Pebbles

Daryn's been dying for a dog, and I finally broke down and decided we could get one. This is Pebbles! As far as we've been told, she's a Greyhound/Labrador Retriever mix. We were also told she's about 6 months old. BUT, we went to the pet store, and a vet was there doing a vaccination clinic. He told us Pebbles is about 9 months old, and probably won't get a lot bigger than she is now.

I was just looking at pictures of dogs to adopt online, and saw a picture of her and fell in love. I've learned that her coloring is called "Brindle." She is so gorgeous, and VERY good tempered. She just sits or sleeps in the car, and though she's excited when first meeting people, she calms down pretty quickly. She licks Bekah a lot, and jumps a bit. Her foster home let her on the couch, so we have a bit of training to work on, but she's good at listening to me when I say DOWN!

Rebekah is very happy with her dog. :) Pebbles is pretty gentle with her, and Rebekah will randomly walk over to where Pebbles is sleeping, and just pet her softly. It's VERY cute. I'm excited to see these two little girls grow up together!

Only one accident so far... but I'm not surprised. She's in a new environment with new people. We just need to keep a good eye on her. Daryn agreed before we got her that he would be responsible for her messes, so I'm pretty happy with the arrangement.

Pebbles is Daryn's birthday and Christmas present from me and Rebekah.

Update! We finally got the Kennel Card info from the woman setting up the adoptions, and on that is says she's a boxer mix... I confronted the woman in an e-mail about mis-representing the dog and she said "The people at the pound just guess anyway" and that rather than mis-represent the dog, she put the breed that SHE thought the dog was. *rolls eyes* Really woman? *tsk* This wouldn't be a problem except that I don't think our apartment allows boxers. Pebbles is clearly part greyhound, so we're going to just print off the info we were originally given and show that to the landlord. I'm not entirely pleased with this, but I can't afford to pay to get her kennel card changed and we don't want to get rid of her! She's in the program we adopted from because she was on a pound euthanasia list. :(

Daryn is out paying our pet deposit right now, so we will see!

November's Pictures

Rebekah can't wait to drive! :)


Just our baby being the cutie she is! (I made the bow that's on her headband - specifically for the pants she's wearing. :) )


We thought this was hilarious. She wanted to drink from a cup, like Mom and Dad!





A delicious breakfast from my wonderful husband!



Playing at the park near our house. :)

November Outline

About November, so I don't forget! My poor Daryn - he's worked so hard to help me get through this month were I've had something happening almost every single day! And that's on top of doing his own school work. I adore my hubby! <3

Nov 2-3 Teach! Dead Computer
Nov 4 Jeanette's visit
Nov 5 Levi
Nov 7 Surprise Party, Study session
Nov 8 Daryn's new calling, Dinner & Bang!
Nov 9 407 Test
Nov 10 AEPA review, Graduation check
Nov 11 Bekah's check-up, No School
Nov 12 SERP presentation
Nov 13 Rodel Orientation, Dinner with Lyn
Nov 14 missed Baby shower, birthday party, went to Ben's farewell, Andrew's capture
Nov 15-18 Management Project, Research paper
Nov 19 SERP Final
Nov 20 Family Pictures, Soccer
Nov 21 AEPA Test, Merrick and Priscilla
Nov 22 Stake Conference, Picnic
Nov 25 SERP Portfolio, 404 Exam, Pack & go to Phx
Nov 26 Dinner at Kenny's
Nov 27 Black Friday! Kenny's house, singing
Nov 28 G'ma's house, visit Jess, Kenny's house, singing
Nov 29 CG Ward, HW
Nov 30 Hurry home!
Dec 1 Unit Plan, Minor Adviser, Late! for Student Teaching meeting

The Rest of the Rest of October :P

So after attending our new ward at 9 am (ugh, that was hard, church used to be at 12:30) we got a call from Merrick and Priscilla that they were going through Tucson and wanted to stop by! :) Priscilla picked up some adorable dresses and a jacket for Rebekah - now we don't need to get her a Holiday dress this year. And the jacket - it's a furry one, white with black spots. (Don't worry, the fur is too thick to be a dalmation's!) They also brought Rebekah her very own REAL toy cell phone (as opposed to a broken/not working cell phone that mom and dad gave her, lol), and a beach ball. Merrick also picked out an adorable dress with pink poodles on it (it's an inside joke w/ Daryn) and a bunny costume as seen here:



Very cute! :) Thanks Merrick and Priscilla!

On Thursday Oct 29 - Brittany's Birthday, BTW - Daryn made me this DELICIOUS breakfast, just because I said I wanted a hot breakfast. I was expecting the eggs, that was it!

I have to point out that I ate a small piece of bacon before taking this picture, or it would have been picture perfect! It certainly was delicious!

Then on Friday the 30, I skipped soccer to go to our new ward's Halloween party! It was great fun and we had fun costumes. :) Rebekah even enjoyed playing some of the little 'carnival' games to earn tickets and win little prizes. Trunk or Treat was good, too, and Rebekah enjoyed it. It was also a good test run for us to decide if we were going to take her out the next night.





Saturday, Halloween! We went to Arjay and Maggie's house. Arjay is Daryn's friend from school. He is also Candice's brother. Candice is married to Clay, who used to be in Millenium with me years ago. Clay's sister is Tania (sp?), and her husband is Lashley. Arjay and Maggie have a daughter, Allie, who just turned 1, and Tania and Lashley have a daughter, Sadie, who is around 18 months. So, we had 3 cute little girls go out for their first time trick-or-treating together. Arjay's neighborhood is very nice, and we took the girls up and down just one street. Sadie was really shy and didn't like it much, and Allie was okay with it, but not excited. Rebekah, though, was VERY excited and LOVED going up to everyone and getting candy. She was ADORABLE and said please and thank you almost every time.

At one house, the man giving out candy let the girls reach into the bowl themselves. Rebekah took a piece out, dropped it in Sadie's bag, took another out, dropped it in Allie's bag, and THEN grabbed some for herself, and then went back for more. :P Smart girl!




We had a great time at Arjay's and really appreciated the invite! :)

And THAT, my friends and family, was our October. Phew! Now I have a little over a week of November to write about, but it'll have to wait because I have some MAJOR assignment due in the next week or two.

Brittany's Birthday

Happy Birthday to my sister Brittany! She's 17 today.

Brittany is a very talented singer - Second Soprano, right? :) - and a talented soccer player as well! The lucky girl got to fly down to Phoenix and spend it with her friends for her birthday. Unfortunately I didn't get to go up and see her that weekend. I hope everything was a blast!

Also, my darling sister, I love sending and receiving random texts from you. We should talk more often.

Sorry, no recent pictures of Brittany! :( Maybe she should send me one! :P

The Rest of October

Oct 15 406B Research Paper and PowerPoint

So I had to write a paper about Reading and Writing in Mathematics. Fortunately, I took an entire class last semester that focused on Literacy in the Subject Areas. Before I post my thoughts on the subject, I'm curious what you all think - what place does reading and writing, or "literacy" have in the mathematics classroom? It is silly to read a book that isn't the math textbook in a classroom (and yes, I'm purposefully leaving 'what kind of book' vague)? Should students be writing paragraphs in math? Why or why not? :) Late I might just post my very poorly written paper... I'm not happy with it, but that's what I get for writing it in the 24 hours before it was due (at least I didn't wait that long to look up the research).

Oct 17 Lisa's Wedding

We went up to Phoenix after my soccer game on Friday so that we could make it to Lisa Rolland's wedding. :) Lisa was my next door neighbor in high school, and she also went to UA, where we would occasionally bump into each other. In fact, I met her fiance, Brewster, before they were officially dating because Lisa had me help her with a film project, and Brewster was also involved in the project. Congratulations to Brewster and Lisa!

The wedding was gorgeous - but I'm not surprised. Lisa did all the decoration planning herself, and she has very elegant taste. I very much enjoyed seeing old friends, too! :)



After the wedding, we were planning on visiting other friends, but Lyn had the Swine Flu all week, and so we appreciate her refusal to see us that day. Kat was going to visit with us, but most of her restaurant staff had the flu, so she was called in for work. We had a nice little chat on the phone on her break, though!

That night Daryn and I watched the movie he recorded the night before. We love taking advantage of the DVR at the Wright house, because then we get to see movies we don't normally see - V for Vendetta was edited for TV, so I finally got to see it. Quite the movie! :)

Oct 18 Ward Changes

On Sunday we were back in Tucson, and there was a special meeting that night to announce the new ward boundaries. I won't lie; I cried when I realized we were changing wards, and again when I shook hands with my former Bishop. I was particularly sad that we would no longer be in Grant and Carrie's ward - we really enjoy their company. Fortunately, we still get to see them plenty! I was also sad that Rebekah and Kevin are in the other ward, because we'd only just started a friendship with them, and Daryn and I are so busy during the week it's hard to schedule extra activities. I've told Rebekah I plan to call her as soon as I get things taken care of for school - though I might call her this week and see if she's interested in sitting for me for a day or two so I can get some work done.

Oct 19-23 2 Tests and a Midterm

The next week I had a Math Synthesis Test, a Math History Test and a Midterm for my Students with Disabilities class. I'm not a fan of that last class because my teacher is crazy. She's mostly been teaching graduate level courses, and she's never taught this particular course before. She's VERY unorganized, and our only grades in the class are the Midterm and Final, an oral presentation and our portfolio. She had us write an outline for the proposal for our portfolio, and then the proposal (which she didn't teach us how to do... and I've never written a proposal). There's a lot more to it than that, but it's hard to explain because she's crazy. :P

Oh, and that night was Enrichment for my new ward. I went to try and meet people that would be in my new ward, but most of the women there were going to a new ward, and came to say goodbye! I did meet the Bishop and his wife though - very nice couple. :)

Oct 24-25 Barbeque, Party, New Ward
Merrick and Priscilla's visit

OCt 24 was the stake barbeque. I think it was very well timed for being right after the ward changes - everyone got to see everyone else, old ward and new ward members all in one sweep. They had a bouncy castle, and a few 10 year olds would not get out at all. A few mothers of toddlers mentioned how nice it would be if the little kids could play in it, so Andrea (one of the moms that's kind of taken me under her wing :) ) and I went to the Stake President and asked him to clear all the older kids out and let the babies play. It was really fun to see about 10-15 children age 3 and under jumping (or trying to jump) in the castle!

After the barbeque we had a little game night over at Grant and Carrie's house. Steve, Chris and Emily were also there. It was great, b/c Emily doesn't normally get to make it to our get-togethers b/c of work.

Sunday was fun. I was pleased to see so many people that I already knew, but happy to know there were plenty of new people to meet, too. I'm not so great about meeting new people, but I think this will be good. I've been feeling like I've hit a bit of a plateau recently. I know that's really my own fault, but I'm glad that I'll have new challenges and experiences in this ward to help me grow more. :)

These last few pictures are because I LOVE that Rebekah loves playing with her books. She also enjoys moving things from one container to another, so what better activity than putting herself and her beloved books into a basket? :)

My Birthday!

So, after the Newcombs left, Jeanette came down for a visit. She was out of town when we went up to Phoenix for Ben's wedding, so she hadn't gotten her usual monthly visit with Rebekah.

While she was here (Mon and Tues), I took the opportunity to go to the library for about 5 hours and find all the books I needed for my research papers I'm writing this semester. Daryn took me shopping for my birthday present - a new mop! lol. It was a very nice and expensive steamer mop, the Shark. I love it! We bought dinner at Chick-fil'a, one of my favorite fast food restaurants (I got to pick between a more expensive gift and a cheap dinner, or a less expensive gift and dinner at a real restaurant) and then we had Jeanette and Rebekah join us for dessert at Claim Jumper! :) We LOVE to get their Ice Cream Sandwhich made with Heath Bar cookies, and topped with FUDGE and CARAMEL! YUM!

As always, Jeanette was a huge help, and we had lots of fun. She also gave me some money so that I could buy some new clothes - I need business casual for Student Teach next semester, and I'm seriously lacking in that type of clothing.

On Wednesday - my actual birthday - we went to Denny's for breakfast. Earlier that week Daryn had helped out a sister from church fix her computer set-up, and she rewarded him with gift cards to Denny's and Olive Garden. :) The rest of the day went well, too, though I was sad to have to go to school. My friend made things better by baking me some cookies! Isn't that so sweet? Thanks Erin B!

General Conference Weekend

General Conference was particularly AWESOME this year! That's because my Grandma and Grandpa Newcomb stopped to see us while they were on their way home from their 2 year mission! Pretty much the last time we saw them was when we got sealed in the Temple (which, I'm pretty sure they put off turning in their papers so they could be there for us - we are so loved).

So, they got to meet their great-granddaughter and spend the weekend with us. :) Grandpa took us out to dinner to celebrate my winning the Rodel Foundation Promising Student Teacher Award. (oh, BTW, did I tell you that I get a $1000 scholarship for next semester? That's really good b/c my academic scholarship has been used up, since I'm in my 5 year of college.) And then Saturday evening we went to Kati's, and the guys went to Priesthood session together, and afterwords we had pizza. Yum!

Sunday we went over to Kati's for lunch and the afternoon session, and had brownies to celebrate my birthday. :)

AND, I'm a total loser because I didn't get a single picture with my camera! BUT - I know Kati did! :) I love you sister. The next time I come over (not soccer, we have to leave right after the game this Friday) I'm going to need to raid your pictures again: For the birthday pictures I didn't have space for last time, and pictures with the Newcombs. Thanks!

EDIT: Kati rocks and e-mailed me these:


Anyway, we had a LOVELY time with my grandparents, and I'm so glad they stayed to visit with us for a while. Daryn particularly enjoyed talking with Grandpa - they have so much in common! :)

New Practicum Assignment

Today I went to Flowing Wells High School and met Mrs. Demetria Murray, as well as Ms. Jensen - the head of the Math Department - and the Principal of the school. They gave me an interview to get to know me better since the Rodel Foundation has assigned me to work with Mrs. Murray for my Student Teaching. And, thanks to my Master Teacher, I get to know Mrs. Murray this semester during my practicum and don't have to deal with the awkwardness of the other teacher that embarrassed me so badly at the start. :)

The interview was GREAT. They all made it very clear that they had high expectations, but I didn't expect anything less. You all know that I hold myself to some pretty high standards - only because we all know I'm capable of achieving those standards! :) (If I would stop procrastinating!)

Oh, and fun fact for those of you who know who John Shadegg is, Mrs. Murray is his niece! :)

The Rest of September

Okay, so I'll just hammer out the rest of the month for you, so I can get on to catching up on October! I'll probably go through and add pictures to everything later since they still aren't working. :P

Double Header 9-18 - I played my soccer game, and was asked to help out another team that was playing right after us. I called Daryn to make sure it was okay, and it was. SO I played TWO FULL games of soccer back to back. It was awesome and I loved it. :)

Peaches & Wedding Celebration 9-19

The next morning Daryn and I were going to go to Kati's house so that we could help jar peaches. Kati and I each bought one 35 lbs box of fruit - one pears, one peaches - and then split the jars made 50-50. The pears were ready to can earlier that week, so Kati did them herself (we couldn't fit it in our schedules to come help) and then we were going to help with the peaches.

Well, Daryn was invited to play racquetball that morning, so I was at home with Rebekah when I got a call from Priscilla, saying that Ben's wedding was that night in Phoenix! Merrick and Priscilla had told us about the wedding a few months earlier, and had said that they would give Ben our Tucson info so that we could hear more and maybe get an invite. They gave us the impression that it was just a little get-together, invite by word of mouth or e-mail. But then Priscilla said the wedding was at the Phoenix Art Museum... and that didn't really mesh with what we were thinking.

SO, when Daryn got home, we packed everything to go to Kati's AND go to Phoenix. Daryn called Ben and asked if Ben wanted to hang out that night. :) Ben, of course, had to say "Sorry, man, I'm getting married tonight!" But he checked to see if they had open plates at the dinner, and then invited us to join them for the wedding. That's not *exactly* crashing... right? ;)

So, we went to Kati's and helped with the peaches for a while, and Kati was kind enough to finish up without us so that we could have time to get to Phoenix and not be late for the wedding.

We had a great time at the wedding. The ceremony was beautiful, and holding it in the art gallery was very interesting. We looked at the art while the Bridal Party took pictures all around the museum, and then had a delicious dinner and some very fun dancing. Rebekah LOVED dancing to all the music! :) I was very happy that Daryn had a chance to see so many of his old friends all at once.



I really wanted to get a picture of Daryn and the guys, but I got one on my phone. I think that the wedding photographer got one, but it wasn't posted with these that I stole from the bride, Audrey!

Missionary Experience 9-20

We stayed the night at my brother's house (thanks Kenny!) and went to church with him the next day. That afternoon we went to Kim's house. She's Kevin's mom - Kevin is one of Daryn's good friends from High School (though he didn't actually go to high school with us). Anyway, we were supposed to see Merrick and Priscilla there, as well as Kevin. Kevin was there for a little bit, but then had to go to work. We stayed and talked with Kim, and had dinner with her. She filled us in on how different boys from Daryn's 'group' were doing, and we filled her in on life in Tucson.

She asked us a question about church, and I don't remember what started the conversation, but we spent somewhere between 4 and 6 hours answering her questions and telling her about church stuff. She didn't know that Mormons were Christian and used the Bible, so we were able to clear that up for her, and she was amazed at how misunderstood the Church is. I was happy to help explain to her what we really believe, and so was Daryn. :)

Crazy week of no sleep 9-21 to 9-25

Haha. Yeah, the next week of school was CRAZY. I had 2 tests and a project due, so I stayed up late working on things and studying. Wednesday night I stayed up particularly late, and then had to get up early on Thursday to meet my Cooperating Teacher for my Practicum.

Preparation for Practicum Drama 9-24

So... yeah. I met the teacher, and she was nice, but somewhat distracted. I figured she just had a lot to do. I asked a lot of questions, she gave me really short answers, and then I was gone. I had worn a t-shirt and jeans, b/c I wasn't staying long and it was before school started - for Practicum I dress up much more.

Later, though, she sent me an e-mail basically saying that I had better dress nicer for Practicum b/c boys are hard enough to control as it is. She pretty much implied that I was dressing inappropriately intentionally. I was mortified and offended. Also, we spent several e-mails talking about which class I could come observe. I wanted to see her 3rd hour, because it fit my schedule best and meant that I wouldn't have to leave Daryn with both Cairn and Rebekah on Mondays and Fridays for a very long time (the school is 30 min away). But she made it sound like she wanted me to go to a different class for MY benefit, and I checked with my Master Teacher, who said I was fine, but when I said as much to my Coop Teacher she said - without saying - that she just didn't want me to drag her down with her accel kids. :P If she had said so from the beginning, I would have understood. I did not like that she tried to hide behind other reasons. So, not a pleasant experience.

That weekend was nice. We went to an Elder's Quorum party, and then my soccer game, and Saturday was stress free! :) Sunday we had Fajita's with the Strattons at their house.

Very Cool Sunday School/no sleep Sunday 9-27

Sunday was my turn to teach the Sunday School lesson. (Did I mention I was released from being Primary Chorister? Then Daryn and I were called to teach the 12-13 year olds.) I'm sorry to say that I'm not clear on all the details, but the kids were VERY inquisitive. I generally try to keep them on topic, but if they have a question that's still fairly gospel centered, I try to answer it. This particular Sunday they had a lot of questions about the pre-mortal existence, as well as Heaven. (Do lizards go to Heaven?)

I'm sad that I don't really remember things well enough to tell you all about what smart kids I'm working with, or how things ended up, but for being "off topic" for so long, it was a GREAT discussion. Those kids are awesome.

So! My Master Teacher/Professor encouraged us to sign up for the Rodel Foundation Teacher Initiative program. I kept meaning to fill out the application and write the essays, but with so many tests and projects to do for school I didn't get around to it. Then they extended the deadline to Monday, Sept 28. They decided on that Monday, because the gentleman from Rodel was coming on Wednesday to interview those applicants that the Math Ed Professors felt were qualified for the position. So, I stayed up Sunday night and wrote the essays and reviewed them and re-wrote them until I was too tired to care much anymore (notice, I never decided I was satisfied). Then I dropped the packet off to the math dept to pass it on to Dr Anhalt, who was to review the forms.

On Tuesday I got a call and they scheduled me for an interview. I also had a good conversation with my Master Teacher Dr. Weinbrug, about how I had a terrible first impression with my Cooperating Teacher, and while things were fine now, I wasn't entirely happy with my situation.

Wednesday came, and I dressed my nicest for the interview. It took around 40 minutes. The gentleman from Rodel and 3 Professors in Math Ed asked me questions like "Why Math Ed?" and "What would you do if you heard someone say..." etc. Then they sent me out of the room for about 10 minutes, and called me back in and said "Congratulations! You're a Rodel Scholar!"

Wow! I was totally surprised for things to happen that quickly. I told Daryn later that I suspected I was the only one to complete the application, but he and others reminded me that they would have chosen No One over me, if I were not qualified. :)

What this means is that I'm placed with a specific Exemplary Teacher, recognized by the Rodel Foundation for their OUtstanding work as a teacher, for my student teaching. AND, Dr. Weinburg decided/suggested that I should do my Practicum with this teacher, so I could get a head start on getting to know her and her students. :) I love how she slipped that in to get me away from the teacher I wasn't happy with.

3 year job security 9-30

Which brings me to what the gentleman from Rodel explained. He says that their student teachers frequently have a letter of intent to hire from the school they wish to teach at by sometime in the middle of student teaching. Schools all over Arizona call Rodel Foundation and request a list of the student teachers they're working with, and the schools line up to hire us. :) (Rodel works with all areas of education, not just math, and not just secondary.) And, since Rodel awards their teachers that work in high poverty schools for the first 3 years of their career with a $10,000 Savings Bond, I can see how they'd be working with me for those years to place me in a school. :)

This was very encouraging because I'm all about having a plan, and lately we've been kind of up in the air about life. Daryn would like to get into Grad School, but we're not sure where or if that will happen immediately. If he does, I would need to work to put him through Grad School, and if he doesn't, then we have to decide if I'll work anyway, or if I'll stay home with Rebekah. Most people are suggesting I work for a year or two just so I can have the experience and if I ever need to go back to work I can say that I've taught in a classroom, and not just done all the theoretical work.

Ah, life decisions! We'll see where life takes us! :)

September 5 - Semptember 17

On Friday, Sept 4, Daryn, Rebekah and I went to the institute to have $1 lunch like we normally do, and we met someone new! It's hard to explain, but basically this girl is AMAZING. She met us because she saw Rebekah and was enthralled. She LOVES babies, and spent a good amount of time playing with Rebekah. We found out that she was an investigator, and that her baptism was the very next day! So, on a whim, we decided to show up. :)

A Special Baptism 9-5

I am SO glad that we went to her baptism. She saw us walk in the door and she just glowed. After the baptism we accompanied her and the missionaries to the grocery store were we got hot dogs and ice cream and then back to the apartment complex that she and most of the missionaries live at for a little barbeque. Yum! It was a really cool way for us to befriend a new member of the church and remind ourselves of when Daryn was baptized 3 years ago.

Since then she and I have had some great conversations. She hasn't told her family that she's been baptized, because they would disown her, and they are paying for college! (And though I know it's kind of pointless, I feel it's appropriate that I keep her identity anonymous.) I don't know how I would manage something like that! Apparently they know she attends church, but just not that she's officially a "member." In any case, she's a sweetheart - she comes from a VASTLY different background than I do, and I love learning about her 'world' and her thoughts on life.

9-7

We didn't have school b/c of Labor day, so we got together with friends. :) Carrie and I took Rebekah and Cairn to the park, and then to the mall, while Daryn, Grant and Steve played video games. Then we played a group game that afternoon. It was an awesome day!

Temple Anniversary 9-8

Two years down, and eternity to go! I am SO glad to know that my family is eternal. As happy as I was to marry Daryn, I was thrilled to go to the Temple of the Lord and be sealed for time and all eternity. It has been such a blessing to know that we'll be together forever. This is a picture from just after we got sealed in the Temple. Thanks, Kati for finding it for me! :) It means so much to have a picture to document this very special day!


So, I decided to have a big surprise ready for Daryn this anniversary. Carrie and Grant helped me pull it off. They pretended that Grant needed a ride home from school that day, and Carrie came and picked me up and took me to pick-up Daryn's favorite meal from Oregano's. I got us Chicken Caesar Salad, Cheesy Garlic Bread, Italian Flag Lasagna, and a Pizzookie. Then we went back to the house and cleaned up a little bit, and set out our good table, with a tablecloth, folded napkins and my fine china! :) Carrie left and took the diaper bag with her, and when she got home she told Daryn that he needed to stop by the store to buy some sparkling apple cider, and that he was to leave Bekah with them.

When Daryn got home, I covered all the windows, and we had a very romantic candle-light dinner. <3

Temple Trip 9-12

Daryn and I are trying to do better about going to the Temple. It's been a lot easier to have the motivation to do so, since I've started tracking Daryn's genealogy. We really l0ve knowing that we're making special connections across time, and strengthening the bonds that tie our WHOLE family together - from the past and into the future. :)

So, we went to Phoenix after my soccer game Friday night, and I'm pretty sure that Renee babysat for us - either her or Jeanette, but I think Jeanette was out of town that weekend. We went in the morning, while Rebekah was still asleep, and got to the Baptistry just after their suggested time for doing Family Names had ended, but they were happy to put us in line - so long as we understood that it might take quite a while.

I love the peace and happiness I feel when I'm at the Temple. This day was particularly enjoyable, because the Baptistery was so packed, there was a line of about 15 of us waiting on the bench by the font, so I got to see a LOT of baptisms, and I just knew that there were many more people in that room than I could physically count. After baptisms, we stayed longer and did a lot of initiatory work - Now we have a whole slew of names that are ready to receive their endowments and then be sealed together. Maybe I should talk my family into helping us out with that the next time we're in Phoenix! :)

That night Daryn and I went to see our friends Tiffany and Todd, and their son Gage. Todd and I went to school and church together when we were little, and I met Tiff in Jr. High - in fact, she kind of introduced me to Daryn! We had a nice dinner together, and enjoyed catching up. Gage is just 5 days younger than Bekah, so it was really fun to watch them play together. We didn't stay TOO long after dinner, though, because we had to drive home that night.



On Sunday we had dinner with TWO fun couples - Clay and Candice, and Tania and Lashley. I knew Clay from the church singing group Millenium that I was in a few years ago. Candice's brother is Arjay, who goes to school with Daryn, and whose daughter is a few months younger than Bekah. Tania is Clay's sister, and her daughter is a few months older than Bekah. We played Starfarers of Catan after dinner - it was a great night! :)

That Tuesday 9-15, the Young Women offered 2 hours of free babysitting at the church building, so Daryn and I dropped of Bekah, grabbed some Blizzards from Dairy Queen, and went home and watched some TV. lol. It was a great date.

These pictures are from some random days in September when the girls decided that climbing into small spaces would be lots of fun. Rebekah has gotten stuck on the chair and the shelf more than once, but it was a very short phase. :) Thank goodness - now she doesn't take ALL the toys off the shelf everyday (just most of them).
This picture is of Rebekah's best friend in the whole wide world! Cairn. :)

So we try to get the camera out when Rebekah decides to dance for us, but normally she sees the camera and looses all interest in dancing. Well not this time.



And after dancing Mommy asks Rebekah for some signs, she isn't all that interested so she does them much sloppier than normal but she obliges mommy and does them for us.

August 24 - September 4

First on the list of things to catch up on! :)

Start of Semester 8-24

Actually, there's not much to say about the start f the semester itself, so I'll just talk about school in general. I'm taking 4 classes: History of Mathematics, Math Synthesis, Methods Part II and a class about adjusting my teaching methods for students with disabilities. Daryn has 4 classes too - only one of them is in person. He watches Rebekah while I'm in class and at observations (which I'll tell you about later).

Monday nights, though, we're both in class, so our friends Grant and Carrie take Rebekah for the evening. We pay them by watching their daughter, Cairn, Monday mornings and Friday mornings while the two of them are in class. So it works out great! We're very grateful for their friendship and all of their help.

None of my classes start until later in the afternoon, and that's really weird for me. I much prefer to get up in the morning and get straight to class so that I can spend my afternoon actively doing other things. It's hard to get up in the morning and just get to work without going somewhere first! But I certainly have enjoyed quite a few lazy mornings where Daryn makes me a big delicious breakfast. :)

I think Math history is really interesting. I'm nervous about the research paper that's 50% of my grade, but I think I'll be okay. I've gotten decent grades on 2 of the 4 tests so far.

Math Synthesis is a waste of time, but that's b/c of the teacher. He's a great guy, but kind of crazy. This is my 4th class with him, and I would have taken it from someone different if that were a choice, but this is the only section. I just don't like his style of teaching. Of the 3 classes I've had with him so far, I failed one, got a C in another, and Aced the third. I thought I was getting the hang of him, but this class is not as easy going as the last one is, so we'll see what happens. I think I'm between a C or B right now. :(

My Methods class is cool. I liked the teacher that taught the first half better, but I like this teacher too. WE gone over a lot of different stuff and are preparing for Student Teaching. Part of this semester is Observations/Practicum. Basically we get eased into student teaching. For Practicum we first observe in the class, then slowly participate in a variety of class activities: individual tutoring, bell work, homework, administrative duties, and finally 3 hours of teaching! Then we put that all into a portfolio for a grade. O_o I have a lot of typing to do in the next 2 weeks!

Jeanette and Renee's visit 9-2

So, Daryn and I have been cutting back on how much we go to Phoenix. It's easier to do now that my parents aren't living there. Usually I go up a lot for family events... but not anymore! :( Anyway, Jeanette and Renee (Daryn's mom and sister) were missing Rebekah something fierce, so they came down to visit for the day. :) It was really great - Daryn and I got to go see a movie (Transformers 2) and when we got back, our kitchen was cleaned! I know Rebekah loved playing with her Nana and Aunt Renee, and we were all sad to see them go.


I was particularly pleased with the timing of their visit because on September 1 it had been 3 years since Daryn has been baptized (Sept 3 was his confirmation date). So that's what we celebrated on our little date to the movies. :)

Also, I got some more pictures from Kati from Rebekah's Tucson Birthday Party, and I wanted to share this one: I love my family! :)

Ward Campout

Last night and today Daryn, Rebekah and I were on Mt Lemon at Camp Zion, enjoying the cool weather! :) The rain was okay most of the time, but sometimes we could have gone without.

Our ward had its annual camp-out, up at the Church owned girls camp, just .7 miles from the Scout Camp. It was cool for me to see a different Girl's Camp, since I'd only ever been to LoMia. Oh man, Phoenix girls, you have it easy! Camp Zion mostly just has platforms for tents, and outhouses. There's a FEW "cabins" and maybe one set of bathrooms with running water, but I think those are reserved for the leaders that come to take care of you. But hey, some YW in the stake just painted all the walls of the outhouses, so at least they're not dark and gloomy!

We got to the campsite later than we would have liked, but overall things were fun. Rebekah had a hard time traversing any ground that wasn't covered in concrete, but she LOVED running around in the mess hall. In fact, she hardly let me hold her while we were in there playing games and enjoying cake and cobblers made in dutch ovens.

Daryn made Regurgitated Pizza for dinner, and then Nasty Cake for dessert. Everyone loved it - and Daryn loves it when people love his food. :) We also taught some friends how to play Fluxx. It's a really fun card game, and if you haven't played it ask me about it the next time I see you. Since Rebekah slept the whole way to the camp, she was up pretty late, but that was okay b/c I just held her in my lap as we sat around the campfire and got to know some of the couples in our ward. One sister told us about her mom - the first person to be baptized in China! We heard some pretty amazing stuff, and would have stayed up later, but it was starting to rain, and while Rebekah had been asleep for a while, I didn't want to go put her down in the tent b/c then I'd have to stay there, so my arms and back were killing me. we finally called it a night around 3, I think.

Breakfast this morning was pancakes. I'm not normally a fan, but I was really hungry, and so was Bekah! Daryn wasn't feeling well (maybe altitude sickness??) at ALL, so I did most of the cleaning and packing up, but I didn't mind - he's always working so hard to take care of me, it was my turn to help him out. :) So he watched Bekah while she climbed up and down the steps of the amphitheater over and over.

I liked the camp out, but I kind of wish they had 1 or 2 more planned activities. The mostly free structured evening was great "Here's board games, enjoy." But I think it would have been cool to play Tug of War, or something as a whole ward the next morning, instead of just having breakfast and everyone scattering to pack up as soon as they could.

Maybe next time.

Goals

Goals to shoot for before summer end: (UPDATED x4!)

DONE - Read a book for enjoyment
WIP - maybe even TWO books!
Buy prints of pictures
send pictures to family members
make 1st Year scrapbook for Rebekah
DONE - Purge School binders of useless papers
DONE - Purge backpack, purse
DONE - File ALL paperwork in "To file" box
DONE - Update blog/facebook with pictures
5/6 DONE - collect pictures from relatives of events I forgot my camera for
Go on 2 or 3 REAL dates with Daryn (no baby!)
WIP - do dishes every day - or at least every other day
WIP - make list of signs to teach Daryn so we can teach Bekah
DONE - beat next chapter of World of Goo
WIP - Get Rebekah on a sleep schedule compatible with my fall school schedule
Find perfect shinguards (like Kati's!)
CANCEL - Find female players for fall soccer season
Clean out/off BOTH desks
DONE - Box unneeded books
DONE - Reorganize bookshelves
DONE - Clean out Rebekah's dresser of too small clothes
DONE - Mark Rebekah's clothes and give to Kati
3/4 DONE - Buy textbooks for school
DONE - Download Video Camera pictures/videos and sort onto computer
Post any "great ones" (videos) on blog
Get computer to play videos so I can look through them!
DONE - Send Pima Transcript to UA

Updates

Look below for pictures and new posts, I'm doing this journal style, so I want events in order. :) Enjoy! There will be more soon.

Accomplishments

These last 2 weeks, Rebekah has really taken the whole walking idea to heart. She is getting better and better, and it's SO cute! I'm also amused by how much she enjoys wearing shoes. She has a pair of pink shoes that she even pulled out of her laundry bin and brought to me to have me put them on her feet.

On Aug 5 Rebekah added another sign to her vocabulary! She's been able to sign "milk" for a long time, and "dog" since probably May. I think she even has her own little versions of "bird" and "dad," but she just now learned "more." It was very cute because we were at a Baby Shower, and they had Eegee's there. Rebekah REALLY wanted more, so I kept signing "more" to her every time I gave her a bite (I've done this before w/o a response). Then suddenly she started signing it back to me! Now she signs it whenever she wants anything food related (she used to sign "milk" for anything food related). I like this because now I know if she really wants to nurse, or she just wants to eat because I'm eating, or because she's hungry. (I know, it doesn't quite make sense, but if you saw her, you'd understand.) For her vocal vocabulary, Rebekah says "Hi" "Bye" "dog" (her first word) and "Da". She's also said "Papa" and "Gigi" but have not repeated them very much - mostly she calls Gigi "dog" because Gigi has a pet cat, and to Rebekah, cats are dogs. :) But, she does recognize that birds are different and makes a "b" sound when looking at Stevie, my mom's bird.

Rebekah is SO cute when you want to play Peek-a-boo. She tries to cover her eyes, but her hands don't always make it there, so she'll have her hands on her cheeks, or the side of her head, or 1/2 way over her eyes, with her fingers spread so she can peek at you. If you're playing by hiding behind an object, Rebekah will get so excited that she'll swing her body back and forth so quickly in and out from behind the object that you can't even say "Peek!" before she's gone and back again.

Rebekah loves to play with her ball, and anything that lights up and makes lots of noise. Lately she's been climbing on everything, to the point that I have to watch her around my computer. She's finding out that if she climbs, she has access to more stuff! (Fun stuff that Mommy plays with - so it's got to be great, right?) She'll even settle for standing on a mostly flat toy that gives her just an inch or two - it's all she needs to reach one extra shelf on the bookcase. (A not baby-proofed shelf... time to rearrange!)

I have a list of other milestones Rebekah has reached, but they're with my scrapbooking stuff in Rebekah's room, where she's sleeping. More later!

Happy Birthday Micaela!

Today my sister Micaela turned fourteen.

!!

She's my baby sister! She's Fourteen! Wow!

I'm glad she's just moved up to Utah, because dances in Phoenix are lame. At least, they were when I went to them. Hopefully Highland is better in the dance atmosphere department.
Sorry it's sideways! I need to get better at this blog thing. Bear with me.

Anyway, Micaela is awesome, and we love her to death. She's a great babysitter, and all her nieces and nephews love her very much. Rebekah is especially fond of Micaela - maybe almost as much as she is fond of her Nana! (And Nana is right there after Mom and Dad.) Micaela is also a talented soccer player, and loves the sport very much - she even voluntarily referees at younger kids games. This year she's starting high school, and the new school's soccer team is WAY too cut-throat, but Mic plans to stick with AYSO, and I'm glad she is. Mic also has great skills on the WaveBoard - a mode of transportation I just can't manage to do well on!

Random fact for you: Micaela has awesome fingernails. I'm totally jealous of them, actually. I love them so much that I even interrupted a very solemn moment to inform her that she has REALLY PRETTY nails. :)

Happy Birthday Micaela! You're awesome!

Thursday - back to Phoenix, help clean Mom's house
Friday - help clean Mom's house
Saturday - shopping! Late Lunch with Mom and sisters. Do genealogy. Unwind watching TV 'til midnight
Sunday - up at 6 with Bekah, back to sleep at 8, up at 10:45, church at 11! Bekah's nap from 2-4, dinner with family at 4, Bekah had upset stomach, play with fire, play Skip Bo, struggle to get Bekah to sleep, multiple times.

Tomorrow - Breakfast with Kat? Visit Jess, Tiff? Lunch with family? HOMEWORK.
Tuesday - GO HOME!

I am so beyond ready to see my hubby again, but I really want to spend time with my mom and sisters. Only, they're at Grandma's house, and while I love to visit with Grandma, too, I don't like to visit AT Grandma's house! It's not child proof, and it makes it very hard to enjoy my visit when I'm constantly keeping Rebekah out of trouble, instead of just letting her play like she wants to. Hopefully we'll get some good time together before the family takes off on Tuesday.

Happy Birthday Rebekah!

July 28, 2008
4:35 AM
7lbs 6 oz
19in

So Perfect! Here's looking back over the year(and then a little):

February 29 - Daryn's feelings that we're having a girl
and naming her Rebekah are confirmed.

Aug 1, 2008
August 7, 2008 - I had to pick ONE photo from all the pictures my sister took for me this day, and this was one of the first, before we put her in all her cute little outfits, but I couldn't resist putting up this tragic picture. :)
September 25, 2008
October 28,2008

Months 3 and 4 were ALL about the toes!

November 18, 2008 - Yum! Toes!On December 2, Rebekah was 13 lbs 3 oz, and 25.5 in.

December 5, 2008
Either December 30 or 31, Rebekah finally sat up on her own for an extended period of time. :)

December 31, 2008 - Happy New Year!

January 12, 2009 - Teething makes for slobbery baby!On January 29, Rebekah was 15 lbs 3 oz and 26.9 in.

February 14, 2009 - Happy Valentine's Day!


March 3, 2009 - Playing with Mommy's CalculatorMarch 22, 2009

April 24, 2009 - At the mall with Nana.
On April 28 Rebekah was 16 lbs 10 oz, 28.5 in.

May 25, 2009 - Yay swimming!

June 30, 2009 - First piece of Lasagna! Yum!

July 3, 2009 - Rebekah's first hotdog! Courtesy of the Binghampton Ward
Independence Day Celebration
July 6, 2009 - Bathtime suddenly got more interesting when
Rebekah realized she could Stand in the Tub!On July 8, Rebekah took her first steps! We were at Grant and Carrie's house, dropping Rebekah off so Daryn and I could go see a movie, and Carrie coaxed Rebekah into taking 3 steps to try and get the book Carrie was reading! :)


July 28, 2009 - Happy Birthday! Rebekah is wearing the dress that Great Nana and Pappy gave her for her birthday. Isn't she so pretty?The hairbow is the one I planned to make especially for her Birthday. :)
(Thanks for making it and finding that awesome button, Kati!)

August 7, 2009 - Using the doggy that Gigi gave her as a pillow! Sweet Dreams, my baby girl!
I love you!