June 2012

Our summer started June 1st, when I got out of school for the summer!  I don't really remembering doing anything super fun that weekend.  I went to work the following Monday to get some extra money through Legislative Days.  I then went to work the following Tuesday for a few hours.  I then kicked myself out, and reminded myself that I was no longer allowed to return to school until I needed to.

Tuesday evening, Andrew and I headed up to Mount Pleasant to go camping for the night.  We pulled into the parking lot at 9:05.  Apparently, we need to be there by 9 o'clock.  We had to spend the night in the parking lot.  Holly and Nick came up late, late that night to spend the night since she was doing Carolyn's hair in the morning.  We woke up and got ready for the day.

Wednesday, June 6th, was Carolyn and Mike's wedding day!  We were so excited for them to be sealed for eternity in the Manti temple, and I was so proud of Andrew and I for being able to be there.  (We had renewed our temple recommend for this wedding, our first renewal!!)

Thursday was Mike and Carolyn's wedding reception.  Andrew and I, combined with my parents, got Carolyn the Poppy picture you can see above.  My friend and a paraprofessional in my classroom, Joli Curdie, is an artist.  I asked her to paint them a large picture of a poppy (a flower that is important and special to Carolyn).  She did a beautiful job, and it was displayed at their reception in Utah.

Friday, June 8th, Evan Lewis and Bekki Monson got married.  They got married at Hooper Park on a baseball diamond.  It was such a clever idea, and it was a lot of fun.  This is the only picture I had of the wedding, but it was a lot of fun.  Yes...I did decorate their car.  :)

Saturday, June 9th we left for our fun filled vacation.  We went from home and flew to Dallas.  We landed in Dallas and got our rental van.  We wanted a mini-van and had reserved one.  However, when we got there, there was no vans left.  They tried to get us into a SUV, but we told them we wanted, and had reserved a van.  He said he would go check on it and let us know.  He came back to us with a van!!  Imagine that!  We drove from Dallas to Fort Walton Beach where we attended Mike and Carolyn's reception in Florida.  Here is a quick rundown on our trip, not in any specific order.

Andrew and I at Fort Walton Beach

Andrew and I at Fort Walton Beach

View from our hotel in Pensacola Beach, FL

Bourbon Street!  (Not impressed and do not plan to go back to Bourbon Street, although I totally loved and plan to return to New Orleans!

Holly and I in New Orleans

Holly and I in New Orleans

While we were in New Orleans, the rest of our family ate at Subway.  Holly and I did not want to eat at Subway when we were in New Orleans, especially in the French Quarter.  Holly and I ate at Huck Finn's.

Our suite in Biloxi, MI.  It was across the street from the beach with a direct view right out on the porch.  While we were in Mississippi, we wanted to go to the beach.  Mom tried to drive out onto the beach in our van.  We got stuck, and it took forever to return to the street.  Thankfully we were able to get out.  Silly mom!!

House in New Orleans

House in New Orleans

House in New Orleans, I believe the Mayor's house???

Superdome in New Orleans

House in New Orleans

St. Andrew's cathedral (I believe)

View from our hotel in Pensacola Beach, FL

We returned home Sunday, June 17th late at night.  We had a lot of fun, but I feel like we could have had a lot more fun without all the technology.  At the dinner table, etc. we would all be on our phones and not interacting with one another, so sad.

I started school the following Monday.  I had school all that week and am having school all this week.  On Friday, I will be completely done with school!!  Yay!

Hardy Happenings

It makes me laugh that I have two draft posts.  I swear I have good intentions to update the world on my life!   :)

Wow, I think that every post begins with me stating how little I blog. I have been a very huge slacker, although I have definitely kept up on my blog-stalking.

I just finished up my last day of class for the Spring 2012 semester.  Yay!  I just need to finish up my paper and I will be done for the semester!  I am so excited to almost be finished with school.  Although, it is also very scary to think that my life will be moving forward come July.  I am very afraid of change, and will not be surprised if I re-enroll in school next Spring.  It is scary to me that I am now old enough to be completely finished with schooling.  That is such a huge step!  It is crazy, and I definitely do not feel that old.

Andrew and I have been watching all of our high school friends get married, and have children.  It seems that we are the only ones that have been married for almost 3 years, and still have no children.  Maybe the time will be right soon, who knows.  I love stalking all these new moms and seeing all their fun pictures!  Someday I will be one of those people :)

I am so proud of Andrew!  He finally is finished with all of his science courses.  Andrew isn't very excited to be in school.  In fact, I think if he hadn't married me, he would not be in school.  This is a good and a bad thing.  I am oh so proud of him for realizing the importance of schooling and that he needs to go to school to support our family.  However, because he doesn't want to be there, he doesn't put forth much effort.  I do have sympathy for him.  Generals are very hard to get through because they aren't that interesting...at least not for the most part.  It is just another hoop to jump through.  He is getting there though, and I am so proud of him!!  He is thinking of getting his degree in Forensic Science, which means we would most likely have to move out of Utah since crime isn't super prevalent.  Since we need to live in Utah for another 2 years to finish the requirements for my T.H. Bell Loan/Grant, it is a good thing he has taken so long :)

My little sister moved out this past weekend, again.  It makes me pretty jealous that she is able to move out.  But, then I look at how much we are saving and able to do since we live in the basement, then I feel better about it.  I am really hoping that we will be able to move out in the next year into a house of our own.  That would be really nice :)

It is hard for me to believe that I have been teaching for just over a year now.  So crazy!!  I am still loving my job, and cannot wait for year two.

Andrew's brother, Michael, came home from his mission from Thailand last week.  It is fun to have him home and get to know him.  He served in the military for four years before his mission, so he was either deployed or living in Florida.  He met a girl in Florida, and she moved here about six months ago.  She has been my temple buddy each week, and she has been a blast to get to know!  Mike prosed to her last Monday, and they are planning a wedding for June 6th!  Andrew and I are planning on making a trip, for the Gayler family vacation, to New Orleans and Florida for their reception in June.  I am so excited for this trip!  Hopefully I will take pictures and post them next time :)

Happy June!

Wow, this was a fun fun month! We had lots of celebrations for Father's Day, My Birthday, Our 2nd Anniversary, and just celebrating June.

I wish that I was a better picture taking person, but I am not, so all of the blog posts are quite boring, and for that I do appologize. So...here goes my boring blog...

Today, I received my first check for over $1,000.00. It feels so nice to know that my schooling has finally paid off!! I love it! We finally are able to pay off all our credit cards (and stay out of debt), pay off Andrew's ortho bill, and pay off our bed! Best of all, we are finally able to save up for a house and get a 'good' pre-approval! I cannot wait to get started on being more financial stable. Now...I say this all without complete enthusiasm because I am only a teacher...but it is better pay than I received working as a T.A.

My birthday was on Father's Day this year. As much as I like to be selfish and have that day be MY day, I secretly love it! I love it because I get to spend time with my family. I love my family and I have been very blessed to have such great family members.

For our anniversary, we typically have gone to Park City (our honeymoon) and stayed at the same hotel for a few days. This year, we were out of money. Andrew got a deal for Real Salt Lake tickets. We were able to celebrate our anniversary a few days later having fun in the sun! I love spending time with him, and I cherish it even more since it rarely happens. I cannot believe how fast 2 years has gone, and I am so excited to spend forever more years with him.

I am excited to say that I finish my job tomorrow! This last week has been very hard to stay dedicated and keep the students busy. I have completely lost all motivation, especially since anything I teach will be lost over the next break. I teach at a year round school, but I am trying to get my classroom to be on a traditional schedule for next year. Partially because I think it is B.S. that my 'summer break' is three weeks long...not long enough!! But also because with my students, they forget a lot over three week breaks throughout the year.

This has been my June month. I look forward to July! :)

A Fresh Start...The Beginning

A lot, a lot has happened the last few months. It is always amazing to me how much the Lord is there to help us out, when we need it and ask for it. I am so blessed with all that He has given my little family.

First of all, I am almost finished with my degree! I am so excited to finally be finished with it! However, as soon as I finish my B.S., I will be starting at the U to get my M.Ed. I will be working full-time and going to school full-time, just like I have before. The degree is a 30 credit degree, which means I should be finished by Spring 2012. I am pretty stoked about this!

Secondly, I worked at STRIDE, which is the most restrictive behavior unit in Davis School District (best place to ever work!!). I was doing my student teaching at STRIDE, as well as being a paraprofessional. I was working on a teacher prep day, and the principal kept coming in and having private conversations with Angela (STRIDE teacher). I was getting very nervous because I thought it was something bad since Angela told me my student teaching may not count because she wasn't 'qualified' to be a cooperating teacher.

Well...the following work day, my advisor from the U, Kathy Hill, was coming to do a final observation for my student teaching. At the end of the observation, she told me that the principal wanted to talk to both her and I immediately following. I went into Glaucia's office, scared as can be. Well...it turns out that an elementary school had some problems and the teacher needed to be replaced. She told me that they were going to offer it to me!! I was sooo shocked and sooo excited! Of course, I accepted the offer immediately. She then preceeded to tell me the dynamics of the classroom. Then she told me that they would keep my pay the same, 11.18/hour at 6.5 hours per day. :( I was not excited about this, but I knew that it would be worth the experience. I have been working 8 hour days at Bluff Ridge Elementary, and getting paid crap! However, I have LOVED being here. I have learned so much and loved every minute of it.

Last week, I was able to interview for the position I am currently working in for next year. The interview went great, it was by far the easiest interview I have ever had. Traci, the principal, informed me later that day that they were offering the position to me. I immediately accepted the position.

Today, I got an e-mail telling me that the District decided to pay me teacher pay beginning May 18th, the day I accepted the position! I am sooo excited! This means that Andrew and I can start saving for our house sooner than expected. I cannot wait!!

Andrew's job at Stephens Hot Chocolate finally ended, and he quickly got a job at Taco Time in Kaysville. He has enjoyed working there, but the pay has been hard. He has also decided to continue his education at Weber State University come Fall semester. I am excited for him to begin at Weber again!

January

Wow, January has come and gone! It's always so nice to start off a new year with a fresh new start. Sadly though...scheduling doesn't really allow for a new start.

We started the year off at our house with friend and family around us. It's always fun to ring in the new year with those you love around you. We played games, ate food, and had fun together.

Then it was time for me to return to reality, after having a 2 week break. It is always hard for me to come back after a break, my poor students were a million times worse than me. :( At work, we've had a rough transition back to real life. We're finally starting to get back to the familiar scheduling of coming to school. I have had fun observing a new student and figuring out the programming for the student.

I also started a new semester of schooling. I will be walking on May 6th! I am so so excited to finally be finished. Although, I still have one class to take summer semester...which is a huge bummer. I am debating whether or not I should do my Master's degree. I am thinking I will do it, especially if it won't take me long. But...we will see...

Another change for me is that I got a new church calling. I used to be in the Relief Society activity committee. I loved the calling. I got to plan all the activities, and it was only once or twice a month, which worked well with my schedule. Well...I am now a Sunbeam teacher. The kids are adorable, but it is so hard working with students all week, then on my weekends, I have to be with more kids for two hours. It is rough, but they are cute to make up for it.

Andrew's schedule hasn't changed at all. He is still in Young Men's, going to DATC, and working at Stephen's Hot Chocolate. He will most likely change the last two this year. He was given two weeks notice that he will lose his job last week. He has been busy applying for jobs and he now has an interview with the county doing what sounds like GFS (Lagoon). He is debating about returning to a college, and depending on where his job is will probably determine his school. We are thinking Weber again, but he may go to SLCC, who knows...

We are anxiously waiting for the first week of April to come. Andrew and I have booked a 7 night cruise to the Caribbean. We were going to go, just us, but we decided to invite my family. Now that Andrew is out of a job, we are hopeful he can get the week off, but we will see. So if anyone wants to take his spot...ha ha

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It's a New Year!

Wow! I am so horrible about this blogging stuff! (I think I say this at the beginning at each post...) I am hoping to someday be a better blogger. Maybe after school is over...ha ha, yeah right!!

It's a new year and not much has changed! I cannot believe it is the year 2011! This is the year I have been waiting for. I am looking forward to a lot of changes to happen this year.

The first change will be, graduating! I will officially have my Bachelor's degree in Special Education, with an endorsement in severe. I have worked very hard to earn it, and I even got all A's last semester (I get to brag every once in a while, right?) I am hoping to do just as well this semester, but we will see what happens. I will be doing my student teaching at the Vista Center. I am very lucky because I was able to get hired on a few months ago, therefore...I get paid to go to school! I am very fortunate to have been able to be hired on. I have already done a screening interview with Davis School District, because I want to live in Davis County when I do move out. I found out a few weeks ago that I passed the screening interview and am now on the list that principals will see for hiring. My advisor, Kathy Hill, is amazing and wants to get me hired before I graduate. I am very lucky to have such a great advisor.

I am still working at the Vista Center. I LOVE what I do. I am so glad to be reinforced daily with the love of job, although it is not the easiest job somedays (bite marks, bruises, getting kicked, changing diapers, etc.) I love it! I always go home with a smile on my face. I cannot wait to be a teacher, being in charge of my own classroom. Because I have worked in the special education field for 4 years now, I have learned a lot of what I want to do, as well as what I do not want to do.

Andrew and I both will not be returning to Lagoon this upcoming summer. We are both nervous about what we will be doing without Lagoon being a part of our summer, but are excited to move forward with our lives. Both of us have been there since we were 14 years old. It will definitely be an adjustment. We have made lots of friends and learned many life lessons through our years there, and are greatful for all those who helped us along the way. I am so glad we were able to work for Lagoon, in the Group Foods Service for all the years we did.

Andrew is still at Stephens Hot Chocolate. We are very fortunate to have him there still. The job keeps getting extended, we are very blessed for this. He is also still at the DATC, hopefully he will graduate from there with a certificate in IT. If anyone has any jobs for him, no matter what it is, please let us know. One day his currently job will end, and he will again be jobless.

Andrew is serving in the Young Men's program. He is a teacher for the Teacher group. He loves being with all the young men each week. I just recently got released from my calling as a Relief Society activity committee member. I am now a Sunbeam teacher! Today was my first day, and I was very nervous! One of the kids ran out of Sharing Time. Being used to working with students with major behaviors, I ran after him (thinking he was running away). It turns out he just went to the restroom. Ha ha, hopefully I will get used to working with the Sunbeams and separate work from church...It will take a while, I think.

That's all for now, and we're looking forward to what 2011 brings us!