The 150th

I got a letter in the mail congratulating me on being in the top 15% of my graduating class at BYU.

I told my dad.

I asked him if he really thought I was in the top 15%.
"I'm not that smart" I said, walking away.

Shouting after me down the hallway: "Well, if you think about it, say 1,000 people are in your graduating class. You could be the 150th."

(laughing) "You're a jerk, dad." lol he always keeps things from getting to my head.

"Once I smelled sheepskins and felt like I was flying for a second"

Thank you, Jacob, age 7. We were reading a book about beagles and how they like to wear sheepskin sweaters. Then he made this comment. Jacob, you made my day. I had to leave the room I was laughing so hard.

kittens inspired by kittens

My bowl of Special K with Straberries didn't give me any strawberries this morning.

addict

Nasal spray, Cough Syrup, throat spray, and dramamine. Then excedrin in the morning. I love drugs.

I was reading "Teddy Bear" with the cutest little boy in my class.
And I asked him if he had a teddy bear. He didn't. Really? Nothing? Not even a blankey, something you can't go to sleep without?
No.
I was surprised at my response: "It's better to not have one. You don't want to get attached."

The perks of being sick

Well you get to stay home from school. And you get to sleep all the time and for as long as you want.
Then you get this mindset of "what do I do with all this time?" and do nothing with it. but you don't feel guilty for wasting time if it ends up that way. which it does.
You don't have to clean up. like gina is doing right now. thanks gina.
and...everyone treats you like a baby. which i love. (cough cough cough)
but to be 100% honest with you, which I think you will appreciate: I was really sad that I missed school today. Because I started taking over the classroom on Tuesday and my life is so good. Those kids are really nice to me and I like teaching.



Oh I read this cool thing to say to people with moustaches: "What's so important about your nose that you have to underline it?" Oh man I canNOT wait to run into someone with a stash and say that to them. Even if I don't know them. Do you dare me?

I butchered all my pants

So I have like 8 pair of pants. a couple black, one gray, a khaki, a brown, why am I listing this you don't even care.

Well one day I kind of lost it. I realized all my pants were too long. And they drag ya know? And it upset me. But my mom wasn't home to do it for me and I couldn't wait for her to get around to it. Started working on something. Couldn't focus. I just HAD to hem my pant legs! ALL of them. So I took my pants and I put them on one at a time. I measured a good couple inches beyond my heel and SNIPPED that point off all the way around. Snip. snip snip.

I've never used my mom's electric sewing machine. but it had thread that matched the majority of my pants and so I went for it.

No pedal. I was confused. But there was a button that said "start" so I pressed it. And figured it out.

Well it was really exciting, the speed of the needle and trying to keep up with it. Surprising, Hallie. One thing that hasn't broken that you've encountered. (patting ma back)

And there. I finished. But two pants needed hand-hemmed because the thread in the machine didn't match and I didn't want to go there. and it took forever to hand hem and made me anxious. Sewing machines rock too much!

Well I haven't gone through EVERY pair of pants yet. But. guess what. THEY ARE ALL TOO SHORT! I look like a friggin idiot every day. Good thing kids don't care. But Gina does and she makes fun of me everyday. Shameless.



So if you want to buy me pants, do it. size 8 petite/short. And you may comment curses to make me feel better.

Gateway Discover Museumy

Today I went on a field trip with my 2nd grade class to the Gateway Discovery Museum in SLC.



blew my mind. And I fell even more in love. with. children. They just bring so much joy to life and I am really glad I got to play like a kid all day. And that is how it's gonna be the rest of my life! No way.

2nd first day this year.

First conversation I heard as 2nd grade students were coming in:

Steve: You're an amateur.
Jack: WHAT?!
(Steve runs away.) That's not a word you hear in elementary school let alone 2nd grade.

I look up during writing time and Millie is pretending she's blind. Then she does this tricky hand motion to her eyes and she isn't blind any more. It's really entertaining. She does this often.

Richard: "Where's Dallin?"
Brian: "I think he's got the swine flu."
Richard: "I hope so!"

My teacher has candy, cereal, and/or pretzels in every corner of her room. I like this lady. I put an orange and green skittle in my mouth at the same time. It's a good combo, try it.

Well she gives out like one m&m or one skittle for good behavior/finished work. This happens several times during the day. Before she hands any edible item, a student goes around distributing squirts of with hand sanitizer. I'm taking tallies tomorrow for how many times the students apply hand sanitizer. That'll be cool to see. Very appropriate precaution.

rational

I was thinking about it in church today. How I have to do the Teacher Work Sample to graduate. It's due a week from tomorrow. Then I thought...what if I turn it in late? Like just whenever I get it done? They can't hold back my graduation date just for turning it in late. This is graduation we're talking about here. Graduating from college. No one is a big enough jerk to be like "hey, your TWS was a week late, you can't graduate."

lost and FOUND

Found it! I left my journal at church and the bombest girl in the ward took it home with her because she didn't want to leave it in the accessible lost and found.

nooooo!

Is there anything worse than leaving your journal somewhere? I submit that there is NOT!

Where people can just pick it up and read it? It's like leaving your soul behind! Here, just look into my soul and know everything I think about.

Bye 4th grade :(

I am exactly half way DONE!
I'd like to electronically say goodbye to Lindon Elementary. I will really miss those kids. How they tease me when I call the scissors "knives" and other accidental happenings that I can't think of right now.

Oh man those kids! Like the little skater boy who would always talk to me when he wasn't supposed to: "Miss Shumway, look at my emo eraser" "Miss Shumway, do you like my new shoes?" "Miss Shumway, smell this pencil." haha and another boy who was in love with me. And one boy that I avoided calling on because his comments always involved violence in the most awesome form. They all remind me of myself when I was their age.

I have three days off, the weekend, then I'll start 2nd grade at my sister's school! that. will. be. INCREDIBLE. What a ride I'm loving this.

I miss my daddy

The last day he was here, I got in the car to do something...probably learn how to put gas in the CNG car. (Or is it C & G? I don't know)
He had peanut butter in the middle console.

Pointing to it, I ask: "Just in case you get hungry?"
Dad: "No, I'm taking it by Lowe's or home depot."
He wouldn't explain himself, but he said it like it was so normal that it didn't register for a couple miles...
Me: "Why are you taking it to lowe's?"
Dad: "To see if they'll mix it up for me, have you ever seen them mix up the paint buckets?"
Me: "yes..."
Dad: "Yeah I am just sick of having to mix it with the egg beaters because it still separates, so I'm going to have em put it in the paint mixer and see if it'll stay mixed"

Oh man. I hope I get awesome like that when I'm old.

Cinnamuhun Guhum

So ya know how when I chew cinnamon gum my tongue feels like I just rubbed it with sandpaper? Well does anyone else feel this sensation?

Conferencial Cousin Times

My parents are out of town, my aunt is out of town, and my cousins are in town. So we took over my aunt's vacant house and watched conference. I'll list the 7 things I never want to forget about conference this year.

1. When I arrived, I saw 4 cousins and 2 people I had never seen before. I didn't know at the time, but one of those randoms was a recent convert, we'll call her Janice, and this was her first conference experience. Let's just say I ruined it for her. Probably made her leave the church. Here's why, a, b, and c:

a. During the first talk I tripped over something and started to say the d word but saved myself. Sounded something like "DAmdangit!"

b. A half hour into the first session an asian lady began speaking and half the people left the room for a snack.
me: "Just cuz she's asian guys, come ON!"
cousin 1 (female even): "No it's because she's a woman." Typical.
This was about the time Janice left the room. I didn't notice she left until later.
She came back after the session dressed up to go to the afternoon session by herself. As she was waiting for my cousin to get ready to drive her...

c. (K before I tell you what I did let me remind you how difficult it is for someone like me to sit through two hours of conference.)
I located a target: the light switch. Then I began punching, kicking at, and pretending to destroy this light switch. My cousins passed it off as normal for me, so I looked to see a fresh reaction. It's Janice, looking at me with a hint of horror but mostly disgust. When my cousin called to ask if she wanted to go to dinner/movie later, I don't know what Janice told her. But my cousin had to break away from us to hang out with her alone. DAmdangit.

2. Setting: Cousin 1 handing cousin 2 a piece of candy
Cousin 2: "I don't like that candy it's gross!"
Cousin 1: "You're gross!"
all cousins in unison: "Your mom's gross!" (funny because their mom is my aunt. so we are dissing our aunt.)

3. At half time, between the sessions, 8 cousins piled into a mini van and drove to the local grocery store. When we arrived, I spotted a cart with a toy car attached. I ran to it and managed (don't ask how) to get in. My cousin with a cast/boot on her foot hopped into the main cart. One cousin pushed us and the rest followed. We spent most our time browsing the drugs section. Eye drops...


4. As I write notes during conference, if I don't pay attention to a speaker, i write their name and put a "repeat" sign next to it, like one used in sheet music (:) Gina decided that was a brilliant idea and picked it up. A man stood up to speak (Kent Watson) and after only a few seconds Gina wrote a ":" and walked out.

5. President Packer, if you noticed, spoke from a chair.
I thought out loud: "He's next."
Cousins: "HALLIE!"

6. Cousin 3: What does "Balm of Gilead" mean?
Cousin 4: "It's like chapstick for your soul"

7. And my favorite. Alyson had the worst time staying awake. So she did these movements to keep herself awake. I loved nothing more than to catch a movement out of the corner of my eye and glancing over, only to see her swaying her arms, rolling her head around, or rocking back and forth. Like she was mental or something. Oh man good times.

Happy October

I love this vid. (Click on "this vid" mom) I spent way to much time with Paint drawing pictures and writing in a poem for my class last year. Then my brother Ethan did an amazing voice for it and was hilarious. He sounds like 80 years old but he's not 80.

Please view to make the most of your October. Or die. You choose.

AHHHHHHHH

Speaking to my observer from BYU at school:

Me: Where am I assigned to teach next? (In two weeks I'll switch schools for the remainder of the year.)
Observer: Grovecrest. (In Pleasant Grove) We try to have one diverse school and one nondiverse school in your student teaching experience.
Me: Which of those schools is diverse?
Obs: The one you are at.
(In my head I am thinking of the two brilliant bilingual rich kids that they passed as "diverse.")
Me: If I want to be at another school, would that opinion count for anything?
Obs: I'm not sure, but I can ask! Where do you want to be instead?
Me: Westmore. My sister teaches there.
Obs: Well I can't guarantee anything but I'll see what they say.

TWO DAYS LATER . . .

THEY ARE LETTING ME GO TO WESTMORE!! I'll be teaching at the same school as my sister for 7 weeks! And it is the lowest funded school in the county! And there are as many white kids in that school as there are snowflakes in the summer. So diverse experience I will have! Yay. Love em. Love it. mmmmhm!

My dad feeds my dog 2 week old chocolate chip cookies from the grocery store for treats. They never got eaten because he's been hiding them by his bed.

Hiking Rock Canyon.

Passing a man that is taking it real slow...He's on his way out.
He starts talking but since my music is on in my ear canal I can't hear him
So I take the earplugphones out. Only to find it wasn't worth it:
"You're one of those tough girls."
I just like to hike. I don't like the gym. Gyms are for people that never get bored. And like the smell of rubber.
And you could probably beat me up.