I love suprises!

Who doesn't like a great suprise?? Whether it's your husband doing something romantic or helpful for you or a close friend or loved one coming to visit. I love all of it! Well I got one of those wonderful suprises on Friday. So it was just a normal crazy busy Friday afternoon at school. We were painting butterflies and writing poems when I see my grandma walk through my classroom door. Now this is normal because she lives like 5 minutes from my school and she likes to visit often. But then my dad walked through the door! I had no idea that he was going to be in Utah! For those of you that know my dad then you might be laughing or this might not suprise you because he is known for just showing up. But I loved it! My students were so excited and they just went crazy. My dad also teaches (he teaches college students) so he immediately took on that role and walked around helping my students understand symmetry. He was just as excited about their work as they were. So he totally fit in. The kids were asking him questions about everything and he just had so much fun with them. I loved being able to share with him and show him what I get to do each day. I just love suprises like these! It made my week! :)

Easter Fun!

This is me and my cousin Audrey!

Jadon and Zachary love eachother!

Jadon and Tyson hang out

I love Zachary's chubby cheeks!

We had so much fun in California with all of our family! I love being able to go home with Tyson and be with all of the people I love most at the same time. We were able to go down to San Diego to visit my sister and her cute family for one night. While there we watched my sister sing in "The Messiah." We were also able to play with our cute nephews! Zachary just had surgery on his hand and foot so he was pretty much a gimp (but a very cute one). And then for the rest of the weekend we spent time with everyone else! It was crazy busy but so much fun! Here are some pics we took while we were home in sunny California (by the way it was like 89 all weekend).

The Newest Addition to the Tidwell Family! (and no he's not ours)

Porter Clayton.....7 pounds 13 ounces........... cute as can be.........
This is Tyson's sister's new baby boy! He was born this morning at 8:00 AM. His three older sisters are very happy! HAPPY EASTER PORTER!

Our Missionary Brothers!

So Tyson and I both have brothers who are serving LDS missions. It's been fun having brothers that are within 3 months of age. It's fun being able to have yet another little brother to tease and I know that my brother has loved having a "big" brother to look up to. We are so proud of them and their decision to serve. Judd, who is Tyson's little brother, is serving in Portugal and has been serving since last October. Greg, who is my little brother, is serving in Texas (spanish speaking) and just got there last Monday. Here are some pics of them and their experiences so far....

Here is Judd on the coast of Porto, Portugal.
Judd is looking out at the beautiful city of Porto.





















Here is Greg and his companion Elder Ballard in front of the Provo temple.

















Here Greg tells us he's "showing Hyrum the way." haha














Here is Greg with some buddies showing off their sweet frames.
Ahhhh... He looks so grown up!

Tyson's Admirer

So as many of you know, I teach first grade. First graders are by far the funniest kids ever. Tyson has yet to come meet my students but I have talked about him a lot. I also have pictures of us on my desk and on my fileing cabinet. So occasionally the students ask when "Mr. Tidwell" is coming, especially one student. Let's call her "Mary." Mary must ask me about 2 to 3 times a week when Mr. Tidwell is coming to visit 'her.' Not the class but her. Everytime she comes to see me at my desk she looks at our picture and says with enthusiasm "Mr. Tidwell is sooooooo cute!" And just the other day when I was teaching a measurement lesson while being observed by my principal, she raises her hand because she has a question. Figureing she was going to ask about the lesson (because that would only be logical) I called on her. To my suprise (and my principals) she asks once again, "Mrs. Tidwell when is Mr. Tidwell coming!? He is so cute I can't wait!" I quickly changed the subject while my principal sat in the back laughing. But this is one of my favorite stories about Mary..... So on St. Patrick's Day we had many fun activities going on throughout the day. One of them being Lucky Charm math. We did a fun math activity using Lucky Charm cereal and after we did the math I let the students eat their cup of cereal. At the end of the day, Mary really, really wanted to take home the remainder of the Lucky Charms. I told her no because it wouldn't be fair to the other students. Mary is, ofcourse, very persistent and asked me severeal more times since my first answer wasn't good enough. So finally I lied and said it was Mr. Tidwell's favorite cereal and that he would be sad if I didn't bring any home for him. Mary looked up at me with a big smile and said "No way! That's my favorite cereal too! Wow we must be like family or somethin'." And then she walked away very satisfied. So little does Tyson know just how loved he really is.... :)

Thanks for reading all about our most interesting lives. Most recently I have been fixated on scooters! I really want one. Can't you all imagine me buzzing around on a pretty little getup like this? I could do some serious damage on one of these. It is also extremely economical; this puppy gets like 65 MPG! It is also really cheap to fill up because it only has a one gallon tank. I have just reached a point in my life where I am ready to graduate from public transportation into the realm of private transportation. I also promise I would always where a helmet. Julie is a little, and when I say that I mean very, hesitant to let me take such a venture and I need your help. If you could all rally your support behind me in this most important issue I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

A Wonderful Reunion

So me and my friend Anna have not seen eachother since my wedding but we have not caught up for years! She flew out to Salt Lake City to audtion for Ballet West and we were able to go to dinner and catch up. I love it when I am able to see people who are so special to me! It just makes my day!

Snowy Days

So this is a picture taken from my front room out one of my huge windows. I pretty much hate the snow and I am happiest when it is sunny. Tyson doesn't seem to understand this (probably because he's from Utah) but I am genuinely happier when the sun is shining. So I have been in a way good mood this past week because of the sun. But then a storm hit yesterday and it snowed like crazy. Yet there are some snowy days in Utah that I think are absolutely beautiful. I was happy to see that this morning was one of them. Although this picture doesn't serve the beauty of this day any justice, it does show how the snow so perfectly stuck to the bare tree outside our front window. With the sky clear and blue and the sun shining I thought this day was worth capturing in a picture. I love how the small things in life can make us smile!