It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!!!

I think it just finally hitting me that Christmas is 5 days away! It seems like it really has just snuck up on me! These past couple of week have FLOWN by and now I only have 2 and a half more days of work before I am off for a week and a half. YAHOO! Live for those nice, relaxing breaks!

I am really not the most creative teacher, but I have had my students doing a couple of Christmas art projects this month. The one I took a picture of is the ornaments hanging from the ceiling. They are of Christmas symbols and they colored them in complementary colors. They had a good time with those! I also had them make the picture frames out of popsicle sticks last Friday to give to their parents for Christmas. It is something that I remember doing when I was that age and we still have those ornaments! They are so fun!

This weekend I also made sugar cookies and dipped them in chocolate and sprinkles to give to friends and colleagues. I think they turned out great! I put them on a cute tray my mom received from her sister Joan, and they look perfect on it! Thanks Aunt Joan! :)

Anyway, I am so excited to spend time with friends and family this holiday season and hope you all can find joy in celebrating Christ's birth. He is the real reason for the season that we all love! Thank you all for supporting me in all that I do! It means a lot to me. Have a Merry Christmas!!

So much to be grateful for!

Wow, Thanksgiving over and Christmas is coming! It has come way too fast this year, but I love this time of year! Especially spending so much time with family and friends and celebrating Christ's birth. I am so grateful and blessed to have so much! I don't know what I would do without my family, my friends, and the gospel. This weekend was no exception! I got the opportunity to go to my Grandma and Grandpa Lloyd's house for Thanksgiving. I am very grateful for their hardworking examples and the love they show me! I feel so special to be in their presence! Then my parents and I came home and had pie with Scott and Kim and their cute kids. They let McKenzie stay over night for the next two nights, so we had a lot of fun with her! She is such a cutie! We took her shopping, put up Christmas decorations, watched movies, went to lunch, and I helped her make a Gingerbread House! Here are a few pictures of her and me with the finished product. She was a great decorater and couldn't wait to eat the leftover candy! :)

Before I went off for Thanksgiving, I had my class make Indian Tribe Habitats for each of the Indian Tribes of Utah. I had my class last year do this, and they had a blast, so I did it again this year. This is how they turned out!

Since we were studying Indians, I also had them make Indian pots for art. This was my first attempt at teaching how to make pots, so some of them are kind of funny looking, but I guess that is what gives them personality! Once they shaped them, they air-dried and I had them paint black around them. Once that dried, they took a small pin and scratched a design in the black, to make them look like Indian pots. I think they really enjoyed this, even though it was quite the process! :)

Well, I guess it is back to the craziness of teaching tomorrow and I know I sometimes complain a lot about my job, but I just want to say that I am so blessed to be around such cute kids and help them grow and learn! I really think that they help me learn and grow as a person as well and I am thankful for that.

Pictures of Trip

Double-Decker Tour Bus


World War 2 Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Dorothy's Shoes! American History Museum

Union Station

Air and Space Museum

Jefferson Memorial

Washington Monument from Jefferson Monument

Natural History Museum

Capitol Building

National Archives-Declaration of Independence

The White House

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Mount Vernon

Niagara Falls!

Hill Cumorah Monument

Joseph Smith's Family Farm House

The First Smith Family Farm House

Palmyra Temple overlooking the Sacred Grove

Sally and I in our FABULOUS PJ's, staying overnight in our GHETTO hotel!!! :)