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.

The Lehi Rodeo and Baby Noah

This is going to be one of many posts this week. Will's parents are in town for TWO baby blessings, the fourth of July, and some quality family time. Andrew and Michael Pettit are also here visiting and spending some serious boy time with their Uncle William. There will be a lot of Mario Kart playing going on!
Last night we went to the Lehi Rodeo My first rodeo ever! It was three words: fun, thrilling, and honestly very entertaining!

Today, June 28th, was Noah Matthew Strong's baby blessing. It was so fun to be with family for this special day!

RODEO PICTURES

Bailey Strong
Hayden and Uncle William

I married an artist, when he goes to a rodeo he sketches The Rodeo!Andrew, Hayden, and Matthew
Bailey and Michael
BABY BLESSING PICTURES
Aunt Katie with Baby Noah
Michael with Baby Zachary (his baby blessing is next Sunday)
It was a big month for new babies in the family!
Noah and his family: Dad (Matthew), sister Bailey, Brother Hayden, and Mom (Stacey)
Hayen, Bailey, and Brooklyn hiding under the table.Grandpa! Bailey's glasses are to small for you!
Girly pictures!

My latest addiction

So I have to confess - I have a secret addiction...I love the show "I'm a celebrity get me out of here." Yes I watch it every single night, I look at people.com and tvguide.com to get the latest and greatest news on the show.
If you have not watched it, wow, you are missing out on a treat. Basically they have taken these "C" list celebrities and placed them in the "jungle" in Coasta Rica. They participate in challenges, eat very little, and talk about how famous they are for 1 or 2 hours Monday -Thursday. They do have a reason for being out there, they are raising money for a charity of their choice. The "King or Queen" of the jungle gets 10,000 extra for their charity.

So am I wasting my time at night - yeah a little - but if you ask Will it is pretty funny entertainment and it does grow on you! I think you should check it out, next week is the final week!

Get hooked it is soooo worth it! and you can watch previous episodes on HULU!

(And if you get hooked, vote ONLINE for LOU he should be the "King" of the jungle)

June 4th, 2009

I fall in love with William all over again everyday. He is the most generous, caring, patient, loving, and humorous person I know. I love how he can make me smile on the worst of days, how is caries around a huge sketch book and asks "Can I take it into the restaurant?" How it takes him at least 30 minutes to truly wake up in the morning, and how he knows I would rather get The Jetson's on DVD rather than roses on the last day of the school year! He is my best friend, and the best husband in the world.

We met at Canyon Crest, fell in love with the help of some very interested 6th graders, and were married on June 4th, 2008. The year has been amazing. And I love falling in love with William each morning all over again.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of William and I.

William and I at Disneyland a 6 weeks after we started dating.

William and I the weekend we got engaged.

William and I on our wedding day at the Salt Lake Temple.

William and I at Disneyland during the STRONG family reunion.

William and I on the bus to Salt Lake with 80 very loud 6th graders.

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.