Cachin'

After a long winter it was time to get back to some four wheelin!  We loaded up and headed over to Meadowville!

Mallory got a little tired waiting for the ride and decided to "put her feet up and relax."

The weather was perfect , the ride was smooth, and the scenery breathtaking.  We took a lunch break at Temple Flat.

Next we tried our hand at a little geocacing...or as we like to call it "Treasure Hunting!"

We went 0 for 2 before hitting the jackpot and getting these sweet beads from a box located under a log by a tree!

After all that cachin' and ridin' it was time for a dip in the hot tub!

What a perfect weekend!

Hollywood Connection

A coupon weeks ago I saw an internet deal for Hollywood Connection.  We had never been before and what could be better than forced family fun at a discount. So I bought our tickets.
I had it all planned...we would head down early and get in a few hours before the crowds came....only problem...I forgot to check when it opened.  No worries though....we killed the hour and half with a trip to Wendy's for frostys and Lowe's for some home improvement odds and ends.

When we came back it was open and we were literally the only ones there.  It was like we had rented out a fun center!  The lady followed us from rid to ride letting us on.  First, the carousel!

Second, the spinning hot air balloons!

And bumper cars!!!

Then the roller coaster!

Then we decided to give roller skating a try! We got all laced up....

Don't our skates look cute?!  Then we were off...er...well, sort of.  Skating is not as easy as looks.  Especially when there is only one adult to help three kids....the other adult (I won;t say who) gripping the walls and commenting "I don't think I have skated since middle school!"

Don't you just love the before and after?! ;)

Then we tried our hand at some mini golf.  Not as hard as roller skating...but not as easy as the carousel...

Back to ride a few rides.  The Flying Pink Bus was a hit!

Then onto the arcade where we won big!!!  Look at all those tickets!!!

It was a great day of family fun!

3 Ways My Mom Changed My Life

Well besides the obvious, giving me life, and the hundreds of thousands of things my mom did for me in my first  18 years of life…..and the hundreds of thousands of things she still does for, there are 3 Major Ways My Mom Change My Life.

            The first came near the end of my senior year of high school.  I knew since I was little that I wanted to go to college and become a teacher, but knowing which school to go to and how to pay for it was a new consideration for me.  So I decided I would go to Weber State, along with many of my friends, live at home and probably work and go to school. I had gotten a scholarship from WSU and so it really seemed like a no brainer.

            Classes were coming to an end, the days were getting warmer, I had lots of great friends….and yet I was unsettled.  As the school year drew to an end I had no desire to hang out with friends and I was feeling more frustrated and unhappy…and for reasons I couldn’t explain.

            I am not sure if my mom could sense my restlessness but she suddenly started talking about Ricks College. I knew a little about the school but really hadn’t given it much thought.  I had no money, no car, no housing and didn’t know a soul up there.  It really didn’t seem plausible.  But my mom was persistent.  She drove the 3 hours to take a campus tour.  We got a brochure for campus housing and they had conveniently checked off all that were full…almost all of them. But we decided to try the complex across from campus even though it was listed among the “full” housing. Amazingly they had a spot. My money put down the money for the deposit on the spot.  Do you realize how much money that is for a parent with eight kids?

            I still was not convinced.  No job, no money, no car. In short order I got a summer job and my dad found me a car.  And after getting back from a family vacation from Lake Powell I found a letter from Ricks College offering me two scholarships…just about enough to cover tuition.  It was late in the summer…all the scholarships should have been handed out early in the spring.  I don’t know what my mother’s thoughts and prayers were like at that time, but what I do know is she worked, fought, prayed, and basically willed my way to Ricks College. And it totally changed my life.

            I met one of my best friends on my first day there…she was my roommate. Several other great friends followed.  I went to stomps, football games, dances, classes, and devotional.  I had the time of my life!  I played, worked, studied, prayed, and learned in ways I could never have imagined. It’s hard to imagine how different my life might be if I hadn’t attended Ricks College.

            The second experience happened just when I had been married just about two years.  I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education in May 2002.  My husband received an internship with a company in Boise, Idaho.  We moved up there for the summer and instead of interviewing for teaching jobs in Utah I found myself working at the customer service desk of an Albertsons and the child care center of a 24 Hour Fitness…very glamorous.  After the summer we moved back to Utah and my husband continued his classes at USU while I tried to get back interviewing for jobs.  The only problem was that there were very few jobs that year and by August all of the positions seemed to be filled.  So I found myself working at Wal-Mart.  I am not saying there is anything wrong with working at Walmart but I had worked tirelessly for 4 years so I could be a teacher and here I was bagging groceries…pretty disheartening.

            Well as fate would have it my mom taught at a preschool that shared their building with the kindergarten classes of an elementary school. Their classes were big and a month into the school year they were looking to hire another teacher.  The only problem was that I needed an early childhood endorsement to teach kindergarten. My mom talked, persuaded, and convinced them to give me an interview.  They decided to hire me on the condition that I obtain my endorsement while I taught.  I was finally a TEACHER!  Not only that by I got to work with the most kind and giving fellow teachers ever.  They were great mentors helping me each step of the way, sharing their materials and lesson plans.  I grew leaps and bounds as an educator in those two years.  In the process I earned my early childhood endorsement.  Upon completion of that I realized I would only have to take 20 more credits to get my masters degree.  Thanks to my mom I went from a Walmart bagger to a teacher with a Masters degree.

            The third experience happened just after I had my first child.  My husband had graduated from school, we bought our first home, and had started a family.  Now it was time for me to go to work.  During my additional coursework for my endorsement I had met a woman who had operated a preschool for many years who was now going back to school so she could teach kindergarten. She asked me questions about kindergarten and I picked her brain about preschool and decided that I wanted to start a preschool in my home.  I had the knowledge, the room, the materials, and all I needed was a class.  I advertised in the phone book, we created a website, and my mom came down and helped me pass out a thousand flyers. But come June I only had 3 students signed up.  The doubt and stress began to creep in.  I decided I better go back to teaching.  As much as I loved it having my sweet daughter changed it all.  I knew exactly what hours really good teachers worked, and the thought of leaving her for that many hours each week crushed me.  But I went on an interview at a school close to my sister’s home.  It would be close to an hour commute but my sister would watch my daughter and I would work.  I got the job teaching ½ day kindergarten but still was not feeling good about anything.  I talked to my mom and she told me that I needed to be a preschool teacher and work at home and that it would all work out. 

            Well I turned down the teaching job and by the start of the preschool year I had two full classes.  I have taught preschool for seven years now and love it. It has provided a good income while allowing me to stay home with my kids.  I have met so many great kids, parents and families in my community along the way. 

            These three experiences are some of the greatest accomplishments of my life and have molded me into the person I am today…and it is all thanks to the faith, persistence and support of my mom.

             I truly believe that every mother is blessed with a special gift to see the un-measurable potential of their child.  And I only hope that I can be half the mom she is in helping my kids make their dreams come true!