February in a Nutshell

We went to a Jazz game!

We celebrated our 3rd Valentine's Day together! I had a class all night and told Neal that we just wouldn't worry about it this year, but he surprised me when I got home with a candle light dinner with my favorite dinner...Pizza! It was even in a cute heart shaped one from Papa Murphy.

My last day student teaching 2nd graders! I miss those guys!

We went pole dancing for Jennica's bachelorette party! It was so fun! But I got so bruised!

Me showing off my moves on the pole!

Me and Neal at Jenn's wedding!

All of the girls at the Wedding!

Last Weber State game ever! I can't believe it is all coming to an end!

RaNdOm!

This is going to the most random post ever!

I have 16 days left of student teaching! I can't believe it. But I really need to stop counting down. I feel like when I am counting down, I am counting away my life. There is no reason why I should count my life away like that. I should just enjoy the journey and be thankful for what I have. Student teaching has been great and I have learned and grown so much!

So I found out some good news today.......

I am going to have my very own classroom!!!! I have the awesome opportunity to be a 2nd grade substitute teacher for the last two months of school. This will be such a good experience for me! I will get a little glimpse of what it will be like to have my own classroom and to be on my own. And I can't wait to make some money again!

And my last random thing I wanted to share is something that happened in sharing time on Sunday, it was so funny! We were talking about moms and dads and the things they do to help families. We started with moms first and the kids were listing things like moms cook, clean, help with the homework, and they worry way too much. Haha! Then we started talking about dads and how they fix things, how they get mad at us, and how they have the priesthood to help us. Then one kid raised his hand and said, "Moms are important because they make baby boys, who will grow up to have the priesthood." Haha! Isn't that the cutest thing ever? They are just so cute and innocent. I am glad I have the opportunity to serve and work with kids!

Stolen!

I stole this from one of my friends blog who I went to high school with! She is student teaching this semester too and I couldn't have said it any better!

Reasons why teaching is hard:
*you are standing on your feet all day
*you are an ENTERTAINER for 6+ hours a day
*you come home and still have 4+ hours of work to do
*you aren't just teaching abc's and 123's... you are teaching social skills, communication skills, manners, hygiene, etc. etc. etc!!!
*you are constantly worrying about them
*you are going going going going going....all day.

Reasons why teaching is worth it:
*you get to spend all day with 21 happy, smiling cutie pies
*21 little people look up to you and think you're cool
*you get to watch the light-bulb turn on all day
*you get to see the kids grow and progress everyday
*I am suddenly an amazing writer, reader, oh and did I mention singer and artist? (only in their eyes of course!)
* everyday is filled with little moments that make you laugh so hard you almost cry

Thanks Hannah for blogging this!

I am so sad that I have to say goodbye to my 2nd grade class this week! They have all become my best friends! I am scared out of my mind to go into 5th grade. I feel like I am finally getting the hang of teaching 2nd graders and getting pretty good at it and now I have to switch! I hope I can survive! Only seven more weeks!!!!!

Student Teaching

Some days, I love teaching and am so excited to go back the next day. Days like today, I think I am crazy to go into this professions. Well its too late to change my mind so I guess I will have to stick with it! Haha
Student teaching really has been so much fun and a great experience! I feel like am ready to have my own classroom. I am ready to do things my way and not have a teacher sitting in the back telling the kids to "shh" the whole time. It pretty much consumes all of my time and my thoughts. I am constantly thinking about what I have to do tomorrow, or about little Gracie, or how am I going to teach this or that. I feel bad for poor Neal, he has been so bored, we hardly get to do things together during the week. Good thing for netflex. He has been watching lots of episodes of Lost.
I have never appreciated weekends so much, until now. By the time Friday hits I am exhausted! Saturday's I have no motivation to do anything, so I don't. But I always try to do something fun over the weekend.
In January we went to two Jazz games and somehow they won both! :)

They better pull it together or I am going to have to start cheering for a different team!

We went to some Weber State basketball games!

Go Cats!

Well that is all that is going on with us. Kinda boring, I know. I just have to get through these next 9 weeks and then I will be free!

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas and got very spoiled! We are so lucky to have such amazing families, who did way too much for us! Christmas started on December 21 for me. Neal gave me an early Christmas present, which was tickets to see Secondhand Serenade. Last time I tried to see Secondhand Serenade, I didn't quite make it to the concert. It was down at Thanksgiving Point and I was going with my bestest friend, Melanie, we were on I-15 when somebody rear-ended us, sent us flying across three lanes of traffic, where then we hit into the cement barricade. I got knocked out and don't remember a thing, Melanie's head got cut open and had to get staples. We were taken to American Fork Hospital in an ambulance. No concert for us and I think we made a lot of people late...


Anyways, Neal surprised me with the tickets and I finally got to see Secondhand Serenade! I loved every minute of it and I didn't want it to end! He played most of his old stuff, which is my very favorite! It was awesome! Neal is such a trooper for taking me to all these girly bands.
Waiting for the show to start!
Mr. John Vesley. (One day I am going to play the piano just like him).
I am in heaven!
Sexy!
Thank you so much for taking me Neal!

CHRISTMAS EVE

We spent Christmas Eve with Neal's family. We started it off by seeing Tangled. It was super cute! I love all these new Disney movies. Then, later that night, we had a huge prime rib dinner! It was delicious! I didn't take any pictures on Christmas Eve. I need to remember to take some next year! After dinner, we headed down to Sandy to be with my family. We caught the end of their party and then spent the night at my parents house. We kicked Taylor out of his bed and made him sleep on the couch! We woke up on Christmas morning to lots and lost of presents! My parents always do way too much!
Our cute stockings! Santa even brought Gabby a stocking. Yes, it says Baby's First Christmas, it is her first Christmas after all.
Neal has wanted one of these goofy hats from American Eagle since before we were married. He always lets me know every time we go there around Christmas. This year I finally got him one!
I got some cute new boots!
Us, in our new jammy's on Christmas morning.
My favorite Christmas morning tradition is going to my grandparents house for breakfast!

Me and Neal at my grandparents house!

After breakfast, we headed over to my other Grandma's place and visited with her. Then we went back to my parents and we played a fun game called "What's Yours Like?"
It was a hilarious! I don't think that I have laughed that hard in a very long time. We then cleaned up and headed back up to Ogden and went to his parents house for dinner. We opened presents and played games! Neal's parents got us Jazz tickets on the 12th row! I am so excited!!!

Anniversary Weekend

Instead of buying each other gifts for our Anniversary we go out to eat and stay the night somewhere nice. Neal always does a good job thinking of something special for us to do. This year we went to the Prairie Schooner in Ogden for dinner. It is a pretty yummy place with a cool atmosphere. You sit in covered wagons next to a prairie open fire. They have it decorated with animals of all sorts. We both enjoyed ourselves some delicious steaks and we definitely ate way too much!
Here is a view from where we were sitting.

Us in the covered wagon.


After dinner, we headed up Ogden Canyon to the Alaskan Inn Bed and Breakfast. The Alaskan Inn blew Anniversary Inn out of the water. The Alaskan Inn is so much better! You stay in your own private cabin, you don't have hear the people around your, or have water drip from the ceiling of your bathroom (this happened to us at the Anniversary Inn). It was such a nice stay. Neal had ordered a special romance package, so when I walked in there was music playing, rose petals on the ground, and some divine chocolate covered strawberries. We had a great night!

Cute, quite cabins!

Candle Lit Bathtub

I love him!

Breakfast was delivered to us in the morning and it was so good! This really was such a fun place, especially with the snow falling!

Neal loves breakfast!


In front of our cabin! The Misty Fjords


Saturday night we went down to Temple Square to see the lights. It was fun to be there, it reminded me of what happened there two years earlier! The Salt Lake Temple still amazes me! I love it, it is so pretty!! We went down with Neal's parents and his brother and his wife and their cute little boy!




Cool tree at Gateway!

Happy Anniversary!

Two years ago I married my best friend! I can't believe it has already been 2 whole years! Neal is such a great husband and I love him so much!!!