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:

Some days teaching ROCKS

Today was the first day of testing. As a teacher it makes me really nervous. I want to make sure my students are fully prepared, relaxed, have had a good breakfast, and have slept well. I figure that they should sleep more than me...they are taking the test.

So after testing today I gave my students a recess. A rockin' snack, and then we had a pretty relaxed rest of the day.

Right before lunch one of my students RAN into my room, handed me a piece of paper and RAN out.

This is what was handed to me:

And this is why I love to teach. It is also why I do all the hours of preparations, and then finally this is why I give my students extra recess after an hour and a half test.

Spring Break Rocked!

Will and I have been in California over the last four days for a much needed break. I had spring break Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday so Will and I packed up and headed out to California.
We had a blast hanging out with the Pettits, and Mom and Dad Strong. Relaxing and not worrying about Canyon Crest or BYU was the best part of the trip.
Will and I also realized how much we want to move to California. The first day we got to Riverside we had this itch to go house hunting. We looked online, and drove around looking for "FOR SALE" signs. On Saturday we found a house we really liked, and explored the property a little more. The house was built in the 50's and would need a lot of love, but it felt so good to be standing in a back yard that could be ours. Will was over joyed when he realized that his dream tree-house could be a reality!
We realize that if this house doesn't work out we can just keep looking, but in the mean time it gives us a goal and something exciting and positive to look forward too. (And also an excuse to go to California for a month during the summer.)

Will's dad is the Singles Ward Bishop and they had a dance on Friday night. We went with Will's mom to visit and see the Riverside Airport. At the Airport there was this awesome airplane that was flown in WWII and we got to go inside and explore the plane.



Most of the trip was just spent hanging out. We wanted High School Musical, saw Race to Witch Mountain, played TONS AND TONS of Blokus (Which I beat Will at three times), bought Will new shoes (Thanks Michael for pointing that out), and watched David walk all over the place. We really had a great time, and are sad to have to go back to reality!




We love you Mom, Dad, Doug, Rebecca, Andrew, Michael, Ethan, Jacob, and David! Thanks for having us!

Easter Weekend

HAPPY EASTER!
This past week has been a very busy one. My 6th grade students went to orientation at Centennial Middle School. That was a eye opener for a lot of my students. They realized that Elementary School and "Mama Strong" is much better that the scary halls and mean teachers at Middle School. Then the next day they had their World Fair Day. My students have been preparing for a whole month for this very important 6th grade day. This tradition has been going on at Canyon Crest for years. Each 6th grader researches a country, writes a report, and then displays their country in our school gym. For 2 hours the whole school walks through and learns about the world. It is really a great learning experience for everyone.
Lets just say I was sooo tired from the week.
Here are just a few World Fair presentations.





On Friday night my amazingly talented husband received an art scholarship and award at BYU. It was a great night and we got a chance to share the night with a ton of special friends.

Easter Sunday was great! We went over to Beth's house and enjoyed a great meal with a traditional Easter egg hunt. The pictures show the excitement of the massive amount of candy that was consumed by the kids!





It was a great weekend. This week is spring break for Provo School District. I have off Wednesday-Thursday-Friday and so Will and I decided we needed a California break and are flying to visit his family. We are both so excited and can't wait to be in the warm weather. Can Thursday please come faster?
Andrew-Michael-Ethan-Jacob-David we are coming! Promise. Can we please play outside in the sun and not in the snow? Can we please play the Wii and can we please go get ice cream one night?

The Hair Cut

This past Christmas Will received a hair cut from his sister Rebecca. It is now April and that was the last time he got his hair cut. Yesterday between conference sessions we finally both got our hair cut. I love Will with his long hair, but it was getting a bit to shaggy, and being a BYU student long hair is not allowed. Here is the before and after.

BEFORE:
AFTER:

Billy...Elton...Tiffany...oh yeah Will too!

Ever since I was a little girl I have been in love with one musical genius and that is the highly talented piano player Billy Joel. His music has gotten me through a lot of different emotions in my life. I still remember to this day being the nerdy 6th grade student listening to Billy Joel's "For the Longest Time" and "Uptown Girl" and "Tell Her About It" in my tape player on the bus on the way home from school. I would even sing along - out loud!
If you know me you know how much I love him. I try to teach my 6th graders every year that he is THE GREATEST singer.
About a week ago KODJ FM radio in Salt Lake City announced that Billy Joel and Elton John were opening more tour locations on their FACE TO FACE tour and one of these places happened to be Salt Lake City. Can you even imagine how excited I was? I had to get tickets! There was no other option.
Will my amazing husband, who also likes both of these very talented artists and even had Billy Joel playing in the car on our first date, was also all for getting these concert tickets.
Are you in suspense yet...
So Monday morning, 10am the tickets go on sale. There I am in my classroom, all of my students crowded around my computer watching their teacher try and purchase these sacred tickets. With chanting of "Billy Joel, Billy Joel" in the background, my wishes were granted.
WILL AND I HAVE TICKETS TO SEE BILLY JOEL AND ELTON JOHN!! Section 6, row 7.
I cried in my classroom like that nerdy 6th grade girl that I was, and sadly to say still am. I just couldn't hold it in, and if anything I showed my students today that it is okay to be a nerd, follow your dreams and listen to the "best piano man" ever!

"All I needed was a little faith so I can catch my breath and face the world again." -Your Only Human.
"You got your passion you got your pride But don’t you know only fools are satisfied
Dream on but don’t imagine they’ll all come true
When will you realize…
Vienna waits for you." -Vienna.

"Is this real life?"

Have you ever wanted to laugh so hard that you cry. I promise if you watch this video you will laugh and laugh and laugh.

David After Dentist

My new favorite desktop picture

Thanks Rebecca for making my day! Will and I miss California and you guys a lot!