My Fantastic Day!

So, my birthday is tomorrow and my students have been so excited. I love my birthday, but I couldn't figure out why they were so excited. I had heard a few things and thought they were planning something, but I didn't know what was in store. My friend Lauri (who works at my school) took me out to lunch yesterday. We went to one of my favorite places, Kneaders, and I had my favorite sandwich, Turkey Bacon Avocado. It was nice to get out of the school for a bit and visit with an awesome friend! Little did I know, my students were back at the school decorating my classroom for my surprise party. I got back and had to let the 5th Grade classes in from recess. My students went in before me. When I opened the door they all yelled "surprise." It was very chaotic, but I tried so hard to step out of the teacher role and let them have a little fun. I found out later that they had been planning this for quite a while. One of the students collected a dollar from every student to buy a cake (which another good friend, Amy, purchased and brought to the school. Thanks Amy!!!). One student brought drinks, and others brought ice cream, balloons, streamers, etc. They plugged my laptop into the classroom sound system and turned on my favorite songs. Every detail of the party had been thought out and planned. Needless to say, I've always known I have the best class and this just goes on to prove it! They are awesome and I LOVED my party!!! Thank you to all of my fabulous students and friends who helped with my fun party! (We got some really cute pictures, but I can't show student's faces. Here are some that are okay.)

They got me a fun hat to wear. They made sure it was red, my favorite color.

Here is the cute and yummy cake!

Kori's 40th Birthday Gift

My friend Kori turned 40 on January 26th. Another one of my friends had a party for her on Friday the 29th. We had a ton of fun! My plan for her present was to make forty dollar roses. I am so glad that my friend Tina was willing to go in on it with me. We realized how long they were going to take so we recruited some help (a huge thanks to Laura, Tamera, Sherry, and Lauri...we wouldn't have gotten all the roses rolled without them). I'd have to say that the bouquet turned out pretty cute. I forgot to take pictures of it until we got to the party and Kori didn't want to take the cellophane off so the roses are kind of hard to see. Here they are anyway:

Christmas/Las Vegas Trip

It's been a while since I posted last. I was able to go home for Christmas and had a great time. Chad was home from Christmas Eve until the 27th. Kristen, Rick, and Gracie came on the 31st and I left to go back with them on the 5th of January. I didn't get any pictures while I was there...terrible, I know!

I was also able to go visit cousin Jen and her family in Las Vegas. I think I've said this before, but Jen's family and my family lived about a block away from each other from the time I was six. Because of this, Jen and her brother Blake are more like siblings to Chad, Kristen, and me. We feel very fortunate to be so close to them! Well, I was supposed to go alone, but Kristen, Gracie, and my mom were able to come as well. My great-aunt on my mom's side passed away on January 7th. She had Down's Syndrome and was 67 (a pretty long life to live with Down's if you ask me). They held her funeral in L.A. on January 16th (which would've been her 68th birthday). My mom flew in to Salt Lake to drive with my grandparents to the services in L.A. Kristen and Gracie came, too. They stopped in Las Vegas and Kristen and Gracie stayed while my mom, uncle Mark (who lives in Vegas), and grandparents went to L.A. We had a ton of fun. Carter had his birthday party while we were there. He had a pirate party and I was able to make the cupcakes. I didn't take pictures, but I am borrowing some from Jen's blog (thanks Jen).

The kids were pretty goofy as you can see from the next pictures.

Gracie ran around trying to be one of the big kids and had a lot of fun with her cousins the whole weekend. The three kids were sitting on the floor watching T.V. and Gracie got down there to be part of the bunch.

I didn't get any pictures of Kate (their new baby...born November 4th), but luckily Jen had another one I could borrow. :)

Drew left to go to Haiti for the Air Force while I was there. He was called Friday and left by Monday. It was hard for Jen and the kids to say goodbye, but it will be a wonderful experience for Drew. Please remember to keep him and the other people over there in your thoughts and prayers.

My Christmas Tree

I was so excited to get a tree up this year.  I found a decent one on sale at a Black Friday sale for $25.  I had bought some ornaments last year on sale that I love.  I put them on and it still needed more.  My friend (who is also our school secretary) came over to help me make it cute.  I LOVE how it turned out!  Thanks, Tina!

Thanksgiving

I was lucky enough to have my parents come to visit in Utah for Thanksgiving.  They were here for about a week.  Kristen, Rick, and Gracie came for a few days as well.  Kristen and I had fun baking some pies for Thanksgiving night (even though we ended up not eating them until the next day...long story).  Kristen was very proud of her pie crust so I had to take a picture.  I also took a picture of the pie that I made.  I think it looked nice, but I wasn't a fan of how it tasted...a weird mix of flavors.  Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with family and friends!

Oh my little sister is so cute...doesn't she look so excited!

And here's my pie...so pretty (just wished it tasted as good as it looked)!

WICKED!

My mom, sister, and I went to go see Wicked at the Paramount Theater in Seattle this past Saturday. It was amazing! I have wanted to see it for a really long time. It was in Salt Lake a couple months ago, but the tickets sold out too fast for me to get some. I was so excited when my mom called me a few months ago and said she was able to get some tickets for one of the Seattle shows. It was definitely worth the wait! I highly recommend it to anyone who has the chance to see it!

Theno's Cow

I am in Seattle for the week. Rick, Kristen, and Gracie were here this past weekend as well. We were all talking about how we didn't take any pictures of Gracie during this trip. This is the only picture we took.

It is down the hill at Theno's Dairy. They have really yummy ice cream (especially their pumpkin ice cream). We took a quick trip down there to get some the night before Kristen and her family left.