Love Advice from a Ten Year Old

The following is the conversation I had with one of my students during lunch on our field trip to the zoo.

Student: Miss W we need to find you a husband. You're too cool to not have a husband.
Me: I promise I'm working on it.
Student: Well maybe you need some help.
Me: I think I'm doing just fine.
Student: Ok Miss W here is how you get a husband. First you have to look pretty all the time. I mean ALL the time. Next you always have to have nice hair. You already like sports so you've got that one covered.
Me: Anything else?
Student: The number one rule of love is don't steal your boy's pudding cup! (Note he said this as the girl next to him (I'm pretty sure they are dating) tried to steal his pudding cup.)

I later found out that stealing the vanilla ones are okay its just the chocolate ones that are off limits unless he really likes you back.

A Wild West Adventure

For 6 years I have been inviting friends to come and visit the wild west and for 6 years no one has until 2 weeks ago when CC hopped on a plane and flew 2,000 miles to hang out! He basically stepped off the plane and stepped into a week in my life.

I took him to school with me one day. Here are a few highlights:

1. He got stared at ALL day by 30 sets of 10 yr old eyes and even a few of my fellow teachers.
2. Was asked a few interesting questions including: "Do you like pen?" "Do you prefer a knife or a gun?" To which I immediately said "That's not school appropriate!" and "What color is your hair?" "Well what color does it look like?" "Well it kinda looks black but it could be brown."
3. While I was doing parent teacher conferences he got to watch all the first round games March Madness....I kept popping in and out to see what the scores were.
4. And every single person he met asking him "So what are your intentions with our Miss W?" once again CC... I'M SORRY !!!!!

After surviving school we headed down south to St. George and Vegas for some warm weather. Here are a few highlights...



1. Watching CC learn first hand how bad of drivers people in Utah are.
2. BLUE MAN SHOW in Vegas...highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!

3. The beautiful Red Rock of Zion National Park.

4. Planet Hollywood Restaurant in Caesar's Palace. (not in the Planet Hollywood Hotel...confusing I know!)
5. The beautiful and giant gardens in the Bellagio.

And as if we weren't running all over anyway... we concluded his trip with the Gateway, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory caramel covered apples, Temple Square, The Nickelcade, and hanging out with K, B and Baby M.

Would You Rather?

Recently I have become obsessed with the game "Would you rather...?" This is a game that presents you with two related options and has you choose which one you prefer. I find this fascinating! It reminds me of Robert Frost's "Road Less Traveled" which is one of my favorites.

ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth


Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same


And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet, knowing how way leads onto way
I doubted if I should ever come back


I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

--- Robert Frost

The human mind is amazing. Everyone sees the world completely differently, and it is how they see the world that dictates which item they choose. So basically "Would You Rather..?" gives you complete insight into another person's psyche. Haha Why do some people choose one item and others choose the opposite. When several questions are arranged in a comparison why do some people value certain items or activities over others? Ok enough trying to sound intelligent and thoughtful. Here are a few of my favorite "Would You Rather...?" questions. Feel free to answer any or all of them and receive a free personality analysis! ;O)


Would you rather have your nose located on you shoulder or your knee?
Would you rather be ugly in real life but very photogenic or beautiful in real life and not photogenic?
Would you rather have 3 arms or 3 legs?
Would you rather never be able to wear shoes or use any verb other than destroy?
Would you rather never never know love but never have your heart broken or have many broken hearts but the ability to fall in love?
Would you rather super poor but stay 25 for the rest of your life or really rich but always be extremely old?
Would you rather have any article of clothing you try on fit perfectly or have your dreams automatically downloaded onto DVDs each night?
Would you rather date a prop comedian or a compulsive air guitarist?
Would you rather eat a stick of cotton candy made entirely from belly button lint or drink a milkshake made from St. Bernard slobber?
Would you rather give up playing video games for life or give up alcohol?
Would you rather have skin 15 times bigger than it needs to be or 15 times smaller than it needs to be?
Would you rather always have a paper cut or always have an itch that never goes away?
Would you rather find a cure for cancer or world hunger?

Now can I please have the attention of the class. Today's assignment... a hem... kick some "butt!"

As part of our science curriculum we talk about how animals need to camouflage themselves in order to survive. To really drive home this topic each student in my class camouflaged at least one paper butterfly and taped it somewhere in the room. We then called in another teacher and timed her for 1 minute. If she called out where one of the butterflies were then it was as if a predator had gotten that butterfly and it alas was no more. So now its your turn. How many butterflies can you see in the following pictures? (If you click on the picture it will become bigger.)




ANSWER- There are 2 in the top picture and 7 in the bottom one. Pretty creative huh!

A Great Start to a New Year

Yes I know I keep saying this but SORRY THIS IS BEING POSTED SO LATE...I could give you a thousand reasons why, like that I was working on finding a cure for cancer and world hunger. Or that I have have a mountain of papers next to me that I should be grading instead of blogging. Or that I am simply addicted to too many TV shows that take up my time but I won't. I'll simply say sorry.

Two months in 2010 is turning out to be a fabulous year, and hopefully the start of a fabulous decade. Just a theory but I'm guessing it is going so well because it started so well! Its not a huge secret that I don't really like New Years as a holiday. In fact it is probably my least favorite holiday...actually I take it back, Groundhog Day is my least favorite holiday. Any day that declares another 6 weeks of winter shouldn't be a holiday.

For New Years this year I traveled up to PA to hang with my friends A,M,and CC (the rest of our friends got snowed in and couldn't make it). We went out to dinner, walked around town, came home got all dressed up and took crazy pictures. I believe we have started yet another holiday tradition. It was a blast! We then spent the rest of the night playing different board games and eating junk food. A and M were usually fighting for first place with A more often than not coming out on top, while CC and I fought over who came in last. Yes it was a very competitive night.

Here are some pictures from the festivities...

Who Says Being An Adult Is No Fun....

You get to make faces at taxes...



You learn to avoid the bumps in the road!




You get your own personal Mini Me.




You can blaze your own trails.




You can still fly like Superman...




Reaction time might slow down but its the journey not the destination that is the fun part.



You still get to play with your friends!




Most importantly, once you become a real adult you get to become friends with Santa!

My Big Bro is My Hero

This post is dedicated to my big bro, J.

Big brothers have two purposes in life. 1. To torture their little sisters. 2. To protect them. I'm pretty sure the day I was born mine eagerly signed a contract saying he would do this. He has always been really good at getting me and my other little sisters to do whatever he wanted, watch whatever he wanted, and listen to whatever he wanted. I have very distinct memories of doing his chores, and babysitting for him when mom would be out. Other fond childhood memories include him jumping out at my from a pile of leaves, playing hide and go seek and being left all alone, and letting him paint my toe nails only to find out he had painted my entire foot.



Other memories include him interrogating my high school boyfriends, giving me a standing ovation during a campaign speech I had messed up on in front of the entire high school, and taking care of me when I broke my wrist after jumping off a 20 ft cliff to save a baby while snowboard (trust me that's a lot more interesting than the real story!)

Yes, J has been an awesome brother! He is the kind of brother you want watching out for you because he gives you space to live your life but is very much willing to step in if you need him to. He is the type of older brother who doesn't say much but when he does you listen (sort of like yoda.) He is the kind of brother who is so awesome and amazing that you just can't help but worry about him. He is the pied piper of fish and the hardest worker you are ever going to meet. He is the biggest DMB fan and has a laugh that is contagious.




He is also going back to HAITI. A few years ago he served a 2 year LDS mission there where he lived among the people, serving them and teaching them about God. He learned Haitian Creole as well as their culture. When he came home he looked skinny and tan. I'll never forget how for days afterwards he was in awe of everything around him: the wood floors, nice mattresses, the big screen TV, glass windows, and people actually listening to traffic laws. It was like he was experiencing a whole new world which he was in many ways. He hasn't said much about Haiti in the following years. Perhaps I should add that while living in a 3rd world country like Haiti for 2 years would throw anyone for a loop, J was there during their Revolution. The things he saw and witnessed I can only imagine.

Anyway back to the point of this post. He is going back into what is probably the closest thing to Hell on Earth. The pictures and footage of Port-Au-Prince on the news have been shocking and the thought of him having to go there and witness it in person breaks my heart. I know that he has blessed with the ability to help the people of Haiti. He is putting his life on hold for about 3 weeks to do this. I couldn't be more proud of him! He is my hero, as corny as that sounds, its true!



I'm asking for your prayers. No matter your faith or religious preference please pray for him. Pray for his safety as earthquakes continue to injure the already broken country almost daily. Pray for him to have the mental and physical strength to do what is required of him. Pray for the people of Haiti that they will find some comfort. Pray that they will come out of this stronger than before. Please, please pray for J and pray for Haiti.

From the bottom of my heart...THANK YOU!