Just a day in our lives

Toesies

2012-02-27T14:15:00.001-07:00

Daniel loves grabbing his toes and showing off the bottom of his feet.

They see me rollin'

2012-02-24T17:52:00.001-07:00

They hatin'.

Jacquetopus

2012-02-19T18:19:00.001-07:00

It's my Jacquetopus, Dad. Get your own.

Our own Modern Family

2012-02-17T20:23:00.002-07:00

Daniel's been in this weird mood lately where he'll just--completely out of the blue--act out clips from Modern Family. I guess tastes for television shows get moved along in the gene pool (he also likes the Jeopardy music). Here are a few of our favorites from his latest acting shenanigans.

Stella!

Casablanca

Costco

These Modern Family moments brought to you by Daniel. Entertaining us since 2011.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T11:43:00.004-07:00

Who wouldn't want to be this little guy's valentine?

Ladies, he's available...

in 27 years, when his mom finally lets him start dating. :)

Resolved:

2012-02-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Resolved: My baby is cuter than your baby.

Whereas:

Whereas:

Q.E.D.

A day with the baby

2012-01-24T19:44:00.003-07:00

Someone turned 12 weeks old today! He has grown up so fast. We are phasing out his clothes that are getting too small. So sad. Luckily there are more cute ones for him to wear.

Here's just a small sample of our day.

So this morning, when Stephen said bye to Daniel before he left for school, Daniel started bawling. Big sad tears, as shown on the right, and a big pout, as seen on the left. (Pardon the blurriness...it's hard to take a clear picture of a moving baby.) It was so sad...slash kinda funny. He seemed so distraught! I'm pretty sure he just got startled, but it's nice to think that he was missing his daddy. But he calmed down after like 3 minutes.

He became such a happy boy all day! We played in his gym with Jacqtopus the Octopus. He practiced sitting up and sitting in his Bumbo chair. We had tummy time. He was even able to take a couple of naps! Quite the productive day.

We were kinda matchy-matchy today. Red and navy. haha

Right now, he's sleeping in his swing. I guess the little guy got worn out. I love this little guy, and I love being home with him all day! When he smiles at me, it just warms my heart. Love it.

Catching up

2012-01-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

So I have some major catching up to do. Whoops. But here it all comes!

We will start at December 11, Daniel's blessing day. It was so great to have our families there. Little Daniel was so good too!


This is the same little outfit Stephen wore when he was blessed.


Proud dad and mom. We love our little baby bear!

Moving along...we come to Christmas! So fun to celebrate with a wee one, even if he doesn't quite appreciate everything yet. We spent Christmas Eve with the extended Richards family, then went to the Waddels. We came back to our cozy little apartment, read some Christmas stories, then went to bed. Christmas day came bright and early! We opened our presents, then got ready for church. Stephen was asked to speak, and gave a beautiful talk. Then we went up to the Richards' home for Christmas dinner, then up to the Waddel's home again to relax and celebrate.


Santa make a special visit!

The day after Christmas, we drove down to Newport Beach with the Richards. We spent three beautiful days in the sunshine. The kids went to Disneyland, and Daniel got to play with G&G Richards all day. We also got to spend time on the beach. It was such a nice little break!


Yes, my sisters-in-law are all beautiful! So lucky!

Luckily, everyone humored me and patiently rode my very favorite ride. I love love LOVE it's a small world.


Daniel and dad just chilling on the beach.


My little cuddle-bug. I love it!

Next, we celebrated Daniel's 2 month birthday. He is growing up WAY too fast.

Ok, now we're basically caught up. Yay!

2012-01-04T15:18:00.001-07:00

Politics

2011-12-05T13:00:00.012-07:00

Heather thinks I don't know how to make a blog post, but I really do. Bam.

Daniel is a surprisingly opinionated chap; he and I have had several long conversations of late regarding the political climate. I thought I'd update you all a bit on our musings. Daniel is very worried about the state of the economy:

When I asked him what he thought of the current field of potential Republican nominees, he shot me this look:

I agreed that the potential nominees are not ideal in most respects. We moved on to the specifics. He thought he'd get funny and give me his best Newt Gingrich impression:

But when I told him that Newt was actually polling in first place in Iowa, he became extremely angry.

I changed the subject by offering to discuss the 59 planks of Mitt Romney's campaign. At first, he was very interested:

But it turns out talking to anyone about the 59 planks of Mitt Romney's campaign quickly induces a coma-like sleep. Who knew.

When he woke up, I reminded him to be more attentive in the future, since Romney will almost certainly be the nominee, and we should understand his 59 planks. In response, he gave me the bird. Punk.

In the end, the two of us happily agreed that Huntsman is likely the best option. Thus ended our conversation.

As a postscript that has nothing to do with politics, I caught him mid-sneeze, which is remarkably difficult to do when taking a picture on my phone while holding a wriggly one-month-old, and I would like some recognition for that. Thank you.

Photo Card

2011-12-04T14:31:00.001-07:00

Contemporary Cute Boy Baby Announcements

Personalized cards for babies, Valentines, Easter and Mother's Day.

View the entire collection of cards.

1 month

2011-12-01T13:12:00.001-07:00

Remember that one time, a month ago, Baby Daniel was born? I can't even believe how fast time has flown by! I am crazy about this little guy. I just love to cuddle him all day long!

Just look at his happy little face! (His eyes are turning brown, like his mama's)

First bath! He LOVES to take baths. We turn the shower on nice and warm to steam up the room, get the water in his tub just right, and he almost falls asleep he's so happy. Now, getting him out is a different story...

Right before the Richards' family Christmas concert. He was just so darn cute, all dressed up in his cords and sweater vest.

There is just something absolutely adorable about baby jeans. I love them. And I may be partial, but he just looked so darn cute in this little outfit!

Sleepy baby

2011-11-10T07:46:00.001-07:00

I'm a little bit obsessed with this guy. That's all.

11.1.11--Happy Baby Day!

2011-11-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

It is obviously time for a new post! We have definitely had a very life-changing experience in the last week. :)

October 31 was just like any other day. Stephen went to work, and I went and saw Footloose with my mom, went to Costco, and had a doctors appointment. The cute trick-or-treaters came around our neighborhood (we had a total of 8--new high record!). Then I started contracting. We went for a walk at like 10:00, because that usually makes my contractions go away. Didn't quite go away...just got stronger. So we came home, Stephen packed his hospital bag while I was on the bed contracting. Then BAM. I felt like I got kicked from behind. Jumped across the bed. That was my water breaking. Surprise! So packing became a lot more hurried, and off we went to the hospital. Checked in at about 11:30, got back to the labor & delivery room, answered a bazillion questions, then finally got my epidural. I don't like pain, so once that was in and working, life became a whole lot better. :)

See, epidural in. All smiles.

Stephen and I both tried to sleep a little bit, but when you can't feel your legs, and you're about to have a baby, it's a little hard to sleep. At 6:38 am, the nurse had me start pushing, at 7:58 am, the doctor came in, and at 8:06 am, Daniel Stephen Richards was here! That first little cry was amazing. I have never been happier. I got to hold him right away. That's when the happy tears started rolling.

Then they took him away to be weighed, measured, tested, all that jazz.

Measured 20.5 inches and weighed 9 lbs, 7 oz. Yes, he's a big baby! Just a lot to love. :)

Our first family picture.

Stephen went with Daniel to the nursery to be cleaned and tested. He handled it all like a champ. Didn't like the bath, but can you blame the kid? It had to have been chilly.

Gripping daddy's finger.

Sleepy baby.

So here is our little sweetheart. He really likes keeping a hand up by his face. That's how he came out, one hand on his cheek. Life is just perfect. I just get to cuddle him all day, and Stephen gets to cuddle him all evening. Grandparents just love him and visit lots and lots. His 8 aunts and 1 uncle all came and visited in the hospital and come to visit at home.

We are just so lucky!

Halloween, 2011

2011-10-29T16:13:00.000-06:00

Yay for carving pumpkins! Stephen made a really cool spider, and I made a face. Except I have a short attention span, so Stephen helped me make my face. :)

Baby Shower!

2011-10-16T20:30:00.002-06:00

I have been so very spoiled with this upcoming baby! Babies are a great reason to celebrate, and let's be honest, cute little baby things are so much fun to shop for. :) Yesterday, Rachel threw a fabulous shower for this little guy. It was so fun to see everyone!!

The Hostess with the Mostest! Rachel is such a cutie and so very creative!

Aunt Abby working on decorating a cute little onesie. Such a great idea!

All the sophomore roommates. We think the last time we were all together like this was in like 2008. Yikes. But hooray! for all getting together again! :)

Amy and Sarah. Such great girls...I'm so lucky to have wonderful teacher friends like them!

Such a cute idea. Decorate a bunch of little white onesies. I'm so excited to be able to pull these cuties out and put them on my little guy. Such fun memories!

And.....school's out!

2011-10-16T07:51:00.003-06:00

Well, ok, not for everyone, but I'm done teaching! Weird. But exciting at the same time because I know what is around the corner. At least, I think I know what's around the corner. A little baby to hold and cuddle all the time.

I have such great friends at Liberty Academy. I have been so very blessed to teach there. It has been great fun working with the kiddos, and coming home every day with stories to tell. They are a bunch of cuties.

I was terrible at taking pictures. It's a shame, but I'll be going down to visit sometime soon, so I'll get pictures then. Luckily, I did get one from my last day of school. Rebecca threw a baby shower for me with all the kids in our class. She brought a fantastic cake, and we all had a great afternoon together. I felt totally spoiled.

I'm sure gonna miss those kids, and the other teachers I got to work with. But I'm so excited for this little guy to arrive, hopefully sometime in the next three weeks. Only, not while my dad is out of town. He's got to be around for his first grandbaby. So hurry up and get here before he leaves!

Because I've been bad at updating...

2011-10-16T07:43:00.002-06:00

Stephen and I recently (um, well it's been over a month) celebrated our 1st anniversary. Just because we could, we celebrated over the course of a couple of weekends. More fun that way, right? :)

First, we went to the Brian McKnight concert at the Scera. Holy cow, that man can sing. Such a fun show. Luckily the rain held out until the very last song.

Brian McKnight in action. Singing away at "One...you're like a dream come true. Two...just wanna be with you."

The next weekend, on our actual anniversary, we went up to Park City. We walked around the outlets, bought some cute baby clothes, then went to Main Street to find a Christmas ornament (our tradition) and some salt and pepper shakers (we have 13 sets now!).

Taking a break on a bench in the shade. Such a lovely day.

Don't worry...

2011-10-09T09:23:00.001-06:00

just less than a month until our due date. Eek!

soooooo excited :)

Baby Stuff

2011-08-07T20:21:00.000-06:00

Well, since it has been a while since I have posted, I figured I should update about life with a small child growing inside. According to the doctor, he is doing great! My rib cage can also testify that he has legs that are working really well. Every morning as I wake up (bright and early, mind you), he likes to give me a good kick to welcome the day. It's one of the craziest, happiest feelings. Reminds me every day that he's on his way, and that I'm already crazy about the kid!

Speaking of the little guy being on his way, we are finally down to double digit days left! Granted, it's still 92 days until the official due date, but it's still double digits. We are getting so excited. Little boy stuff is so much fun. I have finally had time to get things ready for him. I'm definitely asking myself where this summer has gone! It's fun to find little projects to make for him, like burp cloths, nursery decorations, and cute onesies. Stephen has found a favorite line of toys, and whenever we're out shopping, picks out a new toy. So great.

Here's a picture of the nursery so far:

Not too much left to do, but with school just around the corner, I wanted to be mostly ready. We've got diapers and wipes stashed everywhere, cute onesies and pants I can't resist buying tucked neatly away, a growing toy collection, and a fun picture book collection ready to welcome our boy to the world. I couldn't be happier.

San Francisco/Palo Alto

2011-08-07T20:03:00.000-06:00

We had just the greatest time in San Francisco and Palo Alto last weekend! We felt so in the know taking the buses and trains everywhere. We got to see Taylor and Megan while we were there, which was so fun!

Mom treated us to a dinner of our choosing...so of course we chose one named after her. The food was obviously not as good as hers, but they had a pretty fantastic burger. I made everyone stop and do the touristy things with me, mostly because I like being a tourist sometimes.

We saw the crookedest street, Lombard Street.

Then we went to Ghirardelli Square.

Then we walked by Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 and saw all the crazy sea lions.

Such a fun place! Excited to go again!

After leaving San Francisco after a whirlwind evening, we went down to Palo Alto. We had church the next day. It was great to be with Latter-day Saints out there.

We took the train to get there. I love riding on trains. I'm basically still a little kid most days.

Then we walked around Stanford Campus for the day. It is SO beautiful. The buildings are amazing. The exterior and interior architecture is just stunning. Stephen had told me it was pretty, but I was still blown away by it. We took a campus tour and learned all about the neat history of Stanford. We did so much walking over the weekend, but in perfect weather like Palo Alto, a girl really can't complain.

grateful

2011-06-24T18:35:00.001-06:00

"Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love." --President Thomas S. Monson

Things I am grateful for today. I shall list 24 because it is the 24th.

1. Stephen
2. Family
3. A healthy, growing baby
4. Blue Skies
4. Our comfy bed that I haven't slept in in over a week
6. Doctors and nurses who take care of me
7. Chocolate Chip Cookies
8. The warm shower that is waiting for me at home
9. Happy music on my itunes
10. Despicable Me
11. Being able to nap all day
12. Tylenol
13. My own clothes to wear
14. My computer to keep me entertained
15. Sprite
16. Dinner that is cooked for me
17. Blessings
18. A thermostat in my room
19. No obligations to worry about
20. A TV to watch
21. Body spray
22. 50mL's an hour, not 200
23. Pink toenails
24. A kidney that's getting better

A wise woman, Jean Kerr, once said, "I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only
skin-deep. That's deep enough. What do you want, an adorable pancreas?"

Well, Jean, to answer your question, no I don't need an adorable pancreas, I just want a happy kidney. Soon though. Soon.

St. George

2011-06-06T10:36:00.000-06:00

Stephen spoiled me this week and took me to St. George to go shopping and see The Little Mermaid! It was so fun, and we had such fantastic seats. We bought some little boy clothes from Oshkosh (overalls are adorable), spent some time relaxing by the pool (burn lines to prove it), and ate really fabulous food (SmashBurger sweet potato fries, anyone?). Vacations are just wonderful!

Here we are outside Tuacahn:

Love this place and this boy.

Oh hi

2011-05-25T22:31:00.000-06:00

Yes, we are still here. It's been a while...2 months and 11 days to be exact. So so so much has happened in the last few months and it is finally time to update.

Stephen and I are happy to announce that we are expecting! 16 weeks and some change. Due November 7. I have been feeling really great luckily, and overall, pregnancy has been just one fun adventure. Just some total exhaustion (ya, I may have fallen asleep at 8:30 most nights) but it's been fine. I have had some really fantastic cravings...baked potatoes, ginger beer, grilled cheese sandwiches, and tacos. But my favorite was the Peachee. Stephen has been a total champ about finding what I need, and being willing to drive a bit to humor me.

It has been fun to tell family and friends. Everyone reacts just a little different, but babies are exciting news! So everyone is excited! We haven't had any reactions like this though. Thankfully.

Before I turn in for the night, we just wanted to share a few pictures from our ultrasound today.

Yep, you see that right...it's a boy!!

In other news...

2011-03-14T22:22:00.000-06:00

I forgot to mention that we saw Topher Grace in Disneyland. The Topher Grace, in the flesh.

Who woulda thought?

March Break

2011-03-13T21:15:00.000-06:00

Life is fantastic. This week my school had a lovely little break called "March Break." Who gets that? Love it. After much effort, I managed to convince Stephen to take me to Disneyland for my birthday. Ok, kidding, not much effort. We both love all things Disney. We had a fabulous 3 days in the parks, and rode every ride we wanted to over and over and over again. (Secret: the joy of traveling with only two people is they often bump you up in line.) Here are some photos.

In front of the castle

In front of Big Thunder. Yes, we are a little windblown. Walking on and riding the ride 3 times in a row will do that to you.

In Mickey's Fun Wheel at CA.

On King Triton's Carousel

Stephen on California Screamin'.

Can you get a much more beautiful sunset than that? I submit that you cannot.

After much driving, we made it back, safe and sound. Off to another week of school!

February

2011-02-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, you are totally shocked at how fast February flew by! What with the springtime weather, Valentine's Day, a first grade field trip, and such, there was no time to be bored.

Our lives currently revolve around all sorts of school-related goodness. Mr. Richards has been very busy with classes and tests and the Honors program. So proud of him and his hard work. I have been busy busy busy with school. We had our first field trip to the BYU Planetarium (really great) and Fat Cats for bowling (super funny...). That went down really well. We are fast-approaching the end of the term, so kids are keeping me busy with late work and such. But it has been nice to see the pile of grading on my desk quickly diminishing as I work through it. The kids have grown so much this year. Still amazes me.

As a small parting gesture of love, from our home to yours, I leave you with one of our new favorite websites:

When Parents Text

Adios!

Happy day :)

2011-01-20T21:11:00.001-07:00

So here is our wedding video. Such a happy day. (sorry it's a bit fuzzy...)

And since I'm posting, I may as well do a quick update on life. Things are great with us. We had a BLAST in Hawaii...scuba diving, helicopter ride, mustang convertible, and of course, perfect beaches.

We've had some fun with friends (Thanks Stantons!), and a fun crafty shopping trip (for me...not Stephen). We're working on getting our house all decorated for many different holidays.

We keep busy with class and work, but luckily this semester things have worked out better to have evenings together. School is going well for me, and my kiddos definitely keep me on my toes. Stephen is doing great so far in classes. Such a smart guy! :)

Well, that's all for now.

100 days

2010-12-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

Dear World,

100 days ago I woke up in the morning, went to the temple, and married the best man in the whole wide world. How did I ever get so lucky, you ask? I'm still asking myself the same question.

We're a little early...

2010-11-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

...but we bought our Christmas tree today, and if you really expect us to leave it sitting in the garage, then you obviously don't know us.

42 days and counting

ALSO

2010-10-30T12:40:00.004-06:00

In other news.

One year ago today,

THIS BOY

asked THIS GIRL

on a first date.

Then they got engaged...married...

And now live happily ever after.

The End.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-30T12:33:00.004-06:00

Stephen and I decided to carve our pumpkins last night. Super fun. I've never been this patient with pumpkin carving before. Mine was always the one with triangle eyes, a triangle nose, and then whatever mouth my dad would carve for me because I didn't want to finish. This time I had to carve the whole thing, and I was so patient. I only took 2 breaks. Once for dinner and once for a bandaid.

PRESENTING.........................

OUR PUMPKINS!!!

um, hi

2010-10-12T21:53:00.002-06:00

So sometimes, I have to be reminded to update my blog. Life has just been so busy, but so great.

School is fun. We are almost to fall break, which is fantastic. Sleeping in, running errands, sleeping in, picnics, and sleeping in. I'm a little bit excited. But honestly, first graders are hilarious. I thought second graders were funny, but my cute little class keeps life interesting.

Married life is wonderful. I feel like we have finally finished moving in to our condo--we just finished putting pictures up. We love having visitors, so if you're in the area, let us know. :)

I always try to commit to being better about blogging, yadda yadda yadda, but sometimes I just forget. Oh well. So I'm not even going to promise you I'll try to be better. Fact of life.

Sneak Peek...

2010-08-18T18:43:00.001-06:00

16 days...

As promised...

2010-08-18T18:34:00.003-06:00

My board.

There will be a bulletin board with a whole calendar/math meeting on the back wall, so it won't be so bare.

My door.

Outside my door :)

My reading corner

TA-DA! Here is my classroom...still a bit of a work in progress. Waiting for the blinds to go back up, and the bulletin board to be drilled into the wall. And a couple more signs. But other than that, all ready for school on Monday :)

so close...

2010-08-17T00:17:00.004-06:00

My dear friends,

We are now 17 days away from getting married. I couldn't be happier.

My classroom is set up, pictures to come soon.

I start teaching in less than a week. I'm nervous. But excited. So I wrote a song, called "Nervous, but excited."

Kidding. But my friend Zac did...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4LyPGwXY6w

basically though, I'm just really really really excited to get married. We did bridals tonight, and a preshoot last Saturday. Pictures are fantastic. We have the BEST photographer. so happy.

Life

2010-07-26T00:40:00.002-06:00

This summer has been fantastic. Why? you ask. Well let me tell you.

1. I'm getting married in less that 6 weeks to the best guy in the whole wide world.

2. I'm teaching first grade in the fall. First day of school...less that four weeks away.

3. I live in an awesome condo.

4. My mom is the best and helps me with all the wedding planning stuff, and has even put up with one or two bridezilla moments. (not bad though. Just once when someone told me to change my colors.)

5. I've been helping with preschool, total blast all the time.

6. I just finished up my last week of sports camp ever. So much fun.

7. My countdown chain is 2/3 of the way done.

That is all for now, because it's time for me to go to bed.

Engagements preview

2010-06-22T00:02:00.002-06:00

So we went to Thanksgiving Point tonight and spent almost 3 hours taking pictures with our excellent photographer. Above is just a preview from my mom's camera. The real photos won't be here for about 2 weeks.

oh hey there

2010-06-20T23:35:00.002-06:00

So...it's been a while. Sorry. It's just, well, I was busy, and not really feeling like writing sometimes, so I didn't. And here we are, three months later, and no post.

Moving on.

School is obviously over. Great year, great kids. Miss them lots.

Summer is fantastic, when it actually feels like summer. Utah is playing this terrible trick on all of us where it pretends like it's summer sometimes, and then BAM. Winter. Like this Wednesday, when Sports Camps sent us all to 7 peaks. BRRRRRR

Wedding plans are terrific. The boy is terrific. Don't worry, only 74 more days. Engagement pictures tomorrow...so be on the look-out! (not for us, b/c that would be creepy...but for pictures in a couple of weeks)

I'm at our new place. Really fantastic. Great location, beautiful home.

So I'll just plan on posting pictures later, but I just wanted to start writing again. xox

Green

2010-03-11T13:42:00.003-07:00

So I'm in the middle of an observation lesson today, right? And it is going so smoothly. The children are being fantastic, the lesson is going just as planned, couldn't get much better. One of my students was out with a reading tutor, and when he came back in, his face was green. No, not light green like he is sick. No, full on shamrock green. Bless the child, he had taken some green gel and slathered it all over his face. I looked at my observer, looked at the child, looked at the observer again, and told him to go wash his face off. I'm so glad she was in there because that is a totally unbelievable moment that definitely happened.

yeah girl

2010-02-04T09:52:00.002-07:00

So yesterday during Calendar time in class, we were just kinda sitting and talking because we had a few extra minutes. One of my students said something funny/somewhat obnoxious to me about a certain upcoming holiday (cough Valentine's Day cough) and I pulled a face and said "ha ha." Another one of my students looked at me and said, "Yeah girl, do it!" Since when did it become ok for my kids to call me girl? Who knows. But did it make me laugh? Of course.

2010-01-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

Also, I'm obsessed with Zebra print.

Best way to start a day?

2010-01-04T20:10:00.002-07:00

So I have this new song I'm in love with. Hey Soul Sister by Train. I haven't ever ever heard them play it on the radio, right? And then, as I'm driving to school today, and feeling kinda glum because I don't really want to be back from Hawaii, and I don't really want to go back to school, BAM. On the radio, Hey Soul Sister. Yes, I rocked out for the few minutes it played. And it made my morning all better.

Mele Kalikimaka!

2009-12-25T18:04:00.002-07:00

Aloha from Hawaii! What an excellent place to spend Christmas. The sun is warm, the sand is soft and the water is perfect. It's different being over here and wearing shorts in December, but I'm not complaining. Santa even managed to find us here, with promises of a Hawaiian shirt, so generously provided by the parentals. I definitely wish family and friends could be here too! Mele Kalikimaka!

Oh teaching

2009-12-12T10:34:00.001-07:00

So warm fuzzy moment of the month:

Student: (Standing quietly by teacher's desk)

Teacher: What can I help you with?

Student: (Big deep breath) being in your class warms my heart Miss Waddel.

Yes.

Sophomore Year flashback

2009-11-14T20:55:00.003-07:00

Wow, I just felt like biting your ear!--Misa

No matter what you do Rachel...I WILL smell!--Emily

I'm so tired...I'm cold.--Emily

College is the most expensive way to commit suicide.--Heather

Huh! Are those my PICKLES?? I forgot I had those!--Nicole

Oh I thought there was a small child in here for a second!--Rachel

Do you ever do things way out of order?--Rachel

I'm all about family awkwardness...but not that much!--Alisha

We're like small children...we're all really tired, but we don't want to go to bed.--Sam

I cough in your general direction.--Rachel

It would be like going to dinner with Heather.--Rachel

Well this would be awkward to sit on!--Rachel

Our vacuum doesn't suck...actually, it does.--Heather

It's not rolling it's flying and I think we're all tied to the tracks!--Sam

I just didn't know they didn't celebrate Thanksgiving in Mexico.--Emily

I didn't...think...of that.--Emily

I know! We'll drive into the parking lot...and if they're not open, we won't go in!--Heather

Are we allowed to have this much fun as sophomores?--Heather

We're sophomores! We're supposed to change the world!--Rachel

And a special guest...

By the time you get to kiss a girl, you could do anything...go to war, shoot a man...--Patrick

Happy Halloween, 2nd grade style...

2009-11-02T21:50:00.001-07:00

Would you just take a look at my cute class? Days like this make me think they rock.

My life may just be complete :)

2009-10-13T22:14:00.000-06:00

http://www.ilovetimtamcookies.com/index.html

Why...

2009-10-13T21:40:00.002-06:00

"The world is full of people who will go their whole lives and not actually LIVE one day. I do not intend on being one of them."

I read this on someone's facebook. And I really really liked it. It explains why I live life the way I do.

milestones in my teaching career

2009-10-07T17:39:00.001-06:00

Throw-up by a kid (3 times in 30 seconds): October 7, 2009

Did you know gullible isn't in the dictionary??

2009-10-02T12:40:00.002-06:00

HAHAHA my kids are so gullible it's almost not even funny! Yesterday I brought my iHome system for my iPod, and sometimes it randomly turns on. That happened a couple of times yesterday, and we all pretended it was a "class ghost." Then today I put up Halloween decorations. And I did most of it before school, but there was a little bit I did as the kids got into class. I wrote a note for the kids from the "class ghost" saying "I hope you like the decorations. Happy Halloween!" They totally bought it and are now thoroughly convinced my classroom is haunted. Pictures to come.

Fabulous

2009-09-29T21:14:00.002-06:00

My favorite part about this week is our challenge spelling word--Fabulous. As we walk through the halls, we spell fabulous. When we stand in line, we spell fabulous. We whisper it, we shout it, we sign it. Basically we live and breathe fabulous. Sometimes I even make them do crunches as we are spelling our words because we are working on the -ab family. -ab...abs...crunches...get it?

Finally

2009-09-27T20:33:00.002-06:00

So I've been avoiding posting until I have a great day I can write about. But I realized that by waiting for a great day, I am depriving you all of my everyday stories that are actually quite humorous.

Like for example, one day about 4 weeks ago, I went to go get my kids from lunch. And they all start freaking out and yelling something at me. And so I'm like woah woah, hold up, one at a time. So I ask one girl what is going on. And she said, "P poked a horse and it had a baby!" And I was like, WHAT? And she repeated exactly what she said. So I pulled P over and asked him what happened at recess. And he said to me, "I poked a horse through the fence and it ran away, fell down and started having a baby." So I turn around, walk inside and suppress the memory until this weekend. And now I can laugh about it just a little bit.

All my suppressed school memories are starting to come back to me, so be watching for more! :)

Bugs

2009-09-01T22:30:00.003-06:00

So I'm sitting in my classroom at lunch today, right? And the other intern and the faciliator are both in talking. And one of my students walks in.

MW (Miss Waddel) "Whatcha doing in here? You're supposed to be out at recess."

S (Student) "I'm just here to get my cricket." Obviously.

MW "It's just a toy, right?"

S "No I found him before school and put it in my backpack. He's real."

MW "Oookkaayyy, well, I don't like bugs in my classroom. They make me sick. Get it out of your bag and let him go outside. He'll be happier out there."

S "Ok." Pauses a few seconds. Looks in backpack. Looks again. "My crickets not in here."

MW "Um, I think I'm going to be sick. I really don't like bugs in my classroom."

F (Facilitator) "Ok, I'll help you find your cricket and let's get out of here."

yuck/slightly funny

Another story.

All the second grade teachers are standing at recess talking. A group of like 5 boys walk up to us, and one little boy has a praying mantis in one hand and a grasshopper in the other. He says "Look, the praying mantis will hold the grasshopper!" So he holds up the grasshopper, and slowly, the praying mantis's arms reach around one end, then the other, then the praying mantis pulls the grasshopper up to its face and STARTS SUCKING ITS BLOOD OUT!!! Oh my goodness, that was definitely another, ugh, run-away-so-I-don't-vomit moment.

Oh, just a funny story from the week...

2009-08-28T20:58:00.002-06:00

So this week was 2nd grade Olympics. That meant that each afternoon we had a different activity that we did, like races, tag, aerobics, etc. The first day my class was assigned races and tag, so we obediently went and played outside. The second day we had limbo and jumprope, so we pushed all the desks aside (after putting down tape guidelines) and ended up limbo-ing for 45 minutes. They thought it was so fun! So Thursday we had aerobics and basketball. So I wrote up some activities on the board, like crunches, pushups, dance, limbo, things like that. We made it through a couple of activities, and then it was time to rotate, so I asked if they wanted to go outside and play basketball. All I heard was a huge, "NO!!" So we stayed and kept dancing and playing inside.

At one point in time, I got the class's attention and told them about a dance festival we can participate in. ALL the boys started groaning. So I told them we were going to take a silent vote. I had everyone close their eyes, and I said, "Ok, if you want our class to participate in the dance festival, quietly raise your hand." 22/23 hands shot up. The little boys who protested the loudest earlier had their hands the highest! So, in an almost unanimous vote, we are participating in the first ever Orchard Hills dance festival! Wish me luck! :)

First Week of School!

2009-08-22T09:52:00.002-06:00

Well hello! I think you probably thought I was dead and gone now and my second graders had eaten me alive! Luckily for all of us, I'm still here. School did start on Wednesday, and I have had three days with my 24 students. They are all really cute, but teaching is a lot of work. Strike that, MANAGING is a lot of work. I haven't really started teaching yet. Monday though, teaching time really starts.

One story to close this post. I'll try and get pictures of my class up soon.

The other 2nd grade intern was talking to one of my students, asking her how she liked second grade. She said it's better than first grade because her first grade teacher was mean. So the intern asked how I was. The student said that I was only kinda mean. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. I wanted to be mean, because to them, mean is that your classroom is in control and runs smoothly. So Friday, I worked on being a teacher and being in charge and being "mean" but not degrading. And things went SO MUCH BETTER. I feel so much more like a teacher now than I did 3 days ago.

love my girls!

2009-07-15T23:07:00.002-06:00

Summer lovin

2009-07-09T18:48:00.003-06:00

Oh hey friends!

So summer is flying by! I can't believe that it's already July and I start teaching in August. Crazy. But I'm getting excited. I'm heading down to Santaquin tomorrow to work on my classroom and get things going. Either that will really scare me or really calm me down. I'm hoping the latter. :]

Work as a Sports and Dance Camp Counselor is amazing. I have had so many great girls. And counselor friends. I have two more weeks then I'm done...for this summer. Who knows what will be shakin next summer?? I still have time to figure out life, so why rush it?

Bucket lists

2009-06-20T21:06:00.003-06:00

Is it bad to add things to your bucket list after you've already done them so that you can say you did it later? Because I've done some pretty cool things, but they weren't on my bucket list.

Sports Camp!

2009-06-17T11:15:00.002-06:00

So I started my first week of sports camps! Whoopee! Hope and pray for the best. I have 15-17 year old Swim girls.

If you don't hear from me for a few days, I may or may not have checked myself into an insane asylum... :)

Sports Camp moment of the week

2009-06-17T11:10:00.002-06:00

Oh hello friends! Yes, that's right! It's time for our Sports camp moment of the week, brought to you by the wonderful experiences of Sports and Dance Camps.

Camper: So, like, can we make out with the boys?

Me: Um, no.

Camper: Really? What happens if we do?

Me: You get sent home.

Camper: Are you serious? They'd really send us home?

Me: Yes.

Camper: What if I don't get caught?

Me: You'll get caught.

Camper: What if you catch us?

Me: I'll turn you in.

Camper: Really? You'd turn us in?

Me: Yes. Ok. No making out. You can survive five days, I promise.

Rain rain....

2009-05-24T21:59:00.002-06:00

So it's raining here. Which I kinda love right now. But I want sunshine this week because I love sunshine too.

BUT it was Erica's birthday today! Victoria and I decided that we are the official apartment decorators of the world. Pretty much we rock.

Yes, I had all of this already at the apartment. And I still have more.

Make a wish!

I told them to act like they were friends...riiiight...... :)

Well, here's to a busy but fun week!

Back to life...

2009-05-14T09:18:00.003-06:00

So I've officially been home a month. Weird. Way weird. I think I left a piece of me in New Zealand though. Which is a big problem. But oh well. I guess I'll just have to go get it sometime.

So what has the incredibly insane Heather Waddel been up to as of late?

School. Heaps of school.
Work. Heaps of work.
Moving. Come visit me in my apt. Brittany #27
Dancing. Random dances parties. My place. Anytime.
Running
Eating. Tim tam slams, mexican rice and tortilla chips, chocolate chips.
Playing. What good spring/summer student doesn't play?

Sounds somewhat productive, aye? I kinda like it.

"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination." --Mark Twain

Best Weekend Ever

2009-03-28T13:30:00.003-06:00

Hello All!! So we are finished up in the schools officially. Wow, that makes me so sad! I love the children and spending time with them. I'm really gonna miss them.

Straightaway after school on Thursday, we drove to Coromandel. It is this beautiful little peninsula that has amazing beaches and landscape. We stayed right off of Hot Water Beach. So Friday we played all day on Hot Water Beach.

The cool thing about Hot Water Beach is that for about 3 or 4 hours everyday during low tide, you can dig out little pools and hot water will rise from the sand. You can then sit in these hot pools.

Saturday morning I caught the sunrise over the ocean. I think this is probably the best sunrise I've seen ever. The picture doesn't even do it justice.

Saturday we went to Cathedral Cove. This is where part of Prince Caspian was filmed. It was beautiful.

If you've seen Prince Caspian, this is from the beginning when they walk out of the train station onto the beach. This is the beach they walk out on. Absolutely beautiful.

This is our fabulous BYU group. LOVE EVERYONE! :)

Have I told you how much I love my life?

2009-03-21T22:29:00.003-06:00

Oh hi everyone!

So this weekend was probably a little bit too much fun. It decided to be summer here again...hooray! So, like all good, beach-loving BYU girls do, we go to the beach. TWO DAYS STRAIGHT. Yes, that's basically the definition of amazing.

So Friday, we went to Waiheke Island. It was this beautiful little place with nice white sandy beaches and warm water. We got there about noon, and the beach was empty. There were seven of us, and we were the only ones there. It was amazing. We frolicked and played the islander way, walking in a beach-filled wonderland.

This was taken from a cool secluded little cove at the end of Oneroa beach.

The next day, after a fantastic service project, we went to another beach. This one is called Tawharanui (Ta-fa-ra-nu-ee). Anchor Bay, for those of you non-Maori speakers. It was basically amazing. The sun was shining bright, the sand was beautifully white, and the waves were amazing.

And so I leave this post with this parting message:

Love you all and I shall see you soon!

Well Hello Again!

2009-03-17T20:44:00.003-06:00

I know it's been a while. I just feel like I haven't had much to say lately. But things are going really well here.

We've been working in the schools for 5 weeks now, and yesterday, I took the class for the whole day. The teacher didn't say a word, it was all me. And it was fun! It was exhausting though. These are some of my kids at lunch.
Everyday for 20 minutes, we have a fitness break. I am in charge of "jump jams". Basically you just dance for 20 minutes. A couple of weeks ago I taught them "Cotton Eyed Joe" so we've been doing some country dancing the last little while. Most the time though, it's R&B and hip hop music.
Yes, my kids can flash better gang signs than me. haha
This is our friend Conrad. He is a fantastic cook and came and cooked dinner for us the other night. I still don't remember exactly how we bamboozled him into that one, but I'm not complaining!!
This is me at the Sky Tower. We ate at a revolving restaurant. The food was amazing, and we were eating like 100 m in the air. Pretty sweet as.

I celebrated my birthday on Saturday. Lame that I don't have pictures. I managed to break my camera, so I have now bought a new one. Happy birthday to me. haha. But we went to this fantastic Island festival, Pasifika. There were thousands of people all at a park eating and listening to music and dancing and shopping. It was so cool!

Well, the countdown is official. I'm kinda freaking out a bit though. I'm not quite ready to leave this place yet. It's crazy. But I'm excited to see family and friends soon!

Love to all!

NZ schools

2009-02-20T19:45:00.002-07:00

A little run home in the rain never hurt anyone...

Hello All!

So we finished our first week of being in the schools. Wow, it is different! I mean, kids are kids wherever you go, but the teaching and management style is very different here.

We began on Tuesday with a powhiri (pronounced por-fi-di), held at Ranui school. That is a Maori welcoming ceremony that officially welcomed us into the classes. It gave me goosebumps. The kids were so behaved and involved.

We then went over to our school, Henderson South. I met my teacher, Miss Karaka. And I met my year 4/5 class. They are 3rd/4th grade age, so there's a range from 7-10. They are really low learners. Like probably lower than the 2nd grade class I was in last semester. The class is mostly Pacific Islander, probably 50% of which are Samoan, then 25% Maori, and then the other 25% is Caucasian, Burmese, African, and Indian. It is a really unique experience to be in this class with so many varied cultures. I love it.

The one main difference I have noticed in management is they are not afraid to yell at their students. Voices are never raised in America, so coming here and hearing that is quite the shock! I get scared too! They have told us that the BYU girls are too nice, but I haven't seen that as a problem yet, and the kids are still behaved when I'm in charge. A little bit of positivity goes a long way!

Waitomo and Rotorua

2009-02-13T17:53:00.003-07:00

Blackwater rafting. Yes we really had to wear these ridiculous outfits, and I loved every minute of it. haha

Allow me to explain. This is Prime Minister John Key. Basically one of the most powerful politicians in New Zealand. And he just happened to show up at Waitomo Caves the same time we were there.

Zorbing. Everyone should do this at least once in their life. Seriously mean as!

This is the Zorbing hill. Sweet.

Well, we just got back from another adventure! We went to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves and blackwater rafted through them. It was totally wicked! The little bugs just glowed. And we jumped off waterfalls, floated with eels, and it was all basically in the dark. So cool!

After rafting, we went to a fruit stand, then came back to pick up the other girls. While we were waiting, guess who comes pulling up in his brand new BMW 7 series? That's right, PM John Key! So we were snapping pictures from the van, and then BAM! He starts walking toward us. So we got to pose and snap heaps of pictures and ya. Cool.

After the caves, we drove to Rotorua. Right when we got there we went Zorbing. That was so fun. I just laughed the whole way down the hill. I want to open a Zorbing station in Utah. What do ya think? :)

Christchurch...chch for short

2009-02-10T04:29:00.004-07:00

This is a Christian church on the Marae outside of Akaroa.

Punting on the Avon.

Christchurch Cathedral

Tram through town. Hallie, Stacy, Megan, me.

New Brighton Pier

After a long drive from Queenstown, we finally made it to Christchurch (chch). There were some magnificent markets on Saturday, Church on Sunday, and a CES fireside Sunday night. It was the same one from a month ago for all you BYU folks. I hadn't seen it yet, and watching everyone there in the Marriott Center made me miss BYU hardcore. We were able to relax a lot in chch, which was nice and needed. There were some cool museums and such and beautiful gardens too. We spent some time driving in the area, like to Akaroa, Sumner, and New Brighton.

LOTR Horseback ride

2009-02-10T03:57:00.004-07:00

This is where Boromir (I think that's how you spell it) got shot by the 3 massive arrows. Funny story about this. Initially Peter Jackson wanted to hire a professional archer to really shoot the actor, but luckily the archer said no. So Peter started practicing archery so he could shoot the actor himself. He wanted to get the real look of fear and terror on his face. Then, Health and Safety stepped in and stopped that idea.

This is the valley where Isengard was set, as well as a scene from Prince Caspian. And this is my horse Scar. And he really does have a big scar, but I don't know what from.

More Isengard land and the Remarkables mountain range

That little clearing is where Isengard was. The tower in the movie was actually only 6 feet tall. Gotta love computer animation.

Hallie, myself and Michelle in front of a beautiful lake on our way to Paradise.

So I went for a really great horseback ride. They took us through Paradise, which is where a lot of movies are filmed, such as LOTR, Prince Caspian, Werewolf...ya, cool. Anyways, here are some pictures. I can't believe the landscape. It is amazing. The water is super clear and like bright blue because it's glacier water. And the trees are green and when you get in the birch forests, it just sparkles. I just wish everyone could see what I see. No joke.

Hang Gliding

2009-02-10T03:38:00.005-07:00

Yes, I hate to say it, but I have a pretty cool life. I went hang gliding down in Queenstown. It was amazing.

Lauren took this picture for me as I was flying away.

This is our launching area. And this is the super cool gear I get to wear...

During the flight, they took pictures and video and such. This is the video he took as we were coming in for a landing. It's kinda loud, but all it is is rushing air. Just thought I'd warn you though.

Milford Sound

2009-02-10T03:34:00.004-07:00

We passed under the "fountain of youth" that was supposed to make me 10 years younger. But by golly, it didn't work because I'm still 20. Weird. I just got soaking wet though. Totally worth it. :)

Milford Sound. It was beautiful, and so so cold.

This is Hallie, my car trip/boat trip/plane trip/walking trip buddy and friend. Basically she rocks.

I wish my hair would do this all the time. It was so windy up top, but I love the feeling of wind in my face and hair.

Queenstown

2009-02-10T03:08:00.002-07:00

This was the beautiful lake just outside our hotel. No joke. I woke up to this every morning. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't still dreaming.

This is a place called Deer Park Heights. There were about 6 or so scenes from LOTR filmed in this park. I got attacked by llamas too. :) My friend has a picture, so I'll make sure to post it soon.

This is just another view of Lake Wakatipu. It was so incredibly clear. Amazing.

Oh the Luge. I felt like a five year old riding down this as fast as I could. I have never giggled so hard in my life for so long! It was way too much fun.

Queenstown--Monday 2 February through Friday 6 February

Monday. We arrived bright and early in Queenstown and left right away for the Shotover Jet (separate post). After that, we went to Arrowtown and shopped and looked around a bit. Then we went and rode the gondola and the luge. It was heaps of fun!

Tuesday. We went to Milford Sound. That was beautiful. It was a bit chilly, but so worth it. (separate post)

Wednesday. Today we booked all of our adventures for tomorrow and just shopped and relaxed all day. We read and napped for a little bit down by the lake. I am still amazed at how beautiful it was. I wish everyone could see through my eyes, because the pictures don't do it justice.

Thursday. Adventure day. (separate post)

Friday. Driving. All day long. We drove from Queenstown to Christchurch. It took about 8 hours in the car, with a few stops here and there. Thank heaven for iPods.

Shotover Jet

2009-02-10T02:57:00.004-07:00

This is a Shotover Jet Boat. And this is our driver, Glenn. Basically what you do on a shotover jet boat is fly across the water at super high speeds and come as close as dangerously possible to the canyon walls. Glenn, although he may deny it, secretly loved having 12 girls scream every time he did anything remotely terrifying.

Roommates know what's hot. Puffy jackets, long black rain coats. what what.

happy happy

2009-01-31T14:17:00.003-07:00

Go Blue!!

Honeymoon Cove

mm hmm. I'm definitely in love with NEW ZEALAND!!!

If I had to describe my heaven...it would probably be something like this.

Hello Friends!!

Well we did it! We officially finished our uni classes! Maths this week was fun, but boy oh boy they were super long days. Sitting and listening to the same person for 8 hours is a long time, but when it's for 4 days straight...it gets really hard. Luckily we had some good activities and such to keep us alert. This weekend was fun. Friday was Sarah's birthday. We went to a rugby game, New Zealand Blues vs. Australia Reds. Of course the Blues won. I definitely bleed blue (Go Cougs!!) We had some nice Poly boys with us who were more than happy to explain the rules...over and over. We came back to the house and had pizza and cake and watched a movie. Saturday was a blast! We went to Piha beach, one of the black sand beaches on the west side of the island. So we were looking at the Tasman Sea. The waves there are pretty ferocious. They were having a lifeguard competition with a big canoe race. That was really really cool to watch. We did a little bit of hiking to another more protected beach called Honeymoon Cove. It was really cool to watch the waves crash against the huge rocks. On our way back we stopped at Karekare falls and hiked to those as well. It was so beautiful. We then drove home. We had three drivers taking us around, Dr. Jacobs, James Amu (he rocks), and a YSA from James' ward, Carl. Carl took Lauren and me to the mall because Lauren wanted to get a cell phone, and I needed some new jandals. So he hung out with us for a bit, and then took us home. Remind me when I get home that I have a super great story for you. Last night, we just hung out and started getting ready to go to the South Island! Love to all!

Heather

Piha Beach and Group Photo!

2009-01-30T20:32:00.002-07:00

Hello Everyone!!!

Well, this is our whole group! We're on a walk back from beautiful Piha Beach and Honeymoon Cove. We have so much fun together!!

love

Party!!

2009-01-29T21:22:00.001-07:00

Party Bus, take 2.

We went on another party bus! Except this one was totally pimped out. There was space to dance and chill and everything! This is most of the BYU girls and some of the YSA ward we go to.

2009-01-25T22:45:00.003-07:00

Orewa Beach. It was apparantly "super crowded" today...

This is how I spent my January 26. Happy Auckland Anniversary!!

Please don't hate me...I come in peace!! :)

Hello All!

I know I just updated yesterday, but I wanted to drop in again and wish you all a Happy Auckland Anniversary. No, I don't know how many years they've been celebrating, but I do know it gave me a day off of class! So we went to the beach and played for probably 6 hours. It was beautiful. The water was calm and cool. We got to try a little surfing even!

Hello again!

2009-01-25T04:39:00.005-07:00

Michelle and me and the Sky Tower!

Fish Face for Fish food!

Fish and chips...yum!

Hello again friends!

Life is great down here in the land of the long white cloud. We finished two more uni classes, which is great!! Yesterday, we went to the Auckland Seafood Festival! It was heaps of fun and there were all sorts of people there. It was a sweet as time! Today in church, the BYU girls sang the special musical number. That was fun. I love being able to participate in church and I learn so much more when I'm involved. Today was super hot. There was like no breeze and no air conditioning. Perfect combo for an awesome Sunday nap. We had a "cottage evening" at a bishopric member's home. It was so fun to get together and talk and eat. Then we came back and played "What If" and Mafia. Good times. Anyways, hope you all are doing great! Love to all! :)

bye bye Baron!

2009-01-22T20:51:00.002-07:00

So our friend and ride everywhere Baron left us this Sunday for Australia! What are we supposed to do without him?

This is a roommate picture as well :) There's Juliet, Me, Baron, Sarah, and Lauren. We probably have too much fun together.

Just some things we do in class...

2009-01-22T20:33:00.004-07:00

If you look close, you can see balloons under the table. We fit 5 girls on the table before one balloon popped.

This little friend came for an unexpected visit today in class! He was only about an inch long. Cool, huh?

Yum.

Oh, I heard the happiness.

This makes us look like we drink heaps of pop, juice and other things. And we do. But when you sit for 8 hours, you need a little something to keep you awake!

Well hello! Life is good out here in New Zealand. School has kept us pretty busy this week. We've had real homework in science! Not just reading and such, but real papers to write. So that's been good. We've had some fun activities with the YSA ward, like basketball and tonight we have a relief society sleepover.

sweet as bro

2009-01-17T14:13:00.002-07:00

Hello All!

So what has been happening the last few days? Well, Thursday we just finished two of our courses, literacy and assessment. I'm really excited about that! Thursday night we went and cleaned the old house. And then Friday, we started Social Studies. It was fun. I'm actually really excited for that class this week. Friday night we went to North Head. It is an old military bunker with tunnels and caves underground. It was so so so scary! We were walking through, and I definitely felt like I was in a scary horror film. I thought I was going to die. But lucky for you all, I'm still here! :) Saturday was a long but adventure filled day! We went to Kelly Tarlton's Undersea Adventure. It is a really cool aquarium with lots to see. They have penguins, sting rays, sharks, and heaps of fish from New Zealand waters. After that, we went to Auckland and went shopping. The shopping here is amazing! There is so much to see and do and buy! We had tons of fun walking around there and just exploring. And getting home was an adventure as well. We figured out the bus system, which made me feel smart! haha Anyways, it's off to church for me now!

Xena Warrior Princess

2009-01-14T21:02:00.003-07:00

Yes, in case you are wondering, Xena, Warrior Princess was filmed in New Zealand. But do you want to know the best part?! We just moved yesterday. And the house where we now live is in the jungle where Xena Warrior Princess was filmed. Yes, I am going to become Xena, only with more clothes on.

My new address is

34B Brookwood Dr.

Henderson

Auckland

New Zealand

0612

Hooray for New Zealand! We have a really great house now. It's really big and has enough room for all of us! There are six people living there, 4 BYU girls and our host parents. Anna and Dion are really just the greatest! It has been heaps of fun living with them!

Another day in paradise!

2009-01-12T23:03:00.002-07:00

Hello again!

Well, things are still beautiful here in New Zealand! We've had heaps of fun figuring out the area and meeting all sorts of new people. We went to the YSA ward on Sunday, which was fun! Everyone was really excited to have us there. Afterwards they had a bit of a "linger longer" where we all ate food and just stayed and talked. It was sweet as! Monday, class started again. That was good, but the days are just long! We went swimming that night at the high school though, which was lots of fun! We got to kayak a little bit too, which was great because I had never kayaked before. Then we came home and tried to do some homework, but I kept falling asleep. No bueno. So I went to bed. We had class again today, and during lunch, Sarah and I went up to the Pak-n-Sav and got Tim Tams. I think the best way to describe Tim Tams would be heaven on earth. It's chocolate covered chocolate filled chocolate wafers. Yes, basically divine.

Oh and today we had American hot dogs. They were pretty good, not quite a ball park frank grilled in the backyard over the summer, but still pretty delicious. We are getting ready for our move tomorrow, so I'm not sure when we'll have internet again. Hopefully it will be soon, but if not, I'll make sure to do a good post when we get back!

Until then!

Phrases I've learned...

2009-01-10T23:11:00.003-07:00

So they do things a little bit different here...obviously. But we are all picking up some really cool slang! I'll keep a little listing and keep it updated for you all.

rubbish-trash

togs-swimsuits

sausage sizzle-bbq

sweet as-cool, awesome. The best part is you can say any word in place of sweet, like cool as, cute as, etc.

heaps-lots of something

Happy Saturday!

2009-01-09T20:53:00.005-07:00

Hallie, Michelle and me at Long Bay. Gotta love underwater cameras!

Sarah and I on a rope swing at Waikere bay. We were off the ground...I promise!

Sarah and me on the party bus!

Beautiful Long Bay in the evening. Sorry for all you snowed in folks out there! :)

Hello Friends! Happy Saturday from the South Pacific!

We have had all sorts of fun adventures the last couple of days. On Thursday we started class. It was super long, but a lot of fun. We are focusing on Literacy and Assessment right now. Thursday night we went with Anna and Dion and their family to Long Bay for a "sausage sizzle." We wore our togs (swimming suits) but didn't actually get in the water which is a bummer because it was beautiful. But we were eating instead. Friday we had class again. Literacy in the morning, but then in the afternoon we got a little break and had a culture class. We sang heaps of Maori songs, made headbands and flowers using flax leaves, and danced some Maori dances. It was so fun! That night we went on a party bus for Baron's (Dion's nephew) birthday. We ate fish and chips, and rode all around Auckland just to check out the sights. We met a lot of the YSA people in the area, which was fun for us...and them! They kinda confessed to counting down for when the BYU girls come. It's really funny to hear their side of the story. Because obviously all of us have been excited to come here, and they are excited for us to come too! :)

Today we went as a group to Waiaka bay and Long Bay again. It was a bit cloudy, which you would think means no sunburn...but Sarah and I thought wrong! We look a bit like lobsters! haha oh well, lesson learned. Always put sunscreen on in New Zealand! We have heaps of homework to get caught up on, but I just wanted to post a quick update for all y'all! Love to all!

We Made It!!

2009-01-06T17:05:00.003-07:00

After many many hours of sitting on a plane...we finally made it to NEW ZEALAND!!! Crazy, I know. We're starting to get settled and everything. It's really beautiful here. It's really very green and beautiful. And I forgot to mention that it's summer. Fabulous fabulous summer.

We got in today around 6:15 am. After going through customs and such, we met up with our professor, Dr. Jacobs. He introduced us to our host family, Anna and Dion Hettig. They brought us back to their home, and we unpacked a little bit. Then we went to get breakfast, grocery shopping, and house hunting. They are planning on moving this week, so we get to move too! It will be loads of fun!

We are going to have a barbeque on the beach tonight and meet some of Dion's family. I'm really excited for that. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the beach!!

Well, that's all for now, but I'll try to be good about keeping this updated!!

Ok so rather than have 6 million posts, I just posted one for today, so I put a picture up of us at the beach this evening. So splendid!

Well, I'm off to see the world!

2009-01-04T10:17:00.002-07:00

Well, tomorrow is the big day! I'm going to NEW ZEALAND!! I'll only be gone three months though, so you can't miss me too much. :) I got the address of where I'm going to be staying, which is super exciting!

Anna + Dion Hettig
2/53 Tabitha Cres, Henderson Valley, Waitakere City, New Zealand
Home Ph: 09 838 5546 Mob: 027-6181694

Wish me luck!

Christmas Break!!

2008-12-23T11:12:00.002-07:00

Oh goodness, I LOVE being home! I love Christmas time more than anything ever! It's all about family and food and fun and friends and films and...fmusic (I had to stick with the f theme :)). It doesn't get much better than that. And this year, we're having a MAJOR white Christmas! That makes me so so so happy! Except when I have to drive, and high-center my car on a snow drift. That's not so happy. I'll put up some pictures soon enough of our happy Christmas house, and my happy family!

Merry Christmas and here's to many more!

It's beginning to look a lot like...finals

2008-12-04T16:00:00.002-07:00

So I'm starting to get overwhelmed by how much I have to do in the next couple of weeks. And the problem with that is when I get overwhelmed, I just want to take a nap. So I did that today. And man did that nap feel good! But it didn't help me get my homework done. Oh well. :)

OMG TWILIGHT! haha

2008-11-28T16:11:00.002-07:00

So I went and saw Twilight today. ya, that was funny. I just chuckled through the whole movie, which I'm sure was super annoying to everyone around me. But really. The movie was so cheesy. Like I have never seen anything cheesier in my life. The sappy love lines from the book...still sappy. wow. So I laughed at them all. But I liked the movie. I thought it was well paced and didn't drag. So that is my personal review.

Anyways, onto life. I love Thanksgiving. I love not having school. I love sleeping in my home. I love sleeping in, even after I go to bed early. It's weird to think about last Thanksgiving though, and everything that's happened in a year. And it's weird to think about next Thanksgiving and everything that will/could happen. I like talking with my dad about things like this, because he just listens. Granted, I usually get him while he's like driving, hanging Christmas lights, or mopping, so he kinda has to listen to me talk about life.

Speaking of Christmas lights...We started setting up all of our Christmas stuff! Hooray! I LOVE CHRISTMAS !!! I just got summoned to go help, so that's all for now folks!

Heather

November

2008-11-25T07:24:00.002-07:00

Happy Friday! Oh wait, it's Tuesday. But really I go to my Friday class. Because it's Thanksgiving Break! Hurrah! And as of today, there are 41 days until I go to NZ. Double Hurrah! The practicum finished yesterday. I miss my kids, but I like not going crazy, because basically I was. :) Anyways, I'm going to go to class now, but I just thought this little beauty needed some sort of an update.

Fall Break

2008-10-15T16:50:00.000-06:00

Hello friends!

I hope everyone is doing well this week. I am having a fabulous week. It's unofficially fall break! That means we get to have a little adventure every night. Such fun. Anyways, nothing too crazy is going on in my life. Just cruising through and having fun. Anyways, love you all.

Decisions decisions

2008-10-08T22:16:00.000-06:00

So today, I decided I needed to be more politically active. So I wanted to get caught up on what's going on in the world...like presidential elections, prop 8, the economy. So here are my opinions on things.

Presidential election: McCain/Palin. Although no candidate is perfect, I think they support the things I believe in.

Prop 8: VOTE YES. Marriage is between a man and a woman. This is so important to me. As a future teacher, I know for a fact I cannot teach that marriage can be defined in any other way. I would be extremely uncomfortable teaching any other standard.

Economy: They just need to ride it out. Let it go. Things go up and down all the time. I think the gov. bailout isn't gonna work like they hope. I think things will calm down once the election is over.

So that is just a little update on my opinions. Now as far as an update on my life. School is good. It's busy like usual, but a lot of fun. This week has been a little less crazy. But we'll see how long that lasts! General Conference last weekend was phenomenal. I love listening to modern-day prophets and apostles speak to us. It really just keeps life in perspective. So the take-home message for tonight...find joy in the journey. love to all!

Happy October!

2008-10-01T16:31:00.000-06:00

Mmm, think of all the deliciousness Halloween brings! On that note, think of all the deliciousness every holiday brings!! Anyways, I thought I'd put my thoughts out to the world wide web again, since, let's be honest, does anyone actually read this? I highly doubt it. But I'm trying to get in the habit for next semester.
Next semester? you ask. Yes, next semester. I got accepted into the New Zealand Teacher Education Study Abroad! And boy oh boy am I excited! So I wanted to be able to have all my experiences available for my peeps, and so I'm writing on here.

The end.

It's been a while...

2008-09-16T20:47:00.000-06:00

So it's been a while since I've posted in this blog. Life just gets crazy busy, and I just run out of hours in the day to get everything done. Plus we don't have internet at my apartment and sometimes I feel silly blogging at the library. But here I am, taking a break from homework so I don't lose my mind. Not to brag or anything, but I've been on campus 13 hours today. Between a 3-hour class, 5 hours of work, and 1.5 hour class, I've been busy. muy busy. And now I'm just in the library. I decided to make this my second home. It's great. Anyways, not much is new in my life. I'm moved into my apartment. I'm in class and work basically all the time. I get to play some on weekends. Basically though, I love life. I love being busy. I love class, I love work, and I love periodicals. Yay me!

2008-08-18T18:03:00.000-06:00

So we went to Sea World when we were in La Jolla. Of course the first thing we do is run to the water ride, and of course I sat in the seat that got drenched. So basically I was soaking all day long. brr

Cabin fun

2008-08-07T21:31:00.000-06:00

Yay for fun times at the cabin! These definitely make for the best wishes of all!

As far as adventures go...

2008-08-01T17:06:00.000-06:00

So I haven't had much in the form of adventures. Monday, we went up to my house for the coolest fireworks ever. We were basically laying right underneath the colorful bursts. SO COOL! Then last night we played a pretty good prank. There was this bat that was just sitting on the wall outside our friends apartment and we had talked about how we were going to capture it and put it in a box. So, due to some amazing timing, the bat flew away sometime on Thursday, after our discussion, and Em and I cut our friends hair that was a perfect color. So we created a "bat" in a box, and totally fooled everyone. Obviously we are hilarious!
So now I have a week left of living in Liberty Square. And then I get to go to CALI!! Yay! Definitely a much needed break.

First Post

2008-07-21T18:39:00.001-06:00

So this is a new blog. And this is my first post. Hooray. I'm really going to try and do better about actually writing. It really is fun. So what's new in life? Not a whole lot to be honest. Now that I'm back from Europe, I've just been working and playing. Maybe when I post some pictures I'll have more stories to tell.