The final cut...6th grade style

Today was 6th grade graduation. It was a hard one for me because I am very attached to this group of students. They have been through a lot with me this school year and I owe a lot to them for making me smile on a daily basis.
Will gets a huge award today for being such a supportive and amazing husband. He was at school with me the whole day. Helped do the music, slide show set up, clean my room, file my grades, count attendance, and all the little things that I needed help with.
Will also surprised me with the First Season of THE JETSONS on DVD. Wow! This was better than flowers for sure! The Jetsons are the best cartoon show ever. I would wake up everyday in elementary school and watch two episodes for 6am to 7am before I had to get ready for school. I know every line, to almost every episode, and still Will doesn't mind me saying the words out loud while we watch.
What a way to end the school year!


Will and I went to Thanksgiving point on Monday, Memorial Day, to walk around in the beautiful weather. I have some pictures to show how amazing the gardens are at this time of year!

New Nephews and Running...what could be better?

This has been a great weekend. I took Friday off from work to meet the newest members of our family: Zachary Messmer, and Noah Matthew Strong. They were born one day apart at the same hospital. Zachary was 8 pounds, 5 ounces. Noah was 6 pounds, 5 ounces.
These pictures are just of Zachary, Noah is in the preemie unit so I was not allowed in to see pictures. But don't worry I will, he is so cute with a full head of dark hair.

Big brother Brandon

Big sister Brooklyn

Saturday morning Will, Jason and I got up at 6am to get on the road and watch me participate in the Running with the Angels 5k road race. It was the first time in over 3 years that I ran a race, and the first time in a year that I ran. It was a blast! Will's mom was in town to see the new babies and got to see me race also.
My best friend Cami Roberts, and her boyfriend Andre were also at the race. Andre works as a trainer at 24-hour fitness in Provo, and actually won a body building competition this past March, but when it came to running...I got him beat. His 3% body fat didn't scare me!
I ran a good race for the first race back, and I can't wait to do another on on the 4th of July. My foot felt good, and I am soar but in a good post-race kind of way.
My time was 20:58, which is 6:46 pace per mile, and my overall place was 4th. I got 2nd in my age group. I was happy with that. For sure I know my body could train for better times, and I know I used to run a whole lot faster, but for right now my foot doesn't hurt, and the best part is I am happy.

Andre and his awesome shirt. The other gal is one of Andre's training clients.
It was her first race.

Jason, Will and I doing the running man.

Oh and one of my lifetime dreams came true...
There at the finish line was the person I love most in this world waiting to give me a hug, say good job, and still love me no matter what place I finished.

COTILLION 2009

OLD HOLLYWOOD...GLITTER...GLAM...DANCING...and an amazing group of 6th graders to make the night a success. Oh and did I mention a 1960's limo?

The 6th grade Cotillion was outstanding this year. It was the best I have ever seen. The students looked stunning, their dancing was very impressive, and their manners and poise topped the charts.

These pictures truly are worth 1,000 words.

There are also TWO videos. Our dance instructor this year is the head BYU ballroom dance team coach. She was astounding! BYU is #1 in the world. Her daughter is in 6th grade this year that is why the 6th graders were so amazing! Two pairs of BYU dancers came and performed 4 dances each for our students which made the start of the evening OSCAR worthy!
The Second Video is my students dancing the FOX-TROT. This was the only dance I got on video before the battery on my camera died. I wish I got them doing the swing and cha-cha because they were so darling and really showed their chart topping dance moves. Just keep reminding yourselves...80 sixth graders dancing in an organized fashion...WOW!















Cami came to Cotillion also and I got a few pictures with her. It was nice to have her there and my students where thrilled to see her!

Finding the JOY in RUNNING

On May 16th 2009 I am going to be running a 5k race at Thanksgiving Point. It is going to be my first race in 5 years. I am not running to win, to get a certain time, but instead to just run to remember why I fell in love with the sport. I had an injury to my foot that has caused me to stop running in 2002. You can read about it here.
I want to run to prove to myself that I can still put one foot in front of the other, and to also show Will how exciting being part of a racing event can be. I love the whole thing...the night before, the butterflies, the morning of the race, the crazy way runners act around each other, the running shoes, the outfits, the water stations, the cheering crowd, I love the whole thing. I want Will to see what my life was like when I was running. It is going to be a day to be happy about!

Here is the site of the race I will be running in and also some LIFE tips.

10 Tips
Running with Angels - Pamela H. Hansen

1. Take time to rejuvenate yourself—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. You, as well as others around you, will be much better off!

2. Rearrange your priorities. How high does “taking care of myself” rank? Is it time to move it toward the top?

3. Devise a plan and hold yourself accountable.

4. Replace bad habits with good ones. Rejoicing in even the small but positive decisions you make will lead to significant progress over time.

5. Take responsibility for the decisions you have made. Learn from your poor choices, then move on!

6. Record measurements and feelings. They will show you just how far you’ve come!

7. Think more positively. You can soar on the wings of an optimistic attitude!

8. Uplifting music can be an incredible motivation.

9. Express gratitude for heavenly and earthly angels! What can you do to lift someone else and ease their burden?

10.Learn from life’s lessons. Instead of asking “Why Me?” ask “What can I learn from this experience?”

Week in Review

This has been quite a week. Will is two semesters away from graduating! This is so exciting. We are extra excited because the end is in sight and so is a future life in California. We are waiting on a home inspection on our cute house, but other than that Riverside California is going to be our future home. Will and I could not be any more excited!

The Great Kids award Assembly was this week. It honors two 6th grade students in each elementary school in Utah Valley. I got to go this year because one of the "Great Kids" were in my class this year. Jackson Emrey on the BYU basketball team gave signed basketballs and took pictures with all the "Great Kids", he also gave a talk on goals which was really good. The Mayor and other people where there too...but as you can see it was much more impressive to see a BYU basketball player. The students were in awe of him, it was adorable.




This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at our school and when I left on Friday I found my door "heart attacked" by my students.




Being married to William never has a dull moment. He is what gets me through a tough day and makes me laugh over and over. He is just so darn cute!

Testing is almost over..18 more days of school...summer is almost here...what a week it has been!

This Friday night is what Will calls "Mini Prom" or Cotillion. I can't wait to go and get pictures! It is going to be an awesome night!

Here is a few pictures from Cotillion last year to give you a preview of what is to come: