My Summer Project : Turing Chaos into Order

So many books, so unorganized...

Here are some pictures of the progress that has been made so far on my room.  Many hours have all gone into making this room and though it isn't done yet it is much better than when we started. 

So many books!! (And about four other boxes full not pictured)

Organizing all of the books.

Doesn't it look SOOO much better?

The guys hanging the fabric on the bulletin boards.

What manly men!

Fabric: check!

Trying to get into character....

Arrrrg!

Brandon gained experience in the fine art of bulletin boarders.

Front of the room.

Big bulletin board and rug

Brandon was a little tired after all his hard work.

Dad put up the number wall

We divided the large bulletin board into thirds

Calendar Board

Get Hooked on Reading!

Word Wall

Enter at yer own risk matey.

I'm Going to the Olympics!!

 Ok so I'm not going to be heading to London anytime soon but on our way back to Utah we drove back with Brandon's parents and younger sisters and made a pit stop in Colorado Springs to visit his sister Jamie for a couple of days. While we were there we did go to the Olympic Training Center there in Colorado Springs which was really interesting. We got to see where some of the Olympians trained and lived throughout the year. 

Trying to be Olympians.

Brandon's niece could fit under the statue.

Countdown to the Olympics

Olympic Champions!

Oklahoma Vacation

    Wow have the last few weeks been Crazy!  A couple of weeks ago Brandon and I made a trip out to Oklahoma to visit his parents/sisters and to give me a chance to see his hometown. (Yes, it did take me almost an entire year of marriage to finally see where my husband grew up, shame on me... moving on....) I will admit right now that I wasn't sure what to expect. Growing up in California and having the beach and Disneyland so close you kind of get the opinion that nothing, and I mean NOTHING will even remotely compare  (yes we Californians do have snobbish of opinions about ourselves ;).  Anyway I couldn't have been more wrong, it was soo beautiful out there. It was so green and had so many trees!!  If it weren't for the humidity that plagued us the entire trip I wouldn't mind living out there.

      We also went with his parents, his sister Jamie and her two kids (who were also visiting for a few days from Colorado), and his sister Sharon and her husband Craig with their two kids to one of the area's main attractions Woolaroc. Woolaroc is museum and wildlife preserve and was so beautiful. We happened to come on a day where they were having KidsFest and so there were plenty of things for us to do. They had a petting zoo, inflatable slides, and games. It was fun to just sit back and watch the kids have fun. That being said we were all happy to head home after a couple of hours (100 degree weather plus humidity will do that to you.)

  We really did have a fun week with Brandon's family and it was a great time for me to get to know them a little bit better.  I made Brandon take me to all of the places he frequented growing up such as his elementary school, high school, where he worked etc. it was fun.

Brandon helping his niece and nephew feed the buffalo ((It's a statue that you feed trash to)

I could see forever!

Not a great picture but there were these crazy painted buffaloes all around Bartlesville.

Braum's = one of the greatest places to get ice cream ever!

Brandon really enjoyed his ice cream. lol

My Summer Project : The Beginning

         School is finally out for the summer! (Hallelujah!!!) Now it's time for me to begin my main summer project, aka: setting up my very first classroom! My parents are up this week to help me and so last night I brought them and Brandon to see my classroom for the first time. (Though I basically had to drag Brandon kicking and screaming because the Oklahoma Thunder were playing that night). We all piled into the car and headed down to Spanish Fork to Canyon Elementary.

         Here are some pictures of my empty canvas ready and waiting for me to fill it with cutesie bulletin boards, and learning centers into a place that will (hopefully) make my students excited to come to class and to learn. I will be posting pics throughout the summer to show how it is progressing. I have decided on a classroom theme which I'm pretty excited about, which I'm going to see if it becomes apparent as the room takes shape. So keep checking back in regularly to see our progress!

Best picture of most of the room.

Brandon showing off.

Memorial Day Weekend

For Memorial Day weekend Brandon and I made a quick trip to California to spend some time with my family and to go to one of my good friend's wedding.
  We had hoped to spend Friday at the beach but because the weather was so rainy and cold we decided that that probably wasn't the best idea. Instead Brandon and I caught up on some much needed rest and relaxation which was very nice.
  Saturday was my friend Heather and her new husband Robert's wedding. Brandon and I were able to go to their sealing which was so amazing because it was the first one we had been to since our own wedding.We were a little worried that Brandon wouldn't be able to go because he forgot his temple recommend at home but a quick call from the temple workers to Salt Lake and he was given the go-ahead which I was very grateful for.( He also forgot his church shoes and had to wear my dad's old ones which was quite amusing to see because my dad's feet are about two sizes smaller than Brandon's, his razor and his belt. I think next time I will just have to pack for him).
       The ceremony was wonderful, the weather was perfect and the happy couple were beaming the entire time. It was so wonderful to be able to be there.  That night we went to their reception where I was able to see some of my friends from high school who I hadn't seen since August (really guys we need to hang out more often than just when people get married ;) which was great. 

Dad, Mom, Me and Brandon in front of the Redlands Temple

                                                 

Heather and Robert Sears

What a cute couple!

The gang is back together! (Kinda dark sorry) Me, Heather, Allison and Glenda

Just a couple of goofballs in crazy matching ties.

   Sunday was another quite day spent with family and then we were back on the road early Monday morning back up to Utah and to school. It was a wonderful weekend, spent with my favorite people.

Families are Forever

Family is one of the greatest blessings our Father in Heaven has given us. They are there for us in our best moments and in our worst.
 Sometimes I wonder why things happen the way that they do. Like most people I tend to like to have my life go the way that I plan, which is not always the same as what our Father in Heaven has planned. I know that Heavenly Father can see the whole picture while I can only see but a glimpse and I do have a testimony that families can be together forever, however I still find myself asking 'why'?
           Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does is seem that no matter what we do, the world continues to get worse and worse? and WHY do sweet innocent little children have to suffer? Why are they taken from this life before they have really had a chance to experience it?  How can everything be fine one minute and the next a perfect little family is changed forever?
             This are the questions that keep popping into my head. The pain I am feeling cannot even hold a candle to that which others are experiencing all around the world and even in my own family. But even as these questions appear another, much more predominate questions enters my mind: How can people experience the pain of this life without the hope and expectation of what is to follow in the next? How can the world function without the belief of life after death? or eternal families? How can people experience all the pain of this life is they think that this life it is, our one chance and then everything ceases to exists after we die?
              I am so incredibly grateful to know that this life is not the end. That there is still so much more ahead of us. I'm grateful for Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness and that through Temple covenants families can be together forever, and for the blessings of the gospel and the knowledge that are families do not end after this life, that we can all be together again. This life is full of pain and adversity but somehow if we stay strong and keep the covenants that we have made we will be together again.

Our Lives During the Past Few Months....

Ok, I do realize that it has been forever and a day since I have posted ( in my defense I did warn you ), so I thought I would take a minute and catch up on what has been going on in our lives.

  For Thanksgiving we took a trip out to Colorado Springs to Brandon's sister Jamie's house, where the rest of his family joined us. It was a very nice trip and gave me a chance to get to know Brandon's family a little better, since we had only really spent time together a week or two before the wedding (though I will admit that it was weird not spending a major holiday with my parents and cousins). It was a nice break from all of the craziness that college life brings, and very relaxing.

Us and Our loot!

   Our First Christmas break was a little crazy to say the least.  My aunt Kina who had had cancer for several years passed away right before Christmas and my Grandpa Wright hadn't been doing very well either. My dear sweet parents drove up to Utah to spend a few days with my Grandparents and then we all went down to California for the funeral only to turn around and go back to Provo to spend Christmas with my mom's family (which they do every other year) and then (because my parents are saints and I needed to be get out of Provo) we all drove back to California a day or so after Christmas where we spent the remainder of our break. My mother was so amazing the entire time we were down, letting us be bums and do nothing except watch 'Heroes' and be lazy. We did make it out to San Diego for a day and went to the zoo which was soo much fun! Overall another great break, preparing me for the most insane semester of my life!

I got Brandon tickets to go see The Thunder play for his birthday

    Ok, now on to the real reason I haven't posted anything in so long. When winter semester hit I decided that I was going to take 20 units! (For those of you who don't know 18 units in the maximum amount of credits a student is usually allowed to take any given semester at BYU, anymore and you have to receive special permission. I had only ever taken up to 16 units in a semester before). Needless to say I was in over my head. It was the hardest, most frustrating, most mentally and physically draining semester of my entire life. Brandon was my rock the entire time though. Boy did I feel bad for that boy! I'm sure he listened to my angry rants, and witnessed more emotionally breakdowns than he had ever before and was probably wondering what he had gotten himself into. But through the entire time he was my rock and I couldn't have done it without him.  Which is not to say we didn't have some fun moments, but it general it was a very stressful time at the Reid house. Overall I was fairly satisfied with my ending GPA of 3.89.

Brandon and I at the Festival of Colors in March 2012

        One REALLY good thing did come out of that semester though. I applied (and got) for an internship position for next year!! This means that instead of student teaching in the fall I will have MY OWN classroom! That's right ladies and gentleman someone thought it was a good idea to put Me in charge!! Wahaha.... I am going to be teaching Second Grade at Canyon Elementary School in Spanish Fork ! 



So that is what has been going on with the Reid family these past few months. I am still in school (until the middle of June) and Brandon is taking a graduate level course and working full time. I will try to be better but I make not promises!