Angie: 2008

Christmas 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I was going to have everybody over to my house on Christmas morning for breakfast but it was supposed to snow a ton so we moved it out to Lisa's house. We all had something to eat then unwrapped some presents. I had a great Christmas... I hope everyone else's was good too!

We went over to Mom & Dad's for dinner and it really started to snow... and it hasn't stopped yet! It was whiteout conditions in South Salt Lake last night so I was glad I packed some clothes to stay the night out in Magna. I took a few pictures this morning of the snow Mom & Dad got at their house.

Birthday '08

Well... another birthday has come and gone. Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Lisa, Mackenzie, and Alexis came over last night to help me celebrate. I got some great gifts... a new vacuum (YES!!), Sisters by Heart Willow Tree figurines, a homemade snowman filled with goodies (Thanks Mackenzie and Alexis!), and a cute birthday bear holding a surprise. I also got phone calls from a couple of friends and Jason and his family. They all sang happy birthday... I love that!

December 20th

Had the girls over to my house all day on Saturday. We went out shopping then came back to watch movies and decorate my tree. They did a great job! We put on our antlers and took some funny pictures.

Christmas Party 2008

The annual Evans' family Christmas party was on Saturday. It was great as always. Of course we were missing a big part of our family... Jason, Jennie and the kids. We miss having them there! It snowed like crazy that day so some of the family from out of town didn't make it. My aunt wanted me to take pictures again this year so here are a few. Lisa took some too.

The greatest day in my life so far...

I had commencement yesterday! It was such a wonderful experience. All the graduates met in the field-house to get their cards for the announcement of our names and got in lines to walk over to the spectrum. They played the graduation song over the loud speakers as we walked and I started to tear up already. We walked all the way around the building then through the tunnel to the stadium. All the faculty and staff in attendance lined the sides of the tunnel and cheered us on. I started to cry... it was so amazing. The commencement was short and sweet. We went around the side of the other graduates and were hooded with our masters hood then went across the platform to get our degree then the president of the university conferred our graduation on us. We got some pictures afterward and then went out to dinner. Mom and Dad, Lisa, Mackenzie, Alexis, and Grandma and Grandpa were all in attendance. At dinner, Kelsey and her kids, Cali and Cole, joined us. It was great to have everyone there. I'm just so proud of this accomplishment and the work that I put into it.

School assembly... what was I thinking?!

Today there was an assembly at school and a group came in with some zoo animals. They've done it each year and I've stayed away because of some of the animals they bring. If it's a lizard or snake or anything like that, I didn't want to get too close. Today they had more of the same. One of the teachers touched the snake and thought I should give it a try. Nope! Well, ... then I thought how cool it would be for the kids to see one of their teachers with it around their neck... bad idea!! I'm the first one to admit that I'm a scardy cat when it comes to creepy crawly things but finally I mustered up enough guts to go for it. Check it out!

That look on my face is one of absolute horror. All the muscles in my arms were contracting. I wanted to look brave and have a smile on but it didn't go very well on the first shot. Then they had the bright idea that the snakes head was too far down and didn't make a good picture.... you know what, this is one time that I wasn't terribly eager to get a perfect shot.. but they moved it up anyway. I tried a couple of times to look down and see where it's head was because I didn't want it near mine. I nearly hyperventilated asking my colleagues where it was. Well, what did I learn from the experience...? A person will do nearly anything for the kids, but if it had of decided to get warm ... we were going to have WORDS and I would have left screaming like a school girl!!

I will be going to commencement next month for my masters degree! I ordered my cap & gown the other day. I'm pretty excited about it.

I decided to finally clean up my office yesterday. It will be a week long project, at least. I don't know why I keep so much stuff. Most of it is paperwork that I don't need. I'll be making a generous contribution to the recycling bin at school though! Unfortunately when I start to clean one area, it flows out to the other parts of the house. What a mess. :(

Lisa's girls had their primary program today and it was really cute. At the end of one of Alexis' parts, Marilyn, who was helping the kids with their parts said thanks to Alexis and she repeated it. It was so cute. Ending her part with "Thank you" was pretty funny.

Whewww!

Wow, the first five weeks of school are done but have been very busy! Two weeks ago my secretary quit to take a job as the librarian at an elementary school so I've been pulling double duty at work.. as if I don't have enough to do. Thankfully Lisa's come over and helped me out a ton.

I've been golfing every weekend for the last month or so. There aren't that many good weather days left so I've got to get all my golfing energy out right now. Last weekend almost proved to be my last though. I went down to a familiar course and was paired up with a guy and lady for 18 holes. It rained off and on and at times came down pretty hard. It was one of those "jump out of the cart, hit the ball, then jump back in." On the 12th hole I hit an awesome tee shot and we drove up for our second shots when the lightning started. We were sitting under a tall tree and the gal that was with us was just getting ready to pull back and swing when a huge bolt thundered down across the fairway and into the neighborhood. One of the streamers came over to the tree we were under. That was way to close!!! We hunkered down for about 15 minutes while it poured and lightning shot off all around us. I chose a small pine tree that wasn't much taller than my cart. It was crazy!! When the lightning moved on, we finished the rest of the round. I couldn't let that great drive go to waste!!

School is in session!

School started today! Since the teachers got back last week, I haven't had a chance to sit down. I can't wait for the first week to finish so that everyone's back into the swing of things and relaxed a bit. I moved my office over the summer and love not being in the back storage room. The only problem is that I'm in a fish bowl now. It's time to get some reflective film to put up on the windows so that I can see out to supervise but students can't see in. I checked my records at the university and found that my master's degree was posted at the beginning of the month. YEAH!! Lisa called a little while ago and she and the girls came out to go swimming. I'm tired and ready to call it a day.

I went golfing with a friend that I hadn't seen in years. We had a blast and we're planning to do it again. The course we went to was beautiful and full of hills and valleys. It made for some exciting play! I don't want the nice weather to end. I still have a lot of golf in me!

Tag

I've Been Tagged by Jennie

Here goes:

10 Years Ago.. I graduated with my bachelor's degree in math education. That summer I got my first job teaching and was fortunate to help coach the high school tennis team. I got my first car.. a teal colored Grand Prix.

5 Years Ago.. I started my second year teaching at the junior high. I moved from a relo to a regular classroom in the building. I took a couple of classes at the university to count toward my master's degree.

5 Months Ago.. I enrolled for the final four classes for my master's degree and started planning my summer vacations to Michigan, Las Vegas, and Oklahoma. I went to the last bit of training to prepare for online testing at the junior high. Wow, what an experience that was... and I get to do it all again this year with a new company! I went and got a massage to relax a little.

5 Things on My To Do List Tomorrow..

1. Print out stickers for the school reading challenge

2. Go grocery shopping

3. Work on the school website and update the calendar

4. Get some privacy film for my office window so I don't look like a fish in a bowl!

5. Purchase some supplies for the library

5 Things People Don't Know About Me..

1. I'm a big UFC fan

2. I haven't been a big reader since I was in grade school

3. I haven't put up a single lighthouse picture I've taken

4. I love to have a Jamba Juice on a rough day

5. I started blogging this year and really like it

5 Bad Habits..

1. I don't do laundry until I absolutely have to

2. Waking up late... I mean really late...

3. Eating in bed

4. Drinking pop... not any more since the kidney stones decided to reappear

5. Not cleaning out my fridge

5 Places I've Lived..

1. Magna

2. Logan

3. Salt Lake City

Tag 5 People:

1. Kelsey

2. Lisa

3. Wendy

4. Mom & Dad

5. Kendra

Visit to Oklahoma

I went out to Oklahoma to visit my brother and his family. I got a couple of exhilarating rides with Jason on his new motorcycle :) The second day I was there, Jennie and Zach took me to the memorial in Oklahoma City. It was a very emotional experience to stand in the place where the federal building once stood, walk through the museum, and see the chairs on the lawn that represented the men, women and children that were killed there in 1995. It was hard to see the small chairs that stood for the children that went to the child care center that morning and never made it home. I was so glad I was able to go. It was certainly a humbling experience.

This is a picture of the Survivor Tree that stands across the reflecting pond from the footings of the federal building.

The next day Jennie and the kids took me to the Cowboy Museum. There were some amazing pieces of artwork there. If only I had $50,000 to take one home!

I took some pictures of the kids outside the kids museum.

I'm still a kid at heart. I couldn't help getting on one of the saddles too. Thanks Jason and Jennie for a great week at your house. I loved spending time with you and the kids. They're growing up sooo fast.

Upper Penninsula Lighthouses & Waterfalls

It's another summer of lighthouse hunting in Michigan with Wendy. This year we decided to head up to the Upper Penninsula and see 9 new lighthouses. I also threw in some waterfalls and part of the Pictured Rock National Lakeshore. The weather was so crazy up there... one minute it would be nice and the other it would be pouring like no other!! We were very lucky that all the times we got out of the car it wasn't raining. Yesterday we hiked about 6 miles to get to the sites. We're both very tired of the rain but are so glad we saw so much and didn't get dumped on. We weren't able to make it on the ferry ride to see the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore because of the rain and dense fog yesterday and the day before. Bummer! We decided that we'll throw that in next year. :) Wendy's glad we're back so she can get a good night's sleep... appearently I'm the queen of snoring. I didn't hear anything! ;)