Michelle this ones for you!!

So, on my mission I began this fetish with taking pictures of myself eating. Actually it stems from sending a picture in my president letter each week. For some reason I thought it was funny to take a picture of me eating something. As a result, I probably have two hundred pictures of myself eating. Which is why Michelle this is for you because yes me with food in my face is "so me". I should probably stop taking them but I do love them so I probably won't. Just now I have decided that my picture of the day next year should be themed "What I ate in 2011". I'll have to think about that for a bit. I'm sure I'll post more on that later for now, back to this post. The picture of the day of me eating yet another delicious treat. One of my lovely students gave me a dozen mini bundt cakes from the amazing store Nothing Bundt Cakes. I am a huge fan - and don't worry I didn't eat them all by myself although I was tempted to I shared.

I'm a little behind...

My picture of the day is still going well but I haven't blogged in a while because I've been busy. Busy finishing up the school year - which means report cards, cleaning my classroom, and making a class DVD to give to my students- and busy playing with my nieces and having a great vacation from life in Idaho. It is now time to come back to life and my routine so here is the first of a couple of catch up posts.

I have the best job ever - I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this fact before and I'm sure I've mentioned that the reason it's the best is due to the fact that I not only teach amazing kids but work with fun people. My picture of the day is of Brian - the school custodian- myself and Raegan rocking out on Rock Band. Of course this is after all the students where gone and we were no longer on contract time. They are both pretty good - I on the other hand not so much but they are nice enough to let me play with them. - Actually, I think they just needed a third player.

A cup cake from The Sweet Toothfairy! I had to introduce Kara to this yummy place!

Smores!! We had fresh strawberries and grasshopper cookies so we added them to the original fixings and they were very tasty. Unfortunately, I ate one too many and am now done with smores until next camping season!

The Ludlows were in town so I met them for dinner in Provo at The Pizza Factory. It is always delightful to see and visit with them. I'm pretty lucky that they are a part of my life.

A Dear Friend

Last Monday a good friend and colleague of mine passed away. I will miss him. I don't think there were many conversations that I had with Terry that we didn't share laughter. He made work just a little bit more fun. We enjoyed giving each other a hard time some of those are found here and here. It'll be an adjustment for me not to see him in his office or at the lunch table. You see it's Monday tomorrow and it never failed that on Monday when I sat down to eat lunch Terri would start our conversation with, "How was your weekend? Do anything fun?" I'd tell him what I did and then ask him about his. I am grateful that I work with wonderful people. I'm grateful I had the chance to know Terry and to work with him. The fact that he made a difference in the lives of all those who he interacted with was evident at his memorial service as the church was filled to capacity with family, friends, colleagues, past students, and current students. The world is a better place because of him and all of us who knew him will miss him.

Really nothing to complain about....

I just want to post this week that I've got a pretty fabulous life. It is filled with the best friends and family that anyone could ever ask for. And as an added bonus I have the perfect job for me. Life is good. I had a fun week this week nothing out of the ordinary but maybe that's what I liked about it I went back to my routine of work after a two week break. Here's my favorite list for the week...

I rocked out on rock band with some of my coworkers.

Went to the dollar theater and treated myself to a movie. I decided I should go and see a movie by myself more often - it was very enjoyable.

Watched a little world cup soccer.

Went to a play with Kara and stopped by the Sweet Tooth Fairy on our way - Yum!!

Like I said it's been a good week!

Vacation...

New York is a pretty big city... I have no desire to live there. I will however visit again because I loved going to a show on Broadway and it was fun to be a part of the hustle and bustle of the city for a few days.

Here we are on top of the Rockefeller Building. We decided to see this attraction at night and it was cool to see the city lights.

Is it ridiculous that one of my favorite things was the M&M store in Time Square? I think Time Square is a very fun place to visit at 11 p.m. The city is alive and doesn't show any signs of slowing down. It is rightfully called the City that never sleeps.

On Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a nice stroll through Central Park. Jake was very nice to act as tour guide both Saturday and Sunday.

I can't remember the story behind this castle but it is now used to check the weather. I love the old buildings of the East and love that there is a castle in Central Park.

A view of the skyline from inside the park.

Monday we headed up to Boston to enjoy a hands on history lesson.

This is Paul Revere's grave. In this cemetery there were a bunch of people buried that took part in the Revolutionary War.

Here's Paul Revere's house. It is amazing that the house that a famous historical figure lived in hundreds of years ago is still standing.

Eating a canoli for the first time. It was ok but not my favorite dessert.

The old South Church. We learned that each pew had these high walls to keep heat in around a family because they went to church for six hours on Sunday. Three hours in the morning and three in the afternoon with an hour for lunch at noon.

This is Bunker Hill... The Red Coats won this battle.

This is the U.S.S. Constitution. A ship whose sides are all made of all iron. And its nickname is Old Ironside. It wasn't part of the Revolutionary War but is permanently docked in Boston so we thought we'd take a look at it. I also think it may be the oldest surviving battle ship - not positive on that though.

After we were done walking all over Boston we ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant. I had Tricia take this picture because while we ate we watched game three of the NBA series. It was being played about 5 blocks from our hotel.

Our second day in Boston was spent seeing Lexington and Concord. Here I am on the bridge where the first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought. In the back ground is the oldest war monument in America. That is the side of the river where the Red Coats fought and the Colonists fought on the opposite bank. There is another monument of a Minute man on the other bank.

The East reminds me of my mission and I enjoyed all the green!

This is Louis May Alcott's home where she wrote Little Women. It was interesting to learn more about her family and the time period. Little Women is based on her own family but there are several differences.

Tricia and I didn't have a car, which didn't bother us one bit because we rode subways and buses and for the most part got to everywhere that we wanted to be. We took a Trolley tour to see Concord and met this very nice lady named Sally who offered to drive us around in her car. I enjoy seeing different parts of the world because it instills in my this great truth that there are good people everywhere. No matter where I go if you look hard enough you'll find a friendly face.

This picture makes me laugh. The maid left my tooth brush and toothpaste like this but what was really funny was one I hadn't left it right there on the counter- it was on the other side close to the wall and two I don't roll my tube like that. Whoever that maid is she's working way harder than she needs to!

The guy working at the front desk suggested that we try out Mike's Pastry. I think this would be considered an Italian bakery at it's finest. (This is where we bought our Conolis the day before.) This time we tried a Lobster tail...

It's a flaky crust that isn't sweet filled with whipped cream, some type of cheese, and I'm sure a couple of other things. It was enjoyable but again not something I'll be making a special trip to Boston for.

The end of our journey. We took a picture like this a week earlier about a half hour later right as we were boarding our plane. We thought it appropriate to end our trip the same way. What a fun vacation to see so many things!

Excited!!

On Friday I went "off track" which means I have a couple of weeks of vacation. This also signals the start of summer for me. Tomorrow is Memorial Day which also means summer. And this means all the fun summer activities that I look forward to all year are getting closer! Liz and I were talking on the phone about all the fun we are going to have when I'm home in July and I can't wait! We're going to:

Camp at Warm River - where I will sleep in a tent, read a book in the shade, not shower for days, smell like a camp fire and LOVE every minute of it!

Eat watermelon

Make popcorn over the fire and then tell stories of memories from our childhood and favorite memories of my grandma.

Ride the Merry-go-round!

Watch fireworks

Go swimming

Eat this delicious meal!

Hang out with my Grandpa

Go to the Playmill! A fun place in West Yellowstone. It's not Broadway but so much fun none the less!

Make Pizza pockets in our sandwich makers over the fire!

Float the North Fork of the Snake River!

Eat yummy tin foil dinners!

Visit Yellowstone!

This is one of my favorite spots!

Eat shaved ice.... and undoubtably a bunch more! I can hardly wait!

Last week of May

First here are a couple of pictures of the week... Liz took an adorable one of me and the girls on Tuesday but it is on her camera so it may never get posted but it will be in my book for sure! The rest of them are pretty run of the mill self camera shots of myself. My Friday picture is of a student, his mom, and I. I gave away my class pet to them. Guss is a turtle I gave to Nikkie as a birthday present and when she got married he became my classroom pet. He's been to three schools in three states with me and it was time I simplified my life and found him a better home! Maybe I'll Buy a Beta fish I think they are a little lower maintenance. Actually I probably won't get anything for a LONG time!

Anyway I mention this because the two most interesting pictures of my week can't be posted so here are couple others.

Last Sunday I had my heart set on tuna casserole but I didn't have any tuna. I always think I have tuna but I don't think I ever buy any so I made chicken casserole. It was pretty delicious and I think I may make this every time.

Monday May 24th it snowed!! Not a little sleet but huge BIG flakes that covered the ground with an inch of unwelcomed white cold stuff! When I got to work I made sure I got a picture because really snow late in May is ridiculous!

I love popsicles! This is how I eat them - at least 5 at a time. I just bought a box at Costco that might last me a couple of weeks.

And lastly here is my picture of today. I had a beautiful Sunday. I enjoyed every meeting at church so much. It was just what I needed today. The weather was beautiful and I should have spent sometime outside but I was just too tired. So I laid down and took a long nap instead. Still a perfect Sunday activity!

I don't have the good one...

It has been a quick week and sometimes I wonder about what I'm doing with my time. I can't believe there is only one week of May left. I'm going off track on Friday - the funny thing is I'm excited to have time off to play but don't feel in desperate need of a break from my students. I'm going to miss them when I have to say good-bye the beginning of July. So I decided that as part of my picture a day I'd take a picture with each of my students individually and write memories I have of them. When you teach school these students become a bigger part of your life than you ever thought possible. I enjoy them so much and can't wait to hear about all the amazing things they will do in the future. Part of the reason I state this on the blog is if I'm taking a picture with a student for my picture of the day it won't get posted on here. In fact I took two this week. But the really great photo of me on our field trip I took with the school camera and didn't remember to bring it home with me so I'll need to post it later.

On Monday I made another batch of cream puffs to enjoy with leftover chicken salad and pudding and strawberries. A very yummy dinner and treat!

Wednesday I hung out with Michelle and her family. They were in the middle of a lighting project and this picture is of Michelle and I on our run to Home Depot.

Saturday I went to a couple of friends' reception with a few other friends. These are all people from my old ward. It was a lot of fun to catch up with them. I imagine heaven to be a lot like a great big reunion of friends. It's interesting how one short phase of life can tie you to dear friends for life. It is actually really nice to think about.