Day 6: Uhhh....

Day 6

Well today, what can I say.  I survived! With great help from my choir and band teacher (we had our school play showing to our middle schoolers today), I didn't have to teach 11th period!  It was the best, since I told them we could watch Call of the Wild and I didn't have it!  So I have to buy it, wait a second....  Okay I just bought it off Amazon.  I love that site!!  So next week we will be watching Call of the Wild.  It should be a good week!

We watched the high school put on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat today.  It was bizarre and strange, they aren't the best singers, but I liked it!  It was funny and fun to watch them running around like crazy!  Then it was home to take care of Suzi, she had thumb surgery from when we totaled my car in December, it didn't heal right so they went back and broke it again, attached ligaments and put pins in.  Sound like fun doesn't it!  She'll be back to work Monday and hopefully feeling better by then.  We also went to Hollywood video in town because they are closing and selling all they have for cheep!  Well, the lady was like I'm closed leave, I'm closed leave, and we were trying to help Suzi to the door.  Beth just yelled at her, have some patience okay, she can't hardly walk!  It was great, because the lady was really mean and Beth said, you're lucky you can't loose your job.  Wow.  Suzi was glad though because she's just trying to function and this lady was rude to her.  Then I played volleyball.... oh the love!! :)

We don't have results from District track yet, but from what I could see, we will take 2nd to Firth in boy and girls.  Overall, we did great and it was awesome!  Tomorrow I'm taking a friend to the play and I'll have to shot some pictures for you all!  I'm excited for this weekend.  It should be a ton of fun and crazy busy too!  Pictures I will take for you all. Sorry there is nothing more exciting happening!

Day 5: Cinco de Mayo and District Track!

Today is Cinco de Mayo, and Suzi had surgery on her right hand from our car wreck.  She is doing good so far, I have to help her walk places and feed her food and pills, but she's going to be great soon I hope!  School was super fun because my students had a T.A.T.U. assembly, Teens Against Tobacco Use, and they loved it and I loved not having class.  Haha.  Track left at 11:15 today, so it was crazy running out the door as soon as lunch started.  I left some fun yarn weaving/ handbag making projects for my seventh graders to do, ran as fast as possible, and jumped on the bus! Off we went for RIRIE!!  Reminds me of when Jenny Oris and I would go and visit Brigham Cook.  The sign on the way into Ririe reads, Smile! You're not lost...  You're in Ririe!  District track meet was great, we started field events at 1 P.M.  Ben and I had long jump and had to trade for discus.  Bummer because discus should take longer than long jump, but because of our expertise, we were done first out of all the field events!  I snapped some photos of our hecka COLD and WINDY day.  It even started raining/snowing for about 5 minutes.  Then, as luck would have it, at the end of the meet the sun came out to meet us.  So we went home.  I was bundled up with two blankets for the meet.  Oh, lovely Idaho weather.
 
Alexa, Alyssa, and I at the meet in Ririe, GO HUSKIES!!

When I got home, I made a treat for Suzi.  We participate in Bountiful Baskets and received an ACORN squash the other week.  I had no idea what to do with it and found a great recipe I'll put on my blog later (spicy apple acorn squash).  So I worked hard bc from the hospital she called and said she wanted it.  Then it turns out she didn't.... haha.  But here is the picture, looks good but I haven't tried it yet!  Busy busy Wednesday.  Tomorrow will be slower for sure!  School meetings tomorrow.  I hope they go well!

Day 4: Blow Ups and Family Dinner

Day 4

Wow, four days in a row! It's like a mini journal.  I'm actually impressed because I've been so tired today I just wanted to go to bed.  But here I am, diligent and blogging.  Today was a rough one at school. My first 3 periods went off pretty good.  It was that dirty rotten fourth period that did me in; they complained and complained all day.  Until I finally lit into them the worst I've ever done at school!  I was so mad my eyes were watering and my head was filling with mean things to say.  But nonetheless, I kept it inside and just basically called them out on their whinniness and told them if they wanted to learn they had to pay attention and keep doing what I was showing them.  We are diagramming sentences, which is hard, but I don't need to hear the... why are we doing this, I don't get it so all I'm doing is copying this down and not learning, this won't help me in life!  Well, basically nothing you do in school will help you in life, so suck it up and work because it's a right of passage!  haha, not really but it's what I wanted to say!  To top it off, my kids said to me today, "Ms. Bevans, don't you just teach us so that we can pass the ISAT?  We already took those so we don't need to learn more this year."  Wow, I wanted to die right then and there.  I was so mad, but I kept working and my class shut up so we could get something done, this was after I lite into them!

(For those of you interested, ISAT is the Idaho Standards Assessment Test.  We get rated on a scale to see how our school does for No Child Left Behind.  If you want my opinion on NCLB, it's on this website, stated so nicely by John Taylor.)

Then I came home after an AMAZING track practice --I love those kids and I'll miss them for sure-- and had Family Dinner.  I love family dinner.  Although I have no family in Rexburg, my roommate Suzi and her family has adopted me.  I really feel like part of the group. We eat dinner together each week.  Usually on Wednesday, but since my track meets have been interfering, we moved it to Tuesday temporarily.  Tonight was Skillet Stew, it was yummy.  I'll have to start taking pictures for everyone.  At dinner we have in attendance: Liz and Dave, Will, Matt, Suzi and I.  Liz and Dave are married and usually host family dinner, Liz is Suzi's older sister.  Will is her brother and Matt is Will's best friend since they were about 15 I believe.  So that's the connections.    We just eat and chat and have fun. Tonight after dinner, we were sitting around, and Liz let me take a nap on the couch while her and Suzi chatted.  It was the best, and o so typical for me! Haha.  It's fun to feel like you have family far away from close family and friends.  I lost Spring and Sean to Pocatello so now I have a mini sub. Yay!  Other than that, Taylor my friend will be here in a minute.  I better run....  Districts is tomorrow and I'm so excited!  Also, I'll have to show you the projects my 7th graders are working on.  Good stuff!

Wind Storms and Hot Tubs

Monday routine goes like this: school, track practice until 5, eat dinner, go to FHE, then hot tub at Aubrey's house, finally to bed.  We love Monday's for this reason only! Hot water and cold air, nothing better.  We started in January when it was oh so cold outside, the warmest it would get was 20 degrees, and now it's up to 40!  WOW!  We would trapse through the snow and hop in the tub.  It's a joy now to fun to the tub in grass and enjoy the warmth inside and out.  I especially enjoy this after a long day of snowboarding.  Today was a little difficult because of the wind storms.  They closed a highway close to town and I-15 because the gust were up to 70mph.  My grandmother in Utah said it was blowing semi's over on the highway!  But we withstood the storm and went anyways, wood chips in the tub and all.  We had a great time!  When I grow up, listen to me making goals of adult life!, I want a hot tub at my house.  Hours of pain and misery washed away in hot water.... ahhhh.

Today was my last Monday coaching middle school track.  I love my team and I have so much fun with them.  One girl I especially have to word hard with.  She is born with amazing natural talent and blows everyone out of the water when she runs.  She's loosing her passion for beating everyone though.  So I'm trying my best to motivate her and push her.  I also take time to listen to her so I can help her work through mental blocks. So far it seems to be improving, but she's a great girl that I previously thought I could never connect with and now I just adore her.  Coaching is great!  I coach on a great track with a great co-coach, Ben Lenz.  We work hard to help our kids get better and have fun while doing it.  I'm excited for Wenesday, which is Districs in Ririe.  Now, you would think with such a great passion for track, and growing up on really nice facilities, we would have a great track. But in all actuality, it looks like this....

 

Most of the season we have spend running on the road and in the parking lot because the snow took forever to melt!  Now, this is not our real track but looks pretty close.  I found it on google.com.  Even though I love track, I'm ready for the season to be over.  I also and so ready for school to be over, just like all of my students.  Next year will be awesome, this one will be fun to leave.  Just 18 more days!!  My students count for me.  I am excited for summer and the journey's to come.  Check tomorrow for more juicy details of my life! :)