Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas! It has been so nice to have a break from school, sleep in, and enjoy spending time with family and friends. Here are a few highlights!
- We went to the Christmas Concert at the conference center with Amanda & Dustin. We had a great time. It was crazy how crowded it was but it was worth it. We went to Red Iguana for dinner and also walked around temple square to see the lights.
- We went to the temple with my parents and Dave and all went out to lunch.
- Jensen Christmas Eve Party. Good Food, BINGO, presents, and most importantly a great family.
- Menssen Christmas Eve Party. More food and games, singing, and fun!
-Opened presents on Christmas Eve!

- Opened more presents on Christmas morning. I got a Cricut and I am so excited about it!
- Went to Nancy's for a yummy Christmas Breakfast!
- Went to Rob's Dad's house.
- Visited Rob's Grandpa and Ondelyn.
- Went to Rob's Mom's house.
-Played Wii
-Played Cards
-Stayed up late and slept in.

I really love Christmas Time! It really is the BEST time of the year!

FOOTBALL

I love football! Really, it might be my favorite sport. This season has definitely been filled with up and downs. Both of my teams (Aggies & BYU) have struggled and it has been very far from the perfect season..... but it has still been fun! Saturday was a perfect day for football. The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to sit outside and watch the Aggies pull out the win. It was also awesome to have BYU play good and get an easy win. I am glad I still have some good football to look forward to. :)

Yellowstone

Wow- it has been a long time since I have posted anything on this blog. I guess that means not a whole lot has been going on. We have been super busy with being back in school. Rob has a lot of homework and is working part time on top of that. My second graders have kept me busy as well. Luckily... I still have a great class and this year has been a lot of fun... just busy trying to keep up with everything.

Here are a few highlights between August and now....
- I turned 26! Old, I know!
- We spent my B-day weekend down in Sandy with my family. It was so fun to relax and spend time with family. It was even better because Mike, Kimber, & Tyler were there too.
-We LOVE football season. We have had a blast going to Aggie games.... the weather has been so nice!
-My whole family came up to Logan to visit. The boys went golfing and the girls played with Tyler. He is super cute! Then we all went to lunch with the Buttars.
-My first set of Parent Teacher Conferences are over for the year. I actually like PTC but it is really nice to finished.
- I had fall break... which leads me into the title of the post... Yellowstone!

This year we decided we needed to go on vacation for fall break. We decided it would be fun to go to Yellowstone because none of us had been in the fall and it has been at least 5 years since our last visit.

We left on Thursday and we meet my mom, dad, Mike, Kimber, & Tyler in West Yellowstone. Dave had school and couldn't come :( That night we just walked around town, ate dinner, and hung out. We stayed at a hotel in West Yellowstone.

Friday morning we headed into the park. Mike did a great job being our tour guide around the park. He planned out our route and it was a lot of fun. We saw plenty of hot pots, geysers, elk, buffalo, and beautiful scenery. One part of the park I had never really explored was the Canyon. It was beautiful. We saw if from every angle and did some fun little hikes. It was beautiful weather and we had a blast. We didn't get back to West Yellowstone until after dark, ate dinner, and went to bed.

Saturday we woke up and it was a lot colder and rainy. Rob had a cold and also had a lot of homework so he decided to stay at the hotel. The rest of us headed into the park to see Old Faithful. It wasn't too long before I started feeling sick also. I wasn't sure if I was just car sick or what so we kept driving. We went to Old Faithful for a few hours and made a few other stops. I wasn't feeling better... unfortunately we didn't make it out of the park before my dad had to pull over so I could throw up. I spent the rest of the day in bed. Luckily I think it must have been something I ate or a 24 hour type bug because I am feeling much better today.

Sunday we slept in and then drove home. It was so good to get away and spend some time with family. We had a blast and Yellowstone is so pretty! Here are a few pictures.

One Week Down.........

The first week of school is over and it actually went really well. It was a busy few weeks getting everything ready for the kids to come and then 3 days with the kids. I am excited about my new class. I think it is going to be a fun year. Of course every class has its challenges but the kids sure are cute! It will also be a busy year. I now have a Smart Board in my room which takes some time to learn and create lessons for it. I also am pretty sure I will be working with after school club again this year which adds 5 hours a week to my workload. Rob starts school in about a week so then he will be super busy working part time and being a full time graduate student. So long for the lazy days of summer!

Back to School

School Starts Tomorrow! Where did summer go?? I hope I am ready. I have 21 kids in my class this year and I am hoping it will be a great year!

SUMMER

Wow, summer has gone by fast! We have had lots of fun but unfortunately I have no pictures to document it all.
Fun things we have done!
- We have gone to a few REAL Salt Lake Games..... who knew soccer could be so much fun?
- We had a blast at Seven Peaks!
- We went camping at Palisades for Rob's family reunion. It was so good to spend time with family. We also had fun swimming, canoeing, and kayaking in the lake.

This week we celebrated our 3rd anniversary. We had a great day! Rob gave me beautiful roses and planned a fun day in Salt Lake. We went to Rodizio Grill for lunch, saw Despicable Me at Gateway, and went Go Carting in Layton! It was nice to be able to spend the entire day together!

Other than that we have stayed busy. Rob has been working and taking a few summer classes and I have spent quite a bit of time attending trainings and getting ready for next school year! Summer is pretty much over and I will for sure miss sleeping in. We are looking forward to some cooler weather and football! (We are tired of living in an apartment with no air-conditioning!)

4th of July Weekend

We had a great fourth of July weekend! (I wish we would have taken some pictures, but I am not very good at remembering to take pictures.) I loved that we got to celebrate for several days instead of just one. Here are some of the things we did to celebrate.
- We went to the American Festival Choir/Orchestra & Peter Cetera Concert.
- I went and saw Eclispe with Erin
- We had a BBQ with friends.
- We saw the Logan fireworks
- We we watched soccer (not sure how American that is)
- Had a BBQ with Family
- Watched Sandy Fireworks
- Hung out and watched Hyrum fireworks with friends!

I love the 4th of July, especially FIREWORKS! :)

JUNE!

I can't believe June is gone and it is already July. I feel like summer just barely started....but really it is almost half over. Time Flies! Well... I don't really have anything exciting to blog about, but we did have a fun month. Here are some of the highlights.............
- My mom came up for a day and we had fun hanging out, shopping, and going to lunch.
- I spend one day a week working at my school's library. It is fun to see and read with some of the students.
- We had a great Father's Day weekend. We got to spend time with my dad and Rob's dad!
- We got free tickets to a REAL game.... we had great seats (included with the seats... all you can eat drinks, popcorn, ice-cream, snow cones, pretzels, etc.)
- I attended CORE ACADEMY (A class for school- I got some great ideas for Math & Science!)
- We went to Park City with Rob's family. We had a blast hanging out, swimming, shopping, playing, games, and of course relaxing in Park City.

Now we are looking forward to celebrating the 4th of July... fireworks in Logan on Friday, fireworks in Sandy on Saturday, and fireworks in Hyrum on Monday! I really do love Fireworks! Of course we will also enjoy some BBQs and spending time with family and friends! I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

SUMMER!

I am so excited it is summer! Tomorrow will be my first official day of summer without going any where near my school. Even though I have been working a little summer has started out great. On Saturday Rob and I enjoyed a nice day looking at airplanes at the Celebration of Flight, eating out, going for a walk up the canyon, and hanging out with some friends. On Monday, we had fun mini golfing in the rain and eating yummy ice-cream. I especially love summer evenings.... it is the best time to be outside! :)
Here is a picture of my cute class ready for the Wildcat Run! I will miss them.

School is out!

Yeah! Summer Break is here! I survived my first year of second grade! I really had a great year and will miss my kids. It is nice that we get a fresh new start every year! Love being a teacher- especially right now! :)

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend was really fun. We went down to Sandy to spend some time with my family. On Friday we just went to dinner, hung out, watched basketball, and of course talked. Saturday we did lots of shopping and had a barbecue. Sunday we went to church, ate dinner, and then went to the cemeteries to put flower on grandparents graves. We ending up going for a drive to see the new temples in the valley. They were both beautiful and it was fun to see them. Monday we had a little family party at Aunt Joyce's house. It was fun to see some family and enjoy some nice weather and a beautiful yard. I also got to hang out with Molly for a little while. It was so fun to see her and catch up! It was nice to enjoy a weekend with family and get away for a few days.

In other news, Rob is finished with school for now and is working up on campus for the summer. He is also taking one class over the summer and then has one more year until graduation!

I have 1 more week of school until summer! Yeah! :) Almost time for sleeping in, relaxing, and catching up on lots of stuff I haven't had time to do during the school year!

The Hunger Games

If you want to read a good book or two here is a recommendation. They are really good. Once I started I couldn't put them down... I just had to keep reading. They are weird...barbaric... interesting..and totally addicting. They are easy and fast to read. The third book is coming out in the summer. Missy- Thanks for the recommendation and letting me borrow them.

P.S. 16 more work days until summer! :)

"You gotta love it, baby!"

Hot Rod said it best... but really I love this time of year. I love Spring and I love the NBA playoffs! Of course....it helps when the Jazz win. I loved watching the Jazz beat up on the Thuggets. It was a great series! Go JAZZ!!! Good Luck with the Lakers! Countdown to Summer: 24 work days! :)

Spring Break

Spring Break is coming to an end so I thought I should get a post in before it is over and I am back to work. It has been a very relaxing Spring Break! I have enjoyed sleeping in, scrapbooking, going shopping, going for walks, going to lunch with friends, and going to the best Jazz game of the year. Really... that pretty much sums up my week. It has been so nice! One of highlights was obviously the Jazz game. Missy and I went and we had a great time.... and it was a great game. Jazz won in overtime by 1 point. The other highlight was Easter/Conference weekend. Easter is always a great time to be reminded of Our Savior and the Atonement. Having conference the same weekend was an added bonus. It was also fun to be able to spend some time in Sandy with my family, visit Rob's family, and see some extended family at the Easter Party. To be honest, I am not that depressed at the thought of going back to work next week. I really like my job, I enjoy spring weather, and we only have 8 weeks left before summer! (39 work days to be exact!)

Almost Spring Break!

I have 7 more days of work until Spring break! I am so excited! I really cannot believe how fast March went by. After looking at the school calendar for the year- I thought March would be the forever long month- but so far so good- and time continues to fly. Of course... there were a few things that helped the month go by fast.

1. March Madness. I really looked forward and enjoyed watching the conference tournaments and the first round of the NCAA. Better luck next year to the Aggies, Cougars (awesome win in double OT), and my own brackets.

2. USU Spring Break! This year I finally decided to take a few days off work to spend some time with Rob over his Spring break. I took Monday & Tuesday off work and we enjoyed an extended weekend. Rob and my brother went skiing in Park City and my mom and I hung out and went shopping.

3. This past weekend we were able to go back down to Sandy and hang out with family more. On Saturday we went to the temple with Missy and some of our other Family. It was a really nice day. After we all enjoyed some tasty In and Out. Really- I have awesome cousins!!!

4. My cute little nephew turned 1! Happy Birthday Tyler! :)

March

March is here... which means winter should be on its way out and spring should be just around the corner. (I do live in Logan- so I'm crossing my fingers for a beautiful spring.) I really love springtime. I love being able to spend some time outside. I love putting away my coat. I love to see green grass and trees. I love knowing that the lazy days of summer are soon approaching.

The most exciting thing that has happened the last few weeks was Rob's B-day! Rob turned 25! We had a fun weekend! We celebrated by going out to dinner, playing the Wii, and watching Olympics. Of course we also had cake and ice-cream! Rob's favorite present is a remote control helicopter that he flies around inside of our apartment. It is actually pretty cool.

University Spring Break is next week and my spring break is in 4 weeks. I can't wait! Also- it is March Madness so I will have lots of good college basketball to keep me entertained! Go Aggies! :)

Winter Olympics 2010

I love the Olympics! I really do! I have spent hours and hours over the past 2 weeks watching, reading, and talking about the Olympics. I love to hear stories about the athletes, see them compete, watch their reactions after it is over, see amazing performances, see not so amazing performances, really... I love it all! I love to see the whole world come together and compete, cheer for their countries, and learn more about different parts of the world. It is also great reminder of how lucky I am to be American. I think our athletes are lucky to live in the United States. I feel bad for the athletes that live in countries that put an extreme amount of pressure on them to win. Thanks Olympics for entertaining me for the last 2 weeks. I look forward to watching you again in 2 years! (Even more excited because it is Summer!)

Update

Not much has been going on with us but I figured I better post before February is over. So here are just a few things that have been going on with us.

• Rob is back into the swing of school and doing lots of homework. This would be his last semester but he has decided to continue on to get his masters degree. We are hoping he can finish his masters in a year.
  
• I am still enjoying teaching. I have a cute class and I am learning a lot! I really am lucky to have a job that I love in a great school with a great staff. Teaching for sure keeps me busy and time continues to fly. Last week we had parent teacher conferences. They went really well and I like being able to spend a little time with their parents. It was also great to have a 4-day weekend.
• We had a really nice Valentine's Day/President's Day weekend. We went down to Sandy and spent some time with both of our families. It was great to see them and have some time to just relax!
  
• I am excited the Olympics are on! I really love watching them!
• Even though it is still cold, I can feel that Spring is on its way! Can't wait for a little warmer weather to come to Logan!
• I actually watched Lost and liked it! Also- my brother recommended watching Modern Family. So far so good- I also recommend it! (I know it is pretty sad when TV shows are in my update- I guess I need to do something more exciting for next post!)
  

Back to Reality!

I think going back to work after Christmas Break is so hard. After two weeks of spending time with family, staying up late, sleeping in, parties, relaxing, pretty much doing whatever I want it is a shock to go back to waking up at 6:00 a.m. working until 5:00ish and then being busy the rest of the night with more work, dinner, etc. Of course it doesn't take long to get back into the swing of working. I am always looking forward to the next weekend, day off, and keeping an eye on my next major break. Good News- The school year is more than half over but I still have 52 school days until spring break and 81 school days until summer.

Really we haven't done anything exciting since Christmas break. Rob is back in school and we are just surviving the freezing cold temperatures up here in Logan! We have tomorrow off so I am looking forward to a lazy day! Maybe next time I blog I will have something a little more exciting to say. Hope everyone has a great day!!!