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 :)

Stacey's Wedding

All of my friends decided to get married this summer, but I was soooooo excited about Stacey's wedding. She's been one of my bestest buds since we worked together at Aspen Grove in 2004. We had one wonderful year of being roommates before she decided to go off on her mission. Then she came back and met Steve and now they're married! Holy cow! They got married on July 25, 2008 in the Salt Lake Temple at 8:20 in the morning. Yep, that meant that my mom and I got to be at the temple at 7:50 that morning, which meant we left at 6 to beat traffic. It's a good thing we love you Stace!! So, here' s Stacey and Stephen coming out of the temple.

They're married!! Look at how in love they are! For cute!

I was instructed by Erika to take a ton of pictures since she couldn't be there herself. Erika, this was at the luncheon. We had amazing Mexican food and got to enjoy a great program put on by the families.

This was coming out of the luncheon. No, we weren't throwing rice, we were throwing rose petals. It's a tradition in Stephen's family.... really cool. You should have seen how insane Stace's hair was after this. I bet it took a while to get all of the petals out.

THE RECEPTION!! Yes, the line was so stinking long (they are a POPULAR couple) that we had to entertain ourselves with our camera. We are such dorks. Sara decided to take over the camera in the next picture...

Here's Sara and my beautiful mother waiting in line with us. My mom was SO happy that she was in town the same week as Stacey's wedding. She loves Stace to bits!

Here I am with the blushing bride! She was so beautiful and it was a wonderful day to be a part of!

Summer's OVER?!?!?

Holy Cow, I just can't believe that I have to go back to school TOMORROW! This summer has the been the fastest summer of my life. It still seems unreal that I head back to the grind in the morning. We have a huge meeting all day tomorrow and then we have 3 days to get everything ready for the little children... school starts next Wednesday.
We've both had a pretty busy week this past week, but it was super-de-duper fun! Let's start the recap with our awesome trip to Idaho. We got to go visit Brett's family in Idaho and we also had the great opportunity to go through the Open House of the Twin Falls Temple. WOW. It was one of the most beautiful temples I've ever seen in my life. There were so many little details that created such a beautiful atmosphere. It was one of the smallest temples I've ever seen, but you could tell how happy everyone was to have it there. The sealing room is HUGE and has this amazing window in it with stained glass detail, it's sooooo beautiful. I told Kelli (Brett's sister) that she had to get married there just so I could sit and watch a sealing in that beautiful room. We also got to hang out with Kelli a lot, who is going to be a Senior this year. We're hoping she comes to work out at Aspen Grove this next summer (and that we'll still be here and NOT in New Mexico) so we can all hang out. Sara will be gone this next spring (WE HOPE... yay England!) so I'll need someone else to have Sister's Night with....
I love being with Brett's family and am so happy that we all have so much fun together-- I can't wait until Labor Day!
Brett finally finished up his term for the summer and WHAT A RELIEF!!! Functional Anatomy was killer (when I would quiz him I couldn't pronounce half of the words....) but he did really well and got a great surprise of not having to take a lab final. So we BOTH had today off and have been living it up....as I will not be seen again until the school year is over :) We look forward to the adventures of his final semester at BYU. Molecular Biology, Biochem, and Orthopedic Impairments anyone? It will be fun to see if either of us lives to December.
Anyway, that's the update with the Waite's as for right now. Who knows when the next post will be?? Life is so crazy.....

Oh, What do you do in the Summer Time??

Well, this summer has certainly not been a boring one! I feel like Brett and I are both careening out of control sometimes. It's been a lot busier for me than I thought it would be. I never realized how much STUFF I had in my classroom until I had to move it all! Luckily, I'm almost done with the evil moving process and only have 2 more days of Summer School! :) Then it's two full weeks off... and then we're back to school for real. It's nuts.

Brett's taking classes this summer, working, and applying for Grad School all at the same time. He just turned his Grad School Application in on Sunday and already has a school interested in him (we assume.... since they've already e-mailed him three times in one day.)

We had the chance to go see The Dark Knight last weekend. Wow. What a great story that night turned out to be. Let's just say: it was hot, I was cranky, my personal bubble was being popped, and there was an unfortunate aroma all around me. If you want to know more details about THAT, just let me know. Then there was the movie itself. I want to congratulate Mr. Heath Ledger for doing such an amazing job. He was very convincing as a deranged/psychotic Joker and made me have nightmares all night long. Thank you, overactive imagination. I don't believe I ever want to see it again... it was dark, it was creepy, and too many things were getting blown up, but I have to say, I would hand that Oscar right over to Mr. Ledger... seriously demented performance.

We also got to go to the Spanish Fork Rodeo last night (in continuation of reenacting our first year together) but I forgot to bring my camera. So, just imagine it: Scones, hard wooden benches, lots of dirt, bucking broncos, little steers being thrown to the ground and tied up, or just being thrown to the ground, mutton busting (seriously, the best event of the whole night) and some seriously crazy cowboys. HOW DO THEY DO IT??? It hurt to watch, let alone participate in it. I LOVE rodeos... it's a perfect way to spend a lovely summer evening.

Next up: My mom comes to visit me tomorrow!! Stacey's Wedding is on Friday... so no worries, there will be many photos to come. I'm so excited for her and Stephen... I just wish they weren't getting married at 8:20 in the morning in SLC. Whew! That's going to be an early morning :) I'll post all of those fun pictures soon. (Just for you, Erika!!) My older sister and her family are going to visit me on Saturday! (What a GREAT weekend!) And then I get to hang out with the Nursery kids on Sunday with my new calling: Nursery Music Leader. Yeah. Kiera, you thought you had it bad as Primary Chorister... this is like 10 times more of an adventure every single week. (At least they would listen to you!!) It's still a blast and I feel less afraid of the children every week that I do it :)

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