Summer Fun

I am so excited about summer! I always am:) Memorial day was the first real celebration. I started the day off by spending my life savings at RC Willey. I have been wanting to upgrade my washer and dryer before they die and there is a table that I have been looking at for two years. Memorial Day was finally the day to purchase them! I hate spending that much money at one time but I am grateful I have the ability to purchase the items before mine break and I have to. I have truly been blessed that way, knock on wood.

 Tuesday my washer and dryer were delivered. They are so quiet! Look amazing! And can wash an entire sleeping bag:)

 Some day I will get the pedestals. Today is not that day. My kitchen table was delivered today. I spent the morning deep cleaning the living room. That took a long time but it was way past due. I love having a really clean house. The table looks so great!

Memorial day was so fun. After I spent all my money I met up with family and we played hard all afternoon. Dan grilled for us. We had all of our Utah family, Aunt Nancy, My cousin Andy and his family, and my cousin Laura and her family, Katie and her niece Abbie. It was a fun group. I wish I had taken some pictures. We played Kan Jam and Spike Ball. If you don't have Kan Jam you need it. It is so much fun!!!

After the Memorial Day fun Andrew came back to my house to stay the night. We had played hard so it was bath and bed for this cute boy.

 We kept ourselves busy on Monday. He didn't want to eat dog food for breakfast because humans eat oatmeal and Mac and cheese. Two of his staples. I call that almost human food:) We had breakfast and then got busy building a fort.

 Then we hit up the rec center for a little swimming after lunch.

 We went on all the big water slides and then Hannah and I took turns timing him while he raced down the little slides. He played HARD!

 After swimming we headed to Thanksgiving point to see Lightning Mcqueen. This is the reason I wanted to have him stay the night. Recently he changed his favorite color from blue to red because of lightning mcqueen. I saw an advertisement for an opportunity to meet him for free and knew I wanted to take Andrew. Me and all of Utah County decided to meet Lightning. The line was crazy but it was fun to hang out with Andrew. He did so well in line. We practiced Math and played a game where I would write a word and he would site read it. This really helped pass the time.

 We finally made it inside. We waited in line for around two hours. This was apparently shorter than the wait earlier in the day.

 It was a fun little set up!

 This is to promote the new Cars 3 movie coming out in June.

 It was tiring but I am glad we made the effort because I think Andrew had fun.

Today I felt more normal after all my hiking. I hiked with Moki and Jacqui this morning, cleaned for four hours, biked 24 miles, got my car fixed, and went to mutual. It was a very busy summer day. Just how I like them.

RiM tO rIm GrAnD cAnYoN

I heard about hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim from Than Hancock. He and Pacen did it last year and again this year. I kind of invited myself on their trip but the date didn't work for me so Amber and I went the weekend after them. That was nice because they were able to give us some good tips on how to be successful. I was so excited to do this hike but also a little nervous. It is long, 24 miles. I have never hiked that far in a day. I was not sure how my body would respond. It is also tricky at the beginning of summer because I am not in as good of hiking shape.

Caleb was nice enough to drive Amber and I on this trip. He drove us to the North rim and then while we hiked he drove to the South Rim to pick us up. He spent twenty hours driving over 2 and a half days. We owe him big time!

School is out let vacation begin!!!

 Amber and I were not anticipating the 30 degree temperature at the start of our hike. It was freezing!

 I had been to the North rim before on a Sunday. We just walked around and took pictures. I had never done any hiking. We hiked down to Phantom Ranch on the North Kaibab trail. The views were amazing.

I love to hike in new places. It was fun to be on a trail I had never been on before. The morning started off really cool. We took our first little break 6 miles in. It was finally time to shed the jackets.

The beginning was pretty step but it eventually leveled out a bit and it really was a rather comfortable descent.

There were lots of people hiking rim to rim so we had lots of company on the trail. That is always reassuring.

 We hiked down hill for fifteen miles until we reached Phantom Ranch. I had been to the ranch before with Lou and Cody when we backpacked the Bright Angel trail. It is a great little ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We stopped and enjoyed some delicious Lemonade.

The ranger came and warned us that the temperature was 108 degrees. She was worried for use because she said the section after the river would feel like 115 degrees because of the suns reflection. I don't think it felt that hot but it was definitely very hot. The Colorado river was so green and beautiful! I swear it is usually an gross brown color but it was gorgeous on this day.

Crossing the Colorado and hoping on the Bright Angel Trail. From Phantom Ranch on it was all terrain I had hiked before. That is nice mentally because you know what to expect.

Enjoying the views.

 The last nine miles are uphill. It starts off pretty gradual for a couple of miles. Then you have a mile and a half of switchbacks before Indian Garden. Indian Garden offers some shade, a bathroom, and fresh water.

After Indian Garden the hard part of the day begins. The last 4.5 miles of switchbacks and the strenuous uphill climb. Luckily we were in the shade for most of it.

 It really was a gorgeous day!

I felt great the entire day until the last mile and a half. I sat down to eat some food and when I got up my body was DONE! Big mistake. My muscles got moving again but it was pretty rough for about 1/2 mile. I was actually surprised at how good I felt. You just never know with things like this.

 There are so many layers to the Grand Canyon. Walking to the bottom really helps me appreciate just how massive it is.

 Caleb was waiting for me as I finished and took this picture. I don't look to miserable so that is good:)

 It is always so rewarding to do something that is physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging. It took us a little over 12 hours. We definitely took our time and had an enjoyable experience. I preferred the day method compared to hiking with a heavy pack and camping in the canyon. It was nice to not have to hike out on sore legs, which is what I did when I backpacked the Bright Angel trail.

I was really happy to be done!

 Another fun adventure in the books.

 We drove back to our campsite in Kanab, Utah and took showers and crashed for the night. It felt so good to sleep. I think I would maybe do this hike again. I don't think I would make it an annual tradition because it takes a lot of time and planning but it was a fun thing to do. My calves were the only thing that was sore. And they were SORE! Even this morning, four days later, I felt them while biking. It was a fun trip and I am glad I was able to do it.

School's Out

The end of the year went smoothly. I spent one entire day cleaning my office and let me tell you it looks amazing!!!! I wish I had a picture. It is the cleanest it has ever been. After doing the math I believe I just finished my 12th year of teaching. That has gone by so fast. I found all but two of my old school ID badges. So funny to look at.

 I know I ma missing my first year picture but I don't know what other year I am missing.

I also went to Lagoon day again. This year was really pleasant. The weather was nice and the lines were not super crazy. It is so fun to spend the day with all my teacher friends.

I am excited for summer. I don't have any crazy summer plans. I am just trying to get in better shape and do some camping!

The Most Exhausting Time Of The Year

The end of school is so hard. I am EXHAUSTED!!!! The kids are done.  Unpredictable weather. Stress is high because everyone wants to make up assignments they should have done weeks ago.  It is just crazy. Last week on Tuesday it seemed like the week was never going to end. Like never ever. The good news is: it eventually did end. My grades are pretty much done and there is only one week of school left. This has been a really hard school year for me. It is hard to put on a happy face and be patient with kids when your world is on a roller coaster. Despite the emotional challenges for me there were lots of good things that happened this year. However I am so ready for summer.

Last Saturday I woke up real early and went to the temple before the Saturday rush.

 Sunday morning Moki and I go for walks if the weather permits. Well I walk and she runs all over the place.

 Sometimes it is hard to be banned from the house.

 Spring in Utah is a nightmare for PE teachers. It is very day to day as to what we can teach and if we can go outside. This was a pretty chilly day but we went out anyways.

 This is me Friday. The week I never thought I would get through was finally over. I had woken up early and hiked the Y, worked all day, and then lifted weights right after school.

 Yesterday I participated in the Women of Steel triathlon. It is a sprint triathlon. The distances are 300M swim, 12 miles bike, and a 3 mile run. I signed up trying to encourage myself to swim. Well that didn't happen!!!! I am glad I did it though. I am slowly trying to get back in good cardio shape. It is taking a long time but this was a good checkpoint race. I still have a ways to go. So that is also a good reminder for myself.

 It was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning. After terrible weather all week Saturday was actually really nice.

 After the race I did the bare minimum. I read. Grocery shopped. Took a nap. Then Hannah Taylor, Amber Ellis, Moki and I went and hiked Horse Tail Falls. It is a four mile hike up in Alpine. It was a fun little hike to a really pretty waterfall.

 We barely got off the trail before dark.

 My weekend was busy. Lots of physical activity. I am grateful today is a rest day.

I am also dying over this picture of Katelyn that Katie posted. This girl is adorable. I hate that I live so far away from those kids. Love them so much. I can't wait to see them this summer.

Track

This year has been so long for me. My students have been great but having my dad pass away was so hard emotionally. I was just barely putting one foot in front of another and now I am so TIRED!!! It has all caught up to me and I feel like I need to sleep for days. That being said there was a track season and I survived. It was even enjoyable most days. I had the best coaches to work with and our kids really do some amazing things which is so fun to see.

Alpine Days is my favorite track meet because it is when coaches finally get a chance to just watch our kids compete. Our school is one of the few middle schools that has a track and so we host all the other meets. That basically means I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off for 3 hours. It is CRAZY! So alpine days is always very pleasant.

The weather was cold but sunny.

 I love love love the location of our school. This is actually the high school which is a mile down the road, the mountain views are the same as at my school. It is truly amazing to teach at the foot of these mountains everyday.

 The people I coach with have become some of my great friends. I am just so grateful to them. Two of them are missing in this picture. they make coaching so fun and help keep me sane.

Track season was a success! I am LOVING going home at 3:30. It is the best.

Visitors

My mom and aunt Virginia came to Utah for California's spring break. It was so fun to have them here. I wish I could have had more time off work to hang out with them more but my evenings and weekends were full of fun activities.

They arrived in town on April 15th. My brothers and I were busy helping Nancy and Katie move so they hung out with Amanda and the boys. We saw them later that evening at my house.

Sunday was Easter. My stake had stake conference which was kind of a bummer but it all worked out. We then went to Loralies and played games and had dinner. 

I love getting my nieces and nephews Easter outfits. Here is Ben and Katie's crew all dressed in the clothes I sent them!!! It would have been more fun to see them in person but what do you do.

 Andrew and Emerson got cute little matching outfits as well.

Games at Loralies house before it got too crowded and crazy.

 I worked and had track the rest of the week so I didn't get any pictures. The ladies did their thing during the day and I joined them in the evening. I can tell you I loved having people cook me breakfast and dinner everyday. I could get used to that!

One night I taught my mom and Virginia the game Splendor. That was fun.

 Friday I decided to take a half day and come home early and surprise the ladies. We ended up going to the tulip festival. I hadn't been for a few year and we had a great time. the sun was out and the tulips were amazing.

Saturday we took Andrew to the zoo. That was fun as well. The animals were all pretty active which was fun. We also got to watch two shows. The elephant show and the Sea Lion show. Andrew was tired so he and I headed home while the ladies walked the rest of the zoo.

It was a busy and fun filled week. So glad Virginia and my mom came out for a visit. Let's do it again soon:)