Done!

In the midst of all the crazy end of year stuff I forgot to post that I met the goal I set for myself a few months ago. At 11:00 p.m. Friday June 4th I finished The Book of Mormon. There were no life altering events or revelations as I worked toward this goal, but I do feel a sense of accomplishment. Apparently the lesson I needed to learn was to have faith. Anything regarding faith really stuck out to me. Ether chapter 12 was definitely one of my favorites. Check it out some time.
The Book of Mormon is true!

The End...

Let the year end festivities begin....


Yesterday was 9th Grade Lagoon Day. There are several of us at Valley who look forward to 9th Grade Lagoon Day every year. It's almost a "Thank you for putting up with these stinkers all year. Have a day at Lagoon and lunch on us." We have had new assistant principals this year who have been a lot of fun. Shauna informed all of us who signed up to go to Lagoon that we would be participating in one of those old fashioned photos in Pioneer Village. Was I thrilled about that? No. Was I hoping deep down that I would be able to get out of it? Yes. Did my dreams come true? Well, what do these pictures tell you? Apparently the end of this school year involved a lot of wearing costumes for me. Definitely not something I frequently seek out...

Yes, I was the only woman who would not take off my t-shirt. Why? 3 reasons. 1. I'm a prude, it's really that plain and simple. 2. Who else has worn that dress????? Just sayin'... ewww yuck! 3. All those men work with me. I would have to look at them all in the future and I couldn't have done that knowing they had seen that much of me.

Today would not have been complete without finishing a ritual I began back in February. The month of February turned out to be one of the worst few weeks on record for me. It's kind of a long story, so we'll just leave it at... It was BAD! Because I of that I was just done. One of my cute students helped me created a paper chain. It had 75 links in it when we began. I wrote the dates on each link and every afternoon when I left school (or the next morning if I forgot) I had the privilege of tearing off another link. Today I removed my final link, and while it still doesn't feel like the last day of school there was some relief knowing that this horribly difficult school year is over and next year has much brighter promise. Honestly, it can't get much worse.

Something You Thought You Would NEVER See...

http://gallery.me.com/sstates#100130

TRUST ME.... YOU WANT TO SEE THIS! IT'S A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EVENT!!! Yes, that's me on the far right...

LaCaille 2010

This year I was once again invited to chaperone a group of our 9th graders to LaCaille. It's always fun to go there and it's even more fun to experience it through the eyes of 14 and 15 year olds who are doing their very best to be on their best behavior. When we arrived this peacock was ready and waiting for us. He had his tail feathers all fanned out and after a bit of begging and pleading he turned around and gave us a show.

Some of my cute students.

I seriously work with some of the most beautiful teenagers on the planet. This cute girl was planning my wedding as we walked around the grounds. I always think it's funny when students do that. I had 3 girls from my very first group of 9th graders 3 years ago who informed me at the end of the year that they were going to be my bridesmaids. The thing all these kids forget... the man.

Here is one of my students with my fellow counselor Julie. Julie is new to Valley this year and she and I have become good friends. I have enjoyed working with her and I am so very excited that she will be able to stay at Valley next year.

This peacock was perched on top of this planter and stayed put and almost completely still throughout most of our meal.

Our table. No, I did not choose to sit with the adults. I love to spend time doing positive things with my students. It was fun to watch them experience this fine dining. I also needed to help keep them somewhat calm, I would like next year's 9th graders to be invited back...

We had Bananas Foster for dessert. Last year they did a demonstration of the flambe technique separately and then just simply poured the caramel and bananas on our ice cream separately. This year they set each of our desserts on fire and boy oh boy could you taste the alcohol! I took 2 bites and was done. To think, they gave that to 20 teenagers. Sure, the alcohol had been burned off by the flame, but the bitter aftertaste was definitely there. I learned today that I would not handle alcohol very well.

Many Mighty Miracles

Friday May 21- Saturday May 22nd was our annual Relief Society Retreat. I had a great time surrounded by wonderful friends (who taught me some new dance moves). However, the lasting memory I will take from this last weekend will be of the lesson I learned of the miracles that surround me daily. Our retreat theme was many might miracles and for the 40 days previous we had been asked to notice miracles that occurred in our lives. Some days it was a real stretch for me (for example: "I didn't strangle any students or teachers today."). But, on the way to the retreat I was taught a powerful lesson that miracles really are in my life daily. We got almost half way up Parley's Canyon and came upon this accident. We sat in the parking lot of traffic for 45 minutes which gave us time to analyze the scene before us. After several phone calls to friends in cars further back, friends already in Midway, and my mother looking for directions to alternate routes we were informed that the accident that lay not even a mile ahead of us had been fatal for one driver. It was then that I fully processed what I had been looking at. My friends and I had missed this accident by only 10 minutes. We were scheduled to leave the church at 6:00 p.m. but we did not pull out of the parking lot until 6:10 p.m. Heavenly Father had been watching over us. Everyone in our group was safe. We could see one car from our ward ahead of us and we knew that the rest were not far behind us. We also knew that the previous groups had departed at 5:30 and we had contacted them and knew they were safe. The gratitude I felt for my Heavenly Father was overwhelming. I love my friends so dearly and I was so grateful that they were all safe. My heart ached, and still does, for the family that had to receive that most terrible phone call that evening. I was reminded that only 3 1/2 years ago I had been part of a family that received a similar phone call. I prayed silently for that family and I still pray for them each day. I believe that sometimes terrible accidents happen, and I don't know if this scene from Friday night was "meant to be," or if it was simply an accident. I suppose I never will know. But, what I do know is that Heavenly Father loves us. He knows there will be accidents while we are on Earth, nothing is perfect, not even the brakes on a truck. And while this may or may not have been planned, Heavenly Father loves each of us and will provide the comfort and strength that family needs. Heavenly Father protected me that evening, and He protected my friends and for that I am grateful.

Happy Mothers' Day!

We saw this on the way to Orem this afternoon. It was those machines that I think pump cement and they have really long "arms" (yes, I am awesome with machinery terms!). While we got a car in the picture (it's hard to take a picture from a vehicle traveling at freeway speeds) you can get the idea.

Happy Mothers' Day Mom! I hope you had a great day! Thank you for all you do for me and for never giving up on me even when I gave up on myself. You pretty much have a place saved for you in Heaven simply for putting up with me! I LOVE YOU!

9th Graders...

Friday May 7th was our annual 9th Grade Panoramic Picture. It's always a slightly stressful event because you never know what to expect when you squeeze 300 15 year olds into a very small space. This year I nailed 2 kids for throwing gang signs, and even forced one to leave the group and have a discussion with our assistant principal and our school cop. The thing these kids don't realize is how little I know about drugs, gangs, and several other things. The fact that I am able to identify gang signs means that they are being very stupid about showing them. If you were to tell some of the people I went to high school with that I can throw gang signs with the best of them, tell them what colors belong to which groups, identify what some graffiti means, and pick out when someone is high/drunk they would be astonished. I was that naive. So, these naughty kids should be embarrassed that I was the one who busted them!

As I was looking at this group of teenagers I realized what a difficult year this has been and I also realized that I'm not sad to see this group move on. However, this cute group of SBOs and cheerleaders will be some of the few that I will miss. There's always a few in each group that I hope to remember.