are sweet pictures.. and... these pictures make your teeth look super white without photoshop so that is a bonus!   

Yeah for Festival of CoLoRs!  I am glad my dad decided to join the fun as well. :)  The only mishap of the trip is when avery went to throw colors on this random girl and the girl turned around with food in her hands.... She had some chalky soup that day... and her boyfriend was not pleased and may or may not have cussed out Avery..Who brings food to a place where colors are being thrown around like crazy and not expect it to get contaminated??? haha... other than that we had a fantastic time and it was a great break from the stresses of school. :)

News for the week:

I got a teaching job!!!  I was offered an internship at Orem Junior High School and start this August! I am so excited!!  It is such a surreal feeling to go from school to an actual job when I have been a full time student for 15 years.  Although, I am excited all the hard work has paid off and I guess it wont be too much of a change since I will still be in school... now I will just be the teacher!... No it will still be quite the change though.

I will be teaching 7th and 8th grade science.  I am so excited to begin preparing over the summer for my first year of teaching.  I have a feeling about halfway through the year I may hit a wall of becoming overwhelmed and distraught with a pile of quizzes, tests, and other vaious assignments to grade over the weekend, but for the moment I am going to enjoy it!!  So here is to the crazy life of a teacher which I am excited to be a part of! Go Orem Junior!  (I never thought I would have said that since Orem Junior was one the "rivals" of Lakeridge which is where I went for junior high..)

  

Sister Dyer :)

One of my really good friends, Laura, just got her mission call! I am SO excited for her!  I was able to get work off last Wednesday so I got to be there when she opened it.  We went around the room before she opened it and guessed where we thought she would be going.  My guess was Nauvoo...TOTALLY wrong! haha.. No one really even got close..  Her actual call is the Philippines!  She will be speaking Tagolog and reports May 25.  I am SO excited for her! (and yes.. I realized I already said that but I am just so excited! haha)  She is going to be such a great missionary.  I was secretly wishing for her to go somewhere in which packages are easily sent, but it is okay.. she will be in the MTC for three months so I can send lots of packages then. :)

Anyway, I feel blessed to have a great friend like Laura in my life and I know she is going to have such great experiences on her mission.  She is such a trusting and sincere person and because of that she is just going to make the best missionary ever!  Love her very much!  Here are just a few pictures of the good times we have had:

 

Congrats Laura I love you!!!

Update :)

Well... Time for the highlights of the past few months. :)  About a month ago I was able to go to Alaska!!!  It was a BLAST!  My sister and her family moved up there about six months ago so my mom, dad, and me went up there for Christmas.  If I had to pick a favorite Christmas that one would most definitely be up there.  My niece, MaKenzie, is at the age where Santa Claus is kind of a big deal so it was fun to be a part of that.  I just loved being able to relax with my whole family together.  My brother-in-law is probably one of the funniest people I know as well so being around him is always entertaining.  He is one of those people that is a little more quiet so it is ten times funnier when he says something if that makes sense.  So yes.. Christmas break was a blast and went by way too fast....

Now here we are two months later... in my last semester of classes! In the fall I begin my student teaching.  Although there is a possibility that I may be able to get a teaching internship which is what I am hoping for.  Either way I will no longer spend the majority of my life at UVU like I have for the past three years.  I am really excited to move on and start my teaching career.  However, I am a little nervous at the same time.  School is all I have known so it is going to be a bit of a transition.. but then again I will be in the schools still so it won't be too bad!.. I just hope I make a good teacher!  I feel like the Education program at UVU is really well designed so I feel prepared and am ready for the experience.

Also..today is a special day for me because in exactly three months from today.. BRAEDON IS HOMEEEE!!!!!!!  It has gone by SO fast!  So as you can tell I am already horrid at keeping up on my blog, but when Braedon gets back I am going to be even more distracted and therefore my blog will end on May 24.... :) Maybe I will try and do a post a day in May.... yes.. It is decided and you are all my witnesses that I will do so... And I am only going to do this because "post a day in May" rhymes so I can't pass the opportunity up..Well.. I will begin posting a day in May so see you May 1st!

Disclaimer....my apologies about not having any pictures.. my camera is broken so I have no pictures.. I hope it doesn't bore you too much...