Parallel Parking

So this may seem strange to those of you who have known me for a long time, but I parallel parked for the first time ever yesterday!!! It was kinda fun but hard. It wasn't a tight space but it is hard to get the whole car close to the curb. One of the teachers on my team at school helped me!! Thanks Cindy!

I have had a driver's license since I was 14, but haven't driven too much until the last couple of years and have never had a need to parallel park. I guess as I do it more, it will get easier!

2010 Scion xB

So for those who haven't heard....we got a new car!!!! We looked at several different options before buying our new xB. I LOVE IT!!!! Brent took care of EVERYTHING over the phone. I just went in and signed the papers at the dealership and bank. What a wonderful husband!!! He also picked out the color and such but I like too!

Funny story though, as you will notice in some of the pictures, the hub caps are missing (and what you can't see, is the radio was also missing). So I guess the new xBs don't come with either one since the car is so often customized. Normally they come in a few days after the car which is generally not a big deal EXCEPT the dealership hadn't received them yet!!! However, today, I went back up to SLC to get both of them installed and now the car is even better!!! (I picked up the car on Monday).

Enjoy the pictures!!!

One of the best things about the car is that it comes with a port for an iPod to be plugged in AND the cord to do it with!!!

I love this car!!!

Jack and the Skunk

This post is to explain how Jack got sprayed by a skunk. I have had a few people ask and so I thought I would post it, plus the pics I am posting with it are cute.

It all happened about two weeks ago...

Jack was having a good morning and than all of a sudden he started limping. He wouldn't walk on his back right leg. We were concerned that he had something stuck in his paw but we couldn't find anything. Jack wasn't his normal playful self, instead he slept most of the day. It was rainy (of course) so it worked out well because he didn't whine about going out. The slide show below shows him throughout the day as he is sleeping.

So when Daddy came home, I took Jack at to go to the bathroom and to meet him. I didn't concern myself with putting his leash on him because he wanted to be carried and still wasn't walking on his back right paw. I didn't think he could get into that much trouble. ... I was wrong...

I set him on the ground and he took off running! I was shocked. Now you need to know two things 1. it is very dark and there aren't many lights (and most of the ones they have don't work). 2. a skunk (and other small critters) like to hang out by the dumpster.

Anyways, I set him on the ground and he took off running. The next thing I hear is him wrestling an animal but I still can't see anything. I start yelling his name and he comes to me. But starts rubbing his face into the ground. At this point I begin to smell that nasty skunk smell. However when I picked Jack up, he smelled different. Just so you know skunk smell up close doesn't smell the same as the far away smell. It smells like wet, hot, nasty garbage.

We took Jack inside and started giving him baths. We even used dish soap (which did help quite a bit). He got a bath a couple of days in a row but it wasn't going away all the way. However, it got to the point where you can only smell it when he is wet and hot. It is hard to scrub him because he was sprayed mostly on his face.

The reason we didn't soak him in tomato juice is because we couldn't plug our tub and because he would jump out. But it is turning out ok now.

So this summer, Jack actually caught a woodchuck (that is for another day) and a skunk! Now you all know the story of the skunk!

The Rope Swing!

I can't believe this is my fourth post today!! I am doing better!!! Today my wonderful friends Cam and Emily took me to the rope swing. It is located just outside of Mona, Utah (If you don't know where that is, don't worry, I didn't either - It is just south of Nephi). It was a beautiful day and perfect for getting wet! Here are some pics of our adventure. (sorry there are no pics of Emily we will have to get some next time we go!)

This first pic shows the two platforms that most people swing from. You can also swing from the ladders up to the platforms or other branches. We think the short platform is about 9 or 10 feet from the water surface. As you can see it is a little higher than the gentleman standing below it, but the water is at least one or two feet lower than that because the tree is on a hill. The other platform is about 15 or 20 feet from the water's surface.

This is me swinging on the rope over the water. There is a method to doing this. You step off and lift your feet NOT jump. Trust me. I know. It is way easier to hold on!

This is Cam jumping off the really high one. Emily and I were not brave enough to attempt this yet but Cam was!

We had a lot of fun and next time we will bring an actual camera and have it the whole time. It is a wonderful place to have fun!!

Go Fetch!!

So this summer Jack learned to play fetch! We have tried to teach him but it never happened before. Well playing with Patch helped him learn to play, and now he LOVES it! Is this a good thing? Yes and No. It is easier to play with him and I can throw the ball when I am doing other things and it tires him out. But...sometimes he doesn't want to stop or give you the ball to throw it. Here are some pics of us playing ball outside since we have been back in Utah! (This ball squeaks and so that makes it all the better!)

Look how happy he is!!

Jack caught the ball and is bringing it back to Mommy!

This face says, "Mom throw the ball, please."

This is happy face. I got to play ball!!! YAY!

Baby Kaden!

So I know I haven't put up most of my fun adventures from this summer yet, but the thought of that is overwhelming to me right now so I thought I would just start with now and slowly go back and post those updates. So here begins my time back in Utah!

My beautiful friend Tasha had a healthy baby boy back in May, but since I was already in Atlanta, I never got to meet him. Well, yesterday, Tasha and Kaden came for a visit!!! I was so excited and I was able to hold him for a long time. Jack was a little jealous but it was okay. The next few pictures are of Kaden. Sorry I don't have any pics of Tash and I together or me holding Kaden, but I am sure I will eventually.

Isn't he so adorable!!!

More of my projects!

I finally downloaded more of the pics, so here they are! The first two pictures show the new alphabets I made. They are flatter and so they are easier to make and read.

The next picture is of Mariah's birthday present this year. I designed the purse myself and so I know I it is not perfect. Also, the gold stitching was the first time I had ever used a decorative stitch on my sewing machine so it also needs some work. However, all that said, I am really pleased with how it all turned out and so is Mariah. I know, I know, it is not her birthday yet, but I am going to miss it again this year so I wanted her to have her present before I left!

The first picture is of all the letters in her purse. The next two pictures show the letters and purse separately.

Enjoy!!!

Utah!

I am now back in Utah!! I know a shock, I wasn't supposed to be back for another few days but I am back! Someone else booked my flight and I got my itinerary last night just after 8:00 pm (CT time) and it says that I am flying out TODAY at 1:45 pm. So my wonderful friend Ashley helped me pack and clean while our dogs played. We left for the airport at 11:00 AM (CT time) today and landed in SLC at 7:00 pm (Utah time or 9:00 pm CT time). It was a long day but not that bad. Jack and I miss Brent but we know this is for the best.

A funny thing did happen on the flight though. Jack has always been perfectly calm on the plane and doesn't get too upset with flying. He never barks but he does fight getting into his carryon kennel (man that do has STRONG legs!!). The first flight from Hartford to Cincinnati was fine but not long into the flight from Cincinnati to SLC, he started trying to scratch his way out of his kennel. He has never done this before! I got him some ice because he was thirsty and that helped a little. But than it happened again and I got him calmed down. And it happened again! I finally realized what was happening, every time this one stewardess came over the intercom he freaked out. I don't blame him, she like blasted her voice so loud it would shock you sometimes. If anyone else came over he was fine just not with her! He is so happy to be home he just misses his Daddy.

Another funny story: So Jack remembered right where our house was and where things were in the house. He expected everything to be the same. He walked over to the Madsen's place to see Rico not realizing that Rico isn't home yet!

Well it is getting late cause I am still on Ct time! I am going to try and do updates more frequently. We will see how that goes!

Recent Projects!

So as many of you know, I have been working on different projects. I know, I know, I need to keep this blog up to date and hopefully I will get better. So this post is of several projects I have recently finished. I have a couple others that are not here but they are on another camera and so they will have to wait.

This is a neck travel pillow I just made. It is super soft and I like the way it fits my neck better than the ones you buy at the store. It was super easy and fast!

This next picture is of some shapes I have made. In a previous post I showed some letters I made out of felt. These are similar but they have quilting batting in them instead of pillow stuffing type stuff (it helps them lay flat). I am hoping to use these for several different activities in my classroom. I am going to make at least one more set in green and maybe add more shapes later. I only show one of each in the picture, but I have three of each shape in each color. I have also made two more sets of letters (red and blue) that are made with the quilting batting because I like that they lay flatter. (I don't currently have a pic of those on here but will soon!) Thanks Asha for your scraps of quilt batting!!

I made my first apron! I love it! It is only a half apron and I got the pattern from the blog Make It and Love It. The first picture shows the cute little pleat I put on the ties. Sorry it is blurry. The next picture is the whole apron. I want to make more! I know the pics aren't the best but they will do. I need a good, cute, easy pattern for a full apron!

The last picture, I know it is side-ways, is of a reversible bag. I got this pattern from Skip to My Lou. The inside is peaking out and as you can see it is striped.

I hope you like them!

Hartford, CT

So I know I keep saying I am going to update, and it will happen! I sat down to do it yesterday but I kept getting error messages so I decided to give a little update today. For those of you who don't know, we were transferred to the Hartford, CT office about a month ago. There are tons of fun things to do around here but it rains all the time! I hope to post pics of some of the places we have been to. Jack is happy with the decision (minus the rain) because we live right next to a golf course where he gets to run and play and his best friend, Patch also came to Hartford with us! As a matter of fact the two of them are wrestling right up against my side as I type this! Well if this works, I might get around to blogging more today!

Wedding Gifts

So I forgot two projects that I have completed! I made a little decorative thing for both my brother, Ryan and his new wife Cheryl's wedding and one for my little sister, Athena and her soon to be husband Matt. I couldn't take much on the plane so this is what I decided to make!

The "B" is for Ryan and Cheryl and the "E" is for Athena and Matt.

Harford, CT

Ok, so for those of you who don't know, at the first of the month (of June) Brent got transferred up to Hartford, CT. So we moved with several other couples up to Connecticut and that is where we are currently living. I will give more info and more updates soon! I promise it won't be as long this time.

My latest projects!

So I have been promising to update my blog but just haven't taken the time to do it. I thought I would start with the most requested subject...the projects I have been working on. I still need to finish some but here you go! (Sorry they loaded in backwards order. The first pic is the last project I am working on.)

The first two pictures below are my first attempt at making a purse. I am not quite finished yet but I am still trying to figure what else I want to do. It isn't perfect but I learned a lot from making it and learned things that I would do differently.

The next picture shows some the letters I have been making. I got the idea from Make It and Love It, but instead of making them bean bags, I am making them stuffed so they aren't as heavy. I am going to make a few more sets so that I can give them to my class and they can spell words with them. They don't take long to make and mine aren't perfect but good enough!

The next several pictures are tutus that I made. My friend Ashley and I made a bunch one day. They are fun and easy to make! I think I want to add more ribbon and stuff to several of them. All of these are different sizes as well, even though you can't tell from the pictures.

Below is the picture of my first project. While I was student teaching, my cooperating teacher used "Mr. Spacemen" for the students to help them space their words correctly. I decided that I really like the idea and so I made enough for my classes plus some for classroom use. I think they are super cute. I will have the students color theirs' with crayons (not markers because that will rub off as they use them.)

So that is all I have for now! I will post more as I get them. Enjoy!!!

Atlanta!!!

So for those of you who don't already know, we are currently living in Atlanta, GA!  The weather has been nice so far, a little rainy every know and than but not too hot yet!  We are still working for APX and hope this summer goes as well as summers in the past.  We will be here in the south until the end of August.  Well Brent will be, but since I have a job now in Utah, I will be going back at the beginning of August.  

I HAVE A JOB!!!

I got a job teaching Kindergarten at Pony Express Elementary in Eagle Mountain!!!! I can not wait to start!  I will post more details and everything when I get a chance and when I know more!  This was my first choice in schools and grade so I am pretty happy right now.  I hope to post updates of our summer soon with pics, but we are doing fine right now!  

Also, we are having fun having my sister Athena and her fiance, Matt here.  It is fun to spend some time with them!

An Interview!!!

Hello All! I know it has been awhile, but hopefully I will be updating very soon.  With Graduation tomorrow and my parents coming in tonight and both of our birthdays, I have a lot to catch up on, but for now, I have some exciting news! I am going in for my very first teaching interview tomorrow!  Now it is not my ideal job, but at least it is a start.  It is for a half time Kindergarten teaching position.  I would prefer full time, but we will see how things turn out!  I am so excited, but also VERY nervous! I have NO CLUE what they will ask in the interview tomorrow.  It is only a few hours after graduation so tomorrow will be a busy day. 

Brent leaves for Atlanta tomorrow afternoon and Jack and I fly out on Saturday morning.  We are so excited to get out to Atlanta!!! 

Boy Crayon Roll

My friend Tasha saw the crayon rolls I made and decided she wanted to make some for her family!  So she is enlisting my help.  Laster this week, we hope to get together so I can teach her how to make them.  This is the first one I haven't made using the "fat quarters" but it looks pretty good.  Not perfect but pretty good.  I am going to make another one that will hopefully look better!  Here are some different pictures of it! (Sorry the pics aren't the best. I took them on my phone!) 

Crayon Rolls

Hello All!  These are the first things I sewed on my new sewing machine!  I modified the directions given on the Make it and Love it website to make the crayon rolls.  The larger one is probably going to be used to hold all my crochet hooks so I don't loose them!  Sorry the pics aren't the best but I downloaded them from my iPhone.  Enjoy!  Sorry the pics are sideways but that's what I got!

The first pic shows all three.  The third one is rolled up at the bottom.  

This next pic is the rolled up one open.  It shows what it will look like with crayons in it.  

These were a lot of fun to make!  They didn't take much time either so that was good! I used the "fat quarters" (as my sister calls them :)) for quilters.  To make the crayon rolls, I cut the material in half length wise (so it is still 21 inches long) for the outside and for the pocket I cut the half in half again (or a quarter of the "fat quarter"). Does that make sense? Anyways, that is how I got my sizes for my cloth, but after that I followed the directions on the Make it and Love it blog.  Let me know if you have any questions.   

NO More School!!

As most of you know, last night was my very last day of school!  That is unless I go back for a masters or doctorate but that will be by choice when I am ready!  It is so nice to be done with my undergraduate.  For those of you thinking you want to take time off before finishing, I suggest REALLY thinking it through because it is REALLY hard to go back!  I took a total of two years off and transferred universities.  I am glad I did though.  

So you might be wondering what I will be doing until graduation on May 1st.... Well pretty much whatever I want.   I am applying for teaching jobs in Alpine school district and just waiting to see if I get called in for any interviews.  Hopefully I will get a job before leaving for the summer.  I know, everyone keeps telling me I am a great teacher and will for sure get a job, but the school districts aren't really hiring this year.  Alpine is hiring less than a third of what they normally do, and as of right now Provo isn't hiring so that makes the jobs few and far between for the number of students graduating.  At least I am confident that I am prepared and qualified!  I want to teach Kindergarten and first would be okay but I will teach any grade that I can get!  It is not a time to be too picky!  

Until I get called in for an interview, I am going to start by cleaning and organizing the house.  I haven't had time to do this very well since moving in so this is going to be good!  I am excited to get started!  I am also trying to go through a lot of my stuff and get rid of everything that I am not using or won't be using.  

After that, I get to start on some projects!!!! Yay!!! Brent bought me this awesome sewing machine and I have already started using it, but have decided that I need to get the house clean and organized before starting anything else.  I am also hoping to update the blog with LOTS of pictures but most of the new pics are on Brent's laptop and he has school until the end of April so that might not happen until the summer!  We will see.  If I get a teaching placement soon, I will start working on things that I can use in the classroom.  I will try and blog everything I make!  

Well this update is longer than I first thought it would be!!! I will end here, but hopefully will be back MUCH sooner this time!  

P.S. if you look down at the very end of my blog lists, there are two craft sites that have some pretty awesome projects.  They are Skip to My Lou and Make it and Love it!  

It's My Birthday!

I know I need to catch up on a lot of things, including Brent's birthday, but I thought I would do a quick post!  Thanks Cheryl for the picture!  Brent got me a sewing machine for my birthday!!!! I am so excited! I have wanted one for a really long time and now I have a pretty cool one!!!  Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!  I hope to catch up the blog soon since tomorrow is my last day of college ever!!! 

Have a great day!

Atlanta Here We Come!!

Thanks everyone for the get well wishes! I am doing much better.  

In case you haven't hear, we have made a decision on what office we will be going to this summer.  We will be going to Atlanta, GA!  We are going to be in the Atlanta North office with Jared!  This summer is going to be so much fun.  I am excited to be working with my friend Ashley in the office.  Also, so many of our friends are going to be there as well!  Two of Jack's best friends are also going to the same office, Patch and Rico.  We think it is going to be a great summer all around!  

Strep Throat is No Fun!

Sorry I still have no new pictures to add.  We aren't putting any of the new pics on this laptop anymore and since we are both in school, Brent generally has the other one.  Hopefully one day I will get some fun ones up.  Maybe I can find some old ones on this laptop to share with everyone.  

Anyways... It seems as if my lovely Kindergartners gave me strep throat!  How fun. Not really.  We thought I had the flu because it started with being tired, chills, and a high temperature.  However, when Brent got better and two days and I got sicker, we realized that maybe something else was wrong.  Added to that my throat got sore and became swollen so that it was hard to swallow.  So I started feeling under the weather on Sat, yes that was Valentines but illness does not notice holidays (sadly).  After that, the symptoms really kicked in on Sunday and by Monday (yes another holiday) my temp. was ranging between 102 and 103.6 all day long.  We decided I must see a doctor Tuesday.  That is when I got the news, one look at my throat and the doctor knew I had a "severe case of strep" but she did the throat swab and surprise of all surprises it came back positive.  

It is pretty rough because now my schedule is all messed up.  I am not sure how I will be able to get up early on Friday.  Being sick totally screws everything up! Like for example, on a normal day I would already be falling asleep.  

Now I love the Kindergartners I work with, but this is just not fun.  I was told I could not go back into the classroom until Friday, even though I am feeling fine now that the medicine is in full force.  I guess my immune system is too beat up to take being around kiddos right now.  I sure do miss them though!  But the saddest part is now I have to make up my three missed days when my sisters come to visit!  I hope we can still have so much fun though! 

The good news about the situation:  I am getting homework done early so I will have less to do later!  Hopefully I can get a good chunk of it done so that I won't have the added stress later.  Also, I am getting a few extra things done, well as much as I can do before I get tired.  Like tonight I put up a little coat rack on the wall next to the back door.  I did it all by myself!  But now I am tired.  

Sorry if this post is complainy but it really sucks being sick. And now I am slowly feeling better but can't get back to my normal schedule.

Busy Busy Busy

Sorry there has been no update lately.  I just wanted to update everyone and let you know that we are doing well.  Brent and I are both in school.  I am in my last semester so I am really busy student teaching.  I absolutely LOVING being in Kindergarten!!!! Jack is growing and is now a whopping 11.5 lbs! Can you believe it???

Soon we will be picking a new place to live for the summer for Brent's job and that will be exciting for us.  But other than that we are just super busy with school and the rest of our life! I hope to do another update soon!