Rewind: 2013

Gone are the days of having to press "stop" on the VCR in order to rewind more quickly (except in my classroom). With the ability to instantly look back, I thought I would reminisce on every major and minor life events that has happened only in the year 2013!

*received my bachelor's degree in the mail
*completed my year of co-teaching in 4th grade
*Ian graduated and received TWO Bachelor degrees!
*We had to sell our hedgehog, Evangeline/Bathilda (depending on who you ask)
*Ian decided to go to grad school, and got into all the schools he applied to
*Ian and I walked at our graduation ceremonies
*We explored Seattle for the first time, and decided to move out of Utah to Seattle so Ian could get an MPA from University of Washington
*I flew and stayed by myself in Seattle for 2 days looking for a job and an apartment (both unsuccessfully)
*Ian got upgraded to a salary position at work
*We moved with the help of many great friends and family members to an apartment in North Seattle we only saw pictures of online before moving in that turned out great
* I got my first certificated teaching job and my first salary position as a 3rd grade teacher
* Ian successfully tackled his first semester of grad school and worked 40 hours a week the whole time
*I have survived my first trimester and then some of 3rd grade with only some minor scars as battle wounds
*Ian and I booked our first "splurge" vacation to Hawaii, coming in April

This year has been huge!! Looking back really gives me the perspective to see how much we have grown as people and adults in only the past 365 days. Hopefully 2014 will be a little less stressful, but full of just as many fantastic memories!

January:

playing with Evangeline

February:

camping and hiking trip to Southern Utah

March:

Binks' family trip to Disneyland

April:

first visit to Seattle

May:

Graduation

June:

Robinson family trip to South Dakota with hiking, kayaking, and these big rocks

July:

stolen picture of our 2nd annual white water rafting trip near Jackson Hole

August:

Wallace Falls State Park the Saturday after we moved to Seattle

September:

1st day as a 3rd grade teacher with my thrilling 3rd grade team!

October:

Exploring outside of Seattle: went to a real pumpkin patch for the first time

November:

enjoying all that Seattle has to offer at Gasworks Park

December:

our 2nd Christmas and the first time we had to buy ornaments and lights for our tree

The Bavarian Town

Last weekend, Ian, Jaron, and I drove to Leavenworth, which is 2 1/2 hours northeast of Seattle. It's a tiny city in the middle of the Cascades. It's a higher elevation so there was snow there and Ian was so excited. He hates that he'd have to drive 2 hours to get to a mediocre ski resort. Anyway, Leavenworth is a town that in the 1960's was going bankrupt and they eventually decided to remake their town into a themed town, and they chose a Bavarian theme (think German and all the once upon a time stories). Oktoberfest and Christmastime is huge up there. We had heard it was pretty neat so we decided to spend an afternoon up there. Making a weekend of it was out of the question because hotels are booked a whole year in advance.

all the buildings looked like this

waiting for the lighting ceremony to start

HOLY PEOPLE. So crowded. We got there 10 minutes before the Christmas tree lighting ceremony and celebration. We sang joy to the world with thousands of people, silent night, and then they turned on all the lights in the city. It was pretty neat and kind of strange/nice that they integrated religion so tastefully into their Christmas celebrations in their city. We walked around the shops, got an ornament for a tree (Ian and I decided to collect them) and ate dinner twice. We ate bratwursts from a booth that a church was selling them, and then we ate sausages/bratwursts at a restaurant. We wanted to go to a restaurant that had polka music, but there was a two hour wait, and the boys were starving. We only stayed in the city for 3-4 hours because I was freezing (and so was everyone else) and I was so sick. Also, we didn't have gallons of money to spend at the shops. We really enjoyed the scenery and wandering around a new city!

after they turned the lights on

We have loved exploring and experiencing Christmas in the Seattle area, but we are so excited to be driving back to Utah to be spending the holidays with most of our family and friends! Just pray the snow is scarce while we drive on Saturday.

Here Come the Holidays!

Wow. The past two weeks have been fantastic! Also, very stressful.

beautiful flowers with cabbage blossoms from the local farmer's market

Two weeks ago, JARON moved up here! By "here", I mean about an hour away..but we've already seen him twice! He came up to visit us last weekend, and we tried a new yummy Thai restaurant, played games, and fed the missionaries. It was super great to see Jaron again after being in different states since July. Yesterday we also went down to his place to help him move some things in and really to hang out again! It was so great!

Ian and Jaron at our church building last Sunday

Gasworks Park. I love watching all the boats and pontoon planes!

Gasworks Park while Jaron was in town! 

Throughout the week, I've been prepping for report cards which I passed out Wednesday, and parent teacher conferences, which I have this coming Wednesday and Thursday. Those are going to be rather interesting, and I honestly am a little nervous about them. Parents scare me. (super ridiculous, but you have no idea)

This past weekend was awesome! I LOVED Thanksgiving break. I needed it so badly. We had our first thanksgiving this year, and shared it with 5 other couples in the ward! We had an amazing time, enjoyed a lot of laughs, and had lots of delicious food. It was a fantastic day, and even though we couldn't spend it with family, it was still awesome! We had a great time cooking our first turkey and trying out all the Binks family tricks on our own.

making cranberry sauce for the first time

We cooked the turkey upside down so that the white meat would be extra juicy, and this is Ian about to flip it for the last hour of cooking. It was quite a challenge!

Friday, we had a lot of fun! We went to see Snoqualmie Falls with another couple in the ward, and its the state's #1 waterfall! It was disappointing because everything we read about it said it was a hike. When we got there, we saw cemented sidewalk, walked up to it and could see the massive waterfall. It was a bit ridiculous. We even went on the nature walk part that led down to the river, but it was only 1/2 a mile round trip at best. So we left, a little bit disappointed in what was classified a hike. We then visited the old, rusting trains on the side of the road. They were so neat and from the early 1900's! It was pretty awesome to see and stand next to. Trains are huge!! Afterwards, we stopped at some outlet malls and then headed to Umi downtown for happy hour sushi. Ian was in love with the place. We had a great time, and it was fun to eat in a fancy schmancy restaurant. Our "couples date" continued and we watched some episodes of Modern Family and had a great time talking afterwards. It was nice to be spontaneous again, and just go with the flow.

Snoqualmie Falls

one of the neat, rusting trains

Saturday was an awesome day! After Ian's group interview, we went to Target to purchase Christmas decorations because we had always borrowed them from my family. We also splurged on some neat big stockings that Ian adores. We then went on the hunt for our christmas tree! We checked out Home Depot, but then decided to try a local tree lot. Even though most of the christmas trees in the States come from Washington, they are pretty pricy here. We went to this local tree lot that has quite a history (used to sell trees fro $1 in the early 1900's) and found our perfect tree for a reasonable price. We then came home, set it up, and decorated with our new lights and ornaments. We chose to overlook the garland and a star on top this year because we couldn't find stuff we liked enough to stare at for years.

finding a tree

Our tree! We asked a worker to cut it open so we could look at it, loved it, and then asked him to tie it up. It fit in the back of our car!

our new stockings and tree with lights

decorated with ornaments

And today, I had to teach Sunday School, but it's the last time I have to teach for the rest of the year! SUPER nice. And we got to take some nice long naps when we got home, after eating more of our Thanksgiving leftovers of course. We are extremely looking forward to Christmas Break in Utah, and Ian's birthday on Tuesday!

ready for our 2nd christmas, and this guy's 25th birthday!

AND, if you made it to the bottom of this post, you get to find out the LATEST AND GREATEST news! Ian and I are going to Kauai! We booked the flights and the hotel. April 5th can not come fast enough!!!

Salmon and Islands

This week was full of adventure! The first one consisted of my third graders and lots of salmon. We went to the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery for our first on only field trip of the year! I had some great parent volunteers and we were split up into 5 groups and got tours of the hatchery. My kids were so smart and could answer all the questions the guides had! It was cute to see them so excited. We went on Tuesday, which is the day the hatchery does the spawning. When we got there though, they had already gotten enough eggs, so they were "surplusing." Our kids got to touch the eggs, see the dead fish still flopping, and also got to see the workers killing the fish by hitting them on the head with a bat. Let me tell you how fun that was to explain to them, and their parents. Overall, it was a great experience!

the entrance to the hatchery for salmon

salmon being sorted after they were surplused and killed

On Saturday, Ian and I wanted to go somewhere fun, as the state parks were free this weekend, and I had a three day weekend, so we wanted to get out. Eventually, we decided to go to Camano Island State Park, about an hour and a half north of us...on an island! It was our second island adventure, and Bainbridge was our first. We went with another family in the ward, Kamie, Nate, and their cute daughter Emma and had a blast! It was an easy hike, but so fun to weave in and out of the forest and views over the sound to Whidbey Island and the Olympics. We loved the company and the views! Afterwards, we even got to get some BWW's...so Ian was extremely happy.

the loop trail

whidbey island and the Sound

huge jellyfish!

there were lots of beautiful leaves on the ground

I am so grateful for this relaxing weekend, and the time to actually enjoy it, rather than rush around doing errands, cleaning, or working. On that note, I am also grateful for all the veterans who have served our country, and those currently serving for allowing us to enjoy our freedoms and days off in their honor. :)

Pumpkins!

Last weekend was great! I had been looking forward to it for a few weeks. Katlin so kindly gave me a heads up that she would be within an hour's drive for a snowboarding expo, and we planned to get together!

First, Ian and I decided to get pumpkins on our way to meet Katlin. We had both never actually been to a pumpkin patch, so it was a fun, and muddy adventure. We found the farm, and parked and saw soooo many people. There were places to buy coffee, roasted corn, caramel apples and popcorn. Apparently going to the pumpkin patch could end up being quite an expensive excursion! We walked passed, wishing we could find 10 dollars to spend on treats, but then saw the containers of every variety of gourd imaginable! White, speckled, green, alien, turban, long, baby gourds all sorted in containers for really cheap! We loved them, and eventually went back to buy a few for our fall decorations.

the bins full of gourds!

the patch and hay spiders

Then, in muddy rows, there were the pumpkins. THEY WERE HUGE! None were less than 20 pounds. Ian and I started our hunt, and both found some pretty stellar pumpkins. They weighed them, and we bought 45 pounds of pumpkins! It was a great price too! We stuck them in the trunk on our way to Chili Thai in Puyallup to meet Katlin, and could hear them rolling around. When we got to Chili Thai, I buckled them in the back seats. Ian thought it was ridiculous, but it worked!

all of our gourds.

FINALLY I got to see a friend! Katlin met us and we talked and talked and laughed. It was so great to catch up and reminiscence. I also tried Pad Thai for the first time, and was blown away with how delicious it was! And the portion was huge so I had leftovers for the next day. We then went to a yummy frozen yogurt place and chatted some more before we had to depart and say goodbye. It was such a fantastic weekend, and I can't wait til we get to see Jaron in November!

Pad Thai!

Katlin and I!

The Seattle Freeze

This is not about the weather. It is much warmer here than Logan. Hallelujah. It was in the low 50's today.

the crazy fog outside the classroom

beautiful fall trees down the street!

This is something about "The Seattle Freeze." When we first moved here, we started being overly friendly to everyone we met. Ian and I both knew the only way we were going to make friends is if we stepped out of our comfort zone and pursued them.

While working at Zeek's Pizza for the few weeks I was there, I started to get to know some co-workers pretty well. I knew it wouldn't last, but I appreciated their kindness and ability to hold conversations with me, like they cared. A girl I worked with warned me that even though people seemed friendly right now, things would change. The Seattle Freeze happens. Apparently, it's when you have small talk conversations with people and get to know them, and then the friendship progression freezes. They cut the rope. You still say hi and make small talk, but it never goes beyond the small things.

I was surprised when I first heard this, but thought "Hey, I'm LDS. There's some neat people in our ward who are new and in the same situation. The freeze won't happen to us."

I wish my thoughts were true. The past few weeks I have really been struggling with the Seattle Freeze. I work with a great 3rd grade team who are all really nice and cut through my room a lot, but I don't feel like we're really great friends (compared to the awesome 4th grade team I had last year..and Kerry...miss those ladies!). They make small talk and that's about it. I don't have someone here at work that I can vent to or problem solve with extensively. It makes me a bit sad.

Another thing that proves the Seattle Freeze is true is with the ward. We've been over to dinner, played games, and even invited some couples to our place. I had a great time getting to know them and spend time with them! And now? Nothing. No invites. No reminders or questions asking if we're going to any of the events or activities. No friends to do awesome fall things, like carving pumpkins or a Halloween party. Also, sad. I deeply miss our friends, who are mostly no longer in Logan, but they were great and always there for us. They were always wanting and planning activities along with us. Now, I just make Ian do the things with just me. I know it's not as fun, but at least he puts up with it.

picking pumpkins in Sumner or somewhere like that.

So there it is. Proof of the Seattle Freeze. I'll just stay here, and wait for the Seattle Thaw (this has to be a real thing too, right?)

Living on a Prayer

I am amazed how teachers do it every day. And then they go home and take care of their children and their families. Obviously, I am constantly overwhelmed, but there are days speckled in there when I feel on top of everything, and that things are going smoothly. Anyway, I've been teaching for a month next week, and it just goes by way too fast! I'm going to come back to teaching, but I'm going to update on our weekend adventures first.

Two weekends ago, we went camping for the first time in Seattle. It was a ward camp out, so we didn't have to pack or cook any food. Score. We camped at Cascade Park, which is on the shores of the Stillaguamish River (oh my the names here kill ya). We set up our great red tent, and Ian realized he forgot the sleeping bags. Oops. Good thing we're both used to Utah camping and had packed two fleece blankets and a comforter as well. We ate smores, and watched the bishop cut a watermelon with a machete. We were the only ones without kids there, so we ended up staying up to watch the fire die out, and it was so nice, minus the lack of stars in the sky. It poured overnight, so our tent was soaked on the outside and I regretted not packing my rain boots. Oh well. We ate, and then I conquered archery. Turns out being a camp counselor paid off haha! After lunch, we packed up our wet tent to dry out in our apartment, and headed home.

our tent and the massive evergreen trees

Last weekend, the school had free tickets for teachers to the Washington State Fair, so of course I grabbed one on my way out. Saturday, we headed to Puyallup, found free parking on the street, and explored. There was so much food, and scones (fried rolls) are super popular up here. Also, something called elephant ears. Strange. Anyway, we wandered around all afternoon, saw lots of goats, sheep, and ducks, and hid from the pounding rain by the fireplaces they had for sale. We had a great time, and enjoyed some yummy ribbon fries and a foot long sausage with onions. MMM onions. We also got to play games with some couples in our ward, and it was a blast.

runner ducks look ridiculous

baby pigmy goat!!

hairy highland cows! These things were huge!

Now, back to teaching. Yesterday was Friday, and I always expect my students to not want to learn, but yesterday was not the case. Not only did they get a 4 at Library, but when the interim principal stopped by my classroom (our principal is on maternity leave) while I was teaching writing, and my students turned and talked to their partners perfectly, and offered the best answers I could have imagined. My goodness that never happens. Then, in the afternoon, they were begging to keep practicing rounding costs to the nearest dollar. Whattttt, since when do kids want to keep working and learning? And to top it all off, my high flyer child not only made it through the day without me feeling like a bully, but after school gave me a hug. A hug from the kid who argues and argues with me. What a great end of the week. Although Monday will be a whole new day, Friday was one of those days that made the stress and workload worth it.

Three Weeks At Zeeks

The past month has been a whirlwind of excitement and stress. After 5 days in Seattle, I was completing my plan of subbing and working a part time job for consistency by accepting a host position at a yummy local pizza chain called Zeek's Pizza. The atmosphere is fun, the co-workers are funny and extremely interesting to talk to, and the employee discount isn't so bad either. However, today is my last day. WHAT? I am not someone who quits after working for a few weeks, even if it is the easiest job ever. However...

I AM GOING TO BE A THIRD GRADE TEACHER! Yeah. After a week of working at Zeek's, I started getting calls for interviews for real teaching jobs. I thought that dream was going to have to wait a year because I hadn't heard anything since I had started applying in April. Anyway, I started the interviews, and got offered a 5th grade position last Tuesday in one school district, and then a 3rd grade position last Thursday in another. It was crazy and I still can't believe had I two career job offers in a span of 32 hours. Eventually for various reasons, I chose the 3rd grade position at Newcastle Elementary (go lions) in Issaquah School District. It is east of Seattle, about a 30 minute drive, but I get great views of the city and the beautiful "Issaquah Alps" every day. I love it. I have three other teachers on the 3rd grade team I get to work with, and I couldn't be more excited!!

front doors!

school from the back

If you think this blog post can't contain any more exciting news, think again. The teacher whose classroom I am taking is going to be a dean of students (similar to a vice principal) at another school in the district, and she found out I was a first year teacher and decided to LEAVE ME EVERYTHING. Yeah. Books, paper, all supplies, the bulletin boards on the wall, you name it, she gave it to me. I felt so blessed and lucky. I can't even begin to explain how stressful stocking my own classroom in two weeks was, and she wiped it all away. I hope someday I will be able to pay it forward to someone who is in my shoes now.

the classroom prior any changes

new rug I love!

So, with all that said, I have spent this past week juggling getting my classroom ready and finishing out my third and last week at Zeek's. It has been a handful, but it's fine. Next week training and in service actually starts and I am very much looking forward to sitting down with my 3rd grade team and planning things out and getting hopefully a third of all my questions answered. School starts September 4th, which is almost too close for comfort, but I'm excited to get the year started and meet my first class of 3rd graders!