Vermont Teddy Bear Factory

We had way too much fun in the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. We are lucky they didn't kick us out!
We tried to find a bear to represent every member of our family. Can you guess who is who??

#1

#2
#3
#4

#5
#6
#7
#8

"GRANDMA'S my name. SPOILING'S my game!"

#9

"Bear-foot and Pregnant!"

#10
#1 The Doc- Robert
#2 The Bikini Beach Bum- Anyone that love the BeACh ...aka ME!
#3 The School Teacher- Denice, Great Grandma, Betty, ME!
#4 The Business Man/Lawyer- Blaine, Jon, Josh, Ryan
#5 The Dentist- Matt, Kendall
#6 The Nurse- Jaime
#7 The Basketball Jock- Chris, Matt, Samantha, Steph, Josh
#8 The Grandma- Mary, Betty, Jamie, Denice
#9 The Prego- Taren, Steph, Sarah
#10 The Princesses- Julia, Karlie, Hailey

When I graduated from graduate school, Jon and Denice bought me a Graduation Vermont Teddy Bear! This is his cousin :)

Someday, I would love to collect these for my kiddos!

Labor Day Road Trip

Friday evening Robert and I jumped in our rental car without any directions or plans, other than the fact that we knew we were signed up for a race in Montreal, Canada that weekend. We have both been so busy that we didn't have much time to plan for it. Ironically, this was one of our favorite trips ever!
We pulled over late Friday night and found a camp ground. We set up our 2 person tent and slept. When we woke up we realized we had just slept next to the most beautiful lake (Lake George) in a cute, ritzy sailing town. It was adorable and I can't wait to go back.
We took the long route through Burlington, Vermont and Lake Champlain. I had never been here but Robert came as a child and has raved about it since. We stopped at the famous Vermont Teddy Bear factory.

Burlington is also the birthplace of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. We ordered their "Vermonster". We couldn't even make a dent in the bucket, it was HUGE. We have been on a no sugar agreement since April and this was one of our first indulgences! Go big or go home.. Right??!?

We love, love, love Vermont. Ps Lake Champlain was so beautiful I couldn't spare a minute to take a picture of it.

Montreal
(cute little skyline.. I know... NYC has warped reality)

The Race

1. We woke up 30 minutes before the race
2. Ran 3 miles to find the starting line
3. Luckily made it before the gun went off
4. Couldn't understand anything people were saying to us because everything was in French!
5. Perfect crisp running weather
6. Ran right through the city
7. Laughed all the Nordic Walkers
8. The race ended in the gigantic Olympic stadium
9. Ran 4 miles back to our car
   

We did it!

I felt like I was in France all weekend. Other than no Eiffel tower, there weren't any differences. I stuffed my face with my favorite .... Banana and Nutella crepe!
Robert stuffed his face with Montreal's famous fritz, gravy, and cheese curds... yuck!
Mark Twain once remarked of Montreal that "This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window." Cosign. There were beautiful churches everywhere.

Bye Montreal and Vermont! Thanks for the best weekend ever!

JRWS in Utah

Robert could tell I was really bummed about not being able to go home with him this last week so He did his best to make me feel included by sending me pictures of all his activities.

Robert and his beautiful mom! She's lookin' young and gorgeous as always!

Part of the Staples crew. Welcome home Elder Staples!

Hanging out with the bros on their first day at BYU!

Reading and playing the piano with Karlie

Visiting the in=laws! Sniff, Sniff... miss you guys!

Cathing up with Taren and Jaime

Playing at the park!

This picture almost made me cry! Denice doing her magic in the kitchen! Oh, how I miss her cooking!

Utah, thanks for taking care of my husband for the week and returning him safely!

First Day Jitters

5 years later and I still get nervous before the first day of school. This last week was pure madness trying to get my classroom ready for tomorrow. With Robert's help and lots of long hours I think I am as ready as can be. I am really pumped about my new school. The stars aligned in order for me to land this job. Things that I love already:
-It is a lot closer to my house! (hooray for no more 5 AM walks to the subway!) Anyone that comes to visit is welcome to stop by!
- My school is located in the heart of Harlem, only 7 blocks from central park.
- My favorite soul food restaurant is just around the corner.
-I love all the culture in this neighborhood. Lots of people walking around in their African wardrobe.
- Harlem Success is the top preforming charter school in NY state! I am excited to be part of it.
-I am excited that my classroom will be named after UVU once again!
- I love my classroom!
- I love my coworkers!

It should be a really good year. Well,I have 24 rascals waiting for me to fill their brains with knowledge for college!!! Wish me luck!
Before

After

Thinking of you.....

Thinking of you.....
On your Birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday Taren Michelle

***picture

Taren is one of my most favorite people on this earth. She is hilarious and is the only person that can read my mind. She would do anything for anybody. She keeps us laughing at all times.

***Being the corky girl she is, on one of her visits to NYC she pointed to a police box near my place and said "Every time you see this box, think of me." I laughed at at her and rolled my eyes. But without fail, every time I walk by it I think of her and smile.

This world would not be the same without you! We love you Taren!!!!

Charter Schools

For the past 2 years (going on 3) I have been working in NYC Charter Schools. I actually landed in charter schools by default. My Utah teaching certification wouldn't transfer over to NY so I applied for charter schools. I consider it fate that it ended up this way because I believe in charter schools' missions and my experience these last 2 years has been life changing. As of the last couple of years charter schools have been making a huge difference in education reform and frequently make the headlines. Recently two movies have come out about the charter school I work in! In the trailers you can see some of my students, my school, and my boss (Eva Mosqowitz).

http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/

http://thelotteryfilm.com/

And if you get a chance to see the movies, DO IT! Enjoy!

OBGYN! It's over

Well, it is over, my first rotation...and what a rotation. I saw just about every phase of life (from births on obstetrics to diagnosis of terminal ovarian cancer on gynecology). It was an amazing experience to interact more closely with patients and feel part of the team that took care of them.
I loved the residents that I worked with. They were all incredible teachers!!!
I really enjoyed the OR and in particular cancer surgeries...I have plenty of great stories but I think HIPPA would not be to thrilled if I shared them with you. However, I did get to operate which is extremely rare in medical school. I was so excited while operating that my facial expressions during the surgery became the topic of several jokes during the following week. I also worked three 24-26hr shifts. It was a great insight into what happens to my brain when I am severely fatigued. I do okay until I sit down and once I do sit down... sounds feel like I am underwater and it is like running a marathon to keep your eyes open...I just can't wait for the rest of this year. I can honestly say that I love medicine.(BUT...full disclaimer, I do love Lindsay more)...Next up the other crotch specialty...Urology