A Smile on My Face Kind of a Day!

The last day of school is usually a pretty good one. No matter how much you love your class, it's nice to be able to say goodbye to kids and hello to summer. I had a very unexpected gift presented to me this morning which made it even better.

My room mom had come in while I was out of town over the last couple of weeks and asked my students questions about me. What I like to eat, where I live, what they will miss about me, what they learned, etc. Then she sent a note home (I assume) asking for donations. She typed up all of these adorable responses and put it together in a little booklet. After each thoughtful note there was a dollar bill. They all helped out and gave me a 100 thoughtful notes and $100! 

THE BEST TEACHER GIFT EVER!!!

They told me I was going to cry...and I did! 

For as much trouble as some of these kids gave me all year long, they sure did know how to say thank you. I told them I would use the money to buy something for my new house to remember them by. 

~Goodbye Class of 2012-2013~

OVER IT!

It's been a LONG year for me! 

I've gone through a lot of changes, a surgery, new roommates, new friends, changes at work, a new house, etc. On top of that my district is making us move out of our school for our first 3 weeks of school next year. So I'm ending my year and packing up and preparing for next year. If you are a teacher you might understand how truly frustrating this is. It's not an easy task, plus I'm exhausted and just ready to be done! If I've forgotten something...tough luck! A little crazy, but.....

It's finally OVER though!  

  Everything I think I'll need for 3 weeks next year!

 If you've walked in my classroom lately this is what I've looked like... 

OVER IT!

  It hasn't been my best year, but I've survived. I'm feeling really grateful for my friends, family, and co-workers who have helped me survive.

Here's hoping to some fun summer adventures!

Sometimes I do love Utah!

It's taken me awhile to get use to Utah and actually say that I like it here. I guess since I'm buying a house here I probably should start LOVING it here. Well the best way to love Utah in my opinion is to go to the mountains. The mountains, the temples, and my friends are my top 3 things in Utah.

I decided to spend a couple of hours up Big Cottonwood Canyon today. It never disappoints. 

 

I love the hike above the lake even though it's straight up for a mile. I attempted it today and started out pretty good. I made it to a giant snow hill going straight up that was so slick I just couldn't keep going. I ended up sliding down a hill and getting pretty muddy. I decided I would just have to wait a little longer to make it to the upper lake.

 View of Silver Lake from as far as I could climb today.

After walking around the lake and enjoying the views I decided to head back down the canyon and find a spot along the river to eat my lunch and read my book.

Pretty sure laying on a big rock listening to this was a GREAT idea!

Nothing makes me happier than being outside! I can't wait until I can make this a weekly adventure!