Changing Things Up

Hey guys good news. My computer is fixed! But sadly, we still don't have internet at our apartment. That still makes updating the blog a little tricky but at least I have my laptop back. And a new camera. It's nothing fancy just a point and shoot but it gets the job done. Don't mind the ugly header up top, i'm working on it.

Well, Kurt and I, we are changing things up in our little world. The first big change was moving to Logan. I still don't know how I feel about it up here. It's cold, I don't have friends or a job, we live in a basement with nosy neighbors upstairs, and we are far away from either of our families. On the other hand I get to spend a lot of time with Kurt when he's not a school or doing homework, I will start subbing and applying for jobs here shortly (which will hopefully lead to some new friends) and we have an awesome ward with the nicest people making a huge effort to get to know us.

Change number two: I am done with school. Which is pretty freaking awesome. I'm a teacher. I finished my student teaching in November at Iron Springs elementary in Cedar City.

I lived with a friend of mine whose husband was deployed to Iraq. I played the role of nanny while living with them, and they even took me to Disneyland where I inherited the name Fran the Nan.

Back to student teaching. My first placement was in 3rd grade. I was with these students from the second week of school and those kids have my heart. I love that class. My teacher was amazing and I cried the whole way home on my last day with them. They changed my life. Dramatic, but it's the truth. My second placement was in 5th grade. These circumstances intimidated me a bit. There were 33 students in the class, they were all taller than me, and they were learning about erosion, mechanical weathering and other hard concepts that I haven't thought about for a long, long time. Nonetheless, I looked those sassy kids in the eye and told them who was boss. It was fun to tease with them and be sarcastic but I didn't feel the same connection with them as I did the third graders. My mentor teacher in this 5th grade class was outstanding and could manage a classroom like you couldn't believe. I was truly blessed with my placements and each teacher/class taught me so much.

Here are some pictures of the 3rd grade class I was in. While I was with them I taught a science unit on living and non living organisms for my student teaching requirements and we made these awesome murals. Here are just a few pictures of the kids working on the murals and a finished product. I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of the fifth grade class on my last day because it was a really busy and crazy day. If I ever get one I will post it.

Change tres: I'm going to have a baby! I'm sure many of you already know this but this is a big change in our lives and I'm super excited about it. I'll be 18 weeks this coming week and we find out what we're having on January 27th. Due June 19. We had been trying to have a baby for two years and I was getting worried that something was wrong with me. We didn't have health insurance so we couldn't afford to get things checked out. Well, thanks to Obama, I was able to get back on my mom's insurance in October and I finally went to see my lady Dr. to see what was wrong with me. After I piddled in a cup, she comes waltzing in the room with a grin on her face and says, "It doesn't get clearer than that (pointing to the test)you're pregnant". I told her she was lying and I didn't believe her. She laughed and said, "It didn't even take a minute to show two, very dark lines. You're pregnant Whitney." I still didn't believe her and made her take another test. Yes she did two tests on me! She laughed and thought I was crazy but she did it anyway since I was in denial. Sure enough there is a little nugget in there and I can hardly wait to find out what it is.

Change four: 2011-2012. The year has changed and it's going to be a good one.

So that is how we've changed things up these past few months and I know these changes are all for the best.

Here are a couple more pictures of our fall and winter:

September: Taylor Swift concert with these fine gals. Our seats weren't great but it was an awesome concert.

BYU game with Luke and Janae. Luke and Kurt have been friends since they were little and we love hanging out with them.

October: A little bit of Disney :)

Skip Novemeber

December: It's tradition to play Life, and for Karen to lose, every time we get together. Good times

I didn't take many pictures in Manti during Christmas and I hate that. But here are some of my family in August for Ashley's birthday. My dad's braces are off and Sienna is a lot bigger than she is here but I love my family and I want to post these.

Aren't my mom and sister-in-law stunning. Tay is pretty cute too I guess :)

She was born to ride that saddle.

If any of you know a better way to load pictures onto your blog fill me in because these pictures kinda look crappy!