Last week we were out of town for President's Day and I did not have access to the internet or a laptop, so I was not able to post on my normal day. The following is an update of everything that has happened in the last two weeks!
The school week of the 10-14 was a crazy one. The kids always love holidays, and Valentine's Day is always a big one. Every day the chatter at the tables and at recess was about the valentine's they were getting and who they made valentine's for. As a teacher you just have to try to channel the energy, so you stay sane, because there is no stopping the force of a kindergartner excited for a holiday. By the time Friday rolled around I was ready for it. I do love class parties, but they are exhausting.
Mixed in with the holiday madness, was the loss of my identity. Almost two months ago, I applied for a new social security card with my corrected last name. I called to see where it was and after so checking and waiting I was told that my card had been sent to the wrong address and due to the fact that it was government mail, the post office shredded it because I had never lived at that address. I promptly requested a new one, when I was informed that I needed to start the process over and all I needed to do was prove my identify as Whitney Zimmerman using documentations. My reply to them was, "Uhhh, I don't have any, that was my documentation." Then I was told they were sorry for the mix-up and good luck fixing it, because there was nothing they could do to fix their mistake. In the end everything worked out, and I may or may not have shed a tear or two (no really on one on two).
I discovered that government offices are not very friendly towards teachers. All offices close at five or earlier, which is very hard for us to get out of school in time, or we just have to pay for a sub in order to take care of our lives. Thankfully I have a principle that just gave me a big hug and said that we would work it out so I could leave school on friday for a while and take care of it. I was gong for about an hour and a half and it took about seven minutes in the office. I was happy that it was done, but miffed that they made it sound like it would this big process that would take a lot of time. Hopefully, within the next week, I will have a correct driver's license and a social security card.
After school was over on friday, I was ready to leave town. I had also worked hard throughout the week to get ahead with my homework, because I still had assignments that were due even though I would be out of town. Tim and I left after we ate dinner and headed down to St. George. A childhood friend of his invited us down to stay at their family house and do some hiking. Neither of us had done any hiking down their, so we said yes.
My understanding was the house was a cabin and I figured we were going to roughing it a little, but as we neared the address it because quite obvious that we would not be roughing it at all. The houses got bigger and the lawns were perfectly manicured. We ended up staying in a very nice home with fun toys and a bedroom and bathroom to ourselves. My favorite comment was made in response to if they wanted us to park on the road, because that's what you do when the driveway is full. We were told that the HOA had rules against parking on the road. I didn't even know HOAs could do that, but I am used to living in areas were homes use their driveways for used car lots. It all worked out okay and we did not get into trouble.
The next day was our adventurous day at Red Cliffs. I was introduced to a fun game called find the source. This is where one locates a river or stream and then follows it to find the source of the water. Unfortunately, we do not have any pictures yet, but I warn you know some of the pictures are a little scary. Good friends stretch you and help you do things you never thought you would do. There were a couple of pictures taken of my face very clearly saying with expression, "You want me to do what....this is crazy...I never made a will." The scariest part for me was shimmying through a slot canyon. You had to fall against the wall and use your strength to walk across horizontally. I was scared because height can sometimes really make a difference and my lack of height was not helping! We made it safely to the "source" and out again having some laughs and getting great exercise. While there I saw a student that I work with from Central, so small world. That evening we went to the Pizza Factory and had some amazing pizza and breadsticks.
The following day was Sunday, so we attended church in a ward that is made mostly of people like us staying for the weekend. We also went to a park to enjoy the 70 degree weather. We went to walk through this narrow slot between two rocks. It was only about 100 yards long and all you can do slide, and take very short breathes because if you breathe deeply you will get stuck. As I was doing this I realized that when these friends say it will be an easy hike or just a walk, I should always think twice and be prepared for more adventure than they make it out to be. It was a lot of fun, especially listening to all the little kids laughing at the adults trying to get through saying, "This is so easy...come on move faster...let's do it again." One little kid kept running into Tim because he was not moving as fast as he should have been.
Monday we drove to Snow Canyon to explore a lava tube. It was a whole in the ground that you worked your way through to get down. You had to have flashlights because you needed to see where you were going and you had to bend and move very slowly. Remember what I said above about preparing for more adventure, well I forgot about that until we were told the number one rule is don't hit your head because we don't want to go to the emergency room. It was very cool to see inside the tube and to explore and climb. And I am very happy say that no one broke the rule.
A random side adventure. The driver went to park the car and I guess was going a little fast, because he drove the front tires of the car right over the parking bump. It happened so fast that now of really comprehended what had happened until we got out of the car. We tried to push it out, but the front tires were not touching the ground. We were contemplating what to do when I hear, "Miss Kluber." Low and behold another student was down in St. George. There family ended up helping to lift the car to its proper parking spot. Great adventure!
That afternoon we headed to Enoch to see the parents. After dinner we headed back to Provo to begin a new week.
This was a much calmer week, but the kids still loved the weather. We have had 50 degree weather all week, which has been nice to let the kids really run outside. I was able to finish up most of my assessing for report cards which are due next week. We also began discussing biographies with the kids. They have really enjoyed learning about George Washington and are excited to begin creating their own biographies.
Tim spent the week studying, doing research, and working on his bike. He punctured the tire, so he has been trying to fix it. He has been working hard of the MCAT, but it is very stressful to study for it. He finds the hardest part is time management, because he enjoys taking his time. Unfortunately, you can't do that on a timed test.
Saturday was an eventful day. We started at the temple, which was very busy. Had a wonderful experience doing family names. Tim went to study and I cleaned the apartment. I then went to a movie with Carolyn and then shopping. I am trying a new thing where I shop for two weeks at a time. I was driving around the cart when a turn reminded me of shopping with mom trying to turn the cart filled with food for the family. I then went home and put the final touches on my paper and turned in my last assignment of my masters program. Yep, that's right. I am done. Next week I will make sure I have all my assignments turned in for my portfolio and then I will wait to see if I have passed and then apply for graduation.
I was sitting on the couch last night trying to think of what I would do with my life. For the past five years I have either brought work home with to finish it before school the next day or had masters classes to work on. I really haven't had much free time. But, I am looking forward to rediscovering what that feels like.
I will post pictures as soon as I get them. Have a wonderful week!
The school week of the 10-14 was a crazy one. The kids always love holidays, and Valentine's Day is always a big one. Every day the chatter at the tables and at recess was about the valentine's they were getting and who they made valentine's for. As a teacher you just have to try to channel the energy, so you stay sane, because there is no stopping the force of a kindergartner excited for a holiday. By the time Friday rolled around I was ready for it. I do love class parties, but they are exhausting.
Mixed in with the holiday madness, was the loss of my identity. Almost two months ago, I applied for a new social security card with my corrected last name. I called to see where it was and after so checking and waiting I was told that my card had been sent to the wrong address and due to the fact that it was government mail, the post office shredded it because I had never lived at that address. I promptly requested a new one, when I was informed that I needed to start the process over and all I needed to do was prove my identify as Whitney Zimmerman using documentations. My reply to them was, "Uhhh, I don't have any, that was my documentation." Then I was told they were sorry for the mix-up and good luck fixing it, because there was nothing they could do to fix their mistake. In the end everything worked out, and I may or may not have shed a tear or two (no really on one on two).
I discovered that government offices are not very friendly towards teachers. All offices close at five or earlier, which is very hard for us to get out of school in time, or we just have to pay for a sub in order to take care of our lives. Thankfully I have a principle that just gave me a big hug and said that we would work it out so I could leave school on friday for a while and take care of it. I was gong for about an hour and a half and it took about seven minutes in the office. I was happy that it was done, but miffed that they made it sound like it would this big process that would take a lot of time. Hopefully, within the next week, I will have a correct driver's license and a social security card.
After school was over on friday, I was ready to leave town. I had also worked hard throughout the week to get ahead with my homework, because I still had assignments that were due even though I would be out of town. Tim and I left after we ate dinner and headed down to St. George. A childhood friend of his invited us down to stay at their family house and do some hiking. Neither of us had done any hiking down their, so we said yes.
My understanding was the house was a cabin and I figured we were going to roughing it a little, but as we neared the address it because quite obvious that we would not be roughing it at all. The houses got bigger and the lawns were perfectly manicured. We ended up staying in a very nice home with fun toys and a bedroom and bathroom to ourselves. My favorite comment was made in response to if they wanted us to park on the road, because that's what you do when the driveway is full. We were told that the HOA had rules against parking on the road. I didn't even know HOAs could do that, but I am used to living in areas were homes use their driveways for used car lots. It all worked out okay and we did not get into trouble.
The next day was our adventurous day at Red Cliffs. I was introduced to a fun game called find the source. This is where one locates a river or stream and then follows it to find the source of the water. Unfortunately, we do not have any pictures yet, but I warn you know some of the pictures are a little scary. Good friends stretch you and help you do things you never thought you would do. There were a couple of pictures taken of my face very clearly saying with expression, "You want me to do what....this is crazy...I never made a will." The scariest part for me was shimmying through a slot canyon. You had to fall against the wall and use your strength to walk across horizontally. I was scared because height can sometimes really make a difference and my lack of height was not helping! We made it safely to the "source" and out again having some laughs and getting great exercise. While there I saw a student that I work with from Central, so small world. That evening we went to the Pizza Factory and had some amazing pizza and breadsticks.
The following day was Sunday, so we attended church in a ward that is made mostly of people like us staying for the weekend. We also went to a park to enjoy the 70 degree weather. We went to walk through this narrow slot between two rocks. It was only about 100 yards long and all you can do slide, and take very short breathes because if you breathe deeply you will get stuck. As I was doing this I realized that when these friends say it will be an easy hike or just a walk, I should always think twice and be prepared for more adventure than they make it out to be. It was a lot of fun, especially listening to all the little kids laughing at the adults trying to get through saying, "This is so easy...come on move faster...let's do it again." One little kid kept running into Tim because he was not moving as fast as he should have been.
Monday we drove to Snow Canyon to explore a lava tube. It was a whole in the ground that you worked your way through to get down. You had to have flashlights because you needed to see where you were going and you had to bend and move very slowly. Remember what I said above about preparing for more adventure, well I forgot about that until we were told the number one rule is don't hit your head because we don't want to go to the emergency room. It was very cool to see inside the tube and to explore and climb. And I am very happy say that no one broke the rule.
A random side adventure. The driver went to park the car and I guess was going a little fast, because he drove the front tires of the car right over the parking bump. It happened so fast that now of really comprehended what had happened until we got out of the car. We tried to push it out, but the front tires were not touching the ground. We were contemplating what to do when I hear, "Miss Kluber." Low and behold another student was down in St. George. There family ended up helping to lift the car to its proper parking spot. Great adventure!
That afternoon we headed to Enoch to see the parents. After dinner we headed back to Provo to begin a new week.
This was a much calmer week, but the kids still loved the weather. We have had 50 degree weather all week, which has been nice to let the kids really run outside. I was able to finish up most of my assessing for report cards which are due next week. We also began discussing biographies with the kids. They have really enjoyed learning about George Washington and are excited to begin creating their own biographies.
Tim spent the week studying, doing research, and working on his bike. He punctured the tire, so he has been trying to fix it. He has been working hard of the MCAT, but it is very stressful to study for it. He finds the hardest part is time management, because he enjoys taking his time. Unfortunately, you can't do that on a timed test.
Saturday was an eventful day. We started at the temple, which was very busy. Had a wonderful experience doing family names. Tim went to study and I cleaned the apartment. I then went to a movie with Carolyn and then shopping. I am trying a new thing where I shop for two weeks at a time. I was driving around the cart when a turn reminded me of shopping with mom trying to turn the cart filled with food for the family. I then went home and put the final touches on my paper and turned in my last assignment of my masters program. Yep, that's right. I am done. Next week I will make sure I have all my assignments turned in for my portfolio and then I will wait to see if I have passed and then apply for graduation.
I was sitting on the couch last night trying to think of what I would do with my life. For the past five years I have either brought work home with to finish it before school the next day or had masters classes to work on. I really haven't had much free time. But, I am looking forward to rediscovering what that feels like.
I will post pictures as soon as I get them. Have a wonderful week!
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