Here We Go Again

Well, here it is half way through Hurricane season and so far it has been very quiet. But as of right now there is a storm heading into the Gulf.... Hurricane Gustav. As of this evening it is heading straight for the Pearl River.... the same place Hurricane Katrina decided to make her landfall 3 years ago (this Saturday, August 29th)... Gustav is due to hit land Monday or Tuesday....Katrina came through on the same day too. Nuts. The thing I am having trouble with is not being home. My mom and Nana are going to my cousin's up in the country...which is good. I have told my mom if it is bad I am going to take a week or so from student teaching and go home to help with what I can. I can stay longer and make up the time... which is ok with me because I will be here until Christmas with the kids (I am already attached to them after 3 days!!) I can't stand being so far away right now. I really want to be home with my family. I will keep yall informed on what is going on ... but please keep my family in your prayers and pray the storm dies out or goes a different direction.

I know I know... it's been FOREVER!

Hey Yall! I know it's been awhile since I last posted ... things have been crazy here. I come home exhausted everyday ... the little ones wear me out. My class is great. We only have 14 students on the role and one has not shown up yet, so I am loving having only 13 students. They all showed up on Monday and it has been interesting seeing how the first day/week goes. This is my first time seeing it...all my practicums have been at the end of the school year and I am very familiar with the end of the year routine. It is neat to see how "green" the 1st graders are. The first day was a bit hard on them since they only had half day kindergarten so they are not used to full days. They are doing great after only 3 days. I have a picture of the class (I was the photographer on the first day) but I am not sure if it is legal or not to post it. (Someone let me know or not... I am thinking no) All the parents have signed a photograph permission slip but that is for school use... but it is such a cute picture (they are all making silly faces)!

Anyways, Mrs. Morrill is a great teacher to work under. She is in a technology classroom, which means that the students use computers to do most of their assignments on (don't worry, they still cut and paste and color like 1st graders should!). A lot of the lessons are taught on the overhead through the computer so I am becoming VERY computer savvy FAST! What is also great is that my teacher is giving me a copy of most of the programs she uses so I can do stuff at home. It is great!

Oh! The school I am in is Kesterson Elementary School (Home of the Kesterson Coyotes) in Henderson, Nevada. It is only a 20 (in traffic) drive and is 11 miles from my apartment. It is nice and once I get on the freeway it is a quick drive...it is just going through a school zone and about 10 lights to get there that takes so much time! It is a newer school and is very nice. I love working with Mrs. Morrill and the rest of the 1st grade teachers. Actually the entire staff at the school is amazing! One of the great things about our schedule is the students have specials (eg: PE, Music, Library and Art) for the last period of the day so Mrs. Morrill and I have an hour to prepare for the next day and don't have to stay late (I am usually gone by 3:30).

Right now we are beginning to prepare for open house on Tuesday night ... we are trying to do as many things with the kids so we can have stuff to hang up for the parents to see. Most of my free time is spent hanging bulletin boards and helping all the 1st grade teachers (I am the only student teacher in the 1st grade) ... Right now they are doing a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom themed lesson. Today we read the book, watched the movie and made Chicka trees to hang on our bulletin board. Tomorrow we are going to do an interactive lesson on the computer. Some of yall may be wondering why so much on Chicka Chicka Boom Boom? Well, at this time we are reviewing the alphabet and letter sounds (many of the students can't recognize letters or they don't know the sounds - sad - We only have one or two that struggle a bit but the other classes are worse off... so we are counting our blessings). Anyways, Chicka is a book about the letters of the alphabet that climb a coconut tree... very cute and I recommend reading it if you have never done so before.

Ok, I have written a ton for today! Sorry for the book, but I needed to catch yall up!

Teaching Placement

Well, finally we have heard something about our placements. Late last night we received an email with the placements the school had received. Nothing like leaving things until the last minute! I am one of the lucky ones that at least knows the school and my teacher. I had to look her up on the schools web site so it looks like I will do my student teaching in 1st grade! I am excited but I kinda wanted 4th...that's ok, I have done 1st before so it won't be too bad! Today at the orientation meeting, my supervisor said my placement could still change...so we will see! There are still several girls/guys that don't have a school or teacher yet... and two of my roommates are some of the not so lucky ones. However they don't have to start tomorrow, where the rest of us do. The rest of this week I will be helping my teacher set up the classroom. The students start on Monday. So this will be my last weekend of relaxation. I will keep yall updated on how student teaching is going!

Finally Settled In!

Well yall...I am finally settled in to my new apartment here in Las Vegas! Lynley drove down from St. George and helped me move in. We went down to the strip on Friday night and went to the Venetian, Mirage, Belliago, and the Paris. It is fun to walk through all the great shops the casinos have in them. We also caught part of the pirate show at TI (aka Treasure Island). I have one word to describe it....scandalous! Seriously, it made me blush and people had their kids out there watching it! Nuts! Scary! The strip is not a place for kids in any way shape or form...why do people bring their kids there? Andrea's mom was also here for the weekend, on Saturday we all went shopping... and found this fantastic shoe store - with great sales!

It is hot, but at least there is no humidity! Yesterday we went to church and the ward is great...it is so nice to be in a singles ward and not a student ward. Today is my last day before things get rolling with student teaching. Tomorrow is orientation and we will FINALLY find out our placements, nothing like leaving things until the last minute (we start on Wednesday). So that is what is going on right now. Not too exciting but that's ok. More later!

Leavin on a Jet Plane...

...kinda know when I'll be back again.

Well, it is my last night here at home. I am sad and excited all at the same time. It has been great to see my family and some friends during this visit. I am glad I made the last minute decision to come home rather than stay out west for these two weeks. I have really enjoyed bonding mostly with my mom during this holiday ... not that we didn't already have a super great bond, but I mostly hung out with her while I was here, which is cool.

It had been almost 7 months since the last time I was home and it was nice to come home and see lots of improvement to the area. New houses are going up, old ones are being redone. Most of the streets have new sewer, water and gas lines...my street is done and they are working on all the streets around it, which has sorta been a pain trying to drive with streets closed and all. Oh and not yet paved... there is no point in washing your car right now if you live in this area or have to drive through it. Not that I am complaining it is good to have these things... and I can now call myself an expert off road driver (which is what it is like driving on the roads!). In my county new business are popping up and old ones are coming back. The bay bridge (going from Bay St. Louis to Pass Christian over the "bay") is open and is such a nice (and high) drive to Harrison County (across the bay). Before Katrina it went straight across the bay with a draw bridge in the middle for boats to go through. It was completely destroyed in Katrina but now it is fantastic! Below are the before, after and now pictures!



Harrison County across the bay is coming back strong too ... Pass Christian has new condos, houses and a new yacht club going in. Long Beach (this is for Laura and Mrs. Bonnie) well... south of the tracks McDonalds and Burger King have rebuilt but other than that it is pretty bare.. but north of the tracks is doing great! New businesses and houses are popping up! Also all of Hwy 90 aka the beach road in Harrison County is getting "curb appeal" with new curbs, some sidewalks, tons of trees and flowers in the medians and new paving...it is kinda a pain to drive with all the road work but it is good to see progress!

Oh in Long Beach on the USM Gulf Park campus ... which is filled with fantastic live oaks... there is this one tree - the Friendship Oak. This magnificant tree is over 500 years old and is ginormous* (did I spell that right Lynley?). Legend has it that those who enter the shade of its branches will remain friends for all their lifetime. It really is a must see if you ever come to South Mississippi!

Well, that is all for now folk...so good night.

*an original word taken from Lynley

An Unexpected Lunch Guest

Well, today my mom and I trecked over to Gulfport to look at flooring for the new house. She has decided to go with laminate in her art room rather than tile...easier and less time comsuming to lay down. And she has to cover the awful 1970s red tile that is currently there. Why the previous owner didn't replace it is beyond my comprehension. Anyways, on our way there, the sky decided to open up and we had rain all afternoon...not the best for shopping. We went to Home Depot where I found some real hardwood floor in a beautiful mahognahy finish that was not much more than the laminate. I am not a fan of laminate...it just doesn't look as good as real hard wood nor does it sound as good when you walk on it. Our old house had tounge and groove pine floors through out the whole house and they were FANTASTIC!!!

Well, after several stores and my straightened hair going wild with curls because it has gotten drenched with rain, we decided to go to lunch. We went to the Blow Fly Inn in Gulfport. It is located on Bayou Bernard and is a fun place to go. The original building was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina but they have rebuilt bigger and better (that seems to be the trend here). When we arrived, we missed the lunch crowd, which is nice, and there were two other tables occupied. Everyone was staring out the windows at the bayou...why you may ask? Well, there in the bayou buy the dock, was our unexpected lunch guest...an alligator! Too cool! Watching the little guy was so distracting while trying to eat our fried pickles and catfish po-boy! I am just glad we were inside and not outside due to the rain...not that he was coming out of the water or anything! No worries!

Second Saturday

The second Saturday of each month is a fun night on Main Street in Bay St. Louis. It is held in the first and second blocks of Main Street. It is an evening when local artist are spotlighted, various bands play on each block, and the shops are open past hours for shopping! In the streets and shops people are visiting, dancing to music and just having a grand time. I was lucky enough to be home for this month's Second Saturday.

Tonight the local artist featured at Maggie May's gallery is my friend Scott Blackwell. He has a new exhibit using tin in his art...very cool! Here is a picture of some of his work...he does a fun and funky cajun/bayou pictures. I used to have this print in my bedroom before the storm...so I am going to have to start collecting some of his work again...and now he has new pieces to choose from! If anyone wants to check his website it is... http://www.mombocompany.com/ it is only a taste of what he does!

My mom and I continued our stroll through the shops and found a way cool fountain made of massive clay vases (almost as tall as I am!) ... they were more than she wanted to pay but we carefully examined them and decided to be on the look out for clay planters to make one for the garden she is going to do at the new house. We ended up in the second block of Main Street at my mom's friend Dwight's shop and gallery Shabby Chic He has his art work and a few other artist's work including Kai and my mom's stuff that they have done. Kai works with clay and my mom has made Mississippi magnets out of clay with a magnolia on them (our fantastic state flower... we are the Magnolia State after all). When my mom gets into the new house...which has a perfect room for her to paint in ... she will hopefully put some in Dwight's store to sell. Then maybe one day she can be one of the featured local artist!

Louisiana Children's Museum

On Tuesday, my cousin Jen, her hubby Bryce, their two kids, Livi and Bryce, each with a friend in tow and myself piled in the good ol Durango and headed over to New Orleans for a fun filled time at the Louisiana Children's Museum. I started my morning at 7:30... early for me right now since I am trying to get my fill of sleeping in before student teaching.... and we were on our way by 9:30. We made it to one of my favorite cities... the big easy! Yay I was so excited to be going into the city during my visit home. However, it was not as fun as usual becuase I was not with my BFF Lynley (she is living in St. George right now).

Anywho, we had a ton of fun playing in all the different exhibits at the childrens museum. My favorite was one dedicated to Mr. Roger's Neighborhood! (one of my favorite shows when I was a kid) Needless to say, this was my favorite part of the museum and I hope they keep up this display area FOREVER!

There was a house to set up to look like his front door and in the closet, there was one of his sweaters! And they had a sweater you could put on just like Mr. Rogers... and it was adult size, so I could put it on too!

Then you could sit on the couch and they had the theme music playing... I was tickled pink! Then they had this bench seat set up and trolly would come by when you pushed a button.

So I pushed it and then I walked over to make believe land! They had the castle and puppets of Henerietta Pussycat, King Friday and Queen Sara! They also had a Prine Tuesday one, but a little kid was playing with it and wouldn't let me play with it...oh well! I still had fun playing with the others. Big Bryce was making fun of me and Jen on how excited we were playing with these puppets...oh well! There was also the tree that X the Owl lives in and an X the Owl puppet to play with.

So the rest of the museum was fun too... don't let me get you wrong...I just really enjoyed the Mr. Roger's Neighborhood exhibit. I did think the trolley was fun too...it was just like the ones that run on Canal Street and St. Charles. I am driving the trolley in this picture... it was just the front end of one...but it was still cool!
So after the museum, we headed to Cafe Du Monde for some oh so yummy benigets and chocolate milk (or hot chocolate in the winter).

Then we walked around the quarter...which was interesting with the kids and their friends (that would not listen to you when you said "do not leave my side")... I have taken my younger cousins many times into the city for beneigts after the zoo or to go to the aquarium and never had a problem with them running off. So one of the nice parts of the day was sitting on the grass (barefoot) in Jackson Square with the cathedral in the background.

To end our trip we stopped at Bayou Country in Slidell... this FANTASTIC store with tons of cool things that are from the area and lots of alligator things...so much fun! If you are ever in Slidell it is a must stop...and try and make it for lunch - they have the best sweet corn and crab bisque I have ever had! Well I hope you have enjoyed this ever so long blog and all the pics!

Riding with no Handlebars

So, I am home and there is this song that is quite popular at the moment. I first heard it back in the beginning of May while driving to Provo with Emily. We were on the way to Erica's wedding and I must say making fun of the song made for good conversation while driving. When we got back to good ol Rexburg, I think people thought we were nuts talking about this song we had heard. It seems that two months after I first heard the song it has finally gained popularity. Is this a good thing? I am not sure. The song is called Handlebars and is by Flobots. Here are the lyrics...let me know what you think.

"Handlebars"

I can ride my bike with no handlebars

No handlebarsNo handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars

No handlebarsNo handlebars

Look at me Look at me

Hands in the air like its good to be

Alive and Im a famous rapper

Even when the pastor all crookedee

I can show you how to dosey doe

I can show you how to scratch a record

I can take apart the remote control

And i can almost put it back together

I can tie a knot in a cherry stem

I can tell you about Leaf Erickson

I know all the words to Day Colores

And Im proud to be an american

Me and my friends saw a platypus

Me and my friends made a comic book

And guess how long it took

I can do anything that I want 'Cuz

Look

I can keep rhythm with no metranome

No metranomeNo metranome

I can see you face on the telephone

On the telephoneOn the telephone

Look at me look at me

Just called to say that its good to be

Alive in such a small world

Im all curled up book to read

I can make money open up a thrift store

I can make a living off a magazine

I can design an engine 64

I can go triple miles on the gaseoline

I can make new antibiotics

I can make computer survive aquatic

Conditions I know how to run the business

And i can make you wanna buy a product

Movers shakers and producers

Me and my friends understand the future

see the strings that control the systems

I can do anything with no assistance 'Cuz

I can lead a nation with a microphone

With a microphoneWith a microphone

And I can split the atoms of a molecule

Of a moleculeOf a molecule

Look at me Look at me

Drivin and I won't stop

And it feels so good to be alive and on top

My reach is global

My tower secure

My cause is noble

My power is pure

I can handout a million fascinations

Or let em all die from exasperations

Have all healed from their last erasions

Or have em all killed by assinations

I can make anybody go to prison

Just because I don't like 'em

I can do anything with no permission

I have it all under my command because

I can guide a missile by satellite

By satelliteBy satellite

And I can hit a target through a teleoscope

Through a teleoscopeThrough a teleoscope

And I can end the planet in a hallocaust

In a hallocaust

In a hallocaust

In a hallocaust

In a hallocaust

In a hallocaust

I can ride my bike with no handlebars

No handlebarsNo handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars

No handlebars No handlebars

Ho Hum...

Well, I am home. Not too much going here. Just wanted to let yall all know I am still alive! :) I will update soon...PROMISE!