The Count Downs Are On

I have so many count downs going on right now that I can't believe I can actually keep track of them. I think I am just so worn out and exhausted and ready to be done that I need to know to keep myself going. I imagine it is like running a race. If you stop and walk, it is harder to start running again and if the end is in sight it is easier to push till the end.

My school countdown is more like a "sprint to the end." I have 5 more days and I am trying my hardest to get everything done that I need to before the end of the year. I sure hope it happens! I need to enter report card grades, finish teaching and practice the graduation program, have field day, have graduation, do the dance festival, pack up my classroom, clean my classroom and check out by June 3rd.

My moving/seeing Travis again countdown is 22 days. I am not even attempting this stuff until the school stuff is done. I have to pack up my apartment and say bye to all of my sweet and amazing friends in Provo. I may just be putting that off because I hate goodbyes.

My getting married countdown is 44 days. Right now I am just jogging along with no stress. I still feel like it is far away. The big stuff is taken care of, so it is just the details I need to work out. I think because my life is so crazy, I am not too worried about if it all gets done or not. No big deal. My dad helped me realize that all that matters is that Travis and I are there together. Who cares about the cake or what color dresses people wear or what centerpieces are on the table? Just as long as we make those promises to each other, nothing else matters.

Then after all this stress and crazy schedules, Travis and I will have a nice relaxing cruise. I can't wait! That is in 45 days! :)

Self-Control

I am exercising great self control right now because I officially have the picture we are using for our announcement. I want to post it because I think it turned out really cute, but then there would be no surprise when you get our announcement.

Travis came into town for the weekend just so that we could take engagement pictures. We planned this months ago when we first got engaged because we had to buy a plane ticket. I figured the weather would be nice in the middle of May. As it got closer I began to get a little bit nervous because it has been raining for the past 3 weeks or so. With a lot of praying and a small miracle, the rain stopped on Saturday. It rained every day leading up to our pictures and it has been raining ever since.

We met up with our photographer, Aria, at Liberty park in Salt Lake City. We absolutely loved her! She had such good ideas and was easy to get along with. I am pretty sure that she and I could be great friends.

Since we have to mail our invitations pretty soon, she offered to upload some unedited images for us to choose from so she can edit it and get it back to us quicker. This is a pretty big deal for a photographer, so I am grateful for that! So, that means Travis and I got a sneak peak at some of the pictures and they are adorable!! I think they look great as they are! I can't wait to see the edited versions!

If you click on her name above, it will take you to her blog and you can see one of our pictures from the night. I highly recommend her!!

30 Days!!

I turned in my "Intent to Vacate Notice" today. It has to be turned in 30 days prior to moving out. Do you know what that means?!? I AM MOVING IN 30 DAYS!!!! What?!? 30 days?! How did that happen? I feel like I just moved in not too long ago and I am already moving out. I am excited to move out, but do you want to know why I am freaking out a little bit? The amount of things I need to do hit me like a ton of bricks. These are the things that need to be done...in the next 30 days...

• Finish end of year assessments for all my kids
  
• Assess EVERYTHING for the report card
• Plan and help the kids learn our graduation program
• Dance Festival
• Field Day
• Clean my Entire classroom
• Completely move out of my classroom...by the last day of school
• Completely pack and move out of my apartment
• Clean my apartment (I am clean, but remember I have a 2 year old child living with me)
• Say bye to all my friends
• Maybe eat and sleep some would be good

Those are just the necessary things. Don't forget that on top of that I am planning a wedding/luncheon in Washington DC/receptions in Oregon and Georgia/ and looking for a job and Travis is 1650 miles away. Call me crazy, but that cruise is looking better and better everyday! I just look forward to the day that I can just come home and have Travis there. It will be fabulous. Until then, wish me luck these next 30 days!

Beautiful Utah

I think I have mentioned this in a blog post before, but I am amazed at the beauty of Utah. Every day that I drive to and from work, I am blown away by the scenery around me. I find myself getting distracted by how breathtaking it is. There are two spots in particular that I look forward to seeing every day. I literally find myself sitting up taller in my seat to see the view sooner as I drive over a small hill on the way home. I was telling Jessica how much I was going to miss that drive everyday and she told me to take a picture. I have always wanted to, but I don't have a telephoto lens so I didn't think it would turn out. She said at least I would have the memories. So, I will share what I have.

This is the view as I drive to work. As I take Pioneer Crossing, I see these mountains. I love Utah because there can be green grass, blue skies and white snowy mountains. I also love Saratoga Springs because it isn't overly developed yet and green fields aren't uncommon.
This is my favorite spot just over a small hill on my way home from work. This is where my camera does not do justice to the actual scene. There are these huge white birds that hang out at this little pond. They are absolutely beautiful! Then to add to the beauty, you can see the rustic barn and mountains gracing the landscape. I don't know what it is about this spot, but I think it is just so quaint.
Sometimes it makes me sad to think that I will be leaving all of this behind. I wish that I had enjoyed it a little more while I was out here. I have always admired the beauty of the mountains, but didn't start taking advantage of them until I started dating Travis because he loves outdoor activities. Travis and I both love the west, so I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up back out here eventually.

Girl Time!!

(This is from last summer, but it is the only picture I could find with us on my new computer)

This weekend was the first in a long time that I haven't worked. I decided to take the weekend off from babysitting and do something fun. So, I had a girls night! Unfortunately I did not take any pictures though.

First, I started off my Saturday by sleeping in. I woke up at a whopping 7:00. I tell you what, waking up early has killed my sleeping in skills. I will get it back this summer! I got up and got some things done at home and then I ran a few errands. Then the fun began.

I met up with Jessica at University Mall and we began the quest for a dress for my engagement pictures that are being done in a couple of weeks. We were pretty successful. I found two dresses, but both need accessories to make them more wearable, if you know what I mean. So, I am still working on it. I am not going to describe them to you, but I will say for one of the dresses I need to get a pair of brown boots. You will just have to wait and see the pictures!

After shopping, we went and got pedicures. We thought that even though it snowed that morning, it would give Mother Nature the hint that we were ready for summer! I had mine painted pink with a little white flower on them.

After that, we went and ate at one of my favorite restaurants in Provo, Thai Ruby. Jessica said that since I wasn't going to be in Utah much longer I should pick somewhere that I couldn't get in Ohio. It was a tough choice between that and Cafe Rio.

Following dinner we hung out at Jessica's house chatting and catching up on life. I don't see her so we had to get all the updates. She also showed me some pictures of Meghan (on mission in Romania). Then was did some flower making. Travis makes fun of me for this, but I enjoy it. Once again, pictures will come shortly.

I had a blast! It was nice to take a day for myself and not work. I need to do it more often! Thanks Jess for the fun night!

The Little Red Engine

Right now, I feel like the Little Red Engine. I keep telling myself, "I think I can, I think I can." I don't know why but this past week has been really tough. I usually wake up at 5:30 and this week I was getting out of bed at 5:45, 6:00, and even 6:20. Then once I get to work I say to myself, "here we go. You can do it." That is kind of sad. I am just to that point of utter exhaustion.

I have given of myself and I don't think there is much more to give. It has finally taken a toll on my body. I guess it doesn't help that I have been sick all week AND I am planning a wedding AND I am trying to find a job in Ohio AND I am looking for a place to live in Ohio AND spend time with my Travis AND I am still babysitting on the weekends AND I still have to take care of everything here AND do my calling. I just know that I can't wait until summer. It will be the most blissful summer of my life! I can't wait! In case you are wondering, my summer officially starts in 36 days. That is 25 school days. I love my job, I love my kids, but I will love my summer vacation!

Nathan

Nathan informed me that I haven't updated my blog lately. Since he really doesn't care too much about the happenings of my life, I figured that statement could only mean one thing...he wanted me to blog about him and the recent excitements of his life. He isn't very public when it comes to his personal life, so I will be public for him. HE'S ENGAGED!!! I am so happy for him!! I met his now fiance this weekend. Of course, she is blonde and athletic. We got along really well. I hope to get to know her better in the next two months before I go out to Ohio. I have told Nathan before that it would be weird for me if he married someone that I didn't know just because we have gotten really close as we have gotten older. Now I don't have to worry about that and I definitely approve! Lucky for mom and dad, they get to have 2 weddings this year. At least they will be spread apart, right?