Life as we know it....

I know... six months is a long time not to update my blog. First off, not much has happened in our lives since January. Toto did have a little knee surgery but all is well. We continue working on paperwork for our adoption and are getting close to being approved. Then we will just have to find our baby. I have just continued to work hard at GBCC and Jonathan continues to work hard at BITS. Jonathan is writing an app for smart phones that will help to run a small business. That's what he does for play. I either read, or work on sewing. I'm trying to get better and have a couple of projects going on right now. I have some fabric to make an awesome Nursery Rhyme quilt, hopefully for my baby. I have really learned a lot about quilting through just practicing. I finally got a few materials of my own to use, rather than just mom's stuff, and now I just need my own sewing machine so I don't have to use mom's. Lucky for me, My mommy loves me and lives close enough to let me use hers. Now I wish I had taken that sewing class that Jonathan suggested back at BYU.... oh BYU, I miss you and your vast knowledge. I really do miss taking classes and learning. I also miss having a little variety to my life from one class to another and from one semester to another. Working full time all year at the same job can get hard when you are not used to that. But I have been at GBCC for almost a year now. I just got my substitute teaching licence though and I don't know if I will stay with GBCC or move back into the Subbing world, which I loved so much.

Sorry guys

You have probably noticed I never get on here, but since I started working, I don't even get on the internet anymore. You should see my inbox, or maybe not. Anyway. We are all moved in, mostly unpacked, but still have probably a whole night of unpacking to go. We love our new house and so does Toto. Although, Toto still loves grandma's house and runs up there every chance he gets. You should have seen him running around mom's living room last night when I took him over with me. He loves it over there. He has also started training classes, ok so we started training classes. Hopefully we can get him to actually follow the commands we give him. Well it's back to work for me.

We bought a house

Well, we made an offer and they accepted it. We will be moving into the house right behind Mom's house in Jan. We are super excited. More to come... we will eventually take pics and post them.

Life keeps going

Well life just keeps going. I can't believe it has already been 6 months since we moved to Tricities!! In that time we finally have gotten a baby!! Although not the kind we have been hoping for. We got a little Shorkie puppy. He is part Shi Tzu, part Yorkie. He is just adorable and a really good little puppy. Even my mom, who does not like dogs, really likes him. I still cant believe she let me bring a puppy into her home. His name is Toto. Isn't he Cute! This is the first time we met him, when we picked him out of 10 puppies. The next one was a couple weeks ago, when it was still some what warm out side. He loves to have his tummy/chest scratched.
He has really gotten big since we first brought him home. He is now about 4 lbs, about 4 months old, and almost completely vaccinated (next Friday)!!

We also bought a new car. It is a used 2010 Toyota Corolla. It's awesome!!
We went to Dinseyland, which was... magical! It was so fun to be with family and I'm glad Cyntha and her family was able to come with us.
Work is going well and I have really adjusted to the center. BGCC is a good little company and I hope to stay with them for a long while!
We are also starting the process to buy a home. We will see how things turn out but I think we will be staying really close to mom.
Update on the adoption, we finally sent in our FBI background check this week and have almost finished collecting/filling out all the hard copy paper work needed in the initial application. We are also starting to fill out the profile online. It will still be at least 3 months before we are approved, but the process is moving forward again. Although may be put on the back burner yet again while we buy a house. We will see.
Life is good. I have a great husband and a wonderful little puppy!!

New job

I finally found a job. I will be the Program Supervisor at a little daycare center in Kennewick. The center is mostly for lower income families. There are two locations, one for infants and toddlers and one for the older children 2 1/2 to about 5. There are only a few school aged children. I will have a different title, which has not been decided yet, but the job I will do is Program supervisor. I'm very excited to have a job. It will be a good experience for me to learn and grow as well as give me something to do and be passionate about. I really think I can help them do some good things are we will be working on getting off of probation for licensing issues. I start on Weds.

Grandma's blackberry jam

We had the wonderful opportunity to go spend some time with grandma Mitchell last week. The blackberries were on so we went to go make grandma's world-famous Wild Oregon Blackberry Jam. Ok, so probably not world-famous, but at least it's famous in our family! I decided to document the process so everyone can enjoy.

Step 1: Pick wild Oregon blackberries with Grandma. (I suppose tame blackberries and blackberries picked from other states and with other people will do, but then it wouldn't be grandma's Wild Oregon Blackberry Jam, would it?) You need 6 cups of blackberries to make 1 batch (approx. 5 pints).

Step 2: Gather ingredients and materials. You'll need:

Ingredients (per batch)

• 6 cups of blackberries
• 1 box pectin (or buy it in bulk like Grandma does)
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 8 cups of sugar
• 1 spoonful of crisco

Equipment

• A big pot
• A blackberry masher (shown below)
• A wooden flat-edged spoon for stirring
• A shallow pan (for sterilizing jars and lids)
• A funnel with a jar-sized mouth (also pictured below)
• 5 pint jars, lids, and bands (per batch)

Some of the utensils you'll need:

Step 3: Put a pan of shallow water on a back burner on high for 7+ minutes to sterilize the jars and lids:

Step 4: Put the blackberries in a big pot on another burner (on high) and mash them:

Step 5: Add 1/3 cup of Pectin (1 box):

Step 6: Add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice:

Step 7: Mash and stir until it comes to a boil:

Step 8: Get 8 cups of sugar (Grandma uses this very accurate 2 quart pan as approx 4 cups)

And add the sugar to the boiling jam:

Step 9: Also add a spoon of crisco to cut down on the foam on top:

Step 10: Keep at a rolling boil for 4 minutes. Maybe turn the temp down to 9 to keep it from boiling over. Use a flat-edged wooden stirring stick to scrape the bottom and sides to keep it from burning.

You can check if the jam is done by its consistency and how it runs off of the wooden spoon. Here's a video of how it looks when it's not done:

And this is what it looks like when it is done:

Step 11: Pour the jam into the jars using the jam-sized funnel:

Step 12: Clean off the lips with a wet paper towel so they'll seal better:

Step 13: Put the lids on the jars:

Step 14: Put the bands on the jars and screw them on tight:

Voila! 5 beautiful pints of Grandma's Wild Oregon Blackberry Jam. As the hot jam cools the lids on the jars will self-seal.

It sure was fun making blackberry jam with grandma! I hope we can continue to do it every August when the blackberries are on. We love you grandma!

I have been changed for the better

Today I was listening to the "Wicked" soundtrack and heard a wonderful song. The song is near the end and talks about how Elphaba and Glinda have changed each other's lives for the better. That really got me thinking about the people in my life that have changed me for the better just because I knew you! There are so many people that have influenced the person I am and changed my life. There are the obvious and most important ones: Mom, Cassy, Cyntha, Garth, Dad (as much as I wish he wasn't on the list, he is) and Jonathan. Then my nieces and nephews, especially James. Then there are the surrogate dads: Grandpa, Byron, Bro. Davidson, Bishop Walker, Roger. My friends:Missy, Sam, April, Mike (Tonks and Larsen), Janae, Jillian, Alicia. These are only a few of the people that have been important in my life, but the most prevalent. To those who I did not name please do not be offended, this is just a quick list of people. I love you all!
Please read through the Lyrics. Think about those in your life who have changed you. I have put in bold the words that really hit me today.

ELPHABA:
"I'm limited
just look at me i'm limited
and just look at you you can do all I couldn't do
glinda,
so now its up to you
for both of us
now it's up to you

GLINDA:
I've heard it said
that people come into our lives
for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
and we are lead to those
who help us most to grow
if we let them and we help them in return
Well i dont know if i believe that's true
But i know i'm who i am today
because i knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
halfway through the wood.
Who can say if i've been changed for the better
but, because i knew you
I have been changed for good.


ELPHABA:
It well may be
that we will never meet again in this lifetime
so let me say before we part
so much of me is made from what i learned from you
You'll be with me
like a hand print on my heart
Now whatever way our stories end
I know you have rewritten mine
by being my friend

Like a ship blown from it's mooring
by a wind off the sea
like a seed dropped by a sky bird
in a distant wood
Who can say if i've been changed for the better?
But because i knew you

GLINDA:
because i knew you

BOTH:
I have been changed for good

ELPHABA:
And just to clear the air i ask forgiveness
for the things i've done you blame me for

GLINDA:
But then i guess we know there's blame to share

BOTH:
And none of it seems to matter any more

GLINDA:
Like a comet pulled from orbit
(like a ship blown from its mooring)
As it passes a sun
(By a wind off the sea)
Like a stream that meets a boulder
(Like a seed dropped by a bird)
Halfway through the wood
(in a wood)

BOTH:
Who can say if i've been changed for the better?
I do believe i have been changed for the better

GLINDA:
And because i knew you

ELPHABA:
because i knew you

BOTH:
because i knew you,
I have been changed...
for... good"

Thanks for taking the time to change me life for good. I love each one of you for your own ways of changing me.

Job Hunting

Well, not a lot of new stuff over here in Washington. I have been applying for jobs as much as I can. I've applied for 3 jobs in Kennewick, 1 in Richland, and a couple in Pasco. We will see what happens. We are starting to look for a 3 bedroom apartment or house to rent. There is talk of getting a puppy or kitten, but not until we move out of mom's house. First, mom won't let us have a pet, and then Grandpa won't let us have a pet... so the answer is no for now. We want a small dog, but I'm thinking we will get a kitten first. We will see. Jonathan is working away as always. He is till happy with his job, so all is well.

Best of all, tomorrow is our Three Year Anniversary. We are going to Red Lobster because BITS sent us a gift card for them! Thanks BITS!

Utah Fun!

We are having a blast down in Provo this week! I have a few pics but since I'm using Ben and April's computer, I don't know if I can put them up now. I'll do it later.

First thing when I got here April and I went to the Eclipse premiere party with Graciousrain.com! It was fun and we both got some prizes.

Ben and April got a new Black Wii and we have played lots of mario on it! I love the old school type games. The New Super Mario Brothers game is awesome!!

We went to build a bear and I made an April Leopard. It's pretty darn cute!

Just a lot of Hanging out.

We also got to go and see Grandma and Grandpa Smith, who we haven't seen for 18 months because they were on a mission in Hong Kong.

We were supposed to go home today, but we are having too much fun, so we stayed. I don't know when we will head home; maybe tomorrow, or maybe Monday. We'll see. We are going to go swimming and to the park to play Frisbee this afternoon, because April will be home this afternoon. It's wonderful to be back in Union Square, even if only for a few days. Although, there are a lot of new people and most of the old ones that we have known for a while are gone or leaving. No one wants to stay now that the Mitchell's are gone!

We finally did it!

We got our preliminary adoption application in! Now we wait until we get that approval and then pay the "down payment" and get started on the process! We are excited and can hardly wait until we get approved so that we can bring home a baby and finally become parents. It may still be a long time, we may have a year or more of waiting, but we are doing something about it and hopefully it won't be soo Long!

Washington life

Life is WA is fun. We had the first Mann family reunion and that was fun, but crazy with lots of people around. Jonathan just got his new desk and it's very nice. So, as of today, he is all set up. Somewhere in the move we have lost his scriptures and checkbook, but we think they got put into a box by accident, we just can't find the right one. Working from home has been pretty good for him so far, we will see how things continue.
We got a membership to Garth's gym so we can help him and mom work out more. As well as to help me loose some weight. I tried zumba today and had a lot of fun! I like dancing! I also am working on getting a job, although before I can apply I have to get a WA license, which is harder than I expected. Then I am also working on the adopting application! I'm so excited to finally start working on that. It's been 2 years and 2 months since we started trying to have a baby, and I feel like we are finally really getting started.
I have started hanging out with my oldest friend, and I don't mean age, and we have fun talking. She is also a teacher and even is going to have a kindergarten class next year. Jonathan hasn't really made friend's yet, since all he does it work and play with Garth, but he has enjoyed time with Todd, our brother-in-law. We are planning a trip down to Utah at the end of June and hope to have some fun with some of our friends, especially the Willfords.

more update pics.

We did it! We finally graduated. Jonathan in Information Technology and me in Early Childhood Education. Here's a pic of Jonathan's Graduating class... We walked with him. This is all we've got of graduation pics... Cassy has more.
















Can you tell reading with kids is what I do? These are my great nieces and nephew who all wanted to see the pics of the Fancy Nancy book I was reading. Those books are a big hit in my family!














We had to say goodbye to all our friends in Provo... and I can't believe we got away without ANY pics of us with our Best friends the Willford's. We will have to go back to Provo to get some I guess! Since we got to WA I have cried so much because I miss my friends... especially April! I love you!!















I couldn't have finished packing and cleaning if it weren't for my wonderful friend Jo!! I was so totally done with packing and cleaning, but I still had a lot to do. She came over and brought Megan to help us finish up. Not a great pic after a long hard day of packing and cleaning, but she is so wonderful!! Thanks girl!

Hair Cut

I recently got a hair cut, and I also added high lights. It looks really good and it's super easy to do!

cakes

As promised, here are some cakes I have made and decorated! They taste as good as they look too. I have had fun playing with different fillings and As you can see, colors too. I'm getting pretty good at them.

Sorry guys

Ok so I have been promising to update my blog for like 2 months... Sorry! I just haven't done it. So a quick up date. Recently I have gotten into cake decorating and I really love it. Jonathan doesn't mind the cake part too much, but the kitchen kinda explodes every time I make a cake. I'm really pretty good. I will post my pictures. I have a goal to post them this week.
Also I graduated!! Yay, oh, and so did Jonathan! We are all done and got to celebrate with his mom and sister Kate, and boyfriend Forest, and my whole family except Garth (and the brother-in-laws). It was so great seeing everyone!
Another fun thing that I just decided to pick up is crocheting. I made a little purse today, well I started last night. Today's was just a practice to kinda figure out what I want to do, but I'm going to make a really fun purse for me!
Today I got my first massage! It was so fun, but a little weird for me. I had to keep my eyes closed and pretend that the man touching me wasn't really there and hoping he couldn't see anything. But it felt great! Jonathan really needs to take some classes so that he can give me some really good massage! That would be great because it wouldn't be so weird with Jonathan rather than a strange man.
Well like I said, I have a goal to post pictures this week.... so be expecting them!

Las Vegas anyone?

Hey, I'm planning a quick trip to Las Vegas to see my sister and good friend. If anyone wants to go please let me know, I would rather not drive alone. I'm planning Weds- Sat this week!! SO like the 24-27. Let me know.

The greatest Valentine ever!!

Yesterday, Sunday, was an amazing day. We went to church and I got the best Valentine's Present ever. I got to feel God's love for someone. I had a thought to share something with a good friend of mine, and as I wrote that down so I would remember, I was overwhelmed with love for her. I know that it came from God. I have always thought that I had a huge capacity to love. But I have never, ever, felt that much love for a person before. I sat there in Relief Society and balled. God has so much love for his daughters. He really does. Even though he sends us trials, some of which we think we can never get through, he loves us and wants us to be happy. He sends us trials so that we can grow into better people and he wants us to turn to him and let him help us through it! He gave us his son, his only begotten, that we could have an advocate, a friend, someone who truly understands our pain and suffering, and can take it away if we will give it to him. He gave us the greatest gift that could ever be given, because he loves us. He would do it again for each and every one of us. I can hardly believe the feeling of love that came over me. It was too much for my mere human body and so it just exploded into tears, because that's the only way my body could handle it. WOW, HE LOVES US. EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US! I have always known that God loves me and that I am his daughter, but now I know on a new level just how much love he truly has for us. I also love this friend of mine on a whole new level. She is truly an amazing girl and even though she may not know it, she is strong, and a light in my life. She knows who she is, and I won't say who she is for her sake, but I love you my dear friend, and you can get through this with God on your side. And I can get through it too... but only with God on my side.

What a weekend

Well, first off, Friday was fun and exhausting!! I got to celebrate Valentine's day elementary school style for the first time in like... 11 or so years! It was great fun. We wrote about valentine's day, we did valentine's math, we read about valentine's day, and then we passed out valentines and had a party!! It was so much fun. I even got some roses from one of the little boys in my class!! Then when I got home I realized how exhausted I was. I went to bed and slept for like 3 hours!! Poor Jonathan, he worked on Friday night. Then I got up and could not get back to sleep so I was up until 1 am reading, and then I tossed and turned all night.
Saturday was also a fun day. I went running, well power walking, and then we went shopping and then came home. I got ready for our "hot date" and Jonathan went back out to get me flowers. So he brought home a dozen pink roses, valentine's Dot's, and a pink bear that says "hug me." Then we went to Thai Ruby for dinner. Mine was way too spicy so it made my tummy hurt, as well as my mouth. SO we came home and watch Kiss and Make Up, a Cary Grant movie. That was fun. Then we went to the Stake Dance. That was so much fun. I have way more fun at these now then I did in high school. Now I actually dance and have fun. I took my cousin's baby, Garret, for a little bit so that they could dance and learn the Waltz. He is so cute.
Yesterday I had a amazing experience which I will explain in the next post. I got the best gift of love ever!! Then after church I came home and cleaned the living room and kitchen, well more picked it up, so that when Jonathan got home from counting tithing, he had a small gift. His love language is service. So I tried to speak in his language. I cleaned up, and then I went on a walk with him, which he loves, and I made him dinner. Then we had Stake choir practice. When we got home from that we sat in bed and read together. He read his book and I read mine, but he held me while we read. It was nice. We had a fun Valentine's day!!
Today we are going to see Avatar, courtesy of mom and dad Mitchell. I'm excited. Ben and April are coming with us and we are gonna see it in 3D at the Thanksgiving Point theater.

Decisions decisions

There are so many decisions to make as we come up on Graduation. Jonathan has been offered a full time position with BITS. He is excited to stay with them and continue working with them and programming findacode. We have also made the decision to adopt. It looks like we will not be applying for adoption until June, but we will work hard to get approved quickly. We found out that it will not take as long to get approved as we thought, and if we work hard enough, it can go through in 2-3 months. We also need to make a decision on where to live. Jonathan can work from anywhere. We have been trying to decide between staying in Ut or moving to WA, where we want to end up anyway. We have fasted and prayed and gone to the temple trying to get the guidance we need. It seems like either choice is good. I hate it when the answer is "it's your choice." But right now we are leaning toward moving home to WA. We will probably leave at the end of May. My brother Graduates High school at the beginning of June, and Jonathan's brother is getting married in July. Both are happening in Washington, so we want to go before those trips. We reserve the right to change our minds if we feel prompted to do so, but as of right now, we are moving to Washington. Now just a few weeks ago, we had decided to stay in Utah, so who knows. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. But here we go. We are growing up and entering the real word. Scary!

Oh, the roller coaster

Yesterday was not an easy day for me. I knew that it wouldn't be easy, but it was harder than I thought to say goodbye. Yesterday, Bishop Brown was released. He has been our bishop since we got married. He has helped us to serve others, to learn, to get through some of our struggles with infertility. He has loved us, even invited us to father's day dinner with his family. I love Mark Brown. He has been like a father to me. I have had so many "fathers" in my life. Each time I have to say goodbye it isn't easy. I think I went through 6 Kleenexes during sacrament meeting. I cried almost the whole time. I'm sure that Bishop Bushman will be great, but he is not Bishop Brown. I still remember my first week in this ward. Bishop got up and did the announcements and I was looking at him like, "man, this guy has no personality, he is gonna be boring." Oh, I was so wrong!! Bishop is one of the most fun people I know! He was exactly what I needed coming into this ward, as well as on my way out of this ward. I know that this is not really good bye, but I won't see him each week, and he won't be at all our ward activities.
There have been many fathers in my life, and I know they don't really ever go away. There has been Bro. Christian, Bro. Davidson, Bishop Walker, Rick Jansons, Bishop Brown, and my new dad, Roger! I know Roger will never leave. He is stuck with me because I am sealed to his son who is sealed to him!! Ha, he can't get away. But the others, they are all still friends of mine, even though I only talk to them once a year or so. They are, and always will be in my heart. Bishop Brown is the newest in that place. I hadn't even realized how much I love him until he was released. He has changed my life and made me better because I knew him.
I love you Bishop Brown! Thank you for being you!!

It's about love.

So, most of you probably already know about this, but I thought I should post it on here anyway. Jonathan and I have decided to adopt. We want to adopt a white infant so that we can raise it completely and it won't be as obvious that we adopted it. We are really excited!! We are going to an orientation meeting this week and then will have more information. We know that in order to apply, we need $1,000, so we are working on saving that up. Once we have that we will apply and start the process. The first 6 months will be paperwork and training and interviews and so forth, and then we will be "on the market" so to speak, for a baby. We are looking through LDS Family Services. The way it works is that we make up a profile about ourselves and then birth mothers will look through the profiles and choose the parents she wants for her baby. We will just have to wait and see what happens. The only thing I know of to speed up the process of waiting, is to network. People need to know I am looking to adopt and I need to know if someone is looking to put their baby up for adoption.
Adopting gets a bad rep because a lot of people really don't understand. The mothers who are giving up their babies are doing it not because they don't love them, but because they love them enough to give that baby a better life than she can give. They know that they can not take care of the baby right and want someone else to give that baby the love and stable home that she can't. That's what adoption is "All about love." That's the motto for LDS Family Services.
I can't wait to give a beautiful little baby a better life and to love that baby. It will be a wonderful thing to give that gift to both the baby and the birth mother. And what a wonderful gift it will be for us!

Family pictures

In Houston, we decided to get family pictures because the whole Mitchell family was finally together. The last of them came in on Christmas eve, and the first to leave left today, the 26th. So today we got pictures. The whole family ones turned out OK, but me and Jonathan's turned out great.



This one is going to my mom, his mom and his grandma.

















This one is going on our wall... a big one of it! Aren't we beautiful

















Here is the original of the "Love look"















And here is everyone. It was fun to try and get one without a screaming child. And of course, dad's eyes are closed.

Less than two weeks left

I only have two weeks left until I am done with my program. I don't actually graduate until April, and I am planning on taking one class next semester... if we can pay for it... But I could be graduating in like 2 weeks if I didn't put it off!! 3 and a half years since I graduated high school and I am done (could be graduated) with my Bachelors degree! And with no debt to speak of! I feel very accomplished. I only changed my major once, and it didn't effect any of the classes I had already taken. I went from Elementary Ed. to Early Childhood ed. I love teaching and I feel like I am a good teacher. I am now lead teaching in kindergarten and I love it! This really was the best field to go into. I know I won't ever be paid what I am worth, but I don't care because I will give those children everything that they are worth! I just love all 58 of my students (I am getting another one this week supposedly, so soon it will be 59). 3 months ago I was afraid that I didn't know what I had gotten myself into. I was scared, and sure that I was going to mess up these kids lives because I could never teach. I was wrong. Ya, it has taken some practice and I have learned a ton about how to be a good teacher, but I can do it and I had it in me all along. A very wise person told me once that if the desire is there, the how will come. He was right. I am a good teacher. I have kids that love me, even though none of them are really mine. I have 59 kids that I love and think about. I am trying to reach each of them and touch their lives, especially the "difficult" ones! Those are the kids that make teaching interesting. I am ready to go out and have my own classroom. I CAN DO IT!! I just need my license first. I feel a great sense of accomplishment, even though I am not graduating yet, I have learned and come so far in such a short time. If you knew be before college, and you know me now... I'm sure you can see the differences that I have made. I know I can.

Kindergarten

I have been in Kindergarten for 2 weeks now... sorry it's taken so long to tell you about it.
The first week was CRAZY!! It was the week before Halloween, and the kids were having a hard time behaving well and it was just bad. I was thinking, why did I ever want to teach kindergarten. I now have 57 students to learn the names of and to figure out how to get through to them and find a way to manage. Well, this week was better. By the end of my second week I was more used to 5-year-olds and getting the hang of things. Second grade to kindergarten is quite a jump down. Now I know most of the students' names, and I know how to handle most of them. I have figured out how to get their attention and how to teach them, to some extent. Now I remember why I wanted to teach kindergarten. I am enjoying it! I have a wonderful Mentor teacher, who loves to talk. I go in an hour and a half before school starts for kindergarten because that's when Shelly has to go in and I want to carpool because it's a half hour away. During the hour and a half we get a lot done and also talk A LOT!! It's great and I am learning a lot from her. There are down falls to talking so much, like I don't spend enough time planning with her as I want to and so I will have to do better when I start lead teaching. I am already doing a lot in the classroom and I really enjoy it. I'm grateful that I don't have to spend all weekend working on report cards like Sheila is. 57 report cards take a long time to fill out. Of course the 57 kids are in two classes, 30 in the morning and 27 in the afternoon. I'm glad that I chose Early Childhood Education and I am excited to be a teacher and have my own class some day. Forget this stay home thing... I want to teach! Although, teaching really takes all the energy I have, and I am exhausted when I get home, but it's worth it!!

Last day

Sorry I haven't been so good at updates.... students teaching is crazy. But today was my last day of Second grade. It was wonderful. I gave my kids each a book mark with a special note from me. I also gave the class a couple of new books. Today during recess the kids wanted to do something nice for me. So they all made me notes. Some gave me one of their cool pencils (used) and I even had someone give me their crayons. A couple gave me candy from their lunch. Then, Joe told me to give them a couple of mins after recess and they all hid behind a big sign and when I walked in the door, they all yelled "Thank You Mrs. Mitchell". Then they gave me their notes and the book they all signed, and gave me a group hug. I almost got knocked over 2 or 3 times during that hug. It was the most wonderful hug of my life. Almost everyone had a chance to say something nice. I had a lot say that I was the best teacher ever, and thank me for teaching. Some of my favorites...
Thanks for putting more brains in our heads
When I grow up I'm going to sing a song for you. (he also wrote that he wanted to kiss me in the book.)
Please come back before Halloween.
I wish you could teach me forever.
I just love all 26 of those students. Even those that were always pushing my buttons. The one little boy I struggled with most gave me the crayons, a pencil and wrote me a few notes that say he loves me. Teaching is so rewarding. I just touched 26 little lives, and 26 little lives just touched me. I wish that I could stay with them for the rest of the year... but alas, next week I start teaching kindergarten at Meadow Elementary in Lehi.
Good Bye Mr. Backman's 2nd Grade Class!! I love you!

Not to be redundant.... best giveaway ever!!!

Ok so you seriously have to check out Graciousrain.com!!! This is the greatest blog on the planet!! And she has some awesome giveaways this week. She has a hand bag that is the coolest thing ever! I want one of her amazing hand bags. So check it out... maybe you can enter to win... but if you don't, all the more chances for me to win... ;)
She also has a giveaway for New Moon tickets. Anyway, check out this great blog!!!

Giveaway time again

Check out this great blog.
SHe is going a giveaway every day this week!!! Today's is a candy dish.


Just so that I am not totally lame and only post about a giveaway....

Student teaching is going well. I start basically lead teaching on Monday. Joe will still teach math for another week, but other than that I am doing everything. I am totally exhausted at the end of each day and I just don't want to do anything when I get home. It's a love/hate thing. The weekends are not nearly long enough and neither are the days or nights for that matter. But life is good. I am constantly singing silly songs that we use to ge tthe kids to the carpet in a timely manner. It's great fun. I started my TWS unit today and we are learning about plants. I hope the kids learn.

First day of school

Today was my first day of Student teaching. The morning started out with a 3 hour meeting with my BYU professors and CFA (supervisor basically). This was good so that I kinda knew what was required of me during student teaching and other such details like the terrible, dreaded TWS (my senior project). Then after lunch we went out to our schools and got to meet our classes. I really like my cooperating teacher, Joe, and I didn't really get to know the kids today because I had so little time with them. I got there just after 1 and they left at 1:15 and 2:30. We have a funny schedule. Half the class comes from 8-2:30, and the other half comes from 9:15-3:30. Monday is an early out day for collaboration meetings between the teachers. So I'm at school a lot now. Anyway, I will know more as the week goes on, but so far I am excited, and still a little nervous. Although, knowing how nice my teacher is (joe), I feel a little better about how my first experience in Student teaching will go.

Lots of posts...

Ok so I haven't been able to blog for a while, b/c I was at Grandma's, so make sure that you check out all the new posts. They go all the way back to the cake with kate post (but that happened before I left). I had a lot of fun and there are lots of pictures to show it.

Good Bye to grandma's

I loved hanging out with Grandma. I learned so much from her and had a lot of fun. This is the morning that I left. I love Grandma, and I miss her, but I am so glad to be home with my husband.














While I was at Grandma's house, my cousin Josie, or Jo came to live with grandma for the next year of school. I got to go clothing shopping with her and we stayed up late talking. Isn't Jo so cute!! I just love her and can't wait until my next chance to visit her!!

Picking Blackberies

Grandma, Nate, and I picked wild Oregon Blackberries. We picked 5 buckets in about an hour.















Grandma was funny, she put a glove on her cast, and picked. She out picked both me an Nate even though she is only one handed.














Look at the size of those thorns. They scratched my hands up pretty good.




























Then I made 3 batches of Jonathan's favorite, Wild Oregon Blackberry Jam. So I have a few jars of jam, and a few more are labeled for us at grandma's house.




























Making Jam is not as hard as I thought it would be. And there is a LOT of sugar in it, but it tastes good.