Missing My Dear Friend

My dear friend Cathryn just relocated down to Virginia. She is working with a pain specialist down there, and saving up enough money to get a place of her own. I am so proud of her for doing this for herself, but I miss her terribly. I know that this is where God wants her to be, and it will take a while for me to get used to not seeing her every Sunday. I love her so much and cannot wait to see what God has in store for my dear friend in Virginia. You go Cathryn!

Charlie Fishing

My boyfriend Charlie loves to fish. I caught a few pictures of him showing off his fishing skills at the Eklutna Tailrace. I am looking forward to learning how to fish from the "expert"! Should be a highly entertaining experience that is for sure.

Mitchel and Emily

The beautiful bride Emily and her very happy husband Mitchel.

Congratulations Mitchel and Emily! I am so happy for you both! Well for those who don't know or who weren't able to be there, Mitchel and Emily got married today! It was so beautiful, beautiful decorations, smiling people and one GORGEOUS bride (yeah that was Emily for sure). I am so blessed to know these two amazing people, and I am so glad they found each other. They both have a love for life and the Lord, it is so refreshing to see two people running after God full speed. They truly are amazing and I am blessed to be able to call them friends. Here are some pictures of the wonderous day!

Their first kiss as husband and wife, so special!

The girls: Diana Ryan, Natalie Greenstreet, Mayerly Fischer and Charlotte Brown

The guys: Mitchel, Drew Tracy, Dan Bruzas, Luke Fischer and Drew Bacon.

The bride and groom's first dance together! (well as a married couple that is)

The couple got an amazing present from Emily's brother Joe. A two seat bike!

Mitchel and Emily trying out their new bike! LOOK OUT!

We found out that the bride and groom were going to "sail away" into their new life together. The sail says, "JUST MARRIED Mitchel & Emily" accompanied by a picture of the couple.

Mitchel and Emily getting ready to sail away together.

Sailing off into their new life together!

Mitchel and Emily, you two are some of the most amazing people I have ever met, I wish you the best together. I love you both and am so happy for you. God is going to great things in your lives and bless you to no end. Have a great time in Hawaii! See you when you get back.

Necklaces

From a very early age my mom realized that I have a very high sensitivity to metal (mostly the cheap kind). When I was a baby I would get red circles on my stomach from the snaps on my jammies. Since then I have had to be very careful of what I wear, because too much metal contact and I get red rashes wherever the metal rested for too long. Most of my friends are aware of this and because of it I am a bit harder to shop for. Cute necklaces, bracelets and earings just don't work for me. One of my dear friends Megan (commonly known to us as Red) is very talented at making jewelry. Two summers ago Megan made me a beautiful necklace that I can actually wear, and have been wearing ever since. It is a beautiful stone necklace on string. I wear it with everything (sadly even if the colors don't match all that well).

The one Megan made for me is on top, the other two are the ones I made.

Today while I was out with my mom and grandma we stopped into Jo-Ann Fabrics. I was looking for string to make another necklace similar to the one Megan made me. While looking I found these beautiful glass beads, flat with an off center hole, perfect for hanging for a necklace. I picked out two that I thought would go well with my "teacher clothes". Grandma bought them for me, she is so sweet, and left the string (which I didn't find) for me to pick up. At home I found some string that I think works well, and made some necklaces (again while working on dinner). I think they are beautiful and I hope they work for my outfits!

Pattern Blocks

Pattern Blocks

Pattern Blocks are amazing! This summer I have had to use math manipulatives every week. For the most part I haven't had them around the house, so I have had to make them from scratch. So far I have made color tiles (1-by-1 inch color squares), a geoboard made from cork board and push pins, and pattern blocks. However, today I stopped by an amazing little store in Wasilla, "Learning Essentials". They had pattern blocks plus much more. I had fun walking around with my mom and grandma, we saw so many things that I can't wait to get for my classroom!

A great link to a pattern for pattern blocks (that sounds weird) is:
http://www.mathcats.com/mathtoolbox/patternblocks1.gif

Color Tiles

Geoboard

Tonight though, while I was waiting for the casserole to bake, I sat at the island, listening to a book on tape, and playing with pattern blocks. It was a ton of fun and I loved making the different shapes and designs. It will be so much fun to see what my students create with them. I have a feeling I will be purchasing a lot more pattern blocks in the future, plus so much more!

Monthly Outings!

My mom is amazing, and usually comes up with awesome ideas. This one is one of my favorites! We have been discussing for a long time my internship and what all will be expected of me. I again will be looking at being extremely busy, all the time this coming school year. The brilliant idea that my mom came up with is that every month, I need to plan to do something fun, and out of the ordinary. So far I have two outings planned.
The first is set for August. My boyfriend and I are going to spend a day at the fair enjoying a ridiculous amount of fair food and then to wrap up the day, enjoy laughing our heads off to the comedic stylings of Bill Engvall. I am so excited, I love Bill, he has a great sense of humor and never fails to make me laugh. It will be awesome to see him in person!
The second is an outing with my mom planned for September. As many know, the Broadway musical The Lion King is coming to Anchorage. My mom and I jumped on this and now have tickets for an evening show on a Saturday in September (I can't remember which one). This is going to be amazing, and a once in a lifetime experience for both of us. My brother is a little jealous that he isn't going to be able to come with us, but we have promised to get him a video if they are available, as he has promised the same with the production Wicked.

So far those are the only events planned, but I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for other once in a lifetime opportunities to go to. If anyone hears about an awesome event please let me know. I am so excited! Thanks Mom for a wonderful idea!

Two Weeks Left

YEAH! I have two weeks left of madness. I am so excited that I am close to being done with these two summer classes. Now don't get me wrong, I have loved the classes themselves, I am learning so much. I am just not all that fond of craziness that has come with these two classes. I feel like I don't have that much of a life right now, which is no fun. So many of my friends are getting ready to leave, either back to school or on to an awesome new adventure. I wish I had time to go on crazy adventures with them this summer, but sadly I have little to no spare time. Thank goodness I am almost done, and will start a new adventure myself, student teaching!