Christmasland

It is officially the Christmas season. We made candy bar trains with Jared's family on Sunday. Growing up Jared was never allowed to eat it so the first thing he said was "We are going to eat it, okay?" Slowly this week little parts have been disappearing from our train.

The Christmas tree headed for the White House (Felicia's idea).

Two bears going tubing on a peach ring, about to run into a wrapper volleyball pole... Tis the season to break an arm (well Jan. 24 at least, I thought it was creative).

Our train side cemetery, secretly i really love the candies wrapped in the green foil because they are basically an andes mint. So this was my idea to get to take as many as possible for me to eat.

When we got back to Utah we put up our Christmas tree and lights! It makes our little "apartment" seem quite Christmassy. Tree- garage sale find by my mom $5 prelit. (even though we had 2 that had been given to us.. we shared them with others!) Our tree was literally 3 pieces, such an easy set up. The ornaments and tree topper I found 90% off when I was in high school and fell in love with them. I was so excited to actually get to use them. After we finished I kept saying "I love our Christmasland!" I seriously told Jared like every 20-30 minutes that day.

Enjoy the Journey.

Happenings

It is 10 a.m. and I am home? What? I don't have class, school, anything? It is true! I am officially done with my college degree, I just have to wait for it to be mailed to me! Which means it is time to get ready for Christmas! We spent Thanksgiving in Idaho between our parents houses and visiting lots of friends. :) It was a good break but we are looking forward to Jared's Christmas break which will be a longer vacation for us. It is just good to go home. :) Jared is at class this morning and Jill does preschool in the basement on Tuesday and Thursday. So I was just sitting here on their computer looking at what pictures she has and decided I should update from some recent happenings.

 Jared found a deal on Ninja blenders so eh bought some to sell and one for us to keep. It was his new favorite toy (since then it has been replaced... for a later post).

He was so excited to turn it on.

 Pure joy on that face.

 Movie nights on our bed... that is until we fall asleep or are about to so I kick them out! :)

 Pumpkin carving... Jared was disappointed that I just painted mine.

 Notice the face and the gloves, this is how she feels about carving a pumpkin.

 The finished products. (yes mine turned out scary.... but if you can't see her mouth it doesn't look half bad.)

 Around here for halloween we had some characters... Savanna the nerd. (that is Jare's shirt under her sweater)

 Kennedy the Indian, Jill made this costume for her!

 Kennedy's group of friends. Jared took them around, for the first part he rode his bike, then they came back to grab the van and I jumped in with him. This is his 3rd year in a row taking them... he is a good man.

 Kayden and his friend. Kayden borrowed Jared's costume and we modified it to make it fit. :)

Then we came home to this... of course you have to trade!

Kayden had his Court of Honor a few Sundays ago and we were able to attend. We are so proud of him!

Enjoy the Journey.

TOMORROW

I am done student teaching, done with college, my degree.... tomorrow at 11 (why 11 because I am choosing to skip my last 2 classes...). Then we are headed to Idaho for the Holiday.... a much needed break.... Can the next 27.5 Hours please go faster? (make that 32, then we will be out of the car.)

Enjoy the Journey.

SIX

days. until. I. am. done. student. teaching. (school days that is. 8 including the weekend.)

12 observations-check

3 midterm evaluations-check

3 summative evaluations-check

1 observation by Sister Lammons (method's teacher)-check

Exit Student Teaching interview/ Teacher Work Sample Review-check

Online homework-check

Missing all 4 days you possibly can because you get sick the week of your interview-check

Thanksgiving... can you please come quickly?

Thanks.

Enjoy the Journey.

UP!

Jared, my mom and dad and I all went to the UP house in Harriman a few weeks ago. These are just a few of the pictures from our trip! It was amazing! I loved it, and so did Jared.

 The movie room. In the basement they just made a bunch of different rooms.

 The Toy Story Room.

 The Princess Make-A-Wish Room.

Enjoy the Journey.

Salsa

After finding this recipe on a blog I don't think I will ever buy salsa again. This salsa is soooo yummy!!!

Ingredients

• 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
• 2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
• 1/4 cup Chopped Onion
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Jalapeno
• 1/4 teaspoon Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)
• 1/2 whole Lime Juice

This makes a lot of salsa. It filled our blender completely full! I personally like fresh Cilantro better than dried, but dried still works. 

Enjoy the Journey.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

6 Tb honey
4.5 Tb lime juice
1 Tb chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 lb cooked chicken, shredded
flour tortillas
colby or monterey jack cheese, shredded
10 oz. can green enchilada sauce

Mix first 4 ingredients together and toss with shredded chicken. Let it “marinate” for at least a half hour. Pour some green enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 10×10 casserole dish or 9×13 pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese. Pour the rest of the can of green enchilada sauce over enchiladas then sprinkle with more cheese. (When using a 9×13 I like to use 1 1/2 10 oz. cans) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (Put it under the broiler at the end to make the cheese brown and crispy on the top.)

After making these for my mom today she said she will never make white enchiladas again. They are my new favorite!

Enjoy the Journey.

24 hours

In 24 hours at Jordan High there was a fire set in one of the bathroom. Luckily when it happened it was after school, but the were holding attendance school, so it still had to be evacuated. 

Then the next day after I had been at school for about 10 minutes there was a lock down. Kind of scary. We didn't know why, but we found out later there was someone who was walking around carrying a shotgun and knives by the school. The rule is within a 2 mile radius they do a lockdown. It lasted about 45 minutes! Luckily the students had a late start because of the PLAN test. But that changed the schedule even more so the students only had 27 minute classes. NOTE: Students do not function with 27 minute classes! They shut their brains off and don't want to learn AT ALL!

Then during lunch (before the students even had class), there were 2 fights. One included knives being pulled out! 

Well, it is all within a matter of 24 hours, but it has been better since then!!! I only have 24 more days of actual teaching/going to Jordan High School, but I have a total of 40 days including weekends.

I have enjoyed my experience, but I am so ready to be done with school. I have been going to school straight since Fall '09. That is a long time with only 1-2 week breaks. As for my plans after student teaching?? Sleep-these late nights and early mornings are killing me. After that... I don't know! I know I will take some time off, but other than that I have no idea!

Enjoy the Journey.

Thankful

In the midst of all that is going on right now I need to take a moment and express my gratitude. I am truly blessed with so much and it is important that I realize this and write it down. Some things I am thankful for today:

• My Husband who loves and cares for me no matter how stressed out I am. Who honors his priesthood and does all he can to help me.
• A mom who lets me call and cry to her on my way home when I am at breaking point and want to quit.  
• A dad who loves me and supports me, and the fact that I know this even when I am just calling to cry to my mom.
• The wonderful "landlords" we currently have. Being able to live with Julie and Jill and the kids is SUCH A BLESSING. They love us so much, and we love them so much too.
• A family that loves me and supports me, even if they live miles away.
• An Education, and teachers who have always cared about me.
• Nephews and a Niece who call me and want to talk to me even when I am so busy I can't talk or even call them back. Just knowing that they tried simply makes my day.
• A healthy body.
• A comfy warm bed to sleep in every night.
• Food for my belly.
• Clothes to wear.
• That I don't have to drive in the traffic EVERY morning.
• The gospel.
• The new Relief Society book. (we just got them on Sunday and I am already loving it.)
• General Conference and the chance we have to hear from church leaders who love us so much and want to help us back to our Heavenly Father.
• My Savior, Jesus Christ. And the fact that He knows everything. He knows that I am doing my best and that I can make it through.
• That I only have 24 days of actual teaching left, 39 days until Student Teaching is done and I have finished my college education.

Enjoy the Journey.

Home Made Chicken Nuggets

Tonight for dinner I wanted to try something new and they turned out pretty yummy! I looked up a few different recipes for dinner and then decided that home made chicken nuggets sounded good. I have only made them once before and it was in my Introduction to Foods class my 2nd semester of college. I found a recipe, but made changes as to what I knew we would like. They turned out so yummy and this will definitely be a recipe that I use again, as well as make some different variations to! Here is the recipe that I used:

3-4 slices of bread

1/3 c. Parmesan Cheese

Season Salt to taste-I probably used 1 T

Place those ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Then spread in a flat dish or plate. In a bowl mix:

2 egg whites

1 T. Oil

1 T. Water

Cut 2-3 Chicken Breasts in bite size (1-1.5") chunks. Dip in egg mixture and then in breading. 

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes (or until they are done).

Serve with your favorite sides!

Enjoy the Journey.

Fruit

It was so nice to have TONS of fresh fruit this past month! We are thankful for the garden that was shared with us! It was so yummy!!

Enjoy the Journey.

Six Months

I can hardly believe that it has been six whole months since I have married my best friend. The past six months have been the best. No goodbyes-only goodnights. No skype dates with each other, but dates in person. And when we go to Idaho we both come back to Utah. I am so lucky to be married to a man who holds and honors the Priesthood. He is so wonderful and good to me! I am the luckiest. 

Six months down-eternity to go.

Enjoy the Journey.