Happy Birthday to my Seester

This is a shout out to my lovely older sis, Jen.

Happy Birthday!!!

Ten Things I love About My Sister:

• Sometimes she let me follow her around when we were younger.


• She would stay up late with me Christmas Eve playing Barbies in the Barbie Mansion.


• Even though I deserved to be beaten severely, she never inflicted bodily harm on me when I would stay up all night reading.


• She puts her heart into loving the people around her. She is compassionate and kind.


• She is the ultimate example of a Peace Maker.


• She is a wonderful mom to her two adorable kids.


• When strangers ask her about school assignments, she kindly tells them that she is not me.


• She is my sister by chance, my friend by choice.

Lagoon...It's What Fun Is!

Brian and I used our BounceBack passes at Lagoon on Friday. Upfront I had committed myself to ride "Wicked", even though deep down I really didn't want to do it.

This is how Lagoon describes the ride:

"Riders will be launched to the top of the 110 ft. tower at speeds up to 18.5 meters per second. This element is especially unique as most roller coasters slowly lift riders to the top of the first hill using a chain mechanism. Wicked riders will be propelled by means of a linear synchronous motor (LSM) drive system, essentially rocketing riders up and over the top of the first hill. The 8-rider vehicles travel individually and achieve speeds up to 55 mph, passing though steep valleys, high banked turns, half-pipe, heart-roll inversion and more. Riders will be seated in two rows of four, facing forward, with the back row seats elevated above the front row. The lap/leg restraints will provide an exhilarating upper body freedom for rides." Sound fun?

We went to Wicked first so I could hurry and get it out of the way. As we stood in line I tried not to watch the ride. Each time I saw a car shoot straight up, plunge straight down, and spin around the track at breakneck speeds I felt myself get more and more terrified. Brian had the complete opposite reaction. He becomes more and more excited as he watches the cars on the track. He continually compared it to the closest simulation to an F-16 that he could think of, barrel rolls and all. This description did not help in the least bit. We wound through the turn-stiles, climbed the stairs, and eventually took our place as the next riders. All the while I was becoming more and more upset with Brian. Why? Good question. I wasn't actually upset with him, although you wouldn't have believed me if you were there, I was, in fact, PETRIFIED!

It was our turn. My heart was slowly coming to a stop. We loaded into the car...front row has the best view...what was I thinking ever agreeing to ride this idiotic death ride? I pushed the safety restraint against my lap. I pushed it down again. And again. And again. Surely it could come a little closer and fit a little tighter. The car started to move. Oh, no! I stopped breathing. I was stuck. There was no way getting out of this. HOLD ON! We shot out of the tunnel....my eyes instantly shut....begin the launch. I felt a little braver. I opened my eyes in time to see us peak and go over the edge..."Oh, Crap!", I yelled as we plunged downward. The car continued to twist and turn and roll and dive and eventually came to a stop. Holy Schnikies! I couldn't believe that I was smiling as we exited the car. In fact, we rode it again that night and would have gone one more time but the line was a least an hour wait.

The best part of the ride? The way my hair flew straight out behind me, I wish I could have seen how cool it looked. It sure felt like it looked cool.

Other tidbits from our night at Lagoon:

• Brian finally was able to ride the Sky Coaster. "From a static point approximately 6 feet above the ground, the flyers are pulled aloft by a launch cable to nearly the top of the launch tower. At this point the flyers are approximately 143 feet above the ground with the flight cables taut and the flight is ready to begin. Upon being given the signal, the flyers pull the rip cord, releasing them from the launch cable and rapidly swing towards the ground at speeds reaching up to 80 mph. The overall feeling is similar to that of swooping along the ground in a hang glider, or that of skydiving." (Sorry, no photos. We forgot the camera.) Even though he wanted me to ride with him, it turned out better for him that he rode alone. From the experienced workers we learned that you don't get a true feeling for the free-fall/flying when you do it tandem. You're welcome, dear. I did it for you!
• The Spider is really fun as well. Mostly because you are turned around most of the time and you have no idea when you are going to drop or turn.
• The ROCKET BLAST OFF: "accelerates guests from ground level to 200 feet straight up in less than 3 seconds. The initial powered blast creates a force on the rider of 4.5 G and upon reaching the top position, guests are blasted downward with a 2 G-force." This kind of force has now been proven to break a cell phone...mine! The pressure broke my LCD screen. Bug! The phone is only 10 months old. I guess the good news is I'll be getting a new phone. Bad news is it won't be free. Of all the the things the warranty covers, the LCD screen is not one of them.

Lagoon....I guess it really is what FUN is! Who knew?

Water Woes

Today the water main broke in front of our school. We were completely without running water for the majority of the day (about 10:45 to 3:10). No drinking fountains, no way to wash hands, no toilets! The school district's solution? Bring in port-a-potties, bottled water, and hand sanitizer! It took an hour and a half before we saw any the above mentioned supplies. As nice as they were to let us continue on with school, it just wasn't working. They brought in 6 port-a-potties...approximately one per grade. Fourth grade alone has 140 kids on track right now. Not to mention all the faculty and staff. Imagine the longest line for a bathroom you've ever seen and DOUBLE it! To make matters worse, they didn't bring enough water. My class received 12 8oz. bottles of water....for 23 kids! Luckily, Wal-Mart came to our rescue and kindly donated water to our school.

I've tried to put a positive spin on all of this. This is what I came up with:

1. An emergency evacuation would have still taken all day (every child has to be released to a parent or other close family member...contacting them can be a nightmare at times).


2. We don't have to make up a day of school later on in the year.


3. For once I am glad Wal-Mart is the super-giant that it is. They are also generous in their own way.


4. My mom lives close enough to my school that I could run to her house and use her bathroom before my kids finished P.E. (Happy I didn't have to use the port-a-potty!!)

Exhaustion

Exhausting. That is about the only way to sum up this week. For those of you who didn't know, I decided to go back to teaching part time. Typically my work schedule will be Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday. This week was definitely NOT typical.

In order to accommodate the vast number of students in our school (1100+), our school is on a year-round schedule. There are 4 tracks (A,B,C, &D), but only 3 tracks in school at any given time. Each track goes to school for 9 weeks at a time and then has a 3 week vacation. So far, it's not been a bad schedule. Some hate it. Some loathe it. Some love it. Most just tolerate it.

I'm one that has loved it....until last Friday.

This year I am D-track, the last track to start the school year. (Oh, another piece of vital information....We have tracks because we don't have enough classrooms to house everyone. Each time we go off-track we pack up our room and move our stuff. After the 3 week break we move into a new room.) Since I am D-track I couldn't get into my room (it was being used by a 3rd grade class) to get things set up until 1:15 Friday afternoon....school started the next Monday (2 days later) at 8:30 a.m. Typically teachers have an entire week to get their classrooms set up. Begin the exhaustion.

Here is my week in review:

Thursday, August 9th: Jaxon's birthday

Friday, August 10th: Worked 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 11th: Worked 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, August 12th: a much needed day of rest, but not free from the stress of not being ready

Monday, August 13th: Worked 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Tuesday, August 14th: Field trip. We went on the Heber Creeper. Worked 7:45 to 4:45

Wednesday, August 15th: Day off. Ended up at the doctor's office. Thought I was going to die!

Thursday, August 16th: worked 8:00 to 4:00

Friday, August 17th: got pulled over on the way to work, got there late (8:15) worked 'til 5:00.

I'm wondering what's going on. This isn't what I signed up for!!!

Hungry?

This is what happens when a hungry child is left unsupervised while the parents are on the phone ordering pizza... Exactly how many cherry chocolate Hersey's Kisses are there?

Good thing for old Christmas candy or our child might have starved!

Happy Birthday, Jaxon!

Three years old!

Here are a list of some of Jaxon's favorites:

Food: chicken nuggets

Toy: Cars and balls (110% BOY!)

DVD: Cars, Monsters Inc., Brother Bear

Phrases: "Are you kidding me?" "Why?" "Please!?" "UGH!"

Shoes: Flip flops

Game: Basketball and Hungry, Hungry Hippos

Cartoon: Curious George

We celebrated with cousins at the Tree House Museum in Ogden. The kids always have a good time playing together and this was no different. They ran and squealed and had museum employee's tell them to quiet down. What else would expect from three 3-year-olds and a 4-year-old. Luckily the three 1-year-olds were very well behaved.

Jaxon spent the day with the kidlets he loves the best....cousins! It makes me happy to know that there are always good friends close by.

Jaxon and Jeffrey rushing to save a burning building!

Jaxon and Lauren working on the trains.

Jaxon and Jayne waiting for the storytelling to begin. The storyteller was fantastic! I have never heard such a riveting rendition of "The Rainbow Fish".

We had a great time celebrating Jaxon's birthday with the Anderson's and the Vincent's....most of us at least. Remember the song "It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To"? That could have almost been the theme of the night. Thank goodness for presents to make a little boy happy again!

His favorite presents? Cars from the movie "Cars" (which was also the theme of the party). He sleeps with them, eats with them, talks to them, takes them EVERYWHERE with him (when I saw everywhere, I mean everywhere...potty included!) absolutely loves them!

Thanks to all our family and friends that helped make Jaxon's day so special!

Happy Birthday, Jax! We love you!!

A Truly Wicked Wicked

Brian and I went to Lagoon for a date night. It's been a few years since either of us had been there and we were excited to feel young again.

What you are seeing is truly wicked. A twisted form of entertainment....absolutely atrocious...terrifying.

Brian loved it. I chickened out at the last minute. I've promised to go again and actually ride it.

It will be fun. It will be fun. It will be fun.

Mamma Mia!!

I went with two of my friends to see the smash-hit "Mamma Mia!". It's a musical written around the music from the group ABBA. If you are anything like me, you are saying "ABBA? Who is ABBA?" I hadn't heard of the group before I saw the show, but as I watched the show I realized that I had heard some of their songs. The most popular songs being "Dancing Queen" and "S.O.S". It was fantastic! It has a really entertaining story line and fun music. It was a lots of fun. I would highly recommend it.
I know that it's not fair to compare musicals, but Wicked still holds my vote as the best show EVER! To those who are interested....Wicked will be coming to SLC during the 2009-2010 season! Can't wait.....wahoo!!