School's Out!

Today I went to an end-of-the-year luncheon at Golden Corral in Orem for Bonneville.

I was blown away that they invited me and all of the other new teachers who will be at the school next year.

I sat down with my team and I couldn't get over how nice they all are! One of them told me how excited she was to work with me and to please go to her with any questions. Another asked about my preparations and made sure I was feeling ok about everything. 

I am amazed by their support. 

After everyone ate, we had presentations. A lot of the staff is moving or retiring this year, so the grade levels had sweet presentations to say their goodbyes. 

I couldn't get over how much everyone really seemed to care for one another and how it felt like we were all a part of one big "family."

For example, when our Principal introduced some new teachers, he called my name and said, "All of us know Lizzy!" and people clapped! It made me feel so good. Then he said when he was at Kindergarten Graduation today, one of the mom's asked who Miss Weidemann was, as I was their students 1st grade teacher. He said, "You know her! She has been subbing all year long in Kindergarten." Yet again, I felt special and supported.

I am telling ya, I totally won the lottery this year!!  

We have district training next week and I am excited to get the ball rolling :)

P.S. Just got this in an e-mail.

My mom arrived in D.C. today to visit my niece :)

She is getting so big!

Picture A Day (PAD)

So many of you have probably seen those things on Facebook or other blogs about a picture a day for each month. I have a few friends that are always doing it, as well as my sister-in-law. A little while ago, my mom asked why I don't do something like that.

I thought, "why not give it a try!"

Reading my sis-in-law's blog today reminded me June is right around the corner and I've said, "why not give it a try," for almost 2 months now!!

So for June I will be following Fat Mum Slim's Picture A Day outline:

I will be posting these pictures in the tab called "P.A.D" at the top of my blog. 

Join me :)

Memorial Day Weekend

My weekend started off with a relaxing Friday, where I got a lot of classroom prep done and even sneaked in a $1 movie. Two girlfriends and I saw John Carter. If you have seen Friday Night Lights, Riggs is the main character, hence why we went. It was a very different movie and probably one I'd never own, but entertaining!

Check out these adorable owls I had laminated! 

I am going to use them for classroom jobs and such.

I am going to put velcro on their bellies and then velcro the name of each student on an owl, that way I can use them for years to come.

I will then have them all in a tree and rotate them through the jobs!

On Saturday I woke up and helped clean our ward building. Then 3 friends and I headed to Midway to have some fun. We played the Kinect (Dance Central 2, Kinect Sports, and Adventures), went to The Store for lunch, went swimming, watched Captain America, and playing "anything goes" ping pong. I have not laughed that hard in a long time. It was great to get out of Provo with some fun friends and enjoy lots of activities. 

Then that evening I enjoyed a much overdue phone call with my mom! She has been in Canada most of the week, so we hadn't talked much. Little did we know, we talked for 2 hours!! It seriously only felt like 20 minutes. I love her and how we can talk so easily for so long :)

The rest of the weekend included getting released from my stake calling, adventures up Guardsman Pass (I fell in love with all the aspens!), intense badminton competitions, an attempt to stay awake through multiple movies, and lots of food!

How was yours? :)

P.S. Guess who will be making a trip back East this July? And guess who is super excited to take her stinkin' cute niece to the zoo???

High Five for Friday!

It's Friday!

Here are a few things making my top 5 this week:

1. I found out Barnes and Noble gives discounts to teachers. A 20% discount!!

2. Because of said card, I was able to get two great books yesterday for the grand total of $7.33. Boom, baby!

Wemberly Worried is a great first day of school book. I am planning an activity where we can talk about the things we are nervous about going to school.

I love Skippyjon Jones. Family, this is the book that I got that name from that I call Bry sometimes :)

3. My parents went on a short cruise up to British Columbia. They said it was beautiful and a much needed relaxing vacation. Glad they are home safely!

4. I went to a BYU baseball game last night for a ward activity. I love baseball. It is beginning to feel like summer :)

5. Seven Peaks opens this weekend! That means I will finally get to go read by the pool on days I don't have training or work in my classroom. Bring on the hot days!

Classroom Prep

I can't begin this post without taking a moment to recognize how blessed I am.

Nearly a year ago, I was going through a rough transition. 

I graduated from college and, among other things, a teaching job was not looking promising.

I searched all summer for a teaching job and then come August, I tried my hand at other types of employment. I got many, many interviews, but never landed a position.

A major blow to my "I am so awesome" ego.

In the middle of September, a girl in my ward and teacher at Bonneville, suggested my name to be a sub for a girl going on maternity leave in Kindergarten. 

Thanks, Kimberly :)

Through this job, I got another 6 week maternity leave job in 3rd grade at Bonneville. I started to get to know the faculty better and soon people were asking me to sub for them on my free days.

Would I have liked a more secure job this past year? Yes! But I know this is what I needed to do and where the Lord wanted me to be. 

But now, here I am, one year later with a contract and my own classroom :)

I have been blessed with a fantastic team! I originally interviewed for the Kindergarten job, but was put in 1st grade. The team has been so welcoming and comforting. 

For example, one of the teachers opened up her files to me and has let me come in this week and make copies of whatever I want. Blessing! 

I have had fun getting organized and gathering all my things to take over to my classroom come the middle of June :)

I went and got this small hanging file holder at Target. I am putting all of the copies I have made in it for now and then will use it on my desk at school for my weeks plans.

Check out the inside. Tan and White chevron pattern. I love it :)

I also am finally able to get these little guys out and put them up around the room!

My mom knows me too well and knows I love little characters to go with my books. For the past few Christmas', she has gotten me one or two to start my collection. I think they are adorable around the classroom and easy decorations.

Like I said....blessed :)

How Pinteresting....

Like I've said several times, I love Pinterest. 

I could spend hours a lot of time searching various boards and getting ideas.

Here are a few things that I'm loving today:

Slow Cooker Lasagna Recipe {recipe}

Canvas Art

Hahahahah

I told my Mom we are making this ASAP :)

Baked Penne with chicken, broccoli, and mozzarella {recipe}

:)

Weekend Wrap-Up

I had a wonderful weekend. 

It was basically my first full weekend home in over a month!

I had a great week of substituting at Bonneville in Kindergarten as they did testing. 

I am so excited to get so many of those kids next year in 1st!

Friday

I had a haircut in Salt Lake and visited my grandma and grandpa quickly. I had to race back to Orem for a faculty meeting at Bonneville. They introduced all of the new faculty members for the next school year and talked about a few things that will be happening. I loved already knowing most of the faculty. It has made the process so much easier. I am truly blessed :)

Later that night a group of ward friends and I went and saw Dark Shadows. Personally, I thought the movie was a waste of time, but I heard some did like it. I definitely won't be seeing it again, but I loved getting to visit with friends.

Saturday 

Saturday morning I woke up and drove to Salt Lake for my cousin Lexie's bridal shower. My grandma hosted the event at her house and really spoiled Lex. It was wonderful to see the Clyde side of the family and visit with them. 

I love my grandparents' backyard :)

 Lex opening our gift

Cousins!  Thanks, Melanie ;)

Later that evening, me and some girlfriends went to Brick Oven for dinner and then saw What to Expect When You're Expecting. We thought it was hilarious and just a fun. I really enjoy a girl's night out now and again. 

Sunday

As always, church was wonderful and I came away knowing more than when I came. After a laid back afternoon, Chels and I and some other friends went outside to try to get a glimpse of the solar eclipse. A guy in a group had special glasses that filtered the sunlight so you could, safely, view it. It was really neat and I'm glad I could experience it. 

I tried to make a pin viewer.....it didn't work too well :)

Hope you had a nice weekend as well :)

Cruise: Day 6

Day 6

May 9, 2012

Grand Cayman was our last port of the trip and it was beautiful! I would love to have the opportunity to go back one day.

We signed up to go to a turtle farm, go to Hell (relax, it's an actual city), and swim with the sting rays! It was a long and fun-filled day!

First we were off to Hell, a city that has some lava rock formations that people dubbed as "Hell" because they thought that is what Hell would look like.

Not necessarily a place I would visit again, but I can to say you've been to Hell and back .

After our quick trip to Hell, we headed to a turtle farm where we were able to hold turtles! Dream. Come. True. They had large pools of turtles you could pick up and hold. 

We were able to walk around for about an hour and hold the turtles, look at some of their education facilities, get to see a cayman, and enjoy the tropical breeze.  

After the turtle farm, we made our way back through town to head towards the dock to hop on our sting ray boat. The town was beautiful. It reminds me a little of Hawaii. The Cayman Islands are British Territory, so we drove on the other side of the road. She also told us how they are planning a great celebration for the Queen's Jubilee. 

They also have a place called 7 mile beach that is spotted with nice hotels (Marriott, Ritz, Sheraton, etc). New vacation spot, Mom and Dad??? ;)

For you, Pop :)

Once at the boat dock, we got on our catamaran and headed out to a sandbar a few miles off shore. This sandbar is where the string rays stay in order to get fed by tourists. All the boats back up in a circle and the tourists get out and feed the string rays. Our guide said this has been done for over 65 years, so the rays are friendly and they rarely have problems. 

 Maren and I getting our squid to feed the rays..

 Feeding the rays...

 Apparently I didn't like the feel of it......

 Chelsea didn't want to hold or feed a ray, so, like a good friend, I pretended to be one for her :)

After getting back to the port, we had another formal night. We ate in the dining room, attended a show, went to a comedy show, and then hit the hay. It really was a phenomenal day!

For your viewing pleasure:

And Maren just gave me this one from Roatan on me zip lining :)