San Francisco

Right before coming home I took a road trip with some former roomates to San Francisco and Reno. First things first the drive from SLC to Reno is SOOOO BORING!! Its all desert! Its ugly and boring but the drive Reno to San Fran is gorgeous!! Beautiful northern California. The green trees, fresh air, and pine scent are heaven compared to the dusty never-ending flat desert.

      

San Francisco was amazing! I loved every second! We saw the Golden Gate Bridge, drove down Lombard Street, ate some crab and sourdough, went to Chinatown, ate Ghirardelli ice cream at Ghirardelli Square(it was amazing!), saw the Sea Lions play king of the dock at the pier, we even got scared by the bush man!! If you don't know who the bush man is he is this man who sits behind a fake bush on a street corner near pier 39 and jumps out to scare people. It is so funny to watch cause you aren't expecting it at all! 

We also took at day to hit the beach! Now I grew up going to the beach during the summers. I love laying on the sand, reading a book, and listening to the waves, but the Atlantic Ocean is bath water compared to the numbing Pacific Ocean. haha Carla stuck her big toe in and that was it! She was then perfectly content to just lay on the sand the rest of the day...she is a Carolina girl who doesn't like a cold ocean. I was a little braver and went into the surf up to my knees. It actually wasn't that cold after a few minutes. Oh course you lose all sense of feeling during those minutes. Sophie was the brave one. She went all the way in!! I don't know how she did it!! Carla and I told her she would have to come back east and go in the Atlantic and find out what a real beach is like haha I guess we are both spoiled eastern girls!

After San Fran we hit the road and headed back to Reno for a few days. Of course on the way back we took a scenic detour around Lake Tahoe. In fact it was so beautiful that we didn't even realize we had taken a detour until we were about an hour and a half into the tour. HAHA I don't know how we managed to get off I-80 and not know it but we did. 

While in Reno we hit up the RENO RODEO!!! Yehaw! There is nothing I like more than a  bunch of cowboys walking around looking hot in their boots, buckles, and hats! I was in heaven!  Half the people I went with to the rodeo had never been to a rodeo before so it was really fun to watch their reactions and explain what was going on. The bull riding was fun to watch but the highlight of the night was the Muffin Bustin!! If you don't know what that is... its where they stick 4-7 year olds on the backs of sheep and have the kids hold on for dear life! Its soooo cute!! Basically this whole trip ROCKED!!

A Great Book!!

So on the plane ride back home I started reading a book. Life is So Good by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman.  It is the amazing story of a George Dawson's life.  George is the grandson of a slave and learned to read at the age of 96!! This book is a very interesting look into what the world was like through his eyes. But through everything he goes through "life is good."  It is a easy read that is very insightful.

I am going to put a disclaimer into this little message...I haven't finished the book yet. I'm only about halfway through but I love it.  It just has such a good message in plus I'm a history dork so I love watching history through his eyes. Anyway its a great book! :)

Life is a Carnival Ride

Popcorn. Funnel Cakes. Candy Apples. Cotton Candy. Merry-Go-Round. Ferris Wheel. Blinking Lights. These are all the wonderful things that make summer carnivals so fun. Not to mention, all the crazy people walking around...there was a couple taking their engagement pictures, little kids daring each other to go on the scary rides, kids crying cause they want more sweets, vendors calling crazy things out to get you to go to their booth. There was even a cover Beach Boys band! It doesn't get any better than that. I mean you cant hear "Surfing USA" and not have a smile on your face. It impossible. 

It was a beautiful night. The first warm one in about 2 weeks, which is ridiculous because it is the middle of JUNE but thats how it goes when you live next to the rockies. Complaints aside, that was the most fun I have had at a carnival ever! The rides were great! Not only were they fun to ride but they were even more fun to watch. The daring little kid who goes then then holds on for dear life as the ride starts. I'm pretty sure most of them don't even breath during the ride and then get off acting like it was nothing. There was one ride that twirled you around and around and upside down and backwards and sitting across from me was this boy probably 8 years old. He was holding on sooo hard and had this smile plastered to his face while his eyes were screaming "THIS WAS A BAD IDEA!" He just sat there holding on eyes smashed shut the whole time. But when the ride was over he looked at his friends and was like "It was nothing." It totally made my night.

Then there was the little tiny girl whose parents had stuck her on the mini roller coaster. She was balling her eyes out the whole time while mom and dad stood there and took pictures! Talk about being scarred for life! 

 Anyway, here are some pictures from our adventure. Bet you haven't had that much fun on a ferris wheel! 

School is out!!!!

I have officially survived my first year of teaching!! Even better all 24 of my students came out alive too!! Some of them I really wasn't sure they would. This year was great, I have so many wonderful memories that I will treasure forever. I have really found something that I love. Every morning I wake up excited to go school and teach. As a monument to this here are some of the funny things that happened this year. Remember, kids say the darnest things!! Enjoy!!

QUOTES FROM MY STUDENTS---

"Miss Wells what are you doing this summer?"- Star
"Im going on some traveling adventures."
"Is that all your going to do?"-Megan
"What else do you think I should do this summer?" -Miss Wells
"I think you should get married and have kids. You'd be a great mom!"-Star
"Wow that is alot to do this summer!"- Miss Wells
"You can do it Miss Wells! You can do anything!"- Ethan
"I'll do my best." -Miss Wells

"Talon what are you doing?" -me
"arm farts miss wells"
"what should you be doing talon?"
(pause for 10 secs while talon looks around)
"umm centers"
"why are we doing arm farts instead of centers?"
"cause they are fun"
"you can do arm farts when you go home right now we are doing centers"

"well miss wells i thought about telling a teacher but then i realized i had a jump rope in my hand and decided just to hit him with it instead!"
~skylar (explaining why he got in a fight with ashton...ashton was blowing in his ear with a straw)

"miss wells i put my homework into my backpack right after i ate captain crunch and now its not there. i think my backpack ate it!"

"now miss wells remember your sister is taller than you but you're older than her!"
"thanks talon i'll try my best to remember that"

"miss wells your grumpy. i dont like you very much when your grumpy. you should take some tylenol. thats what my mom does when she get grumpy. she takes alot of tyenol!"-megan

"hey miss wells can i call you miss well? i just dont think there is suppose to be an s on the end of your name" - Talon

During the middle of our multiplication lesson....
"does anyone have any questions?" miss wells
"yeah WHO FARTED!!! it stinks!!!"-Ethan
"no one answer that...thanks ethan for that umm announcement"
"your welcome miss wells. i think not farting during math should a new class rule"
"that might be kinda hard. sometimes you can't control it"
"well then you should run outside and let it go!"
"don't you think that would be distracting"
"well ya but at least i wouldnt have to smell it!"
"plug your nose..now does anyone have any question about MULTIPLICATION?"

"Zac why did you spit on Candido?"-Miss Wells
"I didn't spit on him!"-Zac
"Why does he say you did?"- Miss Wells
"I don't know I didn't spit on him...some water just came up from my stomach and air just pushed it out!!"
"Zac...NO SPITTING or pushing water up from your stomach!"
"k Miss Wells"

During a lesson on angles...
"Miss Wells why is a right angle a right angle? i mean why isnt it a left angle?"


"Would you weigh people in pounds or ounces?"-Miss Wells
"Pounds"- Logan
"Miss Wells, how many pounds do you weigh?"- Parker
"How much do you think I weigh?"- Miss Wells
"My dad told me never to answer that question!"-Logan

Girls Night

2 1/2 days left at school and my kids are driving my nuts! We have been together all year long so we are like a family which means they are annoying the heck out of each other. "So and so poked me." or "So and so won't stop chasing me!" Ha ha I am ready to boot my whole class out the door! Of coarse I will miss them all!! It is weird to think that they will have a new teacher next year. 

SOOOOOO anyway, after a long week or tattle tailing and whining my roomies and I decided to have a girls night. No boys allowed! We rocked out, ate ice cream, watched a chick flick and fought it out with SOCKER BOPPERS!! If any of you don't know what Socker Boppers are they are basically the greatest invention, God's gift to mankind! I highly suggest them to anyone who wants to have some fun. Now my roomies might kill me for this next part but here are the incriminating photos of the   night...ENJOY!!

Graduation

Miracles never cease!! I have graduated!! Amazing, I know! All the long hours of studying/cramming, trees killed so I could write long research papers, stress, and years of sleep deprivation have finally paid off. Walking across that stage and receiving my diploma is one the greatest moments of my life. I don't know if anything is going to be that feeling. I mean not only did I recieve my BS of Science but I also managed to make it across the stage in gold stiletto shoes without falling which is quite an accomplishment in and of itself! 

All of graduation was wonderful. Of coarse following along with the theme of my life (never a dull moment/ crazy things only happen when your with me) the weather was...well...a little bit of everything. I woke up to hail, drove through snow flurries to campus, then endured heavy winds/actual snow falling while walking in the procession, came out of commencement to beautiful sunny weather and ended the day with cloudy skies and cold temperatures. But all in all nothing could dampen my excitement!

Another proud moment was being able to share the experience with my parents. Even being far away they were my support system. Without fail I could call up and complain, cry, or receive advice. My mother, the amazing women she is, even helped my edit some of my paper through email or over the phone. There were times during graduation that my parents were smiling bigger and brighter than I was. Now whether it is because of how proud they were or of the fact that they have 1 down 4 to go I guess we will never know. :)

To end I will leave you with the famous words of Dr. Seuss -

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

I'm off to a classroom where 24 students wait for me to help them on their way. I have learned to love learning and to always ask questions. Ignorance is not bliss. Knowledge is power! I can't wait for my next adventure into the "REAL WORLD." 

1st Attempt

Hey Yall! Welcome to my Blog! It is my new form of procrastination and wasting time. Come visit often for updates on my life and all the funny things that happen in it! 

Today while driving to work the sun rose over the mountains bringing with it beautiful pinks and oranges. It was a beautiful way to start a beautiful day. Nothing out of the ordinary made it a beautiful day only a thousand little things, like my students smiling and laughing, going out to eat with my best friend, fitting all my shoes under my bed, and checking lots of things off my never ending "To Do" list. After a long crazy week of graduating, moving, and "end of the year"  testing this was a very needed and welcomed beautiful day! I hope it is also the start to a beautiful and relaxing weekend.