Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Change is usually difficult for me. I don't like when things are not the same as they were before. I was pretty sure that this would be a hard week for me. School started at O'Leary Middle School on Monday, and I am teaching sixth grade instead of eighth grade. I had prepped myself for the worst. I was convinced that sixth graders would be obnoxious, and whiny, and squirmy, and annoying and therefore I would hate my job.

Luckily for me, changes can be unpredictable. I guess that's the good thing about changes. If they were predicatable maybe they wouldn't have as big as an impact on our lives. Changing from an eighth grade teacher to a sixth grade teacher may have been one of the best decisions I ever made. Not only are the kids sweet and funny, they are still dedicated little learners. They are excited to be in school and they LOVE when they get picked to do anything at all in the classroom.

My transition was made easier by the fact that I work with great teachers who are almost as excited as the kids to take on this new challenge of sixth grade in the middle school. These last few days have been full of forgotten locker combinations, lost schedules, and more laughs than I can count. Kids really do say the DARNDEST things. I believe my transition was also helped by the prayers of friends and family. On the first day of school, I left my classroom during my prep to run around the school and finish errands. When I came back I had this great surprise from "Teddi, Sara, and the gang". Thanks gang! It made my day!

(Bonus points to you if you can identify the gift and what movie it comes from!! Hint: it's a Meg Ryan classic! )

Pictures of the house

So I've finally gotten around to taking pictures of the house. I am almost completely done unpacking, and so now that the house looks half way decent I decided to let others see it.

The upstairs rooms are the only ones that are decorated. Actually, I haven't finished the dining room yet but its getting close.

The Dining Room

The Basement:

(Sara -- please notice the blank walls!!!!!!!!!)

Jake in his lair.

I'll post more when I have some time, and as I get them decorated. The boxes in the basement are full of books that are waiting for book cases that are on back order. When those arrive I will no longer have any boxes in my house!!!!!!

It's Good To Be Home

We're all settled into our new house. The move was wonderfully smooth (but I can say that because I wasn't underneath the gun safe as it was being lowered down the stairs). We have unpacked almost all of our boxes and put everything away. I haven't hung much on the walls yet, but I did place a framed fabric piece that says "It's Good To Be Home" on top of the bookshelves. It really feels like we are home. This is where we are meant to be.

The best part of the move was the support of friends and family. My cousins, Annie and Donna, helped me move a lot of boxes over the day before the big move. They also unpacked the boxes, organized the kitchen, and organized the linen closets and bathrooms. They are sweethearts. Then on Moving Day we had lots of help too. Mom and Dad Schwabedissen, Mom and Dad Fiala, and Jake's friends Garrett and Maxwell came and stayed for seven hours packing the moving truck and then letting me direct traffic when they unloaded. I owe everyone a HUGE thank you for all that help.

The neighbors across the corner from us came to welcome us to the neighborhood. They are LDS and were excited that we were too. They brought us cucumbers from their garden and while we had all of our helpers here they brought over pizza, cheesesticks, soda, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Talk about nice people!

We have been here for five days now, and it really is beginning to feel like home! I will post pictures as soon as I can. In the meantime, here is a picture of Frank. He didn't like moving at all, but he found that the pile of boxes makes for a pretty nice fort when he needs to hide.

And So It Begins. . .

For those of you who don't know, Jake and I have purchased a new house and are in the process of moving this week. We are excited for the change, nervous about upsetting our currently calm life style, and anxious to have the whole thing over with. We will be switching to a new ward and a whole new side of town; however we will still be in Twin Falls, Idaho.

We were supposed to close yesterday, but these things never run as smoothly as planned, especially when you're on a fairly tight time schedule. Luckily we got the keys this afternoon and I had the help of my two wonderful cousins, Annie and Donna, to help begin the process of moving boxes. I wasn't able to get any pictures today because we were all too busy and tired to stop and grab a camera. I'll do better on Friday and Saturday when they come back over to help move the big stuff. In the meantime, wish us luck. And if you're in the area feel free to stop by and visit. We'd love to see you.

A Tribute to Roommates

I had an opportunity to take two really long drives this week. The first one all the way to Montana and the second all the way back home. Driving is always a good time to reflect on life and I started to think about friends that have come into my life throughout the years. I was very lucky to be roommates with some awesome girls. We became good friends and we are still good enough friends that even though I haven't seen them in over three years we can pick right back up where we left off.

Laural --

Laural was one of my very first roommates and we are still good friends even though we haven't seen each other in quite a while. She insisted that I take audiobooks with me on my drive and am I glad that she did! Thank you Laural! Artemis Fowl was great.

On my way through Rexburg I decided to stop and see some friends/roommates from my last semester at school. My visit was a surprise but everyone was nice enough to take time from their busy lives so that we could catch up. I'm sorry that I couldn't stay longer and see more people while I was there.

I could probably go on and on about everyone but I think I'll just post some pictures . . .

Grace -- I'm so excited that you're going to be a mommy. You're adoreable.

Tara -- Good luck on your move to St. Louis. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Jennifer -- I'm still planning on seeing you this year. You'd better come visit!!!

All together now --

More pictures just for fun --

♦On Scenic Roadtrips

I recently told Jake that if we went on vacation to one state per summer, I would be 75 before I saw them all. However, no matter where we visit I am sure nothing is more beautiful than what we can see in our own back yard.

I drove (by myself!!) to Billings, Montana through Yellowstone and across Beartooth Highway this week. Usually the disinterested passenger with a book to read, I had never paid attention to the magnificent scenery. Every hairpin turn revealed a new, breathtaking view. I sat on the edge of my seat, finally understanding exactly what the term "white-knuckled" meant. The vertical cliffs towered on either side of the road making it hard to see upcoming turns and oncoming traffic. The intensity of the drive was like a roller-coaster ride. Sharp right, sharp left, sharp right, a steep upward climb, an incredible crest, and then an even scarier descent.

The purple mountain majesty and snow capped peaks always look beautiful from a distance but they are stunning up close. The skies were over cast but it had been raining and the grass was green. There were dozens of hidden lakes formed from the snow drifts that were still melting. Wildflowers, pine trees, brooding rain clouds, and massive buffalo -- need I say more?

In case you're wondering -- buffalo walk approximately two miles an hour and they do NOT use turn signals. :)

Walking the Canyon

Every summer I promise myself that I am going to get in shape by exercising and eating right. This summer I am actually doing it!!!!!
My friend Emily and I have been getting up early every morning (7:00) and walking the canyon. About half way down there is a split in the road. The road on the left leads down to Canyon Springs Golf Course, and the road to the right leads to Centennial Park. From the top of the canyon to the Park is exactly one mile and from the split in the road to the Golf Course is half a mile. If we start at the split in the road and walk the whole thing we do an entire three miles!!!

For those of you who are not from the Twin Falls area here are some pictures of the canyon:

This picture is from the park entrance. We walk all the way to the top of the canyon!


This is from the top of the canyon looking down to the Golf Course. That's Emily at the bottom of the screen. :)

Even though the hike is exhausting and we are super tired by the time we are done there are some great views that keep us motivated as we go along. Here are some of the beautiful things we get to see every morning.This waterfall is about half way up. We keep telling ourselves, "If we can just make it to the waterfall. . . " Sometimes we take a break and detour behind the waterfall for a refreshing break. Not to mention an amazing view!

And who doesn't like looking at the Perrine Bridge with the sun rising behind it? This picture was taken after the sunrise but it was still beautiful!

A Tribute to Vera C. O'Leary Junior High

I have been very privileged to work at OJH for the last three years as an 8th grade Language Arts teacher. I have been very impressed with the teachers, the students, and the programs there. This is the last year that O'Leary Junior High will exist, as next year it will become Vera C. O'Leary Middle School and many things will become quite different. The biggest change being that instead of being a 7th grade, 8th grade, 9th grade school, next year we will be a 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade school. It will be pretty different to have little 6th graders roaming the halls instead of big 9th graders.

One thing that I hope will not change is the generosity of our students, staff, and community -- O'Leary has two fundraisers that they participate in every year, neither of which benefit the school.

1. At Christmas time the students donate food items to the Salvation Army and money to Valley House, a local homeless shelter. This year they donated over 10,000 food items and several thousand dollars to the shelter.

2. The second fundraiser is in May. Several of our teachers are cancer survivors and every year our students raise money to donate to the Relay for Life. This year we raised over $12,000 in two weeks to donate to cancer research.

3. On top of raising and donating money students also give up one day of their school year to do service projects. We call this Helping Hands day. Each Prime Time (homeroom) visits an area of the community that needs physical service done. This could be reading to the elderly in a nursing home, planting flowers at an elementary school or on main street, dusting shelves at the community historical museum, or walking dogs at the Humane Society (which is what my class did). The kids love to get out, get dirty, and have fun. Every one pitches in and helps. It's a great day!

Below is a picture of my class walking their dogs.

Yard Work

First of all, I have to say a HUGE thank you to Jake who always takes such pride in our yard and keeping it looking nice.

On Memorial Day we spent the whole morning out in the rosebushes. I am not good at weeding flower beds because I can always think of something else that I would rather be doing. So Jake and I went to Lowe's and bought the black fabric weed barrier stuff and 20 bags of red lava rock.

First, we planted rose bushes that I had bought earlier that week. Next, we shoveled out all of the extra dirt in the beds. Then, we had to lay out the black fabric and cut it to go around the roses. Finally, we poured out the red rock. I say "we" but actually it was Jake. The only thing I did was help cut the fabric and hold the shovel for him when he wasn't using it.

Unfortunately we discovered that 20 bags was not nearly enough so Jake went to Home Depot and bought 40 more bags! (Lowe's and Home Depot both had special sales on Memorial Day for Veterans. Yea for places that support our troops!) The dye on the Home Depot rock was a different shade than the Lowe's rock but we mixed it around and you can't really tell.

I didn't get any pictures of the actual yard work but here are some pictures of the finished project! It looks great!

Asparagus Picking

I'm sorry that I haven't posted for a while. It always drives me crazy when people don't post for long times but I guess I'm guilty of the same thing. The problem is I can never think of anything to post about. Luckily, the other day my mom called and asked me if I wanted to go asparagus picking. I had an Ah-ha moment. This was somehting that I could post!!! So here goes.

Asparagus hunting is a spring tradition in our family that signifies that winter is finally over. Usually we just walk along the side of the road and check certain places that are asparagus-guarantees but last year we found a GOLD MINE. There was a particular south facing slope that was covered in asparagus as far as the eye could see. It was amazing! I have been sworn to secrecy as to the location of this place and it is a secret I will take to the grave with me.

Anyway, we went out to check our secret spot but unfortunately it was on fire. The farmer that owns the ditch bank was burning the weeds off which means we were about a week too early. We'll try again next week and see if we can do better. But since we were out and about we drove around the neighborhood and checked our other spots. We didn't do too badly. On our way home we stopped by Holyoaks and visited with Kara and her cute little kiddos. Hi Kara!!

Mom and I with our hair blowing in the wind. We rode the Gator around because its easier than a car when going to our secret spot. A windshield would be nice though.

Mom cutting asparagus. It's kind of hard to see but that's the fun part of asparagus hunting. It's a challenge!
My small treasure. Yummy!!!!