Hiking the "Y"

Can I just say that I love not having any school or work responsibilities!!! Oh my gosh it is so much fun!! During these days off I have been focused on decorating and organizing our apartment. I have been dragging Jake around to dollar stores and other such places and he has not once complained. So when Jake proposed the idea of hiking the "Y" I decided it was his turn to do something fun. So yesterday morning we got up and drove to the trailhead of the "Y" mountain.
This is us at the trailhead. I was completely naive as to how hard the hike would be. I had looked up how long it was and saw that it was about a mile up and a mile down and the people who had written the article I was reading said it was an easy hike. Well it wasn't and those authors had probably climbed Mt. Everest after climbing the "Y" and could therefore say it was "easy". The hike consisted of STEEP switchbacks for over a mile up. I am such a whimp and had to stop at each turn and take a five minute breather. I seriously thought I was going to die!

There were some positive things things that came out of the hike, though. We saw some deer! They were down by the trailhead but Jake got so excited!!!

The view, when we finally got to the top, was amazing!!! We could see all of Provo and even found our Wymount apartment!

I have always wanted to climb the "Y" and then lay down backwards on it (Jake is doing this in the picture above). The view from that angle is awesome! It looks like the world is turned upside down and the mountains are floated in the sky! (*Warning: If you try this little maneuver just be aware that it is quite terrifying trying to lay down backwards on this very steep hill with nothing to hold on to.)

And just because every adventure needs a picture that represents our triumph!!! SO happy that I made it to the top! And SO happy that we are done with that hike! :)

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Happy Birthday Mom! Sure love you lots and am so grateful that you are my mom!

I Blame the Practicum!

I have not posted anything since February!!! I totally blame the practicum for that! During the entire month of March I had the opportunity to actually teach in 2nd grade classroom. It was an amazing experience. I mostly taught literacy (guided reading, writing, etc.) but I also taught a little math. Below are some picture of me in the classroom. The first one is a tad bit scary, I apologize for the crazed look I have. :)

In other news, Jake and I finally were able to attend Senior Celebration Night! I have worked at this event for three straight years and have always been SO jealous of the people who actually got to go. Jake is graduating in December, so we went. We got free food and even got to hold a python!! Yes, I am holding a real python. I don't know what came over me. :) Other than that the event was pretty boring and we decided to go home early. We watched "The Blind Side" afterwards and we LOVED it! As I watched it I wanted to be just like Mrs. Tuehy. I wanted to go drive around until we found someone who needed to be adopted and buy them new clothes and feed them. As you can imagine we didn't do it. But I am resolved to always be on the look out for people who are in need of anything at all!

Life is good!

Where did January go?

Where on earth did January go? For the past 22 years I have dreaded January and its long, drawn out days. For some reason this year it went by so fast! We are already one month into our Winter semester and only have 2 1/2 months to go. Wow! I am just so surprised. Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day! I think temperatures reached 48 degrees here in Provo.

Around 1:45pm yesterday I went to pick Jake up from class. The sun was shining and we decided to go out for lunch. We chose In-n-Out because we really hadn't eaten there before. (Last year's Christmas vacation was spent in California and the Raines family stopped to for their first time at an authentic In-n-Out restaurant. For some reason Jake and I ate Del Taco that day.) But this is a picture of what we ordered yesterday.

We (meaning I) decided to rank our first In-n-Out meal. Jake decided to give it a 4 out of 5 fingers. You know his rating is accurate because he is still chewing on the food while giving it. :)

I, on the other hand, wasn't as impressed. I decided upon a 3 out of 5 fingers. It was a good burger but I am not dying to have another one any time soon. The Dr. Pepper was really good, though.

P.S. If you ever want to go to In-n-Out and avoid the hour long line....go at 2:00 in the afternoon. We drove right up to the window.

New Perspective

Sometimes I think we become wrapped up in our daily schedule. I, especially, get caught up in school work, job work, house work, relationship work, etc., etc. I hate to admit it but I take my family and the people that I love for granted and just assume that they are going to be around forever. I don't need to tell my parents how grateful I am for them or tell Jake how deeply I love him because I can always say those things tomorrow.

Last night my Aunt Debby passed away. It was sudden and unexpected and none of us saw it coming.

I am sad. I am sad that these things happen although I know they are part of Heavenly Father's plan and that they happen for a reason that we cannot comprehend. I am sad that it is in moments like these that I am shaken awake.

I am resolved to tell Jake everyday how much he means to me and that he is more important to me that anything else in the world. I am resolved to let my parents and my brother and sisters know that I am grateful for them and that they are my examples in life. I am resolved to be kinder, happier, and more grateful.

I love you Aunt Debby.

Mmmm....

Today as I was walking home from class I began to wonder what I could have for lunch. Then inspiration struck and I decided upon tuna and crackers! YUM! I don't know why but I just love this little snack! It fills you up and is semi-healthy for you.

I have a lot to do today. As a goal for this new year I have decided to try a chore chart for myself. I decided I needed one to keep Jake and I on track. It goes as follows:
Monday: Bathroom Day
Tuesday: Laundry/Vacuum
Wednesday: Kitchen
Thursday: Vacuum
Friday: Bedroom
Saturday: Tidy-Up
So far I haven't done a very good job at sticking to my chores....sometimes laundry just has to be done on Saturday. :) But so far it has been good for me to have little goals set for each day. So obviously today is Monday which means the bathroom is waiting for me to tackle it. There are also some dishes waiting to be done.

But one thing keeping me going is......The Bachelor!!! I know, I know. It is a pretty trashy show. Don't worry we change the channel when those steamy love scenes come on. :) But I love to watch all of these people waste a month or two of their lives only to find out in the end that they really have nothing in common with the "bachelor." Only six more hours until the drama begins!!! I am so glad that the dating scene is behind me!

Where is My Motivation?

I have officially lost all motivation for today. Instead of working on the pile of homework sitting on our coffee table I decided to focus on my very important blog. :) Winter semester is underway and I already feel like I need to catch-up. I am in my first cohort and will begin my first practicum in March. I cannot wait! I get so excited when I think about guided reading groups, classroom set-up, standardized tests, etc. To all of those who think Elementary Education is an "easy" major I say this, "You better take that back." I will probably never forgive your naivete either. Just kidding. But seriously, being a teacher is hard work! However, it definitely has its rewards.

In other news, BYU Men's basketball just won their game against San Diego State University. The score? 71-69....a nail-biter! Sure hope their winning streak continues!

Jake and I are so very fortunate (complete sarcasm) to have church every week at 8:00 am. Not even kidding. Yes, that is ten hours from now. Sacrament meeting is first and everyone arrives sporting puffy, blood-shot eyes. OK, only Jake and I have puffy, blood-shot eyes but everyone looks dead tired. Most of the kids in our ward show up to church in their pajamas. Does anyone else think 8:00am is too early for church? So while all of you are sleeping....Jake and I will be at church rubbing our eyes, desperately trying to stay awake.