Jamie Ü

My New Website!

2010-08-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

CHECK IT OUT!

beexercise.com

CENTURY RIDE! 100 miles on my bike!!!

2010-06-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

We finished!!

Rest stop

The beginning

Skee Ball Tournament with my school nurse...rockin'

2010-06-13T15:50:00.001-07:00

Olympia

2010-06-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

WE ARE GARDENERS!

2010-05-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

Four types of tomatoes!
Red and yellow bell peppers!
Two types of soy beans!
4 types of green beans.
2 types of lettuce.
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Basil
Cilantro
Lavender
Oregano
Thyme

I can't waitttt!!

My pre bday dinner/Mother's Day

2010-05-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

They did our dishes even!

Tim sang me such a beautiful birthday song!

Cutting the cake

Sara and Emilie

The Sister missionaries were invited?! lol

Amber and Kim

Tim wanted in on the candles!

Carrot cake is the best!

Heidi's Surprise Bday party/Bday dinner

2010-05-09T18:31:00.001-07:00

God loves my family.

2010-04-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

Can I just say that every time I have talked to my family recently I couldn't be more proud of each one of them. WOW. It is amazing how the Lord blesses families and individuals. Things are tough, don't get me wrong, financial problems are striking EVERY member of the family VERY strongly and there are a lot of little people that can be affected! But when the struggles come is when the testimonies grow the strongest and the effects of tender mercies are felt more than ever! Trials are such blessings. It is amazing to see everyone pull together, unite, and come unto Christ. The Gospel of Christ is so unifying and so much for the family.

DC has truly taught me the importance of family and family relationships. What a difference it makes to have that love, support, and prayers. My siblings are just great examples of faith, patience, perseverance, love, and support. It is really neat to watch each one grow individually and with their family. People don't realize how much they miss out on if they don't have this, if they don't have the GOspel.

I thank the Lord for the great faith and strength my family shows in God, His plan, and His Gospel. I am more proud of them each day. What a great thing. I am grateful to the Lord for the family He has given me, for the trials and tribulations He has given us, and for His Gospel that leads and guides us to happiness.

FINALLY -my new hair after a month

2010-04-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

Emilie got a little carried away with the pics. The style of the cut was her idea.

No posts...here is why...

2010-04-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

Highlights of the last few months...
25-30 hours a week teaching my pre-k to 6th graders
Getting colds frorm my pre-k to 6th graders
Putting them in time out
Get hugged, kissed, touched, and grabbed all over by the little people
Complaining little people
This is what I hear all day...Ms. Jamie! Ms. Jamie! Ms. Jamie! Ms. Jamie! I have to go potty. I have to go pee pee. Ms. Jamie.
One of my dots they sit on was wet...thought that was weird...and it oddly had the smell of urine...ugh.
I watched a kid as he sat criss-cross apple sauce lean forward and make a funny look on his face like he was constipated...his jeans suddenly were allllllll dark inbetween his legs all the way down to his knees...he also walked like he had something between his legs...
I had a girl today lock herself in the stall...don't worry, I came to the rescue! I crawled under and let her out!
Yes, I AM the tallest of all my students.
I rock at dodge ball!
I rule at soccer! Me versus all my kids!
Nothing better than showing up in the morning and the kids running at me and yelling my name because they are so excited to see me.
My students are from EVERY place in the world. I must say, there is nothing cuter than a kid who barely speaks with an accent: Russian, Australian, French, British, Hungarian, Indian, African, Latin American...you name it!
jump rope
hula hoop
tunnel tag
toilet tag
soccer
basketball
red light, green light
races
jumping
tennis
lacrosse
running
circuits
shovels and pales
Simon says
scooters
bear crawl
crab walk
jumping jacks
275 little people students
NEVER a dull moment!

That is only from teaching at the school. I will post later what the rest of my life has entailed.

By the way...I cut my hair. A lot. No pics. Sorry.

Making History...BOOOOO

2010-02-08T09:58:00.001-08:00

Two feet of snow in ONE day! WHAT?! Worst snow storm in like a century! BOOO! Everything has shut down! People are forced out of their homes onto the street to go on walks and mingle with their neighbors! People are so friendly when they are forced out of their comfort zone and their schedule because of "disasters". It is like they have never seen snow before.

So. Work is going well. My first week on the job at the Montessori school there was a lice "epidemic"...lol. A few kids had it and the older kids were calling it an epidemic. I had a kindergartner tell me the other day that she was perplexed! Her friend didn't know what it meant and so she defined it...perfectly defined it might I ad. WOW! What a change coming from the public school system! They are so much fun. I have probably 275 students in all that rotate in and out of my classes. The best part is is that I don't have to do any grades, etc. I just get to teach and play! It rocks!

The Sports Club is going great. I am getting myself into it! I am starting to have some potential clients and work with them. I am excited about learning and getting to know more about training. I work with great people who are great mentors. I feel very blessed.

We are getting our apartment put together. It is starting to look like a home and feel homey. HEidi has gotten here and put her touch on things. She is a rockstar. Other than the snow and everything shutting down all the time life is great! I am very blessed with the two roomies that i have! They are wonderful! Life is good!

DC Adventure...Take 2

2010-01-17T15:20:00.000-08:00

So...I have returned to DC...what a trip! I drove from California to Provo, alone - 10 1/2 hours. I spent about 5 days in Utah and did a lot of catching up. I drove from Provo to Denver, alone - 7 1/2 hours. I spent a day or so there. Ok, the alone stuff is a lie because I was accompanied by Dan Brown the entire time. If you haven't read/listened to his new book, The Lost Symbol, DO SO! It rocks!
I picked up my dear friend Heidi in Denver. We drove from there to St. Charles, MO, which is just outside of St. Louis, for almost 13 hours. We then drove from St. Charles, MO to DC, another 13 hours! We then spent 2 entire days looking for housing, with a job interview for me. I lived out of my car for almost 2 weeks. Since neither one of us likes or will eat fast food we stopped at Wal Mart and bought bread, cheese, peanut butter, took some plastic silverware from the deli and got back on the road. We ate that, plus the fruit and fiber one bars we had, for 4 days. Ay ay ay!

We are currently residing the Arlington, Va in a place called Avalon at Arlington Square....

take a gander... http://www.avaloncommunities.com/avaloncore/nfloor.asp?comm=12

We live on the 2nd floor in a two bed two bath apartment. Heidi and I are sharing a room. We have a roommate in the other room named Emilie. She rocks. We are super pumped to have her here with us! This is going to be great!

Here are some pics of our humble abode...

As you can tell me have no furniture. We have no anything...but we have my bike as you can tell! This was our first meal in our new place! We didn't even have anything to eat out of...hence the pot for my salad! We took silverware from Chipotle so we could eat until Heidi brings all her stuff up from North Carolina.We are going Asian style!

This place is going to be great once we get through with it and make money to be able to furnish it! I was able to get us beds yesterday. So no worries...not many nights on the ground. We are working on getting a couch. Heidi left for North Carolina. I will follow her down this weekend to help her with the rest of her stuff. We will then a kitchen fully stocked and a dinning room table with chairs. It does already feel like home. It is great to be living with Heidi again. She is a great person! We look forward to many good times here in DC together! We eat "granola-like" together, are goal oriented together, go to the temple together, exercise together, etc. You name it! And yes we encourage each other to date boys...but not together!

I must say. DC is not the same without my old roomies! We had some great times! It is sad not having them here. I do miss them! Church was not the same without them there today! Boo. But whatever, if they think PROVO is cooler than WASHINGTON, D.C...so be it!

I must report...I have had 3 job interviews since I have been here, which we got in late Tuesday night. I have had 3 job offers as well. One I am going to decline. The other two I have accepted and I am PUMPED!

I am a coach at Jump Bunch...check it out...

http://www.jumpbunch.com/kidsclickhere.html

It is going to rock. Pretty much I am a traveling PE teacher. I will teach PE at 3 different private schools in Northern VA to kids the age of 2 1/2 to about 10. It is going to rock! It is a part time job that pays fairly well.

I am also an employee of a place called Washington Sports Club as a personal trainer...

http://www.mysportsclubs.com/regions/WSC.htm

They are going to help me get certified to be a personal trainer and also to teach classes such as cycling, pilates, etc. I am sooooooo pumped! It is perfect! My life couldn't be much better right now! I knew I was supposed to be in DC right now. There have been A LOT of things that have tried to get in the way and deter me. But I know this is right and I am seeing the Lord bless me left and right! I am on the up swing that is for sure! It has been a long time coming!

And who said there aren't jobs out there and people aren't hiring!

Christmas Vacation

2010-01-17T15:13:00.001-08:00

Here we are blocking their entry! We had already won!

Geocaching with the family! We made it a race! Don't worry...our team won...woo woo!

ALL the kids spent the night!!

Nana...you silly bone head...

M' boys...geocaching

I realized I had forgotten to ever put a picture of Nicole, my mentor teacher, on my blog. Here we are right before I left DC.

Geocaching...what?!

2009-12-29T23:26:00.001-08:00

Snow Day!

2009-12-29T23:00:00.000-08:00

Little does LeAnne know they only went about 5 ft on the sled and the hill had about a 0.5% grade...

The 3 Ring Circus...

2009-12-29T22:20:00.000-08:00

T-I-G-E-R-S

2009-12-23T19:38:00.001-08:00

I am a tiger and we are the best.

Student Teaching is OVER!

2009-12-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

Alfajores!

Thanksgiving

Hiking in the rain - Veteran's Day (more to come)

2009-11-11T11:50:00.000-08:00

Billy Goat Trail A - Great Falls, MD

Hancocks in town (I'll add more...)

2009-11-11T11:49:00.000-08:00

Boston

2009-11-11T11:47:00.000-08:00

we had church in this building. it is the trinity church. elder ballard spoke at their pulpit. such an interesting experience!

Halloween - Pumpkin Carving FHE

2009-11-11T11:45:00.000-08:00

Mt Vernon - fall colors

2009-10-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

Double Dutch....what?!

2009-10-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

George Washington Masonic Temple - Alexandria

2009-10-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

Week 7...

2009-10-23T18:24:00.001-07:00

Wow...need I say more! haha... never a dull moment at Wilson High in PE.

Here are the highlights of my week this week...Derrick came into class and was super pumped. He saw where I was and came over to shake my hand and thank me for having sent an email to the principal telling him how well he had behaved in class with me. He was so excited and couldn't believe that I woudl tell him that he was behaving and how proud of him I was. The principal emailed Derrick adn congratulated him for his behavior and how so many people at Wilson are behind him. We had a make-up day in Health class. Anthony was overwhelmed by what he had to make-up. I gave him his assignments one by one so he could take it step by step. He did much better that way. He worked diligently the entire class period and got through a few assignments. We talked about how much easier it is to just do your work the first time. It would work better for his grade as well. He worked hard and when he didn't understand something he woudl call me over for my help and we would work through it. Antoine is still a struggle but he worked well on his work and got a lot done. The kids were so much more well behaved. They ahd the freedom to do what they wanted, within limits, as they worked on their work. But, when the teacher is infront of the class, their is instruction going on, they can't refrain from having loud outbursts and disrupting everything. Derrick looks at me differently know. Even though he has outbursts, is disruptive, and disobedient, he now apologizes and says, "my bad, my bad, I'm sorry." Whereas before he would just swear at you. Baby steps.

Yet again...PE is a WHOLE different story! ay ay ay. Our student Aldo continued to tell me more about his mother being in El Salvador and him being home alone. His father died when he was 9. He was sick, left and never came back. He doesnt' really know what happened to him. He is on the HS soccer team and works on weekends. He earns his own money for food. He is lonely. He doens't do much because he needs to save his money.

Yazmin went to the burial of her god-brother who was shot. She comes into class with her anger issues and attitudes. I just try to refocus her energy into things that are positive.

Stephanie was getting bullied a little bit more by the students who were involved in the bathroom incident...uffff. We talked about how she needs to be resilient and unmoved by those other students. We had kids trying to kill squirles with tennis racquets...like...REALLY?!?! hahaha The list goes on right...there are so many things that happen sometimes I can't even remember them! It makes me laugh.

We are finishing up our tennis unit. We started our tennis tournament today. The kids really did well with it and really enjoyed it. I had a student, Artis, who when they were picking who they wanted to have as their doubles partners come up to me, stand right behind me (I could feel him behind me) smiling huge and say, "I got my partner, Ms. Pratt is my partner." haha He was so proud of himself. We had an odd amount of students. So, I was his partner. It was fun. The girls we played gave me all special rules that no one else had! :) Artis and I didn't advance in the tourney. HE followed me around the rest of the period. haha He tends to have a difficult time participating regularly, not getting sucked into the loud/disruptive kids even though he is quiet and a good kid. We had a fun time with our kids in the tourney today.

This morning we got there really early to have a team meeting with a student, Francis, his mother, and all of his teachers. Francis and his mother arrived about 40 min late. All of the teachers talked about Francis in the classroom, how he behaves, what he needs, etc. They are looking into seeing whether or not he is special ed. They are looking into hooking him up with the school psychologist. He has very loud outbursts. He has anger problems. He follows and mixes in with the girls who are very bad influences. He can't sit still. He is very hyper. He can go from totally calm to 100 percent angry, yelling and swearing at you. He is a sharp kid when he does his work. He can focus and do well but only for limited amounts of time.

Francis and his mother finally arrive. The mother is willing to share all. He has had problems for a long time. He is the fourth of 4 kids, last one at home. The mother works graveyard. There is no father figure in his life and never really has. They have no contact with his father. His older siblings all have kids. His 18 year old sister has a 1 or 2 year old. He wears the same clothes all the time and has had the same braids in his hair since at least the beginning of school. He has bad friends. He has been mugged by people with knives, he has been stripped of his clothes and left practically naked in the street, his friends have robbed, graffiti-ed, and vandalized their home, etc. He has a prole officer. He had an incident over the summer where he got into serious trouble. He has a urine test every Thursday. November 16th he has a court hearing that will decide whether or not the judge is going to lock him away for 7 years or not. The crime was that serious. Francis would not allow his mother to divulge all that happened. Appartenly, Francis didn't realize what he did was as serious as it was. He didn't see it or interpret it for what it really was. We feel like it was something to do with drugs and drug dealers. But we really have no idea. The judge is going to look at how Francis is behaving at school and at home. So how he acts at school right now is a deciding factor of what the rest of his life will be like. One of hte teachers told him that if he behaves and does well in her class she will go to court and testify for him and be his advocate. He doesn't think that he really will be locked up. He feels invincible, that the judge will just let him stay home.

So, this morning for some reason, I felt impressed to wear my BYU sweatshirt...hahah..weird right?! to wear a certain article of clothing? the Spirit? crazy.

As we get up to say goodbye to Francis and his mother, I shake her hand and she reads my sweatshirt and says, "did you go to Brigham Young University?" I was surprised because you wouldn't ask that if you didn't have any background knowledge of it. I told her I did. She asked me what I studied, what am I doing here, etc. She suddenly totally changed, her countenance changed, and her face lit up. Then she says to me with all the pride she had in her..."We are members!!!" hahaha I did EVERYTHING in my power to not make a SINGLE facial expression...sooooooooooooo much was going through my mind! Wow! SO MUCH! Francis, one of our worst behaved students...a MEMBER!! I wanted to ask so much but didn't know how much I could since we were at school. I said, oh really...what ward are you in...i wanted to know so I could contact the ward leaders. She said, "yeah, well Francis is not fulfilling his Priesthood duties as he should..." I looked at Francis and he was like, yeah...that was a sign to me that she has been to church more than I initially would have thought, using Mormon jargon. When I asked her what ward she was in she responded immediately, "the Capitol Hill Ward". We leave and the first thing Nicole says to me is..."THEY ARE MEMBERS OF YOUR CHURCH?!?!?! WHATT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" We were dumbfounded and laughed! I told her I woudl contact the leaders of his ward immediately, find out all I oculd about them, send them their home teachers, YM, boy scout, etc. HOLY COW. I suddenly felt a huge responsibility to help this young man and use the church as a means. Nicole was all for it and agrees. I already called the ward building, no answer. I will keep calling and try to get more contact info from my Bishop to be able to talk to Francis's Bishop. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT! All brought about by a silly sweat shirt...the Lord works in mysterious ways.

NEVER A DULL MOMENT!

That was a lot of my week!

I Love NYC

2009-10-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

Walking to the subway...
Best waffle and fruit ever! Love Manhattan!

My favorite part of NYC...drum roll...CENTRAL PARK!
Castle in Central Park

Dad, this one is for you...they are eating street vendor hot dogs in central park! Just for you!

Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Bridge...don't worry we got off and didnt' have a map and didn't know where to go! We have an impeccable sense of direction luckily!

We walked across the bridge!

The sketchy "hand bag" store in Chinatown. This was the secret door you had to use to get down into the "shop".

Dinner in Little Italy! Delicioso!

sooooooooooooooo tired...we rocked the subway! I can get around anywhere in NYC! What, what?!?!

Time Square, at night...what else can I say?!

Random...this is what I love about this place!

2009-10-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

Meeting the mayor of DC....

Eastern Market on a Saturday morning...

Eating our free food on the side of the road at the October Fest.

Week 6...

2009-10-16T17:20:00.001-07:00

And yes, I will post pics of NYC...once I download them onto my computer...

So, my week...being a four day week...ceases to be exciting and adventuresome. Leigh says to me this morning on my way to school..."wow, I feel like PE is always an adventure." You better believe it!

Yup, my week started off with learning about the student's god-brother who was shot and killed. We started our tennis unit. We gave them the pre-assessment. They fought it like cats and dogs. If I had a quarter every time they said, "but this is gym!" ay ay ay! Yes, as if I didn't know it was "gym", as they call it. We took them out onto the tennis courts. We have two courts that are fenced in together that is about a block away and then one court that is down the hill a little and fenced in on it's own. So, it is very difficult to use all three because they are too separated. It doesn't really work unless you have one of us on each court. The kids are excited for tennis. They have had a good time. We are introducing a lot of new things to them in "gym". They are not used to being accountable for things in PE. So, they got their pre-assessment. We are doing a program practice sheet, which they also have never had before. There are just lots of new things for them and they are resisting it. However, I don't really care. They need to learn and get used to it. It is apart of their education and can help them into their adulthood.

We had PSATs as well. We didn't have students, so we got a lot done. We have really been working on catching back up and getting organized. since Nicole was thrown into so many things we have been behind trying to come up with a curriculum. We are really trying to get organized with grades and everything else. We are finally starting to get on top of things, which is a really nice feeling to say the least.

We had the "bathroom" incident with the mean kids and the poor girl. We had that class today again. The kids were not punished. The incident was reported to the administration and they have not followed through as of yet. Very disappointing. So, all four kids were in class today. The poor girl did not participate, she sat way up by herself, kept her headphones in and didn't look at anyone. My heart went out to her. I felt so bad for her. One of the kids started talking to her and harassing her again and making fun of her. the poor girl can't catch a break.

I have a student who is staying home alone while his mother is in El Salvador. Now, his aunt is sick, who lives alone, and he needs to take care of her and get her her medication. Anthony told me today about the candle light vigil for his friend Smoke. The vigil was great and everythign was going well up until some people from a different "hood" came. They weren' ttoo happy about the intruders participating in the vigil and so they started to fight. Apparently they kicked the blankety blank out of the intruders. As they were beating the trash out of them they other group started firing. So, on top of everything they started shooting. Luckily nobody got shot. Can you believe it! He said as proud as he could to me, they just wasted their bullets! ay ay ay! you would think they woudl learn. I looked at him with a huge look of disappointment and said, "Anthony, violence is not the answer, it is NEVER the answer."

Nicole has strained her back in someway. THey doctor doesnt' really know. It is from overuse with all that she does. She has definitely over done it since she started working at WIlson. So, she could not make it to school, to say the least, she couldn't even get out of bed. On my way to school I had to come up with a lesson plan for the health class. The class went surprisingly well. There were a lot of students that weren't there. Derrick, Antoine, and Anthony were all present...they all came in fashionably late as usual. The warm up question today was, where do you see yourself in 5, 10, and 20 years. Derrick said he sees himself being successful, with a nice home, job, career, and two kids and maybe a wife. Anthony wants to be an NFL star and successful. Interesting that the things they want are to succeed but what they realize is that their behaviors now are going to lead them to work at Derry Queen the rest of their lives, or suffer from some sort of premature death.

Derrick is finally realizing he needs this class to graduate and he needs to up his grade. Nicole has been working with him and getting him to do some make-up work. For his birthday she got him a cup-cake and he was so happy with that. He even emailed her and thanked him. He came into class today and was GREAT. I was so proud of him. He said he was going to come in, do his work, adn be good. HE was just that. He struggled a little. I had to talk to him a few times about being quiet, etc. He participated, was happy, did his work...it was great. I thanked him and told him I appreciated the way he was acting and I thought he was a great kid. Antoine stayed in class the whole time but struggled quiet a lot. He has a hard time focusing and staying on task. Everything distracts him. Anthony also can't sit still. He is somewhat of a clepto and has to touch everythinggggggggggg. he made it through the entire class as well. We had to have some serious chats, some..you are going to get written up, I am sick of speaking to you. He also participated. He wrote things on the board and he presented in front of the class. The class started out really well and then they struggled. They have a hard time to not talk. I have a hard time stopping them from talking. Then they all feel "singled out" because everyone else is tlaking. I can't talk over them. they don't hear, pay attention, or respect enough to stop. Anthony is wanting to go out for the swim team. It is crucial that he is on the team. Otherwise I feel like it will reassure his "failure, no good" stereotype of him. He has to ahve a 2.0. I don't know what his GPA is but I am pretty sure it is not close. So, it was a constant reminder that he needs to do his work and get goign to be able to get on the swim team. He stayed after class, during lunch to continue his work since he didn't do it during class. He didn't want to do it but I kept telling him and talking about these are his decisions and he needs to do this so he can have and do what he wants, so he can succeed and get out of his screwed up life. So...today...health was a struggle as usual but I feel like we are making small improvements and progress bit by bit.

PE is a different story. I yelled at my kids today several times. They drive me crazyyyyyyyyyyy sometimes.

Ms. Oates continues to talk to me about hiring me on. She wants me to get hired on as a full time sub. So come January, the next semester, I would take one of each of their classes. I woudl have 4 classes adn they would be my own, only under one of their names. That way I work everyday, full time, and am getting paid a subs pay. So, we will see how that goes.

Last week in review at school...

2009-10-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

So...last week seems so long ago. Well, you were there for the health class that I taught. We kind of had a sub. Coach Ozz was there in and out the entire time. He would come in, yell at the kids, get them going, and then leave again. Jeopardy went alright. They participated more than I thought. Well, there were some of the trouble kids that participated more than I thought. Derrick actually got into it and really enjoyed it. Antoine stayed in class but slept. Anthony finally started keeping score and enjoyed writing on the board. They got a little rowdy and I finally stopped and made them do writing assignments because they were too out of control. ON Wednesday Nicole and I went to the Life Skills Training at DCPS and so the health class had a sub and they were TERRIBLE. So, we have now tighted up on them completely. We have given them a seating charting according to last name. They had to do work out of the book on Wednesday where they couldnt' talk to anyone becuase of the way they behaved. It was Derrick's birthday. Nicole went and got him a cupcake and he sent her an email on Sunday thanking her and askign about make-up work. HUGE. He still is defiant and direspectful in class but bit by bit. A lot of the class on Wednesday I was alone with the kids in the room. Anthony was acting up. I gave him a warning, kicked hiim out of class, told him he could come back in but didn't want to. He kept bouncing tennis balls everywhere. I had enough of him and told him I was writing him up. He got all upset because he didn't want to be written up. He already had Saturday suspension. So, I told him that if he behaved and proved it to me he woudln't be written up. So, he behaved and did his work. He came back into class and disrupted everything and started bouncing the ball all over the walls. I said to him, "Anthony, remember our deal." He said ok and turned around, went back outside and started doing his work. He came back in 5 minutes until class was over and started writing on the white board. I said hey, we have 5 minutes left, don't screw up now and he was great. I congratulated him as he left the room, told him he wasn' tgoing to get written up, and that he was a good kid. He was very happy. He also continued to tell me that on Saturday they were doign teh 2nd annual vigil for his friend "smoke" that was shot and killed. He even told me waht he was goign to wear adn what they were doing. He is a good kid deep down. I hope it went well for him. We will have him tomorrow and I will see how it went.

PE classes went fine last week. We were in a transition period until we could get on the tennis courts. We started our tennis unit right now, which is what I will be doing my TWS on. We are learnign with PE, testing, trying...whatever you want to call it.

So, the Life Training Skills was really good. It was nice to be in a different setting and learn some new things. We had a really good time and met some really good people.

We also ahve a student who is goign to be hoem alone forthe next month. His mom is going to El Salvador for the next month to take care of a sick family member. He is staying here. Wow. The thigns these kids have to do.

Today we had an interesting event occur. Yesterday a young man was shot and killed. In our Day 2 period 3 class there is a girl named Jazmin. This young man that was shot and killed was Jazmin's godbrother. He lived with her and her mom. He was shot by a "hood" that killed this boy's older brother a few months ago in the same place. The older brother was 17 and the one killed this weekend was 14. They both lived with Jazmin. She is having a very difficult time. Apparently the boy's mother is in jail and didn't even know about it. Jazmin does not have a father figure in her lief and has only met her father a couple of times. Her father figure was always her grandfather. She was the favorite as well. About two years ago they were driving in a car and the grandfather had a heart attack and died in front of her. She claims that that is a part of her behavioral problems, along with many other things. She is a student that does have behavioral problems and a mouth on her. I asked her to do somethign today and she yelled in my face, "NOOOOOO". Oh the joys of teaching! :) She has a couple of friends inthe class with her that struggle as well, one of them has a 10 month old son and she is 17. HOwever, they can be very positive influences on each other and at times very negative, depends on their moods. All three girls like Nicole and me quite a lot. They tell us we are their favorite teachers and give us hugs. But one of them has Leigh and tells her the same things. :) They are great girls though. I like them a lot. So many of the student are effected right now by teh death of this 14 year old that was killed. I am not sure waht school he went to. I don't think ours.

Time is flying....and random pictures from before

2009-10-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

My roomies have this thing because I am so short. So we were on our way home the other day and there isn't anywhere else to sit so I stand up against this wall. Well, this black man apparently stands up against the same wall on the other side. Chanel asks if she can take a picture with him and me because I am a midget and he is quiet tall...ay ay ay

We hit up the zoo this week! The national zoo, it is free!Below: the Capitol Hill book store...unreal!

My favorite part of the store...the bathroom...aka the Philosophy section.

o
Always a street named Pratt...this one you have to walk on when we go to the temple. YOu take the metro to the bus and then the bus to Pratt and then you walk the rest of the way. This is in Maryland

Chanel thinks she is pretty sly taking this picture as we ride... too bad you can see her shadow holding the camera out! :) A pretty good job I must say while riding.

along the bike trail by our house

Could life get any better than this?

HEAVEN = BIKES

This is a park on the Potomac next to the airport. The planes come RIGHT over you. IT feels like they are going to land on you almost!

There have been interesting experiences in health class. There are three boys that are trouble makers. They rarely if ever have made it through an entire period without getting kicked out of class. There is one student, Derek, who is a universal problem throughout the school. They have worked with him for years and nothing is changing. They say they have tried everything with him and nothing budges. He is just as defiant as ever. Antoine and Anthony are different. I don’t know much about Antoine other than the fact that he is in our health class and PE class. We have him two different periods in one day. He is easily affected by Derek and any other peer. He does well when he is alone without distractions. Anthony is the student who, for whatever reason, has opened up to me. He shared with me about his father being a drug dealer and being killed when he was 9, him and his buddies being shot when he was 12 and one of them dying, and waking up to drive by shootings in the morning before coming to school. We are really trying to focus on how to work with these boys and make a difference in their lives without taking away from the rest of the class and the attention they need. There is also a boy in that same health class that has expressed himself a lot concerning his suicidal feelings and depression.

In PE we have two classes that are difficult and two classes that are angels. One class today even after we blew the whistle to go dress down the entire class came to us begging us if they could play 5 more minutes because it was a tie and they had to break the tie. Who does that right?!! The entire class dresses down every period as well. They are fantastic.

We had a crazy schedule this week being home coming. We had the talent show and the pep rally which really messing the schedule up. There was a Wilson student who passed away this week at a swimming pool. She was best friends with one of our students, which made it very difficult for him and made him act out in class. The death was announced over the intercom and the entire school had a moment of silence. Wilson no longer has security guards. They dropped the contract with the company they had there. It will take approximately 5-7 business days to get another company back into the school. In the mean time we are short security and things could be a little hairy.

Nicole is going to be gone on Monday. There should be a sub but I am going to teach all of the classes. With the PE classes I am going to do team building activities. If you have any, would love some ideas! Wednesday is a conference/meeting thing the PE department is supposed to be going to. Nicole is trying to make it so I can attend as well with her and be there for everything. So, I probably won’t be at Wilson on Wednesday. She is very good at including me. I appreciate that. I still really enjoy working with her. She is great. I am slowly seeing her personality and I feel like we are more able to be ourselves with one another because we are getting a handle on what we are doing, well sort of, more than before that is for sure.

Our biggest challenge in PE is classroom management. However, a lot of it is because there are two other classes that are not being managed. The teachers allow them to do whatever they want really. So when we are trying to manage our own class and their class starts walking through what we are doing or their students interfere with what we are trying to do. It is very disruptive and somewhat difficult.

So, we also had a dance party this weekend! Keepin' it real! We danced the "jerk". It is a dance that all the black kids are teaching their "student teachers" how to do. Almost as a welcoming into their culture! :) We busted it out for sure! Nobody had any clue what we were doing!

Random pics from my phone

2009-09-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

Old Town Alexandria. His name is Jamey and he is playing the glasses! AMAZING!

Nationals vs Dodgers!

Amazing view from Alexandria on my bike ride!

Random things that have happened within the week...

- a fight broke out when I was the only teacher on the field...and what did I do...I RAN! lol I ran for help! No way I am going to break that up!

- went to teh National Book Festival at the National Mall

- went to Eastern Market, a farmers market adn got free fruit! mmmm

- went to the Natural History Museum

-went to the temple

- went to the Portrait Gallery

- hitchhiked from the temple after missing our bus...:)

- taught a health class when I was told I was teaching it about a half hour before

- kicked some kid out of class

-taught golf

- worked, worked, and worked

-biked to school - took 45 min, it is so humid here I was DRENCHED by the time I got there and had to change clothes - and then biked home. Oh and, I didn't know how to get there, didn't look up the directions, just went!!!! I found my way just fine, there and back!

- had some of the "trouble" kids yell at me to get my attention and watch them to see how well they were doing. THey were fighting for my attention!

-had a kid from Colombia change everything about his countenance when he realized I spoke Spanish and understand him and his culture!

-the Dept Chair at the school in PE wants to get me hired on. She wants me to apply for a coaching position, be a permanent sub, adn later work for the school. She wants me to be the NEXT Wanda Oates! (that is her) to teach me everythign she knows! hahaha

-went to a Nationals game, they played the Dodgers

So much happens in one day, in one week...my time is flyingggggggggggggggg by here!! Those are a few things that sum up my exciting week!!

My week...

2009-09-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ok...so here goes my week!

Well, there is always so much to tell. So, Nicole's job is safe. They are not touching the PE department thankfully. What a relief to say the least. However, nothing is changing with the other teachers. We were going to offer three sports, one teacher teaching each, and letting the kids choose which one they wanted to do. it didn't work out at all. So instead we are doing three two week units of each sport. So, we are doing golf now, as you know. We were a little unsure of these kids with clubs. We knew and know we had to be on top of them. Day 1s are really frustrating and exhausting days. Nicole got observed in the Health class the other day by the person from DCPS. I think it went pretty well. I have stayed after school every day for an hour or two to plan and get stuff done with Nicole. We work on grades and organizing the classes. We plan and talk about how we can improve or how do we want to approach things. Neither one of us want to give up on the kids but they are taking so much energy and time away from other kids. We have two or three students in the health class that are totally disrespectful. One only makes it about 15 minutes into class before he either leaves or gets kicked out. It is amazing how one or two kids can set the tone of the entire class. I got to school this morning and Nicole wanted me to teach the main lesson for health. I have been coming up with the warm-ups for the health class. So, we had an incident in health, I kicked a kid out of class and then a camera was stolen. So, I was left alone in the class for some time. This was technically my first real experience in a classroom teaching. I actually really liked it. I did not cut the kids any slack. I moved two kids away from their friends because I had to ask them to be quiet too much. I got the kids to be quiet and listen. They all participated quiet a bit, even kids I woudl have never expected would volunteer to read. We had some discussions that the kids had some really good insights. Yet again, lots coming from kids that I wouldn't have anticipated participating. It was great. Nicole was in and out of the room the entire time but she was surprised and pleased with what she saw. She really liked how they were participating, engaged and well behaved. The lesson didn't last long enough, more should have been planned. I tried to drag it out and assign them to do a few more things but you can only do so much. I feel confidant infront of the classroom. It didn't bother me, intimidate me, or make me nervous at all. I have had enough teachign experiences through church that I am totally secure in front of a group of people. I am also not afraid of silence or disciplining. I know there are things as far as classroom management goes that I need to learn and improve but I am actually just glad to be having this experience. It is so different in the classroom.

As far as PE goes. We are taking a little different approach. We have a couple classes that are uncontrollable we feel. So, we are dividing the class up into two. Nicole is taking half and I am taking the other half. That way we can separate the trouble makers from their friends and be tamer. IT worked for the most part. Using golf clubs is very nerve wracking. It went fairly smoothly. Kids are starting to see me as a teacher adn that I mean business. I don't think they anticipated that from me. Sometimes it is frustrating feeling like you have nothing to hang over the kid's head. They don' tcare about anything so there is no consequence or punishment that bothers them. I am calling every kid out every time they swear and it is decreasing the amount of times that I hear swear words. Nicole and I work as a good team. We are getting to know each other and how the other one works and functions. I feel like we are building a good team. We are finally catching up and starting to be on top of things after all of the changes that have been made on us daily.

Ms. Oates wants me to talk to the AD to get hired on as the track adn softball coach. She wants to talk to the administration about possibly hiring me on come December as a permanent sub, aid, or eventually as a full time staff. She thinks the coaching positions would help me get the job in the long run.

So yeah, to sum up the week...fight, being cussed at, students using their physical bodies to intimidate me, being disrespected, not listened to, etc. , teachign golf, teaching health, Nicole being sick, me getting sick, being evaluated, staying late after school to work...who knows what else.

Kayaking the Potomac

2009-09-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

Georgetown in the background

Leigh and Chanel

Jessica, me, Naomi, Mindy, and Katie

Roomies!!!Leigh, Chanel, Jessica, and me

We got stuck in the mud...good thing I had my Chacos on...I had to push Leigh and Chanel out too...and they make fun of me for being granola and look who came through for them, none other than GRANOLA!

Random Pics from the last three weeks...I can't believe it has only been 3 weeks!

2009-09-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

We are proud Virginian residents!

This was our ride to church one day. Our chapel is a half hour from where we live and we can't ride the metro, we have to find a ride to church every week. To our surprise this is what came to pick us up one day, a kid in a jeep! Good times! It was a beautiful day!

Week 3

2009-09-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

We are not totally planned or have things figured out. She is still working through the health class to schedule thigns out and see how and what she wants to do. We are trying to get guest speakers to come in and present things to the students.I am supposed to be working on that to find someone to come in within the next couple of weeks. I went in yesterday from 9 to 2 to work on her grading while she was in meetings. I got all of her things graded and her grades entered. We have been doing the Presidential Fitness Testing this week so we have been testing their sit-ups, push-ups, sit adn reach, and mile run. She has been letting me help with that and so I am slowly learning their names. In teh Health Class whiel they were doing hteir work I was able to go around and talk to the students and help them with their work. I had a neat chat with a Colombian kid. We spoke in Spanish and his face lit up when he realized I spoke Spanish as well. Nicole and I are going to need pointers in the classroom with classroom management. I know some techniques and feel confidant doing it but little hints or tricks are always helpful to know.

Nicole is also very interested in doing her Family History. I am going to find a place close to her and take her to the Family History Library by where she lives to get her going on that.

Nicole's job is also in jeopardy with the budget cuts. She is very nervous about that since she is so new and doesn't not have her credentials. By Monday she will know for sure if she has her job or not.

The new addition to my family...

2009-09-15T15:13:00.000-07:00


	My roommate has named her Dreamsicle!

Found it...

2009-09-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Lord loves me greatly. I found my phone and met the nicest lady who picked it up and contacted me to be able to return it to me. There are SOOO many great people in this world! I love life!

TYPICAL!

2009-09-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

I LOST MY CELL PHONE TODAY. I DON'T ANTICIPATING GETTING IT BACK. PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR PHONE NUMBER IF YOU WANT ME TO HAVE IT! DON'T ASSUME I HAVE IT MEMORIZED BECAUSE I DON'T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The week in review...

2009-09-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Carols (our friend in the army), Me, Melanie, Naomi, and Jessica

World War II Memorial, at the National Mall

Lincoln Memorial

The view of the Washington Monument from the World War II Memorial.

Iwo Jim with my roomies! Notice that I am taller than they are in this picture! What what!

The symphony on the Capital lawn

From left to right: Scott, Jessica, Chanel, Leigh, Matt, and ME!
Yes it was raining and we were soakeddddddddddd!

There were tons of people there! The picture doesn't do it justice.

Yes, we were sitting on the grass and it WAS wet! No, we weren't prepared!

More pics...

2009-09-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

What? Federal offense? Who knew?

Can you tell which one my boyfriend is...he is the one to the back of me...I saw that old man and thought, "I have to meet you and stand next to you in the picture!" What a catch!

Imagine...this is how we have been getting around...using these cards and trying to put them together!

I LOVE THE EAST COAST!

2009-09-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

So, the more and more I see of Virginia and the surrounding areas the more I love it. The bad thing...everyone is going around on their bikes and I don't have one. I think everyone is sick of me talking about bikes...ahaha...I am sick of it...I just want to ride!!!!!! :)

Here are some pictures of the last few days...

Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

Amazing, there will be more pictures for this as well...great times...we went to Costco...we don't have a car...so, we took the grocery cart home with us...did we take it back? no...we left it outside the door of the other apartment of girls that are here with us as a prank. In return , they smother us with their kindness! Boo.
This would be ranked as one of my favorite monuments of all time. It is the Pentagon Memorial for September 11th. Each one of those lights is a bench and under neath them is running water. Each bench represents a person that died and on it has the person's name. The benches facing the left represent the people that died who were on the plane and the benches facing the right are those who were in the Pentagon. If you see a name in the water it is showing that someone else they were related to died in the tragedy. Each row of benches represents the year that the person was born in. Fascinating! We only went at night, we need to go back in the day too!

!
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This is in Western Virginia. We were in Virginia, DC, Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania today! WOW! Below are pictures of Harper's Ferry. Cool place!
This is the Shahnama River...
This is an old church at Harper's Ferry.

I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE NATURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gettysburg...there will be more pictures to follow. My camera died so I relied the rest of the day on others!

This is my room roomie, Chanel. She thinks she is funny...she calls me Polly Pocket...go figure! I know...I don't know where the nick name came from either!

Exciting new events...

2009-09-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

So, I went to observe at Wilson today...INTERESTANTE! It was a day full of surprises....never a moment's rest. So, most of the kids are black. Most of the teachers are black. It is very interesting to observe how they interact with one another. I almost want to laugh or be scared when they start raising their voices at each other. I have never seen anything quiet like it, as they swear back and forth at each other.

I get there this morning, after a 40 min metro ride, not really knowing where I was going. I find my teacher, Wanda Oats. She is in a class with the other PE teachers. The health teacher is also a part of the department. He needs to leave early and the school, being the amazing public school that it is, doesn't have sub for him...SOooo, he looks at me and asks me if I will cover his class! HIS HEALTH CLASS! Not PE! H-E-A-L-T-H...am I certified for PE...not yet...let alone HEALTH! hahah I can't even be alone in a classroom alone with students legally yet! H-E-L-L-O ay ay ay. So the office gets word and they tell them it is a no go...uffff...way to get the blood pumping first thing in the morning. That black coffee he offered me was almost appealing. So, I observed his class...interesting. I got locked out of the high school doing errands for him. The school is locked down. You only have two entrances to the whole school, where the metal detectors are. I didn't want to walk alllll the way around and go through security again, so I was locked out waiting and banging on the door for like 20 min! :) Gotta love it!

I went to make copies, didn't know where the copy machine was, didn't know the code etc...got yelled at to go to class, to hurry up, got looks of why I would want to go into the teacher's lounge, etc...YES they allll think I am a student and about 17 years old...GREAT! It will be even worse when I am in my PE apparel! Fantastic!

My teacher didnt' have students until 12:30..so lots of sitting around. There were kids in the class sexually harrassing a girl that we didn't catch doing it while in class but it came out later...was left alone in the gym with two classes of students while Ms. Oats dealt with the sexual harassment..mm...what else can I add to what happened to me today...My teacher is 67 years old...is black with grey/white hair and has a man's voice. She is super funny and told me she was the first female football coach...she has been invited to the White House, was in lots of magazines and been on TV etc, they made a movie out of her...Wild Cats... but has changed the story a bit....she is quiet the women. She almost died and was in a coma for 45 days, she says she died adn came back...a miracle women. Not the most ideal mentor in the world but it works. The other teacher, Nicole Adiar, is a first year teacher, has NEVER taught before, and has no degree in pedagogy, let alone PE! FANTASTIC! hahah I asked if I could observe her class and she told me hoepfully I coudl give her some pointers and teach her some things! Things just keep getting better and better! I only laugh out loud! However, Nicole and I did start talking a bit about the church, so there is some potential missionary work to be done there! That excites me!

So...my roommates are fantastic and all came back with similar interesting stories that happened to htem today. One of them even almost got in a fight in the lunch room with a black girl that was about to jump her until she found out she was a teacher. Good times! We signed up for it! We knew it was going to be interesting! hahah

So, yes my roommates...all four of us do everything together. We laugh more than you could ever imagine. It is great. They call me Polly Pocket or midget. Take your pick. We go to Costco and take the cart home with us, through the lobby, up the elevator, to the apartment to unload...then we leave it outside the other apartment's door (the other girls in the program) as a prank! :)

My BYU supervisor doesn't want to let me teach at Ellington...that is another story...no decision made for sure yet...but no worries.

We are going to Gettysburg this weekend. That will be fun.

Yup, exciting stuff! Let the fun continue!

Oh yeah and nothing slides with my roomies...I couldn't even run into the wall and play it off like it didn't happen without being made fun...geeze! The sarcasm is thick, heavy, and never ending!

Where am I going to be?!?!?!

2009-09-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

Take a look... I could be at Woodrow Wilson High... http://www.wilsonhs.org/web/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 ... or at Duke Ellington - School of the Arts ... http://www.ellingtonschool.org/home/index.html . They ended up getting me two placements and now we can't decide between the two. Wilson is a very urban inner city school. about 50% or more of the students are black. There are bigger classes and more discipline problems. Or Ellington that is a school of the arts and so they don't even have athletic teams. Not all the students take PE because they are dancers. The other artists have to take PE. The PE teacher now isn't even a PE teacher but a dance teacher. I would have to build the program and pretty much do it on my own. Oh and the school doesn't really have facilities nor does it have equipment. However, this school has smaller classes and is located right next to Georgetown. We may possibly be able to check out their equipment. So, what do to? Where should I chose? Who needs me most? Where can I make the biggest difference? Either way it is going to be a fantastic experiences. What to do, what to do...

White House

2009-08-30T19:09:00.001-07:00

Here is the White House...doesn't change much does it? Apparently you can still go on tours but you have to write your congressman to get tickets...you do the same to get tours of the Capital.

Goals: keep all of you updated through my blog with pics and writing. I feel like it is a mission again that you guys all need weekly emails/updates, or even more so often. They will probably die down once we are in the schools because we won't have as much time to tour.

In the metro goal: I want to sit by people I don't know and hand out pass along cards!

First day at church today, WE HAVE SISTER MISSIONARIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even tell you how pumped I am for that. I talked to one of them today and we swapped phone numbers. They even called me today to go to a fireside with an investigator but I didn't have a car so it didn't work out! boo...I can't wait to accompany them, go on splits, or whatever they want me or need me to do. I really want to take advantage of having missionary experiences out here and bringing up the church in any way I can and as often as I can! I LOVE being in a place where people don't know the Gospel and you can bring it up...it is soooooooo different in English though, weird I know. It is funny because I am naturally timid to bring it up and do it but then I think, "Jamie you did it for 19 months of your life..hello!!! OF course you can do it!"

We have 300 people in the singles ward here...huge! and we even have relatively small boundaries. I saw people there that I recognize from BYU, funny. Lots of people come here though to intern. Lots of people work on Capital Hill, are very successful adn ambitious. I was shocked to see so many Audi cars and VW's the the parking lot this morning. Our chapel is a half hour way next to Mount Vernon...SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo pretty the drive. SO pretty! Tons of trees and just lush and green! B-E-A-UTIFUL. There is such a huge biking community here and amazing bike trails. I want to buy an old bike. I ran into a kid I know from my last BYU ward at the Lincoln Memorial...random, who does that right? Small world in the LDS/BYU world.

That pretty much sums up all the high points...just trying to get everything in before we have to start actually working...boo.

Lincoln and Washington Memorial

2009-08-30T19:05:00.001-07:00

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These are my roomies...Chanel Wright, who is from Arizona, is the one on the left and she is my room roomie and then Leigh who is in the other bedroom in our apartment.
(notice above Lincoln it says "In this temple"...interesting...what is their definition of temple? Why would it refer to the memorial as a temple? hmmm...

So, first of all..if you are in DC don't ever ask people that work in the kiosks on the streets or any of the stores where things are...they DON'T KNOW! They have no idea and they pretend and get you lost! GET A MAP or ask other tourists! They are the ones that know!

Also, careful who you ask to take pictures...specifically clarify that you want the memorial or whatever you have behind you IN THE PICTURE...you wouldn't believe the crazies who have taken pictures for us and how they have turned out...is it really that hard? ay ay ay!

Ted Kennedy Motorcade

2009-08-30T18:54:00.001-07:00

I will do better at posting pictures of my adventure...so here are a few things we have done in what seems like forever but has only been a couple of days...

The first day I got here we went to the Arlington Cemetery and waited for the funeral procession of Ted Kennedy. We waited quiet a long time in the fantastic amount of humidity that is here in DC...sooo hot. I have never sweat so much IN MY LIFE!

This is one of my roommates named Leigh, she is from LA and teaching History in the high schools.
Here it finally comes... notice we are on the bridge over the Potomac River between the Lincoln Memorial and the Arlington Cemetery.

I made it... the nation's capital? really? the east coast? what?

2009-08-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

So no one has to continue worrying...

Just so everyone knows, I made it to Washington DC this afternoon. We left the house about 4:00 am Pacific Standard time and I arrived in DC about 6 pm Eastern Standard time. As I talked to people during my travel, I know they were thinking that I was some high schooler who was going back home to start high school again. To their surprise I have graduated college, lived in South America, and moving to DC! As I arrived to my apartment complex, Crystal Towers in Arlington, Va, I have already begun to see how different this experience will be compared to any other I have thus far had. The diversity is refreshing while the humidity is stifling! I brought a straight iron for my hair...let's just say my hair will NOT be getting straightened my entire stay here!

I feel all grown-up, that sums up the beginning of this new chapter of my life. We are in an apartment with two bedrooms and two bath, there are four of us. They are quite nice. No longer do I feel like I am living in college apartments, I feel like I should actually have nice/classy things and take pride in my living accommodations... the wonders of coming of age! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be moving to DC, just showing up, not being familiar with the area, going off to the stores on my own, and teaching in an inner city school! Only the Lord knows and I can attest to that. I know this is where the Lord wants me right now, I just don't exactly know why. I know He has something planned and something for me to learn. I know there are people here that I need to interact from, help, serve, and learn from. I almost feel like I have left on my mission again...just this time in shorts, no name tag, and no companion...a bit different not having someone glued to your side...that companion came in handy and was an excellent security blanket at all times. Only time will tell.

I don't know what I am doing with my life after December. I don't know where I am going to live. I don't know what I am going to do. The sky is the limit. The Lord tells me that I cannot decide until I am here for a time. So, it makes me wonder...there is something here in DC that is going to impact my life so much that it is going to change or make me or help me or course me to make a decision one way or another. I have this feeling that it is something I have not thought about pursuing before... but maybe it isn't. I just know that this experience is going to impact the rest of my life as well as my perspective on life. So, here is to my 2nd mission. I pray that the Lord will give me the strength and courage to share the Gospel through word, deed, and example while I am here and be a true messenger and tool in the Lord's hand. I am so truly blessed and want to share those blessings with those around me. I know the kids in the school need the Lord's help in so many ways!

Only time will tell.

Graduation BYU

2009-08-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

Summer...Family in Utah

2009-08-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Justin is our "special" family member, I think the picture speaks for itself.

One of the last hikes in Utah...

2009-08-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Amanda...She rocks... she is the BEST Gospel Doctrine teacher I have EVER had!

To the Hot Pots in Spanish Fork...aka Nuddy Potts (lots of hippies go skinny dippin' in these hot pots.

Unofficial Ward Campout - Adventure?!?!

2009-07-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well, this weekend was definitely one to remember always. We went on an unofficial ward campout to Zion National Park in southern Utah. We stayed at our Bishop's cabin in Kolob...how often can you stay that you have stayed or are in Kolob. We made it down safe and sound and then the adventures began...

We met up with Tracie and John and went repelling down Pine Creek, which was amazing. HOwever, we got stuck behind the slowest people ever, which made it so we took a looooootttt longer then anticipated. My roommate was going to pick us up at the end of the hike so we didnt' have to hitch hike back to the car...too bad we were 3 hours late. THen, later to find out, she didn't come because she got a flat tire on the way to get us and never showed up anway.

So, then we go to meet up with the rest of the group because we didn't have a car and were in the park alone. Nobody has cell phone reception...except for those with Verizon...but my phone was dying! We luckily got ahold of someone to give us a ride back...however, his car died right as we showed up, the alternator was bad...

So...we got a jump...we made it until we had about a half hour left up the canyon and the car died...a walking we went...out in the middle of Kolob, broken down car, and no cars going our way. We stopped three or four cars until a nice older couple said they would take us back. There were seven of us...he had a truck with a four wheeler in the back and a baby. So, we squeezed around the four wheeler in the back and he drove us allll the way back up the hill since I couldn't get ahold of anyone at camp since they don't have recepetion and my phone was dying.

One girl that came with us sprained or broke her angle badly on a hike...they carried her back down the Narrows...one car load left their keys in someone else's car that took off earlier and were stranded in Zion until someone went all the way back down (about an hour drive) to give them back the keys.

We woke up this mornign to pack up camp and ran out of electricity for the water pump (it runs on solar)...over 50 people wanting to use the bathroom...the one bathroom...and couldn't...

I'm not sure what else went wrong but I am sure there was more. BUt, in all, we had a blast! It was a fantastic weekend with great hikes and amazing views. I will post pictures as soon as Tray remembers to send them to me.

These are old and from Christmas...

2009-07-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

Sunset Peak, Lake Mary, Lake Martha, Lake Catherine, Dog Lake...AKA above Brighton

2009-07-18T16:48:00.001-07:00

These were amazingggg views...this one..is I don't remember looking towards what direction.

Mt. Timp is in the background above.

We made it to the top of Sunset Peak...elevation : 10500 feet, elevation at base of Brigthon 8500ft! About two miles up to the very top. We were at the highest peak that you could see.
This shows the three lakes...Mary, Marth, and Catherine. We hike passed all of them!

This is the view looking towards the mouth of Big Cotton Wood Canyon.
If you look closely you can see our amazing view of Heber City and Miday in the background.

What? Snow in July? And so much of it!

This is Lauren, by the way, she lives below me.

Lake Mary

It was an incredibly beautiful lake! with lots of little rodents running around and mosquitos.

This was the first lake...Lake Mary...absolutely GORGEOUS. There was a no swimming sign...we later found out that it is drinking water for SLC. Interestante!

Hike in Provo Canyon and Taking Kids to Lake

2009-07-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

Taking the chillin's to Lake Oroville...we played freeze tag in the water even!
Little Turd Muffins are too good for me, you can tell by the look of their faces! Please I am their fav!

If you look closely you can see three waterfalls at once! Super pretty!

This is how high we hiked...through the creek might I add!

My new hiking buddy, Brooklyn, she is rad. Allison ditched me to go home before leaving on her mission to HONG KONG!

We love you!

2009-07-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

Ella es un gran ejemplo por todos de nosotros! Ha sido una gran bendicion en la vida de nosotros por conocerla y amarla. Ella nos toco la corazon de todos! A ella la vamos a extranar mucho y la amamos tanto! Ella ha sido una parte tan grande en la vida de todos de nosotros! Que viejita mas hermosa! Ella nos ha traido mucho gozo por todos!

Pedalfest - Deer Valley, Park City

2009-06-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

So, my life is become more and more centered and involved in biking. It is amazing how a sport is a lifestyle, social network, culture, and a hobby all in one. Melanie and I went to our first XC mountain bike race. The pros raced 25 miles and in all climbed about 5000 ft in two hours!! WOW! We respected and admired them greatly for their efforts. THey even had little kids out there on this course! Holy Cow! I would have been lucky to even make it up that first hill! ay ay ay! It was super fun! I love how each different sport has it's own type of people, we fit in fairly well...

SO, this picture above doesn't even do it justice, what they really had to climb up. It was intense, from the base of the ski lift all the way to the top of the mountain! You can only see part of the trail in this picture, it just keeps going and going and going.

This upcoming week is my last real week at BYU! These are my last two classes at BYU and then I am done! YEAHH! Oh happy day! I have been superr busy! My week this week consisted of... the gym, homework, driving 12 passenger vans for two days straight, waking up incredibly early, eating, making pear coconut muffins, girls night-watching Iron Jawed Angels (amazing movie about women's sufferage!!!), going to the dollar theater, off-roading, watching The Giver on campus (which was one of my favorite books that I read in grade school, my first utopian themed novel), two friends opening their mission calls (to Hong Kong and Panama), going to ice cream, having a picnic, going to a MTB race, rain, rain, thunder, lightening, temple, friends, my two sister's birthdays on the same day (they aren't twins), biking...and who knows what else, the weekend is yet to be over!

Squaw Peak Hike - 7 miles

2009-06-06T13:29:00.001-07:00

You have no idea how much we have hiked up already!

Allison is a rock petter, at it again...

God is great and so are his creations!

It doesn't even do it justice!

Timp looks so small in the background

Allison is putting her thumb on the BYU football stadium to put things into perspective!

Elevation: 7862 ft / 2396 m to top of Peak
Provo Elevation: 4551 ft / 1387 m

Therefore, we went up 3311 ft in elevation in a 3.5 mile hike one way! We are Rock Stars! Hard Core!!!!

Hale Theater...Sundance...Timp Caves

2009-05-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make the most out of my first and last summer in Utah! I have to take advantage of all of the summer activities/outdoorsy things to do while here! For example...and there will be more pictures on the way...

I went to Hale Theater with Tia and Layne to see Treasure Island, which I thoroughly enjoyed and was impressed with the Utah for once! :) That was a really fun treat!

Then...the next morning I decided to go for a ride. I rode from my house to Sundance. It was a pretty good climb...my Polar says I climbed about 1500 feet to the base of the Sundance Resort. IT was a gorgeous climb with lots of bikers on the road. I even met a nice guy passing through out for a ride and needed help back to his car.

We then went to the Timpanogas caves up the American Fork side. IT was a 1.5 mile hike with an 1100 foot ascent I believe...many switch backs but definetly worth it! I will be posting pics of it when I get them from those I went with.
And yes, Utah is not that bad, I am realizing, being here in the summer. There are a lot of amazing cool things to see in the great outdoors...I LOVE IT! We are making to do lists for the summer of all the hot spots in Utah that are must sees...so if you have any ideas, let me know!

AND I WENT TO A BIKE RACE... LIFE IS GOOD!

Here are some more...

2009-05-24T22:24:00.000-07:00

Zions National Park

2009-05-24T14:23:00.001-07:00

If you could see, there are parts of this hike where you hold on to chains to be able to go through...
This is part of the hike called Angel's Landing, about a 5 mile hike and an ascent of 1500 feet!

This is called The Emerald Pools, this is the lower pool.
These are what they call the patriarchs...Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

There will be more to come...

Awhile back...San Diego

2009-05-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Trip to San Diego visiting the Monroe Family... in March I believe... we hiked, biked, surfed, etc. You name it we did it!

MY LIFE REVOLVES AROUND BIKING - Parley's Way Ride in Salt Lake

2009-05-21T22:08:00.001-07:00

a

I went out to search for a new ride up in Salt Lake...this is what I found! It was way pretty! Precioso!

40 Miler!

2009-05-18T14:13:00.001-07:00

Up Hobble Creek Canyon...I started at my house, road to Springville, and up the canyon until the road turned into dirt and then back!

I got a second job!!

2009-05-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

So, this is how all of you can now keep up on my life! I will try to update it even more. So, this is what has been happening with me....Lots going on, let me tell you...
So I am super busy with school...lots of assignments, tests, etc. So, Sunday was my birthday! It was great, I went to church, had meetings, went to Catholic mass in Spanish, my first time at Mass. It was great and interesting! :) IT was fun though. I had some friends make me pie, I got to do some reading, and then I had some friends over and we had crepes! THey were super tasty thanks to Linds! What a woman! She made sooo many crepes! She is a pro now!

My big news for the week however is that I found a second job and I am soooo excited! IT fell into my lap and is perfect for what I want to do. I am wanting to pursue a masters in Public Health and need experience in the area to get into the programs that I would like; I am interested in Global health, social and behavioral health, and/or maternal and child health. I don't know really what I want to do other than work for an NGO (non-profit). So, I was thinking that I would have wanted to get some experience at BYU, it would have been great to have been a research assistant and do stuff in the field. So, lo and behold the Lord blessed me and it feel into my lap. The next day in class, a professor I have previously had walks into my class and announces that she is looking for a research assistant...badabing, badaboom! A lot of people applied for the job...I think I was the last one she interviewed. Two hours after my interview she emailed me to tell me she thought I would be best fit for the position!!!!! I was way pumped!

So, they have been working on this research project with WIC! Funny, becuase a few months ago I looked into positions at WIC and what I could do there! Let's just say the stars were aligned! The Lord works in mysterious ways, everything has a purpose. I may be translating some of the surveys into Spanish, writing surveyrs, possibly writing classes in exercise for children, etc. IT is just a part time position but it is perfect! It is exactly what I was wanting to do! I was officially hired today and will start on Monday! I Love knowing and seeing how the Lord is on your side and has HIs hand in every step of the way.

That's me! Just can't wait to graduate and go out to DC! THough, yes, I will miss things about Provo...mainly the people!

One last thing...a word of advice...if you are in teh baptismal font at the temple...don't hiccup...it is embarrassing and scares the half asleep old guys to death, seeing how they can't hear anything, the sharp loud noice ecchos and I think even woke the dead...they also asked me later where I was hiding the bottle...:) But if you ever want everyone to freeze, stop what they are doing and stare at you, works great, trust me! I love working at the temple! :) It is never boring that is for sure!

Are you happy?!?!?!?!?!

2009-05-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

So, I have been harassed more than any of you can imagine for my inability or...lack of desire to keep up my blog on occasion, as well as the lack of words and excessive amounts of pictures. I have been told that the pictures are confusing and certain people don't know what is going on. I, however, thought that pictures were fairly self-explanatory...stand corrected it seems! So here are the happenings in mi vida!

A semester ended and yet another begun. Only at BYU can you enjoy less than a week of vacation between the two. The good news is that this semester only lasts until the middle of June! Hallelujah!! I can't begin to explain how excited I am that I will be done with my undergraduate BYU career shortly!! The time has come to grow up and move away from the good ole Provo, bubble, Utah! So, I am taking my last two classes, working, and biking as much as the weather permits...which isn't as much as I would like. I have a new addition to my family...I am now proudly accompanied by a road bike as well as a mountain bike...I have the bruises all over my body to prove it! :) 'Never give up' has a whole new meaning to it now, as well as 'pride'. You can fill in the blanks on that one.

I currently only have one roommate...they keep leaving me...a trend throughout my mission as well...everyone else keeps moving away as I stay put! However, life is great. School is good, just want to finish. Work keeps me on my toes as I increasingly get to put my best talents in use, sarcasm...ya gotta be able to dish it and take it to survive those days enclosed in one of the ugliest buildings on campus. I am working at the temple still, LOVE IT! The highlight of my week! People don't even think I am old enough to be there...got them fooled...little do they know the big 2-4 is approaching ever so quickly.

That is me! Just can't wait 'til August when I move to DC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The view from my 30 mile bike ride...

2009-04-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

Up the Provo Canyon...up past Vivian's Park...

The BEST Spring day ever...

2009-04-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

A WONDERFUL spring morning! 8 inches! Gotta love it!! uggggggggggggggggggggggggg!!

At least Fed Ex delivered me a package the same day to make up for the depressing 8 inches of slushy snow... MY NEW MOUNTAIN BIKE!

Had the Finlay kiddos in town for the day!

2009-03-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

NICKLECADE GALORE!!! I think the kids almost had as much fun as Jake and me!

Allison and Ethan at their finest!

At it again...Partyin' with those geezers!

2009-03-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

I'm learning to dance!

Dancing the night away!

Mel and Dan LOVED it!

I knew I was always my dad's favorite...but I didn't think he would ever take it this far!

2009-03-02T17:18:00.000-08:00

I didn't think he would carve a "J" into his leg! Especially now that everyone can see who is fav is! ;) It's ok, we all always knew anyway! :)

The new furball...o sea...addition to the family!

2009-02-27T16:23:00.000-08:00

Kooper John Hancock

Look at the crew...you know they were told to sit carefully, don't bumb\p the bed, mommy, or Kooper...they look like someone has put them in straight jackets...just without the jackets.

Snowshoeing

2009-02-16T20:02:00.001-08:00

These are of Brad running down the hill with his snowshoes trying to make a cloud of snow behind him...boys! :)

It has snowed a lot lately...so...we went snowshoeing...it was a first for me! I actually really enjoyed it!

Partyin' (dancin') Like a Rockstar!

2009-01-31T23:24:00.000-08:00

So, Brad LOVES to dance! So, even though I am not known for my amazing dancing skills...we went dancing and we took our friend Sophia! Well, Sophia also loves to dance so, everybody was getting all excited! Brad told us that it was a ballroom dance place! I was excited about that, I would love to learn how to dance for real and not just in a mosh pit! So we were pumped. He said however, that it may be difficult for Sophia without a date because most people, if not all, come with dates. Well, that was not the case!

We had quite the night! Sophia said she has never had a night like it, nor had that much fun since she has been in Provo! Nor had I! :)

Don't worry, we were doing the shimmy! Of which, another lady there told us she doesn't do the shimmy becuase it gets her into trouble...I don't know what kind of shimmy she does!

Brad was an excellent teacher! He had to teach Sophia and I everything we did!

There was a drawing and Brad stole all of our tickets so he could win...AND HE DID! As he let everyoneeeeee in the entire dancing hall know!!

So, I don't know if you can acutally read what this sign says. This is where we went dancing! We drove up to the place and I read aloud...OREM SENIOR FRIENDSHIP CENTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still can't stoppppppppppppp laughing!!!! Sophia and I laughed the entire nightttttttttt! We paid to get in even! We walk in...our first gentleman we met...94 years old!! :) I even had an old guy hit on me, we danced a few dances...and Brad and him almost got in a fight! :) It was like no other night we had before experienced! :) Brad ceases to surprise me!

Christmas 2008 in Cali

2009-01-13T11:44:00.000-08:00

With the Fam - Thanksgiving

2009-01-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas Cookies

2008-12-24T16:39:00.000-08:00

Salt Lake - Temple Square

2008-12-21T16:51:00.000-08:00

Me, Lori, Heidi, and Taylor

Mel and Dan's WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

The reception in the Monroe's backyard

We were the "bartenders"...our hidden talent! Who would have known?

The San Diego Temple is gorgeous!!!!!!

Don't EVER leave or you will come home to THIS...

2008-12-01T17:18:00.003-08:00

Heidi's Room!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mel's wedding chain count down in her bathroom!

I AM THE BESTTTTTTTTTTT ROOMMATE EVERRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

Conference Weekend in Salt Lake

2008-11-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

Murder Mystery: Deadwood Saloon

2008-11-16T16:43:00.001-08:00

The murder scene

Kristin, Lizzie, Harry High Stakes, Minnie Money

Elizabeth Money, Montgomery Money

Saloon Girls

Minnie Money, Taffy Garrette

Poker Alice, Minnie Money, Pheobe Calhoon

Sherriff Sam, Marshal Dalton, Billy-the-Bartender, Clay Coldwell

Holly Hicock, Anna Belle, Minnie Money

Halloween with the Fam and Ward Party!!

2008-11-09T13:39:00.000-08:00

Ward party - Bishop's wife

Family Adair y family

Tiffany, me, Heidi, Melanie, y Dan

The nieces and nephews! They are craaaazy! Baby Ashlyn even got dressed up.

Little Gracie! She is a girl after my own heart! Too big for her own good! :)

The pirates: Dad with Paige and Grace

A weekend spent in Reno for Ashlyn's baby blessing!! This is the first time in MY LIFE that the ENTIREEEEEEEE family dressed up for Halloween!! EVEN MY DAD!!

Kelsey...leaving on her mission!

2008-11-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

Kelsey and Yaz!!
Kels left on her mission to Uruguay!! Yeahhhhhhhh!!

ROOMIES!

2008-11-07T23:12:00.001-08:00

Alpine Loop

Melanie, Me, and Heidi...Cascade Springs

Powell Wedding in San Diego

2008-09-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

Nelson, Di and Me

Grandma Judy and me

Hike at Red Ledges

2008-09-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

Jared, Heidi, Greg

We made it to the top!!!!!!!!
(don't worry...I was dying!!)

Utah CANNNN be pretty!!

2008-09-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hike to Stewart Falls...right above Sundance.

HARD CORE!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

The roomies! We went for a 50 mile bike ride!! Talk about HARD CORE!!!!!!!!!!

Melanie is pumped!!

Heidi is celebrating the half way point!!! Look how tough she is!!!!!!! WOW!

And two flat tires later...

And we still made it home safe and sound in one piece! YES!

Trip to St. George with the Monroe Family

2008-08-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

The Arch that we repelled down!! ... 250-300 ft down!

The hike up to the top

Dan and Mel on the hike up to the top
Mike, Dan, Kim, Greg

A view to the bottom

Getting ready to go off the edge!

Going down!!

My First Time Fishing EVER!

2008-08-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

My Brother-in-laws teaching me to fish for cat fish!!!

Don't worry, I was used as the gopher... the new person aka the go-getter!
We had our second bite after Jake's big fish got away! We weren't about to let our 2nd catch get away this time! We were ready!
We didn't have a fishing net so we had to use a blow up air mattress!

We got it!!

Justin is so proud of himself! What a great teacher...caught a fish in the first 20 min!!

I think he may love this fishing thing a little too much!

Even Freddi wanted in on this!

Don't worry, we set the fish free!

Summer with the fam in O-Town

2008-08-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

Gracie

Paigey

Erich, Alli, and Paige

Trip to Chile with the Folks

2008-08-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

Las Torres del Paine

Punta Arenas

La Familia Barra

El Volcan Osorno

Alejandra y hijos

Dad and Leonor

Petrohue

Chiloe

De Vuelta de la Misión!

2008-06-28T00:32:00.000-07:00

Leaving Osorno
Temple in Santiago
Back to the States!!

2006-06-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

Biking w/ my PETE program

2006-04-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

Let the good times roll...

Angie, Renae, Monica, Kristine, Stacie (who does Stacie think she is anyway!)

I have THE best major in the world! So fun!!

THE group!

Dress Up/Pajama Party

2006-04-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Oroville reunion in Provo! Me, Kylee, Tracie, and Tara

Poor Erich

2006-04-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

I knocked the poor kids front tooth out and he thought he was going to die. That is what you get when you mess with me!!! Good thing he is not even 8 yet! Those youngens are the only ones I can handle!!

Reno: Moving the Finlay's

2006-02-26T19:33:00.000-08:00

Paigey's first time playing in the snow

Justin doens't get out much

XC Skiing

2006-02-26T19:23:00.000-08:00

My class took the junior high kids XC Skiing. I had never been on skis before.

My teaching group
LaNell and me

I'm such a pro