Arizona, Here We Come!

We are so deliriously excited about the news we received yesterday! Brett got into Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona!! We'll be moving out there at the end of May so that he can start up school the 1st week of June. That means I might have to ditch the last week of school, but we'll do what we have to do!

We are so grateful that the waiting period is over. We've felt like we've been going crazy for the past week and a half, waiting and wondering if word would ever come. I have to admit, I was starting to give up hope, and then the miracle happened! I've wanted to go to Midwestern since last February when we went to a meeting with the director. I've been very impressed with the philosophies of the school and the outlook they have on the medical profession. Luckily, Brett fell in love with it when he went down to interview a couple of weeks ago. Although it will be a challenging 27 months for him, we both feel that it's the right place for us and that Brett will benefit greatly from the quality of the PA program. Thanks for all of your prayers in our behalf, I just have to say that it was all about the POWER TIE! Thanks to that, we're moving to Arizona!

Shadow Mountain Adventure!

Whew! I am so relieved that Friday is over! I was in charge of the field trip for our 5th grade class up to Shadow Mountain (a fun little camp area in Hobble Creek Canyon.) It was an insane amount of work, and I was worried sick that I had forgotten many things, or that it would rain, but our prayers were answered and the day went without a hitch. The parents that came up and volunteered were FANTASTIC!!! They made my job so much easier! My co-workers say that they owe me big time... I'm just excited that I never have to plan it again :) Here are some pictures of the highlights of the day.....

Ok, seriously. Each class had to make their own class flag. We had a competition for the person that would get to make our flag, and Jacob won. So he came up to me one day after school and asked if he had to use markers, or if he could use paint on the flag. I told him he could do whatever he wanted to do..... and this is the outcome. Can we say, the coolest class flag in the history of mankind? I was BLOWN away! Needless to say, everyone else was too. If there had been a class competition for best flag... we would have totally taken the title!




So, here are a couple of pictures from the morning. We did different rotations all through the day. In the morning we had the frames (where they decorated picture frames), wildlife observations, and making rope. In the afternoon they got to make fire, throw tomahawks, play a fun game, and then play some team building games with our school counselor. Oh, we all had matching shirts where the kids drew a self portrait and they were printed on the shirt. Brett has one too :) I was also really happy because Brett made it up to Shadow Mountain for the last couple of hours. It was REALLY fun to have him there with us!

Well, we have a fireside tonight, so I think that's all I'm going to do for right now! We're still waiting to hear back from Arizona for Grad. School, but are not giving up hope yet! I'll post it when we get the good news!

I Love the Fall..... and BYU football!

Holy Toledo! So, I can't believe how fast time is flying right now. We've been in school for almost a month now... isn't that nuts? My class is pretty darn awesome, except for one student. I find it interesting how one kid can kind of change the "feel" of the class. My student isn't BAD, he/she (to keep it completely anonymous) just doesn't want to do anything. SERIOUSLY! I had to bring, said student, to lunch with me in the faculty room one day because he/she didn't get the work done that he/she was supposed to. Since that day, however, the student has been doing much better, so maybe they just needed a little kick start to the year. Time will only tell...

I'm also having a slight nervous breakdown because the GINORMOUS field trip that I'm in charge of is on Friday. We're taking our students up to Shadow Mountain to do some awesome rotations and team building activities. It should be pretty sweet (if things go according to plan) so let's pray that it does! I'm just going to be very happy when this week is over! I'm also doing benchmarking tomorrow, so that will be a joy. OH! And I signed up to take the 2nd Praxis (the big teacher tests) on Nov. 15th. If I die before Christmas, we'll understand why!

Brett, on the other hand, is feeling much more calm since this past week is over. He had his first interview for Grad. School this week in Arizona. This was a really important interview for us because 1) It's where I want to go. 2) It's where I want to go. 3) It's now where Brett wants to go too. So, he left Thursday afternoon and that's where the freaking out for me began. I had to drive home in rush hour traffic in SLC... not fun! Then I had to go home to an empty house and worry about how my husband was, if he was safe, if he found his shuttle, etc. (It didn't help matters that he was flying on Sept. 11th.) Luckily, Sara (my little sis.) said she would come spend the night at my house so I wasn't alone. It's a good thing she was there, too! She took my mind off of things as we caught up and chatted about her new ward, semester, etc. Then we watched a good 1 1/2 hours of the Office and I was feeling great.... until I went to bed and started thinking again. Needless to say, I slept about 2 hours that night because I was lonely and was worried out of my mind.
Friday came and I was going ballistic! I even told my kids that I was completely out of it and that they needed to just bear with me because I wasn't too focused on school that day. I was seriously scatterbrained. Luckily, Brett texted me and told me that he felt really good about it and I was much better from that point on.

SO.... in short, Brett feels really good about the interview. We'll probably find out if he's in by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. If things don't work out at this school, we still have several more options, so we're feeling good about things for now!

Last note... I LOVE BYU FOOTBALL!!!!!!! (Minus the fact that I look like a lobster except for on my forhead because I was wearing a hat. I look pretty stinkin' cute now.) Yesterday's game was phenomenal, and I am VERY glad that I was able to be a part of it! I can't wait for the next game against Wyoming, so we can crush the competition again! GO COUGS!!!!

Ok, that's the end of the never-ending blog for now!! Maybe I'll be able to write again in another month :)