The Best "Date" Weekend Ever!

I had the best weekend this past weekend with the best "dates"! I went home to go take in some cultural events in good old St. George. I took my nephew to "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at Dixie High School. It was amazing! I love that play and Dixie always does a terrific job. My nephew loved it! When I was taking him home, we listened to the soundtrack and he asked me if he could borrow the disc. It was so cute. Both of the nephews favorite song from "Joseph" was "Calypso Benjamin".

Then the next day, I took me 3 year old niece on a "date" to Taipan Trading for some Christmas decorations shopping and then to the park. Her mom told me she was so excited and kept looking out the window for me. When they opened the door, she was there with her purse on her arm with her snacks and drink. She is so stinking cute! I can hardly stand it!

I had lunch with my bro and his wife at the awesome Pizza Factory (if they had one of those here I think I would almost be in heaven except I still wouldn't have my family very close). Later that day, I went to High School Musical 3 with the nephews and niece and thier mom. The movie wasn't the greatest, but it was fun to be with all of them.

Then my other nephew and I booked it out to Tuacahn to see the BYU Young Ambassadors. It was a great show and my nephew really enjoyed to showtunes, especially the "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" and "Tarzan". In the car he wanted me to play the silly songs from the show on my iPod. I'll have to download those for the future!

I am so blessed that I have such and awesome brother and sister-in-law who let me play with their kids and let me be a part of their lives. They think they are lucky, but I'm the really lucky one. I do it for purely selfish reasons ;)

My New Blog

I am starting a new venture in my life-long education and I thought I would share it with you all in the form of a new blog. Check it out at preserveusanation.blogspot.com!

Thriller...

I went to "Thriller" by Dance Odyssey Theatre tonight with my mom. It was, as usual, EXCELLENT!!

Mom, Zombie Girl, and Me

Bubbles the Clown, me, Mrs. & Mr. Frankenstein

My favorite singer, Lorena Bobbitt!

My new boyfriend, Jason...?

One-eyed Willy

I got a foreign object in my eye last night, and had to resort to going to the optometrist to have it removed. The object was a piece of my eyeliner pencil, or that's what the doctor thought it looked like. It got stuck under my eyelid, so every time I blinked I scratched my eye. Needless to say, I really freaked my students out!

Lockdown

I have received a request to give an account of the partial lockdown at my school today. Well, I didn't know what was going on until one of my students in 6th period asked me if we were still on lockdown. I was totally confused! My student told me that the assistant principal had gone to his seminary class and escorted them to a classroom on campus because there was some crazy guy a 1/2 mile away and the police had surrounded him. I called the front office and they said there was going to be an announcement about how we were going to be dismissed from school.

The assistant principal came over the PA and said that the police wanted the school to dismiss in a modified lockdown. The students who rode the bus would be excused one bus at a time. They were to report to the bus without going to their lockers. Students who walked or rode their bike had to wait until their parents came to sign them out. Some of my students said that their parents couldn't come and get them until 7 or 8 tonight. There was no WAY I was going to stay that late! I heard the lines of parents were crazy long! When the principal finally announced that we were free to go, I packed up as quickly as possible, eager to get home after staying with the students for an extra half hour. Don't get me wrong, I luff them, but I can only take so much! Just kidding. I mean, really, what am I complaining about? That class has a total of 14 students. When I pulled out of the parking lot, the district security had to open the gate for me, and the sides of the street were full of cars and people trying to leave. It was very orderly. It was kind of weird how little information they gave us teachers! We had no idea what was going on. I even had a couple of teachers call me to ask me what was going on. We were never really in danger, the police just wanted to be sure we were extremely safe.

I guess the lodown is that there had been a report of an explosion at a home nearby. Apparently there had been a history of meth shenanegans there so the police wanted to be extra careful. I had no idea what peril I was in...turns out it was a FALSE ALARM!!!!!! WHAT!?!?!?!?!

It made the news, check it out HERE! Very exciting!

By the way... How did you hear about it, Aimee?

Hand Bag Give Away

Check out these cute handbags at this give away.

Vote Bronco Mendenhall

In this year of elections, when you may have to vote for someone who you might not exactly agree with, but he is a teensy bit better than the other guy, cast a vote you can be proud of! Vote Bronco Mendenhall Coach of the Year sponsored by Liberty Mutual. It is really easy! Just click on the button to the side or follow this link: Coach of the Year. (If you move over the button, it doesn't show a hand, but the link should work.) I love how Coach Mendenhall has returned BYU Football to Classic BYU Football through integrity, honesty, and high standards! He rocks!

You have until December 5, 2008 to vote, by my calculations. And you can vote once a day!

Little Cheaters Part 2

(Me jumping for joy and laughing evilly!)

I thought I would follow up with the little cheaters. I think most of them learned their lesson, given the comments they made while they were taking the make-up test. Things like, "I shouldn't have cheated, I would have done much better on my own on the other test" and "This is so hard! It wasn't worth cheating." Sweet justice! Also, some of them were football players and I told the coach about it. It will be interesting to see what practice was like today ;)

Yummy!

As is conference tradition, I made omelets for myself, my uncle, and my cousin. They weren't as good as Dad's, but they were pretty darn close! I promised him a picture, so...Oh, it was so good!

Presidential Debate

I think the questions during the Presidential Debate were incredibly simple and obtuse. I almost caused an accident during the "Green" question...

Little Cheaters

Last week, my students took a test. I left my classroom for a little bit and a few of my students decided to go through the tests of a previous class and memorize the answers. When I got back to the room, everything looked normal, but I looked at the stack of tests and the test of the last person to turn in their test wasn't on top. When I graded the tests I compared them to the test on the top of the pile and found that close to ten people had cheated throughout the day. Irritating! Cheating is one of my biggest pet peeves! I usually give and big fat 0 for cheating, but I decided I would let them retake a different form of the test (all essay, by the way) for a maximum of 70% if they confessed. If they didn't confess, they would get a 0. To my utter astonishment, all but a few didn't confess. I even got a student confess who wasn't on my list. I suspected that he cheated, but he did such a bad job cheating, I had ruled him out. I was very surprised the little cheaters fessed up.

General Conference

I absolutely love General Conference! I have been feeling a lot of tension and mean-spiritedness due to the Presidential campaign. I am so enjoying the talks and the peace of the Gospel. And the childrens choir, awesome! Who knew Elder Wirthlin was so hilarious? I feel so lucky to know that Heavenly Father loves me and I have a purpose here on Earth. How do people live without this knowledge?

Disneyland Again

Courtney, Jilly, and Cami

I just got back from heaven, I mean Disneyland, again. I just love that place! I wouldn't care if I didn't ride one ride, I just love the atmosphere. I am going back in October for the HalloweenTime Trick-or-Treating. Can life get any better than this? I submit that it cannot! Here are some pics that you can view and turn green with envy...

Parade of Dreams

Space Mountain, love that ride!

The classic, Peter Pan

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party, oh, I'm dizzzzzy!

New Student

I have just started my first Graduate School Class and I keep forgetting that I have homework. It is an online class, so I don't have to attend classes. I go about my week thinking I have things under control, and then I suddenly remember, panicking, that I have homework that is due soon. I hope I can get used to having homework, and soon! I am excited to learn and to finish my degree so I can make more money!

Stitches

Almost two weeks ago, I had a mole removed from my back. They had to cut pretty deep and pretty wide, and it was right at the point where I bend my back. The stitches were really annoying! I couldn't do hardly anything. I finally got them removed today, YAY! The cells came back as precancerous, which just means they had the potential to turn into melanoma, but that they weren't there yet. I can finally go to the gym, I never thought I would say, or write, that, but I am really excited to go to the gym tomorrow.

As a follow-up, today was my first day of school and I am glad it is over! It was rough! I couldn't believe my summer is over :( I'm hoping my classes will be fun and well-behaved. I am definitely going to have to change some seats, if you know what I mean...

School Days

My first day of school is tomorrow. Aaahhh! I was really nervous about my new students because I loved, loved, loved my students last year. But my worries were for naught. I met some of my new students on Friday, and they seem to be really good kids. The best part was having my past students visit and tell the new students how fun my class was. That was good to hear. I am excited to get to know my new students and to start a new year of learning. I'm really glad I love my job!

The 40 Year Old Calculator

Last year, I was telling my students about my calculator that I had bought when I was in 7th Grade. I was illustrating a point that buying a scientific calculator was a good investment because this calculator had seen me through middle school, high school, and even college. I still use it sometimes when I grade. Well, when I brought up this calculator in class, my students, one in particular, let's call him Billy, wanted to see my "30 year old calculator". I tried to find it, but I had misplaced it during my move. I looked all over my house and my parents house throughout the year for this "30 year calculator". By the end of the year, this "mythical" calculator, according to Billy, had aged 10 years and was now 4o years old and I still hadn't found it. Well, I found it tonight and it was in a very logical place. I tested it and it works, not bad for forty years old! I just hope Billy comes to visit so I can show him this technological artifact. (My, I have missed this fine calculator.)

You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Homeless & Carless

So, I went to Disneyland Friday and Saturday and had a blast. I drove out with my friends, but flew home to make it home in time for my lesson at church. I was running on 3 hours of sleep, trying to catch up on my sleep, when halfway through the flight I thought, "Where are my keys? I don't remember seeing them in my bag." I searched frantically to make sure I didn't have them, and I couldn't spot them anywhere. I called my landlord, but couldn't get a hold of him. I had everything I needed but church clothes. I called my sister, couldn't get a hold of her. I called her husband and asked him, "Can I borrow some of Syd's clothes and maybe a car?" So, I borrow clothes and a car from my ever-giving sister and what do I do? I ruin the shirt she lends me with my object lesson (bleach). YIKES! I'll have my keys and my life back tomorrow...I hope.

Real American Stories

I was watching the news the other day when a commercial came on about how wonderful it is to live in America. It gave a website so I decided to check it out. It is WAY COOL! It is called Real American Stories, and it has Americans sharing their stories about how much they love being an American. It reminded me of how blessed I am to be a citizen of the United States of America and how grateful I am to have the freedoms and the protected rights that I have. Check it out, it's AwEsOmE!!

realamericanstories.com

I've Been Tagged (kind of)

4 places I go over and over
-The Gym
-Church
-Costco
-Walmart

4 places I like to eat
-Cafe Rio (pork salad)
-Pizza Factory (personal canadian bacon & pineapple pizza)
-In-N-Out (double-double or cheese burger)
-Rumbi Grill (volcano mahi mahi

4 places I would like to be right now
-a cruise
-disneyland (which I will be there on Friday & Saturday)
-English countryside manor
-Prague

4 t.v. shows
-Psych
-Lost
-Gilmore Girls
-What Not To Wear

4 books I've enjoyed
-Pride & Prejudice (have probably read it approximately 200 times)
-Twilight series (I, too, am excited for the 4th book!)
-The Tale of Two Cities
-Persuasion (also Jane Austen)

I'm gonna skip the last one...;)

Exciting Day

Today I woke up at around 10:00 and just lounged around the house until 11:30 when my cousin called to tell me she was on her way to go swimming with me. I love the summer. I called my sister to come join us. We had a good old time and laughed tons. After my cousin left, my sis and I decided to go to lunch at Subway. So far the day hasn't been very exciting, but keep reading...So we were in line at Subway and Sydney was paying for her food, and she started to stumble backwards. It looked like she had dropped some change and when she went to pick it up she had lost her balance. She just kept falling backwards towards me and wasn't doing anything to catch herself. I think I even said, "Sydney!" reprimanding her, thinking that she was playing a trick. Then when she was laying there on the floor not responding I realized she had passed out. It was kind of scary, but not any more because she is fine. We have had a few good chuckles at her expense. She was only out for a couple of seconds. I called 911, I think she was mad at me for that, and was very impressed with their promptness. They took her vitals and told her she would be fine, that she just needed to eat some food and drink some water. She was just dehydrated because she had gone swimming at the gym and then came swimming with us and hadn't drunk any water or eaten any food.The best part was they said she couldn't drive so I got to drive her new truck. One of the paramedics helping and asking questions was cute and single:) (I think.) Too bad I looked awful...we had come straight from swimming and I had boob marks on my T-Shirt from my wet swimsuit. Typical bad luck!

Lesson: Drink plenty of water when you go swimming!

27th Birthday

I turned 27 last Monday, and I didn't want to do it. But, I went to Disneyland for the weekend and that softened the blow. Here are some of my favorite pics!

My favorite ride: Heimlich's Chew Chew Train and my favorite treat, a Mickey Mouse Ice cream. The stick broke off so I had quite the task to eat it!


Every time I would hear the "Unbirthday Song" when I was at home I would get so depressed because it reminded me of Disneyland and the Tea Cups, so that ride was a must!



My boyfriend, he "looked into the eye" on Indiana Jones. And my friend and me on our last tram ride as we went to Lost and Found to find her phone, which also "looked into the eye" and got left behind...

More Twilight...The Movie!

Here are a couple of links for Twilight (the movie) if you are a Twilight fan. And if you're not check it out!

Behind the Scenes
Trailer

I wasn't crazy about their casting for Edward, I am a die-hard Henry Cavill supporter, but I guess Robert Pattinson will do, especially when he smiles at the end of the trailer...yummy!

Henry Cavill

A Classic Revisited

"You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!" - Vizzini, The Princess Bride

For Christmas my sister gave me "The Princes Bride." It is a childhood favorite, but I hadn't been able to watch it until today. And I was reminded of the quote above. I forgot what a great movie it is! How can you beat ROUS's (Rodents of Unusual Size)? I was looking online for some pictures for this post and I came across a slideshow of the main players twenty years later. I can't believe it is over 20 years old! Oh, that I could find my own Westley...

Blind Date Gone Missing?

So I had a blind date in a big group on Friday night. We went up to a canyon nearby to watch a movie in the desert and eat tinfoil dinners. We arrived and had some problems with permits and the rangers issued some warnings. I was standing talking with my sister, her husband, and our friend and the next thing I know my date was driving off. Not a word to me about where he was going. I heard from someone that he was taking some people to their site, one of the guys was on crutches. Almost two hours later, he still hadn't come back so I decided to go home with my sister. I found out later that he had taken so long because he was pulling up a tree for fire wood. The hostess mentioned she had called him, and he said, "Yeah, I saw that you had called, but I was busy with the tree." What? He was stopped by the rangers and had to show them where he got the tree. What a night...

Random Journal Entry

I have been reading my journals the last couple of days and I came across the following entry that had me chuckling. Here it is:

"While Liz and I were waiting in the parking lot or our friend's apartment for him to return we witnessed the most bizarre goodnight scene. The scene was in a neighboring apartment. The girl and the guy hugged for quite awhile and then they pecked, then pecked again a few seconds later and then repeated, then they pecked numerous times rapidly and that's not so odd, except that it was a whole head action separation, not just lip separation. Then just as suddenly they split and went totally different directions. She went into the kitchen and he left. Then he came outside and went and looked in the window, then went back to the door and knocked. She answered and walked him to his car. It was so random!"

Liz and I laughed and laughed about it at the time. I'm still laughing about it...

The Gym (Part II)

So I have gone to the gym a few times since I joined, and it hasn't been as hard getting into as I thought it would be. There is something to be said about paying to workout as motivation to actually workout. I had a free personal training session, which I thought would be a tour of the gym and how to use a few machines. Boy was I wrong! By the time I was done with the trainer (or should I say by the time he was done with me?) I could barely walk out of the gym my legs were so rubbery. My legs weren't sore, so I was thinking, "Sweet, I just had a really hard workout and I won't have to pay for it in pain." Again, I was way wrong! At about 1 PM the next day my legs started aching. By that night I could barely walk let alone walk up the stairs to my bed. My legs were so sore. Poor me. I am fine now, but that was a miserable two days.

The Gym

I just joined a gym today. I caved in and am now forking over 25 bucks every month. Hopefully this will be the motivation I need to get in shape, at least for a little while. My uncle is helping me put together a program. I went to his office for some baseline flexibility and strength measurements. I couldn't even do one push-up without going from my knees. I could barely do ten the "girly" way. I am such a wimp! It hasn't even been 90 minutes and I am already feeling it! I've gotta do something about that...

Brian Regan's Ironing Board

I love Brian Regan. This is one of my favorite bits of his. Ironing boards really are dangerous.

Twilight for Men

I was just sent a link to an amusing blog post about Twilight for husbands/boyfriends of Twilight fans. It is pretty funny. Just follow this link: Twilight by Normal Mormon Husband

Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick finally broke his losing streak against Roger Federer last night, YAY! Finally. Yummy!

Faith in Jesus Christ

I have loved reading the Ensign for the month of March. My favorite article I think so far is "Faith in Jesus Christ" by Elder Nelson (the link sends you to the article). I am a scientist and I love anything that speaks about science and religion. This article strengthened my testimony of the divinity of the Savior and the Creation. I am so grateful for the Gospel and all of the blessing I enjoy through having it in my life. I am so lucky to have this blessing in my life! I loved how Elder Nelson explained how the human body develops and how it works. It is so amazing! I love it!

Car Dealerships & Airports

I bought a new car today. I am excited and will have a picture for my next post, but I would like to talk about the dealership right now. I read in a book "If you feel like you're getting hustled at a car dealership, it's because you are." They shmoozed me and kept saying how much they were going to take care of me. It felt nice to be courted like that. The finance girl kept saying, "You got a screamin' deal on that car." She said it probably six or seven times. They gave me the "employee price" for the auto-protection package. Funny, that was the same pricing they gave me the last time I got a car from them. My dad new the salesman, he's a young kid, so I felt good helping him out, better than from a huge dealership in AZ. In the end, I got the exact car I wanted just a year older, but still brand-spanking-new. I wasn't expecting to buy a new car, I just wanted to test-drive one to make sure that was what I wanted so that if it wasn't I had time to research other cars. I guess it's true, they have to make the sale during the first (or in my case, 2nd) visit or adios, they aren't going to make it. I feel good about my purchase, I will let you know if I regret it later. They are "pimpin'" it out now! I am so excited!

I am in the Las Vegas Airport now, waiting to fly home from Spring Break. I was standing at a gate waiting to see if I could get on an earlier flight and there was an irate customer in front of me. I could understand his frustration, I think I overheard him saying he had been flying/in an airport since 11:00? this morning. But those gate attendants really do have a lot of power. She had to threaten him with "unfit for travel". Then he got up in her face and asked, "Did you just threaten me?" She said, with a slightly raised voice, "You just threatened me." He stalked off saying loud enough for them to hear, "mumble, mumble, Incompetent, mumble, mumble." I just wanted to say to him, "She has the power. Don't mess with her!" In case you were wondering, it was $72 extra to catch the earlier flight. I stuck with my original flight, to Syd's dismay. Sorry Syd;)

I rode the Shuttle to Las Vegas and there was this girl who was a Sophomore in high school on the shuttle. She said something about 21 being old. I remember 21. I remember thinking how old I was and how old 26 was. I remember being 16 and thinking, "Man, 21 is ancient." Now I think, "21, I was so young then...Life was simpler, etc., etc., etc. 26 is not that old." I wonder what I will think at 27. I was at a meeting where they were going to give a PowerPoint Presentation and they couldn't get the projector to work. I, being the tech savvy teacher that I am, offered to help and the presenter responded with, "Oh good, someone under 30." (Most of the people were older than 30.) I thought that was funny how they worded that. I had never been referred to as someone under 30. Thirty sounds old to me. This was a really random post. And long.

Spring Break

Spring Break is here! Yahoo! It is so nice not worrying about school/work. And sleeping in...I love it. I am watching "Matlock" right now and it takes me back to elementary school and being off track. My brother and I would watch "Matlock" everyday. In the fall, the Disney Channel would show Sleepy Hollow and Ichabod Crane. I wish Disney would play the old classic cartoons! I miss them.

Anyway, I am looking forward to spending lots and lots of time with my family this week, especially my adorable niece and nephews. They are oh, so cute. I love being in St. George and seeing the signs of Spring, the daffodils, the blossoms. Happy Spring and Happy St. Patrick's Day, hope you're wearing green!

Disneyland Fever

It has been almost 3 months since I have been to Disneyland. I know, can you believe it? I am itching to go so badly. I hear Disney music or see pictures that remind me of The Happiest Place on Earth, and I can hardly stand it! I can't even bring myself to watch Disney Resort commercials, I want to be there that badly. I wasn't going to renew my Annual Pass, but I have caved and am going to go ahead and renew it. I am going in October anyway, it is my niece's first time and I wouldn't miss that for anything! I'm sure I could make time to go a few more times to make it worth buying the Pass. If you want to go shoot me an email or give me a call!

New House

I have settled into my new house. Thanks to my wonderful sister and brother-in-law I was able to move in on Saturday. Thanks guys! My new place is huge! I love it. My closet is almost as big as my 1st room in my last place, and the bathroom...Forget about it! Everything is so spread out, it's a little weird to get used to. My roommates are really nice and fun to talk to, I had almost forgotten what it was like to live with roommates. I like it.

My neighbors, on the other hand, are a house full of college boys. They party every night and they are LOUD! Last night they were playing guitar hero or something in their garage and it was echoing and everything. I wanted to open my window and say, "Grow UP! Some people have real lives/jobs. You are being so selfish (as I yell at them to get what I want)." It's an adventure, and I am sure I will get used to the noise. If I have my TV on, I can't really hear it and at least they stopped at 11:30. I told my students today that when they get older, they need to be kind to their neighbors and if they choose to party, which I know they would never do, to do it on the weekends and end by no later than midnight. I mean, my neighbors don't do anything until after 9:00 or 10:00, can't they party earlier and be done by 10:00? Some people's children...

Flat Stanley

My niece has been reading "Flat Stanley" in her 2nd grade class and she sent him to me to learn about Arizona. I took him to Chase Field where the Arizona Diamondbacks play baseball. I took him to school with me so he could see what junior high school was like. On Monday, I took him to a botanical garden about 40 miles away. It was nice to get out of the valley and near some "mountains". It was a really beautiful day, not too hot and not too cold, a little cloudy. I loved being able to walk around and enjoy nature. I will have to go back to when the cacti are in bloom. One of my goals for this year is to see more of Arizona and go hiking more.

I signed my contract for my new place today, and I am going to start moving in tomorrow! I am excited for this new adventure. I am excited for my goals this year. I have applied to graduate school to get a Master's Degree in Educational Technology. I figure I use technology all the time in my teaching I might as well get paid more for it! All of the classes are online so I don't have to go to classes and I can go at my own pace. I can't wait to get back into school and learn new techniques to improve my teaching. I was surprised by how easy it has been to apply, and the best part of the process is that I don't have to take the GRE!! I should be finished with my degree by December 2010. We'll see what happens this coming year!

I am watching Glenn Beck right now, and he is talking to Jonah Goldberg about his book "Liberal Fascism". It sounds like an interesting book, I may just have to read it.

Change

Change is strange. It's good, but it can be very difficult. I am moving houses at the end of the month. I don't want to pack up my things and lug them over to my new place. But it will be a wonderful new adventure. My bedroom will be much bigger than my current room. It is the master suite in a house. It has a huge walk-in closet! In the bathroom there is a garden tub and a separate shower. It's quite nice! It will also be closer to my family, which is always a good thing.

At school, we are switching the program we use for our websites. I found myself resisting this change. I thought, "I already know the old program. I like what it can do, and I can't do that with this new program..." Then I realized, it will be okay and when I learn the new program, I will like it. It may even be better than the old program.

So some change is good, some change is bad. I think the changes coming in my life are going to be great!

Rick Monday Saves American Flag

In 1976, Rick Monday stopped two protesters from burning an American flag during a Cubs v. Dodgers game. I love his comment about having the only thing he is known for is saving the American Flag is not a bad thing. What a great American!

YouTube Videos

I have posted some of my favorite YouTube Videos to the left. If you refresh the browser, the type of video will change. Enjoy! YouTube is Awesome...

My Job

I am a junior high teacher, and I know most of you are thinking, "What is she nuts?" But I have to tell you, I LOVE my job. I liked it last year, but I love it this year. This year is my second year at my school, and I feel a lot more comfortable with my surroundings. As I was walking down the hall yesterday, I realized just how happy I was to be at my current job. I still hate getting up in the morning, just because I enjoy sleeping so much, but I absolutely love being at school, working with and teaching my students. They are really great kids and not the nightmare many of you associate with teenagers. They say the funniest things and I have found they are very respectful when you treat them with respect and show them you care about them and want them to succeed.

The best thing about teaching is when former students come back and visit you. Students you never thought would visit you. This happened to me a couple of weeks ago. A student from last year, who wasn't a very good student at all and was involved in drugs, came for a visit. I could tell things were different with him. He told me about some of the poor choices he had made in the recent months, and how these choices had led him to turn his life around. He isn't sleeping in his classes and he is trying to keep the commandments. He said his body feels clean now that he is off the drugs, he can tell the difference. I was amazed! He said he would probably stop by again before the end of the year, and I told him I would love it if he did. Did I say I love my job?

"The 5000 Year Leap"

I am reading a book called The 5,000 Year Leap: The 28 Great Ideas That Are Changing the World by Cleon Skousen. The book is about the leap in technology and innovation we have been able to make because of the ideas embodied in the Founding of the United States of America. The example Skousen uses is that the world had been traveling by horse and carriage for nearly 5,000 years, yet, in less than two hundred years after the Founding, we had landed on the moon. The freedoms we have in the United States fostered innovation and advances in technology that were previously unrealized. I find it amazing how much man has been able to accomplish when given the freedom to pursue and develop his ideas. We live in a truly great country with wonderful rights given to us by God, and protected by the Constitution. I have gained a greater appreciation for the vision of the Founders for our great nation as I have read this book. The Founders warned against a lot of what has happened to our country. I find that now, more than ever, we need to stand strong and unwavering and be unapologetic in our defense of what is right and just. God's plan is for us to have agency, and that is what the Constitution guarantees, our agency to worship God and contribute to society however we choose. I am grateful to the Founders for their willingness to fight for what they believed was right. I am grateful that fight made it possible for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored to the earth with all its saving ordinances in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I find it fascinating how the events of the discovery and colonization of the Americas, the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 all culminate in the First Vision in 1820.

My uncle was telling me about a class his father, who was a civil engineer, was in where the professor had drawn a time-line of the Industrial Revolution. The time-line was pretty flat from the time of Adam for several thousand years, then in 1820, there began to be a dramatic spike in the amount of technological advances. My uncle said my grandpa looked around the room and thought, "I am probably the only one who knows why that spike is where it is." The Lord's hand has truly guided the righteous leaders of this nation. I am so proud to be an American!

Amateur Sports

Yesterday, I went to a boy's basketball game at the school I teach at. The boys played their hearts out to the very end, even though they were behind by 20+ points. And the students that were in the stands cheered just as loud at the end as they did at the beginning. It was fun to see that kind of support among the students. I love amateur sports for that reason. The best part is to watch the players make mistakse, learn from them, and come back from behind, or just play to the end and lose gracefully. It reminded me of watching my brother play sports in high school and how fun that was.

The Dead Sea Scrolls & President Hinckley

I was at a fireside last night on the Dead Sea Scrolls. There was a professor from BYU teaching about the different DSS they have found and the treasures of knowledge they have revealed. It is fascinating to me how much there is that has been lost through translation of the Bible into English. The Jews were so careful in how they transmitted the Bible and copied it onto the scrolls. I have a feeling we need to study more about the Middle East and the Old Testament.

At the end of the fireside, the Stake President announced that President Hinckley had died surrounded by his family. I just think what a wonderful reunion that would be between he and his wife. He was truly a great man and prophet. My friend was telling me about BYU's graduation last April. When Vice President Dick Cheney entered the Marriott Center, the crowd warmly welcomed him, but when President Hinckley entered, there was such love for him and the Spirit was awesome there. One of the first times I saw President Hinckley at BYU was at a fund-raiser meeting. It wasn't even a religious meeting, and I could totally feel the Spirit testifying to me that he was the prophet. I am so grateful for the sacrifices he made to lead the Church, especially after he lost his wife.

BYU has the coolest slide show tribute to Pres. Hinckley
(Click to view the slide show)

Glenn Beck also had a touching tribute to Pres. Hinckley

Christmas and New Year's

This Christmas was a lot of fun. I got to go home for a week and spend time with my family. We went up north to my sister, Lindsey's for Christmas. I got the best Christmas present, I got a piano keyboard from my parents. I had been thinking just the day before I opened it how much I wanted a piano, but didn't know how I would afford it. I luff it! Then I went to Washington, D.C. to visit my college roommate, Amy. We rode the China Town Bus from DC to New York's China Town. Needless to say it was very interesting! As we were driving down the street in NY, the bus driver hit a parked car, ripping off the side view mirror. We thought he was just going to drive off without leaving his information, I was ready to report it (wink, wink), but luckily the driver was honest. We got lost on the Subway when we couldn't figure out which train to get on to make it up to Broadway. When we finally got to Broadway, we only had time to get a hot dog from one of the street vendors, one of the things on my list to do there. We saw "Wicked" and it was wicked awesome! I loved it! We then visited Times Square, The Rockefeller Center, and Radio City Music Hall. I even bought those goofy 2008 glasses off the street. We rode the bus back and had a great time in DC. We visited the DC Temple, it is so gorgeous. It looks like it floats in the trees from the freeway. I saw a missionary from my ward who is serving there. They also have a model of the Nauvoo Temple made entirely of LEGOS with Joseph Smith and Gordon B. Hinckley. It was so cool. Amy and I went to the Library of Congress. That has got to be one of the neatest buildings, all the mosaics on the floor and the artwork all over the place, the details of the place. AMAZING! On the way back I got stuck in Chicago, of course. All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas and New Year's. I have posted some pictures to give you a flavor! If you double click on the slide show, you can see the pictures bigger!