School isn't that bad with fruit snacks

Get Well Mrs. Strong

My class this year is adorable. Enough Said.

I have been sick with the flu...yes the FLU...for a week now. I have been in the ER twice, missed my best friends wedding on Wednesday, have thrown up every day pretty much on the hour since Tuesday night, have had a fever, been to tired to function property, have cried for no reason, had to make sub plans everyday for a week, and have not had real food in a very long time, and to top it all off have not been to the gym. This flu has to go away!

But one thing will never change...
I have the best husband in the world. He had the flu too, he got it first, which has made the whole week even more fun (ha ha) because we were pretty miserable together. But through it all, he still brought me Gatorade when I asked, held my hair back when I threw up, cleaned the bathroom, still told me he loved me often, still held me at night when I couldn't sleep, and even let me watch the Little Mermaid twice! He is the best! I love you William.

But sweetheart lets never get sick at the same time EVER again!

Teachers

After being interviewed by the school administration, the prospective teacher said:
'Let me see if I've got this right.
'You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.
'You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.
'You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job.
'You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams.
'You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or any other language, by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.
'You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.
'You want me to do all this and then you tell me. . . I CAN'T PRAY?

Just a nice day to have an extra long recess!

Best Sacrament Story

My good friend and past team mate Emily Raymond has the best Sacrament meeting story ever! To read it go here.

Emily Will and I were so happy that you shared this story with all of your blog followers!

School is back in session

The 2009-2010 school year has begun!
I have a class of 14 very talkative, loud, and silly 11 year old boys. And 12 very quiet, cute, and shy 11 year old girls. It is going to be a very interesting year!

My amazing husband did my name wall again this year and of course I have all the other teachers jealous of how awesome my wall is.


Back to school night was Tuesday night and boy was it the best back to school night ever. I have Josh Osmond in my class. Yes, that is the son of Donny and Debbie Osmond. And yes, Donny did come and hang out in my classroom for 30 minutes. It was really fun to have him there and he and his wife are such a great pair. I will be watching him on Dancing with the Stars!

(You can see Donny in the back left of this picture)

This week at school has been really fun outside because we have the nation paragliding show happening in our school back yard, it is amazing! It is like a movie outside every recess. You should see the students just stare at the mountains in awe of the whole show!



Here is the para-glider that was low enough for a good picture. The rest of my pictures they looked like little dots in the sky.

So get ready for another fun and fun filled story year! Mrs. Strong is back in action!

And the year was 1990

The Rust Family

I would just like you to take note of the hair styles of my Mama and I. I was in 4th grade in this picture. The house in the background was where I grew up. This is proof that NJ is green.

My Beautiful Mother

There has and always will be one person in my life who knew me better than anyone, who knew my faults, my weaknesses, secrets, my joys, and my favorite things and this person was my mother. She has always been that person in my life who always found time to talk to me on the phone, to take time out of her day at work to hear about mine, to teach me about life, to show by example what a caring person should really be like.
She was an angel. She was my mother. She is now my angel.

My mother passed away last Monday, August 3rd, 2009, after a 8 month battle with Cancer. I have been back and forth this whole summer from Utah to New Jersey to be by her side, and to be with my Dad and brother, Brandon. Then in July, the 19th actually, I flew to NJ with no return flight. I was going to be there no matter what every day while she fought for her life that we knew was so close to ending. I would never take this time back, it was worth it. It was worth every moment, every scary event that happened. She was a fighter. She always made sure everyone else was okay, even when you knew how much pain she was in. She was so loved. But she will live on. She will be in my heart and in the heart of so many who thought as my mother as their angel as well.

Everyone has a Karen Rust story. This became more apparent when I sat in her hospital room each day as people came to see her. Then at the viewing when over 500 people came to share their condolences with my family I got to hear their "Karen" stories.
It is an honor to be her daughter.

Everyone shared in the smile she had when she walked in the room, everyone will remember her as a caregiver, a nurse, a runner, a friend - but for me she will be my mother, my angel.

Here is her obituary from the paper - and it is amazing to read.

I love you mama, you are beautiful.

July in a nut shell

July has been a crazy busy month. It has been a month of baby blessings, trips to California, house working, Disneyland, and fun times. Yes there was work to be done, a classroom to set up, some art to be worked on - but July was a great month.

Zachary Owen Messmer's baby blessing. He is such a cute and happy baby. He looks a lot like his brother Brandon, and has the smile that can light up a room!




Will and I had his nephews here visiting and we had a blast. Andrew and Michael played a lot of video games with Will, ate a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches, played a full game of risk on the 4th of July, and just had a good time staying up late for a good week straight. (Getting back to chores and real life was hard - mowing the lawn vs. Mario Kart - there is no comparison.)

Will and I worked on the house. Well, to be honest Will did a great job working on the house doing "Man work" as he likes to call it. I can't wait to paint!


We went to Disneyland and boy that was a day to remember. It was the best trip to Disneyland we have ever had. We got there at 7am, did all the main rides by 10am, and then thought what to do? So we did things like walk around (slower than the morning rush) into all of the stores, did the slower rides, and bought the best book ever "Where are the hidden Mickey's? Yes, this is the ticket to the park! We searched, got special treatment in lines, and met Dave our new friend who made us "HONORARY DISNEY CITIZENS FOR THE DAY!" It was awesome we got pins and everything, plus he told us a huge secret but to find out you need to go talk to Dave and get a pin...

THE PIN

California was great! Being with Will and his family in Riverside was a blast and we miss them already.

THE FOLLOWING MIGHT BE TO GROSS TO LOOK AT - BE AWARE!

Today I woke up, went the the gym, came home and found Will in the living room looking perplexed. The tub won't drain. So I went in the bathroom and sure enough, it was clogged. I got down there and pulled the nasty stuff out, but still didn't change the problem. So I was getting ready to go get some liquid plumber when I heard the weirdest sounds ever coming from the tub. Yup you got it - black sick smelly stuff was shooting out of the tub. I screamed, Will yelled and we hand to call the plumber!
Nice guy...but he said he has not seen a case like this in 10 years! WOW!
(I didn't take pictures at the beginning, so these pictures are tame)




This Video is for Grandma!

"Where's Mrs. Strong?"

Mrs. Strong was spotted in New Jersey.
I was on a flight from Newark, NJ to Ontario, Ca - with a stop in Salt Lake and guess what? There in the bathroom in Newark I heard "Mrs. Strong, Mrs. Strong!" And yes, smiling and so excited was one of my students from last year.

So...like "Where's Waldo?"...where will Mrs. Strong be spotted next.

I promise I will have pictures up from The 4th of July week up soon.