Dreams Come True

This week I get to do something big on my bucket list-- go to the U.S. Open! This has been something I have wanted to do for a while now, but the timing has never worked out. When I was attending BYU-Idaho, I couldn't miss my first week of school to go to a tennis tournament. The timing isn't ideal this year, but it's workable.

My favorite sport to watch and play is tennis. I can thank my brother, Joel, for this. Joel played in high school and is an excellent tennis player. I know I'm biased because I'm his sister, but he is a member of a tennis club and plays regularly. The good news is that Joel is going to the U.S. Open with me! It will be fun to be in New York City with someone who cares about tennis as much as I do.

I believe we have tickets to watch 4 sessions of tennis. One of those sessions we splurged and bought really expensive tickets. In fact, we will be sitting on the first row. I can hardly wait. I wish I knew who would be playing each other.

Every year my family fills out a U.S. Open tennis bracket. As much as I know about tennis, I never seem to win. I think I get a little too emotionally involved when filling out my bracket. It's hard for me to decide who should win. This year I have Andy Murray winning (I can still change my bracket until midnight tonight though so that may change). Murray is NOT my favorite player because of his poor sportsmanship and attitude on the tennis court. He swears constantly and gets really upset. It's sometimes funny to watch, but I don't think it's very classy.

While in New York, Joel and I have tickets to see "Wicked" on Broadway. I have seen "Wicked" twice, but Joel never has. I can't wait. We also plan to do a little sightseeing when we aren't watching tennis.

As excited as I am for this trip, it's also going to be a lot of work to go. I have to write sub plans for 3 days! Bleh. Not my favorite thing to do. Luckily I know my sub and know that my class will be in good hands. I'm also a little bummed because the following week, Andrew will be going to WA for a hike with his brothers. I will be gone for 5 nights and a little less than a week after I get back Andrew will leave for 4 nights. Too bad our trips didn't overlap.

I'm absolutely devastated that Roger Federer will NOT be at the tournament. He is by far my favorite player for a couple of reasons. #1 Roger is even-headed. He rarely gets angry. #2 Roger has not one, but TWO sets of twins. I love that he is a family man. I have always jokingly said that my dream would be to be Roger's nanny. How cool would that be!

Arthur Ashe Stadium is calling my name. Don't be surprised when my next post is about the U.S. Open because I can almost bet it will be. Yes, this dream of mine definitely deserves 2 posts.

Back in Session

School started yesterday. I'm surprised at myself. I'm blogging right now and am completely exhausted. We don't have any fresh fruit. The milk is nearly gone. The laundry needs attended to and the kitchen is a mess. I forgot what the first couple of days are like.

I have been so nervous/anxious/excited that I have been waking up at 1:45am thinking it's time to get going for the day. I'm hoping that this won't happen tonight, but who knows.

I think things are more crazy than last year because school started on a Monday this year. I've always been a fan of easing my way into the school year and starting school on a Wednesday last year was perfect.

I'm excited for the year ahead though. My class definitely has a much different dynamic than last year. They are chatty, but very smart. Also, the girl to boy ratio is INSANE. I have 18 boys and 10 girls. Too bad it isn't 18 girls and 10 boys. haha. I did just have 2 boys move though, so it used to be 20 boys and 10 girls.

I have never been more ready to teach content. It gets tedious teaching routines all day, but they are definitely necessary. It will be nice once the routines are past us though and we can just focus on learning. :)

I didn't make too many changes to my classroom this year. I need to take some pictures. I will post them eventually, but that is low on my list at this point. Here is a picture of me from yesterday morning. Notice that it is still kind of dark outside.

And no, the lab coat is not a fashion statement just in case you were wondering. All of the teachers have them and we were asked to wear them the first day. They say our new school theme for the year on them: Launch into Learning. (By the way, I am the one who came up with this saying which is funny to me. Did not think this would be the new theme.) Our theme ties into STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics). We are going to be doing some projects this year that cause the mind to think in different ways and to use problem solving.

It's time to put my feet up. Tomorrow will be here before I know it. I know my hard work from last year will pay off eventually and that hopefully my second year will be easier!

Blur

I'm in denial that it's August. What happened to July? Not working this summer has been so relaxing yet busy at the same time. Our house is looking unrecognizable. All 3 of the upstairs bedrooms are now painted! The fresh white ceiling and walls makes a huge difference. I love our blue walls in the master bedroom. The room was blue before but very dirty and in dire need of paint. We went with a slightly different blue and I LOVE it. I'm glad Andrew convinced me to stick with the blue. Notice the curtains. Not pictured well, but they are black out curtains and at noon they make it seem like midnight.

Not having to look up at blood splatters all over the ceiling anymore is a relief.

This is the old master bedroom blue. I had to buy so many paint samples to finally make up my mind.

One of the bedrooms upstairs was SO dark and of course the ceiling was that same dark color. I decided to go with a light and airy color to make the small room seem bigger. I love how it turned out. Here is a comparison of the new and old color.

Too bad I had already painted the ceiling white in this picture.

Taping the ceiling and baseboards was tedious. The 3rd bedroom is this same color, so no need to post a picture. There were so many holes in the wall. Just on one wall alone, I had to patch 20 different places.

You would think that we're done painting now, but we are not. We are taking a break from painting for a bit though. 

July also included a run. It was supposed to be a 5k, but was only 2.98 miles. It was the Provo temple to temple run. The race starts at the old Provo temple and ends at the new Provo City Center Temple. It was SO crowded. I think over 13,000 participated. The entire run was me trying my hardest to dodge walkers, strollers, scooters, etc. It is a Pioneer day tradition, but this year Pioneer day was on a Sunday, so the race was Monday morning. On your race bib you could write a name of one of your pioneer ancestors which is neat.

I ran for James Henry Denning.

Near the starting line.

Near the finish line.

The month ended with a bang. I went with my parents to Burley, Idaho to watch my Dad complete the Spudman triathlon. It was fun because my friend from BYU-Idaho got a teaching job near there, so I spent the night before the race hanging out and catching up with her.

So proud of my Dad! He was injured not long ago and was unsure whether or not he would ever be able to run again. He is determined and has taught me so much about setting goals and reaching them.

I'm disappointed in letting myself slip and not blogging twice in July. I have a feeling August will be just as busy with school starting up, but expect 2 more posts! (fingers crossed)