First Week of School

I can't believe I have started my sixth year of teaching this week. I am teaching 22 4th graders and my classroom is located in a portable. The good thing about being in a portable is I do not have to rotate every nine weeks and pack up my classroom into a closet. The bad thing is I will be out of the social scene in the school and it smells moldy. All is well! I can't complain. I feel lucky to have only 22 students and I am teaching the Accelerated Learning Program for Students (ALPS) class. My class will be learning 5th grade math and language arts (according to their reading levels).

Good luck to all of the students out there and their teachers! May we have a fantastical 2009-2010 learning school year!

Week of July 24th

While Amy and the kiddos were in town. We went to the Oquirrh Temple Open House in South Jordan, UT. We will not have this opportunity again for a while. Amy and I went to the Jordan River Temple Open House back in 1981. I was three and Amy was six. I remember the escalators and the bright rooms.


I can only imagine Garrett felt the spirit in the temple. He was all giggles and smiles today!

I am truly blessed to know that families can be together forever thanks to the sealing, covenants, and blessings of the temple. Salt Lake County alone will have four temples after the dedication of the Oquirrh Temple. Time to serve others!!!

Jordan Ridge Elementary 4th graders (our students) sang the open song at the Days of '47 Rodeo. Alison and I taught the song to the students and got them organized thanks to Steve James. What an opportunity! I would love to put pics of the students on here so you could see all of their cute faces but I do not have permission...sorry. Because we helped with the students we got some free tickets. We had a ball in the nose bleed area watching the rodeo. The best part was watching the bulls attack the clowns. We saw two clowns really "get it" - ouch! They we slammed by the bulls and one clown was thrown into the fence. I looked so painful.

My family and Amy and her kids were up at Snowbird all week. I had my teacher prep days and because I moved into a portable I had a lot of work this week. I only went up to Snowbird on Friday. We got the "All Day Activity Pass" from Costco. Unlimited rides on the alpine slide, tram, trampoline, rock climbing wall, bouncing castle, zip line, and mechanical bull. We had a blast with the kids doing all of these activities. At the end of the day my friends came up to get away from the city heat. We swam and hiked Catherine Pass. We would've hiked down to the lake cut it started raining and by the time we got to the car it started pouring. We finished just in time. I love my friends. They are always up for a hike, bike ride, climbing adventure, etc. even in the dark!

Tour finale tomorrow

Stage 20: Montélimar > Mont Ventoux

Check out that last climb! Mental & physical pain - pedal through it!

The Top 10 In Stage 20

Rabobank has finally won a stage of the 2009 Tour de France and what a one to win! Juan Manuel Garate has claimed his first victory at the Tour. The top 10 in the 20th stage is:
1. Juan Manuel Garate (ESP) RAB - 167km in 4h39'21" (35.869km/h)
2. Tony Martin (GER) THR - at 3"
3. Andy Schleck (LUX) SAX - 38"
4. Alberto Contador (ESP) AST - at 38"
5. Lance Armstrong (USA) AST - at 41"
6. Frank Schleck (LUX) SAX - at 43"
7. Roman Kreuziger (CZE) LIQ - at 46"
8. Franco Pellizotti (ITA) LIQ - at 56"
9. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) LIQ - at 58"
10. Bradley Wiggins (GBR) GRM - at 1'03"

The Top Four Overall (as of Stage 20)

The top four on general classification after the penultimate stage of the 2009 Tour de France is:
1. Alberto Contador
2. Andy Schleck at 4'11"
3. Lance Armstrong at 5'24"
4. Bradley Wiggins at 6'01"

Even after four years of retirement Lance came back to place 3rd (as of today) in the Tour de France. I hope tomorrow goes as planned and he will be on the podium!

Nothing to protect the riders...they are open for punishment from the elements.

6

On vacation at Lake Powell and still waking up at six a.m. for this...totally worth it!

Wake Time

My family and friends recently went to Lake Powell. Amy (my sis) and Krehl have a house boat. They were on the lake for a week but we only went down for Wed-Sat. It was hot, beautiful, and full on boat time! We got up at six and didn't stop boating and playing until sundown.



(Mom surfing)

(Krehl body surfing)
Jeff figured this out after crashing on the surf board and didn't let go;o) It looks cooler than it really is.


(Krynn has sweet skills!)

Tour Stage 7

I started road biking this year and maybe that is why I am slightly addicted to the Tour de France. I am so impressed by their athleticism. They are riding for two weeks an average of 100+ miles every day. They only get two days of rest. Lance Armstrong is competing again this year. He won 7 Tour de France titles from 1999-2006. I recently read his book It's Not About The Bike: My Journey Back to Life. It is really inspiring! I would recommend it.

Tour de France 2009
Stage Seven: Barcelone – Andorre Arcalis 224km
Friday 10th July 2009
Less than a week in and the mountains arrive with the first Hors Category climb of the race. Not only does this stage introduce the peloton to this Tour's mountains but it is also the longest stage of the race at 224kms.

Tour de France 2009 Standings - Through Stage 7
1. Rinaldo Nocentini - AG2R - 24 hours, 44 minutes, 32 seconds
2. Alberto Contador - Astana - 24 hours, 44 minutes, 38 seconds (6 seconds behind)
3. Lance Armstrong - Astana - 24 hours, 44 minutes, 40 seconds (8 seconds behind)
Upcoming Stages:
Stage 8 - July 11 - Andorre-la-Vieille to Saint-Girons - 109.7 miles
Stage 9 - July 12 - Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes - 99.7 miles
Rest Day - July 13

Team Astana (Lance Armstrong in front right)



This pic is for you Melissa!

Five Guys, Frisbee, and Fireworks

My friends are always planning something! I used to be the planner and I have been spoiled these past few years. I am thankful for my good friends that put together friends, new people, and fun! For the 4th we played softball in the morning, went to dinner at Five Guys, and watch the fireworks at Sandy City. Good times!

We arrived at Jordan High early enough to get great lawn and we spent the time 'til dusk playing UNO and throwing the frisbee around. We had a light-up frisbee so the sun going down didn't keep us from playing until the fireworks started. Sandy City had KSOP play music to their show. It was great hearing the classic tunes. I can't ever get enough of Neil Diamond's song "America"!

We could see Sandy, West Jordan, and Riverton's fireworks all at the same time. We heard that Sugar House put on the best show but for the convenience of walking to Jordan High and then going to Krista's after...it worked out perfectly!

July 4th Pitch

Thanks Brooke for pulling together a great group for Saturday's game. We had a BALL (he he he)!

Great continuation of the 4th of July holiday weekend. Last night a few of us went to the West Jordan Rodeo. It was a good show - including many great mullets!

5 years of teaching

Five years of teaching under my belt. Amazing! Every year just flies by. I guess it's a good sign. If I was dreading the year it would go by slowly. I had a mixed class this year: 90% of the students were bright, hard workers, and just fantastic kids. 10% were lower leveled, didn't try to do anything, just a little weird, and their parents really didn't do much to help them. I can't complain though. Working at my school is a blessing. Parents help in the classroom, on field trips, and the majority are highly involved. I love it! I would love to fast forward and see what this class does with their future. I sure hope the majority graduate from high school, goes to college and become the leaders of our future! Good luck to them and us;o)

I put together my pictures of the year on a slideshow and invited the parents to come and watch. We had a full room. I love working at my school because there's participation from the parents. I put a variety of songs on the slideshow but one of my my favorite songs was "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts. The lyrics fit perfectly:
"And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too."